the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Ger'i zim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

2. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

3. And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou and reign over us. But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

4. Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

5. Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

6. Now, therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Je rub'ba al and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands (for my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: and ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother); if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Je rub'ba al and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you; but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

H

7. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

1.

LESSON LXV.

THE GOURD AND THE PALM.

A Persian Fable.

"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd,
As o'er the palm-tree's crest it poured

Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,
And hung a bloom in the morning shine.
"A hundred years!" the palm-tree sighed :
"And I," the saucy gourd replied,
"Am at the most a hundred hours,
And overtop thee in the bowers!"

2. Through all the palm-tree's leaves there went
A tremor as of self-content.

"I live my life," it, whispering, said,
"See what I see, and count the dead;
And every year, of all I've known,
A gourd above my head has grown,
And made a boast, like thine to-day;
Yet here I stand-but where are they?"

LESSON LXVI.

LOCOMOTIVE AND TEA-KETTLE.

A Fable.

1. As I happened one day to enter an old shed, in which some worn-out Locomotives had been stowed away, I chanced to overhear the following:

2. "Gentlemen," said an old Tea-kettle that lay in a corner of the shed-" Gentlemen, I am sorry to see you in this place: I wasn't brought here till I had more than once lost my spout and handle, and been patched and soldered till very little of my original was left. I conclude, therefore,

that, like me, you have seen your best days, and are now to be laid aside as useless."

The Locomotives looked at one another, and frowned, but didn't answer.

3. "Well, gentlemen and brothers,” cried the Kettle again, "don't be down-hearted. We have played busy and useful parts in our day, and may comfort ourselves now in thinking over the things we have respectively achieved. As for me, the remembrance of the domestic delight and refreshment that I have been the means of affording affects me deeply." 4. "What is that little old tin whistling about, up in the corner' ?" asked one of the Locomotives of his companion. "Where are his brothers'?"

5. "Hey-day! is that it' ?" cried the Kettle, all alive with indignation. "So you don't own the relationship'! Let me tell you, with all your pitiful pride, that, though you won't own me as a brother, I am father and mother to you; for who would ever have heard of a steam-engine, if it hadn't been for a tea-kettlea ?"

6. The Locomotives were abashed, and silent; and while I was drawing a moral from the just reproof which the Kettle had administered to their pride and arrogance, my ear caught up the following, which was sung by one of the workmen in an adjoining building:

A TEA-KETTLE LYRIC.

7. They may talk as they will about singing,

Their harps, and their lutes, and what not;
Their fiddles are not worth the stringing,
Compared with the music I've got;
For with lessons far deeper and higher
The song of the kettle may teem:
"Twas the kettle that sung on the fire,
That first proved the power of steam.

8. With home-faces smiling around me,
And children and wife at the board,
No music such joy ever found me
As that its sweet song doth afford :

I love every inch of its metal,

From the tip of the spout to the knob:
"Lead a temperate life," sings the kettle,-
The kettle that sings on the hobb.

a It is said that the idea of using steam for mechanical purposes was first suggested by noticing the force with which it issues from the spout of a tea-kettle.

b Hob, the flat part of a grate in England, where things are placed to be kept hot. It is where the tea-kettle generally does its singing.

LESSON LXVII.

THE POPPY AND THE DAISY.

A Fable.-Leisure Hours..

[The following very fine example of a fable with an instructive moral, will be found a fine reading exercise, if the monotonous brevity of the dialogue is properly relieved by giving full expression to the character of the speakers. The gentle tone of the meek and modest daisy is in happy contrast with the arrogant and quarrelsome manner of the flaunting poppy; and then the change, in the tone of the latter, toward the close, gives additional variety to the reading, which should be a close imitation of nature throughout.]

"How in the world came you there'?" said a flaring scarlet Poppy to a cheery, crimp little Daisy that grew at his feet.

"That is more than I can tell," said the Daisy.

"Don't you feel ashamed of being so near me' ?" said the Poppy'.

"Not' at all," said the Daisy'.

"Don't you see how tall I am' ?" said the Poppy'.

"Very' tall," said the Daisy.

"And handsome'?" said the Poppy'.

"Yes," said the Daisy.

"Don't you feel afraid of me' ?" said the Poppy'.

"Not' a bit" said the Daisy.

"How very short you are!" said the Poppy.

Very," said the Daisy.

"And insignificant," said the Poppy.

"Yes," said the Daisy.

"And ugly," said the Poppy.

"I deny that," said the Daisy.

"No one would look twice at you," said the Poppy.

"Perhaps not," said the Daisy.

"The people pass through the field and don't see you,'

said the Poppy.

"Do they ?" said the Daisy.

"They can't help seeing me!" said the Poppy.

"No, I'm sure they can't," said the Daisy.

"And they admire me!" said the Poppy.

"Do they?" said the Daisy.

"You know they do," said the Poppy, growing redder

with passion.

"I'm sure I don't," said the Daisy.

"You're as envious as you can be," said the Poppy.

"Quite a mistake," said the Daisy.

"Oh, you would give the whole field to be in my place," said the Poppy.

"I wouldn't," said the Daisy.

"Who would spend a thought on you?" said the Poppy, contemptuously.

"Robert Burns," said the Daisy.

"I wish the reapers would come to cut the corn." "So do I," said the Daisy.

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Why do you want them ?" said the Poppy.

"Simply because you do," said the Daisy.

"Very fine! it's your conceit; you think they will look at you," said the Poppy.

"No I don't indeed," said the Daisy.

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"They won't trouble themselves about you," said the Poppy.

"I hope not," said the Daisy.

"I shall turn my back on you," said the Poppy.

"Do," said the Daisy.

"Are you not very sorry?" said the Poppy.

"Not at all," said the Daisy.

"I despise you," said the Poppy.

"Do you ?" said the Daisy.

"It makes me ill to look at you," said the Poppy. "How wise of you to turn round, then!" said the Daisy. "You couldn't turn your back on me," said the Poppy. "No, I'm such a stiff little thing," said the Daisy.

"What made you turn round again' ?" said the Daisy.