Old Sultan.

SHEPHERD had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very old, and had lost all his teeth. And one day, when the shepherd and his wife were standing together before the house, the shepherd said: "I will shoot old Sultan to-morrow morning, for he is no use now." But his wife said: "Pray let the poor faithful creature live; he has served us well a great many years, and we ought to give him a livelihood for the rest of his days." "But what can we do with him?" said the shepherd: "he has not a tooth in his head, and the thieves don't care for him at all. To be sure he has served us, but then he did it to earn his livelihood. To-morrow shall be his last day, depend upon it."

Poor Sultan, who was lying close by them, heard all that the shepherd and his wife said to one another, and was very much frightened to think that to-morrow would be his last day; so in the evening he went to his good friend the wolf, who lived in the wood, and told him all his sorrows, and how his master meant to kill him in the morning. "Make yourself easy," said the wolf: "I will give you some good advice. Your master, you know, goes out every morning very early with his wife into the field; and they take their little child with them, and lay it down behind the hedge in the shade, while they are at work. Now do you lie down close by the child, and pretend to be watching it, and I will come out of the wood and run away with it; you must run after me as fast as you can, and I will let it drop; then you may carry it back, and they will think you have saved their child, and will be so thankful to you that they will take care of you as long as you live." The dog liked this plan very well; and accordingly so it was managed. The wolf ran with the child a little way; the shepherd and his wife screamed out; but Sultan soon overtook him, and carried the poor little thing back to his master and mistress. Then the shepherd patted him on the head, and said: "Old Sultan has saved our child from the wolf, and

therefore he shall live and be well taken care of, and have plenty to eat. Wife, go home, and give him a good dinner, and let him have my old cushion to sleep on as long as he lives." So from this time forward Sultan had all that he could wish for.

Soon afterwards, the wolf came and wished him joy, and said: "Now, my good fellow, you must tell no tales, but turn your head the other way when I want to taste one of the old shepherd's fine fat sheep." "No," said Sultan, "I will be true to my master." However, the wolf thought he was in joke, and came one night to get a dainty morsel. But Sultan had told his master what the wolf meant to do; so he laid wait for him behind the barn door; and when the wolf was busy looking out for a good fat sheep, he had a stout cudgel laid about his back, that combed his locks for him finely.

Then the wolf was very angry, and called Sultan "an old rogue,' ," and said he would have his revenge. So the next morning the wolf sent the boar to challenge Sultan to come into the wood to fight. Now Sultan had nobody he could ask to be his second but the shepherd's old three-legged cat; so he took her with and as the poor thing limped along with some trouble, she stuck up her tail straight in the air.

him;

The wolf and the wild boar were first on the ground; and when they espied their enemies coming, and saw the cat's long tail standing straight in the air, they thought she was carrying a sword for Sultan to fight with; and every time she limped they thought she was picking up a stone to throw at them. So they said they should not like this way of fighting, and the boar lay down behind a bush, and the wolf jumped into a tree. Sultan and the cat soon came up, and looked about, and wondered that no one was there. The boar, however, had not quite hidden himself, for his ears stuck out of the bush; and when he shook one of them a little, the cat, seeing something move, and thinking it was a mouse, sprang upon it, and bit and scratched it, so that the boar jumped up and grunted, and ran away roaring out"Look up in the tree-there sits the one who is to blame." So they looked up, and espied the wolf sitting amongst the branches; and they called him a cowardly rascal, and would not suffer him to come down till he was heartily ashamed of himself, and had promised to be good friends again with old Sultan.

Young Scholars' Compositions.

LUDWELL.

As you so kindly inserted my last composition I thought I would try again.

Ludwell is in the neighbourhood of Donhead, St. Andrew. It lies between two hills, to the north of a beautiful hill called Wyngreen, from whose summit I have seen the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, the Needles of the Isle of Wight, and many other places of interest. Ludwell is situated in the south-west of the county of Wiltshire; it has a small stream running through it called the Don, which afterwards joins the Salisbury Avon. Donhead is also famous as the birthplace of two distinguished personages. One was Judge Jefferys, who, I have been told, was a very cruel man. He afterwards died in the Tower of London. The other is Justice Lush, who is still living. In his early years he lived next door to where I live, and I believe his father was born there. But I ought not to couple him with Judge Jefferys, for I have heard my father tell many good things about him. When he was a boy he went to the Blue Coat School at Shaftesbury, but now see what he has risen to-one of the twelve judges of England. EDWIN GATEHOUSE (aged 12). Charlton National School, Ludwell, Salisbury. I certify that the above composition is the work of the boy whose name it bears. CHARLES VELDEN, Master.

LINES ADDRESSED TO A FRIEND ON CHRISTMAS

MORN.

'Twas, my dear friend, as on this morn
Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, was born,
Who died upon the accursed tree,
That from sin's bonds we might be free.
Methinks I see the wise men there,
With gifts in hand both rich and rare:
Led by that heaven-sent guiding star,
They've come from foreign lands afar.
The shepherds also there I view
That nois'd the news the country through,
And now in silence bow the knee
Before th' Incarnate Deity.

What joy such sacred records bring
To those who love of Him to sing!

Let now our minds these thoughts retain,

And strive perfection to attain,

That true perfection which prepares
Our souls to fight with Satan's snares.

Manchester Grammar School.

WILLIAM C. BELL (aged 13 years).

I certify that this is the work of William Christopher Bell.

Dec. 3, 1872.

WILLIAM BELL.

MODE OF CATCHING MACKEREL AT SEATON.

THE mode of catching mackerel at Seaton is very interesting. As soon as the mackerel are seen to "play" (i.e. swim about very swiftly near the surface of the water, in chase of sprat, on which they feed), the fishermen go out in boats, which have in them long nets, or seines, varying in length from 100 to 300 fathoms, and row as quickly as they can round the shoal of fish, throwing the seine over the boat's side into the water as they proceed. Six men generally go in each boat, four to row, and two to throw the net into the sea. When all the net is in the water a rope is attached to the end of it, and taken to the shore. The net is drawn to land by men and boys, and the fish are taken out.

As

It is very amusing to see the fishermen eagerly bending over the net, in expectation of finding within it a large number of fish. many as 30,000 mackerel have been caught at once, but sometimes only a few are taken. They vary, too, greatly in price. At the beginning of the season they may be 18s. or 20s. per hundred, and at the end of the season only 2s. 6d, or 3s.

Pilchards, sprats, and herrings are caught in the same manner as mackerel.

The fishermen have to work very hard during the summer to earn enough to keep themselves and their families through the winter, when it is too stormy to go fishing, ALBERT SEARLEY (aged 12 years).

Sir W. C. Trevelyan's School, Seaton, Devon.

I certify that the above composition is entirely the work of A. W. Searley. R. T. TYACKE, Master.

SPRING.

IN spring nature appears in her youngest raiment. The trees don their fresh green verdure, and early spring flowers offer their faint perfumes upon the softening air. Winter, in his icy majesty, silently departs; and spring, with her warm touch, thaws the frosty chains from the rivers and lakes. When, through the leafy arch, we look up to nature's God, not only above, but below, we see

The unambiguous footsteps of that God

Who gives his lustre to an insect's wings,

And wheels his throne upon the rolling worlds.

In the soft green moss, in simple wild flowers, and in the most minute of God's creatures, we read his wisdom and love. Yet spring is not a silent witness of his power. Listen to the sweet song of the birds; to the rushing sound of wings as the swallows come home from the sunny regions of the south; to the chirp of the squirrel, and to the note of the cuckoo. Other springs, with the birds and the breezes, and the songs of gladness, may come, but we know not whether we shall hear them. Perhaps even before this sunny spring has glided into the perfect summer some of us may be deaf to the happy chorus around us. And should it be so, may we be listening to holier, higher strains than those of earth! Should these uncertain

feet of ours have ceased to tread the flowery pathways of our woods, may they be treading in the palace of the King!

NELLIE KIRKHAM (aged 15).

I certify that this was done by Nellie Kirkham.
Dec. 9th, 1872.

J. H. INGHAM.

HOW I SPENT A HALF HOLIDAY.

On the 7th of November our school was examined by the Government Inspector. After a hard morning's work the Inspector asked our master to give us a half-holiday, which he did with pleasure; and you may well imagine how pleased we were.

Several of us set off for a trip into the country. We went on the top of a hill, known by the name of Seaton Down, which commands an extensive view of the surrounding country. In the wooded valley beneath us the river Axe wends its limpid stream, and we can watch its course as it winds along, now hid from our sight by a group of trees, and then coming out on the other side, glistening like silver in the sunshine, and at last emptying itself into the blue waters of the English Channel.

After enjoying this enchanting scene for some time, we began to descend the hill into a common covered all over with various kinds of heath and prickly furze bushes. We then separated ourselves into several parties, and each party took a different route, and went off to explore the common.

By the time we were all together again the shades of evening warned us that we had better return; so we set off, each laden with the various curiosities which we had found while on our exploring expedition.

We reached the top of the hill just in time to see the sun set in its magnificent beauty. We arrived home about six o'clock, after enjoying ourselves very much,

FLORENCE WHITE (aged 14 years).

Sir W. C. Trevelyan's School, Seaton, Devon.

I certify that this composition is entirely the work of Florence White. R. T. TYACKE, Master.

To our Correspondents.

"We have taken the Young

One of our readers writes: Scholar since the commencement, and I do not think we have ever had a book which pleased us so much; we look forward for its arrival on the first of each month with the greatest impatience. The stories that are in it are both instructive and amusing."

A teacher writes: "I am glad to see that the circulation of your capital little paper is increasing in our neighbourhood."