11. A similar improvement may be made of the memory of our good deeds. We should use all diligence in adding to their store; for, if they are now the most precious treasures of the soul, they certainly will not diminish in price, when the common enjoyments of life are losing their relish, and its bustle no longer engages us, and the tide of our energies is fast ebbing away, and we only wait for the summons of departure. What solace is there to an aged man like the memory of his virtuous actions? What medicine is there so healing to his wasted, solitary heart? What ground of hope is there so sure to his spirit, next to the mercy of his God?

LESSON VIII.

THE HOUSE BY THE ROLLING RIVER.

LINNA SCHENK.

1. HERE stood, in the beautiful olden time,

THERE

A house by the rolling river;

Behind it there towered a bluff old hill,
And by it wandered a murmuring rill,
On its way to the rolling river.

2. 'Twas a happy house in the olden time,-
That house by the rolling river,

And happy the children who lived in it then,—
Happier far than they can be again,

In the house by the rolling river.

3. 'Twas beautiful, too, in the olden time,-
That spot by the rolling river, -

With the maple bough shading its lowly eaves,
Where the little ones played with the falling leaves,
Near by the rolling river.

4. But time rolled on o'er the old brown house That stood by the rolling river;

(pl.)

And the gray rats raced through the crumbling wall,
And the wild winds wailed through the vacant hall,
Of the house by the rolling river.

5. And the little ones all have passed away
From the house by the rolling river;
"Some are married and some are dead, -
All are scattered now and fled "

Away from the rolling river.

6. One 'neath southern skies is sleeping,

Far from the rolling river;

And none can weep o'er the place of his fall, -
He was dearest and best beloved of all

In the house by the rolling river.

7. But now there standeth a town in its pride,
On the banks of the rolling river;

The whiz of the mill-wheel is noisy and loud,
And the church-spire points aloft to the cloud,
By the side of the rolling river.

8. And the busy young town will grow old in its time, That stands by the rolling river;

The spire and the mill-wheel will go to decay,
And all the people will pass away,

That dwell by the rolling river.

9. Thus Time, the Destroyer, shall desolate all That stand by the rolling river;

But not until time shall be no more,

Will the wave of the river cease to roar, -
The beautiful, rolling river.

LESSON IX.

This piece should be read quite slowly, and in a low tone of voice.

THE

THE LIGHT AT HOME.

1. HE Light at Home! how bright it beams When evening shades around us fall,

And from the lattice far it gleams,
To love, and rest, and comfort, call!
When wearied with the toils of day,
The strife for glory, gold, or fame,
How sweet to seek the quiet way,
Where loving lips will lisp our name,
Around the Light at Home!

2. When, through the dark and stormy night, The wayward wanderer homeward hies, How cheering is that twinkling light

Which through the forest gloom he spies! It is the Light at Home, he feels

That loving hearts will greet him there,
And softly through his bosom steals
That joy and love which banish care,
Around the Light at Home!

3. The Light at Home, whene'er at last

It greets the scaman through the storm,
He feels no more the chilling blast

That beats upon his manly form.
Long years upon the sea have fled,
Since last he saw the parting light;
But the sad tears which then he shed
Will now be paid with sweet delight,
Around the Light at Home!

4. The Light at Home! how still and sweet
from yonder cottage door,-

It

peeps

When the rough toils of day are o'er!
Sad is the soul that does not know

The blessings that its beams impart, --
The cheerful hopes and joys that flow,
And lighten up the heaviest heart,

AROUND THE LIGHT AT HOME.

LESSON X.

THE SOLDIER BIRD.*

H. H. BROWNELL.

the spring of 1861, Chief Sky, a Chippewa Indian, living in the northern wilds of Wisconsin, found an eagle's nest. To make sure of his prize he cut the tree down, and caught the eaglets as they were sliding from the

*Col. J. W. Jefferson, who led the valiant Eighth Wisconsin Regiment in the Red River expedition, has given a similar account of this wonderful Bird; thus corroborating the truthfulness of this narrative.

wam.

nest to run and hide in the grass. One died. He carried the other home, and built a nest in a tree close by his wigThe eaglet was as large as a hen, and covered with soft down. The red children were delighted with their new pet; and, as soon as he became acquainted, he would sit down in the grass, and see them play with the dogs.

2. But Chief Sky was poor, and he was obliged to sell the noble bird to a white man for a bushel of corn. The white man brought him to Eau Claire,* a small village, where the enlisted soldiers were busy in preparing to go to the war. "Here's a recruit," said the man. "AN EAGLE! AN EAGLE!" shouted the soldiers: "LET HIM ENLIST!" and sure enough, he was sworn into the service, with ribbons around his neck, red, white, and blue.

3. On a perch surmounted by stars and stripes, the company took him to Madison, the Capital of the State. As they marched into Camp Randall, with colors flying, drums beating, and the people cheering, the eagle seized the flag in his beak, and spread his wings, his bright eye kindling with the spirit of the scene. Shouts rent the air:-"THE BIRD OF COLUMBIA! THE EAGLE OF FREEDOM FOREVER!"

4. The State made him a new perch, and the boys named him "Old Abe;" and the Eighth Wisconsin Regiment was henceforth called, "The Eagle Regiment." On the march he was carried at the head of the company, and everywhere was greeted with delight. At St. Louis, a gentleman offered five hundred dollars for him, and another his farm. No, no; the boys had no notion of parting with their bird. He was above all price,— an emblem of battle and of victory. Besides, he interested their minds, and made them think less of hardships and of home.

*Pronounced O Claire.