1. The lopped tree in time may grow again,

Most naked plants renew both fruit and flower; The sorriest wight may find release of pain,

The driest soil suck in some moistening shower :
Time goes by turns, and chances change by course,
From foul to fair, from better hap to worse.
2. The sea of fortune doth not ever flow;

She draws her favours to the lowest ebb:
Her tides have equal times to come and go :

Her loom doth weave the fine and coarsest web:

No joy so great but runneth to an end, No hap so hard but may in fine amend. 3. Not always fall of leaf, nor ever spring,

Not endless night, yet not eternal day:
The saddest birds a season find to sing,

The roughest storm a calm may soon allay.
Thus with succeeding times, God tempereth all,
That man may hope to rise, yet fear to fall.
4. A chance may win that by mischance was lost;
The net that holds no great, takes little fish;
In some things all, in all things none are crossed;
Few all they need, but none have all they wish.
Unmingled joys here to no man befall;

Who least, hath some; who most, hath never all.

1. The above piece was written by Robert Southwell, born 1560, executed 1595.

2. "Not always fall of leaf," i.e., not always autumn. The scorching heat of summer, or the biting frosts of winter, will come, too, in their turn.

3. Observe the ellipses, or omissions of words, in the last stanza. The

last four lines may be paraphrased thus: All are crossed in some things, none are crossed in all things; few have all they really need, none have all they wish for. Unmingled joys fall to no man's share; the man who has the least joy, still has some; he who has most joy, still has not all he wants.

1. In order to secure lasting success in the undertakings of life, it is very important to look after small details. Large and grand schemes may be planned out, which entirely fail for want of careful attention to small matters. A journey may be undertaken to some foreign land, and all the larger details arranged for. The steamer is fixed upon by which we shall sail, and every place of interest is marked out for a visit, and all seems ready.

2. The cab which is to convey us to the train is ordered too late. The train which is to take us to the steamer is missed by one minute. The steamer sails without us. Thus all our plans are upset, and the journey perhaps is never taken at all. It may be too late for this season, and before another season has come round we may be prevented by many causes from going at all.

3. The man of business must be able to contrive and plan great operations, and to manage a large number of men, but he must also look into details, and see that his wishes are strictly carried out. If orders are only half executed, if letters are put aside and forgotten, if there is not a place for everything, and everything in its place, confusion and disorder will soon bring the best business to

ruin. Many persons may be inclined to envy the wealth, or the fine house and grounds, of the successful merchant, but they little know the constant care and anxiety necessary to secure these comforts.

4. The general, after gaining some great victory, returns home to receive a hearty welcome and thanks from his grateful country. Crowds gather round him as he lands, and attend his progress with shouts of joy and greeting. Flags are displayed in his honour. Bands of music strike up the favourite song "See, the conquering hero comes!" Everything seems bright and joyous, and some of us think how delightful it would be to be in that general's place.

5. But look at the other side of the picture. In order to gain that splendid victory, what poring over crumpled maps in the dead of night in his tent, by the light perhaps of a single candle; what plannings and schemings, in order to see how long it will take each regiment to arrive at a certain place at a certain time; what care to see that every post of danger is guarded; what marchings hither and thither through rain and mud, and what provision that every man shall have proper arms, proper clothing, and sufficient food! All this, and much more than this, must every general look after before he can gain victories, and if one thing is forgotten all his plans may be upset, and instead of a victory he may meet with defeat or death.

6. Early in this century the great Napoleon, Emperor of France, formed an immense encamp

ment on the French side of the English Channel, with the intention of invading this country. Finding himself unable to carry out his plan, he broke up this camp, and gave orders for his large army to march towards the river Danube. But he not only gave orders, he saw to everything himself. He planned out the very road by which each regiment was to march, and fixed the exact day on which it was to arrive at each stopping-place, and the day and even the hour when it was to leave it, and to reach its final position. Everything was carried out just as he had ordered, and the result was one of his most splendid victories.

7. He looked after the shirts and the shoes of his soldiers, as well as their muskets, so that nothing was forgotten. So, in the same way, his great opponent, our own Wellington, left nothing to chance. He explained how his soldiers were to cook their food, and directed the speed at which bullocks were to be driven, while at the same time he was looking after the most important matters. It is no wonder that he was able to win great victories under the most serious difficulties, and that he was one of the very few great generals who never lost a single battle.

8. In the great war between France and Prussia, which broke out in 1870, it was this habit of looking after little things which helped the Prussians to gain their splendid victories. The general, who directed all the movements of the army, had mastered every detail, and was said to know every hill the soldiers would have to mount. When the

Prussians entered a part of France which they intended to keep, they were provided with Prussian postage-stamps, which were supplied to the post offices, and ordered to be used instead of the French stamps.

9. The story is told of a cruel Eastern king, who took away the corn from his people, and ordered his slaves to build a huge barn where the corn might be stored. Soon the barn was built, and only one door was made, so that no one could get in without the king's permission, as he always kept the keys. Within a few days after the corn was safely stored, a cloud of locusts came over the land, and settled on this barn. One locust found a small chink in the wall, so small that only one insect could get in at once. It crept through and came back with a grain of corn. Then another went in, and another, and another, until nearly all the king's corn was carried off by these insects. Thus all the king's wicked plans were defeated by this one small chink.

QUESTIONS.-What is important in order to secure success? Show how an important journey may be stopped by one minute. How can a very good business be ruined? When we are inclined to envy a wealthy merchant, what do we forget? Explain the triumphs, and the hard work of a general. Show Napoleon's care of details. And Wellington's. Show how this care of details helped the Prussians. Give a particular instance of it. Tell the story of an Eastern king and his barn. What lesson do you draw from this story?