his lonely wandering life, and thought with tender interest of that
boyish speech. It came--a whisper of consolation to silence envy and
regret for ever.

"There _is_ something far better. There _is_ something far happier.
There is a better Home than any earthly one, and a Family that shall
never be divided."

THE BLACKBIRD'S NEST.

"Let me not think an action mine own way,
But as Thy love shall sway,
Resigning up the rudder to Thy skill."

GEORGE HERBERT.

One day, when I was a very little girl (which is a long time ago), I
made a discovery. The place where I made it was not very remote, being
a holly-bush at the bottom of our garden; and the discovery was not a
great one in itself, though I thought it very grand. I had found a
blackbird's nest, with three young ones in it.

The discovery was made on this wise. I was sitting one morning on a
log of wood opposite this holly-bush, reading the story of Goody
Twoshoes, and thinking to myself how much I should like to be like
her, and to go about in the village with a raven, a pigeon, and a lark
on my shoulders, admired and talked about by everybody. All sorts of
nonsense passed through my head as I sat, with the book on my lap,
staring straight before me; and I was just fancying the kind
condescension with which I would behave to everybody when I became a
Goody Twoshoes, when I saw a bird come out of the holly-bush and fly
away. It was a blackbird: there was no doubt of it; and it must have a
nest in the tree, or why had it been there so long? Down went my book,
and I flew to make my discovery. A blackbird's nest, with three young
ones! I stood still at first in pure pleasure at the sight; and then,
little by little, grand ideas came into my head.

I would be very kind to these little blackbirds, I thought; I would
take them home out of this cold tree, and make a large nest of cotton
wool (which would be much softer and better for them than to be where
they were), and feed them, and keep them; and then, when they were
full-grown, they would, of course, love me better than any one, and be
very tame and grateful; and I should walk about with them on my
shoulders, like Goody Twoshoes, and be admired by everybody; for, I am
ashamed to say, most of my day dreams ended with this, _to be admired
by everybody_. I was so wrapped up in these thoughts that I did not
know, till his hands were laid upon my shoulders, that my friend, the
curate of the v