Roman town have been discovered; fragments of some Roman urns, and other articles of pottery, have been found there.

MISCHIEF ITS OWN PUNISHMENT.

EXEMPLIFIED IN THE HISTORY OF WILLIAM AND HARRY.

MR. STEVENSON and his little son Richard, as they were one fine day walking in the fields together, passed by the side of a garden, in which they saw a beautiful pear-tree loaded with fruit. Richard cast a longing eye at it, and complained to his papa that he was very thirsty. On Mr. Stevenson saying that he was so also, but they must bear it with patience till they got home, Richard pointed to the pear-tree, and begged his papa would let him go and get one; for, as the hedge was not very thick, he said he could easily get through, without being seen by any one.

Richard's father reminded him, that the garden and fruit were private property, and to take anything from thence, without permission, was nothing else than being guilty of a robbery. He allowed that there might be a possibility of getting into the garden without being seen by the owner of it; but such a wicked action could not be concealed from Him who sees every action of our lives, and who penetrates even into the very secrets of our hearts, and that is God.

His son shook his head, and said he was sensible of his error, and would no more think of committing what might be called a robbery. He recollected that the village clergyman had told him the same thing before, but he had forgotten it.

"Be

At this instant a man started up from behind a hedge, which had before concealed him from their sight. This was the owner of the garden, who had heard everything that had passed between Mr. Stevenson and his son. thankful to God, my child, (said he), that your father prevented you getting into my garden, with a view to deprive me of that which which does not belong to you.

You little thought, that at the foot of each tree is placed a trap to catch thieves, which you could not have escaped, and which might have lamed you for the rest of your life. I am happy, however, to find that you so readily listened to the first admonition of your father, and that you showed a proper fear of offending God. As you have behaved in so just and sensible a manner, you shall now, without any danger or trouble, partake of the fruit of my garden.”

He then went to the finest pear-tree, gave it a shake, and brought down near a hatful of fruit, which he gave to Richard. The civil old man could not be prevailed upon to accept anything in return, though Mr. Stevenson pulled out his purse for that purpose. "I am sufficiently satisfied, sir," said he, "in thus obliging your son, and were I to accept anything, that satisfaction would be lost" Mr. Stevenson thanked him very kindly, and having shaken hands over the hedge, they parted, Richard at the same time taking leave of him in a polite manner.

Little Richard having finished several of the pears, began to find himself at leisure to talk to his papa. "This is a very good man," said he; "but would God have punished me, had I taken these pears without his leave?"

He certainly would," replied Mr. Stevenson; "for he never fails to reward good actions, and chastise those who commit evil. The good old man fully explained to you this matter, in telling you of the traps laid for thieves, into which you must have inevitably fallen, had you entered his garden in a clandestine manner. God directs events so as to reward good people for virtuous actions, and to punish the wicked for their crimes. In order to make this more clear to you, I will relate an affair to you which happened when I was a boy, and which I shall never forget." Richard seemed very attentive to his father, and having said he should be very glad to hear the story, Mr. Stevenson thus proceeded

"When I lived with my father, and was much about your age, we had two neighbours, between whose houses our's was situated, and their names were Davis and JohnMr. Davis had a son named William, and Mr. John

son.

son one also of the name of Harry. Our gardens were at that time separated only by the quickset hedges, so that it was easy to see into each other's grounds.

"It was too often the practice with William, when he found himself alone in his father's garden, to take pleasure in throwing stones over the hedges, without paying the least regard to the mischief they might do. Mr. Davis frequently caught him at this dangerous sport, and never failed severely to reprimand him for it; threatening him with some punishment if he did not desist.

"This child, unhappily, either knew not, or would not take the trouble to reflect, that we are not to do amiss, even when we are alone, for reasons I have already mentioned to you. His father having one day gone out, and therefore thinking that nobody could see him, or bring him to punishment, he filled his pockets with stones, and began to fling them about at random.

"Mr. Johnson happened to be in his garden at the same time, and his son Harry with him. This boy was of much the same disposition as William, thinking there was no crime in committing any mischief, provided he was not | discovered. His father had a gun charged, which he brought into the garden, in order to shoot the sparrows that made sad havoc among his cherries, and was sitting in the summer-house to watch them.

"At this instant a servant came to acquaint him, that a strange gentleman desired to speak with him, and was waiting in the parlour. He therefore put the gun down in the summer-house, and strictly ordered Harry by no means to touch it; but he was no sooner gone, than his naughty son said to himself, that he could see no harm in playing a little with the gun, and therefore took it up, put it on his shoulder, and endeavoured to act the part of a soldier.

"The muzzle of the gun happened to be pointed towards Mr. Davis's garden, and just as he was in the midst of his military exercise, a stone, thrown by William, hit him directly in one of his eyes. The fright and pain together made Harry drop the gun, which went off, and in a mo

ment both gardens resounded with the most dismal shrieks and lamentations. Harry had received a blow in the eye with a stone, and the whole charge had entered William's leg. The sad consequences of which were, the one lost his eye, and the other his leg."

Richard could not help pitying poor William and Harry, for their terrible misfortunes; and Mr. Stevenson was not angry with his son for his tenderness. "It is true," said he, "they were very much to be pitied, and their parents still more, for having such disobedient children. Yet it is probable, if God had not early punished these boys, they would have continued these mischievous practices as often as they should find themselves alone; but by this misfortune they learned to know that God publicly punishes wickedness done in secret. This had the desired effect, as both ever after left off all kinds of mischief, and became prudent and sedate. Certain it is, that an all-wise Creator never chastises us but with a view to add to our happiness." -Illustrated Juvenile Miscellany.

HOW TO AVOID EVIL COMPANIONS.

CHARLES MALLORY came to New-York, and entered the large wholesale and retail stores of Jones, Nelson, & Co., in Pearl Street. The firm has been dissolved for some! years past; one of the partners died, another retired from business with a fortune, and the other two are doing well in other houses. It was considered a fine thing for Charles that he got so good a place, and he had every prospect of being trained to business under good men, and laying a broad foundation for future success and prosperity.

One morning about ten o'clock of a very pleasant day, Charles was sent on an errand to the Battery, which is at the south part of the city, on the water; and he was to leave a bundle on board a steamboat that was going to Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He had been frequently trusted with similar errands, and had never failed to do

them with great care, and entirely to the satisfaction of his employers.

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'Ah, Charley, is that you?" said a boy to him as he was coming toward the pier from which the steamboat was soon to start.

Charley was quite surprised to meet a lad from the same place in the country from which he had come, and who had found a situation in the city a year or two before Charles had left home. It was meeting an old friend. He had been home-sick, and often longed to see some of the boys that he used to play with; and when his eye lighted on Jacob Perry, a school-fellow and friend, his heart was right glad, and he could scarcely speak for pleasure. Jacob caught him in his arms, and the boys stood for a moment and thought, “Well, now, this is fine."

But it was a bad business for Charles, when he met his early friend and play-mate, Jacob Perry. Not many months had Jacob been in the city, before he found, that running about the streets, and seeing the thousand and one new things always going on, was vastly pleasanter than staying in the store all day: so that when he was sent on an errand, he contrived some excuse for making a long journey of it, and spent as much time as he pleased in the streets.

Jacob proposed to his new found friend that they should take a walk. Charley told him he must go aboard the boat with the bundle, and hasten back to the store. "Did you ever see a castle?" asked Jacob, as he walked with Charles toward the dock.

"Never in my life,” said Charles; "but I have read of them often."

"Would you like to see one,-a real castle?"

"To be sure I would, but I don't suppose there are any here."

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Right here, within a minute's walk; and we will just take a turn in and see what a castle is."

Charles did not know till that moment that Castle Garden was at the Battery, and he was now within a few steps of it. But Jacob had become familiar with this and