5. "Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother:
And in the church-yard cottage I
Dwell near them with my mother."

6.

"You say that two at Conway dwell, And two are gone to sea, Yet ye are seven; I pray you tell, Sweet maid, how this may be' ?" 7. Then did the little maid reply,

"Seven boys and girls are we: Two of us in the church-yard lie, Beneath the church-yard tree." 8. "You run about, my little maid, Your limbs they are alive;

If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."

9. "Their graves are green, they may be seen,"
The little maid replied,

"Twelve steps or more from my mother's door, And they are side by side.

10. "My stockings there I often knit,
My 'kerchief there I hem;

And there upon the ground I sit-
I sit and sing to them.

11. "And often after sunset, sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer
And eat my supper there.

12. "The first that died was little Jane:
In bed she moaning lay,

Till God relieved her of her pain,

And then she went away.

13. "So in the church-yard she was laid;
And, when the grass was dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and 1.

14. "And, when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,

My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side."

15. "How many are you, then,” said I,
"If they two are in heaven'?”
The little maiden did reply,

"O master'! we are seven'."

16. "But they are dead-those two are dead;
Their spirits are in heaven:"

"Twas throwing words away; for still
The little maid would have her will,
And said, "Nay, we are seven.”

WORDSWORTH.

LESSON XII.

ON GOOD BREEDING.

1. As learning, honor, and virtue are absolutely necessary to gain you the esteem and admiration of mankind, politeness and good breeding are equally necessary to make you agreeable in conversation and common life. Great talents are above the generality of the world, who neither possess them themselves, nor judge of them rightly in others; but all people are judges of the smaller talents, such as civility, affability, and an obliging, agreeable address and manner, because they feel the effects of them, as making society easy and pleasing.

2. Good sense must, in many cases, determine good breeding; but there are some general rules of it that always hold true. For example, it is extremely rude not to give proper attention, and a civil answer, when people speak to you; or to go away, or be doing something else, while they are speaking to you; for that convinces them that you despise them, and do not think it worth your while to hear or answer what they say. It is also very rude to take the best place in a room, or to seize immediately upon what you like at table, without offering first to help others, as if you con

sidered nobody but yourself. On the contrary, you should always endeavor to procure all the conveniences you can to the people you are with.

3. Besides being civil, which is absolutely necessary, the perfection of good breeding is to be civil with ease, and in a becoming manner; awkwardness can proceed but from two causes, either from not having kept good company, or from not having attended to it. Attention is absolutely. necessary for improving in behavior, as, indeed, it is for every thing else. If an awkward person drinks tea or coffee, he often scalds his mouth, and lets either the cup or the saucer fall, and spills the tea or coffee on his clothes.

4. At dinner his awkwardness distinguishes itself particularly, as he has more to do. There he holds his knife, fork, and spoon differently from other people; eats with his knife, to the great danger of his lips; picks his teeth with his fork; and puts his spoon, which has been in his mouth twenty times, into the dishes again. If he is to carve, he can never hit the joint; but, in his vain efforts to cut through the bone, scatters the sauce in every body's face. He generally daubs himself with soup and grease, though his napkin is commonly stuck through a button-hole, and tickles his chin. When he drinks, he coughs in his. glass, and besprinkles the company.

5. Besides all this, he has strange tricks and gestures, such as snuffing up his nose, making faces, putting his fingers in his nose, or blowing it, so as greatly to disgust the company. His hands are troublesome to him when he has not something in them; and he does not know where to put them. but keeps them in perpetual motion. All this, I own, is not in any degree criminal; but it is highly disagreeable and ridiculous in company, and ought most carefully to be guarded against by every one that desires to please.

6. There is, likewise, an awkwardness of expression and words which ought to be avoided, such as false English, bad pronunciation, old sayings, and vulgar proverbs, which are so many proofs of a poor education. For example, if, instead of saying that tastes are different, and that every man has his own peculiar one, you should repeat a vulgar proverb, and

say that "what is one man's meat is another man's poison," or else, "Every one to his liking, as the good man said when he kissed his cow," the company would be persuaded that you had never associated with any but low persons.

7. To mistake or forget names, to speak of "What-d'yecall-him," or "Thingum," or "How-d'ye-call her," is excessIively awkward and vulgar. To begin a story or narration when you are not perfect in it, and can not go through with it, but are forced, possibly, to say in the middle of it, "I have forgotten the rest," is very unpleasant and bungling. One must be extremely exact, clear, and perspicuous in every thing one says; otherwise, instead of entertaining or informing others, one only tires and puzzles them.

8. The voice and manner of speaking, too, are not to be neglected. Some people almost shut their mouths when they speak, and mutter so that they are not to be understood; others speak so fast, and sputter, that they are equally unintelligible. Some always speak as loud as if they were talking to deaf people; and others so low that one can not hear them. All these, and many other habits, are awkward and disagreeable, and are to be avoided by attention. You can not imagine how necessary it is to mind all these little things. I have seen many people with great talents ill received for want of having these little talents of good breeding; and others well received only from their little talents, and who had no great ones. Anonymous.

LESSON XIII.

THE HERITAGE.

1. THE rich man's son inherits1 lands,
And piles of brick, and stone, and gold;
And he inherits soft, white hands,

And tender flesh that fears the cold,
Nor dares to wear a garment old;

2

A heritage, it seems to me,

One scarce would wish to hold in fee.3

2. The rich man's son inherits cares:

The bank may break, the factory burn,
A breath may burst his bubble shares,

And soft white hands could hardly earn
A living that would serve his turn;
A heritage, it seems to me,

One would not wish to hold in fee.

3. What doth the poor man's son inherit'?
Stout muscles, and a sinewy heart,
A hardy frame, a hardier spirit;

King of two hands, he does his part
In every useful toil and art;

A heritage, it seems to me,
A king might wish to hold in fee.

4. What doth the poor man's son inherit' ?*
Wishes o'erjoyed with humble things,
A rank adjudged by toil-won merit,
Content that from employment springs,
A heart that in his labor sings;

A heritage, it seems to me,
A king might wish to hold in fee.

5. What doth the poor man's son inherit'?
A patience learned by being poor;
Courage, if sorrow come, to bear it ;
A fellow-feeling that is sure

To make the outcast5 bless his door;

*A heritage, it seems to me,

A king might wish to hold in fee.

6. O rich man's son! there is a toil,
That with all other level stands;
Large charity doth never soil,

But only whiten soft white hands

This is the best crop from thy lands;

This may be regarded in the nature of an indirect question, asking a repetition of what may not have been fully understood. See Note to Rule III. Or it may be regarded as an exclamatory sentence that becomes a question. See Note to Rule X. In either case it should receive the rising inflection.