XXII. THE DYING BOY.
(Anonymous.)

It must be sweet in childhood, to give back.
The Spirit to its Maker; ere the heart
Has grown familiar with the paths of sin
And sown-to garner up its bitter fruits.
-I knew a boy whose infant feet had trod
Upon the blossoms of some seven springs,
And when the eighth came round and called him
out

To revel in its light, he turned away,

And sought his chamber to lie down and die.
'Twas night-he summoned his accustomed
friends,

And, in this wise, bestowed his last bequest:

"Mother, I'm dying now!

There is deep suffocation in my breast,
As if some heavy hand my bosom pressed;
And on my brow

I feel the cold sweat stand;

My lips grow dry and tremulous, and my breath
Comes feebly up. O, tell me is this death?
Mother, your hand-

Here-lay it on my wrist

And place the other thus beneath my head,
And say, sweet mother, say, when I am dead,
Shall I be missed?

Never beside your knee
Shall I kneel down again at night to pray,
Nor with morning wake and sing the lay
You taught to me.

Oh, at the time of prayer,
When you look round and see a vacant seat;
You will not wait then for my coming feet:
You'll miss me there!"

"Father--I'm going home!

Where it is one bright summer always, and
Storms do never come.

I must be happy then,

From pain and death you say I shall be free;
That sickness never enters there, and we
Shall meet again!"

"Brother-The little spot

I used to call my garden, where long hours We've stayed to watch the budding things and flowers.

Forget it not.

Plaut there some box or pine; Something that grows in winter, and will be A verdant offering to my memory,

And call it mine!"

"Sister-The young rose tree-
That all the Spring has been my pleasant care,
Just putting out its leaves so green and fair,
I give to thee.

And when its roses bloom

I shall be gone away, my short life done;
But will you not bestow a single one
Upon my tomb ?"

"Now, mother, sing the tune
You sang last night; I'm weary, and must sleep."
"Who was it called my name? Nay, do not weep,
You'll all soon come!"

'Morning spread over earth her rosy wings
And that meek sufferer, cold and ivory pale,
Lay on his couch asleep. The gentle air
Came through the open window, freighted with
The savoury labours of the early spring-
He breathed it not. The laugh of passers by
Jarr'd like a discord in some mournful tune,

To the good home you spoke of, that blest land But marr'd not his slumbers. He was dead.

Sad is your tale of the beautifui earth,
Birds that o'er sweep it, in power and mirth!
Yet through the wastes of the trackless air,
Ye have a Guide, and shall we despair?
Ye over desert and deep have pass'd,
So may we reach our bright home at last.

XXV. THE BETTER LAND.

BY MRS. HEMANS.

"I hear thee speak of the better land.
Thou call'st its children a happy band:
Mother! oh, where is that radiant shore?
Shall we not seek it, and weep no more?
Is it where the flower of the orange blows,
And the fire-flies glance through the myrtle boughs ?"
-"Not there, not there, my child!"

"Is it where the feathery palm trees rise,
And the date grows ripe under sunny skies?
Or midst the green islands of glittering seas,
Where fragrant forests perfame the breeze,
And strange bright birds on their starry wings
Bear the rich hues of all glorious things?"
-"Not there, not there, my child!"

211

APPENDIX.

NEW BRICK SCHOOL HOUSE, SIMCOE, COUNTY OF NORFOLK. The accompanying drawings illustrate designs made by Messrs. Messer & Jones, architects, Toronto, in reply to an advertisement by the School Trustees of the Town of Simcoe, County of Norfolk, for "A two-story brick school house; cost of the building not to exceed £1,700: accommodation required for 500 or 600 children;" and to be built on a block of ground two acres in extent, near the town.

Thirteen designs were sent in from various parts of Canada and the United States; from which, Design No. 1, as shewn by ground-plan and perspective view," was chosen. The building is designed in the Old English style,-the most appropriate for a red brick building,-and is finished with Ohio stone dressings. The overhanging roofs afford protection to the walls. The windows are covered with hoods, which shade them, making, the light free from the glare of sunshine, and being glazed in small squares, are less

liable to be broken.

An entirely separate entrance is provided for boys and girls: the whole of the ground. floor being appropriated to the use of the latter. The cloak-room C, which is next to the entrance hall, is provided with two doors, so that there may be no crowding when school is dismissed. The doors to the school and class-rooms are made to open outwards, in accordance to the suggestions contained in the Journal of Education for December, 1851, pp. 180, 181. In case of a panic in the schoal this arrangement will be found most desirable.

The gallery-room C will accommodate 120 pupils, and has a door, protected by a porch, opening on the covered play-ground. The gallery-room is an important feature in the construction of school houses, and its adoption has been strongly urged by the school authorities of Upper Canada, in various numbers of the Journal of Education. It has been found of essential service in the Model Schools, Toronto; see page 9.

The large school-room accommodates 160 pupils, with fixed seats and desks, like those manufactured by Jacques & Hay, Toronto, under the sanction of the Educational Department for Upper ('anada [see pages 74-78]; and each class-room opening off it has similar desks and seats for thirty-six pupils.

P Platform.

These plans were prepared after the architect sheets of this pamphlet were printed. The front perspective will be found on the second page of the cover.

The boys enter the door in the left wing, aid ascend a broad staircase to the second floor, where there is a large school-room, with seats for 160 pupils; two class rooms for 48 pupils each; a gallery for 112 pupils; and a large cloak room. The bell-tower E contains book closets or library rooms on each floor, with the bell-rope leading down into them.

The basement is 6 ft. 6 in. high. The whole area of the building has been excavated, so that any system of heating may be adopted. The rooms on the ground floor are 14 ft. high. The large room on the upper floor has an open roof, 17 ft. to the ceiling, and the class-rooms a height of 14 ft. All the rooms are ventilated by flues in the walls, carried up into the roof, from whence the foul air escapes by means of a open ventilator on the ridge.

Design No. 2, of which the ground plan only is given, accommodates the same number of pupils as the preceding, but it is so arranged that the greatest number of pupils in any one room is ninety-six. It can be adapted to same exterior as Design: No. 1, and presents another system of internal arrangement, which may be adopted at pleasure. The same general remarks apply to either design.

The whole of the interior arrangements has been the result of careful study and examination on the part of hechitects. The plans embrace all the valuable improvements and suggestions which have appeared, from time to time, in the Journal of Education foi Upper Canada. They are most creditable to the architects, Messrs. Messer & Jones, who, in the interior and exterior of the building, have united elegance of design with appropriateness and economy of arrangement.

TORONTO:

PRINTED BY LOVELL & GIBSON, CORNER OF YONGE AND MELINDA STREETS.