﻿130 PICTORIAL MISCELLANY. 



" A secret?" cried Harry ; " tell us about it." 



" I must be careful, my boy, or you will get another story out of 

 me, but it shall be very short. A great many years ago, a wise old 

 man gave notice that he had found out a secret, by means of which 

 all persons could have just what they liked ; and he appointed a cer- 

 tain day when he would make it known to all who wished to profit 

 by it. At the appointed time there came to him a great many of 

 those who were not satisfied with their lot, and he thus addressed 

 them : My friends, you can all have just what you like, simply by 

 liking what you have." 



The children were a little disappointed at this story, but after 

 thinking of it awhile, they agreed to try to learn the old man's les- 

 son, and to enjoy whatever they might have without wishing in vain 

 for fairy favors. 



The Little Girl and the Shell. 



WHEN I went to visit a friend, the other day, I saw a little girl, 

 who sat on a low seat by the fire-side, and held in her hand a pretty 

 white sea-shell, tinged with pink, which she placed against her ear ; 

 and all the while a settled calm rested upon her face, and she seemed 

 as if she was listening to the tones of some loved voice ; then taking 

 the shell away from her ear, she would gaze upon it with a look of 

 deep fondness and pensive delight. At last I said, " What are you 

 doing, my dear?" "I am listening to the whisper," she replied. 

 " What whisper ?" I asked. " The whisper of the sea," she said. 

 Then, after a moment's pause, she added, " My uncle sent me this 

 shell, and with it a letter, in which he said, that if I placed it against 

 my ear, I should hear the whisper of the sea ; and he also said, he 

 would soon come to us, and bring me a great many pretty things ; 

 and mamma said, when she heard the whisper of the shell, that we 

 should call it uncle Henry's promise. And so it became very pre- 

 cious to me, and I love its sound better than sweet music." " And 

 where is uncle Henry now? " I asked. " He is in heaven now," she 

 replied ; " he never came to us, as we hoped he would, for he died 

 far away, and his grave is in the sea ; and so now, when I listen to 

 the shell, I fancy that the sea whispers, in the same soft manner, 



