2.

For it's thump, thump, thump, with right good-will,

From morn till set of sun;

And his arm and flail will never fail

Till his daily task be done.

3.

With the first glad birds that hail the morn,

He is up at work amain,

Till the old barn-floor is cover'd o'er

With the sweet and pearly grain.

4.

Oh! his heart is light as hearts will be,

With a purpose good and strong,

And his strokes keep time to catch the chime
Of his blithely carolled song.

5.

For it's thump, thump, thump, with right good-will,

From morn till set of sun;

And his arm and flail will never fail

Till his daily task be done.

6.

While the boys that 'mid the corn-stacks hide,

Echo back his gleesome lay,

As they toss the chaff, and shout and laugh
In the golden noon of day.

7.

But a lesson they may read and learn,

And the Thresher makes it plain,

For the chaff he finds he gives the winds,
But he garners up the grain.

8.

Then it's work, work, work, with a right good-will,
And store the sheaves of truth;

From the precious seed strike husk and weed,

In the harvest-time of youth.

G. BENNET.

A STRANGE FRIEND.

[The scene of this tale is laid in South Africa.]

I once passed two days and nights under circumstances which, I think, were as trying to my nerves and patience, as any that I have ever experienced. I will give you, as nearly as I can, a detail of the events that happened, and of the effects produced upon me.

It happened, then, that I was walking out one day, and was about six miles from home. I had my gun with me, and was on the look-out for rietbok.* On the slope of a

hill up which I was walking, there were some large rocks and long grass, and I was surprised to see a plentiful stream of water running out from between the rocks. I took a good drink, and then ascended the slope, the long grass reaching up to my middle. After I had gone about fifty yards, I started a fine rietbok, fired, and struck him on the shoulder, so that he staggered forward on three legs.

I rushed on, so as not to lose sight of him, and suddenly found the ground give way under me. I dropped my gun, and grasped at the grass; but although I was

*A kind of deer.

When I

below the surface, and merely rested for an instant against a bush, this gave way beneath me, and I fell a depth of several yards on to some soft sand and water. first found the ground give way under me, I fancied I must have fallen into a wolf-hole, and was merely annoyed at losing sight of my wounded buck. When, however, I found myself falling again, I began to think it was all over with me, and that I must be tumbling into a well or down a precipice.

When I came to the bottom, I was much bruised and scratched, and felt so shaken that I scarcely knew whether some of my bones were broken or not. But I soon came to myself, and got up with the intention of clambering out of the hole. When, however, I attempted to stand up, I found that my left ankle was either broken, or so badly sprained, that it was impossible for me to bear my weight on that leg. I therefore concluded that it would be useless to attempt to follow the buck, and that I had better rest a little while.

I sat down and looked about and above me at the place into which I had tumbled, and then I saw that it was much deeper than I had supposed. I must have fallen more than thirty feet. Seeing this, I considered that it was fortunate I had not been killed by the fall, or at least had not broken an arm or a leg. The top of the hole was not more than five or six feet across, but the bottom was nearly fifteen feet in width. It was rather dark, still I could distinguish objects plainly.

As I sat rubbing my ankle, and looking round me, I gradually became aware that the place I was in would be a very awkward one to escape from. The more I looked at the wet, smooth sand, the more did the difficulty of escape force itself upon me. At last I felt certain that

there was scarcely any possibility of getting out, for the sides on the lower part of the hole were smooth, hard, and slippery, and the top so overhung, that nothing but a fly could have walked up the side.

A feeling of utter despair came over me. There was not the slightest probability that any one would come out in search of me, or that there would be any inquiry made. There was a remote chance of a sportsman passing near, and he might hear me if I made a noise. My gun I thought of, but it had not fallen into the pit with me.

I therefore determined to try what shouting could do, and even sung songs in hopes of making myself heard; but even the sound of my voice seemed unable to escape.

When I had shouted and sung myself hoarse, I hobbled all round the hole, and looked for places where there seemed a probability of getting a rest for my feet and a hold for my hands, but there was not a crack or ledge upon which I could stand, even had I had the full use of my legs. I had a knife with me, and I fancied by its aid I might make some stepping-holes in the rocks, but a few minutes' trial shewed me that the stone was so hard, that it would take me days to make even half the holes requisite to enable me to reach the top of the pit.

It is a horrible thing to feel yourself a prisoner; it is bad enough when you are kept prisoner at the will of other people, and know you will be released at a certain time; but it is far worse to be, as I was, a prisoner in an underground-pit, miles away from any human help, and left to die of starvation.

The more I reflected, the more utterly hopeless I became. I kept saying to myself: Somebody is sure to come, I can't be left here to starve;' but as often as I did

so, I answered myself, and said: 'Not a chance, not a chance !'

Darkness began to steal on, whilst I still pondered on some means of escape. My ankle did not pain me much, unless I moved it; so, by propping myself up against the side of the pit, I managed to lie with tolerable comfort.

I believe I must have slept for some hours, but I suddenly awoke with a feeling of terror upon me. I stretched out my hand, as it felt very cold, and placed it upon a cold clammy body, which immediately moved from under it. I snatched it away with a feeling of horror, for I knew not whether I might have touched a poisonous snake, or some reptile whose bite was fatal. It seemed impossible to sleep again, and I neither dared to move hand or foot, lest I might again come in contact with the clammy creature that I had already touched.

As I lay listening for some sound, I became aware that some creature was moving near the top of the pit. I strained my eyes, but could see nothing but the dark sky and a host of brilliant stars. Still, every now and then, I heard a slight sort of sniffing sound, as though an animal were smelling for something. Can it be a lion, I wondered, which has smelt me in this den? I felt an extra cold shudder as I thought of the possibility of a lion either scrambling down to attack me, or by accident tumbling into the pit, as I had done.

I had heard much of the effects of the human voice upon wild animals, and endeavoured to shout loudly. No sooner had I made the attempt, than a most fiend-like yell was uttered by the creature above me. The yell was repeated several times, and then I knew that the animal