"Loud blew his shrill whistle, and up and awake, My brown cloak from off me I've ventured to shake; Thrice happy in being the first one to say, 'Rejoice, for the Summer is now on her way!' "The moss-hidden Mayflowers will blossom ere long, And gay robin redbreast be trilling a song: But, always before them, I'm sure to be here: 'Tis first Pussy Willow says, 'Summer is near!'" MARIAN DOUGLAS WIDE AWAKE. "Jump up Johnny," said his mother. "It is seven o'clock, and breakfast will be ready soon. The sun was up half-an-hour ago. The birds are singing, and the sky is bright." John sprang out of bed at once, and was soon washed. Then he put on his clothes, and brushed his hair. He went down stairs looking as neat as a new pin. As he was going to school that day, he saw a poor woman with a baby in her arms. She sat on a door-step, and was pale and hungry. John put his hand into his pocket, took some money out, and gave it to her. She thanked him. John then went to school, where he said his lesson; when school was done, he played at ball till dinner-time. A.B.C. THE FIRST ATTEMPT. Alfred has drawn a great many straight lines and houses and dogs and cats; but this is the first time he has tried to draw a man. The profile suits him very well. There are nose and mouth and eyes, that cannot be mistaken. The hair, too, and the hat, are brought out with a strong hand. All that is wanting now is the color; and this Alfred is putting on. His paints are mixed on a broken plate, and he will soon give his man a bright red cheek. THE CATARACT OF LODORE. DESCRIBED IN RHYMES FOR THE NURSERY BY ROBERT SOUTHEY.[A] "How does the Water Come down at Lodore?" My little boy asked me Thus, once on a time; And moreover he tasked me To tell him in rhyme. Anon at the word, There first came one daughter, And then came another, To second and third The request of their brother, And to hear how the Water Comes down at Lodore, With its rush and its roar, As many a time They had seen it before: So I told them in rhyme, For of rhymes I had store.