a
handsome kite," said Edward, "and the string shall be long enough to
allow it to fly as high as the clouds." "Yes," answered James, "but
however long your string may be, I believe it must depend upon the wind
for flying. Now, I will have a bag of marbles, with these I can always
play on the stones in the church-yard after school." "Excepting when it
rains brother James; however, as the money is our own, we have each you
know a right to please ourselves."

Just as Edward finished speaking, a poor little ragged boy came up to
the brothers, and asked for a halfpenny to buy a bit of bread, saying
he was so very hungry he knew not what to do. "What, have you had no
breakfast! my little man?" asked James. "No, sir, nor supper last night,
do pray give me a halfpenny, I am so very faint for want of food."

Edward immediately took a piece of cake from his basket and gave it to
the boy, enquiring at the same time, where his father and mother was.

"Alas, my good young gentleman, they are both dead. I lost father about
a month ago, and I fear I shall soon follow him, for indeed I am very
ill, and not able to work, therefore I must be starved." "O no," said
James, "not if I can prevent it, you do indeed look very ill, but take
courage, I hope you will soon recover, and surely the parish must
provide for you--where do you live?"

"Since father died I have had no regular home, and this is not my
parish. Sometimes I sleep in a barn. I do what I can to assist an old
man, who was my mother's uncle, but he is ill now, and not able to keep
me, so I shall be quite deserted."--"Well," said Edward, "I will provide
you with a dinner to day, and give you money to procure a lodging at
night; here is a shilling, my father gave it me to buy toys with, but I
can do better without them, than you can without food." The little boy
took the shilling, and with tears in his eyes thanked his kind friend.
James would not suffer him to depart without accepting his shilling
also, and desiring him to call the next morning at their father's, where
they would try to be of further use to him, they bade him adieu, and
pursued their journey.

"I am sure," said Edward, "I feel more pleasure in making that child
happy, than in flying the finest kite in the world." "And I," added
James, "was a hundred times happier in giving him a shilling, than I was
when I received it this morning. Only think how rejoiced the poor boy
must be, to have so much money; I dare