On the 22nd of December, as the Duke of Guise sat down to dinner, he saw a note in his napkin. Opening it he read, "Take care; an evil turn is about to be played on you." He wrote underneath it, "They dare not," and flung the paper under the table. On the same day the Duc d'Elbeuf told him there would be an attempt on his life the next morning, upon which Guise said, smiling, "I see, cousin, you have been looking at your almanack. All the almanacks this year are stuffed full of such threats."

Henry retired early on the evening of the 22nd of December, but not to rest. After two hours spent in completing his own arrangements, he sent for Larchant, captain of his body-guard. To him he gave orders that, with a few of the guard, he should next morning wait upon the Duke of Guise as he came to the council, and ask him to supplicate the king that the soldiers' arrears of pay might be given to them. As soon as the duke should have come in, Larchant was to seize the outer door and the staircase, and not to suffer any one to pass in or out. By special request the Cardinal of Lorraine was to be with the king an hour before the rest of the council. Larchant was ordered to place twenty more guards on the staircase leading to Henry's own cabinet.

The Duke of Guise, returning to his lodgings from those of the Marchioness de Noirmoutiers, found his servants waiting up to beseech him not to attend the council at the castle. They gave him two notes of warning which had been left for him; and he, impatient of his friends' importunity, thrust the notes under his pillow, and dismissed his servants to bed.

He

On the 23rd of December, when the persons summoned to the council had arrived, Captain Larchant secured the outer door and the staircase, according to his orders. Henry, when he knew his councillors were waiting for him, fetched the guards who had been posted on the staircase to the old cabinet, and some others, whom he had concealed, into his room. reminded them of the many benefits he had conferred upon them, and how that there was not a man present who was not personally indebted to him. He spoke of what he had done, of what he would do.; and then he told them what unbearable insults he had to put up with from the Guise, and that there was a plot laid against his honour and his life. "I am reduced to this extremity," he said, "that either I die or he must, and that this morning. Will you not serve me, and avenge me?"

The guards clamoured their desire to serve the king. Eight of them who had poniards were instructed to line the entrance to Henry's cabinet, and to strike the duke as he entered, for the king moant to send for him. One more assassin, named Loignac, was deputed to finish the duke with a sword, if the daggers should not succeed to the utmost. Henry awaited alone in his cabinet the announcement of his enemy's arrival.

The Duke of Guise was late. Weary with pleasure, in which he indulged as a voluptuary, he overslept himself. Not till eight o'clock did he wake, when, hurriedly dressing himself in a suit of grey satin, he strode off to the castle. Nine missives of warning reached him before he started, and twice on the castle terrace he was accosted by those who begged him not to proceed. But confident in his own strength, and in the known cowardice of Henry, he turned a deaf ear, and, going on, was met by Captain Larchant, who presented the guards' petition. Arrived in the council-chamber, Guise saluted the members, and, sitting down at the table, complained of feeling unwell. His nose began to bleed, and he complained of cold. He rose from the table, and went to the fireplace to warm himself. His handkerchief dropped from his hand, and he told the page who picked it up to go to his secretary, and tell him to come at once with another. It is supposed this was some pre-arranged signal; but, anyhow, the page going out was stopped by the guard, so that the duke's mossage never reached its destination. Presently a page entered the room and said to Guise, "My lord, the king desires to see you. He is in the old cabinet."

Still apparently confident, the duke did not hesitate; but, twisting his cloak under his left arm, an act which shackled him

In the guard-room the soldiers stood up as the duke came and saluted him, and he passed on to the narrow, crooked passage which led to the old cabinet. Some of the guards followed him close, and he, turning round at the entrance to the passage, as if to see why he was followed, was struck in the breast by the dagger of Montlhéry, a soldier of the guard, who cried out at the same time, "Traitor, thou diest!" Other men threw themselves on the duke's limbs to hold him from defending himself, and he was struck again and again by the poniards of the murderers. One man drove his sword into his back. The poor man at each blow cried out, "Eh, my friends! eh, my friends!** and shouted "Miséricorde" when Loignac thrust his sword into him. Notwithstanding his many wounds and the weight of the men clinging to him, the duke, who was a powerful man, dragged himself along into the king's bed-chamber, where, exhausted by loss of blood, he fell on the bed and died.

The Cardinal of Lorraine, seated at the table, heard his brother's cries, and jumped up, saying, "They are murdering my brother!" and he made as though he would run to the duke's assistance. The Maréchal d'Aumont stopped him, saying, "Do not move, my lord. The king has something to say to you."

That night the Cardinal rejoined his brother whithersoever he had gone, being hacked to pieces in his prison by the axes of Henry's minions.

"At length you are king," said Catherine de Medicis to her son when she came to congratulate him on his murders.

For a time, a very short time, Henry was king, because he succeeded in enlisting on his side the strong arm and stout heart of Henry of Navarre, by whose aid he overcame the armies of the League, and even brought the rebellious city of Paris to his feet. But he was excommunicated by the Pope for his crimes, and for his alliance with a heretic. He no longer had the subtle guard of his lynx-eyed mother, for Catherine died at Blois on the 5th of January, 1589, within a fortnight of the murdered brothers; and he held what he did hold, not by his own right hand, but by the strong arm of one who might think it convenient to shake him off at any moment. On the 1st of August, 1589, Jacques Clement, a monk, in the guilty favour of Madame de Montpensier, sister of the new chief of the League, struck a knife into Henry III. at St. Cloud, where he was preparing a descent upon Paris.

"The bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days."

24

ad + ay

2y-x

2y2

7.

13.

19.

bd + by dx xy

2xy

2004+

and together.

a + x

a-x

5x

3b

3x + y 4. What is the product of 24a + 32c a+b by 5x.

x 8.

5. Multiply

20.x + 25xy

LESSONS IN BOTANY.-XXXIV. SECTION XCVIII.-MAGNOLIACEE, OR MAGNOLIADS. Characteristics: Sepals three, rarely two, or four, or six; petals hypogynous at the base of an elongated receptacle, six or more in number, and free; stamens indefinite; ovaries numerous, either free or partially coherent; bi- or pluri-ovulate; ovules pendent, reflexed; fruit various in character; carpels pedicelled, free, or coherent into a spike; dehiscent or indehiscent, dry or fleshy; seeds having an elongated funiculus; embryo very small at the base of a fleshy albumen.

The Magnolias are beautiful trees of South America and tropical Asia, possessing large, often persistent leaves, and magnificent flowers. The Magnolia glauca is a rustic shrub about twenty feet high, having leaves yellow beneath, and very odorous white flowers. The Magnolia Thompsoniana (Fig. 257), a variety of the preceding, is a fine pyramidal tree of about the same height, and differing from the Magnolia glauca in the circumstance of possessing larger leaves, and flowers five inches in diameter.

SECTION XCIX.-DILLENIACEE, OR DILLENIADS. Characteristics: Sepals free; petals free, hypogynous; stamens indefinite; ovaries several, free, or nearly free; ovules one or

The Dilleniaceae are allied to the Magnoliacea, from which they are separated by the characteristics of the number and lateral position of their stamens, the quinary division of their floral envelopes, always uni-serial and their astringent properties. They differ from the Ranuncu lace in their general aspect, their unilateral stamens, their seed, arillus, and their astringent qualities. They are for the most part inhabitants of Asia and America, south of the equator. The bark of many species is employed by tanners. The fruit of many species is sour. The Hibbertia volubilis (Fig. 258) is an evergreen climbing shrub, indigenous to Australia.

SECTION C.-CABOMBACEE, OR WATERSHIELDS. Characteristics: Sepals three or four,

multiple of that number; anthers extrorsal; ovary free; placenta parietal; three or ten ovules reflexed; styles free; stigmas capitate; capsule loculicidal with seminiferous valves; albumen fleshy; stem herbaceous, occasionally sub-ligneous,

covered with glandular hairs; leaves alternate or radical, ciliated and without stipules; flowers solitary or in one-sided

The principal species belonging to this natural order is Drosera, all the members of which are acrid, bitter, vesicating, and generally dangerous.

The Dionaea muscipula, or Venus's Flytrap (Fig. 261), is a biennial plant of Carolina, the excitability of which is fatal to flies and other insects. Its leaves are each terminated by two rounded plates fringed with sharp spikes. Between these two plates is a hinge on which they turn, closing together like the two sides of a book-cover. On the upper face of each leaf there are two or three small glands,

petaloid; petals hypogynous, equal in number to the sepals; imbricated in æstivation, persistent; stamens double or multiple the number of the petals; carpels two or more, free; two or three superior ovules, pendent, reflexed; fruit indehiscent; stem floating; leaves inferior, opposite, submerged, with capillary segments; the upper leaves alternate,

and floating, orbicular or peltated in form. There are only two plants in this family, the Cabomba aquatica and Hydropeltis purpurea, the latter of which is a pretty plant for a large aqua

rium.

SECTION CI.-DROSERACEAE, OR SUNDEWS. Characteristics: Sepals five to nine, free or almost free; petals hypogynous, five, alternate with the sepals; imbricated

259. DRUMMOND'S SIDE-SADDLE FLOWER (DRUMMONDII SARRACENIA). 260. RHUBARB (RHEUM RHAPONTI CUM).

which secrete a saccharine liquor. This attracts flies and other insects, which, however, no sooner touch the leaf, than the two sides, turning on their common hinge, close upon the insect-thus caught in a trap. SECTION CII.-SARRACENIACEE, OR SARRACENIADS. Characteristics: Sepals three to five; petals hypogynous, equal in number to the sepals, alternate with them, and unguiculated; stamens indefinite; ovary three to five-celled, pluri-ovulate; ovules reflexed; capsule loculicidal; embryo dicotyledonous, very small, lying at the base of a fleshy albumen; aquatic herbs, perennials; leaves radical and petiolated, tubular or cornet-shaped; limb small, ordinarily inflected upon the orifice of the petiole. This North American family, composed

SECTION CIII-CARYOPHYLLACEE, OR CLOVEWORTS. Characteristics: Sepals five or four, free or coherent; petals five or four, hypogynous or sub-perigynous, frequently joined together and with the base of the stamens; stamens double in number to the petals, and arranged in two series, the interior ones opposite to the petals, and sometimes equal to them in number; pistil on a stipes, two or three carpelled, coherent into one single ovary;

261. VENUS'S FLY-TRAP (DIONEA MUSCIPULA). 262. THE SWEET-WILLIAM (DIANTHUS BARBATUS).

styles free, stigmatiferous on their internal side; ovary pluri-locular in the young plant, ordinarily becoming unilocular by the absorption of commissures; ovules curved; fruit capsular and dehiscent, or bacciform and indehiscent; seed dicotyledonous; embryo curved, surrounding a farinaceous albumen; stem herbaceous or sub-ligneous; leaves opposite, entire, sometimes stipuled; inflorescence definite.

The Caryophyllaceae are cosmopolites, inhabiting for the most part the extratropical regions of the northern hemisphere. The soapwort, or Saponaria officinalis, is a plant indigenous to England, the root of which contains a soapy matter, lathering with water almost like soap, a sofi resin, and gum.

The carnations which belong to the natural order Cary

The members of this natural family have a similarity of chemical and phy. siological properties, which confirms the propriety of botanical classifications. The herbaceous portions of many species contain oxalic, citric, and malic acids, and are for the most part both medicinal and alimentary. The farinaceous seeds of many species serve as good substitutes for the cereals. The roots of many species contain astringent matters, united sometimes to a resinous and bitter principle, in virtue of which they possess medical qualities. In the first rank amongst the medicinal Polygonaceae is rhubarb, celebrated from times of remote antiquity as a medicine. Rhubarb owes its valuable properties to the presence of a substance denominated by chemists rhubarbarine, a fixed oil, a little gum,

starch, and oxalate of lime; the latter material constituting one-third of its entire weight. The botanical origin of rhubarb is still enveloped in great obscurity. The Arabs received it in the tenth century from the Chinese, and made it known in Europe; but the Chinese indicated with considerable vagueness the locality of the plant, and altogether refused to supply any of its seeds or cuttings, even though an equal weight of gold was frequently offered as a premium. Three sorts of medicinal rhubarb are known in commerce; that of China, which comes to us from Thibet and Canton; that which comes to us through Russia (commonly known as Turkey rhubarb); and the rhubarb of Persia. Of the various species which have been brought to Europe and planted in our gardens, the Rheum palmatum is the only one which yields a result at all like that of the Oriental rhubarb; but it is still distinguishable from the latter. The Rheum australe, procured originally from the mountains of Thibet, and cultivated in Calcutta, still more closely resembles the Chinese rhubarb; probably, therefore, the medicinal root is obtained from this species, though the subject is enveloped in much doubt.

The Rheum Rhaponticum, another species of rhubarb, grows spontaneously in Thrace and on the shores of the Black Sea. This is the species which was known to the ancient Greek and Roman physicians, who gave to it the name of Rha. Subsequently this name was expanded into Rha-ponticum, for the purpose of distinguishing the vegetable from another Rha, the produce of Scythia, and designated Rha-barbarum, whence our modern word rhubarb. A representation of the Rheum Rhaponticum is annexed (Fig. 260).

SECTION CV.-LAURACEE, OR LAURELS. Characteristics: Perianth calycoidal, four to six partite, bi-serial, iri-nerved, imbricate; stamens perigynous, inserted upon a fleshy disc, springing from the base of the perianth, and persistent, in number double, or triple, or quadruple that of the sepals, cinetimes equal and then opposite to the sepals; filaments free, the internal ones provided with two lateral glands; anthers adnatant, bi-locular, or quadri-locular, sometimes all introrsal; sometimes the interior ones introrsal, the others extrorsal; carpels, three united into one; ovary unilocular; ovule single, pendent, reflexed; style simple; stigma tri-lobed; fruit bacciform. protected by the base of the perianth; seed dicotyledonous, straight, exalbuminous; stem ligneous; bark aromatic; leaves alternate, aromatic; flowers axillary, or in a cyme, panicle, or umbel.

The bay tree (Laurus nobilis), indigenous to Central Europe, is a tree or shrub, with persistent leaves, coriaceous, smooth, and possessing an agreeable odour. The sassafras (Laurus sassafras) is a native of Virginia, Florida, and Brazil. Every part of this tree is endowed with a peculiar odour, something like a combination of fennel and camphor. The wood of this tree is employed in medicine. The Cinnamomum dulce (Fig. 264), or true cinnamon, furnishes the aromatic bark known by the name of cinnamon. It is cultivated in Ceylon and other inter-tropical countries. The cassia (Cinnamomum cossia) is, a native of Cochin-China, Malabar, and some parts of China Proper. Its bark is thicker than that of the true cinnamon tree, and its colour deeper. Camphor is another valuable production from one of the laurel tribe, the Camphora officinalis (Fig. 263), a native of Japan. The substance known as camphor, however, is not found in this vegetable only. In small quantities it exists in many plants of the natural order Labiata.

LESSONS IN GERMAN.-XLIV. SECTION XCII.-IDIOMATIC PHRASES (continued). Gehen and zugeben (in the sense "to succeed or get on ") are often used impersonally like the English "go; as:-Wie geht cs? how goes it? Es geht recht munter zu, they are making very

merry.

1. Erft (first) often answers to the English "only, not before, no more than, just," etc.; as:-6s sieht noch so neu aus, als wenn es erst gekauft wäre, it still looks as new as though it had just been bought. Die Schule gebt erst um zehn 1hr an, the school does not | begin before ten o'clock. Sie ist erst dreizehn Jahre alt, she is only thirteen years old.

2. Nächst (next), applied to time, denotes the period nearest at hand; fünftig (future, next, coming) applies to future time, near

1. Grst nahm er Papier und Federn, dann sette er sich hin, um zu schreiben. 2. Gr bat even erst angefangen zu arbeiten. 3. Es ist erst sieben Uhr ver bei. 4. Dieser Knabe ist eist dreizehn Jahre alt. 5. Nun ging es exft recht arg zu. 6. Es ist eine halbe Stunde weit bis zum nächsten Derie. 7. Dies ist der nächste Weg dahin. 8. Ich will ihm mit der nächsten Vest schreiben. 9. Ein unüberlegtes Wert ist zuweilen die nächste Ursache zu Streit und Hacer. 10. Mein Freund kommt die nächste Woche bierber 11. 3m künftigen Jahre gedenkt er nach Amerika zu reisen. 12. In fini tigen Jahren warte ich versichtiger sein. 13. Künftige Woche gebe ich einige Tage auf's Land. 14. An das fünftige Leben sollten wir mehr den fen, als an das zeitliche. 15. Mein fünftiges Leben sell dir gewidmet sein 16. Ich befürchte, es wird auf diese Weise nicht gelingen. 17. Gr first mehr für irtische, als für himmlische Reichthümer. 18. Die geschäftige Frau besorgt alle Häuslichen Arbeiten selbst. 19. Der Nachbar besorgte mir ten Brief auf tie Post. 20. Der Auftrag wurde von dem kleinen Knaben inftlich besorgt. 21. Die Festung wurde hinlänglich mit Lebensmitteln versorgt. 22. Der Bruter versorgte mich zeitig mit guten Büchern. 23. Der arme Mann hat sechs Kinder zu versorgen.

EXERCISE 179.

1. First I shall read, then I shall write. 2. I returned from my journey only yesterday. 3. I shall not see him till tomorrow. 4. I have received only half of my books. 5. We ought first to avoid doing evil, and then to do good. 6. Next spring I shall probably go into the country for a few days. 7. Are you sufficiently acquainted with the circumstances of his immediate departure? 8. That errand was punctually per formed by this man. 9. This poor woman has five children to provide for. 10. I sometimes provide him with an instructive book. 11. Next time I shall be more careful.

SECTION XCIII.-IDIOMATIC PHRASES (continued). Ginholen (from cin, in, and holen, to fetch) signifies "to go to meet, to overtake, to outrun," etc.; as:-Sine Derutation holte den Wesandten ein, a deputation went out to meet the ambassador. Nach trei Tagen batte uniere Fregatte das seindliche Schiff eingehelt, after three days our frigate had overtaken the hostile ship.

1. Seute, to-day (Latin, hodie), is sometimes best rendered "at the present, now," etc.; as:-Heut zu Tage, or beutiges Tages,