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33.

John was very quiet in school, and loved his book. He wrote on He wrote on his slate his slate very well. He took great pains, and soon learned to spell quite right all the words which he wrote. tried to write slow and to make each letter well.

34.

He

When John could read and write, his father bought him a nice book. His heart was full of joy. There were some nice pictures in his book. John read this book when he was at home, and kept it very clean.

35.

On Sunday John went to church. When he was at church he was a very good boy. He sat quite still, and stood up, and kneeled down, at the proper time. He loved to go to church, and to read the Psalms, as he had been taught to read them at school.

36.

John came to church and to school very clean and nice. He washed his face and his hands very clean before he left home. He used also to brush his hair. Good boys always try to be clean and tidy and neat in all things.

37.

John had a sister. Her name was Jane.

John loved her very much. Jane was a good little girl. John took great care of his little sister, when they came to school together, so that she might not fall down and hurt herself. Jane loved her brother John very much.

38.

At school

In the

Jane was a very good little girl. she took great pains with her book. evening before they went to bed, John sat down by the fire with her, and taught her the letters in the book which his father had bought for him. He taught Jane to say one or two Psalms which he had learned at school.

39.

Jane learned to sew and to knit at school. She knitted for John a nice pair of socks, and gave them to him. John liked his socks very much. When Jane is older, she will knit a pair of warm stockings for her father. Jane is not idle in the school, but minds her work and sews very neatly.

40.

John and Jane go to the Sunday-school. They learn to say the Catechism. John learns the Collect on Saturday, when he is at home, and says it on Sunday morning when he comes to school. When he is a little older,

he will learn some verses, if he takes pains and is careful and regular at school.

41.

One day in the Summer the children had a holiday. They all went to the Parsonage-house to have tea. They played on the lawn and had tea and cake. They were happy only because they were clean and good. Before they went home at night, they stood quite still and sung a Psalm.

42.

One day John found a knife on the road. He knew it was George Ball's knife: so he ran straight to the cottage where George Ball lived and gave it to him. John did quite right, for he knew how wrong it is to steal, and to take what is not ours is to steal.

43.

In the winter the snow comes falling through the trees. How cold it is. The north wind blows and brings the snow. The water freezes and becomes ice. Sheep eat hay and turnips in the winter. Christmas comes in winter. It is a happy time to spend all at home together, if we love each other, as we ought to do.

44.

When Winter is gone Spring comes. Oh!

how I love the

bright warm weather! The

bright warm

leaves shoot out on the trees. The birds be

The soft west wind blows.

In

gin to sing. May all the flowers bloom, and in June they are in full beauty. Spring is a happy time.

45.

Look how the Trees are covered with green leaves! How cool and how shady it is under the tree! The sun shines all around us. In summer the wheat and the barley barley ripen. Come let us watch the sheep as they feed so quietly on the soft green grass. I love to see them.

46.

Now the corn is ripe. When it is cut down we shall go and glean in the wheat fields. If I can pick up a handful I shall be very glad. The apples are getting ripe, and in autumn they are fit to gather. It is good to see all things look so well. For winter comes again, with snow and frost at last.

47.

How clear the water runs. It makes a low murmur as it flows over the bright pebbles. I am so glad it runs before our cottage door. All day long when the sun shines in the sky it still flows. At night when the moon and

the stars shine I hear the sound of the stream still running on with a pleasant murmur.

48.

By the side of the brook the blue violets grow. They are half hidden in the bank. The wild flowers love to be hidden away out of sight. How many of them there are! But when the warm weather is gone, they fade and die. In the Spring they will awake again, and enjoy the bright light and happy air.

49.

James Maxwell was carefully brought up by his parents. They put him to school in the village of Holliford, where they lived: and though he was rather dull at his book, yet he was a good and obedient boy; and obedience is far better than cleverness. On Saturday evening James always learned the Collect, and some verses to say to the Clergyman, on Sunday, at school.

50.

On Sunday, when church was over, James Maxwell delighted in nothing so much as reading the Bible to his old grand-father. He might have gone out and played idle games with bad boys; but he knew what was right and did it. I can hardly say what a happy boy

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