GOOD-NATURED GRANDFATHER.

GRANDFATHERS are great favourites with young people; that is, if they are good-natured, and take notice of their grandsons and granddaughters, and try to please them.

George and Lucy had a good-natured grandfather. He was six times as old as they were, but he often thought of the time when he was a little boy himself, and how pleased he was when his own grandfather took notice of him. He and grandmother lived in a nice little cottage, in a village about three miles from the town in which the father and mother of George and Lucy lived; and it was always a treat to them to go, in the spring or summer, and see grandfather. This year they were to go as soon as it was fine weather. They did not forget this, and often talked about it. At last the fine days came, and their father took them both one Saturday afternoon. Oh, how nice the green fields looked all the way, sprinkled over with white daisies and yellow buttercups there were hundreds, thousands, millions of them! And then the hedges were almost white over with blossoms which smelled so sweet, that they were quite delighted. Now and then a lark would spring from the grass in the next field and soar away up into the blue sky, singing its merry song; and then a thrush or a blackbird from a tree, two or three fields off, would ring out its mellow notes until it made all round echo again. And then, all on a sudden, father would stop and say, "Stand still! hark! there is the cuckoo!" And then George and Lucy would listen, and soon they heard it too, shouting "Kuk-00! kuk-oo!" And they would have stood for half-an-hour listening, if father had not told them that they must go on, for grandmother's tea would be ready and she would be waiting for them.

When they got there, grandfather was standing at the

garden gate, looking for them coming. He gave them a hearty welcome, and so did grandmother too, who had baked some nice cakes and buttered them well. Oh how they did enjoy those cakes, and that tea with fresh sweet cream in it! Father went home again; and as they were tired with their walk, grandmother put them to bed in good time between such white sheets, which smelled so sweet that they thought they had never slept on so nice a bed before.

Next morning they were up sooner than they would have been at home, for grandfather and grandmother always went to bed early and got up early. After breakfast, grandmother brought the big bible, and grandfather said, "Now, you shall read to us; for I want to hear how well you can read." And so George read the 145th Psalm, and Lucy read the 14th chapter of John; and, after telling them about what they had been reading, grandfather kneeled down and prayed; and he did not forget to pray for his little visitors, that they might be made children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

That day they did not run about at all, or offer to play. They knew better than that; and they knew that grandfather would not like them to do so. But when the time came they went altogether to the house of God. And they spent the day in a very happy way, reading from the Bible, and the hymn-book, and from their little magazines, which they had brought with them; and when they had done reading grandfather talked to them about many good things.

Next morning they were up again early, and after breakfast and reading and prayer, grandfather told them that he should take them a walk into the fields up to the hill side.

It was the first day of June, and the sun shone from a clear and cloudless sky. When they reached the side of the hill. about half a mile off, grandfather sat down on a little bank, and George and Lucy squatted down on the ground one on each side of him, as you see in the picture; and then the good old man pointed them to the lovely scenes all around them, and talked to them so nicely about the wisdom and goodness of the Great Father of us all in giving so many good things to us. And then he told them of his yet far greater love in giving his only Son from heaven to come and die for our sins, that we, if we trust in him, might go when we die to a far brighter and happier world than this. they sat and listened to all he said very attentively.

And

But their grandfather was a wise old man as well as a good old man; so when he had said as much as he thought they would remember, he said, "Now, my children, there are some beautiful wild flowers in this field, and I will sit here while you go and gather some." So George and Lucy went and gathered some of the best and prettiest they could find, and brought them to grandfather, who told them the names of them all. And they took them to grandmother, who put them into a pitcher of fresh water, that they might take them home with them when they went back again.

And so George and Lucy spent two more days in this way with grandfather and grandmother. They will never forget as long as they live the many good things grandfather told them, and will always remember going to see their own GOOD-NATURED GRANDFATHER.

PERHAPS you wonder what an Aquarium is, and so we will try to tell you. The word is not an English word, but a Latin word, and means a place for water, or, as we should say, a glass box for water.

Aquariums are made of various shapes and forms. Some are square and some are round. Indeed they may be made of any shape, so that they have glass all round them to permit you to see what is in them. At the bottom there are small pebbles or bits of rock, with plants that will grow in water among them. There are also small fishes swimming about in the water. And so you see that the aquarium is a cage for fishes; and it is a very pretty ornament for a parlour, and pleases children very much to see the small fishes swimming about in the water among the plants.

Aquariums are of two kinds-one for fresh water plants