ment whom we used to call Gentleman George-and right well he deserved the name.

2. "The business of a soldier is a different thing now from what it was in my young days, and men have learned what they ought to have learned sooner that an officer is all the better for being a gentleman and a Christian. But in the rough days of fifty years ago things were quite different. Then the harder an English officer drank, and the louder he swore, and the more he abused his men, the better his comrades liked him. They had a strange notion that such an officer was a 'good fellow,' although they knew that these things did not indicate courage when put to the test.

3. "So you may imagine what we thought when a man like Gentleman George came among us, who was always quiet and sober and orderly. Instead of quarreling and wasting his time like the rest of us, he spent all his spare hours in studying dry, scientific books that we knew nothing about; and every morning and evening he read a chapter of the Bible. How we did laugh at him, and make sport of him! But that which vexed us most was that he never seemed to mind it in the least. He was so goodnatured, and so ready to do any one a good turn when he could, that it certainly ought to have made us ashamed of ourselves.

4. "It was not long, indeed, until something did make us ashamed of ourselves. Our colonel was in a great hurry one day to find out the whereabouts of a village whose location was not marked on his map. There was not one of us who could help him; but Gentleman George stepped forward at once with a neat little map of his own drawing in which the place was indicated, just as it ought to

be. The colonel looked at it, and then at us, and said, 'It is not often, gentlemen, that the youngest officer of a regiment is also the smartest. Let this be a lesson to you!'

5. "About a month after this, one of our men, who used to have fits of madness now and then-caused by an old wound in the head-came flying along with a big knife in his hand, cutting right and left at everything within reach. Some cried out, 'Shoot him!' But George said, quietly, 'A man's life is worth more than that: let me try what I can do.' And in a moment he had seized the fellow's knife-hand, and tripped him so quickly that none of us knew how it was done. It was easy enough, then, for our men to run up, lay hold of him, and lead him away to the guardhouse.

6. "Of course we could say nothing about George's courage after that; but all this was a trifle to what was coming. A few days later we were fighting in one of the greatest battles of the war. My regiment was at last so hard pressed that we could do nothing but fall back. We formed again under some trees, on the side of a hill, but even then we had great difficulty in holding our ground; for the enemy had brought up several guns, and were firing right among us.

7. "Suddenly, between two gusts of smoke, one of our wounded, lying out on the open plain, was seen to wave his hand feebly, as if for help. It was one of our lieutenants who had been harder than any one else upon Gentleman George. His chance was a poor one, indeed, for it seemed certain death to try to reach him in such a storm of shot; and if a bullet did not soon put him to death, he was sure to perish in the scorching sun.

8. "All at once a man was seen stepping out from be

hind the trees. It was Gentleman George. He looked neither to the right nor to the left, but ran straight to the spot where the lieutenant was lying helpless, and tried to raise him up. At first the enemy fired at him, but when they saw what he was doing, several officers called out, 'Don't fire, boys! Some of them even raised their caps to him in salute. George, with great difficulty, lifted the wounded man gently in his arms; then, shielding him with his own body from any chance shot of the enemy, he brought him back into our lines. Such a shout as went up then, I never heard before or since."

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9. "And did the lieutenant die, uncle ?" asked Mabel. Luckily not," answered the colonel," for I am ashamed to say that the lieutenant was no other than myself."

"Oh, uncle! were you ever so naughty as that?" lisped the tiny voice of another little niece.

10." But what became of Gentleman George?" asked an impatient boy.

"Gentleman George has long been my much-loved brother-in-law, and he is your father," answered the colonel, glancing slyly at a fine-looking man on the other side of the room, who had been listening to the story with a quiet smile. "And now that you have heard all that I have to tell, go and say good-night to the bravest man in the regiment."

LESSON XVIII.

THE NESTS OF BIRDS.

1. It is very interesting to study the ingenious ways in which different birds make their nests.

same kind build in the same way, and it

All birds of the

is not often that

They not only

they make any changes in their plans. use the same building material, but choose the same kind of a place, so that one who understands the habits of birds knows quite well where to look for any nest that he may

wish to find.

2. Some birds almost always choose to build in the high tree-tops, others in the low bushes, others among the tall grass in the meadows, and still others in the dry trunks of old trees. The thrush builds its nest among the lower branches of a small tree, usually in some half-hidden spot where it is least likely to be disturbed. It makes the framework of twigs carefully laid together, and lines it with hay, feathers, and soft leaves and moss. Sometimes the spaces between the twigs are partly filled with mud. The bird seems to be quite proud of its nest, and well it may be, for, when finished, it is a very cosy affair.

3. The robin often builds its nest on a fence, or in the fork of a tree not far from the ground. It seems to like best a place where there is more or less noise. One has been known to build on a railroad bridge over which trains were passing every few minutes. The nest of the robin is made of moss, leaves, and grasses, and it is lined with hair and feathers, and strengthened on the outside with mud.