g their praises to the same good God who cares for them
as he does for us.
11. Thus the love and trust of birds were a joy to him all
his life long; and such love and trust no boy or girl can fail to
win with the same kind heart, voice, and eye that he had.

Adapted from Elihu Burritt.

LESSON XVII.

WHAT THE MINUTES SAY.

1. We are but minutes--little things!
Each one furnished with sixty wings,
With which we fly on our unseen track,
And not a minute ever comes back.

2. We are but minutes; use us well,
For how we are used we must one day tell.
Who uses minutes, has hours to use;
Who loses minutes, whole years must lose.

52 ECLECTIC SERIES

LESSON XVIII.

THE WIDOW AND THE MERCHANT.
1. A merchant, who was very fond of music, was asked by
a poor widow to give her some assistance. Her husband, who
was a musician, had died, and left her very poor indeed.
2. The merchant saw that the widow and her daughter,
who was with her, were in great

THIRD READER. 53
distress. He looked with pity into their pale faces, and was
convinced by their conduct that their sad story was true.
3. "How much do you want, my good woman?" said the
merchant.
4. "Five dollars will save us," said the poor widow, with
some hesitation.
5. The merchant sat down at his desk, took a piece of
paper, wrote a few lines on it, and gave it to the widow with
the words, "Take it to the bank you see on the other side of
the street."
6. The grateful widow and her daughter, without stopping
to read the note, hastened to the bank. The banker at once
counted out fifty dollars instead of five, and passed them to
the widow.
7. She was amazed when she saw so much money. "Sir,
there is a mistake here," she said. "You have given me fifty
dollars, and I asked for only five."
8. The banker looked at the note once more, and said,
"The check calls for fifty dollars."
9. "It is a mistake--indeed it is," said the widow.
10. The banker then asked her to wait

54 ECLECTIC SERIES.
a few minutes, while he went to see the merchant who gave
her the note.
11. "Yes." said the merchant, when he had heard the
banker's story, "I did make a mistake. I wrote fifty instead of
five hundred. Give the poor widow five hundred dollars, for
such honesty is poorly rewarded with even that sum."
LESSON XIX.

THE BIRDS SET FREE.
1. A man was walking one day through a large city. On a
street corner he saw a boy with a number of small birds for
sale, in