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treasure to them for a wedding portion; that is my decision." Alexander was astonished when he heard this sentence. "Have I judged unjustly," said the king of the distant land," that thou appearest so astonished?" "By no means," answered Alexander; "but in our country a different judgment would have been given." "And how then?" asked the African king. "Both litigants," said Alexander, "would have lost their heads, and the treasure would have come into the hands of the king." Then the African king clasped his hands violently together, and said: "Shines there upon you the sun, and does the heaven send down upon you rain ?" Alexander replied: "Yes." "Then it must be," continued he, "for the sake of the innocent brute beasts that live in your country; for upon such men should no sun shine-no heaven rain !”

HERDER.

THE SERENADE.

"WHAT Wakes me from my gentle sleep?
Sweet sounds my soul delight,

O mother, see! what can it be?
At this late hour of night."

I nothing hear-I nothing see,
So rest in slumber mild!

No music comes to comfort thee
Thou poor and sickly child!

"It is no earthly sound I hear
That gives me such delight,

'Tis angels call me with their song,
So, mother, dear, good night."

L. UHLAND.

THE WOLF ON HIS DEATH-BED.

ONCE upon a time, a wolf was lying at the last extremity of sickness, and took a careful retrospect of his past life. I am indeed a sinner, said he; but yet I hope not one of

the greatest.

I have done wrong; but I have also done much good. Once upon a time, I recollect, there came to me a bleating lamb which had wandered from the herd, and it approached so near to me, that I could with the greatest ease have devoured it, and yet I spared it. At that same time, too, I could hear the contemptuous taunts of a sheep addressed to me, with the most astonishing equanimity, even although I had not the least cause of alarm on account of any watchdog that might be at hand. "To all this," said friend Fox, who had come to comfort him in his preparation for death; "To all this, I can give a most exact testimony. Moreover, dearest Sir, I have a distinct recollection of all the circumstances connected with the case. In particular, I have now before me a little interesting incident that at that very time had just occurred,-I mean the cruel bone which had got into thy throat, and which would have inevitably strangled thee, had not a good-natured crane kindly extracted it.

LESSING.

A CHILD AT PRAYER.

BY THE REV. ROBERT TURNBULL.

BEHOLD! a scene of love,

And holiness sublime,

To lift the soul above

This narrow earthly clime;
A lovely little child at prayer
Her parents standing by,
Gazing upon their infant fair
With deep delighted eye.

A holy halo fills the place,
A light divine, a heavenly grace!

Her face's heavenly glow,

Her dark and pensive eye,

Her alabaster brow,

On which black ringlets lie,

Her little hands upturned to heaven,
Her body gently bent,

All mingling like the hues of even
With mellow sun-beams blent,
Give to the scene a magic glow,
Which only, happy spirits know.

This is a sight to wake,

Of past delights the dreams, Like music on the lake,

Or dying sunny gleams;

To raise the sigh for beauty flown,
Which time can ne'er restore,
To draw the tear for gladness gone,
For music heard no more;

And conjure up a vision grand,
Of beautiful, but vanished land.

This too should rouse our faith,
And bear the soul away,

Above the shadowy earth

To climes of cloudless day,
For this is heaven begun in time,
A prelude of that bliss

Which matchless, endless and sublime

No tongue can e'er express; A glory from the world above, A sun-beam of eternal love!

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