other he slipped down the chimney, and tied round his own thigh; and he had to make haste, for the water now began to boil in the pot, and he had still to grind the oatmeal.

So he began to grind away; but while he was hard at it, down fell the cow off the house-top after all, and as she fell she dragged the man up the chimney by the rope. There he stuck fast; and as for the cow, she hung half-way down between heaven and earth-for she could neither get down nor up.

And now the goody had waited seven lengths and seven breadths for her husband to come and call them home to dinner, but never a call they had. At last, she thought she had waited long enough, and went home. But when she got there and saw the cow hanging in such an ugly place, she ran up and cut the rope in two with her scythe. But as she did this, down came her husband out of the chimney; and so, when his old dame came inside the kitchen, there she found him standing on his head in the porridge-pot.*

*This lesson is very simple, and will form a good revisal exercise in dictation.

carefully, connected, dangerous, destruction, difficulty.

I am going to tell you one of Old Tom's stories. Old Tom was the oldest man in our village when I was a boy; indeed, I thought him the oldest man anywhere, his face was so brown and wrinkled, and he hobbled so feebly on his wooden leg. His eyes were bright though,

and his stiff curls-thin long curls just behind each ear -were as carefully twisted as if they were still black and glossy. He had ear-rings in his ears, which I always connected with a story of savages, perhaps because that was the first story I ever heard him tell; and I was looking at his ears all the time he was telling it. The story was this, as nearly as I can recollect:

'When I was a young fellow of twenty, I was on board a merchant vessel that was going to carry a young man out to the West Indies. He had an uncle there, a very wealthy man, and this young Mr Standman was going to join him. He was about my age; but as far as I could learn, he thought of nothing but money and growing rich. I had been out to those parts before, so he would often come and talk to me about them, and ask how a fortune could be made, and what slaves were worth, and such like. He made me describe his uncle's place over and over again, till I was tired of it; and when I heard he was going to marry the old merchant's daughter and only child, I thought it must be her wealth. and not her he wanted. However, that was not my business.

'We were expecting to reach our port in a week or so, when a storm came on. I have seen a good many storms, but I never saw a worse storm than that. Three days it lasted, and on the night of the third we were drifted on to a dangerous shore, and the ship struck against a rock. How the waves leaped up round her, while we all hurried on deck! and, some in boats, and some on planks, and some too frightened to wait for anything, but leaping as they were into the water, we tried to make for the shore. It was not far distant; but the surf ran very high, and many a poor fellow was swept back by it into the dark waves.

'When the first glimmer of day came, I, who had reached shore I hardly, know how-for I can only remember that I dashed on blinded and breathless, now clinging to a rock, now forced back into the sea, now clutching the shore again-beheld the sea stretching out before me, smiling and calm, not a trace of life upon her, only the bow of the vessel visible among the huge rocks that had been her destruction. Then I looked round me on the shore, and not far off I saw what seemed a dead body. I went up to it on my hands and knees. It was Mr Standman; he was not dead, but he was senseless. With much difficulty for I was very weak-I dragged him into the shelter of some trees, and hid him among the low brushwood that grew at their roots. Then I went in search of water, and had just brought him to his senses, when I heard a cry such as I had never heard before. I knew in a moment that it could not be any wild beast, that it must be the cry of savages, and my first feeling was a wish that I had died in the sea.

[Write from dictation]

With difficulty we kept the ship afloat, our position was most dangerous, and we were on the verge of destruction. On the day after the wreck I dragged my comrade into the shelter of some trees, and went in search of water.

THE GENTLE SAVAGE-continued.

[Spell and write]

companion, instantly, comrades, concealed, deceived, received, perceived, believed, relieved, neighbouring.

'My companion was startled too, but I put my hand on his mouth, and, stooping down, whispered: "Savages!" He fainted away again instantly, and I thought it, on the

whole, the best thing he could do. I moved the leaves softly, and peered through them, and there I saw a band of some fifty dark-brown fellows, with bright-coloured blankets round them, and feathers in their hair, going down to the shore. They had, no doubt, seen the poor ship lying there, and had come down for plunder. I only hoped they would be content with that, and not look for victims; but there was a broad mark on the shore and into the brushwood, where I had dragged my young merchant, and they must soon find it out. How helpless I felt hiding there! As long as a man can fight for his life, he does not know what fear is, though death may look straight into his eyes; but when he has to sit still and wait for it, do you know what he does then, boys? Why, he prays as he never prayed before. I know I did then, and it was the old words—the old church words came back to me" from murder and from sudden death"-I knew what they meant then.

'Well, as I watched, I saw them all go down to the shore, and then the rocks hid them; and then I could see them again. They had all taken to their boats, and were out on the sea paddling round and round the dear old ship, to try what they could find, no doubt. I was so busy watching them, that I never heard a sound till a bough touched me; and then I looked up, and there stood a woman, a savage woman, with her blanket over her, and her bare arms covered with clumsy bracelets. She wasn't looking at me, but at my comrade, and there was a look in her eyes that made me hope. They looked as if she could cry, only she would not. She did not seem very young, and she was not very handsome; but she looked gentle, and like a woman. I thought I would see what could be done, so I put my head down on the