4. There's a good time coming, boys, Shall not make their martyrs bleed 5. There's a good time coming, boys, 6. There's a good time coming, boys, GLIS'-TEN (glis'-en), shine brightly. b SU-PER-SEDE', take the place of. • IM'-PULSE, force; influence. CHARLES MACKAY. d RI-VAL-RIES, strife for superiority. [This is a lyrical poem. Why? (See p. ix.) better time coming, and exhorts to wait for it. What is the character of the change looked for, as expressed in the 1st verse? In the 2d verse? In the 3d verse? In the 4th verse? In the 5th? In the 6th verse we are exhorted to do all we can to aid in bringing about this reformation.] HE that is good will certainly become better, and he that is bad will as certainly become worse; for sin, virtue, and time are three things that never stand still. LESSON LXIII. THE PEBBLE AND THE ACORN. 1. "I AM a Pebble, and yield to none," Were the swelling words of a tiny stone; "Nor change nor season can alter me; I am abiding, while ages flee. с The pelting hail and drizzling rain 2. "None can tell of the Pebble's birth; Rattling along from the restless bough?" 3. The Acorn was shocked at this rude salute,a And lay for a moment abashed, and mute; She never before had been so near This gravelly ball—the mundanef sphere; 4. But to give reproof of a nobler sort 5. And soon in the earth she sunk, away From the comfortless spot where the Pebble lay; What was inclosed in her simple shell- ■ SWELL-ING, boastful and haughty. b TI-NY, very small. A-BI-DING, lasting; permanent. HANNAH GOULD. SPHERE, a globe; ball; the earth. [To what kind of writings does this poem belong? Why? (See p. ix., and p. 67.) The object of the lesson, in addition to the beautiful picture which it draws, is to present, in the pleasant form of fable, the contrast between vain boasting on the one hand, and modest worth on the other; and the moral is a severe reproof of the former, and commendation of the latter. The Pebble, an apparently useless thing, is made to represent one class of persons, and the Acorn another.] TURN TO GOD.-A Jewish Rabbi said, "Turn to God one day before you die." His disciples asked, "How can a man know the day of his death'?" He answered them, "Therefore turn to God to-day. Perhaps you may die to-morrow. Thus every day should be employed in turning to Him." LESSON LXIV. THE YOUNG SHEPHERD. a 1. SHA-ABBAS, king of Persia, being on his travels, withdrew from his retinue, in order to visit the country, and there, without being known, to behold mankind in all their native freedom. He took with him only one of his officers, as an attendant. 2. "I am weary," said he, "of living among sycophants,b who take all occasions to overreach, while they flatter me. I am determined to visit husbandmen and shepherds, who know nothing of me." 3. He traveled, with his confidant, through several villages where the peasants were dancing, and was overjoyed to see that his subjects, though at such a distance from court, had their diversions, and those so innocent and unexpensive. 4. After refreshing himself in a cottage, he crossed a meadow, enameled with flowers, which decked the borders of a limpidd stream. Here he spied a young shepherd, playing on his pipe beneath a shady elm, while his flocks were grazing around him. 5. The king accosts him, surveys him closely, finds his aspect agreeable, and his air, though easy and natural, yet graceful and majestic. The simple habite in which the shepherd was clad, did not in the least diminish the agreeableness of his person. The king supposed him at first to be a youth of illustrious birth, who had disguised himself; but he learned from the shepherd that his parents dwelt in an adjacent village, and that his name was Alibeg. 6. The more questions the king put to him, the more he admired the strength and solidity of his genius. His eyes were lively, and beamings with intelligence; his voice was sweet and melodious; his features were not rude, neither were they soft and effeminate. The shepherd, though sixteen years of age, did not seem conscious of those per fections which were conspicuous to others. He imagined that his thoughts, his conversation, and his person, were not unlike those of his neighbors'. 7. The king frequently smiled at the innocent freedom of the youth, who gave him much information about the state of the people. He gave the officer who accompanied him a private signal not to discover that he was the king, for fear that Alibeg, if he once knew with whom he conversed, would lose, in an instant, his wontedi freedom, and all his native graces. 8. "I am now convinced," said the prince to his attendant, "that nature is as beautiful in the lowest state as in the highest. No monarch's son was ever born with nobler faculties than this young shepherd. I should think myself infinitely happy, had I a son equally handsome, intelligent, and ingenuous. I will have him educated at my own court." 9. The king accordingly took Alibeg away with him; and the youthful shepherd was much surprised to find that a prince should be so pleased with his conversation. Taken to court, he was instructed by proper tutors in all the graces which add to manly beauty, and in all the arts and sciences which adorn the mind. 10. The grandeur of the court, and a sudden change of fortune, in some measure influenced the temper of Alibeg. His crook, his pipe, and shepherd's dress, were now forsaken; and, instead of them, he appeared in a purple robe embroidered with gold, and a turban enriched with jewels. Alibeg was handsomer than any other man at court. He was qualified to transact the most important affairs; and his master, placing the utmost confidence in his integrity, soon conferred on him the post of jewel-keeper, and treasurer of his household. 11. During the whole reign of the great Sha-Abbas, Alibeg's reputation daily increased. But, as he advanced in years, he frequently recalled to mind his former state of life, and always with regret. "Oh, happy days!" would |