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Written for Burke’s Weekly.
A ride, and what came of it.
a STORY FOR LITTLE BOYS.
NE of the greatest of all
tv sins is disobedience to
parents. It is not only
wicked, but it surely,
* and sometimes speedily,
brings its punishment with it. I
Jjx want to tell the little readers of
jP the Weekly of a little hoy who was
Wf severely punished for this sin, in
the hope that it may prove a warning to
them.
The little boy’s name was Charlie Law
rence. He lived in England, and his
father was lodge-keeper for a rich gen
tleman. His father’s duty was to keep
the keys of the large gate, through which
carriages and horses were admitted into
this gentleman’s estate, and to open the
gate for them when ho heard the ringing
of a large bell, which was pulled from the
outside.
One day little Charlie was playing in
the yard which surrounded his father’s
house, or lodge as it was called, when lie
heard the old house dog, Jowler, barking
and direct
wards the
g‘B° be hi
" answered
the bell, and found a gentleman on horse
back who had business with the master
of the house. As he had but a few min
utes to remain, lie asked permission to
leave his horse at the gate, and begged
that someone might be called to watch
him during his absence. Charlie had fol
lowed his father to the gate, and was told
to watch the gentleman’s horse while he
was away, but not to mount him or allow
him to escape. Now, Charlie was quite
er boys, he imagined that he knew better
iban his father what was good for him.
fbe horse left in his charge seemed to be
a very quiet animal, the day was fine, and
she road smooth and inviting. “What
harm can there be?” he asked of himself,
in mounting for a short ride. The gen
tleman will be gone sometime, and I shall
BUCKETS WEEKLY.
be able to galop down the road and re
turn long before he gets back to the
gate.” Now, this was a temptation of
the enemy, and the little boy ought not
to have harbored it for a moment; but he
encouraged it. The gentleman’s whip
had fallen on the ground and lay at
Charlie’s feet; he picked it up, and, be
ing an active boy, soon climbed into the
saddle.
The horse started quietly enough at
first, and would probably have continued
so if master Charlie had not concluded to
use his whip; but as soon as he began to
ho r s'e, the
- used to such
(V A\ treatment,
tive, and his
when too late, that he had undertaken
more than he could manage. The horse,
though kind and gentle enough under
proper treatment, was full of life and
spirit, and no sooner felt the whip than
he set off at a fast canter. This fright
ened little Charlie nearly out of his wits,
for, with all his desire to ride, he knew
nothing of the management of horses ;
and instead of reining in the horse and
trying to stop him, he began to cry out
and to beat the animal’s sides with his
heels, which, of course frightened him the
more. At length Charlie mustered up
courage to pull upon the bridle, in the
hope of stopping the horse, but it was too
late. lie was now running at a furious
rate, and was beyond his rider’s control.
To make mothers worse, the reins of the
bridle, which were old and weak, snapped
in two, and Charlie was thrown violently
to the ground, and left senseless on the
road.
Poor little Charlie was sadly hurt. One
was broken? r st
and his head
were badly '
bruised. It
was a long
time before he was able to leave his bed,
and longer still before he could use his
arm.
All this, you see, little reader, was the
result of disobedience to his father’s com
mand. Long days and nights of pain
and anguish, in return for a few moments
of guilty pleasure. Do you think it paid ?
W e are glad to know that little Charlie
was convinced that it did not, for he be
came a better boy, and grew up to be a
good man.
Little Things.
Suppose the little cowslip *
Should hang its golden cup,
And say. I am such a tiny flower
I had better not grow up,
How many a weary traveler
Would miss its fragrant smell;
How many a little child would grieve
To lose it from the dell.
Suppose the listening dew drop
Upon the grass should say,
What can a little drop do ?
I had better roll away.
The blade on which it rested
Before the day was done,
Without a drop to moisten it
Would wither in the sun.
Suppose the littlo breezes
Upon a summers day,
Should think themselves too small to cool
The traveler on his way,
Who would not miss the smallest
And softest ones that blow,
And think they make a great mistako
If they were talking so.
How many deeds of kindness
A little child may do,
Although it has so little strength
And little wisdom too;
It wants a loving spirit
Much more than strength, to prove
How many things a child may do
For others by his love.
llow to Got Up Early.
Place a basin of cold water by the side
of your bed ; when you first awake in the
morning, dip your hands in and wet your
brow, and sleep will not again seal you
in its treacherous embrace.
This is the advice given by an aged
man, who has been in the habit of rising
early during a long lile. By attending to
this advice, you may learn to rise every
morning at 5 o’clock. The editor has
found it a better plan to go to bed at one
regular hour. Leave the bed the moment
you awake of yourself, after daylight.
Nature will thus regulate the sleep to the
exact amount required by the system.
Mall's Journal of Health.
♦♦♦
You are an excellent book-keeper,
eh, Ned?”;
“ Why, no sir, I can t say that 1 am,
but why do you ask that question l
“Why, because you have borrowed no
less than’ a dozen of my books and have
kept them very securely.”
♦♦♦
jjv.y- People who boast of their knowl
edge generally have but little of it, while
those who possess it
s i,ow it. "fjywrps
101