side, little dreaming of the bustling times that awaited him.

I was pleased to see the fondness with which the little fellows leaped about the steady old footman and hugged the pointer, who wriggled his whole body for joy. But Bantam was the great object of interest. All wanted to mount at once, and it was with some difficulty that John arranged that they should ride. by turns, and the eldest should ride first.

Off they set at last, one on the pony with the dog bounding and barking before him, and the other two holding John's hands, both talking at once, and overpowering him with questions about home, and with school anecdotes. I looked after them with much feeling, for I was reminded of those days when, like them, I had neither known care nor sorrow, and a holiday was the summit of earthly felicity.

We stopped a few moments afterward to water the horses, and on resuming our route, a turn of the road brought us in sight of a neat country seat. I could just distinguish the forms of a lady and two young girls on the portico, and I saw my little comrades and Bantam, Carlo, and old John, trooping along the carriage road. I leaned out of the coach window, in hopes of witnessing the happy meeting, but a grove of trees shut it from my sight.

- WASHINGTON IRVING.

RING OUT, WILD BELLS

RING out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

From In Memoriam."

ALFRED TENNYSON.

A WONDERFUL CITY

I AM going to ask you to visit with me one of the most wonderful cities in the world. It is a city with no human beings in it, and yet it is densely populated. In it you will find streets, but no pavements, for the inhabitants walk along the walls of the houses. In the houses you will

see no windows, for each house just fits its owner, and the door is the only opening in it. Though made without hands, these houses are most evenly and regularly built, in tiers one above the other. Here and there a few royal palaces, larger and more spacious than the rest, catch the eye as they stand out at the corners of the streets.

Some of the ordinary houses are used to live in, while others serve as storehouses, where food is laid

up in the summer to feed the residents during the winter. When it is very cold outside, the inhabitants, having no fires, keep themselves warm within the city by clustering together and never venturing out of doors. But the gates are never shut; that is not necessary, for in this strange city all of the citizens obey the laws. They go out when it is time to go out, come home at proper hours, and stay at home when it is their duty to do so.

A queen reigns over this numerous population, and you might perhaps fancy that, having so many subjects to work for her and wait upon her, she would do nothing but amuse herself. On the contrary, she seldom goes out of the city, but works as hard as the rest in performing her own royal duties. From sunrise to sunset, whenever the weather is fine, all is life, activity, and bustle in this busy city. Though the gates are so narrow that only a few inhabitants can pass each other on their way through them, yet thousands go in and out every hour of the day. All seems confusion and disorder in this rapidly moving throng, but in reality each has her own work to do, and perfect order reigns over the whole.

No doubt you have guessed already that this wonderful city which I am describing is a beehive; for where in the whole world can we find so busy, so industrious, or so orderly a community as among the bees?

Let us suppose that we go into a country garden one fine summer morning, when the sun is shining brightly overhead, and that we see hanging from the bough a black object, which looks very much like a large plum pudding.

On approaching it, however, we see that it is a large cluster or swarm of bees, clinging to one another by their legs. There may be from twenty thousand to forty thousand of these little creatures hanging together in this single swarm.

If these bees were left to themselves, they would find a

home after a time in a hollow tree, or in some other cavity, and begin to build their honeycomb there. But, as we do not wish to lose their honey, we will bring a hive. Holding it under the swarm, we shake the bough so sharply that the bees fall instantly into the hive, and cling to the sides as