Produced by Emmy, Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. Music by Linda Cantoni. THE NURSERY _A Monthly Magazine_ FOR YOUNGEST READERS. VOLUME XXI.--No. 5. BOSTON: JOHN L. SHOREY, No. 36 BROMFIELD STREET, 1877. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by JOHN L. SHOREY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. FRANKLIN PRESS: RAND, AVERY, AND COMPANY, 117 FRANKLIN STREET, BOSTON. [Illustration: Contents] IN PROSE. The Young Lamplighter 129 Fourth Lesson in Astronomy 131 The Poor Blind Woman 133 "Good-morning, Sir!" 136 Playing April-Fool 138 The Eider-Duck 139 The Trial-Trip 141 Swaddling-Clothes 142 Drawing-Lesson 145 Fanny and Louise 146 True Story of a Bird 149 A Rough Sketch 151 Peter's Pets 153 The Strolling Bear 154 The Parrot and the Sparrow 156 IN VERSE. "Popping Corn" 132 The Cooper's Song 135 Polliwogs 143 The Toad 148 That Fox 158 Grasshopper Green (_with music_) 160 [Illustration: Decoration] [Illustration: THE YOUNG LAMPLIGHTER.] THE YOUNG LAMPLIGHTER. [Illustration: W]ALLACE is a boy about ten years old, who lives in a town near Boston. He has a brother Charles, eighteen years of age. These two brothers are the town lamplighters. There are at least fifty lamps to be lighted every night; and some of them are a good deal farther apart than the street-lamps in large cities. Charles takes the more distant ones for his part of the work, and drives from post to post in a gig. Wallace, being a small boy, calls to his aid his father's saddle-horse. This horse is a kind, gentle creature, and as wise as he is kind. He and Wallace are about the same age, and have always been good friends. So when Wallace puts the saddle on him every evening, just before dark, the horse knows just what is going to be done. He looks at the boy with his great bright eyes, as much as to say, "We have our evening work to do, haven't we, Wallace? Well, I'm ready: jump on." Wallace mounts the horse; and they go straight to the nearest lamp-post. Here the horse stops close by the post, and stands as still and steady as the post itself. Then Wallace stands upright on the saddle, takes a match from his pocket, lights the lamp, drops quickly into his seat again, takes up the bridle, gives the word to the horse, and on they go to the next lamp-post.