I had wrought my own dower with my needle. No persuasions could induce him to appropriate the treas ure; he said it was my "reward," and belonged to me alone.

1 AN-NU'I-TY A sum of money paid yearly.

2 DE-VİŞED'. Gave by a will.

* KINŞ/WOM-AN (-wâm-ạn). A female relative.

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or that around which matter is collected.

PÖUND. A money of account used in England, equivalent to about four dollars and eighty-four cents.

1 LEG'A-CY. A gift of money or goods Döŵ'ER. The portion or property by a will.

NU'CLE-US. The central part of a body,

which a woman brings her husband in marriage; dowry.

XXI. THERE'S NO SUCH WORD AS FAIL.

1. THE proudest motto for the young,

Write it in lines of gold

Upon thy heart, and in thy mind
The stirring words enfold,1
And in misfortune's dreary hour,
Or fortune's prosperous gale,
"Twill have a holy, cheering power-
There's no such word as fail.

2. The sailor, on the stormy sea,
May sigh for distant land,
And free and fearless though he be,
Wish they were near the strand; 2
But when the storm on angry wings

Bears lightning, sleet, and hail,
He climbs the slippery mast, and sings,
There's no such word as fail.

3. The wearied student, bending o'er
The tomes of other days,

And dwelling on their magic lore,
For inspiration prays;

And though with toil his brain is weak,
His brow is deadly pale,

The language of his heart will speak
There's no such word as fail.

4. The soldier, on the battle plain,
When thirsting to be free,
́And throw aside a tyrant's chain,
Says, "On to Liberty,

Our households and our native land!
We must, we will prevail;

Then foot to foot and hand to hand;
There's no such word as fail."

5. The child of God, though oft beset1
By foes without, within,

These precious words will ne'er forget
Amid their dreadful din,

But upward look with eye of faith,
Armed with a Christian mail,

And in the hottest conflict saith
There's no such word as fail.

SPEECH OF A CANDIDATE FOR THE

OFFICE OF SHERIFF.

[In this imaginary speech the author means to convey the lesson that candidates for public office do not usually speak so honestly and frankly. It will be noticed that the candidate here shows himself to be really fit for the office he seeks, and asks for it on that ground; whereas in real life such posts are apt to be demanded as rewards for services to a political party ]

1. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I am a candidate 1 for the office of sheriff, and appear before you to prefer my claims to that responsible office.

2. I am a modest man, which is saying much in these days of impudence and pretension. I am content to be just what I am, and that is more than people in general can say, for this world is so given to flummery 2 and show that almost everybody is a humbug. But I am not. I can read, write, and cipher, which is more than many a voter can do.

3. I am polite, which is a desirable quality in a sheriff. In a legislator it does not matter so much, and a member of Congress may be a boor3 after he gets into office; but a sheriff should be a polite man, for his duty is none of the pleasantest. To arrest a man for murder, and not hurt his feelings, is the essence 4 of politeness, and that I think I can do.

4. I am not a married man, and this is a merit in a sheriff; for then he will not fail to do his duty by rea son of his feelings. A married man will have too tender a heart for such an office. No one but a bachelor is fit to be sheriff.

5. I am able to pay my own bills. It is the cus tom, you know, for candidates to call upon their

I

friends for food and lodging, and for money to carry on the canvass; but I'm not of the beggar tribe. am able to pay my own way, which fact alone ought to commend me to your confidence.

6. I'll save the public money by charging no more fees than the law allows. I'll rob no man of his estate by levying 5 on a whole farm to pay a petty debt. This is a great departure, I am aware, from the usual rule; but it is my way of doing business, if I am to be sheriff.

7. You can all do as you please, fellow-citizens, about voting for me. I shall not feel obliged to a voter, and forever bound to favor him, just because he has voted for me. I want no man's support who considers it a great favor to me. I know this is not the usual way for office-seekers to talk, but as I have some self-respect yet left, I propose to exercise it, in and out of office. If I am fit for the trust, elect me; if I am not fit, defeat me. That is all I have to say.

1 CĂN'DI-DĀTE. One who proposes him- | 3 BÔÔR. A rude peasant; a rustic. self, or who is proposed, for some 4 ES'SENCE. That upon which the office or station.

2 FLUM MER-Y. Flattery.

qualities of anything depend.

5 LEV'Y-ING. Collecting money.

XXIII.

THE CHILDREN IN THE CLOUDS.

1. ONE pleasant Saturday afternoon, during the summer of 1858, an aeronaut, after a prosperous voyage, descended upon a farm in the neighborhood of a large town, in one of the western states.

was

He

soon surrounded by a curious group of the farmer's family and laborers, all asking eager ques tions about the voyage, and the management of the

balloon. That, secured by an anchor and a rope in the hand of the aeronaut, its car but a foot or two above the ground, was swaying lazily backward and forward in the evening air.

2. It seemed a sleepy and innocent monster in the eyes of the farmer, who, with the owner's permission, led it up to his house, where, as he said, he could