"How beautiful it is!" said Charley. "Dear uncle, I can never repay you for your kindness in giving me such elegant things as these. And some of them are very costly too." "They cost me nothing," said Mr. Brown. "They were brought and presented to me by sea captains, and supercargoes in my service. Even that Wentle-trap was a sea captain's gift; and when I told its real value, he insisted the more on my keeping it But most of the shells are cheap.--But that is of no consequence. "I will tell you, Charley," continued Mr. Brown, "how you can repay and gratify me. It is by industry and good conduct. "I wish you to grow up to a first-rate man, you must begin by being a first rate boy. When I am out here, and happen to remember any thing that has, in any way, done me good in my life time, I will tell it to you, if you will promise to try to keep it in mind and to act upon it. Will you promise?" "Oh yes, uncle, I will promise to try to remember and do what you tell me." "Well, then, I'll tell you one thing now, that happened when I was a school-boy, two or three years younger than you are even now. Our Master was a very good teacher and a very good man, and he liked to have his scholars go on learning and improving out of school, as well as in, and to behave well also. So he told all the boys and girls, except the little ones, to do, every week, two things, and let him see, each Monday, which had done them best. "One of these was to keep a diary. Do you know, Charley, what a Diary is?" "I believe, uncle, I have seen the word somewhere, but I do not know what it means." "Well, the Master meant this, that each scholar should have a blank book, and every evening should write down what they had seen and heard, and done and thought and felt during the day, at least as much as they could remember, that was of any consequence. He said, that by doing this carefully, they would improve the memory, and also learn to express their thoughts well, either by writing or in speaking. "So we did what he told us as well as we could, and used to carry what we had put down, through the week, for the master to examine, on Monday morning. Some of the scholars didn't write much or write it very well, but, I am pretty sure even that little was a benefit to them. I know, that it did me a great deal of good, which I found the advantage of, all my life. The President, John Quincy Adams, kept one of these Diaries, from the time he was a boy, till he died, over eighty years old, and you have read what a wise and good man he was. Now I want you, Charley, to begin now and keep a Diary. Will you?" "As I told you before, uncle, I'll try." "Well, my dear boy, if you will try in real earnest, you will do well enough, I am very sure. And, to help you start, I will bring you out the very first pages I wrote, when I was only ten years old." "Do, uncle, I shall be very glad to read what you wrote, when you were a little boy."