18. "And so I am disappointed, indeed; I wish I had believed you beforehand. Now, I would much rather have the shoes, for I shall not be able to walk this month; even walking home, that little way, hurt me exceedingly. Mamma, I will give you the flower-pot back again, and that purple stuff and all, if you will only give me the shoes." 19. "No, Rosamond, you must abide by your own choice; and now the best thing you can do is to bear your disappointment with good humour." 20. "I will bear it as well as I can," said Rosamond, wiping her eyes; and she began slowly and sorrowfully to fill the vase with flowers. 21. But Rosamond's disappointment did not end here; many were the difficulties and distresses into which her imprudent choice brought her, before the end of the month. Every day her shoes grew worse and worse, till at last she could neither run, jump, nor walk in them. 22. Whenever Rosamond was called to see any thing, she was pulling up her shoes at the heels, and was sure to be too late. 23. Whenever her mother was going out to walk, she could not take Rosamond with her, for she had no soles to her shoes. And at length, on the very last day of the month, it happened that her father proposed to take her, with her brother, to the glasshouse, which she had long wished to see. 24. She was very happy; but when she was quite ready, had her hat and gloves on, and was making haste down stairs to her brother and her father, who were waiting at the door for her, the shoe dropped off, she put it on again in a great hurry, but as she was going across the room, her father turned round. 25. "Why are you walking slipshod? no one must walk slipshod with me; why, Rosamond," said he, looking at her shoes with disgust, "I thought that you were always neat; go, I cannot take you with me." 26. Rosamond coloured and retired.-"Oh, mamma," said she, as she took off her hat, "how I wish that I had chosen the shoes-they would have been of so much more use to me than the jar! however, I am sure-no, not quite sure-but I hope, I shall be wiser another time.' LESSON XIX. CATERPILLARS. 1. "CHARLES, do you not remember the caterpillar we put in a paper box, with some mulberry leaves for it to eat? Let us go and look at it. It is gone-here is no caterpillar-there is something in the box; what is it? I do not know. It is a little ball of yellow stuff." 2. "Let us cut it open; perhaps we may find the caterpillar. No, here is nothing but a strange little grub, and it is dead, I believe, for it does not move. 3. "Pinch it gently by the tail. Now it stirs; it is not dead. Charles, this grub is the caterpillar: it is indeed. That yellow stuff is silk. The caterpillar spun all that silk, and covered itself up with it; and then it was turned into this grub." 4. "Take it and lay it in the sun. We will come and look at it again to-morrow morning. Well, this is very surprising! here is no grub at all to be found. 5. "Did not we put it on this sheet of paper last night?" "Yes, we did. And no one has been in the room to meddle with it. Is there nothing upon the sheet of paper?" 6. Yes, here is a white butterfly; I wonder how it came here, for the windows are shut. Perhaps the grub is turned into a butterfly. It is indeed; and look, here is the empty shell of the grub. Here is where the butterfly came out." 7. "But the butterfly is too big; this shell could not hold him." "Yes, it did, because his wings were folded up, and he lay very snug.' 8. "It is the same, I assure you, Charles; all the pretty butterflies, that you see flying about, were caterpillars once, and crawled on the ground." * duz. LESSON XX. THE GOOD LITTLE BOY. 1. James was a modest little boy, He seldom gave them cause to chide; But own'd them as he should. 2. "If I do wrong," he used to say, 3. "My parents both are wise and kind, 4. "A day in such obedience spent, That one wrong word, or angry fray, And make a heavy mind." * duz LESSON XXI. THE ORPHAN. 1. My father and mother are dead, No friend or relation I have; And now the cold earth is their bed, And daisies grow over their grave. 2. I cast my eyes into the tomb, The sight made me bitterly cry; 3. I cast my eyes round me again, 4. I cast my eyes up to the sky, I groaned, though I said not a word; The friend of the fatherless heard. 5. O yes and he graciously smiled, |