THE 
 
 CORAL 
 
 WSCKIACE. 
 
 4 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE PEARL BRACELET, 3 ^ 
 
 ft 
 
 BOTANICAL RAMBLES/' ETC. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY J. E. EVANS 
 LONG LANE, SMITHFIELD. 
 
 F RICE FOURPENC\ ' 
 
) 
 
 Kn 
 
 \ 
 
FRONTISPIECE* 
 
 « It was evening. • * * A party of gay little 
 girls, full of health and spirits, were at play at 
 blindman's-buff. Pa S e 
 
^ T 1! E 
 
 COM A Sj ]¥EC1£LA c ( - je ; 
 
 INTENDED FOR THE 
 
 Sltmtp'enwnt of Ct)tl&r*n. 
 
 ify /Ac Author of " !TAc /'ear J Bracelet^ &;c. 
 
 o 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Embellished with neat Engravings on Wood. 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY J. E. EVANS, 
 Long Lane, West Bmitfrfield. 
 
Entered at Stationers 1 HalL 
 
THE 
 
 CORAL N ECKLACE 
 
 43 Kb. 
 
 It was evening* The curtains were drawn, 
 and the candles taken into the parlour. A 
 party of gay Jitlle girls, full of health and 
 spirits, were at play at blind manVbuff. It 
 was Lucy's birth-day ; and Lucy, like other 
 children of her own age, had begged her 
 Mamma to invite some of her young friends 
 to tea. The favourite game of blindman's-buff 
 lasted for some time; and at length, tired of 
 running about, the happy group seated them- 
 selves upon the sofa to think of some new play. 
 Many different ones were proposed, but none 
 of them were fresh, and therefore none were 
 fixed upon. The children, at Lucy's request, 
 
 a 3 
 
6 
 
 THE COR At 
 
 went up into the nursery, to examine a baby- 
 house, which had that very morning come 
 from grandpapa's, as a birth-day present. This 
 afforded great amusement to all parties. Th( 
 chairs, tables, beds, and carpets, were taken 
 out, and looked at again and again ; the din- 
 ing-room was arranged afresh, the dolls wen 
 dressed, arid the little candles lit. Lucy fell 
 very happy ; she next reached the work-box 
 which her fattier had given her, and then th< 
 
V NECKLACE, 7 
 
 new book she had received as a reward for 
 taking pains with her writing — " and here V 9 
 said she, opening a drawer, " here is a coral 
 necklace ! a red coral necklace, which my 
 cousin Charlotte sent me \" and as Lucy spoke, 
 she clasped the coral necklace round her fair 
 and fat little neck, — At this moment the bell 
 rung, and the children were called to tea. 
 
 "Look at my coral necklace, dear Mamma, 
 (cried Lucy, as she entered the parlour). Is 
 it not pretty ? Don't you admire it con- 
 tinued she, drawing her chair close to the tea- 
 table. 
 
 Her mother smiled, and said, " Would it not 
 be of more value, if it were useful as well as 
 pretty? For my own part, I like those things 
 which are not merely intended for ornaments, 
 but which will do us good also : for instance, 
 I call your straw bonnet useful ; it shelters you 
 from the rain and sun when you go out — I call 
 your shoes useful also ; they prevent your feet 
 from being hurt, when you run up and down 
 
 I B 
 
8 THE CORAL 
 
 the gravel walk : — but I really do not sec much 
 use in a coral necklace, pretty as it certainly 
 is/' 
 
 Lucy looked grave, and twirled the red 
 beads round and round between the finger and 
 thumb. At length she exclaimed, " I have 
 been thinking of a plan, Mamma, by which my 
 necklace may become of use in one way at 
 least, I do not know what coral is, and 1 
 believe neither Emma, nor Julia, nor Harriet 
 know : and if you will tell us after tea, then 
 my pretty coral necklace will be of some use. 
 You must acknowledge that, Mamma/' 
 
 Mrs, Dent smiled, and her little daughter 
 considered this as a sure sign of her consent, 
 Tea was soon over, the hissing urn was taken 
 away, and John, the footman, removed the tea 
 things with more than usual dispatch, 
 
 The children soon arranged themselves 
 around the cheerful fire, all smiling and 
 happy. 
 
NECKLACE. 9 
 
 What little girl has not been present at such 
 a scene — what little girt has not glowed with 
 delight in the full enjoyment of such an 
 evening ! 
 
 Lucy's mother began her account by asking 
 the children if anv of them could tell her what 
 coral was. 
 
 One said China, another said the berry of 
 some tree, and another said coloured glass. — 
 None of them were right. 
 
 b 2 
 
10 
 
 TH 15 CORAL 
 
 " Coral/' said Mrs. Dent, " is a marine 
 production; that is to say, it is found in the 
 sea; and any thing that is found in the sea, is 
 called marine. Coral is found sticking to 
 rocks, and in the form of little trees and bushes, 
 not in round beads, as it is in your necklace, 
 Lucy/' 
 
 '•Pray, Mamma, tell us how they manage to 
 get it — and does it grow there— is it a plant ?" 
 
 "No, it is not a plant, my dear, but it is 
 formed by insects: and now if you please, I 
 will tell you how they manage to procure it. — 
 On the sea-shore of those countries where it is 
 found, there are great rocks below the water, 
 to which it clings very firmly. In the spring, 
 five or six men, called coral-fishers, go in a 
 little open boat : one of them throws a great 
 net, made of two pieces of wood, a leaden 
 weight, and a great deal of hemp and strong 
 cords twisted about the beams of wood, into 
 the sea. When the coral is torn from the 
 rocks and entangled in it, they draw it out by 
 
I NECKLACE. 
 
 Ji 
 
 a rope, which is sometimes very hard work, 
 and requires much strength. These branches 
 of coral are sometimes white, and sometimes 
 red. Your necklace is made of red coral. M en 
 are employed to polish the branches, and to 
 make them into beads. " 
 
 "Thank you, Mamma!" said Lucy.- — 
 u Charlotte's present has been of some use to 
 me, you see; for 1 am sure I did not know 
 before what coral was." 
 
 B 3 
 
12 
 
 THE CORAL 
 
 " And it may be of yet farther use/' said 
 her mother; " for it is not made of coral only. 
 Try if you cannot find out some other article 
 which is employed. 
 
 " The clasp — the gold clasp ! I know what 
 you mean, Mamma. What is gold ? — and the 
 ribbon, the narrow blue ribbon upon which the 
 
 beads are threaded, how is ribbon made ? 1 
 
 see I have a great deal to learn/' 
 
 "Let us begin with the clasp/' said Mrs. 
 Dent- « Gold is a metal. All metals are dug 
 out of the earth, mixed with other substances, 
 and in this state are called ores: There are 
 many different kinds of metals : I will tell you 
 the names of some of them— gold, silver^ copper 
 iron, lead, and tin. These metals are separated 
 from the minerals or substances with which 
 they are mixed. The holes or pits made in the 
 earth in order to procure them, are called mines*' 
 
 "Then is gold found in mines, Mamma ?" 
 said Lucy, 
 
* NECKLACE. 
 
 13 
 
 « Yes, very often," said Mrs. Dent. u It 
 is sometimes found in rivers also : little parti- 
 cles of it are mixed with the sand, and the poor 
 black people in Africa separate it from the 
 sand, and give the gold they find, in exchange 
 for other things." 
 
 u But how do they get up the gold from the 
 bottom of the rivers V said Emma* 
 
 u They put in long sloping troughs, lined at 
 the bottom with coarse cloth or flannel," said 
 Mrs. Dent; " and the poor people who have to 
 wash the sand, stir the water about with their 
 hands, until the little bits of gold, about the 
 size of peas, sink into the woolly part of the 
 flannel ; and these are afterwards washed out 
 with great care, and brought to England. It 
 is then melted in a fire, and made into different 
 articles — watches, ear-rings, broaches, and 
 clasps for coral necklaces." 
 
 <( Now," said Lucy, we know r what gold 
 
 c 
 
14 
 
 THE CORAI. 
 
 is, and what coral is now, for ribbon, dear 
 
 Manama.'* 
 
 " Coral is made by insects/' said Mrs. Dent, 
 "and ribbon is also formed by little insects, 
 somewhat like caterpillars." 
 
 "Insects, Mamma! insects! are you quite 
 sure that they can make ribbon ?" 
 
 " Yes, quite sure and quite certain/' replied 
 her mother, " that they form the material of 
 which ribbon is composed. But before I tell 
 you any thing more, do you know what cater- 
 pillars are ? 
 
 " Oh yes, yes, we have often seen them 
 upon the currant-trees in the garden." 
 
 "Well," said Mrs. Dent, "the insects or 
 caterpillars which spin the silk (for ribbon, you 
 know, is made of silk) are called silk-worms. 
 They live upon mulberry trees in warm coun- 
 tries. They spin themselves up in little silky 
 
NECKLACE. 1^ 
 
 I 
 
 bags ol a yellow colour, w 
 the leaves of the trees, and which are called 
 cones. These are collected together, and the 
 silk is wound off with great care. They put 
 the little golden balls into warm water, that 
 the silk may be wound off more readily. And 
 when a great deal is wound off, it is taken to 
 a man called a weaver, who weaves it into silk 
 or ribbon." 
 
 " But you told us it was yellow when the 
 
 little insect spun it, Mamma," said Lucy. — 
 
 " How came it blue i" 
 
 c 2 
 
16 
 
 THE CORAL 
 
 " It is quite right to ask/' said Mrs. Dent. 
 "I forgot to tell you, that before it is brought 
 to the weaver, it is bleached, or made white, 
 by being put in the sun, or left in the open air, 
 and then dyed of different colours, red, green, 
 or blue, whichever they please. 
 
 u And now, my dear little Lucy, I will agree 
 with you, that your coral necklace has been of 
 some use : — you have learned from it that coral 
 and silk are both made by little insects; and 
 that gold is a metal dug out of the earth." 
 
 The children were well pleased with what they 
 had heard, and began to talk to each other 
 about it. 
 
 " I wish I might ask a question," said Em- 
 ma, "for I would much rather hear about these 
 things than play." 
 
 " Ask whatever you please, my dear," said 
 Mrs. Dent. " I shall be glad to tell you any 
 thing you do not know." 
 
NECKLACE. 17 
 
 fcfc Well, Ma'am, since you have been talking 
 to Lucy about her necklace, I have thought 
 about many things ; I should like to know 
 what my frock is made of— and my shoes— 
 and almost every thing in the room : — the car- 
 pet — the looking-glass — the tables — the fender 
 — and the candles, and the candlesticks. As 
 Lucy says, we have a great deal to leam % " 
 
 " You have, indeed," said Mrs. Dent ; " and 
 as you shew a desire for learning, I hope you 
 will in due time become a very clever girl. — ■ 
 But as I can answer only one question at a 
 time, what shall we begin with ? I see my 
 little Harriet is looking at the carpet. Well, 
 now try, my love, if you can tell me of what it 
 is made." 
 
 Harriet was only four years old, and she 
 replied, " I do not know, Mamma." 
 
 (< Examine it," said her mother. " Feel it. 
 Is it hard like the floor ?" 
 
 c 3 
 
18 
 
 THE CORAL 
 
 "Oh no, Mamma. It is soft, and it is prettier 
 than the floor/' said Harriet, stooping down, 
 and rubbing it with her hand. 
 
 " Its colours have nothing to do with the 
 question," said Mrs. Dent ; " the carpet would 
 be as good a carpet, though not so pretty a one, 
 if it had never been dyed at all. Look at it 
 again, and try if you can find out what it is 
 made of." 
 
 " I now see threads in it," cried Harriet, 
 " 1 believe it is made of big threads." 
 
NECKLACE. 19 
 
 " You are partly right ; but are these threads 
 made of the same materials as the thread with 
 which I am now sewing? Come and look at 
 it." 
 
 "No/* said Harriet ; " I see there m a differ- 
 ence : and the threads that make the carpet, are 
 red, blue, and green." 
 
 " Never mind the colours," said Mrs. Dent 5 
 "they are of no consequence : let us not think 
 of them at ail. Let us examine a thread of the 
 carpet without minding the colour ; and see, 
 here is one : compare it with mine, and tell me 
 where you perceive a difference." 
 
 "It is larger and softer, Mamma," said the 
 little rosy Harriet. 
 
 " The softness," said her mother, " may lead 
 you to guess of what it is made." 
 
 " I believe it is wool— wool that grows upon 
 the backs of Papa's sheep " 
 
20 
 
 THE CORAL 
 
 "Ah, you are right ! Woo! does grow upon 
 the backs of sheep. It is clipped off every year 
 with large scissars, called shears. The sheep are 
 penned in a fold close to a barn, from whence 
 they are fetched by the lads, one by one, as fast 
 as the shearers are ready for them. After the 
 sheep are shorn, the wool is washed and carded, 
 and spun into yarn, which you call threads." 
 
 "Well, Mamma," said Harriet, "tell me 
 something more." 
 
 It is then sent to the dyer," said her mo- 
 
NECKLACE. 2hm 
 
 f 
 
 ther, " who dyes one part yellow, another 
 green, and so on. It then goes to the weaver, 
 who puts it in a loom, and weaves it by a pattern 
 as you see. And now you understand that the 
 colour is mere matter of choice or fancy ; but 
 that it is not necessary, like the wool, or the 
 spinning, or the weaving." 
 
 I " Yes, I understand all this very well," said 
 Harriet. " And when I see pretty sheep nib- 
 bling the green grass in the fields, I shall think 
 of the carpet, and that it is made of wool. 
 
 "Ah, Mamma," cried Lucy, " Harriet would 
 not have thought of the carpet if it had not been 
 for my coral necklace." 
 
 I "Now, Ma'am," said Emma, " will you be so 
 good as to tell me of what my frock is made ?" 
 
 It is muslin," said Mrs. Dent, " and muslin 
 
 is made of cotton." 
 
 "What is cotton?" said Emma. " Is cot- 
 ton made by an insect as well as silk ?" 
 
22 THE CORAL 
 
 re 
 
 " No ; cotton is procured from a tree call 
 a cotton-tree, which grows only in warm coutu 
 tries. It is thick like a bushy shrub, and beau 
 very beautiful flowers, which produces frui 
 almost as large as walnuts. This fruit, or pods 
 as they are called, are full of soft down ; thi" 
 down is separated from the husk or outside, \y% 
 means of a mill, and it is then spun and sen 
 to the weaver, who weaves it in his useful looru 
 into various articles of clothing : — muslin is on 
 of them." 
 
 "What!" cried Emma, in surprise, €i m; 
 clear white muslin frock is produced from th(J 
 down contained in pods no larger than wal 
 
 nuts. How wonderful ! But I shall no 
 
 wonder at any thing you tell us now, Ma'am 
 — though, to be sure, I should never havt 
 thought that my muslin frock once grew upor 
 a tree. I think it is Julia's turn to ask < 
 question ; and I like this play very much." 
 
 Julia laughed, and looked around her, — 
 "There are so many things in the room, tint 
 
NECKLACE. 23 
 
 ally, Emma, I do not know what to fix 
 npon," said she. u However, here is a book ; 
 let us hear how paper is made. If I were to 
 srness all night, I believe I could not find out." 
 
 i 
 
 1 " Paper is made of rags," said Mrs. Dent, 
 i" The rags are collected together and taken 
 to a mill, and put into an engine placed in a 
 
 meat trough fiiled with water. The engine has 
 long spikes of iron in it, and by moving round 
 with great swiftness, it soon tears the rags 
 every way, and turns them into a soft pulp." 
 
24 
 
 THE CORAL 
 
 " Well, Mamma, (said Lucy,) go on." 
 
 "A mould, or frame, is then used, the size 
 of a sheet of paper, which is dipped in this 
 pulp, and shaken about, till it forms a thin 
 layer, as the workmen wish it to do ; then it 
 is turned out, and the mould is dipped in again, 
 and then again, and so on. Do you under- 
 stand ?" 
 
 "Yes, Ma'am, (said Julia;) but they must 
 be damp and wet — what is done to dry them ?" 
 
 " They are placed sheet upon sheet," said 
 Mrs. Dent, " and when a great number of 
 sheets are made in this manner, they are put 
 into a press, with something between each, and 
 after they are well pressed, they are hung up to 
 dry. When they are quite dry, they are rubbed 
 and sized, that they may be fit to write upon. 
 And now, my dear little girl, you know how pa- 
 per is made." 
 
 " Thanks to Lucy's necklace !" said Julia. 
 
NECKLACE. 23 
 
 * { Now let us know how rags are made, as paper 
 is made from them." i 5 
 
 " Linen rags are made of flax. Perhaps you 
 do not know what I mean by flax." 
 
 u I think it is a plant," said Lucy ; ** but 
 who ever thought that linen cloth could be made 
 of a plant ! Go on, Mamma." 
 
 " It is a plant at all events," said Mrs. Dent, 
 " and it bears a pretty blue blossom. It is 
 Bown in the ground, in the same way as any 
 other seeds. When it is time to gather it, 
 they collect it together in bundles, and spread 
 it out in the field to dry. When it is dry, it 
 s combed with a thing called a ripple, so as 
 to pull off the blossoms and the leaves, and 
 eave only the stalks, of which linen is made." 
 
 " But the stalks are green," said Emma, 
 s and linen is commonly white: but I suppose 
 the cloth will have to be bleached, as von 
 said silk had. But before you go on, will you 
 
26 
 
 THE CORAL 
 
 please to tell us whether any other part of the 
 plant is of use F* 
 
 " Yes ; an oil is extracted, or drawn from 
 it, called linseed oil, and its seed is called 
 linseed." 
 
 *• Oh, then, it is useful, (said Emma,) for my 
 little birds are fed with linseed every morning. 
 I never knew before what linseed was — and I 
 shall remember that it is the seed of flax." 
 
 " We were just talking about combing the 
 flax with a ripple," said Mrs. Dent: "when 
 this is done, they put the stalks into a ditch or 
 pond of water, where they remain for some time 
 until the bark, or outside part of the stalks, 
 becomes soft, when they are taken out. They 
 then beat off the bark by means of a tool called 
 a brake, which is something like a flail. I 
 suppose you know what a flail is." 
 
 " I do," said Julia: "when I went a walk 
 with my Papa one day, we passed by a barn, 
 
/ NECKLACE- 27 
 
 where a man was thrashing corn. He beat il 
 with a great tool made of wood, which separated 
 the grain from the ear; and this, my Papa said, 
 was a flail/' 
 
 " Very we]]/' said Mrs. Dent. « The bark 
 is beaten off the stalks of the flax with a brake, 
 and has then to be cleaned and combed again, 
 
 and afterwards spun into thread ; this is thread 
 which I am at work with. Have you ever seen 
 a spinning wheel p" 
 
28 
 
 THE CORAL 
 
 One little girl said no, and another said yes, 
 and it was at last discovered that only Emma 
 had seen one. The children all wished to see 
 one, that they might know how flax is spun 
 into thread, as well as the state it is in before 
 it is spun ; and it was therefore agreed for 
 Lucy, Emma, Julia, and all the rest of their 
 young friends, to meet the next morning at 
 twelve o'clock, if it were a fine day, to take a 
 walk together into the village, and pay a visit 
 to old Nurse Smith. 
 
 What has flax or spinning to do with old 
 Nurse Smith ? some little girl may ask. Tht 
 case is this. Old Nurse Smith earned hei 
 livelihood by spinning, and therefore she wa 
 fixed upon as a likely person to show and ex 
 plain the nature of the spinning-wheel to tin 
 children. 
 
 When this arrangement had been duly made 
 Mrs. Dent went on with her account of flax 
 << The thread, (said she) is taken to the weaver 
 who weaves it into cloth. He is a very useful 
 
NECKLACE. 29 
 
 person. If I walk with you to-morrow, when 
 we have paid a visit to old Nurse, and have 
 seen her spinning-wheel, we will go up the 
 lane to the weaver's cottage at the other end 
 of the village, and there you can see the whole 
 process of weaving thread into cloth. All 
 cloth is made of threads placed across and across 
 each other, you know. The weaver calls 
 the threads that are placed lengthwise, the 
 warp, and those that are crosswise, the woof, 
 and he passeth the woof backwards and forwards 
 by means of a shuttle, which is a sort of needle. 
 But I need not tell you any thing more about 
 it ; for if we go to-morrow, as we at present 
 intend to do, you will understand it better 
 than by any thing I can say/* 
 
 " I hope it will be fine, (said Lucy) and then 
 we can gather the primroses that grow upon 
 the bank in that pretty lane just above Nurse 
 Smith's cottage — and violets too — and cowslips. 
 —-Do you know my Mamma means to make 
 cowslip wine this spring ? She says it is good 
 for poor people to take when they are ill. Will 
 
the coral 
 
 you tell us how wine can he made from cowslip 
 pips, dear Mamma ? It seems almost as won- 
 derful as for eloth to be made from a plant." 
 
 " Not just now," said Mrs. Dent. '* I think 
 you have heard enough for one evening. If 
 vou will remind me of it when we are walking 
 to-morrow, I will tell you how it is done; for 
 even this knowledge may sometimes be of use 
 to you. All kinds of knowledge are useful in 
 some way or other." 
 
 " And my coral necklace has been of great 
 use," exclaimed Lucy. " If it it had not been 
 for it, I do not think we should have heard 
 about gold, and coral, and ribbon, and carpets, 
 and paper, and linen, and a great many more 
 things that we did not know before. Thanks 
 to my coral necklace ! and thanks to you, dear 
 Mamma, for having amused us so nicely." 
 
 It was now getting late; first a knock came 
 at the door for one little girl, and then a loud 
 peal at the bell for another* At length Lucy 
 
NECKLACE. 
 
 31 
 
 and Harriet wertf left alone with their mother. 
 They soon retired to rest, for it was later than 
 usual. Early the next morning, and almost 
 before it was light, Lucy jumped out of bed, 
 and peeped between the window-curtains, ex- 
 claiming, " Oh, it is a fine day— we shall walk 
 with Mamma to Nurse Smith's, and see her 
 spinning-wheel, and hear about cowslip wine/ 
 
32 
 
 Alfred and the Thorn-bushes. 
 
 Mr. Thomson and bis son Alfred were one 
 evening*, in the month of May, sitting at the 
 foot of a delightful hill, and surveying the 
 beautiful works of nature that surrounded 
 them. The declining sun, now sinking into 
 the west, seemed to clothe every thing with a 
 purple robe. The cheerful song of a shepherd 
 called off their attention from their meditations 
 on those delightful prospects. This shepherd 
 was driving home his flock from the adjacent 
 fields. 
 
 Thorn-bushes grew on each side of the road, 
 and every sheep that approached the thorns was 
 sure to be robbed of some part of its wool, 
 which much displeased little Alfred. " Only 
 see, Papa/' said he, " how the sheep are de- 
 prived of their wool by those bushes ! You 
 have often told me that God makes nothing in 
 vain ; but these briars seem only made for 
 
 j 
 
ALFRED. 33 
 
 mischief : people should therefore join to de- 
 stroy them root and branch. Were the poor 
 sheep to come often this way, they would be 
 robbed of all their clothing. But that shall not 
 be the case, for I will rise with the sun to- 
 morrow morning, and with my little bill-hook 
 and snip-snap, I will level all these briars with 
 the ground. You may come with me, Papa, if 
 you please, and bring with you an axe. Before 
 breakfast, we shall be able to destroy them all." 
 
 Mr- Thomson replied, u We must not go 
 about this business in too great a hurry, but 
 take a little time to consider of it ; perhaps 
 there may not be so much cause for being angry 
 with these bushes, as you at present seem to 
 imagine. Have you not seen the shepherds 
 about Lammas with great sheers in their hands, 
 take from the trembling sheep all their wool, 
 not being contented with a few locks only ?" 
 
 Alfred allowed that was true; but they did 
 it in order to make clothes ; whereas the hedges 
 robbed the sheep without having the least 
 occasion for their wool, and evideutly for no 
 useful purpose. 
 
31 
 
 ALFRKD. 
 
 Mr. Thomson allowed the arguments ol 'little 
 Alfred to he just; for nature has given to 
 every beast a clothing, and we are obliged from 
 them to borrow our own, otherwise we should 
 be forced to go naked, and exposed to the in- 
 clemency of the elements. 
 
 " Very well, Papa," said Alfred, " though 
 they want clothing, yet these bushes want none : 
 they rob us of what we have need, and there*- 
 fore down they shall all come with to-morrow 
 morning's rising sun. And, I dare say, Papa. 
 you will come alone: with me, and assist me." 
 
 Mr. Thomson could not but consent, and 
 little Alfred thought himself nothing less than 
 Alexander, merely from the expectation of 
 destroying at once this formidable band of 
 robbers. He could hardly sleep, being so much 
 taken up with the idea of his victories, to 
 which the morrow's sun was to be witness. 
 
 The cheerful lark had hardly begun to pro- 
 claim the approach of morning, when Alfred 
 got up, and ran to awaken his Papa. Although 
 Mr. Thomson was very indifferent concerning 
 the fate of the thorn-bushes, yet he was not 
 
ALFRED. 35 
 
 displeased with having the opportunity of shew- 
 ing to his son Alfred the beauties of the rising* 
 sun. They dressed themselves immediately, 
 took the necessary instruments, and set out on 
 this important expedition. 
 
 When they came near to the bushes, they 
 observed a multitude of little birds flying in and 
 out of them, and fluttering their wings from 
 branch to branch. On seeing this, Mr. Thom- 
 son stopped his son, and desired him to sus- 
 pend his vengeance a little time, that they 
 might not disturb those innocent birds. With 
 this view they retired to the foot of the hill 
 where they had sat the preceding evening, and 
 from thence examined more particularly what 
 had occasioned this apparent bustle among the 
 birds. From hence they plainly saw, that they 
 were employed in carrying away those bits of 
 wool in their beaks, which the bushes had torn 
 from the sheep the evening before. There 
 came a multitude of different sorts of birds, 
 who loaded themselves with the plunder. 
 
 Alfred was quite astonished at this sight, 
 arid asked his father what could be the meaning 
 
36 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 of it. " You by this plainly see/' replied Mr. 
 Thomson, u that Providence provides for crea- 
 tures of every class, and furnishes them with 
 all things necessary for their convenience aud 
 preservation. Here, you see,, the poor birds 
 find what is necessary for their habitations, 
 wherein they are to nurse and rear their young', 
 and with this they make a comfortable bed for 
 themselves and their little progeny. The in- 
 nocent thorn-bush, against which you yesterday 
 so loudly exclaimed, is of infinite service to the 
 inhabitants of the air ; it takes from those that 
 are rich only what they can very well spare, in 
 order to satisfy the wants of the poor. Have 
 you now any wish to cut those bushes down ?" 
 
 Alfred shook his head, and said he would not 
 cut the bushes down for the world. Mr. Thomson 
 applauded his son for so saying ; and, after 
 enjoying the sweets of the morning, they retired 
 home to breakfast, leaving the bushes to flourish 
 in peace. 
 
 Frinted by J. E. Evaos, Long-lane, London. 
 
3 * O 
 
S ORNAMENTED WITH ENGRAVINGS, 
 PRICE SIXPENCE EACH. 
 
 The Pearl Bracelet, intended for the 
 amusement of Children. By the Author of 
 the Coral Necklace, Botanical Rambles, 
 Indian Antiquities, &c. 
 
 Augustus and his Squirrel. By the same 
 Author. 
 
 Amusing Anecdotes of various Animals. 
 By the same Author. 
 
 The Pious Parents' Gift ; or, a plain 
 and familiar Sermon ; wherein the Prin- 
 ciples of the Christian Religion are pro- 
 posed and clearly represented to the 
 Minds of Children. By William Mason. 
 
 The Interesting History of an Apple. 
 
 The Escapes, "Wanderings, and Pre- 
 servations of a Hare. Related by Herself. 
 
 Scripture Histories made easy to the 
 comprehension of Children ; containing the 
 History of Cain and Abel ; Noah ; Lot 
 and his Family ; Abraham and his son 
 Isaac ; and Esau and Jacob. 
 
 f