THE WATCH-DOG.

Lady bird! lady bird! fly away home,

The fairy bells tinkle afar,

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Make haste, or they 'll catch you, and harness you fast, With a cobweb, to Oberon's car.

Bow-wow-wow!

It's the great watch-dog,
I ken by his honest bark;
Bow-wow-wow!

Says the great watch-dog

When he hears a foot in the dark.

Not a breath can stir

But he's up with a whirr!

And a big bow-wow gives he;

And, with tail on end,

He'll the house defend

Far better than lock or key.

When we sleep sound,

He takes his round,

A sentry o'er us all.

Through the long, dark night,

Till broad daylight,

He scares the thieves from our wall.

A LITTLE girl, with a happy look,

Sat slowly reading a ponderous book,

All bound with velvet, and edged with gold,

And its weight was more than a child could hold;

Yet dearly she loved to ponder it o'er,

And every day she prized it more ;

For it said, and she looked at her smiling mother,

It said: "Little children, love one another."

She thought it was beautiful in the book,
And the lesson home to her heart she took.
She walked on her way with a trusting grace,
And a dovelike look in her meek young face,

BEING KIND AND AFFECTIONATE.

Which said, just as plain as words could say:
The Holy Bible I must obey;

So, mamma, I'll be kind to my darling brother,
For "little children must love each other."

I am sorry he 's naughty and will not play,
But I'll love him still; for I think the way
To make him gentle and kind to me
Will be better shown, if I let him see
I strive to do what I think is right.

And thus, when we kneel in prayer to-night,

I will clasp my arms about my brother,
And say: "Little children, love one another."

The little girl did as her Bible taught,

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And pleasant, indeed, was the change it wrought;
For the boy looked up in glad surprise,
To meet the light of her loving eyes:
His heart was full; he could not speak,
But he pressed a kiss on his sister's cheek;
And God looks down on the happy mother
Whose "little children loved one another."

BEING KIND AND AFFECTIONATE.

THE God of heaven is pleased to see
A little family agree;

And will not slight the praise they bring,
When loving children join to sing.

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NOT READY FOR SCHOOL.

For love and kindness please him more
Than if we give him all our store;
And children here, who dwell in love,
Are like his happy ones above.

The gentle child, who tries to please,
Dislikes to quarrel, fret, and tease,
And would not say an angry word,
That child is pleasing to the Lord.

Great God forgive whenever we
Forget thy will and disagree;
And grant that each of us may find
The sweet delight of being kind.

NOT READY FOR SCHOOL.

PRAY, where is my hat, it is taken away,

And my shoe-strings are all in a knot;
I can't find a thing where it should be to-day,
Though I've hunted in every spot.

Do, Rachel, just look for my Atlas up stairs,
My Esop is somewhere there too;

And sister, just brush down these troublesome hairs,
And mother just fasten my shoe.

NOT READY FOR SCHOOL.

And sister, beg father to write an excuse,

But stop, he will only say "No";

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And go on with a smile, and keep reading the news, While everything bothers me so.

My satchel is heavy, and ready to fall,

This old pop-gun is breaking my map;
I'll have nothing to do with the pop-gun or ball,
There's no playing for such a poor chap.

The town-clock will strike in a minute, I fear,
Then away to the foot I must sink;

There look at my Carpenter tumbled down here, And my Worcester covered with ink.

I wish I'd not lingered at breakfast the last,
Though the toast and the butter were fine;
I think that our Edward must eat pretty fast,
To be off when I have n't done mine.

Now Edward and Henry protest they won't wait,
And beat on the door with their sticks;

I suppose they will say I was dressing too late;
To-morrow, I'll be up at six.

MRS. GILMAN.