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bartered for others that brought a higher price at home so that on his return to England, he was no longer the poor orphan, but the wealthy cabin-boy. We do not mean to say that Frank Elger had a fortune; no such thing, but, for a cabin-boy, he might have been considered rich.

It must be owned, he did not make a bad use of his money; on the contrary, he was very generous to some of the poor boys he had known in the poorhouse, and he bestowed handsome presents upon all those who had been kind to him while he resided there for a good action, or a kind word, was never lost upon Frank Elger. He continued his traffic between India and home, and, at the end of the third voyage, he had amassed a very considerable sum of money, and had risen from a cabin-boy, to be the third mate of the Indiaman. At last he rose, through the different steps, to get the command of the vessel and this good fortune he owed entirely to his own good conduct.

Do not suppose, good people, that Frank Elger lay on a bed of roses, or of down, while he passed through the different ranks belonging to his profession. We can assure our readers he had many hardships to endure, and many difficulties to struggle with. But fortitude, perseverance, and prudence overcame them all. He profited much by making himself acquainted with the customs and manners of the different countries he visited. This knowledge, on several occasions, saved him from fraud and im

position. On one of his voyages to India, his vessel was attacked by an enemy's privateer, and bravely repulsed by Frank and his ship's crew. But in the fray, he, and one of the mates were wounded severely, and, on their arrival in port, they were both carried on shore for the benefit of medical advice and change of air. Lodgings had been taken for them in the country, and there was a long hall, or gallery, between Frank's room and the apartment of his companion. One night, as the latter lay tumbling on his painful and restless bed, an old man, with a long white beard, entered his apartment, went up to his bed-side, and began to conIdole with him on the untoward accident he had met with, and hoped he was getting better.

"Who the deuce are you," cried the wounded mate, "who so unceremoniously enter here at so unseasonable an hour? What is your object in coming hither?"

"Humanity," replied the old man; "I am an itinerant physician, who understands the nature and effects of simples, and having heard of your case, came hither to cure you."

"You might have taken a more seasonable hour to present yourself."

"Relief to the sufferer, my son, can never come unseasonably."

"And what is the remedy you propose?" asked the invalid.

"I must first be made acquainted with the state

of your malady before I can propose a specific remedy," answered the old man. "Tell me, then,

are you able to walk?"

"Not in the least."

"Nor to leave your bed?"

"No."

"And you have no nurse-tender, nor servant at hand to attend you, though you are so ill?"

"My wound has not affected my health; I am quite well, though unable to walk, therefore do not require a nurse-tender."

"You are quite sure you cannot move your limbs in the least?"

"Quite sure."

"That being the case, sir, you will not require these boots," putting a pair that were hanging on the wall into his bag, and every thing else in the room met the same fate; and the fellow was beginning to take the bed-clothes from off the invalid, when he made an effort to prevent him, but he only half succeeded, for, being too weak from his long confinement to wrestle with the fellow, he succeeded in carrying off the quilt and blankets, the sheets only the invalid secured by rolling them round him.

The fellow next paid a visit to Frank Elger's apartment, who, upon seeing him, demanded what he wanted, and was answered that he came to cure him of his lameness, and was beginning to put the same questions to Frank that he had done to his companion,-Whether he was able to rise, &c., &c.

But the sage Frank cut the fellow short, by saying: "If you do not leave this apartment instantly, I'll soon show you whether I am able to walk or not; and, with all your swiftness, I'll teach you that a white man can outrun an Indian, as well as knock him down at the same time." And, upon this, the fellow took himself off.

Poor Frank was even in a more helpless state than his plundered companion; he would, therefore, have shared the same fate, had his knowledge of the manners of the natives, and prudent foresight, not protected him.

The story of Little Red Riding-Hood ought to be taught to every child. "A wise man keepeth his own counsel, but a fool divulgeth the matter."

"If you please, ma'am," said one of the girls, "to allow me to read the next lesson about the contented man, for I do love to hear and read about good and contented people."

"Do, my dear," replied Agnes, "reasonable requests are never refused; and I am very glad to find that you are interested in the history of good people."

The scholar having her mistress's permission, read as follows.

CHAPTER XLII.

"Lovely, lasting peace of mind!
Sweet delight of human kind!
Heavenly born, and bred on high,
To crown the favorites of the sky."

THE CONTENTED MAN.

HUGH GRAHAM was the only child of his father and mother, and when he was about six years of age, his father said to his wife, "As we are not likely to have more children, we ought to be careful not to spoil the one we have. Let us try, then, to hit the just medium between severity and over-fondness. Mrs. Graham agreed in opinion with her husband, and discharged her duty faithfully as the instructress of The first six or seven years of a child's life are peculiarly the mother's province, and they are perhaps the most precious years of its whole existence. Whatever is sown in early life, will be sure to take deeper root than if deferred to a later period.

her son.

It may be said that many mothers are so ignorant as to be incapable of instructing their children, even at that early period, but surely every mother knows the difference between good and evil; it is therefore her duty to show her children a good ex

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