Then let not what I cannot have
My peace of mind destroy ;
While thus I sing, I am a king,
Although a poor blind boy!

GOD TEACHES.

WHO taught the bird to build her nest
Of wool, and hay, and moss?
Who taught her how to weave it best,
And lay the twigs across?

Who taught the busy bee to fly
Among the sweetest flowers;
And lay her store of honey by,
To eat in winter hours?

Who taught the little ant the way
Her narrow hole to bore;

And through the pleasant summer day
To gather up her store?

'Twas God, who taught them all the way,
And gave their little skill;
And teaches children how to pray,
And do his holy will.

OBEDIENCE.

OBEDIENCE is doing what we are told to do. It is a duty which belongs to all men: all must obey God; and, besides obeying God, most people must obey others also. I will try to explain to you whom you must obey.

First of all, you must obey God. Whatever God commands, that you ought to do whatever God forbids, you must carefully avoid. God's commands are written in the Bible; therefore, you should read the Bible diligently, to find out what God wishes you to do; and, when you have learned his will, pray for grace that you may do it. If any one tells you to do anything contrary to the will of God, you must not listen to him, even though it were your parent who told you so. Saint Peter said, we must obey

God rather than man.

Next to obeying God, you must obey your father and mother; and you must do so because God has commanded it, and for the sake of pleasing him. Little children, especially, are bound to obey their parents; because they are not able to judge for themselves, and their parents take care of them, and also supply all their wants. A child has nothing but what is given to it by its father and mother; and, therefore, it ought to do entirely what they please: unless they wish it to disobey God; then God must be obeyed, not man. When children are grown up, they are not so much under the authority of their parents, because they can then provide for themselves; but they ought still to honour their parents, and try to please them as much as possible. Think how much your father and mother have done for you; how they have taken care of you year after year; how they have provided you with food and clothing; and how very sad and ungrateful it will be if you forget your duty to them when they are old. Now is the time to thank them for all their kindness and

tender care to you; then you may show that you are grateful, by doing all you can to help them and take care of them.

There are some others whom you must obey besides your parents: you must honour, and obey, and pray for the queen, and all that are set in authority over you; and you must lead a peaceable life.

Those who are servants, must obey their masters and mistresses. St. Paul teaches this, when he tells servants not to serve their masters with eye-service. He means, that they are not to do as they are ordered only while their masters are looking; but to act just in the same way, whether they are present or absent.

Besides this, scholars must obey their teachers: young persons must honour and respect old ones people must honour their pastor, who watches for their souls, and teaches them heavenly things; they must show him great respect, because he is the minister of Jesus Christ.

Lastly, you are taught "to behave yourself lowly and reverently to all your betters. God has not made all men equal in wealth and power: to some he has given more; to others, less. We should be satisfied that this is so, because God made it so. We ought, also, to respect and honour those whom God has set over us; and we ought to do it for the sake of pleasing God, and because it is his holy will.

WHAT is obedience ?

Whom should we first obey?

Where shall we find God's commands?

What should be our prayer when we read the Bible?

Whom does St. Peter tell us to obey?
Whom should we next obey?

Why?

What commandment teaches this ?
What have our parents done for us?

When is it proper to disobey our parents?
Whom must we obey besides them?
Does God's word teach this?

Whom should servants obey?

And whom should scholars obey?

Whom should young persons always honour and respect?

Any one else besides ?

Why should we honour our pastor?

How are we taught to behave ourselves to our betters ?

What should every one be satisfied with ?
Who orders every one's condition in life?

THE DAISY.

WHAT can be a prettier sight than a green field all sprinkled over with daisies? You have, I am sure, often sported amongst them when you were little children. Have you not been like the butterfly-now here, now there-gathering flower by flower, till your little hands were so full, you could scarcely grasp the bunch you had collected? The sun shone, the birds sang, and you were very happy: yet the pleasant day passed; you returned to your homes, the daisies soon withered and were forgotten! I dare say this has happened a hundred times.

To-day let us just take up a daisy by the

root, and examine it, and think about it, and try if we can learn any useful lesson from this modest flower.

Look first at the root, tufted together like coarse white threads. No beauty of colouring is here; but it is just fit to keep the plant firm in the ground, and to draw up nourishment from thence. Then come the green leaves, placed so neatly one by the other, with an edging round each of very small notches. Amongst them rises the stem, so soft and downy; and upon it is the beautiful flower. See, first, the rough green cup in which it was folded when a little bud; then that beautiful circle of delicate leaves, either quite white or else tipped with crimson: in the centre of these white leaves is a bright golden ball.

This is all very beautiful, and very wonderful; but who made the little daisy thus perfect? The God of nature, who made all things. How great, and wise, and powerful must that Being be, who not only creates man, and animals, and birds, and the tall trees with their waving tops, but condescends to spangle the earth with fair flowers!

Must he not, also, be very good, who provides for you and all the millions of living creatures; yet also cares for and nourishes the humble daisy! Our God refreshes it with rain and dew, his glorious sun shines upon it, and the little flower bursts out in all its beauty. Is there no lesson to be drawn from this? Look at the daisy again; its bright open face is the image of happiness. A gleam of sunshine, a drop of dew, is all it wants. Shall God be so