Trusty's collar.-" To morrow I will go to the brazier," added he, "and get a new collar made for your dog from this day forward he shall be called after you, Frank."

:

NOTE.

MISS EDGEWORTH.

SIMPLE as these lessons are, it is possible that the circumstances of some children may make it useful to instruct them, as if ignorant of those elements of general knowledge which are communicated to the majority of minds in a casual manner, by the language of common life. The familiar definitions subjoined to these lessons may not be useless, even to the better informed among children, as they will thus be instructed to analyse their language and ideas.

EXPLANATIONS.

The

Brazier-a man who works in brass. termination or ending of many words, signifies a man or person; as Painter, means the man who paints. To eat, to walk, to speak, are actions. Add to these words the syllable er, they become eater, walker, speaker, and express the persons who do those actions.

Ier is a termination taken from the French language; it is used like er.

Glazier a man who works upon glass.

The termination ian is used in the same man

ner.

Music Musician.

Physic-Physician.

Arithmetic-Arithmetician.

Children if they know the meaning of the

first word in each of these three last lines, can tell the meaning of the second word also.

This little mark, which in other places is called a comma, becomes an apostrophe, when used to show that a word is in the possessive case, as Trusty's collar. A possessive case expresses the owner of something, as Trusty was the owner of the collar.

THE ORANGE MAN;

OR, THE HONEST BOY AND THE THIEF.

CHARLES was the name of the honest boy and Ned was the name of the thief.

Charles never took for his own what did not belong to him; this is being an honest boy.

Ned often took what was not his own; this is being a thief. Charles's father and mother, when he was a very little boy, had taught him to be honest by always punishing him when he meddled with what was not his own; but when Ned took what was not his own his father and mother did not punish him, so he grew up to be a thief.

Early one summer's morning, as Charles was going along the road to school, he met a man leading a horse which was laden with panniers.

The man stopped at the door of a public house which was by the road side, and said to

the landlord when he came to the door, "I will not have my horse unloaded, I shall only stop with you whilst I eat my breakfast. Give my horse to some one to hold here on the road, and let the horse have a little hay to eat."

The landlord called, but there was no one in the way, so he beckoned to Charles, who was going by, and begged him to hold the horse. "Oh!" said the man, "but can you engage him to be an honest boy? for these are oranges in my baskets, and it is not every little boy one can leave with oranges." "Yes," said the landlord, "I have known Charles all his life; I have never known him to lie or steal; all the neighbors know him to be an honest boy; I will engage your oranges will be as safe with him as if you were by yourself."

"Can you so?" said the orange man, "then I will engage, my lad, to give you the finest orange in my basket when I come from breakfast, if you will watch the rest while I am away.""Yes," said Charles, "I will take care of your

oranges."

So the man put the bridle into his hand, and he went into the house to eat his breakfast.

Charles had watched the horse and the oranges about five minutes, when he saw one of his school fellows coming towards him. As he came nearer Charles saw that it was Ned.

Ned stopped as he passed and said, “ good morning to you, Charles; what are you doing there-whose horse is that, and what have you got in the baskets?"

"There are oranges in the baskets," said Charles; "and a man who has just gone to the

inn there, to eat his breakfast, bid me take care of them, and so I did; because he said he would give me an orange when he came back again." "An orange," cried Ned; are you to have a whole orange ?—I wish I was to have one! However, let me look how large they are." Saying this, Ned went towards the pannier and lifted up the cloth that covered it. "La! what fine oranges!" he exclaimed, the moment he "Let me touch them to feel if they

saw them.

are ripe."

"No," said Charles, "you had better not; what signifies it to you whether they are ripe, you know, since you are not to eat them. You should not meddle with them; they are not yours, you must not touch them."

"Not touch them! Surely," said Ned, "there is no harm in touching them. You do not think I mean to steal them, I suppose." So Ned put his hand into the orange man's basket, and he took up an orange, and he felt it; and when he had felt it, he smelled it. "It smells very sweet, and it feels very ripe; I long to taste it; I will only just suck one drop of juice at the top." Saying these words he put the orange to his mouth.

"What are you about, Ned?" cried Charles, taking hold of his arm. "You said you only wanted to smell the orange; do put it down, for shame!" “Do not say for shame to me,” cried Ned, in a surly tone; "the oranges are not yours, Charles !"

66

No, they are not mine; but I promised to take care of them, and so I will; so put down

"Oh, if it comes to that, I will not," said Ned, "and let us see who can make me, if I do not choose it; I am stronger than you."

"I am not afraid of you for all that,” replied Charles, "for I am in the right." Then he snatched the orange out of Ned's hand, and he pushed him with all his force from the basket. Ned immediately returning, hit him a violent blow which almost stunned him.

Still, however, this good boy without minding the pain, persevered in defending what was left in his care; he still held the bridle with one hand, and covered the basket with the other arm, as well as he could.

Ned struggled in vain to get his hands into the pannier again; he could not; so he pretended to be out of breath, and to leave off trying; but he meant as soon as Charles looked away, to creep softly round to the basket on the other side.

Ned, intent upon getting round to steal the oranges, forgot that if he went too close to the horse's heels he should startle him. The horse, indeed, disturbed by the bustle near him, had left off eating his hay, and began to put down his ears; but when he felt something touch his hind legs, he gave a sudden kick, and Ned fell backwards just as he had seized the orange.

Ned screamed with the pain, and at the scream all the people came out of the public house, to see what was the matter, and amongst them came the orange man.

Ned was now so much ashamed that he almost forgot the pain, and wished to run away;