the boy grew fast,
Till he became a man at last;

But all the time he slyly stole--
Sometimes a piece--sometimes the whole,
Till, finally, he grew so bold,
He kill'd a man and took his gold.

The day on which he had to swing
Did a large crowd together bring.
Among the rest his mother came,
And called him fondly by his name.

The sheriff gave him leave to tell
The broken-hearted dame farewell!
About his neck her arms she flung,
And cried, "Why must my child be hung?"

He answered, "Call me not your dear."
And by one stroke bit off her ear;
While all the crowd cried, "Oh! for shame!
Not satisfied to blast her name.

You add this violence to one
Whose happiness you have undone!"
"Good people," he replied, "I'll vow
I would not be a felon now.

If my mother had only tried
To win me to the better side.
But when in infancy I took
What was not mine, a small torn book,

Instead of punishing the feat
She gave to me an apple sweet;
She prais'd me too, and softly smil'd,
And said, 'You are my own dear child!'

I tell you here, both foe and friend,
This is the cause of my sad end."

[Illustration: Australian Blacks Stealing.]

[Page 72--Stealing Land]

[Illustration: Naughty Boys Stealing.]

The Boys And The Apple Tree

As Billy and Tommy
Were walking one day,
They came by a fine orchard side;
They'd rather eat apples
Than spell, read, or play,
And Tommy to Billy then cried,

"O brother, look! see
What fine clusters hang there,
I'll jump and climb over the wall;
I will have an apple,
I will have a pear,
Or else it shall cost me a fall."

Said Billy to Tommy,
"To steal is a sin,
Mamma has oft told this to thee;
O never yet stole,
Nor now will begin,
So red apples hang on the tree."

"You are a good boy,
As you ever have been,"
Said Tommy; let's walk on, my lad;
We'll call on our school-fellow
Little Bob Green,
And to see us I know he'll be glad."

They came to a house,
And they rang at the gate,
And asked, "Pray, is Bobby at home?"
But Bobby's good manners
Did not let them wait;
He out of the parlour did come.

Bob smil'd, and he laughed,
And he caper'd with joy,
His little companions to view.
"We call'd in to see you,"
Said each little boy.
Said Bobby, "I'm glad to see