Its foot with triple3 claw disjoined' ;*
And what a length of tail behind'!
How slow its pace'! and then its hue-
Who ever saw so fine a blue'?"

4. "Hold there," the other quick replies;
"Tis green-I saw it with these eyes,
As late with open mouth it lay,
And warmed it in the sunny ray;
Stretched at its ease, the beast I viewed,
And saw it eat the air for food."

5. "I've seen it, sir, as well as you',
And must again affirm it blue;
At leisure I the beast surveyed
Extended in the cooling shade."

6. ""Tis green, 'tis green, sir, I assure ye.”
"Green'!” cries the other, in a fury:

Why, sir, d'ye think I've lost my eyes'?” ""Twere no great loss," the friend replies'; "For if they always serve you thus', You'll find them but of little use."

7. So high at last the contest rose,

From words they almost came to blows;
When luckily came by a third-
To him the question they referred;
And begged he'd tell them, if he knew,
Whether the thing was green', or blue'?

8. "Sirs'," cries the umpire,5" cease your pother'
The creature's neither one nor t'other';
I caught the animal last night,
And viewed it o'er by candle-light;
I marked it well-'twas black as jet;
You stare! but, sirs, I've got it yet,
And can produce it." "Pray, sir, do;
I'll lay my life the thing is blue."

9. "And I'll engage that, when you've seen
The reptile, you'll pronounce him green."

"Well, then, at once to ease the doubt,"
Replies the man, "I'll turn him out;
And, when before your eyes I've set him',
If you don't find him black, I'll eat him'."
He said, then full before their sight

Produced the beast, and lo-'twas white!

10. Both stared; the man looked wondrous wise!
"My children'," the chameleon cries

(Then first the creature found a tongue),
"You all are right', and all are wrong':
When next you talk of what you view',
Think others see as well as you;

Nor wonder if you find that none
Prefers your eyesight to his own."

1 AP-PÂR'-ENT, plain; evident.

14 DIS-JOIN'ED, separated.

MERRICK.

2 CON-CEIT'-ED, having too high an opinion 5 UM'-PĪRE, a person called in to decide a of one's self.

3 TRIP'LE, three-fold; three parted.

controversy; a judge.

6 POTH'-ER, foolish controversy.

LESSON XI.

WE ARE SEVEN.

1. I MET a little cottage girl,

She was eight years old, she said;
Her hair was thick with many a curl

That clustered round her head.

1

2. She had a rustic, woodland air,
And she was wildly clad;
Her face was fair, yea, very fair-
Her beauty made me glad.

3. "Sisters and brothers, little maid,
How many may you be`?”

"How many'? seven in all," she said,
And wondering looked at me.

4. "And where are they, I pray you tell'?"
She answered, "Seven are we;

And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea;

5. "Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And in the church-yard cottage I

Dwell near them with my mother." 6. "You say that two at Conway dwell, And two are gone to sea,

Yet ye are seven; I pray you tell, Sweet maid, how this may be ?" 7. Then did the little maid reply,

"Seven boys and girls are we: Two of us in the church-yard lie, Beneath the church-yard tree." 8. "You run about, my little maid, Your limbs they are alive;

If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."

9. "Their graves are green, they may be seen,"
The little maid replied,

"Twelve steps or more from my mother's door, And they are side by side.

10. "My stockings there I often knit,
My 'kerchief there I hem;

And there upon the ground I sit-
I sit and sing to them.

11. "And often after sunset, sir,
When it is light and fair,

I take my little porringer
And eat my supper there.

12. "The first that died was little Jane:
In bed she moaning lay,

Till God relieved her of her pain,
And then she went away.

13. "So in the church-yard she was laid;
And, when the grass was dry,

Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I.

14.

15.

66 And, when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,

My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side."

66 How many are you, then,” said I,
"If they two are in heaven' ?"
The little maiden did reply,

66

"O master'! we are seven'."

16. "But they are dead-those two are dead;
Their spirits are in heaven:"

"Twas throwing words away; for still
The little maid would have her will,
And said, "Nay, we are seven."

WORDSWORTH.

LESSON XII.

ON GOOD BREEDING.

1. As learning, honor, and virtue are absolutely necessary to gain you the esteem and admiration of mankind, politeness and good breeding are equally necessary to make you agreeable in conversation and common life. Great talents are above the generality of the world, who neither possess them themselves, nor judge of them rightly in others; but all people are judges of the smaller talents, such as civility, affability, and an obliging, agreeable address and manner, because they feel the effects of them, as making society easy and pleasing.

2. Good sense must, in many cases, determine good breeding; but there are some general rules of it that always hold true. For example, it is extremely rude not to give proper attention, and a civil answer, when people speak to you; or to go away, or be doing something else, while they are speaking to you; for that convinces them that you despise them, and do not think it worth your while to hear or answer what they say. It is also very rude to take the best place in a room, or to seize immediately upon what you like at table, without offering first to help others, as if you con

sidered nobody but yourself. On the contrary, you should always endeavor to procure all the conveniences you can to the people you are with.

3. Besides being civil, which is absolutely necessary, the perfection of good breeding is to be civil with ease, and in a becoming manner; awkwardness can proceed but from two causes, either from not having kept good company, or from not having attended to it. Attention is absolutely necessary for improving in behavior, as, indeed, it is for every thing else. If an awkward person drinks tea or coffee, he often scalds his mouth, and lets either the cup or the saucer fall, and spills the tea or coffee on his clothes.

4. At dinner his awkwardness distinguishes itself particularly, as he has more to do. There he holds his knife, fork, and spoon differently from other people; eats with his knife, to the great danger of his lips; picks his teeth with his fork; and puts his spoon, which has been in his mouth twenty times, into the dishes again. If he is to carve, he can never hit the joint; but, in his vain efforts to cut through the bone, scatters the sauce in every body's face. He generally daubs himself with soup and grease, though his napkin is commonly stuck through a button-hole, and tickles his chin. When he drinks, he coughs in his glass, and besprinkles the company.

5. Besides all this, he has strange tricks and gestures, such as snuffing up his nose, making faces, putting his fingers in his nose, or blowing it, so as greatly to disgust the company. His hands are troublesome to him when he has not something in them; and he does not know where to put them, but keeps them in perpetual motion. All this, I own, is not in any degree criminal; but it is highly disagreeable and ridiculous in company, and ought most carefully to be guarded against by every one that desires to please.

6. There is, likewise, an awkwardness of expression and words which ought to be avoided, such as false English, bad pronunciation, old sayings, and vulgar proverbs, which are so many proofs of a poor education. For example, if, instead of saying that tastes are different, and that every man has his own peculiar one, you should repeat a vulgar proverb, and