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seized the Golden Fleece from the branches overhead, where it hung, making the forest bright as though the sun were shining upon it; then he hastened back to his ship, where Medea and his companions were anxiously awaiting him.

In a very short time, the anchor was lifted, and with their sails flapping merrily in the breeze, the Greeks had started on their homeward way, carrying the Golden Fleece with them.

After a long, hard journey, full of adventures, they at last reached home. Jason banished his uncle from the kingdom, and set his father back on the throne. Thus he fulfilled his vow, and King Aeson, grown young again through happiness at his son's return, ruled in peace for many a year

HOW A BOY LOVED A STAG

ONCE Apollo dearly loved a lad whose name was Cyparissus, and the youth, in turn, was very fond of Apollo. He liked to hunt, and he loved the woods and the brooks and all the shy, wild creatures that lived in the forests. All these things he loved, but dearer to him than anything else was a stag that lived in the grove where he hunted.

The stag was a beautiful creature, with great, soft eyes and branching antlers. He belonged to the nymphs of the grove, and they had hung about his neck a golden necklace, studded with shining gems. He was the pet of all the people who lived near that place, and was so tame

that he would go around from door to door and offer his glossy neck to be patted. He was afraid of no one, for every one loved him and was kind to him.

Cyparissus and the stag were together from morning till night. They wandered through the woods, seeking the shady nooks and the little streams, where the stag could see his beautiful antlers reflected and could drink the clear water. The boy would weave garlands of flowers for the stag's neck; or, springing lightly on his playfellow's back, he would speed through the woods more swiftly than the wind.

Apollo often joined this happy pair in the forest, and laughed and played with them, just as though he, too, were a child.

One hot summer's day, Cyparissus and the stag had been wandering through the grove for many hours, and at noon they paused in a shady spot by the side of a stream. The stag was resting on the soft grass, under a tree, and Cyparissus stood a little way off, practicing with his bow and arrow.

Just how it happened he never knew; but suddenly, as he was fitting the arrow to the bow, his foot slipped, the sharp steel glided off sidewise, and, with a little hiss, it entered the poor stag's breast.

Cyparissus, filled with horror, rushed to his companion's side and drew the cruel steel from his breast. But

it was too late the arrow had done its work only too well. The wounded stag lifted its head, and gave the boy a last, loving, questioning look, then fell back on the grass - dead.

Poor Cyparissus! He had killed the creature he loved most in all the world, and his grief was sad to see. He

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threw himself on the ground beside the dead stag, kissed the soft forehead over and over again, and moaned aloud. He felt that he could not live without his dear playfellow, and was ready to pierce himself with the same arrow that had slain the stag.

But Apollo, who heard his friend's voice weeping in the forest, came hastening to the spot. When he saw what had happened, he tried to console Cyparissus, telling him that he must not blame himself for what had been a mere accident; and at last he induced him to give up the arrow with which he had meant to kill himself. But the poor boy wept and mourned, and would not be comforted, and at last he died of grief.

Apollo grieved much over his little friend's sad death; he wept over the lifeless body, and loosed the boy's arm from around the stag's neck and cried, "Never again shall I hear your merry laughter ringing through the woods, nor see you wandering in the grove with your playmate. The birds will miss your happy song, and the leaves and the flowers will seem less bright now that you are gone from them. All the shy, wild creatures of the grove will steal from their hiding places, and wonder that you no longer come to greet them. But I will mourn for you forever, Cyparissus, and you shall mourn for others, and shall henceforth be the emblem of sorrow and death."

Then Apollo changed Cyparissus into a cypress tree, that he might continue to live in the green forests, with the birds and the flowers he loved so dearly.

And to this day the cypress tree is planted above graves as an emblem of grief.

EARTH TO EARTH

His hands with earthly work are done,
His feet are done with roving,
We bring him now to thee, and ask
The loved to take the loving.

Part back thy mantle, fringed with green,
Broidered with leaf and blossom,

And lay him tenderly to sleep

Dear Earth, upon thy bosom.

Thy cheerful birds, thy liberal flowers,
Thy woods and waters, only,
Gave him their sweet companionship,
And made his hours less lonely.

Then part thy mantle, fringed with green,
Broidered with leaf and blossom,

And lay him tenderly to sleep

Dear Earth, upon thy bosom.

PHOEBE CARY.

A SEA GOD AND A WICKED ENCHANTRESS

THERE was once a poor fisherman named Glaucus, who earned his daily bread by selling the fish he caught. One day his net felt very heavy, and when he drew it in, he saw that he had caught a great number of fine fish. He emptied them out upon the grass by his side, and then prepared his net for another throw.

But the fish he had caught began flapping about and

nibbling at the grass beneath them, and in a few minutes, what was the fisherman's surprise to see them all leap back into the water and swim away!

"Why, what wonderful grass that must be!" cried Glaucus, and he took up a handful and began to chew it. As soon as the juice entered his blood, a strange feeling of restlessness came over him; and at length he had such a mad longing to throw himself into the clear water, that almost before he knew what he was doing, he plunged into the sea.

Neptune, the god of the ocean, saw all that was passing; and as Glaucus sank beneath the surface, he caught him in his arms, and, taking him into his ocean palace, changed him from a poor fisherman into a god of the

sea.

that very

Glaucus now lived entirely in the water water he had loved so dearly when he was a fisherman. His beard grew long, and of the color of the seaweed that the tide washes ashore; his hair, which streamed behind him, looked almost like the waves on which it floated. He was made the god of the fishermen; and, remembering his own struggles in former days, he sent many a poor fisherman home with a full net and a happy heart.

So years passed, until one day, as the sea god was floating on the top of the waves, he saw a beautiful maiden walking along the shore.

She looked so modest and gentle that Glaucus' heart was deeply moved, and he followed her until she came to a low hill. She climbed to the top and then turned to give a parting look at the sea, which she loved very much; but she did not notice the dark face watching her so