as she bade them. But they had long come to know the force of the old proverb, that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Mrs Sempill was now in a sad stew with heat and apprehension, and wished heartily that she had never attempted to make jelly. 'Oh, bairns, bairns,' she exclaimed piteously; then added in her own thoughts, was there ever any poor woman so tormented by a family as I have been! If he had but been at hame himself (meaning her husband), they might have been kept away from me a while. But he's never here when he's wanted.' All regrets, however, were now vain, and she was glad to conclude the business, as she thought, by pouring out the contents of her pan, which she found would fill only three pots and a tea-cup, being not above the half of what she would have had if the children, to use her own expression, had behaved themselves.

In a compound state between parboiled, baked, and melted, poor Mrs Sempill now sat down to rest on a chair as far from the fire as possible, while the juveniles, still far from sated, flocked about the three pots and the tea-cup, to gaze upon the still hot liquid, and calculate how many slices of loaf it could make delicious. Nothing of course but the absolute dread of scalding their fingers could have prevented them from plunging into it; the mother knew that, and was for the meantime at ease on the subject. But this state of things lasted but for a short time. A tremendous attack was now made upon her for pieces with jelly on them, by way of trying it. She had, they alleged, promised them as much, and there, they said, was the loaf ready to be cut for the purpose. 'Weel, but, bairns, ye have taken twice as much already as would have made jelly-pieces for ye. You canna baith

1

eat your piece and hae it.' 'Ah, but you promised,' they said; and from this position nothing could drive them. As for what had been taken during the cooking, why, it was not jelly then. They had only taken a few tastings. Now that it was poured out, and fully made, it was quite a different thing. Worsted even in argument, worthy Mrs Sempill had no alternative but to comply with their requests. Each, in short, got a slice of bread covered neatly over with the lukewarm stuff—a process which exhausted the tea-cup, and made a considerable inroad upon the contents of one of the pots. So quickly were these pieces devoured, that he who first got one had finished it, and was clamouring for more, long ere she had supplied the last. Vainly did she try to repel the demand. It was immediately supported by a second voice, and these two again by a third, belonging to other young gentlemen who had finished their pieces, so that, let her spread as quickly as she liked, she had always one-half clamouring and another eating. At this stage of the business, her hopes were limited to two pots. She thought, if she could only save these, her labours might not be quite in vain. But at this moment some one entered the shop, and she found it necessary to leave the scene of action, to see what was wanted. It was only a little girl asking change for a penny; and in despatching this application, little time, it may be supposed, was needed. Yet, short as was the term of her absence, great events had meanwhile taken place in the kitchen. When she returned thither, the first sight that met her eye was one of her full pots in the act of tumbling off the dresser, from which it had been pushed in a struggle between Jock and Jamie for the possession of the loaf. Of course, the pot broke on the

stone floor, over which its contents spread in a liquid stream. Meanwhile two other youngsters, perched on the table, were busily engaged in spooning out the contents of the next best pot, so that the view presented to Mrs Sempill at the moment of her return was of a nature altogether to afflict her with complete despair. She had now no hope of saving even a wreck of what had cost her so much trouble, and her first and most natural emotion was to resign the whole to that destruction to which it seemed to have been predestined. Weel, weel, bairns,' said she, just take it all amang you. It's the first jelly I've made, and it will be the last.' She then sat patiently down beside the fire, and looked quietly on while the swarm of her offspring spooned away at the remains of the precious mess, of which, in five minutes, not one particle remained either upon table, or floor, or spoon, or pot, neither in the pan from which the liquid had been poured; nor was there left, indeed, any memorial that such a thing as currantjelly had once been there, excepting here and there a streak across a cheek or a brow, and a general stickiness over most of the furniture of the room, including particularly all handles of doors and drawers, the cause of which must be obvious.

Such was the history of Mrs Sempill's first attempt at gentility. It is scarcely necessary to add, that her last recorded exclamation became a strict truth, and that she never again borrowed Mrs Mitchell's brass pan.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.

1.

God save our gracious Queen! Long may Victoria reign :

God save the Queen! Send her victorious, Happy, and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen!

2.

O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies,

And make them fall! Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks; On Thee our hopes we fix : God save the Queen!

3.

Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign!
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,

To sing, with heart and voice,

God save the Queen!

DICTATION EXERCISES ON PARTICULAR
WORDS.

The teacher is presumed to exercise his pupils in dictation from the reading lessons generally. But it has been thought desirable to give at the conclusion of this Standard and of the Series, exercises-first, on words apt to be confounded; and secondly, miscellaneous exercises comprising different styles of writing.

Of course, you will put on coarse clothes for such dirty work. The deer had fine horns; but it cost so much, I thought it a dear bargain.

I will pay you your due before the dew falls to-night.

Will you dye my blue curtains brown?

I saw my poor horse fall down and die.

As I went up to pay my fare, I saw a fair lady in front of me.

I never walked so far before. It was not an easy feat for my feet to perform.

The fore-horse galloped all the four miles.

He went forth from the king's presence in the fourth year of his reign. The rain was falling; but he leaped on to his horse, seized the reins, and rode along the road to the town at full speed.

The parlour grate is a small grate, but the kitchen grate is a great one.

A hare is larger than a rabbit, and the hair on its coat is darker.

He was a hale old man, and did not mind the pelting hail.

The wound on the cow's heel will never heal, I fear.

Come here, my boy, and hear what I have to tell you.

I heard a story about a large herd of cattle.

Before Tom sailed on the sea, he went to see his grandfather, and sang a hymn to him.

When the duke saw the inn by the wayside, he went in and asked for dinner.