when we catch him; we will whip him there on the spot.'

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Now, when they came to the place, though they had run as fast as they could, there was no one to be seen; there was no one who seemed to want a cab at all.

"Then the men stood still, and looked at each other; and the one said, and the other said,

"What shall we do now? We cannot whip the man, when there is no man to whip; and yet we do not like to go back to our cabstand, and say we have not caught the man. All our men will laugh at us, and they will say we have let the man make fun of us once more.'

"Now, as they stood and thought what they should do next, they heard the cry quite, quite close to their side,

"Cab round the corner! cab round the corner!'

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'O, did they try to whip the bird ?"

"Yes, they did try; but they could not get at him. So the men went to the door of the house, and they told the man who kept the house that he must take the bird in, and put him in some place where he could not go on with his fun; for that if he did call a cab, when no cab was wanted, they would kill the bird; or they would make the man pay for all the cabs that the bird called to the door. So poor Poll had to come down from his seat, and live at the back of the house, where no one could hear his cries, and where he could not have his fun any more."

"Yes, I think it was quite right; but I dare say poor Poll thought it was hard, for Poll did not mean to do the men harm, nor to make them lose their fares."

THE FIRST TOOTH. RELL done, little man! You look as if you had got through a great work. So you have, and your mother and grandmother look as proud of you as you do of yourself; for you really seem

own per

astonished at your formance. Go on, work away, till every little pearl is set in its row, and every useful grinder has worked its way through.

Take care of your teeth, children, because God has given you them to help the stomach in the busy work it is always about, preparing the food you eat to nourish your whole frame, and keep you in life and health.

If they cannot do their part, the poor stomach would soon complain, and let you know it was out of order, by doing

double work, and you would grow white and thin, instead of rosy and healthy.

So take care of those useful little members, and keep them sound and white, and make them do their own work well every time you sit down to dinner or tea.

Do not eat too many sweets to make them ache, and grow grey instead of white. Do not crack nuts with them to break them: leave monkeys and squirrels to do that, whose teeth are made for that sort of work. Do not bite cord or thread to gimp them and destroy their fine edge. Give them a cold bath, and a gentle brush every morning, and do your best to preserve them until you grow old.

A SINGULAR BUT GOOD REPROOF.

E met with the following anecdote lately in a juvenile magazine:-When quite young, in my boyish days, I had watched some sparrows carrying materials to build their nests, in the usual season, under the eaves of a cottage adjoining our own; and, although strict

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of us should climb up to the roof of the house, yet birds' eggs formed a temptation too powerful to be resisted, and self-gratification was considered rather than obedience. A favourable opportunity presented itself; the roof of the house was ascended, and not only was the nest pillaged, but seized and carried away. It was soon stripped of its unnecessary appendages, that it might appear as neat as possible. Among the externals thus removed was a piece of paper which had been a page in one of Dr. Watts's hymn-books, and which, thrown away, had been taken by the poor bird for the purpose of strengthening the nest, or increasing the warmth. A word or two caught my eye, and I unfolded the paper. Need I say that, boy as I was, I read these verses with curious feelings?—

"Why should I deprive my neighbour

Of his goods against his will?
Hands were made for honest labour,
Not to plunder, nor to steal.
"Guide my heart, O God of heaven,

Lest I covet what's not mine;
Lest I take what is not given,
Guide my hands and heart from
sin."

and reason, it could not have selected a text more appropriate for reproof and instruction than this. What was contrived and done in secret was thus condemned from the house-top. At all events, it can do my young readers no harm to remind them, that when they do Wrong God sees them, and can send them reproof even by means of a bird. I have never forgotten the lesson presented to me by the leaf of paper which had been fixed to the nest of a poor sparrow. Yes; how often has the little tract or leaflet been blessed to an immortal soul! May my young friends, when they think over all the good they may get from this, not forget the lesson taught in many ways by the verses of the hymn.

A WORD TO THE "LITTLE ONES" ABOUT BEING SERVANTS OF GOD.

FT is not very long ago, dear children, since I, who am now writing to you, was a little child. I remember people used to think me very tall for my age, and, I dare say, very naughty too; for I know I often did things that were wrong. O! if I only

could live my childhood over again, how different I would be! However, I know I cannot begin my life over again, so what must I do?

I feel that all I can do is to ask God to forgive my sins, because Jesus died to take them away, and to try and be better for the future.

Now this is what I want to talk to you about, because you can do this just as well as I can, who am older. If I had done so earlier, I should have been more like Jesus now; and you know that you can be "children of God" just as easily as old people.

Though you are little ones, you can come and tell Jesus you will be His servants. He is a sweet, gentle, loving Saviour; and He said, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me."

He was on earth when He said those loving words; and you might have seen Him, and touched Him, and heard His gentle voice. He has gone back to His Father's home now; but, though you cannot see Him, He can see you, and hear you just as well as if He were close to you. So you can talk to Him; you can tell Him all the sins you have done; you