One evening, shortly after Mr. Pennington's return to Philadelphia, a package arrived at Springfield directed to our little friend Ben.

"What can it possibly be?" thought Ben, when it was put into his hands. "Who can have sent me such a great square package as this?"

On taking off the thick brown paper in which it was wrapped, behold! there was a paint box, with a great many cakes of paint, and brushes of various sizes. It was the gift of good Mr. Pennington. There were likewise several squares of canvas, such as artists use for painting pictures upon, and, in addition to all these treasures, some beautiful engravings of landscapes. These were the first pictures that Ben had ever seen, except those of his own drawing.

What a joyful evening was this for the little artist! At bedtime he put the paint box under his pillow, and got hardly a wink of sleep; for all night long his fancy was painting pictures in the darkness.

In the morning he hurried to the garret, and was seen no more till the dinner hour; nor did he give himself time to eat more than a mouthful or two of food before he hurried back to the garret again.

The next day he was just as busy as ever; until at last his mother thought it time to ascertain what he was about. She accordingly went to the garret.

On opening the door the first object that presented itself to her eyes was our friend Benjamin, giving the last touches to a beautiful picture. He had copied portions of two of the engravings, and made one

picture out of both, with such admirable skill that it was far more beautiful than the originals.

"My dear child, thou hast done wonders!" cried his mother. The good lady was delighted. And well she might be proud of her boy; for there were touches in this picture which old artists, who had spent a lifetime in the business, need not have been ashamed of.

Many a year afterward, this wonderful production was exhibited in the Royal Academy in London.

Well, time went on, and Benjamin continued to draw and paint pictures until he had now reached the age when it was proper that he should choose a business for life. His father and mother were in considerable perplexity about him. Now what advantage could the world expect from Benjamin's pictures?

It

Finally, they came to a very wise decision. seemed evident that Providence had created Benjamin to be a painter, and had given him abilities which would be thrown away in any other business. All consented that he should go forth into the world and learn to be a painter by studying the best pictures of ancient and modern times.

So our friend Benjamin left the dwelling of his parents, and his native woods and streams, and the good Quakers of Springfield, and the Indians who had given him his first colors. He went first to Philadelphia and afterward to Europe.

When he was twenty-five years old, he went to

London and established himself there as an artist. In due course of time he acquired great fame by his pictures and was made chief painter to King George III. When the Quakers of Pennsylvania heard of his success, they felt that the prophecy of the old preacher as to little Ben's future eminence was now accomplished.

He lived many years in peace and honor, and died in 1820 at the age of eighty-two. The story of his life is almost as wonderful as a fairy tale; for there are few stranger transformations than that of a little, unknown Quaker boy in the wilds of America into the most distinguished English painter of his day. - Nathaniel Hawthorne.

HELPS TO STUDY

1. Read as quickly as you can the part which you would call the "Introduction." Read on and determine what each succeeding part shall be called. By means of this outline, ask your classmates to reproduce-in parts, the story as given by Hawthorne. 2. In what ways did little Benny West show that "Necessity is the Mother of Invention"? 3. Read aloud the paragraphs which indicate the view the early Quakers had of decoration. 4. Where did Benjamin West exhibit his pictures?

THINGS TO Do

1. Read The Lives of Artists. 2. If there is an artist, musician, writer, or sculptor in your community arrange to visit with this gifted person. 4. Write up your hobby. Have an interest in some one thing more than another.

Other Selections: Stephen of Philadelphia, OTIS; Stories of Great
Artists, HORNE and SCOBEY; How to Study Pictures, CHAFFLIN.

ANOTHER UNITED STATES

This selection is taken from a geography text. Notice the black face headings. As you read, write down these headings, and under each, the main points about the topic. This is a good plan for studying a geography lesson. Try the same plan of work on other selections assigned you for study.

The early days, ranching. Let us see why the Spanish settlers on the banks of the Plata found it easier to make a home there than the English did on the banks of the James, or along the shores of Massachusetts. The pampas of eastern Argentina are treeless and covered with rich grass. These plains, spreading away to the west and northwest for hundreds of miles, are one of the greatest natural pastures in the world. The settler did not have to cut down trees, dig up stumps, pry out stones, or fight with bushes and briers. The winter is frosty, but usually mild. There is no snow cover; animals pasture out all the year. The early settlers brought horses, cattle, and sheep from Spain. The animals ran almost wild on the grassy plains, and increased like mice in a granary.

In those days American meat could not be sold in Europe, so for two hundred years, the Spanish ranch owners killed their cattle and sheep, and sold only the skins, the wool, and the tallow. Horses were kept because the hair from their tails and manes

was sold to make haircloth. In the middle of the nineteenth century an Argentine horse brought a low price, just as a glass of soda water does with us. An unbroken horse was worth $2.50. If he was trained, ready to use, he was worth $5.00. An especially good riding horse was worth $10.00 to the Argentine gaucho, or cowboy. He was a rough fellow, half Indian and half Spaniard, who spent most of his time on horseback.

After a time the people began to make tasajo, which is beef (jerked beef), so salty and dry that, like dried codfish, it will keep in hot climates. Tasajo has been much used in tropic America.

The rise of agriculture. During all this time the people of Buenos Aires imported flour, just as the people of Cuba do to-day. About 1870, people in the Argentine found that they could raise wheat. There was a market for wheat in Europe, so Argentina started on an agricultural career, just as did regions in the central part of North America. Railroads were built across the plain from Buenos Aires and Rosario, just as they were from Kansas City, Omaha, and Minneapolis, and immigrants from Spain and Italy came by thousands to cultivate the new fields.

The land in Argentina is splendid for farming; it is rich, level, and so free from stones that you cannot in miles find one so big as an egg. Plows, reapers, and threshers were sent out from the United States, and the fields of wheat, corn, and flax increased.