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1. SEE what a beautiful pond there is! There are pleasant woods all around it.

2. This pond is not made by a dam, to raise the water for the use of mills. It is a natural pond, and was here when the country was first settled, and probably hundreds, if not thousands of years before.

3. There was once an Indian settlement near it, and many a fish the Indians have caught out of these waters.

4. Did you ever see any Indians? They have a dark-colored skin. It is not white like yours. They lived in this country long before the white people came here.

5. The pond has a great many very fine fish in it. See! there is a family party come out in a boat to take a sail, and catch some fish.

6. Who are these people, I wonder? They are Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, with their three children, Charles, Eliza, and

Henry, with their dog Carlos.

The two

boys are good children, but Eliza is fretful and selfish.

7. Mr. Sherman is a farmer. He lives about six miles from the pond, in a very pleasant situation.

8. They set out from home early in the morning, in a two-horse wagon. When they came to the pond, they left their wagon, and put up their horses at the tavern.

9. The tavern-keeper had a fine large boat, with oars, a sail, and plenty of fishing-tackle. He kept this boat for his own use, to hire out to parties.

10. Mr. Sherman hired the boat, and went down to the shore to show them how to raise the mast and hoist the sail, in case they should have a breeze.

11. Charles and Henry enjoyed the excursion very much. Every thing seemed to please them:-the cool air, the shadows of the trees and hills upon the pond, the fish darting through the clear water, and the pleasant motion of the boat.

12. But nothing of all this could please Eliza. She complained of every thing. The sun was too hot, or the wind was too cold; she hated to be still, yet she screamed with fright when they went fast.

13. People with a fretful disposition, seldom enjoy any thing. I wonder if they ever consider how sinful it is. They cannot be happy themselves, and they spoil the pleasure of every one that is near them.

14. After rowing about till they, were tired, the party stopped for a while, to try to catch some fish for dinner.

15. Eliza was pleased for a moment with the change. But her good temper did not last long. She did not catch many fish, and, as soon as one of the others drew one out, she would tease him to change lines. Thus she kept moving about the boat, spoiling the fishing, and keeping them all uneasy.

16. What a pity that the whole party should be disturbed by this naughty girl. She ought to have been left at home.

Let the class describe the picture minutely, naming the different persons in the boat, and then repeat the substance of the story. Explain, in T2, the last word, before; before what? 3, Indian settlement; 6, fretful and selfish; 9, oars, a sail, and plenty of fishing-tackle; 10. mast, breeze; 11, excursion. How did Eliza behave? What sort of a disposition has she? Has any person a right to spoil the pleasure of his friends with his bad temper? Who is to blame for Eliza's being unhappy? Would such conduct please or displease God? Do you think he noticed it? Does he see and hear every thing? Do you think Eliza would have acted so, if she had thought of this? How do you think she made her parents feel? Was it right or wrong to make them feel so? What does the Bible say about the way of treating our parents? Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long_upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Exod. xx. 12.

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[Let the class repeat the substance of the last lesson before they commence this, it being connected with it.]

17. THE party soon caught plenty of fish for dinner, and Mr. Sherman took up his oars to row to land.

18. But he had not rowed far, before a fine breeze began to rise, and the children begged that he would hoist the sail, as they had never been in a sail-boat before.

19. So the two boys picked up the fish, and put them into their basket, and covered them with hay, and their father hoisted sail.

20. As soon as the boat was turned so that the sail took the wind, the boat began to glide softly through the water.

21. "Oh! how delightful this is!" cried Charles. "It is much better than either

rowing or fishing. I should like to be a sailor, and live on the water."

22. "No. You would not like a sailor's life so well as you expect," said his father. "A sailor's life is a very rough and a very hard life; and, when the wind blows hard, they sometimes have to be up all night, in very cold weather, with the sea continually dashing over them. Sometimes, also, the ship dashes on a rock, and goes to pieces, and every soul on board is drowned."

23. Just at that moment the wind began to blow a little harder. That made the boat lean over, and pass more rapidly through the

water.

24. Eliza thought the boat was going to be upset. She started up, screaming, and fell over against her brother Charles, and knocked him over into the water.

25. Poor Charles could not swim, and, as the boat, of course, continued to move on, he would certainly have been drowned, if the large dog, Carlos, which had been lying in the bottom of the boat, had not jumped up, and sprung over into the water to him.

26. Charles! Charles!" cried his fa

ther ; "catch hold of the dog's neck, and keep fast hold of him."

27. "I will! I will!" cried Charles.

28. The dog immediately sprung right into his arms, and, as soon as Charles caught fast hold of him, he began to swim to the nearest part of the shore. Look at

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