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toise up in the air, high above the mountains, on his back. This was raising his humble friend up to his station, which was very pleasant to him, and the tortoise was wondrously delighted; but, presently after, the eagle let his friend fall, thus killing him, that he might afterwards devour him.

P. Oh, that naughty wicked eagle!

Mr. F. If you have a friend, never flatter him; and if he be a prudent friend, he will never flatter you. Flattery is deceit, though not always intended to be such. "He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile," 1 Peter iii. 10. Draw out, as much as you can, the good qualities of your friend; and, if he be a real friend, he will draw out yours. Remember you are both pilgrims to heaven; do everything, then, to help, and nothing to hinder each other in your pilgrimage. Love one another, assist one another, correct one another, pray for one another, and be a continual good example one to the other in all things. Seek also so to act, as that a wise Christian may love you and esteem you. "Every good and perfect gift is from above." Look, therefore, to your heavenly Father alone, to "make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever," Heb. xiii. 21.

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CHAPTER XI.

ACTS OF KINDNESS.

Two or three days had passed since Mr. Franklin had held a meeting with his children, to help them in learning to act, and they were getting somewhat impatient; at last he summoned them into the back parlour, to proceed in his observations.

'Be

"I will now refer to acts of kindness. kindly affectioned one to another,' is an injunction of Holy Scripture. There are hundreds, and, no doubt, thousands, who would willingly act kindly, but know not how to begin. A kind thought is influential, a kind word is encouraging, and a kind deed is at all times a blessing. It has been said, that of all kindness, Christian kindness is the best; and that kindness to the soul is far better than kindness to the body. Now, I would willingly point out how you may be kind to both."

Mary. That is what we want to know, рара.

Mr. Franklin. You have seen, I dare say, the rings on the water when a stone has been cast into a pond: the first ring is small, the next larger, and so on till the pond is covered.

Edward. Yes; we have seen the rings many a time.

Mr. F. Well, your acts of kindness must resemble them. At first they must be on a small scale; but as you grow older, and your means increase, they must increase also.

M. Our kind acts must, indeed, be very small at present.

Mr. F. Never be discouraged because you cannot do much, so that you do all the kindness you can Listen to what a writer has said on this subject: "When the poor widow mentioned in the New Testament could not put a large sum into the treasury, she cast therein two mites; and it was said of her, that she had done more than others, because they had given of their abundance, but she of her poverty." You must be poor indeed, if you cannot spare two mites in a case of necessity. And, again, when the Lord of life and glory speaks of the recompense that shall attend acts of Christian kindness, he does not say a bag of money, or a goblet of wine shall be recompensed: but, "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward," Matt. x. 42. You must be ill provided for, indeed, if you cannot command a cup of cold water.

E. Please to tell us what kind acts we can do.

Mr. F. I shall come to that, by-and-by. Young people who wish to be kind, must look around them for opportunities, and then they will be sure to find them. In almost all places there are poor children, and poor aged people, and some that are afflicted in different ways: one is blind, another is bedridden, a third is a cripple, and walks with crutches as I do. Some are badly off for clothes; some are very ignorant; and some do not fear God, but spend their time in idleness, thoughtless folly, and sin. Now, among such different characters, there will always be ample opportunities of doing good.

M. There are some of all these in the villages round us.

Mr. F. Kindness, on a small scale, to these, may be shown by young people of your ages. To speak kindly to the poor children when you meet them, to give them a little picture book which has something good in it; to call in upon the old people, and to ask pleasantly how they are, and their children, who may be at a distance from them; to read a chapter in the Bible to the afflicted, the bed-ridden, and the blind; to go on some little errand for the cripple; to make some article of clothing for those who are ill-provided in dress; and to teach an ignorant grown-up woman, who is too old to go to a Sunday school, her letters -to do these things, is not beyond the power of young people who have very little pocket

money to spare, a little knowledge in their heads, and a little kindness in their hearts. Thomas. Papa makes it as easy as the A B C. Mr. F. Let me fancy my Mary setting off, with her mamma's permission, some warm summer's day, with an orange and a few flowers in her hand. She comes to the dwelling of an aged, pious woman, who, through infirmity, cannot quit her dwelling; we will suppose her name to be Barbara. "How do you do, Barbara?" says she. "How do you do, this fine day? You look rather poorly; but you know that you are under God's care, and he will not desert you. I have brought you an orange, a very nice one, to moisten your mouth with. They say there is 'love in a nut kernel,' so there is room for kindness in an orange. See, here is a posy for your blue jug in the window; and, besides, I have a text of Scripture to leave with you, that you may not be afraid of your troubles. It is this: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee," Deut. xxxi. 6. Now such a kind visit as this would be enough to make the poor woman rejoice all day, and sing in the night.

M. Oh if I could but learn to act in this way, it would make me so happy.

Mr. F. Or suppose you looked in on old blind Peggy, and spoke thus:-"How do

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