THE CRUEL BOY AND THE MICROSCOPE.

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was, he said, a trifle; but the wickedness of a little boy, who could wantonly rob so harmless an animal, was not a trifle. Boys who could do that, showed that they had cruel hearts, and were likely to be more cruel afterwards. He was delighted to think that he had two sons who already felt it to be wrong to rob birds' nests.

THE CRUEL BOY AND THE MICROSCOPE.

A certain youth indulged himself in the cruel entertainment of torturing and killing flies. He tore off their wings and legs, and then watched with pleasure their vain attempts to escape from him. Sometimes he collected a number of them together, and crushed them at once to death, glorying in the wickedness he committed. His tutor remonstrated with him in vain on this barbarous conduct. He could not persuade him to believe that flies ever feel pain, and have a right, no less than ourselves, to life, liberty, and enjoyment. The signs of agony which they expressed by their movements, the cruel boy neither understood nor would attend to.

The tutor had a glass for enabling us to see small objects, and he desired his pupil one day to examine a most beautiful and surprising animal. "Mark," said he, "it is studded from head to tail with black and silver, and its body is covered all over with the most curious bristles! The head contains a pair of lively eyes encircled with silver hairs, and the trunk consists of two parts which fold over each other. The whole body is ornamented with plumes and gildings which surpass the dress of the greatest princes." Pleased and astonished with what he saw, the youth was impatient to know the name and properties of this wonderful animal. It was withdrawn from the magnifier; and when presented to his naked eye, proved to be a poor fly, which had been the victim of his wanton cruelty.

THE PRISONER AND THE RAT.

In Paris there was once a large fortress called the Bastile, which was used as a prison. When the king was offended

with any one, he caused him to be taken to the Bastile, and confined there. Some prisoners were kept in confinement for many years: they were loaded with heavy chains; they were never allowed to go into the open air; and they were not permitted to see any of their relations. There was once in the Bastile a prisoner named La Tude. He was put in when twenty-three years of age, and kept there and in other prisons for thirty-five years, so that he was quite an old man when he got free. This poor man was kept for many years in a little room, where he had no company. He saw no one but the jailor who brought him his food. This was the greatest of all his afflictions, for there are few things more necessary to happiness than the society of our fellow-creatures.

In La Tude's room there was no light, except what came through a horizontal slit in the wall; and as the wall was thick, this slit was very deep. One day, as he was looking through the slit, he saw a rat come to the farther end of it. Rats are creatures which human beings do not in general like to have near them; but La Tude was so solitary, that he was glad of the approach of any living thing. He threw the rat a small piece of bread, taking care not to frighten it by any violent movement. It came forward, and took the bread, and then seemed to wish for more. La Tude threw another piece to a less distance, and the animal came and took that piece also. He then threw another to a still less distance, by which the rat was tempted to come still nearer to him. Thus he induced the creature to have some confidence in him. As long as he threw bread, it remained; and when it could eat no more, it carried off to its hole the fragments which it had not devoured.

Next day, the rat appeared again. He threw it some bread, and also a small piece of beef, which it seemed to relish very much. On the third day, it came again, and was now so tame as to eat from La Tude's hands. On the fifth day, it changed its residence to a small hole near the inner end of the slit, apparently wishing to be nearer to its benefactor. It came very early next morning to get its breakfast from La Tude, and appeared no more that day. On the ensuing morning it came again, but it now had a

THE PRISONER AND THE RATS.

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companion. This was a female rat, which peeped cautiously from the hole, apparently very much afraid of the prisoner. La Tude tried to entice the stranger towards him, by throwing her bread and meat, but for a long time she refused to venture out. At length, seeing the other rat eat so heartily, she rushed forward, seized a piece, and immediately retreated. In a little while she became bolder, and even disputed some pieces with the male rat. Whenever she succeeded in taking a piece out of his teeth, he came up to La Tude, as if to make complaint, and receive consolation. When La Tude gave him a piece to make up for what he had lost, he sat down close by, and ate it in an ostentatious manner, sitting on his haunches, and holding the meat in his paws like a monkey, as if he meant to defy his female friend to come and take it from him, now that he was so near one who could protect him.

For some days the female continued to be very shy, and the male rat ate in peace near La Tude. But at length she could bear no longer to see her companion faring so well, while she was starving. One day, just as La Tude had given the male rat his first piece, she sprang out, and seized it in her teeth. The male rat held fast; she pulled violently; a severe struggle took place; and the two creatures rolled away together towards their hole, into which the female pulled the male. La Tude was greatly diverted by this contest, and for the moment almost forgot his misfortunes.

By and bye the female rat became as familiar as the other, and daily ate her dinner out of La Tude's hand. There then appeared a third, who was much less shy at first than either of the others had been. At the second visit, this third rat constituted himself one of the family, and made himself so perfectly at home that he resolved to introduce his companions. The next day, he came accompanied by two others, who, in the course of a week, brought five more; and thus, in less than a fortnight, La Tude found himself surrounded by ten large rats. He now gave each of them names, which they learned to distinguish. They would also come out whenever he called them. He allowed them for some time to eat out of his own plate, but their habits being rather

slovenly, he was afterwards glad to give them a separate dish. He would also make them leap for bits of bread and meat, like dogs. When they had dined, he made them all dance around him. In short, they became to him like a family of gamesome little children, and he almost felt happy in their presence. He now scarcely wished for freedom, for in the world he had met with nothing but cruelty and oppression, while here all was affection and peace. But his pleasure with his rats was not of long continuance: at the end of two years he was removed to another room in a distant part of the prison, whither his rats, of course, could not follow him. He wept bitterly at thus parting with the friendly creatures, and for some time felt the pains of imprisonment to be more severe than they ever appeared before. We thus see how painful is complete solitude, and how gladly a human being will associate with any kind of company, rather than be altogether alone. The story also shows that, in certain circumstances, the creatures which we most loathe and despise may be of service to us.

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.-Proverbs of Solomon, xii. 10.

CONDUCT TOWARDS RELATIONS.

WE ought to be kind to all who are related to us, particularly to our father, mother, sisters, and brothers. Our father and mother fed, clothed, and took care of us, when we were young and helpless; and without their kindness we might have died of want. It is therefore proper that we should feel grateful to them, and love them, and be ready to do them all the good in our power. We should, in particular, be glad to obey them in all their reasonable requests and commands.

Brothers and sisters, being brought up together, eating at the same table, playing at the same sports, and united by the love of one father and one mother, are always ex

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pected to love each other. If they do so, they show themselves to have good feelings, and that they are worthy of being loved by others. But if they fall out and quarrel, their conduct will appear so unnatural and wicked, that all other people will detest them. Brothers and sisters who love each other, may also be of great use in promoting each other's welfare, when they grow up: for this reason, when children, they should cultivate each other's affections with all possible care.

THE RAT AND ITS BURDEN.

Even from despised and noxious animals, we may derive a lesson of regard for our parents.

In houses and ships, rats sometimes become so numerous as to do much mischief. It then becomes necessary to lay traps to catch them, or arsenic to poison them, or in some other way to diminish their number. Once, in a vessel sailing from New York to Lisbon for wine, the rats were found to increase very fast, and to be very mischievous. They ate so much, and destroyed so much, that the sailors grew quite angry with them, and resolved, on the first opportunity, to get rid of them. Accordingly, when the vessel was safe in Lisbon harbour, the captain ordered sulphur to be kindled in the hold. The rats, unable to endure the fumes, left their holes, and, in endeavouring to escape, were killed in great numbers by the sailors. At length, one appeared on the deck, bearing on his back another rat, which was quite grey with age, and also blind. The men, supposing the old rat to be the father of the young one, were affected by the sight; they could not think of killing an animal which showed so much filial tenderness; it was allowed to pass in safety, and to carry its aged parent to some other habitation.

ANAPIAS AND AMPHINOMUS.

A volcanic mountain is one which has a hollow at the top, through which smoke, flames, stones, and hot melted matter, are sometimes thrown with great violence. Ætna, in Sicily, is the principal mountain of this kind in Europe. Many

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