the store too much; that he grew careless in his dress; once polite and attentive, he was now rough and often uncivil to customers; and people wondered at it, and at last concluded it was all on account of his particular friend. He would leave his store, and, when sought, would be found in Joshua Patten's bar-room, in close communion with his friend.

There was nothing attractive about this friend. He was short in stature, with a slender neck and a light head, and was nothing but - a bottle. Yet still John loved him. He would sit with him for hours; and when he left him, his face was flushed, his voice husky, and his steps unsteady. John Winter was becoming a drunkard. People talked about it, looked grieved, but said nothing to stop his strange friendship.

After a time it was too much trouble to go after his friend, and so he was kept at the store, where the friendship increased; carried home and domiciled in a closet, where he could be easily found, and often embraced.

You may be sure John Winter's wife was jealous of this new friendship. Like a true woman, she saw danger in it, and sought to break it. She was grievously troubled; the smile forsook her face, her step was slow, and she started at every sound. Jock was troubled too, for dogs are reasoning creatures, whatever the wise ones may say to the contrary. lle was a teetotaler hi.nself, being, like all Newfoundlands, remarkably fond of water. He would skulk into Joshua Patten's bar-room after his master, as though ashamed of being seen in such a place, but evidently bent on keeping an eye on his master; would follow him home in a very dejected manner, and in every way show that, though attached to him, he was very much ashamed of him.

John would laugh at his wife's remonstrances, and say there was nothing to fear, everybody formed just such friendships, and when he found himself in danger he would break off. And so it went on, until one night John was brought home insensible, completely stupefied by his friend. This was a terrible blow to Phabe. And, when John awakened the next morning, with throbbing head and feverish pulse, it seemed to have brought him to a realizing sense of his degradation, and most earnestly did he promise never to see his friend again.

The morning was far advanced, and, finding himself too ill to attend to business, he despatched Phoebe to the store to arrange some necessary matters, laughingly telling her he would play housekeeper until her re

turn.

She departed; and, with little Bob upon his knee, for an hour he sat looking out into the sunshine that brightened his garden. Old Jock and little Bob, the best of friends, were rubbing noses together in the most loving manner. Everything seemed so bright and happy, that a pang of remorse shot through John's breast as he thought of the dangers through which he had passed. But it is not always well to think of dangers, even when they have been passed; and so John Winter found it, for thinking of his old friend awakened the desire to see him once more. But it must not be; and he frolicked with Jock and little Bob, striving to drive it from his mind. But it would return; and, at last overcome, he went to the closet, brought forth his gloomy-looking friend, and set him on the table. Jock looked up, saw the bottle, gave a dismal howl, and slunk under the table. Little Bob was dropped upon the floor, to be forgotten, and John Winter gave all his attention to his friend. One glass; and then, one more, and still another, until his head sank upon the table in drunken slumber.

So

In the mean time, little Bob, left to take care of himself, had steadily paddled towards the door, that being the brightest point of attraction, out upon the steps, thence to the grass, and over the grass far and near, with all an urchin's love for mischief and sport; away he went, as fast as his little legs would carry him, until he came to the well. Now little Bob was a famous climber, and the obstacle presented by the square framework around the well seemed just the thing upon which to test his climbing powers. Fortunately for him, the bucket, upside down, was standing close to the well. Upon this he clambered, and found that he had an unobstructed view of the interior of the well. far all was right; but something shining in the well caught his attention, and up he clambered. If he could only reach it! He leaned over, farther yet, still farther, when a woman's scream, shrill and loud, startled him — startled even John Winter from his drunken sleep. He sprang from his scat, to feel something rushing by him; to see his wife frantically running towards the well, and old Jock, dear old Jock, with his teeth fastened in little Bob's dress, dragging him from the top of the well. Just in time—just in time. It sobered John Winter at once; and when his wife, with the rescued child in her arms, rushed into the house, and sank almost fainting into a chair, he sank upon his knees, and, with tears of repentance, begged her to forgive him. He

didn't promise this time to break off with his old friend; but Phoebe knew, as he looked upon his child, crowing with glee, all unconscious of his great peril, and upon old Jock, all unconscious of the great deed he had accomplished, that this terrible lesson would not be lost upon him. And so it proved. John Winter never sought his old friend again, but diligently set himself, by attention to business, to forget him, and is now a sober, upright, and honored inhabitant of Elton. And so this old dog was the means of breaking a very bad friendship.

NAMES OF SOVEREIGNS.

BY KITTY CARROL.

Louis VII. was the Young; Louis VIII. was called the Lion-hearted; Louis IX. was the Saint. He founded the first library in France after Charlemagne. He it was, who, when a prisoner, sent word to his captor, who asked a large ransom for him, "A king of France is not to be redeemed with money."

Louis XI. was the Crafty. He once declared that he could find in his kingdom anything he wanted except truth. Louis XII. was called the Father of his People; and so beloved was he that his death was told to the people of Paris in these words: We announce to you the worst news you ever heard."

Louis XIV. was the Grand Monarch. Of him it was asserted, while he was but a boy,

oftenest meet with the name of Louis; not less than eighteen have reigned, and an incredible number of sons, cousins, and nephews of the kingly stock have borne the name. Other favorite names have been Philip, Charles, and Henry.

The French people have always had a special fondness for giving nicknames or surnames to their sovereigns. Thus there were in the early times a Pepin le Bref, or Pepin the Short; a Robert the Wise; and a Hugh Capet, so called from the size of his head or the quantity of his brains - tradition does not say which.

The great Charles has always been known as Charlemagne. There were Philip the Bold, Philip the Fair, and Philip the Long. Charles the First was the Bald; the Second Charles was the Fat; the Third was surnamed the Simple; the Fourth is known as the Fair; and the Fifth as the Wise; he kept so strict a rule over his kingdom that even games of chance were prohibited. Once, when asked if he was happy, he replied, Yes, because it is in my power to make others happy." Charles the Seventh was the Victorious, because he conquered his kingdom from the English.

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Louis I. was called Debonnaire, from his ease and courtesy of manner. Louis II. was the Stammerer; Louis V. was the Idle; Louis VI. the Fat. It was this king who said to a soldier who was attempting to take him prisoner during a battle, "No, sir, a king is never taken - not even in chess,” at the same moment splitting open the man's head with his battle-axe. Not quite so daring a speech, however, as that of Queen Henrietta Maria of England, wife of Charles I., who, when in great danger at sea, said, Queens are never drowned."

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three kings and one honest man. And it is recorded, that through his long reign he always kept his word, and never betrayed a secret. He called himself the Father of Kings, on account of his own age and the number of years of his reign. Louis Philippe was known as the Citizen King, and the Napoleon of Peace.

The most beloved name among the French kings was probably Henry, for the sake of the great Henry IV., called the Good, and known as Henry of Navarre, and the "Bearnaise." His story is exceedingly interesting. Many anecdotes are told of him. Once, when cautioned against one of his nobles, who was supposed to be a traitor, he cried out, "What, suppose a man to be a traitor! That is what I will never do!"

With regard to the queens of France, there is an old story that one was once selected simply because her name happened to be Blanche. The choice lay between two Spanish princesses, the more beautiful of whom was called Uracca, but was rejected because Queen Uracca would not sound well. One would naturally expect that the beauty would have been taken, even if her name had been Xantippe or Jezebel.

But there seems to be a kind of method about the reigning houses, and the wonder is, how Uracca could ever have crept in. In the south-western kingdoms of Europe there is no end to the names of Katherine, Blanche, Elinor, Marguerite, and Isabella. Some of these are especially court names in Spain and Portugal, and so many have been the intermarriages with France that it is hard to keep the track of all the royal ladies. Certain names seem to have repeated themselves from reign to reign. You would never dream of