CHRISTMAS IN SWITZERLAND. 13

«Poor Gran, there isn’t much dinner, to-day — only potatoes
and a crust of bread; but the salt will make the potatoes taste
nice, and then, how many poor people have no bread at all!”

This was the most cheerful thing that poor Marie could
say, and she was quite right in reminding her grandfather how
many people were worse off than he was. For
I think all of us are much too
fond of comparing ourselves with
those who are better off than we, !
are; and this makes us discon- : s
tented ; whereas, if we would only
think how very many more there iA \
are who are worse off, we should |" he
find we had great reason to be con- af a
tented with our lot. The old AY
man sighed, but he did not wish to “”". Ae
seem sad before Marie, so he tried
to put on a cheerful tone, and proposed
that they should stroll down into the
forest, and find a sheltered nook
where they might eat their dinner. So
they walked down a little way, carry-
ing the basket, till they came to a large
beech-tree, which seemed to offer the very shelter they
sought. Accordingly they sat down close to it, made them-
selves as comfortable as they could, and opened the basket
and began to take out its contents. But scarcely had the
cloth been spread upon the ground and disclosed the pota-
toes that were in it, and scarcely had Marie produced the
dark-coloured* © F  hich was to aid the meal, when a
clear, luctle silve .vvve weit heads said, very distinctly :