and no one goes to draw water from it but their father or mother.

Mary is now nine years old, Bessie will soon be seven, and Jane is just turned four. They all go to school, both on Sunday and daily; for their father says, that learning is better than house and land. It is to be hoped that they will learn the way to heaven, for that knowledge is the best of all. Mary and Bessie can repeat many texts and verses which tell us that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; and Jane has just learned those kind words which Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Did you ever learn this verse! If not, pray learn it now.

When these three children come home from their daily school, they often have a fine game at play on the hill; but, on Sunday, they sit and talk of what they have heard or learned. They know that good children love the sabbath, because it is God's own day; and they try to keep it holy, because that is one of his commands. So, on a Sunday, they sit and talk, as you see them in the picture; and Mary and Bessie say their texts and verses over again, while little Jane also listens, and tries to learn.

Now I will tell you about the beloved daily school to which they go, and where they are always in time, for they set off at half-past eight, and are in the town and at the schoolroom door before the clock strikes nine. Some of the other children, who live much nearer, come creeping in half-an-hour later, with a poor excuse to their teacher; but you may tell,

by their dull and heavy looks, that they have not long been out of bed. Oh! what a pity, and what a disgrace, to waste the bright morning hours in sleep; when the sun is up, and the birds are singing, and all is busy and cheerful

out of doors!

It is a good school which they attend: I have sometimes seen more than sixty scholars sitting in rows across the room. There are eight classes, and each class sits in a row by itself. Little Jane is only, at present, learning her letters; Bessie reads in the Testament; and, last Christmas, Mary was put into the upper class, and she can read very well in the Bible. Mary also writes her copies in a book, and is learning to cipher; Bessie does not know much about figures, and only writes upon a slate, but she is to have a copy-book very soon, if she goes on improving.

The two eldest girls are also learning to sew neatly; and Mary has marked a sampler with all the letters, both large and small, and a text of Scripture, with her name and her age below -"Mary Freeland, aged 9." Bessie often admires this sampler, and wishes that she could work as well as her sister; but I fear it will be some time before this comes to pass, for she is very careless, and is too apt to do things in a hurry. Children make a great mistake when they think it is better to do things quickly than to do them well. It is this mistake which often causes them to read badly, and to leave out letters and words when writing a copy. Give me the little girl that minds her stops in reading, and repeats each word in a distinct and proper manner; for she will be sure to

know the meaning of her lesson better than one who tries to get on fast, and cares for nothing beside.

There are two kinds of tickets given to the children of this school. One is called the Early Ticket, and is given at the close of the day to each little girl who was at the school in time. When a child has ten or twenty, or more, of these tickets, she gives them back to her teacher, and has in return a nice little book of verses and pictures, or perhaps a pretty story. You may be sure that the Freelands have a good stock of these books. Mary indeed has fewer books, because she likes to save up her tickets in order that she may have one of the largest. She has "The Little Osage Captive," and "Lucy Morley," and "The Missionary Book for the Young," and five or six more of the same kind. But Bessie and Jane do not like to wait so many weeks for their books; and once a fortnight, or once a month at the longest, they may be seen tripping away from school, each with her little reward in her hand. Late at school ?-not they indeed! Besides wishing to keep the rules, and to do right, they love their pretty books too well to lose the Early Ticket.

Then there are the Reward Tickets, which are given for good conduct in school. These are all kept until the end of the year; and at Christmas, when the school breaks up for a fortnight, the children have in return for them a piece of print for a frock, or brown holland for a pinafore, or something of less value if the tickets are few in number. Last Christmas, Mary took home five yards of nice dark cotton;

and Bessie had a stout pinafore; and even little Jane, having been a good girl, had a warm ruff tied round her neck. These things are a great help to poor mothers, who have often to work hard for their children's clothing; and still greater is the comfort which all good mothers feel when their children try to do well-when they mind their teacher's words, and strive to keep the commands of God.

Now, young reader, think whether you are a comfort or a trouble to your mother's heart. When you are at home, do you mind what she bids you, and help her as far as you can ? When you are at school, do you try to learn, that you may be more useful to her by-andby Pray to God for the help of his Holy Spirit, that you may obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord; and ask him to pardon all your sins, for his Son Jesus Christ's sake, and to bring you safe to heaven at last.

GLEANINGS IN USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

ASBESTOS.

ASBESTOS is a greenish or silvery-white mineral, of fibrous texture, found in Wales and Scotland. Its name is derived from a Greek word, signifying inconsumable. It was used by the ancients to make a kind of cloth which could not be destroyed by fire, and in which they wrapped the bodies of their dead before they burned them; that they might be enabled to collect their ashes without being mixed with those of the wood. It is very coarsely spun,

but as soft as silk, and when set on fire will burn with great rapidity and brightness without at the same time being consumed. In Corsica, it is employed in the manufacture of pottery. It is cut into fine hair-like pieces, and then kneaded with clay. Vessels made of this mixture are said to be lighter, less brittle, and better able to bear sudden heat or cold, than common earthenware.

MISAPPLIED LABOUR.

In all ages the love of overcoming great difficulties, without any proper end in view, has been seen in a greater or less degree. Some notice of a few of these will be given.

Dr. Oliver gives an account of a cherry-stone seen by him, in 1687, on which were carved one hundred and twenty-four heads, so distinctly that the naked eye could distinguish those belonging to popes, emperors, and kings, by their mitres and crowns. It was bought in Prussia for 3007., and thence conveyed to England, where it was considered an object of so much value, that its possession was disputed, and became the subject of a suit in Chancery.

In ages far more remote, we are told of a chariot of ivory, constructed by a Grecian, which was so small that a fly could cover it with his wing; and also of a ship, formed of the same materials, which could be hidden under the wing of a bee. Pliny tells us, that the Iliad of Homer, a poem of fifteen thousand verses, was written in so small a space as to be contained in a nutshell; while Elian mentions an artist who wrote two lines of poetry in let