ROBERT BRUCE AND THE SCOTCH WOMAN.

ANON.

1. MANY years ago, an old Scotch woman sat alone, spinning by the kitchen fire, in her little cottage. The room was adorned with the spoils of the chase, and many implements of war and hunting. There were spears, bows and arrows, swords, and shields; and, against the side of the room, hung a pair of huge antlers, once reared on the lordly brow of a 66 stag of ten, "* on which were suspended skins, plaids,

bonnets, and one or two ponderous battle-axes.

2. The table, in the middle of the floor, was spread for supper, and some oatmeal cakes were baking before the fire. But the dame was not thinking of any of these things, nor of her two manly sons, who, in an adjoining room, were busily preparing for the next day's sport.

3. She was thinking of the distracted state of her native land, and of the good king, Robert Bruce, a fugitive in his own kingdom, beset, on every hand, by open enemies and secret traitors. "Alas!" thought she, "to-night I dwell here in peace, while to-morrow may see me driven out into the heath; and even now our king is a wanderer, with no shelter for his weary limbs."

4. A loud knock at the door broke in upon her musings. She rose, trembling with fear, to unbar the entrance, and beheld a man closely muffled in a cloak. "My good woman, said he, "will you grant a poor traveler the shelter of your roof to-night'?"

5. "Right willingly will I," said she; "for the love of ne, for whose sake all travelers are welcome here."

* That is, a stag ten years old. The age of the animal is known by the number of prongs or tines, each year one new prong being added.

6. "For whose sake is it that you make all wanderers welcome?" asked the stranger.

7. "For the sake of our good king, Robert Bruce, who, though he is now hunted like a wild beast, with horn and hound, I trust yet to see on the throne of Scotland !'' 8. " Nay, then, my good woman," replied the man, you love him so well, know that you see him now. Robert Bruce."

since

I am

9. "You'!-are you our king'?" she inquired, sinking on her knees, and reverently kissing his hand; "where, then, are your followers, and why are you thus alone?"

10. "I have no followers now," replied Bruce, "and am, therefore, compelled to travel alone."

11. "Nay, my liege," exclaimed the loyal dame, "that you shall do no longer; for here are my two sons, whom I give to you, and may they long live to serve and defend your majesty !"

12. The Scottish youths bent their knees, and took the oath of fealty; and then, sitting beside the fire, the king entered into conversation with his new retainers, while their mother was busied in preparing the evening meal.

13. Suddenly, they were startled by the tramp of horses' hoofs, and the voices of men. "'Tis the English!" shouted the matron, "fight to the last, my sons, and defend your king!" But, at this moment, the king recognized the voices of lord James, of Douglas, and of Edward Bruce, and bade them have no fear.

14. Bruce was overjoyed at meeting with his brother, and his faithful friend Douglas, who had with them a band of one hundred and fifty men. He bade farewell to the brave and loyal woman, and, taking with him her two sons, left the place.

15. The two young Scots served Bruce well and faith

fully, and were high officers in his service when, at the head of a conquering army, he drove the English invaders from the soil of Scotland, and rendered her again a free and independent kingdoms.

QUESTIONS.-1. Describe the room in which the Scotch woman resided. 2. What is meant by a "stag of ten ?" 3. Who did the stranger prove to be? 4. Who joined Bruce? 5. What did Bruce and his men then do?

LESSON XXXIV.

PROS PER I TY, success; good fortune.
DIG' NI FIE$, elevates; ennobles.
SUS TAIN ED, endured; suffered.
AD VERS' I TY, calamity; misfortune.
UN ERR' ING, sure; certain.
FOR LORN', forsaken; wretched,
CAN' O PY, covering overhead.
DE VOID', destitute. [the eider-duck.

EI DER-DOWN, fire, soft feathers from

IM MERS' ED, inwrapped; sunk.
Gos' SA MER Y, like gossamer; filmy.
RE COIL ED, started back.
FOIL ED. frustrated; defeated.
RO MANCE', fiction.

TRIVI AL, small; trifling.
CON FIDE', trust; believe.
AD' VERSE, contrary; opposite
PÄLM, token of victory.

ROBERT BRUCE AND THE SPIDER.

1. NOT in prosperity's broad light,

Can reason justly scan

BERNARD BARTON.

The sterling worth which. viewed aright,

Most dignifies the man.

Favored at once by wind and tide,

The skillful pilot well may guide

The bark in safety on;

Yet, when his harbor he has gained,
He who no conflict hath sustained,

No meed has fairly won.

2. But in adversity's dark hour

Of peril and of fear,

When clouds above the vessel lower,
With scarce one star to cheer;

When winds are loud, and waves are high,
And ocean, to a timid eye,

Appears the seaman's grave;
Amid the conflict, calm, unmoved,
By truth's unerring test is proved
The skillful and the brave.

3. For Scotland and her freedom's right
The Bruce his part had played;
In five successive fields of fight
Been conquered and dismayed.
Once more, against the English host
His band he led, and once more lost
The meed for which he fought;
And now, from battle faint and worn,
The homeless fugitive forlorn

A hut's lone shelter sought.

4. And cheerless was that resting-place
For him who claimed a throne;
His canopy, devoid of grace,—
The rude, rough beams alone;
The heather couch his only bed,
Yet well I know had slumber fled

From couch of eider-down;

Through darksome night' to dawn of day,
Immersed in wakeful thought he lay,

Of Scotland and her crown.

5. The sun rose brightly, and its gleam
Fell on that hapless bed,

And tinged with light each shapeless beam
Which roofed the lowly shed;

When, looking up with wistful eye,
The Bruce beheld a spider try

His filmy thread to fling

From beam to beam of that rude cot;
And well the insect's toilsome lot
Taught Scotland's future king.

6. Six times his gossamery thread
The wary spider threw :

In vain the filmy line was sped;
For, powerless or untrue,

Each aim appeared and back recoiled
The patient insect, six times foiled,
And yet unconquered still;

And soon the Bruce, with eager eye,
Saw him prepare once more to try
His courage, strength, and skill.

7. One effort more, the seventh and last,— The hero hailed the sign!

And on the wished-for beam hung fast
The slender silken line.

Slight as it was, his spirit caught

The more than omen; for his thought

The lesson well could trace,

Which even "he who runs may read,"
That perseverance gains its meed,
And patience wins the race.