On the night proposed, they accordingly went to the place; and one of them entered the window of the ox's stall, whilst he that remained on watch, not without much fear of detection, desired his companion to make as much haste as possible: but he that was within answered, that the animal was so heavy and unmanageable, that he could not lift him from the ground, much less to the window the other's impatience now increasing by the delay, he began to swear at him for his clumsy awkwardness, and at last told him to give the business up, if he could not accomplish it quickly, and make the best of his way out of the stall; for, if they remained in this manner till daylight, they should certainly be discovered. The other with many oaths replied, that he believed it was the devil himself he had to deal with; for, said he, “I cannot now even get out myself, he has got such fast hold of me."-The companion, no longer being able to stay with safety, ran off and left him to his fate.

The fact was this: the calf had been removed from the stall, soon after the thieves had seen it. there, to make room for a bear that had been brought into the town as a show; and it was this great beast that the thief had the misfortune to encounter, and who kept hugging him till the morning, when he was discovered by the master of the bear, and taken to prison.

APPLICATION.

The innumerable dangers which attend the wicked are such as make an honest man shudder at the thought. There are not only those from the law and the enmity of mankind towards them, but dangers surround them on every side, from the perilous situations in which they are perpetually placed.

Strange! that men should give up safety, tranquillity and a good name, for danger, trouble and infamy; preferring idleness and dissipation for a short period, accompanied with shame and disease, to that wholesome labour which brings with it opulence, health, and most commonly long life. A knave may gain more than an honest man for a day, but the honest man will gain more than the knave in a year.

THE COW-BOY.

A BOY was employed in tending a cow in a paddock contiguous to a garden. Looking up, he saw a cherry-tree, and spied some ripe cherries upon it, which appeared so red and so tempting, that he longed to pluck them. He therefore left the beast, and climbed the tree. The animal finding herself no longer under restraint, went into the garden, and cropped and ate flowers and plants at pleasure, and trampled the rest under her feet.

When the boy perceived what the cow had done, he was very angry, came down from the tree, and ran and beat the cow, and inveighed bitterly against her.

The father of the boy, who had seen all that had passed, then stepped up to him, and said sternly: Who most deserves this punishment, thou or the animal, which doth not know good from evil. Hast thou not indulged thine appetite as well as the brute which thou oughtest to have tended? And now thou inflictest unmerciful chastisement, unmindful of thy reason and of thine own fault....

Then was the boy ashamed, and he blushed at the rebuke of his father.

THE muslin torn, from tears of grief
In vain Aurelia sought relief;
In sighs and plaints she pass'd the day;
The tatter'd frock neglected lay:
While busied at the weaving trade,
A Spider heard the sighing maid,
And kindly stopping in a trice,
Thus offer'd (gratis) her advice:-

"Turn, little Girl! behold in me A stimulus to industry;

Compare your woes, my dear, with mine,
Then tell me who should most repine :
This morning, ere you'd left your room,
The chambermaid's remorseless broom
In one sad moment that destroy'd,

To build, which thousands were employ'd !
The shock was great; but as my life
I saved in the relentless strife,
I knew lamenting was in vain,
So patient went to work again.
By constant work a day or more,
My little mansion will restore :
And if each tear which you have shed
Had been a needle-full of thread,

If every sigh of sad despair

Had been a stitch of proper care,

Closed would have been the luckless rent, Nor thus the day have been mispent."

EVENING BELLS.

THOSE evening bells, those evening bells,
How many a tale their music tells
Of youth, and home, and that sweet time,
When first I heard their soothing chime.
Those joyous hours have passed away,
And many a friend that then was gay,
Within the tomb now darkly dwells,
And hears no more those evening bells.
And so 'twill be when I am gone,
That tuneful peal will still ring on,
Whilst other bards shall wake these dells,
And sing your praise, sweet evening bells!