The Royal Missionary.—Part I.

at-tend'-ants, those who wait | maj'-es-ty, the king.

or serve.

cu-ri-os'-i-ty, desire to know.
dis-tress', suffering, misery.
fan'-ci-ed, thought, imagined.
fas'-ten-ing, tying.
kind'-ness, good will.

oc-ca'-sion, time.

păl'-let, a small bed.

re-liev'-ed, helped, redressed.
swarth'-y, dark-skinned.
un-touch'-ed, unmoved.

On one occasion when George III. was returning from a stag-hunt at Windsor Forest, and while riding gently along until some of his attendants should come up, he fancied he heard not the cry of the hounds, but the cry of some person in distress. As he rode forward he heard it more distinctly. "O my mother! my mother! God pity and bless my poor mother!" The curiosity and kindness of the king led him instantly to the spot; it was a little green plot on one side of the forest, where was spread on the grass under a branching oak a little pallet, half covered with a kind of tent; a basket or two with some packs lay on the ground. A few paces off, he observed a little swarthy-coloured girl, about eight years of age, on her knees praying, while from her little dark eyes tears ran down.

Distress of any kind was ever relieved by his

majesty, for he had a heart which melted at human woe; nor was it untouched on this occasion; he inquired, "What, my child, is the cause of your weeping-for what do you pray?"

The little creature at first started, then rose from her knees and, pointing to the tent, said, "O sir, my dying mother!" "What," said his majesty, dismounting and fastening his horse to the branches of the oak, "What, my child; tell me all about it." The little creature now led the king to the tent. There lay, partly covered, a middleaged female gipsy in the last stages of decline, and in the last moments of life.

She turned her eyes to the royal visitor, then looked up to heaven, but not a word did she utter; the organs of speech had ceased their office, the silver cord was loosed, the wheel broken at the cistern.

The little girl again wept aloud, then stooping, wiped the dying sweat from her mother's face. The king, much affected, asked the little girl her name, and how long her mother had been ill.

QUESTIONS:-1. Who was George III.? 2. Where had he been at this time? 3. What did he imagine he heard? 4. When he had come a little nearer, what did he hear? 5. Tell what kind of place it was, and what the king saw? 6. What kind of man was the king? 7. How did he feel on seeing this distress? 8. What did he say to the weeping girl? 9. What was her reply? 10. How did the king then show his deep sorrow, and great interest in the matter? 11. What did the girl then do? 12. Whom did the king see there? 13. Tell what followed on this. 14. What questions did the king then ask at the little girl?

What is Home without a Mother?

WHAT is home without a mother?
What are all the joys we meet,
When the loving smile no longer
Greets the coming of her feet?

The days seem long, the nights are drear,
And time rolls slowly on,

And oh, how few are childhood's pleasures
When her gentle care is gone.

Things we prize are first to vanish,
Hearts we love to pass away;
And how soon, ev'n in our childhood,
We behold her turning grey!

Her eyes grow dim, her step is slow,
Her joys of earth are past,

And sometimes e'er we learn to know her,
She has breath'd on earth her last.

Older hearts may have their sorrows,
Griefs that quickly die away,

But a mother lost in childhood

Grieves the heart from day to day.

We miss her kind, her willing hand,

Her fond and earnest care,

And, oh, how dark is life around us
When our mother is not there.

LESSON XIX.

The Royal Missionary.

PART II.

med'-i-cine, physic.
min'-is-ter, one who serves.
mod'-est-ly, meekly, chastely.
pro-tec'-tion, shelter, help.

ad-mi-ra'-tion, wonder. af-flict'-ed, grieved, distressed. cour'-te-sy, a mark of respect, civility. gip'-sy, one of a race of re-cord'-ed, kept in memory. suf-fi'-cient powerful.

wanderers.

JUST at that moment another gipsy girl, much older, came, out of breath, to the spot. She had been at the town, and had brought some medicine to her dying mother. Observing a stranger, she modestly made a courtsey, knelt down by her side, kissed her white lips, and burst into tears.

"What, my dear child, can be done for you?" said his majesty. "O sir," she replied, "my dying mother wanted some good person to teach her, and to pray with her before she would die. I ran all the way before it was light this morning to Windsor and asked for a minister, but no one could I get to come with me to pray mother."

for my dear

The dying woman seemed to know what her

daughter was saying, and her countenance was much troubled.

The air was again rent with the cries of the distressed daughters.

The king, full of kindness, at once tried to comfort them; he said, "I am a minister, and God has sent me to instruct and comfort your mother."

He then sat himself down on a pack by the side of the pallet, and taking the hand of the dying gipsy in his, spoke kindly and lovingly to her.

While the king was doing this, the poor creature seemed to gather comfort and hope; her eyes sparkled with brightness, and her face became animated; she looked up she smiled, but it was her last smile, for, as they looked, she was dead.

It was at this moment that some of the king's attendants, who had missed him at the chase, and who had been riding through the forest in search of him, rode up, and found him comforting the afflicted gipsies.

It was an affecting sight, worthy of being for ever recorded in the history of kings.

His majesty now rose up, put some gold into the hands of the afflicted girls, and promised them his protection. He then wiped the tears from his eyes and mounted his horse. His servants, greatly affected, stood in silent admiration. Lord L one of the king's attendants, was now going to speak, when his majesty turning to the gipsies,