that a mountain of gold is not worth a drop of dew." "I will take back my gift," said the god. "You may wash away your folly in the first river that you come to. Good-by, only don't think that gold is not a good thing, though too much of it is a bad thing." Midas ran to the river Pactolus, near by. He threw off his golden clothes and hurried, barefoot, over the sands of the river, and the sand, wherever his naked feet touched it, turned to gold. When he came from the water the terrible power of the golden touch had left him. He had learned that the best thing one can do with too much gold is to give it away as fast as one can. The golden palace is gone from the earth, but the sand of the river Pactolus is said to have gold in it to this day. - NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. What does this story teach you? If you could have your wish granted by a fairy, for what would you wish? MI' das dě spâir' Pặc to lus pǎl' âçe PSALM XXIII. DAVID'S CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S GRACE. A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Observe how the early part of this psalm which make sure the promise in the last part. -THE BIBLE. names the blessings Ask your teacher to explain about anointing the head with oil. Ask about shepherds in Judea. A CHILD'S THOUGHT OF GOD. They say that God lives very high! And if you dig down in the mines, God is so good, He wears a fold But still I feel that His embrace Slides down by thrills, through all things made, Through sight and sound of every place, As if my tender mother laid On my shut lids her kisses' pressure, "Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser?" - ELIZABETH B. BROWNING. Try to think you are saying this poem while you read it. Why can you not see God? Does the earth speak of God? Salmon live in the cold parts of the sea, but they journey once every year into the rivers of cool countries to lay their eggs in the fresh waters. They begin their journey in the spring, or in the early part of the summer. They move toward the mouths of the rivers, and there, it is said, they remain for a few days, and sometimes for a week or two, in the brackish waters, as if to prepare themselves for breathing the different kind of water which they are soon to enter. Then, moving on again, they are seen dashing through the rapids and even leaping over such rocks and waterfalls as are not 、more than five or six feet in height. It is said that when the weather is cloudy, or the water is muddy enough to hide their movements, they move forward in the daytime. But when the water is clear, they move at night or very early in the morning. A salmon may be chased by a larger fish, or by a seal, or by some other enemy, and driven into a strange river; but most of the salmon find their way back every year to the river in which they were born. A gentleman once took twelve salmon from a river, and marked them by attaching to each one a copper ring; he then put them back into the water. From the same river, five of these fishes were taken the next year, three were taken the second year, and three the third year. Wonderful stories have been told of the great height to which a salmon will leap in order to get above a dam, or over rocks and waterfalls. If the water is shallow, the salmon is able to leap only a little way above the surface; |