THOU SHALT NOT STEAL, OR THE SCHOOL-FEAST. WHEN Mr. Stafford, the rector, came into the school-room on Monday morning, he looked very grave; his usual kind cheerful look was gone; and the quick eyes of the boys saw at once there was something wrong. He immediately ordered silence. In a moment all was hushed; you might have heard a pin fall on the floor, and many a heart beat quick. "I grieve to say," he began, "I very much grieve to say, that complaints have been made to me that the apples are not safe in the orchards, and that some boys of this school, forgetting all they have been taught and the plain command of God, have been guilty of the theft. I now warn all, from the least to the greatest, that if any boy is ever caught in an orchard, he shall be forbidden our school-feast next month." Now the school-feast was a great day to the boys of Alverton; many a week was it thought of, talked about, and dreamt about, before it came; many a week afterwards was it remembered and discussed. All the prizes were then given; the parents of the children were in |