9. Do you understand it?" said his mother.

10. "Yes, mother," said William.

11. "Suppose, now, any mother should say to her boy, Come, my boy, it is time for you to go to bed;' and the boy should say, 'I will not go.' Would that be right, or wrong?" 12. O, very wrong," said William.

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13. "Suppose he should begin to cry, and say he did not want to go."

14. "That would be very wrong, too," said William.

15. "Suppose he should begin to beg a little, and say, 'I do not want to go now; I

should think you might let me sit up a little longer.' What should you think of that?" 16. "It would be wrong."

17. "Suppose he should look up into his mother's face sorrowfully, and say, 'Must I go now, mother?""

18. "Wrong," said William, faintly.

19. "Suppose he should not say a word, but look cross and ill-humored, and throw away his playthings in a pet, and walk by the side of his mother reluctantly and slowly. What should you think of that?"

20. “I think it would be wrong."

21. "Suppose he should look good-humored, and say, 'Well, mother,' and come pleasantly to take her hand, and bid the persons in the room good night, and walk on cheerfully."

22. "That would be right," said William. 23. "Yes," said his mother; "and always, when a child is told by his father, mother, or teacher to do any thing, whether it is pleasant to do it or not, he ought to obey at once, and cheerfully."

24. William never forgot this conversation with his mother; and when he became a man, he always obeyed the laws of his country, and was respected by all who knew him.

1. CLARA LEE was a good little girl. It pleased her to do as her parents wished, and she loved her books and her work.

2. This was all right, and it made her parents and friends very happy. Besides this, she was mild and gentle, and was kind and obliging to every body.

3. But Clara had one bad habit, which often gave much trouble to herself and to her friends. It also grieved her kind mother. She was not neat and orderly. Her books would be thrown down in one place, her work in another, her thimble here, and her scissors there. Nothing that Clara called hers was kept in its right place.

4. Clara was eight years old, and it was quite time that she should do better. Even very little children know that it is not right

1 Pronounced of'n.

to fling every thing about, and never to be neat and orderly.

5. Her mother had often talked to her, and told her how to do better. Clara would promise to try, but she forgot it.

6. When Clara's birthday came, the weather was fine, and her mother walked with her in the garden. She showed her a beautiful little work basket, with the scissors, thimble, needles, and thread, which she used every day, neatly placed in it.

7. Clara was much pleased with the basket, and her mother said to her, "This is your birthday present. Your father has just brought it to you. If, at the end of a month, I find that you have taken good care of it, and have left off your bad habits, I shall give you a new silver thimble, a needle-book, and a pair of scissors with a silver case. More than all this, you will be doing right, and make me happy."

8. Clara thanked her mother, and said she would try to do right. She often thought of her promise; and for more than three weeks she kept every thing in its proper place.

9. One day in the fourth week, her mother went out for a few hours, and left Clara to

finish her lessons and work. Just as she had done, she saw some beautiful birds flying about in the garden.

10. She dropped her basket and work, and away she ran to try to catch them, just to look at them for a minute, and let them go again. She ran around a great deal, but could not catch them; and then went back to put away her basket and work before her mother came home.

11. She put every thing in nice order; but her thimble was missing. She lost it while chasing the birds, and it could not be found.

12. Clara was very sorry. In two days

more she was to have had the new thimble. She thought about it for some time, and then said to herself, that she would not tell her mother.

13. This was very wrong. It was worse than losing the thimble. How sad it is, when children commit great sins to hide little faults!

14. When her mother returned, and praised Clara for having put every thing in good order, it made Clara's heart ache. She knew that she deserved no praise. She felt that she had done wrong. She had deceived her

mother.