displayed and by which the fewest advantages were obtained. Waterloo, where everything failed, would, had it succeeded, have saved France and given peace to Europe.'

Madame Montholon having asked Napoleon what troops might be accounted the best, he replied: "Those which gain victories, madame; but soldiers are capricious and inconstant, like you ladies.'

131. THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY AND THE Duke of

WELLINGTON.

The destiny of the British people during the first half of the present century was identified with two celebrated men, of whom one was the saviour of India, and the other the preserver of England and of continental Europe. The former effaced the last traces of foreign influence in India; he dethroned the sultans of Mysore, conquered their territory, and dissipated the powerful confederacy of the Mahrattas. The latter delivered Spain and Portugal, and taught the northern nations the art of neutralizing the preponderance of numbers, and breaking the spell of a name and the omnipotence of genius. Twice he invaded France; and he fought with steady and uniform success most of the generals of the empire-Junot, Duke of Abrantes; Victor, Duke of Bellune; Sebastiani; Jourdan; Soult, Duke of Dalmatia; Marmont, Duke of Ragusa; Ney, Duke of Elchingen; Massena, Prince of Essling; and finally, Napoleon himself. Nature conferred on the house of Mornington the signal privilege of giving birth to these two men and brothers, who first shed a lustre on the name of Wellesley.-7. Maurel.

132. THE FIRST BATTLE OF FREDERIC THE GREAT.

Frederic's first battle was fought at Molwitz; and never did the career of a great commander open in a more inauspicious manner. His army was victorious. Not only, however, did he not establish his title to the character of an able general, but he was so unfortunate as to make it doubtful whether he possessed the vulgar courage of a soldier. The cavalry, which he commanded in person, was put to flight. Unaccustomed to the tumult and carnage of a field of battle, he lost his self-posses

sion, and listened too readily to those who urged him to save himself. His English grey carried him many miles from the field, while Schwerin, though wounded in two places, manfully upheld the day. The skill of the old Field-Marshal and the steadiness of the Prussian battalions prevailed, and the Austrian army was driven from the field with the loss of eight thousand

men.

The news was carried late at night to a mill in which the King had taken shelter. It gave him a bitter pang. He was successful; but he owed his success to dispositions which others had made, and to the valour of men who had fought while he was flying. So unpromising was the first appearance of the greatest warrior of that age !—Macaulay.

133. DEATH OF MARSHAL PONIATOWSKI.

On October 19, 1813, when the French army began to retreat, Prince Poniatowski was charged by Napoleon with the defence of a part of the suburbs of Leipzig. Perceiving the French columns on his left flank in full retreat, and the bridge completely choked up with their artillery and carriages, he drew his sword, and, turning to the officers who surrounded him : 'Gentlemen,' said he, 'it is better to fall with honour.' With these words he rushed, at the head of a few Polish cuirassiers, upon the columns of the allies. He had been previously wounded, and received a musket-ball in his left arm. He cut, nevertheless, his way through the allied troops, received a third wound, threw himself into the Pleisse and reached the opposite bank in safety, leaving his horse behind in the river. Though much exhausted, he mounted another and proceeded to the Elster, which was already lined by the Saxon and Prussian riflemen. Seeing them coming upon him on all sides, he plunged into the river and instantly sank, together with his horse. Several officers, who threw themselves in after him, were likewise drowned, and others were taken on the bank or in the water. The body of the prince was found on the fifth day, and taken out of the water by a fisherman. He was dressed in full uniform, and his epaulets were studded with diamonds.

F

134. THE SHEEP.

'Lazy sheep, pray tell me why
In the pleasant fields you lie,
Eating grass and daisies white,
From the morning till the night?
Everything can something do,
Of what kind of use are you?'

'Nay, my little fellow, nay,

Do not serve me so, I pray :
Don't you see the wool that grows
On my back to make you clothes?
Cold, and very cold you'd be,
If you had not wool from me.

'True, it seems a pleasant thing,
To nip the daisies in the spring;
But many chilly nights I pass,
On the cold and dewy grass,
Or pick a scanty dinner where
All the common's brown and bare.

'Then the farmer comes at last,
When the merry spring is past,
And cuts my woolly coat away,
To warm you in the winter's day.
Little master, this is why,

In the pleasant fields I lie.'

135. THE MONKEY AND THE TWO CATS.

Two cats, having stolen some cheese, could not agree about dividing their prize. In order, therefore, to settle the dispute, they consented to refer the matter to a monkey. The proposed arbitrator very readily accepted the office, and producing a balance, put a part into each scale. 'Let me see,' said he, 'ay! this lump outweighs the other;' and immediately he bit off a considerable piece in order to reduce it, he observed, to an equilibrium. The opposite scale was now become the heavier ; which afforded our conscientious judge an additional reason for a second mouthful-Hold! hold!' said the two cats, who

began to be alarmed for the event, 'give us our respective shares, and we are satisfied.' 'If you are satisfied,' returned the monkey, 'justice is not; a case of this intricate nature is by no means so soon determined.' Upon which he continued to nibble first at one piece and then the other, till the poor cats, seeing their cheese gradually diminishing, entreated him to give himself no further trouble, but deliver to them what remained. Not so fast, I beseech you, friends,' replied the monkey; 'we owe justice to ourselves as well as to you; what remains is due to me in right of my office.' Upon which he crammed the whole into his mouth, and with great gravity dismissed the court.-Dodsley.

136. PELISSON AND THE SPIDER.

A gentleman named Pelisson, holding an office under the government of Louis XIV., was sentenced to five years' confinement in the Bastille. During his imprisonment, Pelisson, who knew the value of time and could not remain idle, occupied himself in reading and writing; and frequently, as a kind of relief from study, he would play on the flute. On these occasions he often remarked that a large spider, which had made its web in a corner of the room, came out of its hole, seemingly to listen to the music. Pelisson, to encourage it, would continue to play, and at last the insect became so familiar that it would approach him and feed in his hand.

The circumstance having come to the knowledge of the jailers, they felt bound to tell the Governor of the Bastille, who was a man incapable of pity.

Determined to deprive the prisoner of his insect-friend, the Governor went to his cell and said, 'Well, Mr. Pelisson, I hear you have found a companion.' 'It is true,' replied he, 'and though we cannot converse, we understand each other very well.' 'But I can hardly believe what I have been told,' said the Governor, and I should like to be convinced of the truth.'

Pelisson, not suspecting any bad intention, immediately called the insect, which came and fed in his hand, and allowed itself to be caressed. The Governor, watching an opportunity, brushed it off, and, crushing it under his foot, left the room without saying a word.

137. ESSENCE OF ROSEMARY AND ESSENCE OF THYME.

It is a well-known fact that ladies seldom become grey, while the heads of the 'lords of creation' are often early in life either bald or grey-sometimes both. Douglas Jerrold tells a piquant joke as follows: 'At a private party in London, a lady -who, though in the autumn of life, had not lost all dreams of its spring-said to Jerrold—“I cannot imagine what makes my hair turn grey: I sometimes fancy it must be the 'essence of rosemary' with which my maid is in the habit of brushing it.” "I should rather be afraid, madam," replied the dramatist,. "that it is the essence of Time" (thyme).'

138. THE BEST DONKEY IN TUNIS.

A French subaltern had to get to the head-quarters of his regiment, which was deep in the interior. He was advised to buy a mule, but being of a thrifty mind he preferred the morehumble donkey. 'Was he good?' 'The best in Tunis.' 'The expression is strong.' 'It is, but it is as true as Allah.' 'But why the best?' 'He never requires feeding.' This was decisive; the sous-lieutenant bought the beast, and loaded him. He had a straw mattress, in which he packed his effects-they were one pound of coffee, two pounds of cheese, and a pâté, brought him from his last quarters at Strasburg. At the first halt the poor officer was on duty, and so donkey was unpacked, but the bed was not. 'Imagine my despair and rage,' cried with enormous gesticulation the officer, who told me the story himself, 'to find in the morning that the good beast who required no feeding had helped himself, and eaten not only the bed which, as straw, was in his way, but all my food, down to the pâté.'

139. Too MANY COUNSEL.

Franklin used to relate an amusing anecdote to illustrate the sufferings of an author who consults too many friends about his compositions. When I was a young man,' he said, ‘a friend of mine who was about to set up in business for himself as a hatter, consulted all his acquaintances on the important subject of his sign. The one he had proposed to himself was this: "John Thomson, hatter, makes and sells hats for ready