I wish I were a comet,

To sparkle in the sky,

And have the looks of all the world
Admiring me on high.

SISTER.

I'd rather be a taper,

To cheer the winter night,
And shine on happy faces,
Rejoicing in my light.

BROTHER.

I wish I were Niagara,
Adown the rocks to roar,
And have my glorious waters
With rainbows crested o'er.

SISTER.

I'd rather be a streamlet,

To ripple through the wood,
And cherish the sweet flowers
That deck my solitude.

BROTHER.

I wish I were an oak tree,
To lift my awful form
Against the winds of winter,
And battle with the storm.

SISTER.

I'd rather be a snowdrop,

The pretty, modest thing That always brings good news to us, Sweet harbinger of spring!

BROTHER.

I wish I were a stout ship,
Across the sea to go,
And bear Britannia's thunders
Against a gallant foe.

SISTER.

I'd rather be a lifeboat,

To ride the stormy wave: It may be glory to destroy, 'Tis happiness to save.

MOTHER.

Right, my daughter, and my son;
Though man abroad may roam,
While woman's quiet duties

Are better learnt at home;
This truth, my dearest children,
On memory ever bind:
None but the good and useful

True greatness ever find.

16. EARLY RISING.

PART I.

a-bil-i-ties, powers of the dif-fi-cul-ty,

mind

ac-quired, got into

ad-vant-age, gain, profit anx-ious, eager

at-tempt, try

boy-hood, whilst a boy con-firmed, fixed, settled

something

hard to be done

grate-ful-ly, thankfully

know-ledge, learning
lim-it-ed means, not hav-
ing much money

per-se-vered, kept on try

George and Henry were two boys about the same age, who lived in the same village, and went to the same school. Each was the son of poor but honest parents, who tried to do the best they could for their children with the limited means they possessed. These two boys were so much together, that strangers would take them for brothers, although they were not related to each other. And, indeed, in many respects they were very much alike, but in one very important matter they were as different as could be.

George was an early riser; Henry was not. Winter and summer, George was up before his father went out to work, early in the morning. Winter and summer, Henry lay in bed until the very last minute, and it was with difficulty that he could reach school soon enough in the morning to be in time. In fact, he hardly ever would have been in time, if George, who had a much longer distance to walk to school, had not

been at his door, knocking long enough before he was ready.

Now, of these two boys, Henry was certainly the cleverer. He had better natural abilities than George, and, if he had improved them to the utmost, he would no doubt have been much higher in the school than his friend. As it was, they were both in the same class, but poor George had to give all his early mornings to his lessons, in order to keep up with the rest. That, however, was not the only advantage he reaped by early rising, as you will learn from the rest of the story. He acquired a habit which was of great service to him through life, and which was the means of giving him a help in the world.

About the age of thirteen these boys left school, and were sent to work in the same iron foundry, in a town close by. As this took place some fifty years ago, you may be sure these boys had not received a very first-rate education. They could read well, write fairly, knew some little of accounts, and that was about all. George was very anxious to learn more if he could, and was sorry to be taken away from school; Henry was delighted to go to work, and didn't seem to care if he never opened a book again.

They found working in the foundry a very different thing from going to school. They were obliged to begin at six o'clock in the morning, and to work hard all day. The first part of this was very easy to George, but to Henry it was a most difficult thing. He was late again and again. But they had a very short and easy method of dealing with him at the works: when he was late, they would stop a few pence out of his wages, so that poor Henry

would often have less money to take home on the Saturday evening than he ought to have had.

Both boys were so tired with the regular work of each day, that it was almost useless to attempt to read a book. They would almost fall asleep over their evening meal. Boys used to work much harder and longer in those days than they do now, at least, some boys did. This having no time for their own improvement did not trouble Henry, but to George it was a great grief. He wished to improve his mind and increase his knowledge.

After they had been working a few months, George said to himself one day, 'This will never do; I must get time for reading and study. When I was at school, I used to get up two hours before breakfast; why cannot I get up now two hours before I go to work?' 'Two hours every day,' said he, 'will be twelve hours every week, without touching Sunday. I ought to be able to do something with that.'

Acting upon this thought, George persevered in getting up two hours earlier every day for a year. In the bitter cold winter he found it hard work, but he was much encouraged by the progress he made in his studies. His late master at the village school kindly offered to help him as much as he could. This was glorious news to George, who availed himself of the offer very gratefully.

Several years passed in this way; the boys grew into young men, and were still employed in the same firm. Their wages had been raised, of course, many times, but their position was pretty much about the same. You might have thought George's early rising had been but of