disposition, were extremely attached to each other, and fond of being together.

They bought a sufficient number of squibs and crackers to make any two reasonable boys perfectly happy, and reached Greenfield, the name of their father's house, in good time for supper.

of the arrangement, and thought his father would feel more comfortable for having made it; in return for which his father bowed with equal politeness, and thanked him for his kind consideration of his comfort.

Joseph, the footboy, went and returned in good

"I say, boys," said their father, "I want you to attend to one thing particularly. You can be at the fireworks and all the rest of it to-morrow evening as usual, but you are not to have squibs and crackers in your pockets and let them off as you and some other boys did last year. It is a very dangerous thing to do, and might lead to serious accidents, and I won't have any more of it."

The two boys exchanged looks of blank disappointment.

"We've been and gone and bought them, and spent all our money, father," cried Ned, who always spoke first.

Perhaps, as we have made all our arrangements, and were actually in possession of the material before you informed us of your wishes, that it should not be made use of," said William the sententious, "it might be a fair compromise to say that next year we should desist from the practice, and this year follow it out as usual."

"I don't want a fair compromise, thank you," replied his father, laughing; "I merely want you to do what I say."

"Then what's the use of all the squibs and crackers?" asked Ned, dolefully.

"I don't know what's the use of any squibs and crackers, Master Ned."

"There is use in employing things in the manner in which you intended to employ them when you purchased them," said William.

"I'll tell you what then," said his father; "you may let them off in the field at the back of the house this evening, and we'll come and look at them— mamma and your sisters, and all."

"If you'll all stand out in the field and let us let them off among you," said William, a humorous twinkle in the corner of his serious eyes, though he spoke with his usual gravity, "it will be putting the material to the use for which it was purchased."

"I dare say we shall prefer the window,” said his father; "and look here, as you spent your money before I spoke, here's half-a-crown more; send Joseph off at once to Longford, and let him get some rockets, and you shall have a regular display to-night, taking the wind out of their sails tomorrow."

Ned clapped his hands, and William bowed politely and said he recognised the perfect justice

There was quite a fine display in the evening, which was greatly enjoyed by every member of the family, and William was entirely, and Ned almost, content with the change to orthodox fireworks at home from the pleasure of hidden and unexpected squibs in the middle of a crowd.

The next afternoon the two brothers went out as usual, and joined in the amusements of the village, which consisted of dressing up Guy Fawkes, carrying him round, lighting his bonfire, casting him into it, and then standing among others to witness a display of fireworks on the village green.

It was all very exciting and agreeable till the last part, when Ned became impatient of the delays that one is always liable to at country performances. He found it decidedly slow work waiting between the letting off of the various fiery creatures, and he longed for the forbidden pleasure of scattering the little knots of people at double quick time, such as he had enjoyed last year.

Just as he was feeling discontented and ill-used, he happened to put his hand in his pocket, and there, to his great astonishment, he found a squib that he had somehow overlooked on the previous evening.

What a delightful discovery. He never thought of what his father had said, or if he did think of it he stifled the recollection by the feeling that he could not have objected to one squib accidentally found in this manner, or that at any rate "no fellow could resist it.".

Rapidly and slyly he sent off the find, without giving himself a moment for reflection; and in the same instant, William, who was as ignorant as the rest of the crowd of what he was doing, hap-| pened to stoop over the very spot, thinking he saw something shining there that his curiosity prompted him to pick up, and received the gunpowder right in his face.

He lifted his hand to his brow, exclaiming in a terrified voice, "My eyes!" and then staggered, and would have fallen if Ned had not caught him.

Imagine, if you can, Ned's horror, misery, and remorse, as he helped home his brother, who declared himself to be not only in very great pain, but that he could hardly see anything at all

Doctor Saunders was sent for, and, after having made an examination, he said he could promise nothing; certainly at present there was considerable injury, but he hoped to preserve the sight. Poor William was put to bed in a darkened room; his mother prepared to sit up with him; the house was in confusion, and every one in distress.

But just imagine Ned's feelings if you can. He felt almost like a murderer, and as if he deserved to be burned alive more than any Guy Fawkes or witch that ever existed.

"You see now, my dear boy," his father said kindly to him, "the reason of my not letting you and William let off squibs-you see how dangerous it is; why, you yourself might have hurt your brother in this way, and you would never have forgiven yourself."

Then came a burst of tears from the culprit, who in the burst of passionate sobs that quite amazed his father, made his confession, and told how he had found the squib in his pocket, and had, without thinking, let it off.

His father was very sorry for him, and feeling that he had himself brought the severest punishment he could have on his head, did not treat him with any severity; only pointing out to him more

sorrowfully than angrily, how disobedience had been the cause of it all. "You know I have often told you, you were not careful enough about small disobediences," he said; "if you had the habit of strict obedience this could not have happened, for though you found the squib in your pocket you would not have ever been tempted to let it off."

Poor Ned confessed and admitted it all, vowing to acquire that habit from that night forward, and so blaming himself that his father had rather to console him than join in the condemnation.

William was ill for some time, and suffered a good deal; but he did not lose his eyesight. He recovered perfectly after a few weeks, and saw as well as ever.

But Ned never forgot the lesson he had received. His thoughtlessness had received a shock from which it did not rally, and the habit of implicit obedience thus acquired, he never broke through. He often felt in after years, when he was a soldier fighting for his queen and country, that this habit was of the greatest use to him, and that without it he would never have risen, as he did, or become the distinguished officer who not only himself obeyed, but impressed on all those who entered the service that obedience was one of the first of virtues.

TINY river ripples onward,
Babbles over moss and stone,

Flowing, flowing, ever flowing,
Singing in a joyous tone.

Gladly smile the little daisies

Which that river grow beside : Gladly sing the happy song-birds, While 'mid sedgy haunts they hide; Gladly nod the dewy grasses

On its bonny banks and green; Gladly grow the river mosses, Peeping little stones between ; Gladly stoop the pensive willows

Those bright river-ripples o'er, Thanking for its cooling water,

Telling how they thirst no more; Gladly talk the little children,

As they look upon the stream ; Gladly smiles the dancing sunlight, While the brook reflects its gleam.

Flow, thou happy little river,
Bear thy message night and day,
Telling how the sunny-hearted
Carry sunshine on their way.

ALL ALONE. PRETTY little weary one Sat on the paving stone; The tiny head went nod, nod, nod, And she was all alone. Upon the softly-rounded cheeks

The little lids repose; She looks as pure and innocent, As some pale budding rose. The little head drops gently down Upon the cold hard stone ; She sleeps the little darling dreams, Nor knows she's all alone. Alone, dear child, but not aloneA Father's loving eye Watches the sleeping little one, From realms beyond the sky.

A New Prize Competition.

An announcement of a New Competition of a novel character, and of interest to readers of all ages, in which Prizes in Money and Books of the value of £75 are offered, appears in "Snow Time and Glow Time," the Extra Christmas Number of LITTLE FOLKS.

A Tale of a Hat.

Nearly seven hundred years ago, Philip II. of France summoned King John of England either to trial or to combat for the murder of Prince Arthur. As the latter cared for neither, a gallant soldier named De Courcy, then languishing in prison, was set free that he might undertake the combat not for his king's, but for his country's sake. The fight, however, never took place, for Philip's champion, afraid of the gigantic De Courcy, preferred to sacrifice his honour to risking his life. Being urged by John and Philip, who had come to witness the expected encounter, to give them an exhibition of his strength, De Courcy placed his helmet upon a post, and cleaving it with terrific force, drove his sword so firmly into the wood that none but the striker could withdraw it. "Never," said King John, "never unveil thy bonnet, man, again, before king or subject." Thus the privilege of wearing the hat in presence of the sovereign came to be enjoyed solely by the De Courcys, Earls of Kinsale. They asserted their privilege by wearing their hat for a moment and then uncovering, but the De Courcy of George III.'s reign not thinking this assertion sufficient, on one occasion wore his court hat all the time he was in presence of the king. But the third George crushed the display of pride by remarking, "The gentleman has a right to be covered before me; but even King John could give him no right to be covered before ladies."

The War of the Rooks and Herons.

An interesting example of the reasoning power of animals is afforded in the story of the war between the herons and rooks at Dallam Tower, Westmoreland. According to Mr. Gough, its narrator. one of the groves there was resorted to by a number of herons, while the other formed one of the largest rookeries in the country. The two tribes lived peaceably for a time, but the trees occupied by the herons being at length cut down, and the | young brood perishing by the fall of the timber, it became necessary for the parent birds to find a new home. The trees in the locality were not high enough for nesting purposes, so they tried to pitch their quarters in the rookery. This intrusion was fiercely resisted by the rooks, between whom and the herons bitter war was waged, in the course of which many lives were lost. The herons ultimately conquered, built their nests, and reared their young. Hostilities were again resumed in the following spring, and once more the herons were victors. Since then peace has prevailed; the rooks, recognising the force of facts, abandoned the part of the grove now occupied by the herons. while the latter did not trespass upon their neighbours' trees; so both factions live together in the old unity that existed before their quarrel.

Magna Charta nearly lost.

The original of that supremely important document, which the barons of England made King John sign at Runnymede, was once-so the story goes-in imminent danger of destruction. It came into the possession of a tailor, and he, ignorant of its value, and, probably, of its real nature, was about to cut it up for trade purposes, when it was rescued from his hands, and consigned to the British Museum, where it has remained in safety ever since.

Adventure with a Jaguar.

Mr. Catlin, the well-known traveller, was the hero of an adventure with a jaguar, perhaps one of the most remarkable on record. Most of his party were lying asleep, during the heat of the day, on the boat, which had been moored to the bank under the shade of the trees. He and one of his fellowtravellers were ashore, the latter being busily engaged in "basting," with gravy, a fat pig that was being roasted for dinner. He was lying on one side of the fire opposite Catlin, whose eye, he noticed, was suddenly fixed upon something over his shoulder. Catlin then said in a low voice, " Now I want you to keep perfectly cool; there is a splendid jaguar behind you!" Turning gently round, the other noticed a magnificent animal eight paces off, lying flat on his sides and playing with the leg of one of the sleeping Spaniards. Their rifles had been left in the boat, but Catlin cautiously withdrew on his hands and feet, and succeeded in getting a gun without alarming the jaguar. Waiting until the animal raised his head, so as to avoid hitting the uncon

Chancellor, decided a case against Lord Arundel, in which a lady was the prosecutor, the lady, out of gratitude, presented Sir Thomas, on the following New Year's Day, with a pair of gloves with forty gold angels (about £20) in them. "It would," said the Lord Chancellor, "be against good manners to forsake a gentlewoman's New Year's gift, and I accept the gloves; the lining you will elsewhere bestow."

How the Bat Walks.

In olden times it was supposed that the bat was a bird, though some people believed it to be neither bird nor beast. Latterly, however, correct observation has shown that it is a quadruped, possessing the distinction of being the only true flying mammal. The framework of the "wing" is in the bones and muscles of its arm and fingers-and long and lanky these fingers are. It has a mouselike body, and on this account has been called the fly. ing mouse. Flight forms its ordinary means of motion; but it can walk or run, though it does either in an awkward clumsy manner. In this latter position it moves by the action of its

scious Spaniard, Catlin at length got an opportunity and fired. The jaguar leaped about fifteen feet upwards with a terrible yell and fell dead. The Spaniard jumped nearly as far in a different direction, learning, for the first time, the serious danger in which he had been placed. Almost immediately afterwards, the jaguar's mate sprang up behind Catlin's back, and before he had an opportunity of shooting it, had disappeared into the depths of the virgin forest.

Glove-Money.

In olden times it was a popular custom to present a pair of gloves as a New Year's gift, or to give what was called glove-money in their stead. Sometimes a few gold pieces were placed inside the gloves, a practice that was occasionally taken advantage of as a convenient mode of bribing. It is stated that Sir Thomas More, having, when Lord

hind feet and the claws of its thumb, the "wings" being folded by a doubling-back of the joint by which they are extended for flight, the fingers being drawn together towards the fore-arm, while the membrane of the "wing" hangs in leathery folds at the sides of the body. The eyes of the bat are very small and bead-like.

Shoe-Blacks.

One scarcely realises that the calling of a shoe. black is time-honoured; yet it is a fact that a hundred and fifty years ago several shoe-blacks plied their trade in the streets of London. Dr. Johnson and other authors of his period allude to them. The blacking was carried in a pipkin, an old wig was used to wipe the dust or dirt off the shoes, which were then, as now, cleaned on the feet, and so neatly that the bright buckles were not soiled nor were the white stockings smudged.