WHAT THE TINY DROP DID.
THE cloud then gently disengaged
Its child, and let it go,
And bade it do its duty well
In the great world below.

And as it floated gently down
Thro' boundless fields of air,
Lo! all at once, it saw around
Millions of rain-drops there.
Each one of all that myriad throng
Had left its mother's breast;
Resolved, whatever might befall,
To try to do his best.

All fear was banished, hope prevailed,
Joy glanced from every eye,
And all these diamond glistenings made
A rainbow in the sky.

Down, down, they float incessantly

On forest, field, and flower, Till not a leaf or blade is seen,

Unfreshened by the shower.

Still down, and down, from out the air,
On hill, and dale, and moor,
On garden, waste, and wilderness,
Incessantly they pour.

The verdure lifts its drooping head,
The flowers in rapture glow,
The babbling brooks and rivulets
With leaping waters flow.

These swell the mighty river's tide,
Which rolls in majesty,

Until our tiny drop becomes

Part of the wide wide sea.

There, while it joined the anthem deep
Of ocean's surges loud,

A sunbeam raised it up to be

Part of a golden cloud.

THE SPARROW'S

MORNING VISIT.

GLAD to see you, little bird;

'Twas your pretty chirp I heard ;
What did you intend to say-
"Give us something this cold day?"

you;

That I will, and plenty too;
All these crumbs I saved for
Don't be frightened-here's a treat;
I will wait and see you eat.

Thomas says you steal his wheat;
John complains his plums you eat,
Choose the ripest for your share,
Never asking whose they are.

Shocking tales I hear of you;
Chirp, and tell me, are they true?
Robbing all the summer long.
Don't you think it very wrong?

Yet you seem an honest bird;
And I may say I've also heard
That insects, grubs, and worms you eat,
And other things that spoil the wheat.

So I will not try to know
What you did so long ago;

There's your breakfast, eat away,

Come and see me every day.

LITTLE CHRISTIAN.

COME hither, little Christian,
And hearken unto me!

I'll teach thee what the daily life
Of a Christian child should be.
When a Christian child awaketh,

He should think of God in heaven, And softly say, “I thank Thee, Lord, For the sleep which Thou hast given.

He must say when he ariseth,
"From evil and from harm
Defend thy little child, O Lord,
With thine everlasting arm."
He reverently kneeleth

To pray beside his bed;

With closed eyes and humble voice
His holy prayers are said:

And as he thus approacheth
The God of heaven above,
He looketh down, and smileth on
This little child in love.

He goeth from his chamber

To his work or to his play;
But the prayers that he hath prayed
He must keep in mind all day.

He hath asked to be obedient,
And so he must fulfil
His parents' bidding cheerfully,
With a glad mind and will.

If a playmate take his playthings,
He must not rudely try

To snatch them back, but mildly ask.
Or meekly pass them by.