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3. "Come, William," said one of them, "we are going to have a fine time in the woods, and then we are going to the river to fish. You had better come with us. Your mother will never know that you did not go to school."

4. William wished very much to go with the boys. It was a very pleasant, warm day, and he thought that the woods and the river would be much more agreeable to him than the school house.

5. But he also thought that he would be obliged to tell his mother a lie if she should ask him how he had recited his lessons that morning; and he would have to tell a lie to the schoolmistress, who would be sure to ask him why he did not come to school. He therefore decided at once that he would

not go.

6. "No, Thomas," said he, "I cannot tell mother a lie. I will ask her some day to let me go into the woods with you, but I cannot go unless she knows it."

7. William was such an honest, manly little boy, that the other boys did not laugh at him because he would not tell a lie. Indeed, they felt a little ashamed at having wished him to deceive his mother.

8. William kept on his way to school, and thought no more of going to the woods. When he came home, he felt more pleased because he had done what he knew was right, than he would have felt if he had played in the woods all day.

XLIX.-ORDER AND REGULARITY.

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chil'dren

at-těn'tion

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dirt'y mörn'ing är'ti-cle prop'er-ty bind'ing frequent-ly up-pre-hend' pēo'ple an-oth'er ev'er-y ac-cöûnt' diş-ör'der-ly

1. WHEN little Benjamin returned from school, he always threw his books about the room, though he had a book-case in which to put them. They became dirty and damaged, and the binding of many of them was much injured.

2. When he read a book, he left it in the place where he had been reading it. So one lay on the stairs, another in the parlor, and a third in the garden.

3. When he undressed himself in the evening, he laid his boots on the table; he threw his clothes about the room; and sometimes his hat lay upon the bed in which he slept.

4. In the morning, he frequently rose from bed when the other children were at school; and he dressed himself in such haste, that his coat was not brushed, his boots were not cleaned, and his hair was not combed.

5. Then he began to look for his books; but it would take him a long time to find them. He was always late at school, and on this account he was frequently reproved. But he did not reform.

6. One day the master said to the scholars, "Clothes and books cost a great deal of money; they cannot be purchased every day; of course they ought to be preserved in order.

7. To be orderly is to keep your things neat and in their proper places, so that they may not be spoiled or damaged. Have a place for every thing, and every thing in its place; a time for every thing, and do every thing in its proper time.

8. "Can you be called orderly if your coat is not brushed, your hair not combed, and your shoes not cleaned? Can you be said to love order if you throw your books about, and they become torn or dirty? Certainly not. A love of order may save you much money, and likewise much trouble.

9. "By attention to order you gain much time; for when one article lies here and another there, much time is lost before they can be found.

10. "When people see that a boy is orderly, they love him; but if they observe that he is disorderly, they do not. They will not trust him with any thing belonging to them, for they apprehend that he will not be more careful of their property than of his own."

11. Benjamin listened attentively to all this. He thought to himself, "I shall make a trial, to see if this be true." He began to be orderly. His books and clothes were afterwards kept in good order, and they were always in their proper places.

12. He found his account in this, and that his master was right. He continued to be regular and orderly. His clothes were no longer dirty, and he was always at school in good time, and was very attentive to his studies.

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1. WHEN William was about five years old, his mother took him up in her lap one evening, and said, "William, it is time for you to go to bed."

2.

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O," said William, "must I go now?" 3. "Did you know," said his mother, "that

it is wrong for you to ask that question?" 4. "Why, mother?" said William, surprised. 5. "When I think it is time for you to go to bed, it is wrong for you to say or do any thing which shows that you are not willing to go."

6. "Why is it wrong, mother?"

7. "Because it makes it more unpleasant for you to go, and more unpleasant for me to send you. Now, whenever I think it is time for you to go, it is my duty to send you, and it is your duty to go; and we should never do any thing to make our duty unpleasant."

8. William then said nothing. He sat still a few minutes, thinking.

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