The Violet:  a Fable.—­CHILDREN’S MAGAZINE.

1.  Down in a humble dell A modest violet chanced to dwell Remote from gayer flowers; Its days were passed in simple ease, It sipped the dew and kissed the breeze, Nor thought of happier hours.

2.  Long lived it in this quiet way, Till, on a hot and sultry day About the midst of June, It chanced to spy a lady fair, All dressed in satins rich and rare, Come walking by, at noon.

3.  And thus the silly flower began:—­ “I much should like to live with man, And other flowers to see;—­ Why is it (for I cannot tell) That I forever here should dwell, Where there is none but me?”

4.  While thus it spoke, the lady stopped To pick up something she had dropped, And there the flower she spied; And soon she plucked it from its bed, Just shook the dew-drop from its head, And placed it at her side.

5.  Soon at the lady’s splendid home The violet found that she was come, For all was bright and gay:  And then upon the mantel-shelf, With many a flower beside herself, Was placed, without delay.

6.  And oh, how glad and proud was she In such a splendid place to be!—­ But short was her delight; For rose and lily turned away, And would not deign a word to say To such a country wight.

7.  She passed the day in much disgrace, And wished that she might change her place, And be at home again:  She sighed for her own mossy bed, Where she might rest her aching head; But now to wish were vain.

8.  Next morn, the housemaid, passing by, Just chanced the little flower to spy, And then, without delay, She rudely seized its tender stalk, And threw it in the gravel walk, And left it to decay.

9.  And thus it mourned,—­“O silly flower, To wish to leave its native bower!  Was it for this I sighed?  O, had I more contented been, And lived unnoticed and unseen, I might not thus have died!”

10.  Nor let this lesson be forgot:  Remain contented with the lot That Providence decrees.  Contentment is a richer gem Than sparkles in a diadem, And gives us greater ease.

LESSON XLIX.

Captain John Smith.—­JUVENILE MISCELLANY.

1.  The adventures of this singular man are so various, and so very extraordinary, that the detail of them seems more like romance than true history.  He was born in Lincolnshire, England, and was left an orphan at an early age.

2.  His love of adventure displayed itself while he was yet a school-boy.  He sold his satchel, books and clothes, and went over to France, without the knowledge of his guardians.

3.  Afterward, he served as a soldier in the Netherlands for several years.  At the end of his campaign, he returned to England, where he recovered a small portion of the estate left him by his deceased father.