to make known the feelings of.

NOTES.--Frederick II. of Prussia (b. 1712, d. 1788), or Frederick the
Great, as he was called, was one of the greatest of German rulers. He was
distinguished for his military exploits, for his wise and just government,
and for his literary attainments. He wrote many able works in the French
language. Many pleasant anecdotes are told of this king, of which the one
given in the lesson is a fair sample.

II. THE BLUEBELL.

1. There is a story I have heard--
A poet learned it of a bird,
And kept its music every word--

2. A story of a dim ravine,
O'er which the towering tree tops lean,
With one blue rift of sky between;

3. And there, two thousand years ago,
A little flower as white as snow
Swayed in the silence to and fro.

4. Day after day, with longing eye,
The floweret watched the narrow sky,
And fleecy clouds that floated by.

5. And through the darkness, night by night,
One gleaming star would climb the height,
And cheer the lonely floweret's sight.

6. Thus, watching the blue heavens afar,
And the rising of its favorite star,
A slow change came--but not to mar;

7. For softly o'er its petals white
There crept a blueness, like the light
Of skies upon a summer night;

8. And in its chalice, I am told,
The bonny bell was formed to hold
A tiny star that gleamed like gold.

9. Now, little people, sweet and true,
I find a lesson here for you
Writ in the floweret's hell of blue:

10. The patient child whose watchful eye
Strives after all things pure and high,
Shall take their image by and by.

DEFINITIONS.--2. Rift, a narrow opening, a cleft. 3. Swayed, swung. 5.
Height (pro. hite), an elevated place. 7. Pet'als, the colored leaves of
a flower. 8. Chal'ice, a cup or bowl. Bon'ny, beautiful.

III. THE GENTLE HAND.

Timothy S. Arthur (b. 1809, d. 1885) was born near Newburgh, N.Y., but
passed most of his life at Baltimore and Philadelphia. His opportunities
for good schooling were quite limited, and he may be considered a
self-educated man. He was the author of more than a hundred volumes,
principally novels of a domestic and moral tone, and of many shorter
tales--magazine articles, etc. "Ten Nights in a Barroom," and "Three Years
in a Mantrap," are among his best known works.

1. When and where it matters not now to relate--but once upon a time, as I
was passing