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Written for IJurkc’s Weekly. The Little Island Builders. BY UNCLE JOE. ft WAY down at the bottom of the deep blue sea, a tiny insect, so small that my little readers would hardly see it if it was laid down before them, fixed itself to a rock, and commenced building it self a house. What kind of material it used to build with I will not now tell you, but when you are old enough you can learn all about it.— Day by day, the wonderful “ house not made with hands” grew and kept on getting larger and high er. The little workman gave birth to other of its kind, and as each one became large enough, it went to work with the others, without waiting to be told what to do. There was no quarreling nor idling among them, for each one knew it’s duty. The storm-king went abroad “on the face of the waters,” and the howling winds lashed old ocean into fury; the red lightnings of Heaven glared over the foamy sea, and the loud thunders rolled, and the tem pest “laid its hand on the ocean’s mane,” and the “yeasty waves” rolled like mountains across the great deep; the mighty ships were shatter ed like playthings, and shrieking men and women went down into their un known graves, and their bones set tled about the little army of silent workers; the huge leviathan rolled his unwieldy bulk through the wa ters, and strange-shaped creatures, with their fishy eyes peered curious ly at the wonderful house that was being built in their domain. Night and day passed by, but darkness or light, summer breezes or wintry storms, had no effect on these busy little creatures. As days, and weeks, and months, and years rolled by, their numbers increased, and the building grew lar ger, taking the most fanciful shapes. Sometimes there were trees, with their leaves and branches ; and some times towers, and castles, and spires grew out of the mass, but still it went up, up, towards the bright sunshine above. The busy workers became as countless as the leaves on the tiees, and after awhile they found themselves Ueai surface of the water, and then they did not build any higher, but kept on adding to the sides of their house, for they knew the warm sun shine would parch their little bodies. After awhile the floating sea-weed and drifting v 'Ood brought by the waves caught on the sharp tops of this strange building. This kept gathering nnd rotting till it formed a little island, which con stantly increased in size as the building below had ( one, until it was firm and hard earth. The fowls 0 ie a * r stopped to rest their tired wings, and t le seeds they had picked up in far off lands were ropped on the new island. These sprung up and grew into tall trees, and the sweet birds hopped among their branches, and made glad music among the green leaves and in the cool shade. — ow long the busy little workers toiled before all lls Mas d°ue, no man can tell, but in the tropical ‘ O.is, where eternal summer reigns supreme, there BXJRKE’S WEEKLY. are many beautiful islands that were formed by these little creatures ; and sometimes ships strike on their sharp edges, and go down before the sea men know where the danger comes from. Little reader of the Weekly, when you see a string of bright red coral pearls, remember that the great coral reefs from which they were taken were formed by the silent, but ceaseless labor of tiny insects. Learn from this not to despise little things, and learn further that the smallest, as well as the greatest, objects in Nature attest the good ness and wisdom of your Father which is in Heaven. Louina, Ala. ♦<»♦ Repentance begins in the humiliation of the heart, and ends in the reformation of the life. THE OWL. WLS, which belong to the birds of prey, are a very numerous family,and are to be found in all quar- Mji ters of the globe. They feed on birds, small quadrupeds and insects, and some of them on fjr fish. Those most common in this country are the barn owl, the great horned, or cat owl, and the mottled or screech owl. These are all common at the South. Owls are mostly nocturnal in their habits, remaining concealed during the day, and coming out at night in pursuit of their prey. They generally build their nests in old ruins, or in the hollows of de cayed trees, and this circumstance, con nected with the uncouth appearance of their shaggy heads and great round eyes, their noiseless flight, the dismal hootings of some, and the frightful screechings of others, as heard in the silence and gloom of night, have caused them to beTregard cd by the ignorant of all countries with a kind of superstitious dread. The poets have indulged in this general prejudice, and, in their descriptions of midnight storms and gloomy scenes of nature, the owl is generally introduced to heighten the horror of the picture : “ In the hollow tree, in the old gray tower, The spectral owl doth dwell; Dull, hated, despised in the sunshine hour, But at dusk he’s abroad and well ! Not a bird of the forest e’er mates with him— All mock him outright by day; But at night, when the woods grow still and dim, The boldest will shrink away ! “ So, when the night falls, and the dogs do howl, Sing ho ! for the reign of the horned owl I W r e know not alway Who are Kings by day, But the King of the night is the bold brown owl!” Pour Impossible Things. First —To escape trouble by running away from duty. Jo nah once made the experiment, but soon found himself where all his imitators will in the end find themselves. Therefore, manfully meet and overcome the difficulties and trials to which the post assigned you by God’s providence exposes you. Second —To become a Chris tian of strength and maturity without undergoing severe trials. What fire is to gold, that is affliction to the believer. It burns up the dross, and makes the gold shine forth with unalloy ed lustre. Third —To form an independent char acter except when thrown upon your own resources. The oak in the middle of the forest, if surrounded on every side by trees that shelter and shade it, runs up tall and sickly; but the same tree grow ing in the open field, where it is continu ally beat upon by the tempest, becomes its own protector. So the man who is com pelled to rely on his own resources forms an independence of character to which he could not otherwise have attained. Fourth —To be a growing man when you look to your post for influence, in stead of bringing influence to your post. Prefer rather to climb up hill with diffi culty, than roll down v T ith ingloriouo ease. 165