MY BROTHER. BY MRS. ABDY. R EST, little Brother! rest, I pray, Awhile within this quiet room; The sunbeams on the lattice play, Yon jar is filled with flowers in bloom: Soon shall we cross the fields again, And gather wild flowers in the lane; No danger have you need to fear, While I am with you, Brother dear! Seek for protection still in me, I am not now to manhood grown; Yet though my years but few may be, Dear Brother, they exceed your own. I loved you, when an infant weak, And oft I drew your cradle near, And watched your slumbers, Brother dear! The schoolboy's little world, one day You from my knowledge shall be wise. THE PET FROGS. N another part of this book there is an account of IN a pet of a very uncommon kind—a Pet Sparrow. My young readers have, there is no doubt, felt an interest in that little gentleman by this time, and will, perhaps, look upon sparrows with more pleasure in future, when they see them in the dusty roads or perched on the house-tops, chirping aloud, and looking about for their daily food. There is something very pleasant in watching the ways of such little creatures, if we have the right sort of feelings in our hearts, and there is scarcely anything that has not something worthy of notice. We sometimes hear persons say, "Oh, that nasty ugly spider!" but if they would look quietly at the spider, they would see a great wonder in a small compass. Its beautifully-marked body, its astonishing skill in spinning its web, and the singular way in which it catches its prey and secures it till it requires it for food, are all very striking. Everything about the spider is wonderful, and yet they are often called nasty and ugly. Now, my children, if a thousand spiders were put upon you they would do you no harm whatever, but would be as anxious as possible to get away from you to their nooks and corners where they could spin away in comfort. And again, we hear persons say of the frog-"Oh, the ugly creature!" and scream when they see one coming towards them, as if they were about to be devoured by a roaring and famished lion. But frogs are as harmless as spiders, and really very beautiful when looked at, as we ought to look at all things; their skin is prettily marked, and their form, though not very remarkable for grace, has nevertheless, much that is curious in it. The manner in which their hind legs are formed, by which they are able to spring so far as they do, gives us a lesson in the science of mechanics;—and, again, how beautiful is the eye of the frog! When you are walking in the country, my little reader, be you girl or boy, and it should be near a pond, catch a frog and examine it. It will not hurt you, and be sure you do not hurt it! When you have carefully looked at it in your hand, put it down and watch its movements, and I am sure you will never find fault with the wonderful works of God, and call them nasty and ugly. I But you will say, perhaps, that frogs are not so interesting as birds, and that they can do nothing to make you like them: you may say also, that they can neither sing nor do anything else to please you; but say, this will depend upon whether you take an interest in them or not. You will say, perhaps, that you could never teach a frog anything, and that it would never know you; but I knew a youth, who was a little boy nine years ago; and about that time, while rambling in the pleasant fields he caught three small frogs and carried them home with him. When he got home his father and mother thought he had made a very strange choice in selecting three such uncommon pets; but they did not forbid him to keep them, for he was a very kind boy, and never hurt anything. Well, this little boy kept his three little frogs in a fishing-can for some time, and put some grass in with them, and they seemed happy enough; but he could not see them eat anything, and he thought they would be starved, and this he could not think of without pain, |