Lord, is the true Vine, and that they are branches in him, receiving from him all their health, their freshness, and their fruitfulness. They must, therefore, ever live and abide in him by faith, by love, and by obedience; and he will abide in them by his Spirit, making them abundantly fruitful in every good word and work. In October, apples and pears are gathered; and, in places where they make perry and cyder, you may see piles of fruit that would astonish you. I dare say that you would find it a hard matter to mention twenty kinds of apples, and yet there are many hundred sorts in the country. Nuts, filberts, and blackberries are plentiful, as well as plums. Do you remember the fruit trees mentioned in the book of Judges, which wanted to have a king to reign over them?"

No, I remember nothing about it. Please to tell me."

"I think it is in the ninth chapter of Judges; but I remember the words very well. ، The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig

tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.' This parable was spoken by Jotham, to reprove the men of Shechem for making Abimelech their king; and a very striking parable it is."

"I shall read over the ninth chapter of Judges by myself before I go to bed to-night. You have told me about flowers, and trees, and insects; and I should like to ramble a whole day among them,

-now gathering nuts or wild flowers, and now watching the insects, and looking on the trees with their yellow leaves."

"Few things are more pleasant than to get into the meadows early, when the mushrooms are thick upon the ground. There they lie in the dewy grass, some no bigger than a button, and some of the size of a tea-saucer. Those that you gather are fresh, and almost as white as snow; but you

fancy the ungathered ones are still whiter and fresher; and so you go on till you have filled your basket.

I love to rove at peep of dawn
Along the meadow's spangled lawn,
Where, far and near, and all around,
The milk-white mushrooms deck the ground.
The rising sun, with glittering rays,
And warbling birds, call forth my praise.
They put my grateful heart in tune
To sing; and I could just as soon
Number the dewdrops on the sod,
As count the mercies of my God."

"I see that you have almost done sweeping the walks, and I shall have no country pictures if you do not give them to me now. Just two or three to finish up with; there is a good Michael. I wonder what they will be about."

"Oh, if you will have them, you must have such as come into my head. Robert Norris is staggering home from the village inn. He has brought trouble enough upon himself and his family by his drinking, yet still on he goes. Ah! that was a near escape! I thought he would have fallen right against the huckster's shop window. This is very sad, Robert. What does the Bible say? 'Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who

hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder,' "" Prov. xxiii. 29-32.

"If Robert Norris does not mind what he is about, he will be sure to come to ruin."

The

"I am afraid that he is very near it now. boys at the school are playing at hare and hounds. The huntsman and hounds are arrived at the hollow way and sandy rock, and have lost the hare. Hark! the huntsman has blown his horn, and is now shouting out aloud,

'Let the hare hoot and halloo,

Or my dogs shall not follow!'

Now they hear the hare! Now they see him! Some run for the gap in the hedge; some dash down the steep high bank, into the hollow way; and some start for the top of the field; and all are in full cry after the hare."

"Famous! How I should like to be one among them at a game of hare and hounds!"

66

A tall lanky man, with a cocked hat on his head, and a great-coat on his back, is come into the village with a bear, a monkey, and dancing

dogs. The villagers, young, middle-aged, and old, are standing in a round ring on the green, wondering at the strange antics that are showed them. A lad is playing the tabor and pipe; the bear muzzled, with his master's cocked hat on his head, and a quarter staff in his paws, is standing on his hind legs, and capering round and round in an uncouth manner. The monkey, in his red jacket, is mounted on the biggest dog; and the rest of the dogs, decked out in red, blue, and yellow dresses, are dancing. The man has just given the chain a sharp jerk; the bear roars, and comes down suddenly on his four legs: most of the villagers are frightened, and are scampering off in all directions."

"How silly! why, the, bear would never hurt them."

"Perhaps not; but remember, though they may have heard much about bears, many of them have never seen one before in their lives."

"I forgot that. No wonder that they should be frightened."

"The deer are lying among the fern in Stoke Park, under the hollow oak. There is room enough for eight or ten men to stand in the tree, it is so large. Its leaves are turning of a bright brown, and two or three of its big knotted roots seem to have twisted themselves out of the