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SApiitEB 4 Q0\ Bonoir-isB MOirt BBA fc OOEWKK MOTRK DAMB AND BT. 1867. «■**• \ » '^.■■■' <- «^5t^J^ il|fi«d lewrdlng to |it «r th« PraiiiMU LtfUatore, In ib« Tmt of ov '•fy' CMpI UiflmMBd «ig1it boBdMd and tizty-flTak V\ ^' BvD.*J.BADLI£B*OOn fa tU ofl«» of IM BagMnt of tb* PMvlaM of OiMrfc •»h4 '.t\ •/ ;*l,'. ANY people are not aware of the vast importance of having a series of carefully-prepared Readers for the use of schoob. They may think that it matters little honir the child learns to read, or what it reads, provided it does learn. Others, again, may ask, what need is there for a new series, when so many of acknowledged merit are already in* exist- ence? Both claases are in error. As first impressions are known to be Hie fikolH^I^ and most lasting; and as these impfnssions ;% PREFACE. are in part derived firom books, what can be more necessary than a careful selection of pri- mary lessons which may interest as well as instruct the young learner? Let us give the child stepping-stones to knowledge; but let us be very careful that those stones are safe footing, securely laid on the great basis of Christian truth, so that they be not swept away from beneath his feet by the rushing floods of infidelity, and that worldly wisdom which is akin to irreligion. Give him lessons suited to his infantile capacity, — ^lessons which may accustom him to think of what he sees and hears, but so interwoven with the truths of faith that the seen and the unseen may have equal hold of his understanding. Let him learn, from his fitst reading-lessons, to believe, to think, and to feel This is what the compiler of these Readers has endeavored to accomplish, and it is hoped PREFACE. 1 that they will be found to answer that desir- able object The ^cond objection to which we have alluded, scarcely seems to need a special reply after what has been already said, as the whole of the ground which it covers is taken in by the statement of our views. The publishers have taken great pains, and gone to considerable expense, to illustrate these t vo first Readers, so as to make them as attractive as possible to little people. Neither trouble nor expense has been spared to make them both pleasing and instructive; and they are confidently presented to the Catholic public, for the use of primMj schoolsc 1 THE ALPHABlilT IN CAPITAL& 1 1 A B D 1 E E G H 1 I J K L 1 - M N P ll 4 ,,a R S T 4. ^^B • - U V W X 9 || ■ Y Z • ^*- ^H k. T D H L P r It ■.I !'^- r FIRST READER. • « ' r * PART FIRST. « '' LESSON I. c THE YOWKIik ba a e 1 ,0 u bu be bi bo ca ce > ci CO cu da de di do du LESSON IL ' ah am an as at ax he me be we ye if m it is oh on or OX of up us FIRST READE LESSON III. Is it he? Ifo, it is not he. Is it an 0x9 Yes, it is an ox. My ox is in. Oh, go to my pa. Is it he or 1 9 It is he. Ah, it is my ma! Let us go up. See, he is up! Oh, let us go, too ! May we go 9 Yes, we may go. Oh, ho ! He is up to me. Is he^t He is so. Do so to us. Be it so. hmmtm I i 12 FIBST BEADEB. LESSON ly. Do you see the fly? Can it be a fly? Yes, it is a big fly. Let us kill the fly. Oh, no; we must not kill the fly. Put a pin in the fly. Ifo, no ; put no pin in the fly. I am on a nag. He is on no nag. . Bide on niy nag. Ho [ be near me 1 He is on'it. i » ii 1 1(* FIRST READER. 13 LESSON V. This girfs name is Kate. Her bird flew out of its cage. The cat caught the bird. It is now dead. Kate is sad. Poor Kate ! l\er bird wiH sing no more. Jane has got a nice doll. She is fond of her doll. She likes to see her doll nSat^^ She JLas* got a new dress for her d6ll,^ and new shoes, and a belt. Look at them. I^ESSON Vl. A 14 FIRST BEADEB. LESSON VII. Is it a kite ? It is a kite. I see tile kite. I see tke boy. 1^^ boy has a kite. He goes to fly his kite. The kite has a long tail. Did you ifeel the car jar? I can ride far in a car. the ball. LESSON VIIL Is it a ban? • It is a ball. I see the ball. It is a foot-ball. The boy has lost his hat. He does not mind. He runs fast to catck I think his name is Prank. i^im '• FIB8T BEADEB. 15 LESSON IX. . at the and here girl name by are two book Ann • stands see has boy looks John George • Here are two boyS; John and Gtoorge, iBe girl^ name is Ann, John has a book. George looks at the book. Ann stands bj John. M 1 H ■s r? • 1 16 FIRST READER. '•■Mittiimi Still gone there LESSON X. win rest ' him poor more play sleep touch wakes take rock leave Poor Will has^one to sleep. See how still he lies. Don't touch him. If you do, you will wake him up. There ! he will wake. Rock him. There, be Utill now, he has gone to sleep obce more^i Now, let us go to our play, and leave the poor boy to take his rest. Ma-ry and Oeorge love the ba-by ver-y much. LESSON XL hat read back day chair high good boy name head school soon This boy's name is George. He sits on a chair. His hat is on his head. The chair has a high baok^ Oeorge reads the news. Oeorge is a good boy. He goes to school ev-er-y day. He will soon learn to write. 18 FIBST HEADER. i t|i ; I 1 see face sign rain tail ring catch thread LESSON XII. try her play snow ball long love hand look warm wash head they has black white ■ ^iijWiia— III I I ' ■ "" say cold boot feet sign rain the think See puss. See her wash her face. They say it is a sign of rain for puss to wash her face. Puss looks at her long tail. She thinks it is very fine. It has black and white rings on it. Kit plays with a. ball of thread. She loves to play. SUk will play all the day. See her ttj catch the ball. FIRST READER. 19 LESSON XIII. the they come lit-tle un-cle sh^ kind stands ^ ta-ble can-dy This is Un-ole Hen-ry, come td see lit-tle Tom-my^ and Ag-nes, and El-Ia. They bve Un-ck H^n-ry, alid lie 4f: ver-y kind to them. Ei-la i^iaiids ijii the ta-ble. She asks Un-de Helir^lfei^ some can-dy* .^, - ii> 20 FIRST READER. U' I « . I ; [ book. school strike spring LESSON IIV. John is play-ing ball. See him strike vdth his ba4;. He has been to school. John likes to play. His fa-ther gave him a book. Af-ter sup- per he will read his John IB a good boy. look ball John read gave pky fa-ther pitch-er wa-ter ■ ' This lit-tle girl has a pitch-er. She has been to the spring for some wa-«ter. She is a g«od girL She has got one lit^tle sis-ter at home, and two lit* tie broth-ers. FIRST READER. 21 house horse like bare LESSON XV. pull plough hold shoes feet their hurt stones stick left but they Lit-tle Gteorge, and Fred, and Em-ma, jare play-ing horse and j^ough. Fred holds the stick, for a plough; and George and Em-ma pidl it, like the horsea. Em- ma has her shoes on her feet ; but George land Fred left their shoes in the hduse. LESSON XVI. I am arfraid this lit-tle boy is not ver-y good. He has been in the woodS; and sto-len a bird's lifeet. See the pa- rent birds fly-ing in the air. Lit- tle boys should ner-er rob birds' nests. This lit-tle girl sees a but-ter-fly. She tries to catch it. She runs ver-y fast. What will she do with the pret-ty but- ter-fly, if she gets it ? I hope she will not kill it. FIK8T BEADER. 23 LESSON XVII. Oh, what a sweet ba-by ! See his dear lit-tle arms and feet! May I kiss the pic-ture ? Tes, my ehild, but do not soil the book. Oh, what a Ut-tle ba-by to hold such a big stick of wood ! t My child, that is not a stick of wood. It is a cross, and it is tlie Infknt Jesus who gives it to the little gifl/to sydce her a good child. 24 FIB8T BEADZB. LESSON XVIII. • This ho J and girl have been waDL-ing all day. Thej have plac-ed their stieks be-side the Cross, while they rest. The gifl has a straw hat. Why has ihe boy none ? plac-ed 5-side^ iross lore be-sid^ stick book walk-ing while girl Lit-tle girl, lit-tle boy, May the Cross be your joy. boy day bid book very much. I love to see a girl read her book. This is a good girl All will love he/, ior she does as she is bid. Her name is Ann. She seems to like her AU good ^Is do. FIRST READER. 25 LESSOJi XIX. do too dig big cap feet cold hard head hand snow glow warm k his has him does with Tvhat work bcots thiak spade James gloves James plays in the snow. He has a spade in his hand. See him at work. What does he do with his spade? He digs up the snow. He has a warm cap on his head, and big boots on his feet. He has gloves on his hands. He works hard, too. I do not think he is cold. pr ■c.trfn*.i 26 FIRST READER. I ears eyes fore "this some LESSON XX. legs is see two she pass her milk think name mice drink likes look catch I see a cat. She is a gray cat. She is sit-ting on a ta- ble. I see her ears. I see erne of her eyes. I see her whis-kers. I see her fore-legs and her fore-paws. She has two fore-legs and two fore-paws. She is look-ing. I think she sees some-bod-y com-ing. This cat is nam-ed Tab-by. She hkes to drink milk. She can catch mice, too. Cats are use-ful an-i-mals. They can see in the dark. They are ver-y pa-tient. They will watch for hours at a hole. FIRST READER. 27 ink write LESSON XXL leans let-ter learns kind-ly sis-ter bfoth-er Fan-ny is a ver-y good lit-tle girl. See her teach-ing her sis-ter Ma-ry to write. n u m 28 FIRST READER. She holds her hand, and leans near her ver-y kind-ly. Ma-ry loves Fan-ny. See the ink-stand on the ta-ble. When Ma-iy learns to write, she will write a let-ter to her broth-er, and tell him all the news. LESSON XXII. off does child sis-ter try-ing will ,look learn broth-er pic-ture wish book teach moth-er look-ing Here is a pic-ture of a child that does not wish to learn her let-ters, and so she will not look at them. She will not e-ven look at the book. Her moth-er, and broth-er, and sis-ter teach her, but she does not wish to learn, and she will not look. Don't you see that she is look-ing off? are try-ing to FIRST READER. 29 LESSON XXIII. Lit-tle Sa-rah sees a bird in the snow. She tries to catch it. It is a Ht-tle snow- bird. I fear it is ver-y cold. Do you love Ut-tle birds ? Yes, but I like song-birds best. bird fear cold tries snow love both catch down hold come brave lit-tle ver-y Sa-rah LESSON XXIV. Look at me. I am up in the air. See, I let go both hands, and yet I do not fall. Am I not a brave boy ? Now, John, do you try. You i iN 30 FIRST READER. shall go up, and I will go down; and hold fast while you are up in the air. If you should fall, you would come right down on the log. Is it not great fun to ride on the see-saw ? bird birth birch chirp first shirt roof roost rood spoon stool sloop scoop swoop swoon two food mood book could boot good hood nook rood LESSON XXV. Here lies Rose in her crib. She has gone to sleep. The light burns by the side of the crib. So, if she wakes up^ FIRST READER. 31 she can see that she is not in the dark. Then she will not cry. But she should not be left In this way. Call the nurse, and tell her to sit by the crib. LESSON XXVI. God bless a-way fa-ther just three pa-per Sa-vi-our begs clock be-fore cru-ci-flx desk room be-side com-men-ces rr 32 FIRST READER. m\ This is lit-tle Mag-gie. She is a ver-y good lit-tle girl. She has just come in- to the room to write a let-ter to her fa-ther, who is a-way from home. Be- fore she com-men-ces it, she looks at the cru-ci-fix, and begs God to bless her dear fa-ther and moth-er, and make her a good girl. Do you see the sheet of pa-per on the desk, and the pen be-side it ? ' There is a clock un-der the cru-ci- fix. It is just three o'clock ; and lit-tle Mag-gie re-mem-bers that this was the hour at which our Sa-vi-our died on the cross. Do you ev-er think of this when the clock strikes three ? m fly hen hay mow boy LESSON XXVII. fall nest read eggs this girl five hope there school spell name found learns they on-ly sis-ter Cla-ra lad-der Charles Ult> I FIRST READER. 33 The boy has found a hen's nest on the hay-mow. His sis-ter is on the lad-der. I hope they will not fall. See the hen fly. The lit-tle boy's name is Charles, and his sis-ter's name is Cla-ra. There are five eggs in the nest. This lit-tle boy and girl go to school. Charles learns to read, and Cla-ra can on-ly spell. I hope Charles takes good care of his lit-tle sis-ter. 34 FIRST REABEK. LESSON XXVni. This lit-tle boy's name is Thom-as, and the name of the dog is Fi-do. The dog is ver-y good. He seems hap-py to give Ut- The Ut-tle boy's cap He holds a whip in tie Thom-as a ride. is on the ground. his hand. I hoi)e he will not strike the poor dog. cap boy dog old hat egg bird hold hand four seem whip fly-ing a-bout hap-py LESSON XXIX. Here is a bird's nest, with four eggs in it. The old bird is fly-ing a-bout in the woods. I think she is a spar-row. t FIRST READER. 35 ride whip LESSON XXX. whack sta-ble should a-fraid be-cause snap-per Do you see the sta-ble boy? He is giv-ing lit-tle George a ride. How fast the horse goes! That is be-cause the sta-ble boy has gi>-en him a whack a-cross the back. Should you think that George would be a-fraid ? Does he look a-fraid ? He is hold-ing on as tight as he can. I think he looks a lit-tle a-fraid. Do you see the snap-per of the whip ? It is a dou-ble snap-per. }K A ;. iW\ 36 FIRST READER. LESSON XXXI. fly his yes hat got boy you this sure here read whsit thein know f What has this boy got un-der his hat ? . Un-der his hat ? ) Yes, un-der his hat. I'm sure I don't know. Do you ? Yes, I know. It is a but-ter-fly. A but-ter-fly ? Yes, a but-ter-fly. Why do boys and girls catch but-ter- flies? V I don't know. I think it is ver-y cru-el. Do you not think so ? Yes, I do. re ire ad lem ,-k' \ his -ter- [u -el. FIRST READER. 37 LESSON XXXIL learn them look book let-ters will-ing pic-ture show-ing Here is a pic-ture of Rose and her dog Tray. Rose is show-ing Tray her book. Tray looks at the let-ters, but he can-not learn them. He is will-ing to try, but it is of no use. Di4 you ev-er see a dog that klftew his let-ters? No, I think it would be ver-y fun-ny. 1 I ii m M 38 FIRST READER. roll purr LESSON XXXIIL yard farm catch ap-ples crow creep mouse ra-ther Here is a girl look-ing at a mouse ; or 'do you think it is a rat ? I rath-er think it is a mouse. Run, mou-sy, run, or else th<^ cat will catch you. Mice can creep, ap-ples can roll, and roost-ers can crow. Cats can purr. I see a roost-er. II ll rr'- -pies •ther or Ihink else -eep, irow. T ^ FIRST READER. M all tall call say way may LESSON XXXIV. tear time near clime hear chime thing bring spring John-ny ! John-ny ! your moth-er is call- ing you. John-ny, don't you hear? See, he does not hear. He is walk- ing and look-ing this way all the time. He does not hear his moth-er. "John," she says, "John, come back; you have for-got-ten some-thing." I won-der what it is that he has for- got-ten. I hope it is not one of his books, or his slate, or copy-book. It is bad for boys or girls to for-get such thing&i, whcMH they go to school. 40 FIRST READER. * m -1 LESSON XXXV. 1! time pull ring night ^1 foi ^hI i tide pill sing tight gr HKi^ tell bell sling flight Bti toll ball wing sight Pl g8 if tj 9 i'l till bill thing light fill!.! Toll the bell. Toll the bell. i ■ bs Pu U the rope, and toll it well. di gt/t/KKKtMk^ J^o you see the men fe Urn 41 ■|^HH|K toU-ing the bell ? No, h< fln'H|H^^ they are not toll-iug E 1 lPiMiK| it, af-ter all. They m HnBflSIHB^ are rihg>ing it. . Feo- a >^H Til ^^^l^nffi^^^^^ pie toll a bell for a I^^mHHHHP fu-ner-a.1. But this L ^^H^^^^^^K is for an a-larm. So si 1 • ^MHHBI^^ they are ring-ing it as loud as they can. ^1 g mm ■Bu It is in the night, and it is dark, and is we can-not see the men very well who J are ring-ing the bell. a! 1 FIRST READER. 41 lESSON XXXVI. form child midst pil-ed gar- den grow heart shines plant sweet-ly Tom-my was play-ing in the gar-den with his ba-by sis-ter. He pil-ed the dirt a-round her feet ; for, said he, I will plant Ella that she may grow like a flow-er. Lit-tle ones should grow like flow-ers. Like the child in the pic-ture, they should live in the heart of pu-ri-ty. Lil-ies mean pu-ri-ty, and these lil-ies grow in the form of a heart. The child is in the midst of them, you see. The burn-ing heart of our Sa-vi-our al-ways shines sweet-ly on pu-ri-ty. 42 FIRST READER. i't' see get cap boy LESSON XXXVII. lost find hands feet knee where tree piece school hair down ground fold-ed sit-ting hid-ing bro-ken This boy is hid- ing a-way un-der some trees. Do you see the trees ? The boy is sit-ting down up-on the ground, with his hands fold- ed a-round his knee. See his feet. See his hair. See his jack-et. Where is his cap? I am a- fraid he has lost it. Get up, my boy, and find your cap, and go to school. I fear you will be late for school, and then you may lose your place in class, which would be a ver-y sad thing, you know. i»— FIRST READER. 43 she sad out LESSON XXXVIII. feet face bare wall cold shoes dead poor home sup-per beg-gar hun-gry Poor beg-gar girl ! poor beg-gar girl ! sit-ting un-der a wall! Her feet are bare. Her face ap-pears sad. She is hold-ing out her hand. She is hold-ing it out to beg. The poor girl is sad and sor-row-fiil. 1^ Ill 44 FIRST READER. Her bare feet are on the cold ground. She has no shoes. Her name is An-nie. She is very cold and very hungry. She has no fa-ther to buy her shoes, and no moth-er to give her any sup-per. They are both dead, and now she has no home. Poor lit-tle girl ! . lESSON XXXIX. all one this ver-y bro-ken fall girl poor a-bout pitch-er shall have what pie-ces bor-row-ed This poor girl has let her pitch-er fall, and it is all bro-ken to pie-ces. She is '^'^ ver-y un-hap-py a-bout it. She says, "Ah, me! what shall I do? I have bro-ken the pitch-er all to pie-ces. And it was a bor-row-ed one! What shall I dor FIRST READER. 45 ■■*•■ LESSON XL. Here is a pic-ture of a poor man that has got caught in a show-er. He has an um-brel-ia, but it does not seem to do him much good. He is walk- ing along as fast as he can^ but I am a-fraid he will get ver-y wet. Per-haps the um-brel-ia may keep his hat dry. LESSON XLI. Here is a pic-ture of a man walk-ing a-long in the snow. You can see his tracks in the snow be-hind him. He is muf- fled up in a good warm cloak; and uis hat is put down so as to cov-er his ears, for it is cold. Do you see the i-ci-cles hang-ing from the trees ? He is go-ing to the vil-lage. We can see the vil-lage un-der the hilL i\ 46 FIRST READER. log lost LESSON XLII. hope holds o-ver hand woods a-fraid wa-ter flow-ers Hen-ry and his sis-tcr Bet-sy have been out in the woods to And some flow-ers. They are walk-ing o-ver the wa-ter on a log. I think they have lost their hat and bon-net. Bet-sy is a-fraid. Hen-ry holds her hand. I hope they will get o-ver safe. 1 Sit ^"5^ l-ter -ers t-ers. m a hat |n-ry get J FIRST Rj^ADER. 47 LESSON XLIII. Jane pulls a lil-y. Jane is a good girl. She al-ways o-beys her fa-ther and moth- er. She has her a- pron full of flow-ers. She will give them to her motli-er. i ^ 1 1 i lost love look fuU find pull hold play hand give good girl some wood will name stood walk LESSON XLIV. This is a pret-ty dog. His name is Tray. I think he is look-ing for lit-tle John. Who loves to play witn Tray? John loves to play with Tray; and so does lit-tle Will. I ril|'"'.f til',: il" i 48 riRST READER. LESSON XLV. fast feet hiUs milk free ears trees meat give eyes dales fruits glad hands grass bread moon house greens clothes My child, give God thanks for the eyes, with which you can see. Thank Him for the ears, with which you can hear. Thank Him fcr the hands, with which you can do so much ; and for the FIRST HEADER. 49 feet, with which you can go so fast and free. 6iv3 God thanks for your bread, meat, milk, fruits, and greens, clothes, bed, and house. Think ver-y of-ten that God made the sun and moon, the hills and dales, trees and grass, for the use of man. But, a-bove all, be glad you know God, and can re-joice in Him. die bed LESSON XLVI. save love cross say-ing time looks hangs pray-ers It is bed-time. See ! lit-tle Ma-ry is say-ing her pray-ers be-fore she goes to bed. The cru-ci-fix hangs a-bove her bed. When lit-tle Ma-ry looks at it, she thinks of God^s love that made Him die on the Cross, to save all lit-tle chil-dren. \H \ 50 FIRST READER. LESSON XLVII. fish time clear light well place think night child heart knows bright ev-er riv-er wa-ter My child, there is noth-ing which God does not know. He who made your heart can see it. God sees all that ev-er you do. There is no place where God could not see you. God knows e-ven what you think. He can see in-to your heart, as you can see the fish in the wa-ter, when the riv-er is clear. God can see as well by night as in the day- time. That is the rea-son why we can nev-er com-mit sin with-out of-fend-ing God. He is pres-ent ev-er-y-where, and when you sin, it is be-fore His face. FIRST READER. PART SECOND. LESSON I. Here is a lit-tle or-phan girl go4ng to rest. Should I call her an or-phan ? See ! she is kneel-ing be-fore a stat-ue of Our Bless-red Moth-er. She is ask-ing her to be her moth-er, now and for ev-er. m 52 FIRST READER. Ma-iy ! Moth-er ! pure and bright, Guard me kind-ly through the night. Oh ! for ev-er let me be, Dai-ljr, more and more Uke thee, So that, when I come to die, I shall see my Moth-er nigh. pot nigh al-tar go-ing rest bush ro-ses ask-ing good guard stat-ue mam-ma pours • bloom or-phan kneel-ing LESSON II. Lit-tle WiUiam has a wa-ter-ing-pot. He pours the wa- ter on his rose-bush, to make the ro-ses bloom. When the bush is full of ro-ses, Ae will give some of them to his good maia-ma, and sope he will pu"*. m the ul-tar. FIRST READER. 53 sky high peep keep LESSON IIL are ti-ny blue star lit-tle dark shut nev-er spark shine a-bove cur-tain blaz-ing twin-kle di-a-mond Twin-kle, twin-kle, lit-tle star ; How I won-der what you are I Up a-bove the world so high. Like a di-a-mond in the sky. n .. r'M 54 FIRST BEADER. When the blaz-ing^un is gone, When he noth-ing shines up-on, Then you show your lit-tle light, Twin-kle, twin-kle, all the night. Then the trav-el-ler in the dark Thanks you for your ti-ny spark ; He could not see which way to go, If you did not twin-kle so. In the dark blue sky you keep, And of-ten through my cur-tains peep, For you nev-er shut your eye, Till the sun is in the sky. As your bright and ti-ny spark Lights the trav-el-ler in the dark, Though I know not what you are, % Twin-kle, twin-kle, lit-tle star 1 bird eggs right LESSON IV. nest hole rob flew high rock stand three reach a-pron un-der play-mg FIRST READER. 55 These are Mr. Gray's three chil-dren. They were play-ing un-der the rocks. John-ny saw a hole in the rock, and a bird flew out of it. James said the bird had a nest in the hole. It was too high to reach. See how John-ny stands on James's back to get the eggs. Jane holds out her a-pron for the eggs. The poor bird is ver-y sad. It is not right for these lit-tle chil-dren to rob the poor bird's nest. 56 FIRST READER. way wag next LESSON Y. side give ly-ing read loud lis-ten gone knee sit-ting her-self prac-tice kneel-ing LEARNING TO READ. The man is read-ing a sto-ry, and all the chil-dren are iis-ten-ing. Do you see the book ? The man is hold-ing it up-on his knee. Lit-tle Lu-cy is kneel-ing on the foot-stool by his side, Iis-ten-ing. She can-not read her-self. She has nev-er learn-ed, James is the next old-est. He is sit- FIRST READER. 57 ting on a chair. His lit-tle dog, Wag, is ly-ing down by his side. James is lis- ten-ing to the sto-ry, but Wag has gone to sleep. AVag can-not un-der-stand the sto-ry at all, but James is lis-ten-ing ver-y at-ten-tive-ly. Don't you see how earn-est and at-ten-tive he looks ? James has learn-ed to read, but he r :i-not read ver-y well, and so he pre- fers to have his fa-ther read his sto-ry- books to him. . The rea-son why James can-not read ver-y well him-self, is be-cause he has not h?id e-nough of prac-tice. The way to hav^e prac-tice, is to take a book, and read in it a-loud by your-self a lit-tle ev-cr-y day. If you take this book, and read two les-sons a-loud ev-er-y day, one in the fore-noon, and one in the af-ter- noon or e-ven-ing, and read them as dis- tinct-ly and care-ful-ly as you can, that will give you prac-tice, and in a short time you will be a-ble to read ver-y well. 4 58 FIRST READER. LESSON VI. foot food floor stood school la-dy eld-est hun-ger pray-ing chil-dren sack ' as-sist home re-fuse bread wid-ow things dis-tress church sur-prise THE CHILD'S PRAYER. A poor wid-ow said, one morn-ing, to her five young chil-dren : "My dear chil-dren, I have noth-ing to give you for break-fast this morn-ing ; I have no bread, nor flour, nor po-ta- toes; for I have not been a-ble to get any work late-ly ; so you must pray our good God to help us ; for He is rich and all-pow-er-ful, and tells us to in-voke Him in our dis-tress, and He will as-sist us.'* Her eld-est boy, James, scarce-ly six years old, went off, sad and fast-ing, to his school He stop-ped at the church, and go-ing in, fell on his knees at the foot of an al-tar. \ FIRST READER. 59 I Think-ing he was a-lone in the church, he pray-ed a-loud, say-ing : " my good Fa-ther in heav-en, look up-fon us five lit-tle chil-dren, who have no food to eat. Our moth-er has no bread nor po-ta-toes to give us, do you give us some-thing that we may not all die of hun-ger. my good God, as-sist us ! you who are pow-er-ful and so rich, can ea-si-ly help us. Tou prom-is-ed to do so, and I know you will not re-fuse lis, good Lord." Thus pray-ed lit-tle James in the sim- pli-ci-ty of his heart, and then he left the church, and went cheer-ful-ly to school. When he re-turn-ed home, what was his sur-prise to find on the ta-ble sev-er-al loaves of bread, and a sack of po-ta-toes on the floor. 60 FIBbT READER. " Oh ! thank God/' cried he, trans-port- ed wi" joy, "he has heard my pray-er. Tell L/e, moth-er, was it not an an-gel who brought these good things through the win-dow ?" " No, my child," re-pli-ed his moth-er, "God cer-tain-ly sent them, but not by his an-gels. When you were pray-ing in the church, a good la-dy, whom you did not see, heard your pray-er, and im-me- di-ate-ly sent her ser-vant with these pro-vi-sions. And now, my dear chil- dren, let us all thank our dear good God, and nev-er for-get that — ^' God, our Father, will ev-er heed Our fer-vent pray-er in time of need." when could would where a-way a-muse de-Ught star-ling LESSON VII. pock-et mo-ment neigh-bor hunts-man seiz-ed train-ed steal-ing Maur-ice FIRST READER. 61 THE STARLING. Matir-ice'; the old hunts-man, bad a star-ling in his room, which had been train-ed to speak a few words. If the hunts-man cried, '^ Star-ling, where are you?" the star-ling would al-ways an- swer, '' Here I am !" Lit-tle Charles, a ncigb-bor's boy, took par-tic-u-lar de-light in the bird, and of-ten paid it a vis-it. One time, when Charles came, the hunts-man was not in his room. Charles im-me-(li- ate-ly seiz- ed the bird, stuflF-ed it in-to his pock-et, and was steal-ing a- way with it. But just at that mo-ment the hunts- man came to the door. In-tend-ing to a-muse the boy, he cried out, as u-su-al, "Where are you?'^ and the bird in the boy's pock-et, cried out, as loud as it could, "Here I amT' LESSON VIII. nice a-lone sis-ter pitch hon-ey . ter-ror , reach mor-tal kitch-en struck win-dow cleav-ing \ dai-ry pic-ture spin-ning dark-ness THE EYE OF GOD. James and Anne were once a-lone in the house. " Come,'' said James to Anne, " let us look for some-thing nice to eat ; and let us en-joy our-selves." " Ver-y well," re-plied Anne, " if you can -take me to a place where no one can see us, I will go with you." " Well, then," said James, " come with me in-to the dai-ry, and let us have a dish of the de-li-cious cream/' . "No, no," said Anne; "our neigh-bor, who is cleav-ing wood, can see us there." " Well, then, come in-to the kitch-en,'^ said James. "There is a pot-ful of hon-ey in the kitch-en press, and we will dip our bread in-to it." "You for-get," Anne re-plied, "our neigh-bor, who sits spin-ning at her win- dow, can see in there." " Well, let us eat some ap-ples down in the cel-lar," said James; "it is so pitch dark there, that no one can pos-si- bly see us." ■ r- - ■ T Tj I f 64 FIRST READER. H^^^^^^Ba Anne re-plied: "Oh! my dear James! ^^^^^H do jiou then real-ly think that no one H 1 sees us there ? Do you know noth-ing of H f ! the Eye a-bove, which pier-ces through ^m the walls, and looks in-to dark-ness it- ^^v self?'' James was struck with ter-ror. W^M /'You are right, dear sis-ter," said he. ^^Bii "God sees us, e-ven where no mor-tal eye can reach. We will not, then, do e-vil any-where.'' ^H* Anne was de-light-ed that James took 1 8iT ^^B< her word to heart, and gave him a pret- ty pic-ture. The Eye of God was rep-re- 1 KJll w To II sent-ed sur-round-ed with rays ; and be- I ll low was writ-ten : 1 4 "Whith-or, tliou fooll ah! wliitli-er canst thon fly, I ^H Se-cur© from God's all-pen-e-trat-ing eye ?** 1 W Mj 11 LESSON IX. 1 < atid path stole vir-tue 1 An pain guide friend stray-ed 1 ^^^H ' stepft cheek taught watch-ed ' I t ^ 1 FIRST READER. 65 ^ MY ANGEL. Since first my eyes be-held the light, Who was it watch-ed both day and night, To guide my tot-ter-ing steps a-right ? My an-gel ! my an-gel ! My guar-dian an-gel dear ! Who was it taught me how to pray, My par-ents al-ways to o-bey, And led me in-to vir-tue's way? My an-gel ! my an-gel ! My guar-dian an-gel dear ! N ■ I n if T Oft when in dan-ger's path I stray-ed, Or by deep pre-ci-pi-ces play-ed, Who sav-ed me by his time-ly aid ? My an-gel ! my an-gel ! My guar-dian an-gel dear ! When press-ed with pain, and the big tear Stple down my cheek, what friend was near To say, " The will of God re-vere ?" My an-gel ! my an-gel ! My guar-dian an-gel dear ! sick time close band leave beads please LESSON X. pain fear fresh long weep kind heart voice death wings smiles weeks twelve ground pe-tals pil-low gen-tle clos-ing pain-ful cheer-ful bright-ness FIRST HEADER. 67 :^ek:r^ THE DEATH OF LITTLE ALICE. We are ver-y sad when our friends die; and it is pain-ful ^o see those we love laid in the cold ground. But it is ver-y sweet to think s bout the death of those who die as Al-ice did. She could not re-mem-ber the time she had not pray-ed to Our Bless-ed Moth-er, and she was so de-vo-ted to her, that when tak-en ver-y sick, she had no fear of death. fc ^ 68 FIRST READER. She was ill for twelve long weeks, but was ver-y pa-tient and lov-ing all the while, though she suf-fer-ed much pain. She had a dear lit-tle al-tar at her bed- side, with a cru-ci-fix, giv-en her by her kind con-fes-sor, Fa-ther Kee-nan, and a pret-ty white sta-tue of the Bless-ed Vir- gin up-on it. ' Her play-mates brought fresh flow-ers for it ev-er-y day; and they al-ways went from the room with tear-ful eyes. Al-ice said gen-tle and cheer-ful words, but it al-ways seem-ed that there were an-gels all a-round her, and the chil-dren would weep, though they could not tell why. One e-ven-ing, at sun-set, dear lit-tle Al-ice had just fin-ish-ed say-ing her beads, when she ask-ed her moth-er to change her pil-low, and smooth her hair a lit-tle. Ttiis done, the moth-er was a-bout to leave the room, when Al-ice call-ed her FIRST READER. 69 back and said, " Do you see them, moth- er ? Oh, they have come for me at last, and I must go V The poor la-dy's voice trem-bled, and her eyes flU-ed, but she said, "I see noth- ing, dear-est. Close your eyes, love, and go to sleep, for you are wea-ry." " No, no, dear moth-er ! Please send for Fa-ther Kee-nan. And don't you see them all a-bout the room? Oh! they are so beau-ti-ful, I could nev-e»\ nev-er be part-ed from them ;'' and she clasp-ed her lit-tle hands o-ver the cru-ci-fix up- on her bo-som. A smile like the bright-ness of morn- ing sun-light o-ver a white rose-bud was up-on her face all the while. Dear lit-tle Al-ice ! she saw her guar- dian an-gel at the head of her bed, and a lit-tle band with wings white as snow hov-er-ing o-ver her ; and they held in their hands the crown she was to wear in heav-en. But, best of all, she saw Our I 70 FIRST READER. Ho-ly Moth-er, with the Di-vine Child in her arms, wait-ing to take her home. The priest came, and Ut-tle Al-ice re- ceiv-ed Our Bless-ed Lord in-to her heart, and was a-noint-ed ; then she fell a-sleep in death, like a lil-y clos-ing its pe-tals at night-fall. LESSON XI. wait slide pret-ty deep pond hard-ly thick skate anx-ious crack freeze mo-ment en-joy win-ter e-nough pleas-ure DANGER OF SKATING. There were some boys once, who liv-ed near a pond; and when win-ter came, they were ver-y anx-ious to have it freeze o-ver, so that they could slide and skate up-on the ice. At last, there came a ver-y cold night, and in the morn-ing the boys went to the pond, to see if the ice would bear them. FIRST READER. 71 Their fa-ther came by at that mo- ment, and see-ing that it was hard-ly thick e-nough, told the boys that it was not safe yet, and ad-vis-ed them to wait an-oth-er day be-fore they ven-tur-ed up-on it. ^ But the boys were in a great hur-ry to en-joy the pleas-ure of sUd-ing and skat- ing. So they walk- ed out up-on the ice ; but pret-ty soon it went crack — crack — crack ! and down they were all plung- ed in-to the wa-ter ! It was not ver-y deep, so they got out, though they were ver-y wet, and came near drown-ing; and all be-cause they could not wait. Thus you see that noth-ing good will come to those who dis-o-bey their par-ents. Keep this in mind, and you will do well. 72 FIRST READER. LESSON XII. edge kept a-fraid peck dove try-ing three grown bas-ket spread thrown pick-ing a-light far-ther per-haps chick-ens THE DOVES AND THE CHICKENS. Do you see the three lit-tle chick-ens ? Be-sides the three chick-ens, there are hens, and al-so some doves. The dove- house is up a-bove. Do you see the I ! o-pei is th( Th They a-ligl a-cro Do a-croi some three The ] He h down ! a-frai< ' ting d The the g] fly-in^ some i corn d and cl throw] hands b *'-'-"j^?-' FIRST READER. 73 .tl ? e e o-pen-ing where the doves go in ? That is their door. The doves can get in ver-y ea-si-ly. They can fly up from the ground, and a-Ught up-on the lit-tle roof that pass-es a-cross be-low their door. Do you see the lit-tle roof that pass-es a-cross be-low their door? There are some doves up-on it now. There are three grown doves and one lit-tle one. The lit-tle one is ver-y near the door. He has just come out. He is sit-ting down on the edge of the roof. He is a-fraid to come any far-ther, so he is sit- ting down and look-ing a-bout. There are two or three doves up-on the ground, and there is one in the air fly-ing down. He is fly-ing down to get some corn. Bob-by is scat-ter-ing some corn down up-on the ground for the hens, and chick-ens, and doves. He has just thrown some down. Don't you see his hands spread out ? 74 FIRST READER. •a i The com is kept in a bas-ket Look all a-bout, and per-haps you can soc bas-ket. One of the hens is try-ing to peck in-to the bas-ket, and get some of the corn there, in-stead of go-ing with the rest, and pick-ing it up off tho giound as Eub-by throws it down. LESSON XIIL dusk lamp town fields thing beau-ty heav-en de-light shin-ing mead-ow dur-ing be-hold wom-an ab-sence chil-dren re-turn-ed sud-den-ly ap-pear-ed fol-low-ing yes-ter-day THE SUN. One e-ven-ing, at dusk, an in-dus-tri- ous poor wom-an was com-ing home, af-ter her day's work in the fields, with her chil-dren, when, be-hold, a light-ed lamp 8ud-den-ly ap-pear-ed up-on the ta-ble: " How can this be ?" cried Gteorge, in a-maze-ment ; "there cer-tain-ly was no one in the house. Who can have light- ed the lamp ?" 'Oh/' said Mar-ga-ret, "who should it be but fa-ther? He must have re- turn-ed from town dur-ing our ab- sence." The chil-dren ran to look for him, and, to their great joy, found him in the next room. On the foUow-ing day the par-ents and chil-dren were mak-ing hay in their :i m ■'#■ 76 FIRST READER. large mead-ow. The sun was shin-i.ig with more than u-su-al bril-lian-cy and beaii-ty, and the chil-dren were in the great-est de-light. ^^Now, chil-dren/' said the fa-ther, " you read-i-lj guess-ed yes-ter-day that it was I who light-ed the lamp in the room ; but now that you look at that beau-ti-ful and ma-jes-tic light, the glo- ri-ous sun, ap yon-der in the heav-ens, should it not oc-cur to you who it was that light-ed it?" "Oh yesf' said Mar-ga-ret; "it was our dear God. The small-est oil-lamp can-not light of it-self; and there-fore there must be One who has light-ed the V sun. " So there is,'' cried George, joy-ful-ly. "God has made all things. The sun, the moon, the stars, the grass, the flow-ers and trees, and all things that we be-hold ev-er-y-where a-round us, are the work of His hands." FIRST READER. 77 lESSOK XIV. GOOD-BY TO THE STABLE OF BETHLEHEM. Dear Crib of Beth-le-hem, good-by ! Fm go-kig now, but still My In-fant Sa-viour will be nigh, That I may do His will. I take the Cross He gives to m^ ; My an-gel dear is nigh, From wick-ed thoughts to keep me free ; To be a saint Fll try. IJ i m 78 FIRST READER. LESSOJf XV. rode I desk brow doubt bright taught dust path once claim world course of-fer no-ble hab-its in-duce dis-pose smil-iug pi-ous pre-fer de-pend be-came mer-chant Bweep-ings THE HONEST BOY. " That is right, my boy \" said the mer- chant, smil-ing up-on the bright face of his lit-tle boy. He had just brought him a dol-lar that lay a-mong the dust and sweep-ings. "Al-ways be hon-est. It is the best pol-i-cy." "So my moth-er taught me/' re-plied the boy. " She said I should al-ways do right ; and then God woul'l love me." The mer-chant tum-ed to-wards the desk, and the thought-ful-fa-ced lit-tle boy re-sum-ed his du-ties. In the course of the mom-ing a rich man call-ed in-to the store. While con- vers-ing, he said : " I have no chil-dren of my own, and I fear to a-dopt one. My ex-pe-ri-ence is, that a boy of twelve, which is the age I should pre-fer, is al~ways con-firm-ed in his hab-its, and if they are bad — " " Stop !" said the mer-chant, 'you see that lad there, with that no-ble brow? He is re-mark-a-ble for hon-es-ty !" "Yes, yes — ^that is what ev-er-y-bod-y tells me who has boys to dis-pose of. No doubt he will do well e-nough be- fore your face. IVe tried a good 11 -"I 4 i 80 FIRST HEADER. man-y, and have been de-ceiv-ed more than once." " Sir, you may de-pend up-on his hon- es-ty. Ha is an or-phan, and poor ; but noth-ing can in-duce him to de-vi-ate from the path of rec-ti-tude." " Have you any claim up-on him T "Not the least in the worid, ex-cept what com-mon be-nev-o-lence of-fers. In-deed the boy is too good for me !" " Then I will a-dopt him." The lit-tle fel-low rode home in a car- riage, and was ush-er-ed in-to a lux-u- ri-ous home ; and he who once sat shiv- er-ing in the cold, list-en-ing to the words of a pi-ous moth-er, be-came a great and dis-tin-guish-ed man. path leave tread breast LESSON XVI. beam of-fer dwell sin-ful shrine en-fold yearns sleep-ing a^new gen-tle treas-ure spark-ling FIRST READER. 81 LITTLE MARY'S EVENING PRAYER. Ma-ry ! my sweet Moih-er, now, Ere on my lit-tle bed 1 lay me down, I beg that thou Wouldst thy dear in-flu-ence shed. The stars are look-ing down on me With gen-tle, lov-ing eyes, And from each spark-ling beam I see Praise to my God a-rise. e M i ,:f r 82 FIRST READER. And thou, sweet Moth-er ! dost be-hold Each heart that yearns for thee ; Oh, wilt thou to thy breast en-fold A sin-ful child like me ? Oh, make me pure, thou Moth-er sweet ! All gen-tle, kind, and true ! Take, take fhe love that at thy feet I of-fer here a-new. \ Sweet Moth-er ! make my heart like thine, That oth-er3 may be led To lay their treas-ures at thy shrine, And take the path I tread. # I leave my bird-ies to thy care, And all my pret-ty flow-ers. For they are thine, Moth-er fair J In sun-shine and in show-ers. And ev-er-y thing I love is thine ; I will not sigh or weep, But sweet-ly near thy bless-ed shrine Will lay me down to sleep. FIRST READER. 83 Then make me, Ma-ry, like thy Son, Who shed His blood for me. That I, when life's short day is done, May dwell with Him and thee. LESSON XVII. sour vine taste glad edge fond bimch reach hung teeth grapes spring sil-ly • a-long jump-ed THE FOX AND THE GRAPEa A fox cast his eyes up-on a fine bunch of grapes, which hung on the top of a vine, and made him long for them. 1 ?;■' •I 84 FIRST READEB. " How nice they look ! I must have a taste of them/' He made a spring at them, but did not reach them; yet he would not leave them, and tried for them a long time. He leap-ed and jump-ed, till, tired out, he was glad at last to rest. When he found all his pains were vain, he cried : "'Who cares ! I am sure they are as sour as crab-ap-ples, not fit to eat, and would set my teeth on edge for a week ; so I will leave them for the next fool that comes a-long, and is so sil-ly as to be fond of sour grapes." So it is with man-y per-sons; what they can-not ob-tain, they af-fect to de- spise. Like the fox and the grapes, it is sour grapes with them. bark truth know LESSON XVIIL no-bly cher-ry for-give cul-prit gar-den mis-chief pres-ent leav-ing strip-ping ;$' FIRST READER. 85 GEORGE WASHINGTON. When George Wash-ing-ton was a-bout six years of age, some out^ made him a pres-ent of an axe. lat-tle George went a-bout chop-ping ev-er y thing that came in his way; and, go-ing in-to the gar- den, he tried its edge on an Eng-Hsh cher-ry-tree, strip-ping it of its bark, and leav-ing lit-tle hope of its liv-ing. The next morn-ing, when his fa-ther saw the tree, which was a great fa-vor- ite, in this state, he ask-ed who had done the. mis-chief ; but no one could tell him. I 1 '•1 ■I (I I: At length George came, with the axe in his hand, wh^re his fa-ther was, wlio in-stant-ly sus-pect-ed him to be tie cul-prit. ** George," said he, '^ do you know who kill-ed that beau-ti-ful lit-tle cher-ry- tree ?" The child paus-ed for a mo-ment, and then no-bly re-plied — '^ I can-not tell a lie : it was I cut it with my axe/' " Run to my arms, my bo^ !" ex-claim- ed his fa-ther ; " run to mv arms ! I for-give you for de-stroy-ing my tree, since yoii have had the hon-es-ty and man-li-ness thus to tell the truth a-bout it." LESSON XIX. lead pure scene de-cay in-fant faint shine home sis-ters en-ters types share smiles sor-row hap-py grace peace dwells sliad-ow earth-ly •s 7 FIRiST READER. 87 HOME. Oh ! how I love you, fa-ther dear ! I love my moth-er too : I've none in all this hap-py world One-half so dear as yo'i. Sis-ters and broth-ers, each in turn, Share all my joys and fears : Oh ! what a bright glad home is mine ! This home of smiles and tears. But then, you tell me I have got A dear-er Home a-bove ; A scene where sor-row en-ters not, A home of peace and love. f Is 1 1 * •; 88 FIRST READER. For world-ly joys, though bright they shine, Come quick, and then de-cay ; And par-ents' love, and earth-ly smiles Of home soon pass a- way. What though I have a fa-ther here ; That fa-ther has been giv-en To lead my in-fant heart to love *^ Our Fa-ther" dear " in heav-en." And moth-er's love, so fond, so pure, Oh ! what is that to me. As of-ten as I think up-on The love that dwells in Thee. Ma-ry ! dear Moth-er of my Lord, " So blesi,*' so " full of grace !" Dear Moth-er of Christ^s lit-tle ones, Oh ! how I love thy face ! Thii^, all I see on this glad earth Faint types and shad-ows are, Of joys that fade not in the sky — That home so bright and fair ! ■■i: .-J I \ ( FIRST READER. 89 LESSON XX. bird vain-ly use-less dis-cov-er treat pry-ing hurt-ful piir-su-iiig catch re-place ca-na-ry de-serv-ed proof scarce-ly cu-ri-ous per-fect-ly breath chirp-ing mer-ri-ly beau-ti-ful THE CANAflY BIRD. Sii-san beg-ged her moth-er to buy her a ca-iia-ry bird. ''Yes," said her moth-er, *'you shall have one when you be-come per-fect-ly ■■1 'ii n '** 90 FIRST READER. o-be-di-ent and in-dus-tri-ous ; but es- pe-cial-ly when you give up your hab-it of pry-ing in-to use-less and e-ven hurt- ful things/- Su-san prom-is-ed that she would give it up. One day she came home from school. "Here/' said her moth-er, "is a new lit-tle box on the ta-ble. Now, mind you do not o-pen it ; do not e-ven touch it. If you o-bey me, I shall soon have a great treat in store for you.'' Her moth-er then went out to vis-it her lit-tle sick god-son Wil-liam; but scarce- ly was she out of the door, be-fore the cu-ri-ous girl had the box in her hand. " llow light it is !" she said ; " and there are some lit-tle holes in the lid ! What can there be in it ?" She o-pen-ed the lit-tle box, and, be- hold! a love-ly lit-tle ca-na-ry im-me- di-ate-ly hop-ped out, and flew, chirp-ing mer-ri~ly, a-bout the room. Su-san en- ^ 1 lat >n- I deav-or-ed to catch the ca-na-ry, and re-place it in the box, in or-der that her moth-er might not dis-cov-er what she had done. But as she was vain-ly pur-su-ing the Uve-ly lit-tle bird a-bout the room, quite out of breath, and with her cheeks all in a glow, in walk-ed her moth-er ! "You dis-o-be-di-ent, cu-ri-ous girl!" said she; "I meant to give you this beau-ti-ful bird, but I de-sir-ed first to put you to the proof wheth-er you de- serv-ed it. But now I shall give it to good lit-tle Wil-liam, who is more o-be- di-ent than you, and not so cu-ri-ous.'' bees hives stung bloom struck LESSON XXI. li-lacs gar-den sev-er-al a-lone moth-er ten-der-ly hon-ey scarce-ly oc-ca-sion iu-stant spright-ly col-lect-ed swell-ed scream-ed dis-re-gard »ii ."1^ rf 92 FIRST READER. LIITLE EMMA AND THE BEES. Einiiia was a ver-y spright-ly lit-tle girl, a-bo lit four yeai'S of age. She lov-ed her moth-er ten-der~ly, but, like ma-ny oth-er lit-tle girls, she was ver-y apt to dis-re-gard what was said to her. Of-ten in May, when the flow-ers were in full bloom, her moth-er would take her out in-to the gar-den to walk, and show her the beau-ti-ful ro-ses and ii-lacs. She took her, on one oc-ca-sion, to the bee-hive, and ex-plain-ed to her ho v the I it up told for f hurt It that a-lon er ha hive, In and face, 1^ Her pick- house were scarce fer-ed Thi near toldh FIRST READER. 93 I the bees col-lect-ed the hon-ey, and laid it up ill their hives ; but at the same time told her nev-er to go near the bee-hive, for fear the bees m' ^ ^ting her, and hurt her ver-y mucis It hap-pen-ed, a fe\* days af-ter-wards, that lit-tle Em-ma was in the gar-den a-lone, and, for-get-ting what her moth- er had told her, she went up to the bee- hive, and struck it with her hand. In an in-stant, the bees rush-ed out, and flew at her, and stung her in the face, eyes, and hands. She scream-ed, and fell to the ground. Her moth-er heard her, and ran and pick-ed her up, and car-ri-ed her to the house. Poor Em-ma's hands and face were all red and swell-ed up. She could scarce-ly see for sev-er-al days, and suf- fer-ed ver-y much. Thus was she pim-ish-ed for go-ing near the bee-hive, af-ter her moth-er told her not to do so. 1 A ^ i I (1 .1 1 '.„ 'P t-fl.j o yr^s^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^128 |25 ■50 ■^~ W^^M ^ ^ 122 »& 11.25 H^ U4 ^ 6" - » Photographic Sciences Corporation as WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. MSM (71«)I72-4S03 94 FIRST READER. LESSON XXII. built kneel shade spend taught hab-it be-gin joy-ful fcr-vor ac-tion or-der be-fore bless-ed be-cause prac-tice im-i-tate e-rect-ed of-fer-ing beau-ti-ful ar-rang-ed MARIA AND HER PLAY-HOUSE. Ma-ri-a was a good lit-tle girl, and was al-ways kind and o-be-di-ent to her par- ents. She Jiv-ed in the coun-try, and had but few com-pan-ions to play with. But she was of a eon-tent-ed mind; and seem-ed to be as hap-py and joy-ful when a-lone as when she had com-pa-ny. Not far from her moth-er's house there was a large tree, un-der the shade of which she was ac-eus-tom-ed to play when-ev-er she was al-low-ed to do so. A-round this tree she built a play- house, and ar-rang-ed it in the most beau-ti-ful order. Near it she e-rect-ed FIRST READER. 95 a wood-en cross, which she made with her own hands. Now, her moth-er had taught her that it was a beau-ti-ful prac-tice to be-gin and end ev-er-y thing with pray-er. So lit-tle Ma-ri-a, when- ev-er she went out to her play-house, be-fore she be-gan to play, would kneel down be-fore the lit-tle wood-en cross, and say a short pray-er, of-fer-ing to God, with all the fer-vor of her in-no- cent heai*t, the time she was a-bout to spend in play. God heard her pray-er, and bless-ed her. And she was not on-ly hap-py in child-hood, but hap-py through-out her life. Be-cause, from thi9 prac-tice of of-fer-ing to heav-en her mo-ments of rec-re-a-tion, she ac-quir-ed the hab-it 96 FIRST READER. of of-fer-ing to God ev-er-y ac-tion she per-form-ed ; and, as she well knew that bad ac-tions were dis-pleas-ing to God, she took care nev-er to do any ac-tion that was not ac-cept-a-ble to Him. Let chil-dren im-i-tate the good lit-tle Ma-ri-a, and, like her, of-fer ev-er-y ac- tion to God, and ask his bless-ing up-on it. - LESSON XXIII. calf rank smart worth le-gal po-lite per-mit for-tune per-son wor-thy re-mark noth T prop-er-ly en-ter-tain at-ten-tion cour-te-ous shrewd hold-ing con-gress pro-fes-sion POLITENESS. It is said that George Mc-Duf-fie, of South Car-o-li-na, was ver-y po-lite e-ven when a lit-tle boy. One e-ven-ing he was hold-ing a lit-tle calf by the ears, while his moth-er milk- ed the cow, and a gen-tle-man pass-iug FIRST KEADEK 97 by said, ^' Good e-ven-ing, ray lit-tle son." George re-turn-ed, " Good e-ven-iug, sir," with such a po-lite bow, that the gen-tle-man iio-tic-ed him, and said, " Why did-n't you pull off your hat, my Ut-tle man ?" George an-swer-ed, " If you will come and hold my calf for me, I will pull off my hat to you." George's po-lite-ness and shrewd re- mark were the mak-ing of him. That gen-tle-man said to his moth-er, " Your son is a smart boy, and if prop- 98 FIBST READER. er-ly train-ed, wiU make a great man some day. If you will per-mit me, I will give George a good ed-u-ca-tion, and give him a start in the world." The moth-er thank-ed the gen-tle-man for his kind-ness, and let him take charge of her son. George a-rose from the ears of his calf to the high-est rank in the le-gal p^o- fe^-sion; he was then sent to the State Leg-is-la-ture — ^then to Con-gress— then made Gov-er-nor of South Car-o-li-na. Let chil-dren, then, be po-lite. A po- lite bow and a "Good e-ven-ing, sir/' cost noth-ing, but are some-times worth a good deal. One cour-te-ous bow was worth a for-tune to lit-tle George Mc- Duf-fie. Ev-er-y-bod-y likes po-lite chil-dren. Wor-thy per-sons will pay at-ten-tion to such, speak well of their good man-ners, and en-ter-tain a good o-pin-ion of their par-^ts. FIRST READER. 99 1 man ,• [wUl LESSON XXIV. ! and sting bet-ter use-fiil el-e-gant boast cous-in peo-ple del-i-cate 1 -man shape yel-low buzz-ing in-no-cent i Large shines be-hold mis-chief per-fect-ly 1 scalf •^A d — ^^^^ 1 pro- ^^SL^ ^^^?!i^ 1 state hH^ fll^S^RIcw ^^^ /IfelW 1 -then MlmJ^^Wt^^ 1 na. 1 Lpo- sir/' rorth PCHiKK i 1 1 miimf was " ^^^^Tr\^'^^ ^i^'- Mc- THE WASP AND THE BEE. A wasp met a bee that was just buzz-ing dren. by, )n to And he said^ ''Lit-tle cous-in, can you 1 ri^rs, tell me why their You ^re lov-ed so much bet-ter by peo- ple than I ? j 100 FIR8T READER. " My back shines as bright and as yel-low as gold^ And my shape is most el-e-gant^ too^ to be-hold ; Yet no-bod-y likes me for that, I am told." "Ah! friend/' said the bee, "it is all ver-y true, But if I hiJf were nait as much mischief to do, Then peo-ple would love me no bet-ter than you. " You can boast a fine shape, and a del- i-cate wing ; You are per-fect-ly hand-some, but yet there's one thing That can't be put up with, — and that is yoursting. " My coat is quite home-ly and plain, as you see. Yet no-bod-y ev-er is an-gry with me, — Be-cau86 I'm a use-ful and in-norcent \ bee 99 FIRST READER. 101 -low 3, to am s all pdo, it-ter , del- b yet lat is in, as ae, — rceDt \ From this lit-tle sto-ry let peo-ple be- ware, Be-cause, like the wasp, if ill-na-tur-ed they are, They will nev-er be lov-ed, though they^re ev-er-so fair. di-vide yel-low gar-den frac-tioii coii-trive Ohar-lotte LESSON XXV. tal-ent jest-ing du-ti-ful in-sist-ed al-low-ed beau-ti-fal di-vi-sion to-geth-er de-light-ed re-gret-ted reck-on-ing grat-i-fied THE PLUMS. Mrs. May once took h^r fonr chil-dren to pay a vis-it to their grand-fa-ther, in his beau-ti-ful gar-den. Their grand-fa-ther brought them, on a vine-leaf, four plums, as yel-low as gold and as large as eggs. He re-gret- ted that, as yet, there were not any more of them ripe. " But you must on-ly con-trive,'' said he, in a jest-ihg tone, "how you can di- vide your four plums be-tween five per- sons, with-out bring-ing a frac-tion in-to the reck-on-ing." '' Oh, I will do that,'' said Char-lotte, the eld-est sis-ter; "I on-ly ask that I may be al-low-ed to reck-on odd and e-ven num-bers to-geth-er/' v Slie took the four plums: "We two sis-ters and one plum,'' said she, "to- geth-er make three. A-gain, my two broth'^ers and (me plum make three. These two plums and one moth-er also make three. And so the whole is set- tled with-out any frac-tion." Char-lotte's broth-ers and sis-ters were quite de-light-ed with this di-vi-sion. Her moth-er, nev-er-the-less, who was high-ly grat i-fied, in-sist-ed that each of the chil-dren should re-ceive a plum ; and their grand-fa-ther brought Char- lotte a beau-ti-ful nose-gay be-sides. ^^For/' said he, " Char-lotte's clev-er reck-on-ing does mueh hon-or to her tal-ent, but still more hon-or to her du-ti-ful heart." an-gry be-gan fool-ish wick-ed re-venge LESSON XXVI. mim-ic beat-ing con-duct mead-ow com-plain your-self treat-ment re-pea.t-ed mis-tak-en po-lite-ness 104 FIRST READER. THE ECHO. Lit-tle George had no i-de-a of an ech-o, when, one day, nm-ning through the mead-ow, he be-gan to cry, "Ho! ho!" and from the woods close by he heard the same words. George then call-ed out, "Who are you?" and the voice re-peat-ed "Who are you ?" " You must be a fool-ish fel- low !" shout-ed George. " You must be a fool-ish fel-low!" said the voice from the woods. ^ Now, George got ver-y an-gry, and call-ed all so/ts of names, and the eoh-o FIRST READER. 105 re-peat-ed ev-er-y one of i/hem. He then rush-ed in-to the woods to re-venge him-self by beat-ing the mim-ic ; but he found no one. He then ran back to his moth-er to corn-plain of the wick-ed boy wfio had been a-bus-ing him in the woods. "Tou are mis-ta-ken this time, my son/' said his moth-er, " and you are on-ly tell-ing of your-self. It was your own words you heard re-peat-ed, audit was on-ly your own voice that you heard in the woods. If you had spo- ken kind words, you would have heard the same.'^ Learn a les-son from this. In the world, the con-duct of oth-ers is reg-u- lat-ed by our con-duct to them. If we treat oth-ers with po-lite-ness and kind- ness, they will treat us well in re-turn ; but if we are cross and rough, we must ex-pect rough treat-ment. Do un-to oth-ers as you wish them to do un-to you. 6« 106 FIRST READER. LESSON XXVIL THE LITTLE SHEPHERD'S PRAYER. Ma-ry ! my moth-er, most love-ly, most mild, Look down up-on me, your poor, weak, low-ly child ; Prom the land of my ex-ile I call up-on thee. Then, Ma-ry ! my moth-er ! look kind-ly on me. If thou shouldst for-sake me, ah ! where shall I go ? My com-fort and hope in this val-ley of woe ! When the world and its dan-gers with ter-ror I view, Sweet hope comes to cheer me in point- ing to you. $ In sor-row, in dark-ness, be still at my side, My light and my ref-uge, my guard and my guide; Though snares should sur-round me, yet why should I fear ? I know I am weak, but my moth-er is near. Then, Ma-ry ! in pit-y look down up-on me, 'Tis the voice of thy child that is call-ing on thee. 108 FIRST READER. joy-ful liill-ing in-vests pas-ture LESSON XXVIII. ce-les-tial scat-ter-ed sep-a-rates coun-te-nance coax-ing-ly sim-pli-ci-ty in-no-cen< e ter-res-tri-al ^vVVH!'/"///^, .-*"*=>**r-*-'^-' THE LAMBS. It was a calm, clear/ sum-mer e-ven- ing ; a moth-er was sit-ting in her bed- room by the side of her sweet babe's era-die, luU-ing him to sleep with a song. Be i n- 3d- Then the Kt-tle Ad-e-laide came in from the gar-den with beam-ing eyes. "Oh, dear moth-er!" ex-claim-ed she, " come, there is some-thing ver-y beau- ti-ful to see." "Well, what is it?" ask-ed her moth-er. "Oh, some-thing ver-y beau-ti-ful in- deed," re-plied the lit-tle girl ; " but you must come your-self and see." " I should like ver-y much to do so," an-swer-ed her moth-er kind-ly, "but I can-not leave your lit-tle broth-er." Then the lit-tle maid-en cried coax- ing-ly, say-ing, " Dear moth-er, take my lit-tle broth-er with you, that he may see it too, and re-joice at it." And the moth-er thought of the sim- pli-ci-ty of child-hood, which loves not to en-joy any thing a-lone, but would share all with oth-ers. "Oh," said she to her-self, "thy soul is yet nigh to the king-dom of heav-en ; how could I re-fuse any lon-ger ?" 110 FIRST BEADBR. She rose and look-ed in-to the cra-dlie ; the lit-tle boy slept calin-ly and sound-ly. Then she took the hand of her joy-ful daugh-ter, and said, "I won-der what beau-ti-ful things you are go-ing to show me/' When they were in the gar-den, the lit-tle girl point-ed to the sky, and ex- claim-ed, "Now look., dear moth-er, there . are lit-tle lambs of heavren— -a whole flock; are they not dear and love-ly?" They were del-i-cate flee-cy clouds, scat-ter-ed on the blue sky like lambs on a green p'as-ture ; and they glan-ced white and clear in the rays of the bright full moon. The moth-er of the child lift-ed up her coun-te-nance and gaz-ed me ean Thou hast not for-got-ten the long drea-ry road, When Ma-ry took turns with thee, bear- ing thy God ! J 116 FIRST READER. Yet light was that bur-den, none light-er could be : Sweet Spouse of our La-dy ! oh ! canst thou bear me ? Ah ! give me thy bur-den to bear for a while ; To kiss his warm lips, and a-dore his sweet smile; With. her Babe in my arms, oh! Ma-ry will be. Sweet Spouse of our La-dyl my plead-er with thee. When the treas-ures of God were un- shel-ter-ed on earth, Safe keep-ing was found for them both in thy worth: Guar-di-an of Je-sus ! be a fa-ther to me. Sweet Spouse of our La-dy ! and I will love thee. ai FIRST READER. 117 LESSON XXXI. teach string games grieve fipiends vis-it fa-vor pcj-lite pret-ty kind-ly liv-ing ten-der ex-cuse pic-ture read-^rs sad-ness con-duct fam-i-ly af-fec-tion gath-er-ed GRANDMAMMA. "Which of my young read-ers is so luck-y as to have a grand-mam-ma still liv-ing? a kind, ten-der-heart-ed grand- mam-ma, who nev-er can bear to see the lit-tle peo-ple pun-ifeh-ed, or hear a hard 118 FIRST READER. word said to them ; who has al-ways some ex-cuse to of-fer in their fa-vor, and is hard to con-vince that they can do wrong ? If any of you have a grand-mam-ma like that, be sure you love her well, and do what she bpfls you, and nev-er grieve her by un-kind-ness or dis-o-be-di-eni o. There will come a day when your good grand-mam-ma will be no more on earth. She must go to join the dear friends of her own young days, who have died years a-go, and the paf-ents, and the grand-par-ents who car-ed for her when she was a lit-tle child like you. Then you will look back with sad-ness on the days when she was with you. You will miss her kind-ly smile, and her look of fond af fec-tion. You ^^ill wm her pleas-ant sto-ries and iiio games she as-ed to teach you, and the pret-ty toys vfhich she gave you as re-wards for good con-diict. FTR8T READER. 119 she i The good old la-dy in the pic-ture has come on a vis-it to her daiigh-ter. who has quite a large fam-i-iy; and you ^ee they are all gath-er-ed a-round gran 1- be-cause they pleas-ed mam-mj wO see her. She has just giv-en Ralph a lit-tle horse, which she brought all the way from her dis-tant home ; and Ralph has tied a string to it, and he and his lit-tle broth-er Hugh are go-ing to draw it a-round the floor. I am sure grand-mam-ma ha.^ pres- ents for the girls, too; but they are so po-lite, that they do not ask her for them. Chil-dren should nev-er ask any one for pres-ents, not e-ven their par-ents. If they are good, they will re-ceive pres- ents with-out ask-ing for them. I think Qrand-mam-ma More-ton there in the pic-ture would give no pres-ents to the girls if they ask-ed for them. LESSON XXXII. THOU GOD SEEST ME. God can see me ev-er-y day, When I work and when I play; When I read and when I talk ; When I run and when I walk ; When I eat and when I drink ; When I sit and on-ly think ; When I laugh and when I cry, God is ev-er watch-ing nigh. THE END. •^