THE ORPHAN LORD.

THE young Lord Reginald Spencer was a very rich young gentleman: he had ponies to ride, and servants to wait upon him, and a big house to live in; but for all that he was very sad, for his Papa and Mamma were both dead, and he had no brothers or sisters, and very few people to love him. He often envied the poor little peasant children who played so merrily on the moor, and would have given all his fine clothes and beautiful ponies to be as free and light-hearted as they were, with fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters to love them. He lived in Cornwall, and used sometimes to ride on his pony to that curious old Inn called The First and Last Inn in England." It is situated at the extreme point of Land's End, on the cliffs overhanging the sea, so it is the last house people see when they leave England from the Land's End.

THE SEA-GULLS.

THE birds in this picture are Seagulls. They come across the sea about the beginning of March, and build their nests near the sea-shore; they seldom fly far inland, but live amongst the caves and rocks by the sea. Their wings are immensely strong, which enables them to fly such long distances across the sea. Öften when a ship is in the

middle of the ocean the Gulls come and fly around it, sometimes dashing down into the stormy waves, and sometimes flying over the sails and masts of the ship. When any greasy substance is thrown overboard, they instantly collect, and eat it up; and when they have finished it, they again follow the ship, for, however fast it may be going, the Gulls can always fly faster. In the places where the Gulls build their nests boys collect their eggs and sell them. Ás many as one thousand eggs have been gathered in some places in one day.

AN APRIL DAY.

THE sun shone so brightly, and the little birds sang so merrily, that Mary and Lilly and little Edmund determined to go out and see if they could find some wood violets, in a little wood near where they lived. On their way they met their friends Alice and Johnny, and they all went merrily in search of the flowers. But before long the sunshine vanished, and it began to pour with rain. So they crept under a thick hedge and sat down on the bank, where they were quite sheltered, and amused themselves with singing, songs and telling stories until the rain was over.

As

they walked home they saw a beautiful rainbow, which delighted little Edmund very much; and he ran on, hoping to be able to catch it where it touched the earth, for he did not know, as the others did, that it was only formed by the sun shining on the rain-drops.