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Evermore, through the one narrow way walk with her, Through life, through death, to her Father above.

EXERCISE.-1. MEANINGS OF WORDS.

1. Give the meaning of the following words :-darling, presence, angel, despair, bliss, gleams, erring, evermore.

2. Distinguish between the meanings of:-fair, fare; while, wile; rough, ruff; erring, herring; see, sea.

3. Point out two distinct meanings to the following:-still, tender, will, swell, safe, stay.

FIVE SHILLINGS A-WEEK, AND WHAT CAME OF IT.

fac-tor-y [L. facio, to make], a large building in which any kind of work is carried on. ex-pen-ses [L. ex. out; pendo, to weigh], necessary disbursements of money, outlay. so-ci-e-ty [L. socius, a companion], an association or union of persons for profit or pleasure. differ-ent [L. dis, apart; fero, to bear], not the same, unlike, separate, various.

THOMAS BROWN lived next door to Robert Smith, and both worked at the same factory. But, though they stood side by side all day, they had very different ways of spending their evenings. Smith's pleasure was to sit and chat in the parlour of the Red Lion, while Brown thought his own snug chimney-corner pleasanter and cheaper.

Brown was a "staunch teetotaller," as he called himself. He was hale and strong, and he found he did not need beer or spirits: he saw many of his fellow-workmen and their lads slipping down into the habit of spending a great part of their earnings in drink, and every now and then breaking out in drunken revels. So Thomas resolved to keep clear of the temptation to take too much strong drink by taking none at all.

He was suprised himself to find how much money this resolve saved him. He found that he had about five shillings a-week to spare, after paying all household expenses. He consulted with his good wife what to do with this five shillings, and they settled to put it in a building society which had lately been formed. So Thomas Brown took five fifty-pound shares, and paid his five shillings a-week to the society;

while his neighbour and shopmate, Robert Smith, spent his surplus five shillings in the parlour of the Red Lion.

Eleven years passed over: the building society, of which Thomas Brown was a member, was wound up, and Thomas received a cheque on the bank for £250, with which he bought a house, which brought him in eight shillings a-week for rent.

As he still had his five shillings surplus from his wages, and these eight shillings besides, he thought he could not do better than join another building society; and so he took thirteen fifty-pound shares, and paid in his thirteen shillings a-week.

Another eleven years passed over, and the building society paid Thomas £650, with which he bought more houses, which brought him in about twenty-seven shillings a-week -about £68 a year.

About this time work began to be slack at the factory, and the master sent for Thomas and Robert, and told them that he was very sorry that he could no longer find employment for them.

Both returned home. Thomas was a little sad to think that he should not go to the old place, where he had worked for so many years; but Robert had a heavy heart, and when he told his wife, she pictured a dismal future, and burst into tears.

After their cheerless supper, Robert went out, but, instead of going to the Red Lion, he looked in to see his neighbour Thomas' and ask him what he was going to do; for Thomas, like a wise man, had not boasted about his savings or his property, and few of his shopmates knew anything about it. Thomas was at his supper when Robert came in, and he asked him to sit down and join him; but Robert was too excited to do that.

"What is to be done, Thomas ?" said Robert; "this is & desperate bad job."

Well," said Thomas, "for my part I don't intend to work in the factory any more. I can't take to a new place now, after I have been so long used to the old shop."

"How do you mean to live, then?" asked Robert. "Has any one left you a fortune ?""

"No," answered Thomas, "but I have income enough to keep me without working in the factory."

"I wish," said Robert, "that you would give me a leaf out of your book."

"Nay," said Thomas, "I fear it is too late now. You know I have been a teetotaller for twenty years, and many a joke you and the rest have had at me for it."

"Well, you have the pull of us now at any rate," said Robert; "but you don't suppose I have been a drunkard, do you? I have always made my wife comfortable, and given her what she wanted for the house."

“I know you have," answered Thomas; "but my wife and I agreed to put the five shillings a-week we could spare into the building society, and now we have twenty-seven shillings a-week coming in without working for it."

Robert looked surprised, and he said sadly, as he got up to go,

"I see my mistake now: though I have not been a drunkard, I have squandered away without thought what might now make my wife and me comfortable for the rest of our lives, instead of having to set out and look for work in a new place and amongst strangers."

EXERCISE-2. COMPOSITION.

1. Write a short narrative in your own words, describing the manner in which Thomas Brown spent his money.

2. Make a list of the virtues shown by Brown, and give their opposites. 3. Write out the last paragraph, changing as many of the words as you can.

4. Write a short account of the advantage of a Building Society.

THE STUART DYNASTY.

JAMES I.; CHARLES I.

schol-ar [L. schola, a school], a person of high attainments, one who learns of a teacher. con spir-a-cy [L. con, together; spiro, to breathe], a plot, a banding together for a bad purpose. a-non-y-mous [Gk. a, without; onoma, a name], without a name or signature.

On the death of Elizabeth, her kinsman, James VI. of Scotland, succeeded to the English throne as James I. He had

been educated by the learned George Buchanan, and as a scholar did honour to his tutor; but, unlike every true scholar, he tried on all possible occasions to make a show of his learning, gaining for himself the title of "Solomon" from his courtiers, and from Sully that of "the wisest fool in Christendom." From the very first, however, his manners, language, and appearance, rendered him unpopular with his new subjects.

The early part of his reign was noted for conspiracies, all of which were discovered before they had any effect upon the country. The principal were the Main and Bye Plots, and the Gunpowder Plot. The object of the first was to dethrone the king, and give the crown to Arabella Stuart; while the second was formed by the papists, who meant to seize the king, convey him to the Tower, oblige him to dismiss his ministers, and promise toleration to Roman Catholics. Sir Walter Raleigh was implicated in the former plot, and for thirteen years was kept a prisoner in the Tower. He was then released, and allowed to go to Guiana in search of a gold mine which he professed to have discovered. Though Raleigh had express orders not to molest the Spaniards, an unfortunate affray took place; and, to satisfy the demands of the Court of Spain, he was executed on his return to England.

The Gunpowder Plot was a conspiracy also formed by Roman Catholics, with the view of completely rooting out the Protestant religion in England. The houses of parliament were to be blown up, when the king, lords, and commons were assembled at the opening of the session. The plot was discovered, however, by means of an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, whom one of the conspirators was anxious to save; the conspirators were slain or executed, and very severe penal laws were enacted against Roman Catholics in consequence.

One of the great objects of James's life was to establish his favourite religion-episcopacy-in Scotland; but in this he utterly failed, through the firm resistance of the presbyterians in that country. He was more successful in his plan of colonizing Ulster, where the estates of the rebel lords had been confiscated in the previous reign; these were now

broken up into allotments and distributed among English and Scottish immigrants.

The weakest point in James's character was his partiality for worthless favourites, the principal of whom were Robert Carr and George Villiers. Carr was a Scotchman, and first attracted the attention of the king at a tilting-match; step by step he was raised to the most exalted posts, finally becoming prime minister on the death of Cecil in 1612, but, being implicated in the death of Sir Thomas Overbury, he fell into disgrace, and, with his wife, who had been Countess of Essex, was dismissed from court. Villiers was an Englishman, whose only recommendation to the royal favour had been his handsome person. From being a page at court, he rose by rapid strides to the peerage, being created Duke of Buckingham, and having some of the most important offices of state placed in his hands, besides being the inseparable companion of Prince Charles.

James was always in want of money; and his constant appeals to Parliament leading to quarrels and the stoppage of supplies, he had recourse to a new way of filling the exchequer. The title of baronet was created and sold for a thousand pounds, and the office of privy councillor was made vendible. Another cause of contention between James and his parliament was the proposed marriage of Prince Charles to the Spanish Infanta, which marriage, however, to the great joy of the nation, was broken off in consequence of the insolent conduct of Buckingham towards some of the Spanish grandees. James died of a tertian ague on March 27th, 1625, and was succeeded by his son, Charles I.

In many points of his character, Charles presented a favourable contrast to his father; but he inherited from him an insatiable love of power, and a belief in the Divine right of kings to govern as they chose. His first step was to marry Henrietta Maria of France, who, from being a Roman Catholic, was almost as distasteful to the English as the Infanta of Spain had been.

The two first parliaments of this reign were chiefly taken up with contentions about money, and the redress of grievances; but Charles dissolved both before any business of importance was transacted,

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