"Sisters and brothers, little maid,

How many may you be?"
"How many? Seven in all," she said,
And wondering looked at me.

"And where are they? I pray you tell."
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.

"Two of us in the churchyard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And in the churchyard cottage I

Dwell near them, with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,

Yet ye are seven: I pray you tell,
Sweet maid, how this may be."

Then did the little maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the churchyard lie,
Beneath the churchyard tree."

"You run about, my little maid;
Your limbs they are alive:
If two are in the churchyard laid,
Then ye are only five."

"Their graves are green; they may be seen,"

The little maid replied,

"Twelve steps or more from mother's door,

And they are side by side.

"My stockings there I often knit;
My 'kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit;
I sit and sing to them.

"And often, after sunset, sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,

And eat my supper there.

"The first that died was little Jane;
In bed she moaning lay,

Till God released her from her pain;
And then she went away.

"So in the churchyard she was laid;
And when the grass was dry,
Together round the grave we played,
My brother John and I.

"And when the ground was white with snow, And I could run and slide,

My brother John was forced to go;
And he lies by her side."

"How many are you, then," said I,

"If they two are in heaven?"

The little maiden did reply,

"But they are dead those two are dead;

Their spirits are in heaven."

'Twas throwing words away; for still

The little maid would have her will,

And said, "Nay, we are seven."

XLIII.-THE BETTER LAND.

MRS. HEMANS.

?

"I HEAR thee speak of the better land;
Thou callest its children a happy band.
Mother, O, where is that radiant shore?
Shall we not seek it, and weep no more
Is it where the flower of the orange blows,
And the fireflies dance through the myrtle boughs?"
"Not there, not there, my child. ̈

"Is it where the feathery palm trees rise,
And the date grows ripe under sunny skies?
Or 'midst the green islands of glittering seas,
Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze,
And strange, bright birds, on their starry wings,
Bear the rich hues of all glorious things?"

"Not there, not there, my child.”

"Is it far away, in some region old,

Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold,
Where the burning rays of the ruby shine,
And the diamond lights up the secret mine,
And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand,
Is it there, sweet mother, that better land?"

"Not there, not there, my child.

"Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy,
Ear hath not heard its deep songs of joy;
Dreams cannot picture a world so fair;
Sorrow and death may not enter there;
Time does not breathe on its fadeless bloom.
Far beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb,

It is there, it is there, my child."

XLIV. THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOGS.

-

J. ABBOTT.

[This lesson and the succeeding one are taken from a book called Lapstone. It is one of a series of books published for children by the Messrs. Harper, of New York, and called Harper's Story Books. Lapstone is the name of a man. He is described as a shoemaker, who had once been a sailor. He lives in a village in New Jersey. The boys of the place are fond of going to his shop, and hearing him tell stories of what he saw when he was a sailor. Orkney and Top are two of these boys.]

LAPSTONE did not forget his plan of getting a Newfoundland dog to come and live with him, though he was prevented from carrying the plan into effect as soon as he had intended. He meant, at the time he first spoke to Orkney on the subject, to have gone or sent immediately; but, soon after the great snow storm, there came a thaw, and then, soon after the thaw, there followed a hard frost, which made it very rough and slippery. Then there came a long period, during which the roads were very muddy, and thus so many weeks passed away that both Lapstone and Orkney concluded that the pups which Orkney had heard of must have grown up, and been sold or given away.

"However," said Orkney, "I will inquire upon every opportunity that I get, and when I hear of any more for sale I will let you know."

Accordingly, one morning in the month of May, Orkney came to Lapstone's shop, and told him that he had heard of a man, a sort of half farmer and half fisherman, who lived on the sea coast about eight miles off, who had some young Newfoundland dogs to sell. The way in which Orkney happened to hear of them was through the carpenter at whose house he lived. This carpenter had a great deal of business in all the surrounding country, and he often went away from home to do work in the neighboring towns and villages. So, when Orkney told him that Lapstone wished to buy a young Newfoundland dog, he undertook to make inquiries for him. In his inquiries he had heard of these, and told Orkney of them.

When Lapstone heard Orkney's report he was much pleased.

"I will go immediately," said he, "and secure one of them, before they are gone. Can you get a wagon for me?" "Yes, sir," said Orkney; "Top's father has got a wagon that you can hire."

"Go and see if you can hire it," said Lapstone; "and get Top to go too. I want you to go to drive the wagon, and Top to bring the dog home. We can all three go. Top can have a seat behind, and take care of the dog, if we get one."

So Orkney went to Top's father to inquire about the wagon. He found that he could have it at any time. So it was all arranged that they were to have the wagon the next Saturday afternoon. Top was to go too. His father said, when the arrangement was made, that he should like to have a Newfoundland dog himself, to keep watch in his stable.

"But I suppose the man will ask a dollar or more for one of them," he added, "and I cannot very well afford to pay so much."

When the time arrived, Orkney went for the wagon, and he and Top harnessed the horse into it. Then they drove to Lapstone's door. Lapstone was already in his shop waiting for them. He had a basket to bring the dog home in. There was a cloth and a string in the basket, which were to be used to fasten the dog in.

"After all," said Lapstone, just before he got into the wagon, "I will not take any basket. If the little fellow is not willing to come with me of his own accord, he need not come. I will not bring him against his will."

So Lapstone put the basket away, and got into the wagon without it.

It was a very pleasant afternoon, and the party had a charming drive. The road led along the sea shore, and for a considerable part of the way it followed a high bank overlooking the water. The boys could see the ships and steamers passing to and fro along the coast, and here and there they came to little hamlets of fishermen's houses close to the water, with the fishing boats drawn up before them on the beach.