"But let me scrape the dirt away
That hangs upon your face;
And stop and eat, for well you may
Be in a hungry case."

Said John, "It is my wedding-day,
And all the world would stare,
If wife should dine at Edmonton,
And I should dine at Ware."

So, turning to his horse, he said, "I am in haste to dine;

'Twas for your pleasure you came here, You shall go back for mine."

Ah! luckless speech and bootless boast!
For which he paid full dear;
For, while he spake, a braying ass
Did sing most loud and clear;

Whereat his horse did snort, as he
Had heard a lion roar,

And gallopped off with all his might,
As he had done before.

Away went Gilpin, and away
Went Gilpin's hat and wig:
He lost them sooner than at first
For why? They were too big.

Now, Mrs. Gilpin, when she saw
Her husband posting down
Into the country far away,

She pulled out half a crown,

And thus unto the youth she said,
That drove them to the Bell,

"This shall be yours when you bring back My husband safe and well."

The youth did ride, and soon did meet

John coming back amain;

Whom in a trice he tried to stop
By catching at his rein; -

But not performing what he meant,
And gladly would have done,
The frighted steed he frighted more,
And made him faster run.

Away went Gilpin, and away

Went postboy at his heels;

The postboy's horse right glad to miss
The lumbering of the wheels.

Six gentlemen upon the road,
Thus seeing Gilpin fly,

With postboy scampering in the rear,
They raised the hue and cry: -

"Stop thief! Stop thief!-a highwayman!'

Not one of them was mute;

And all and each, that passed that way,
Did join in the pursuit.

And now the turnpike gates again
Flew open in short space;
The tollman thinking, as before,
That Gilpin rode a race.

And so he did, and won it too;
For he got first to town;

Nor stopped till where he had got up
He did again get down.

Now let us sing, "Long live the king;
And Gilpin, long live he;

And when he next doth ride abroad
May I be there to see."

LESSON XXXVI.

WORDS LIABLE TO BE MISPRONOUNCED.

Acts, (not ax,) facts, coasts, boasts, hosts, posts, lifts, gifts, could'st, would'st, hadst, didst, troubl'st, troubl❜dst.

Singular as it may appear, many persons are more particular in regard to the adornments of the body than to the accomplishments of the mind.

Natural History. A Dialogue.

Uncle Philip. WELL, boys, this is a beautiful day. The sun is shining brightly, and the birds are singing. The insects are flying, the grass is green, and every thing about us appears pleasant.

Charles. Yes, uncle Philip, we are tired of playing now, and so we have come to ask you to talk with us, and tell us about some of the curious things you know.

Uncle Philip. I will tell you some very strange things about animals that know how to work with tools, like a man.

Henry. Work with tools, like a man! But where do they get the tools?

Uncle Philip. Ah, boys, "The hand that made them is divine!" They get them where we get all that is useful and good, from God. The Bible says that He "is wise in creating, and wonderful in working; ;" and he has made many a poor little insect, and given it tools to work with for its comfort, as good and perfect as any that man can make. God cares for the insects, boys, as well as for us; and we should never abuse them.

Charles. But what sort of tools do you mean?

Do tell us about them.

Uncle Philip. Very well, I will: do you think of some kind of tools that men use; think of the carpenter and his tools, and then we will see if we cannot find some of them among the insects.

Henry. The carpenter has a saw. saw among these little fellows?

Is there any

and a capital There is a

Uncle Philip. Yes, indeed, there is; saw it is. Listen, and I will describe it. kind of fly called the saw-fly. It has four wings, and commonly its body is yellow, and its head is black; but the most curious part of it is the saw. The young feed upon the leaves of rose, gooseberry, raspberry, and currant bushes; also of willow and birchtrees. The old ones always lay their eggs on the branches of these bushes and trees, so that the young may have something to eat as soon as they come out. It uses its saw to make a place in the branch, to put its egg in.

Charles. What is the saw made of?

Uncle Philip. It is made of something like horn, and is fixed very nicely in a case. It resembles what the cabinet-makers call a tenon saw, more than it does the carpenter's common saw.

Henry. But it must take them a long time to saw a very little cut, they are so small.

Uncle Philip. It does; but they persevere. It takes them more than an hour and a half to make one groove, and sometimes they will make as many as six without stopping. That shows, boys, what perseverance will do.

Charles. This is a very curious fly, indeed.