PRIZE ESSAYS. we were walking. Behind the house there was a long walk leading to a little bower, which was also bordered with hedges of roses. In the garden there were the remains of an ancient Roman temple, which had got covered up with rubbish; but Count Garin, in making some excavations, had laid bare several of the baths and apartments. The inscriptions on some of the stones were quite legible, which is most wonderful, considering that it was built in the reign of Julius Cæsar. Outside the garden wall there were the remains of an amphitheatre, dating as far back. At the back of the house there was an olive garden, some of the trees in which must have been above a thousand years old. There were other inmates in Villa Garin besides ourselves. Among others, there was an American family in which there were two little boys. Walter was the younger of the two, and was a sweet little boy with fair curls. He was four years old. Edward, the elder, was six years old. He was very clever, and could speak French fluently. They had a governess, who came up from Nice every morning. She was French, and could speak no English. I sometimes went out to walk with them, but I could not understand much of the conversation. A. M. P. Golden Text. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. 1 Peter 2. 24. Who is spoken of in these words? Acts 8. 32-35. When did Jesus bear our sins in His own body on the tree? Luke 23. 33. John 19. 30. Isa. 53. 12. Why did Jesus bear our sins in His own body? 2 Cor. 5. 21, 15. What is implied in the expression, His own May 11.-THE SAVIOUR'S CALL. 59 Isa. 55. 1-11. Memory verses: 1, 6-8. Golden Text. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7. 37. What do those who are thirsty long for? Gen. 21. 15-19. Exod. 17. 1-6. Jud. 15. 18, 19. What is the only water which can quench the soul's thirst? John 4. 14; 7. 38, 39. How may we obtain this living water? Isa. 55. 1. Rev. 22. 17. Describe the earnest desire of the believer for more of the living water? Psa. 42. 1. What does this water do for the soul? Isa. 55. 10, 11; 58. 11. May 18.-THE SAVIOUR'S KINGDOM. Memory verses: 1-4. Memory verses: Golden Text. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. What did Jesus teach His disciples concerning the Holy Spirit? John 7. 38, 39; 14. 16. When were they baptised with the Holy Spirit? Acts 2. 1-4. What Old Testament prophecy began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost? Acts 2. What power did the disciples receive when the Holy Spirit was given? Acts 2. 4; 4. 31, 33. PRIZE ESSAYS. THREE Prizes are offered for the Best Essays on the following subject: 'How can the young best advance the cause of "Total Abstinence" from Intoxicating Drink.' The competitors must not be above 15 years of age. The Essays not to exceed in length three pages of the Dayspring'; and the MSS., accompanied with a sealed envelope, giving the name and address of the competitor, must be addressed to the Rev. JOHN KAY, 11 Teviot Row, Edinburgh, and reach him not later than the 31st of May, 1879. 62 THE YOUNG NATURALIST. THE YOUNG NATURALIST. IF you are ever in Banff, be sure to visit Tom Edward, an old shoemaker who lives there. I have no doubt he made and mended well, perhaps does so still, but his shoemaking would never have led any one to write a large book, telling all about him, as Mr Smiles has done; it is as a Naturalist, that Tom Edward has become famous, and no wonder-his love of Nature and Nature's works may well entitle him to be called after her. I hope that some day you will read Edward's life for yourselves; if I tell you something about it, perhaps it may make you read it all the sooner. When he was a very little boy, he lived at Aberdeen. How old do you think was Tom, when he began to work for himself? Just six years old; he had been at three schools before that, and I am sorry to say, was expelled from them all. Some of my young country readers will be able to sympathize with Tom in his love of birds and bird nesting; but he had far more than the usual share of love for living things; he liked to live among his pets. Near Deeside and Ferryhill, where he was allowed to wander into the country, many of his favourite plants and animals could be found. Here were the scurvy-grass and the beautiful sea daisy, and then, (oh! what joy to the young Naturalist!) here Iwere little hollows into which the tide flowed, and this was the grand place for bandies, eels, crabs, and worms. Tom used often to play there and bring home with him the venomous beasts,' as the neighbours called them; for as I said, his delight was to live among his pets. Now and then, if some favourite bird or beast was secured just before school time, away would Tom go, carrying his prize with him; and you can easily believe that though the children liked his butterflies, birds, and innocent creatures like these, they did not quite like to be stung by horse leeches, which were among Tom's favourites. His mother could not manage him, let her try as she might; her little boy was becoming quite known as a truant, and she did not want him to have that character. So she got her mother to help her; granny would surely make Tom a regular attender. Her orders were either to see him in at the door,' or walk with him herself into the school. But this would not do either; Tom, though he was not five years old, did not like the interference of granny. Sometimes he managed to escape her, but when she seized him by the scruff o' the neck,' there was no shaking her off; she would hold firmly on, and shoving him in to the Dame's school, would say, 'Here's your truant,' and for that day at least, Tom was safe. His plan of escape was not always quite respectful to the old lady. One morning, when he was with two companions at the side of the Denburn, and, having got a number of horse leeches, was searching for more, he saw, looking down into the water, the reflection of granny approaching; a moment more, and he felt her fingers touching his neck, then, letting fall the stone under which was the coveted horse leech, Tom made a sudden bound to the other side of the burn. As he ran, he could hear a heavy splash into the water: 'Tam, Tam, yer granny's droonin', called his companions, but Tom neither stopped nor looked behind him. Granny was ducked, not drowned, and I dare say, after this adventure, she gave up the capture of Tom as a bad job. No wonder that he was expelled; his schools and schoolmasters were the green fields, the wild flowers, the budding trees, and the clear pools; the quarries too, for while he knew how birds' nests were made, and thought he knew how flowers and whins grew out of the ground, he puzzled much over the rocks; how did they grow?' he asked his parents, and was not quite satisfied when told 'they had existed from the beginning.' Now, don't think I approve of Tom's conduct in his truant playing days; when he was at school, he should have stuck to it; but there was this in him, which I wish you to imitate. This love of Nature and searching into Nature's works was Tom's hobby.' That word means some employment which is not one's stated occupation or worldly calling, but a pastime, a sport, JOHNNY'S FIRST VISIT TO A SABBATH SCHOOL. doing harm to no one, filling one's thoughts and using up every spare hour pleasantly. To this hobby Tom stuck; he did not fly from one boyish fancy to another, but was true to his young love all through life; and now that he is an old man, he enjoys in many ways the fruits of his steady attachment. I knew a boy who, for a while, took to collecting insects; nothing could give him greater pleasure than catching by means of his cap, his insect net, or his hands, beautiful blue, brown or red specimens of butterflies, beetles or the like. These were all carefully preserved, a pin stuck through each tiny back, and the little shelves in a small cabinet given him for that purpose, were soon quite full. You would have thought from his eagerness, that he would become quite famous as an insect gatherer. But had you in a few years looked into that little cabinet, with its dusty shelves and forlorn looking remains of the bright winged beauties, once so prized! My young friend had not stuck to his hobby as Tom Edward did. He had taken up first with postage stamp gathering, then a collection of dried plants had been attempted, and the wrecks of all three were strewn about. Now, by Edward's strong will and perseverance, he was able to learn much himself, and added greatly to the knowledge of those Naturalists, who were wise and lowly enough to learn from one so humble as the worthy shoemaker. Various collections of dried plants and stuffed animals were made by him, and 'The Fauna of Banffshire,' which he published, is a large volume, of great value for throwing light on the subject, which interested him so much. But how did he do all this? you will ask, when he had to work for his daily bread? When Mr Smiles asked him this, Edward answered: Many others have wondered like yourself: the only answer I can give to such wonderers is, that I had the Will to do the little that I have accomplished.' Another secret of success was, his never losing a moment of time. When his work for the day was over,' says Mr Smiles, he went out to the links or the 63 fields with his supper of oatmeal cakes in his hand; and after the night had passed, he returned home for his next day's work. He stuffed his birds, or prepared the cases for his collection, by the light of the fire. He was never a moment idle.' You see he worked at his trade by day, and at his hobby, as I have called it, by night. I don't think he would have enjoyed such good health, as he generally did, if he had not been a sober man. For thirty-six years he never entered a public-house nor a dram shop. Some of his friends advised him to take a wee drap whisky with him on cold nights; but he never did. He himself believes that had he drunk whisky, he never could have stood the wet, the cold, and the privations to which he was exposed during so many years of his life. When he went out at night, his food consisted for the most part of plain oatmeal cakes; and his drink was the water from the nearest brook.' To all his searchings into the works of Nature, as they are called, Tom Edward saw and acknowledged the hand of God. He knew and felt that all those wonders which gave him such joy, must have been the work of an Almighty Creator, who was ever upholding and sustaining the being He had called forth; he was a devout worshipper in the world's great temple. 'Although I am now,' he says, 'like a beast tethered to his pasturage, with a portion of my faculties somewhat impaired, I can still appreciate and admire as much as ever, the beauties and wonders of Nature, as exhibited in the incomparable works of our adorable Creator.' K. |