son surrounded with plenty yield to such temptations, what may they not be led to, when pinched with want, and surrounded by a starving family?

Joseph was sent on an errand to Mr. Russell's, the great linen-draper's shop, and had a pound note given him to get changed. It was just at dusk that he took the money; he wrapped it carefully in a piece of paper, and as soon as he got home he counted it by the candle, to see that all was right; when lo! among it he found that a golden sovereign had been given to him instead of a silver shil ling; away he ran back to the shop, with the money in his hand, and addressing himself to the shopman who had served him, said, "Sir, I am come to tell you that you did not give me my change right." The shopman rather hastily replied, "But I am certain I did give it you right, and you must have dropped part in going home." No, sir," returned Joe; "it was quite safe wrapped up in my paper, and when I came to count it over, I found"Ah!" interrupted the hasty shopman, "it does not signify telling us what you found; we have not time to attend to these kind of things; if it had not been meddled with from the time I gave it you, you would have found it right enough." The master of the shop happening to overhear something of the dispute, came up, and asked Joseph what he missed. "I do not miss any thing, sir," replied the boy; "but I have brought back a sovereign, which was given me in mistake; will you please to take it, and give me a shilling instead?" "Certainly I will," returned the master; "and I am very much obliged to you for your honesty. You seem to be a poor lad; and as the money was given you in mistake, and you were not known at the shop, it would very likely never have been missed or traced; the thought of this must have been a strong temptation to you to keep it for your own use; how was it that you resisted it ?" "I have been taught, sir," said Joseph," that my duty to my neighbour is, to do to others as I should wish them to do to me, if I were in their place. I know that if I had given but a penny in mistake, I should wish to have it returned, much more such a sum as this. So I made haste back with it, before there was time to be tempted to keep it." "You have acted wisely and nobly,"

said Mr. Russell; "may you ever be enabled to persevere in the path of rectitude! But now as you have judged so fairly, and performed so faithfully what I had a right to desire of you; tell me, what do you think you can reasonably desire of me?" "That you should think me an honest boy, sir." "I do so, my good lad; and will give you a convincing proof of it. I have just now been to inquire the character of an errand boy, who has applied to me for employment; he is a much stouter lad than you, and his late master tells me he is quick and clever, but inclined to be sly; this is a character I cannot bear; but your conduct, my lad, in this instance, is a character for you. I value integrity far above the highest abilities; so go home to your parents, and tell them that if they are willing, you may come here to-morrow morning." Joe and his parents, you may be sure, could make no objections to so good an offer. He went to his place the next day, where he still continues, giving great satisfaction to his master, by his fidelity, diligence, and civility; and the shopman, who is a worthy young man, being grieved that he had spoken so hastily and harshly to a good and honest boy, has ever since proved a kind friend to him; and, besides many other good-natured actions, has, in his leisure hours, taught him to write and cast accounts.-Esther Hewlett.

THE BLIND GIRL TO HER MOTHER.

MOTHER, they say the stars are bright,

And the broad Heavens are blue-
I dream of them by day and night,
And think them all like you.

I cannot touch the distant skies,
The stars ne'er speak to me—
Yet their sweet images arise,

And blend with thoughts of thee.
I know not why, but oft I dream
Of the far land of bliss;

And when I hear thy voice, I deem
That Heaven is like to this.

When my sad heart to thine is pressed,
My follies are forgiven,

Sweet pleasure warms my beating breast,
And this, I say, is Heaven.

O Mother, will the God above
Forgive my faults like thee?
Will He bestow such care and love
On a blind thing like me?

Dear Mother leave me not alone!

Go with me when I die

Lead thy blind daughter to the throne,
And stay in yonder sky.-Anon.

PEARLS.

THE animal that produces pearls in the greatest abundance, of the purest nature, and of the highest value, was by Linnæus classed with the muscles; but some other Naturalists have formed it into a distinct genus. In this country it is usually called the pearl-oyster. It inhabits the Persian Gulf, the coasts of Ceylon, the Sea of New Holland, the Gulf of Mexico, and the coasts of Japan. It attains perfection no where but in the equatorial seas, but the pearl fishery in the island of Ceylon is the most celebrated and productive; it is on the west coast, off the bay of Condatchy, where the country is very sandy and nearly without inhabitants, but during the fishing season a populous town, with many streets a mile long, appears to have suddenly started up. The oyster beds or banks extend over a space thirty miles long by twenty-four broad. The twentieth of February is generally the day of rendezvous for the fishermen. The fishery is commonly rented by a single individual, who is allowed to employ 150 boats for thirty days; there are about 6,000 boatmen and attendants. The oysters vary in their qualities, according to the nature of the ground to which they are attached; and also in the number, by the action of the tides, and other circumstances; those at the greatest depth produce the largest pearls, which are situated in the fleshy part of the oyster, near the hinge. Pearl consists

of concentric coats of the same substance as that which forms the mother-of-pearl of the shell; they are produced by the extravasation of a lapidifying fluid, secreted in the organs of the animal, and filtered by its glands. For one pearl that is found perfectly round and detached, hundreds of irregular ones occur attached to the mother-of-pearl, like so many warts: they are sometimes so numerous that the animal cannot shut its shell, and so perishes. The pearl is a formation forced upon the animal by some annoying substance in its shell, which it covers with mother-of-pearl, as the bees do intrusive wasps with wax, to fix it or hinder it from affecting them by putridity, &c.

The diving tackle consists of a large stone, suspended by a rope, with a strong loop above the stone to receive one foot of the diver, and having also a slip-knot, and a basket formed of a hoop and net-work, which receives the other foot. When the fisherman has fixed himself in this tackle, and is duly prepared, he holds his nostrils with one hand, and pulling the running-knot with the other, instantly descends. When he reaches the bottom he disengages his foot from the stone, which is immediately drawn up to be ready for the next diver. He at the bottom throws himself on his face, and collects every thing he can lay hold of into the basket: when ready to ascend, he jerks the rope, and is speedily hauled up, and working himself up the rope, he arrives at the surface sooner than the laden basket. A minute and a half, or two minutes, are the utmost any diver remains under water. The shark-charmers form a necessary part of the company; by their incantations they are supposed to possess the power of preventing those voracious fishes from attacking the divers, and the fishers will not descend without their attendance; where the bed is rich, the diver often collects 150 oysters at one dip, but sometimes no more than five. It is said that a single diver will, in one day, often bring up from 1,000 to 4,000 oysters.

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The pearls obtained from other shell-fish vary in colour; those from the wing-shell are brown, and those from the fresh water muscles greenish, but sometimes they are yellow, pink, bluish, and some are even black; these last are very rare and dear.-Kirby.-Bridgewater Treatise.

THE SUN.

THE sun comes forth;-each mountain height
Glows with a tinge of rosy light,

And flowers that slumbered through the night,
Their dewy leaves unfold;

A flood of splendour bursts on high,
And ocean's breast gives back a sky,
All steep'd in molten gold.

Oh! thou art glorious, orb of day;
Exulting nations hail thy ray,
Creation swells a choral lay,

To welcome thy return;

From thee all nature draws her hues,
Thy beams the insect's wing suffuse,
And in the diamond burn.

Yet must thou fade;—when earth and heaven
By fire and tempest shall be riven,
Thou, from thy sphere of radiance driven,
Oh Sun! must fall at last;

Another heaven, another earth,

New power, new glory, shall have birth,
When all we see is past.

But He who gave the word of might,
"Let there be light"—and there was light.
Who bade thee chase the gloom of night,
And beam the world to bless ;-

For ever bright, for ever pure,
Alone unchanging shall endure,

The Sun of Righteousness!-Mrs. Hemans.

SAYINGS OF POOR RICHARD.

It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their time to be employed in its service; but idleness taxes many of us much more: sloth, by bringing on disease, absolutely shortens life. "Sloth like rust, consumes faster than labour wears, while the used key is always bright," as Poor Richard says. But, "dost thou love life, then do not squander