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1. Ge giebt im menschlichen Leben zuweilen trübe Augenblicke. 2. Man muß zuweilen dem Geiste eine Erholung gönnen. 3. Er ist schon manchmal hier gewesen. 4. Schon manchmal habe ich dieses gesagt. 5. Manchmal mislingt es auch. 6. Es ist jezt keine Zeit dazu, frazieren zu gehen. 7. Er hat heute noch hinlängliche Zeit razu, diese Arbeit zu vollenten. Er hat an einem andern Tag mehr Zeit, dich zu besuchen. 9. Dieses Haus ist tausend Thaler werth. 10. Mein Rock ist zehn Thaler werth. 11. Jener Mann besißt fünf hundert Thaler. 12. Er besist zehn tausend Thaler. 13. Diese Familie hat ihr gutes Auskommen. 14. Jener arme Taglöhner hat nur ein nothdürftiges Auskommen. 15. Es kamen so viele politische Flüchtlinge an, daß sie nicht alle unterkommen konnten. 16. Die Soltaten fanten alle in den Scheunen und Ställen der Bauern ein Unterkommen. 17. Gestern habe ich dem Kaufmanne seine Rechnung be zahlt. 18. Er hat dem Schneiter den Rock noch nicht bezahlt. 19. Er vergaß dem Schuhmacher die Stiefel zu bezahlen. 20. Der Kranke verlangt ein Glas Wasser. 21. Mich verlangt zu wissen, was an der Sache ift. 22. Mich verlangt eine heitere Stunde im Kreis ter lieben Meinen zu verleben. 23. Ich verlange das Buch, das tort liegt. 24. Gins bitte ich tich sei vorsichtig in der Wahl teiner Freunde. 25. Der Mann bat um Geduld und Nachsicht. 26. Da er ihn um Verzeihung bat, so konnte er nicht länger zürnen. 27. Ich bitte Sie um ein Glas Wein.

EXERCISE 185.

ployment. 6. Those who have a scanty competency are some-
times the tools of the greatest crimes. 7. My brother bids me
to be patient and forbearing. 8. He seeks my forgiveness, and
therefore I cannot longer be angry with him. 9. Necessity re-
quires that we should sometimes grant our body relaxation. 10.
As he forgot to pay for his coat, the tailor requested him to pay.
SECTION XCVI.—IDIOMATIC PHRASES (continued).
Bemühen to trouble. Eich um Etwas, or für Jemand bemühen,
"to give one's self trouble about, to take pains, strive about
any thing, or for any one;" as :-Darf ich Sie bemühen, mir das
Buch zu reichen? may I trouble you to reach me that book? Du
bemüht Dich zu viel um eine so geringe Sache, you trouble yourself too
much about so trifling a thing. Ein Freund sollte sich für einen
Freund bemühen, a friend should take pains for a friend.
Es giebt
gewisse gutmüthige Leute, tie sich mehr für Antere, als für sich selbst be
mühen, there are certain good-natured people who take more
pains for others than for themselves.

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1. Zeitvertreib (from 3eit, time, and vertreiben, to drive or pass away) signifies a pastime;" as:-Was ihm Zeitvertreib ist, macht mir Langeweile, what to him is pastime, causes me weariness. Sich tie Zeit vertreiben, "to spend, or pass one's time;" as:-Wie ver treibt er sich die Zeit? how does he pass his time? Er vertreibt sich dieselbe mit Jazen und Fischen, he spends it (the same) in hunting and fishing.

Abwesenheit, f. ab.

sence.

Ausbruch, m. breaking
out, eruption.
Bemerkung, f. remark,

notice.

Berühmt', famous,
renowned, cele-
brated.

Blatt, n. paper, leaf.
Durchlesen, to read
over, peruse.

VOCABULARY.
Etwa, about, nearly,
perhaps.
Fechten, to fight.
Grimm, m. fury, rage,
wrath.
Lebkuchen, m. ginger-
bread.

Nürnberg, n. Nurem-
berg.
Revolution', f. revolu-

tion.

Scherzen, to jest, joke,
sport.

RÉSUMÉ OF EXAMPLES.

3um 3eit'vertreib begießt sie ihre

Blumen im Garten.

Durch diese Mit'theilungen machte
er seinem gepreß'ten Herzen Luft.

Rußland hat sich nicht vergeblich
bemüht', die Bewegungen in Eu
ro'pa zu unterdrü'den.

Die Leipziger Messe ist eine ter be
teu'tendsten in ganz Deutschland.

Verfolgen, to pursue,
persecute.
Versteigerung, f. auc-
tion.
Vor'wagen (sich), to
hazard, venture
(out).
Vor'stellen, to repre-
sent, introduce,
personate.
Zeit vertreib, m.
R. 1, above.)

(See

For pastime she waters her flowers in the garden. Through these communications he gave his oppressed heart vent.

Russia has not striven in vain to suppress the agitation in Europe.

The Leipsic fair is one of the most important in all Germany.

EXERCISE 186.

1. Bei dem Ausbruche der Revolution in Berlin wurde bis in die Nacht hinein gefochten. 2. Er gab ihm das Buch mit der Bitte, es rein halten. 3. Es ist ihm gestern ein Brief zugeschickt worden. 4. Ich zeigt. ihm die neuen Gemälde, tie ich auf der Versteigerung gekauft hatte. Musik ist sein liebster Zeitvertreib. 6. Er singt, scherzt und lacht zum Zeu vertreib, anstatt sich mit ernsten Dingen zu beschftigen. 7. Ich gebe e Morgens (Sect. XXXIV. 3), Mittags und Abends spazieren. 8. Sie ve folgten den Feind bis an (Sect. LVII. Note) tie Grenzen des Lande 9. Bis an diese Stelle hatte sie das Buch durchgelesen. 10. Bis an dies. Ort wagten sie sich vor, aber weiter nicht. 11. Er bemühte sich vergeben tie Frage zu lösen. 12. Sie bemühten sich um die Gunst ihres Herto 13. Er bemüht sich Reichthümer zu erwerben. 14. Ich bin etwa fü Jahre hier (in dieser Stadt). 15. Ich bin seit einer halben Stunde bi (in tem 3immer). 16. 3ft Jemand während meiner Abwesenheit bi gewesen? 17. Herr N. war hier und wollte Sie sprechen. 18. 61 Berliner Blatt macht und folgende interessante Mittheilung. 19. Nürnberger (§ 11, Note) Lebkuchen sind durch ganz Deutschland berühm 20. Das Heidelberger Faß ist wegen seiner Größe bekannt. 21. Ich en fehle mich Ihnen, mein Herr. 22. Empfehlen Sie mich Ihrer Fanals 23. Er empfahl sich der Gesellschaft. 24. Da der alte Jäger seine Grimm nicht anters Luft zu machen wußte, so schlug er seine Hunde. EXERCISE 187.

1. My house is worth a thousand francs, but that of my brother fifteen hundred. 2. That banker is worth a thousand pounds more than that sum. 3. Contentment is of greater value than all the riches of the world. 4. We could not anywhere find shelter on our arrival in America, as all the inns 1. My friend sent me a book, with the request to peruse it. were full. 5. Every one who goes to Australia may find em- I have perused your book as far as the second chapter. 3.

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parcel was sent to me yesterday. 4. Study is my most agree- | daß mein Freund mit dem Dampfboote ankommen würte, so holte ich ihn von able pastime. 5. In the morning I study, and in the evening I dem Landungsplaße ab. 22. Ich habe diesen Brief heute Morgen von der teach my scholars. 6. We need not trouble ourselves on ac- Post abgeholt. 23. Ich sprach auf meiner Reise in verschiedenen Wirthecount of our friend: he does not need our assistance. 7. During häusern ein-aber ich kann keines derselben besonders loben. the absence of our teacher we played instead of learning. 8. spreche gewöhnlich bei meinen Freunden ein, wenn ich in die Stadt gehe. How long have you been in London? 9. I have been nearly EXERCISE 189. three years here. 10. Was my brother here during my absence? 11. No, he was not here. 12. May I trouble you to write me this letter? 13. A diligent boy strives to acquire knowledge.

SECTION XCVII.—IDIOMATIC PHRASES (continued). Reißen to tear, to rend, also, to draw, etc.; hence, an sich reißen, "to draw towards, or to one, to usurp, seize upon;" as:Der Sturm riß ganze Bäume aus ter Erte, the storm rent whole trees from the earth. Er hat das Vermögen seines Bruters an sich gerissen, he has usurped the fortune of his brother.

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Sich um Etwas reißen to strive, contend for anything; as :Die Räuber rissen sich um die Beute, the robbers strove for the booty. 1. Einsprechen (literally, "to speak in") to inculcate by words, to influence by speaking. Einem Muth, Trost, etc., einsprechen, "to speak courage, consolation, etc., to one," i.e., to encourage, to console, etc.; as :-Der tapfere General besuchte täglich die Schanzen, um den Soldaten Muth und Trost einzusprechen, the valiant general visited the redoubts daily, in order to encourage and console the soldiers.

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1. Trotz der Mühe, welche sich der Lehrer gab, wollten die Kinder feine rechten Fortschritte machen. 2. Er machte bereutente Fortschritte in der deutschen Sprache, nachdem er die ersten Anfangsgründe überwunden hatte. 3. Er entbehrt der nöthigsten Bücher. 4. Eine arme Familie entbehrt oft der nothwendigsten Hausgeräthe. 5. Die Gelassenheit dieses Angeklagten beruht auf dem Bewußtsein seiner Unschuld. 6. Der Gapitän erzählte uns gestern, daß sich der junge Italiener eine Kugel durch den Kopf geschossen habe. 7. Er schoß dem Bären eine Kugel durch den Kopf. 8. Ich ziehe es vor über Bremen oder Hamburg, anstatt über Havre zu reisen. 9. Ich ziehe das Reiten dem Gehen, und das Fahren dem Reiten vor. 10. Es ist mir in einer warmen Stube behaglicher, als in einer kalten. 11. Gs ist ihm am behaglichsten, wenn er nach dem Essen seine Gigarre rauchen kann. Knaben ist es am behaglichsten und auch am gesündesten, wenn sie nach dem Essen eine halbe Stunde spazieren gehen. 13. Ich hatte den ganzen Morgen über ein unbehagliches Gefühl. 14. Die Fürsten Deutschlants haben von Neuem die Herrschaft an sich gerissen. 15. Der Oheim wußte nach und nach das Vermögen seiner Neffen an sich zu reißen. 16. Es ist schon lange her, daß ich ihn gesehen habe. 17. Ist es lange, daß er krank ist? 18. Ja, es sind schon mehr als trei Wochen. 19. Bleibe zu Hause, bis ich zu dir komme; ich werde dich zu einem Spaziergange abholen. 20. Der Tod ruft nicht nur den Greis, sondern auch gar oft den Mann in seinen besten Jahren, den Jüngling und das Kind in der Wiege ab. 21. Da ich wußte,

12.

1. I made better progress in the German language after I had mastered the first rudiments. 2. The uncle seeks to usurp the fortune of his cousins. 3. Is it long since your brother was taken ill ? 4. No, it is not more than a few days since. 5. Will you stop at home till I call on you? 6. It is more pleasant to me to take a walk in the country than to sit at home. 7. When I go to town, I generally call on some of my friends. 8. He prefers studying to all other employments. 9. I prefer walking to riding, and riding to driving. 10. During the battle the general rode along the ranks to encourage his soldiers. 11. It is healthful to children when they can take a walk after school. 12. The robbers strove for the booty which they had taken from the citizens.

LESSONS IN ARITHMETIC.-XLVII.

MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES (continued).

53. A and B rent a field for £60. A puts in 10 horses for 14 months, 30 oxen for 2 months, and 100 sheep for 3 months; B puts in 20 horses for 1 month, 40 oxen for 1 months, and 200 sheep for 4 months. If the food consumed in the same time by a horse, an ox, and a sheep be in the ratio 3: 2: 1, find the portion of the rent of the field which each must pay.

54. A fraudulent wine merchant sells as brandy a mixture of brandy and rum at £2 5s. a gallon, which is the proper price of his brandy; that of his rum being a guinea a gallon. If onethird of the mixture be rum, what does he gain per gallon by his dishonesty?

55. A Jew discounts a bill of £180, drawn at 4 months, at 60 per cent. per annum, and insists on giving in part payment 5 dozen of wine which he charges at 4 guineas a dozen, and a picture which he charges at £19. How much ready money does he pay?

If the cost to the Jew of the wine and the picture be only onefourth of the sum he has charged for them, what is the real interest the Jew has been charging?

56. Any sum of money may be expressed in pounds, twelfths of a pound, and a proper fraction of a twelfth; and 5 per cent. on the same may be immediately obtained by considering the pounds as shillings, and twelfths as pence, and the fraction of a twelfth as the same fraction of a penny. (1.) Explain the reason of this. (2.) Hence find 5 per cent. on £621 13s. 8d. (3.) Deduce 4 per cent. on the same amount.

57. An American dollar at par of exchange is worth 4s. 6d. of our money. What is the value of 642 dollars when the exchange is 7 per cent. in favour of England?

58. A tax of 74d. in the pound produces £336,000; if it be increased to 33 per cent., what is the increase in the revenue?

Cent. Consols, so as to gain £150 when the price has increased 59. A person lays out £1911 in the purchase of Three per 64. Find the price originally paid, allowing per cent. for brokerage. If Consols fall again to the original price, and the money be again invested, determine the increase of income.

60. A legacy of £658 17s. 6d. is to be divided among four persons, so that A shall have one-fifth, B half as much as A, C one-third as much as A, and D the remainder. respective shares.

Find their

61. A box 5 feet long, 3 feet broad, and 2 feet 6 inches high, is made of wood 1 inch thick; what is it worth, supposing wood

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to 4 places of

inch thick to cost 9d. a square foot? 62. Determine the value of 36 decimals. 63. A person buys a quantity of goods, and sells them at such a price that he receives for of them sufficient to pay for the whole. What does he gain per cent ?

64. A merchant, sending goods by sea, insures them at an amount sufficient to cover the interest to be expected on the venture (10 per cent.) and the cost of insurance (5 per cent.). The whole amount paid to him on a total loss is £504 18s. Find the cost of the goods.

65. The average weight of 69 persons is 11 stone; of 70 and the interest on the same sum for the same time is £28 3s. 9d. persons, 11 stone 1 lb. What is the weight of the 70th? Find the rate per cent., and the sum.

66. To pay a bill of £300 three months before date, a person sells 3 per cent. stock at 90. Discount being allowed at 4 per cent. per annum, how much stock must he sell, and what does he gain or lose by paying at once?

67. A shilling weighs 3 dwt. 15 grains, and is fine. What is the value of (1) a pound Troy; (2) a pound avoirdupois of pure silver ?

68. A person had two-fifths of a coal mine; he sold threefourths of his share, and divided the remainder between his two sons, giving four-fifths to the elder and £200 to the latter. Find the value of the mine.

69. By selling tea at 5s. 4d. a pound, a grocer clears oneeighth of his outlay; he then raises the price to 6s. What does he clear per cent. at the latter price?

70. If a pipe of 6 inches bore discharges a certain quantity of water in 4 hours, in what time will 3 pipes of 1, 2, 3 inches bore respectively discharge the same quantity, the water flowing in each case with the same velocity? [N.B. The bores of the pipes are proportional to the squares of their diameters.]

71. A piece of work must be finished in 36 days, and 15 men are set to do it, working 9 hours a day; but after 24 days it is found that only of the work is done. If 3 additional men be then put on, how many hours a day will they have to labour in order to finish the work in time?

72. Seven men had water enough for 13 days, allowing 13 pints per man daily. After 5 days some water escaped, and one man died, and the water lasted the 13 days. How much was lost? 73. A has twice as much money as B. They play together for a certain stake. At the end of the first game B wins from A one-third of A's money. What fraction of the sum B now has must A win back in the second game, that they may have exactly equal sums?

74. If 5 pumps, each having a length of stroke of 3 feet, working 15 hours a day for days, empty the water out of a mine, what must be the length of stroke of each of the 5 pumps, which, working 10 hours a day for 12 days, would empty the same mine, the strokes of the former set of pumps being performed four times as fast as those of the latter?

75. From 1797 to 1821 cash payments were suspended. Before that time the value of gold was £3 17s. 10 d. per oz.; but in 1815 it rose to £4 13s. 6d. per oz. How much per cent. had the currency depreciated?

76. Two clocks, one gaining 3 min. and the other losing 2 min. a day, are set right at noon. What is the time by the first clock when the second indicates noon a week afterwards? 77. A trader fits out 4 ships in succession to run a blockade: he reckons the total outlay on each ship after the first to be 8 per cent. more than on the one that preceded it. The first and third get into port, and he gains 160 per cent. on their cost, while the second and fourth are taken. What is his gain per cent. on the whole?

78. The price of raw cotton being 5d. a pound, and of cleaned cotton 6d. a pound, how much per cent. in weight must be lost in cleaning, the cost of cleaning being neglected?

79. The regulations respecting Great Exhibition tickets, from the opening, on Thursday, May 1, to Saturday, October 18, were as follows:-Three guinea season tickets alone admit to the opening. £1 was charged on May 2nd and 3rd, and on three exceptional days (not in May, nor shilling days). From May 5th to 17th the charge was 5s., and for the rest of the month 2s. 6d., except one day in each week, when the charge was 5s. After May the charge for admission was 1s. on four days of the week. If of the remaining days 18 were 5s. days, and the rest 2s. 6d. days, estimate the saving, by taking a season ticket, of a person who proposed to be a daily visitor. 80. If 5 per cent. be lost by selling a horse for £38, at what price must three others, which cost each the same as the first, be sold, in order to gain 10 per cent. on the whole?

81. What would be the value of 13574, if the local value of the digits increased eightfold from right to left?

82. How many plots of ground of 333 square yards can be cut from a field containing 4 acres, 3 roods, 9 poles, 19 square yards, whose breadth is 135 yards? and what will be the width of the remaining strip, after the plots are marked off?

83. The discount on a certain sum for one year is £27 10s.,

84. A person's income is derived from the proceeds of £4550 at a certain rate per cent., and £5420 at 1 per cent. more than the former. His whole income is £453. Determine the rates.

85. One clock gains 4 minutes and another loses 4 minutes in 12 hours. Find the time indicated by each clock, when one appears to have gained 16 minutes upon the other, supposing them to start together at noon.

86. The gold coinage of one country contains 1 part silver to 11 parts of gold without alloy, that of another 1 part of alloy to 23 parts of gold. It is found that 46 of the first weigh as much as 88 of the second. The intrinsic value of silver is th that of gold. Find the par of exchange.

87. A man insures his life to the extent of 10 per cent. upon his whole income; after deducting this, he pays 8d. in the pound income-tax on the remainder. His net income is £957. Find his gross income.

88. A can do a piece of work in 6 days, which B can destroy in 4. A has worked 10 days, during the last 5 of which B has been destroying; how many days must A now work alone in order to complete his task?

89. A and B lay out equal sums in trade. A gains £100, and B loses so much that his money is now only of A's. But if each gave the other of his present sum, B's loss would be diminished by one-half. What had each at first ? 90. On certain goods the import duty is 150 per cent. on their prime cost. The duty is reduced one-half, but the cost of production increases 10 per cent. Determine what would have been the price of goods sold now at £46 4s., allowing 20 per cent. profit in each case.

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LESSONS IN BOTANY.—XXXV. SECTION CVI.—THYMELACEÆ, OR DAPHNADS. Characteristics: Perianth tubular, petaloid; stamens perigynous, their number equal to the divisions of the perianth, occasionally double or fewer; ovary free, uni-locular; ovules pendent; fruit drupaceous or in nuts, ordinarily one-seeded, exalbuminous; stem usually ligneous; leaves simple.

All the species of the genus Daphne contain an acrid principle, which gives them a vesicating property. The Daphne Fortuni Fortune, some years ago, and is now cultivated in England. is a very beautiful plant; it was brought from China by Mr. This gentleman also introduced the golden-flowered Edgeworthia, member of the Daphne genus, and must not be confounded or the Edgeworthia chrysantha (Fig. 265). It is a very beautiful with the Reptonia, which was originally called Edgeworthia.

SECTION CVII.-LORANTHACEÆ. Characteristics: Calyx adherent to the ovary; petals free or coherent, epigynous, four, six, or eight, valvate in æstivation; stamens opposite to the petals or to the divisions of the simple perianth; ovary uni-locular; ovule pendent; berry one-seeded; embryo placed at the surface of an abundant fleshy albumen;

small dichotomous shrubs, always parasite; leaves opposite, entire; flowers sometimes dioecious.

Members of this natural family inhabit the intertropical regions. Their bark contains adhesive material, like birdlime, intermediate in its general nature between wax and caoutchouc. The mistletoe (Viscum album, Fig. 266) is the only species which represents the family in our land. It is a dicecious plant, with thick fleshy leaves, greenish flowers scarcely apparent, and sessile. The mistletoe was much reverenced by the ancient Druids, who attributed to it various mysterious properties. Even at this day the inhabitants of Java entertain a superstitious respect for the Ficus religiosa, upon which an individual of the natural family Loranthacea grows. They

flowers complete, or polygamous, or dioecious; embryo inseperable.

The most remarkable species of this class is the Rafflesia Arnoldi (Fig. 267), a native of Sumatra, where it grows on the trunk of a cissus, and bears a single flower no less than nine feet in circumference. Its nectary has a capacity of twelve

pints, and its weight is not less than fifteen pounds. Before its expansion the floral bud appears like a great cabbage; the bracts soon expand, and the perianth becomes developed. Its fleshy colour and cadaverous odour attract flies and other insects, which are necessary to the process of its fecundation. This curious member of the vegetable world has been described at length in Vol. I., page 185.

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SECT. CVIII.-HYDNORA

CEE, RAFFLESIACEE,
CYTINACEA, APODAN-
THACEAE, AND BALA-
NOPHORACE.

These five natural orders constitute a group of plants which have been collectively termed Rhizogens or Rhizanthea from some Greek words which mean "flower-producing roots." They are supposed to constitute an intermediate but distinct class between the Phanerogamia and the Cryptogamia. The following are their leading characteristics:-Plants composed of cellular tissue, pervaded by a few vessels; parasites upon the roots or stems of other plants; leaves reduced to mere scales, never green, deprived of stomata, and vessels, generally imbricate;

SECT. CIX.-NEPENTHA CEE, OR NEPENTHS. Characteristics: Sub-lig neous plants of tropical Asia and Madagascar; flowers in racemes, dioecious; perianth herbaceous, fourpartite; stamens sixteen, coherent in a central column; ovary free, four celled; capsule localicidal. The Nepenthes, type of this family, possesses alternate leaves, the petiole contracted at its base, but further on expanding into a flat limb, but its mid-rib is prolonged, and bears a new foliaceous expansion like a pitcher in form, supplied with a cover attached by a kind of hinge, on which it opens and shuts. The pitcher closed at night is open during the day, and secretes on its interior a fluid, insipid in some species, slightly saccharine in others. The largest and finest species was discovered about thirty years ago at Singapore by Sir Stamford Baffles, and Las received the name of Nepenthes Rafflesiana (Fig. 268).

LESSONS IN ASTRONOMY.-I.

remote than any other science, many important discoveries having been made in it at a period anterior to all written history.

OBJECTS AND EARLY HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE EARLY In the book of Job, which is usually admitted to be the most

ASTRONOMERS: THALES, HIPPARCHUS, PTOLEMY.

Or all the sciences which arrest the attention and engage the thought of mankind, the science of astronomy is assuredly the most grand, the most ennobling, and the most sublime. Most others, though they tend greatly to expand and enrich the mind, chain it down to the earth; but this lifts it up, and carries it away far beyond the boundaries of the finite, till it is almost lost in the illimitable void of space.

Astronomy seems to lift man out of himself, and to place him on a standpoint far removed from the world he inhabits, which it reduces to a mere unit in the glorious whole; and as he beholds the unaltering regularity and unceasing motion of the heavenly bodies by which he is surrounded, and by slow degrees comes to perceive that all their varying and apparently complicated motions resolve themselves into the most beautiful simplicity, and are all governed by a few plain and simple laws, he is led to see fresh proofs of the power and wisdom of Him who by His word called them into being, and launched them forth in space.

By this science the student learns the hard lesson that the evidence of the senses is not always to be depended on; that the apparently immovable earth is in reality in a state of continual motion, both on its own axis and around the sun; and that the real movements of the heavenly bodies are quite different from those which are apparent. He learns, too, that this world, which he has always been accustomed to regard as the largest and most important body in existence, is classed among the orbs of heaven, and even among the smallest of them; that it is, indeed, but a speck in creation, quite invisible from the nearest of those fixed stars which stud the sky; and thus he is led to feel his own insignificance. And yet when he finds that the motions of all these bodies can be accurately determined, that their sizes and even their weights can be measured, that some of the elements which enter into their composition can be told, and that their distances can be ascertained, though so great that light, with all its speed, takes thousands of years to cross the chasm that separates them from us, he sees something of the immense power with which the human mind has been endowed.

As he advances he finds that the sun and moon, which appear like small bodies performing their journeys round the earth, are in reality worlds, the former of them greatly exceeding in size that on which he lives; that the stars, which he has looked upon as mere points in the sky, are in reality suns, with systems of their own revolving around them-the "centres of life and light to myriads of unseen worlds;" and that these suns, with their attendant worlds, are all revolving in mighty orbits around one common centre, and forming one grand cluster.

The telescope still further extends his view, for by its powerful aid he discovers here and there faint nebulæ, or patches of cloudy light, scattered among the stars; and these at length resolve themselves into complete clusters, similar to that which is made up of our can and all the other stars around us. But here the power of his instrument fails him, and the distances and magnitude of these systems are such as to baffle all computation or thought. Man can only stand on the verge of the infinite, and wonder and adore the glories of Him who filleth all space.

We must therefore come to the study of this science with a mind specially prepared for the reception of its truths, being ready, on the one hand, to receive all truths which shall be shown to be fully supported by careful observations and proof, even though they appear to be sometimes almost contrary to the evidence of the senses; and, on the other hand, to dismiss all those crude notions previously formed in the mind which, upon consideration, are not found to be supported by facts, and which tend, therefore, to hinder and mislead us in our inquiries. The importance of this latter point will be clearly seen when we notice how, in the early ages of astronomy, all true progress was effectually checked by the firm hold which certain preconceived notions had acquired over the human mind; and how, when at last the fact of the earth's motion was discovered, and the complicated and cumbrous systems previously believed in were thus at one stroke swept away, persecution and opposition of every kind were heaped upon the men whose intellect had thus solved the difficulties of ages.

The science of astronomy dates from an antiquity far more

VOL. IV.

ancient book in the world, we find reference to Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades, showing that, even at this early period, names had been given to some of the constellations and stars.

We can easily understand why this should be so. Every one of us, when walking alone on a clear night, when the moon has set, and the whole concave of heaven is studded with innumerable stars, must have felt an anxious desire to know something of the history and motions of those bodies. This desire was felt in the early ages of the world, and in the East, where the science seems to have had its origin, the settled weather, the clearness of the air, and the cloudlessness of the sky, would all render these observations more easy. In those early ages, too, men lived far more in the open air than in the present day. Shepherds, for instance, often watched with their flocks during the whole night, and thus they would have frequent and favourable opportunities for watching and noticing the movements of the stars. This occupation, too, would serve well to beguile the otherwise tedious hours of night, and we find accordingly that shepherds were the first astronomers.

Another reason why the science attracted so much attention was its great practical importance. Men soon noticed the regular changes of the seasons. They would see that at one time winter cold seemed to reign over all, and apparent death held all the vegetable world. Spring then followed, with its fresh leaves and opening flowers, and summer and autumn with their fruits and stores of grain; and they naturally inquired the reason of all these changes. They would notice likewise that during the summer months the sun was absent from them for only a short time, and at noon attained a greater height above the horizon than he did in the winter months, when the night was long and the hours of daylight but few; and they would thus come to connect the changing seasons with the motions of the sun, which were accordingly noted with greater accuracy. In a similar way the changes of the moon, from the first narrow crescent of light to the full round orb, and then back again, would early be remarked.

One other cause for the study of this science is found in man's innate craving for the supernatural, or something beyond him. self. The apparent immutability of the heavenly bodies, the purity of their light, the regularity of their motions, and, above all, the mystery which enveloped them, excited his admiration and reverence; and hence we find that they early became objects of worship to the ignorant, and therefore superstitious, people of that time. The study of their motions was therefore usually pursued for some religious or astrological purpose, and the chief astronomers were priests or professional diviners.

We can easily understand why this was the case. It was seen that the succession of the seasons and the alternations of day and night were caused by the motions of the most important of the heavenly bodies, and hence it was supposed that all the rest exerted their influences over other matters that were going on in the world, and that by the careful study of their motions and changes future events in the history of men and nations might easily be predicted. We find, accordingly, that astrologers were consulted before any great or important work was undertaken, and their advice was usually very strictly adhered to.

The question as to what nations first cultivated this science cannot be definitely settled. It seems probable, however, that the earliest systematic observations of the stars were made by the Chaldæans.

The path of the sun among the fixed stars was very early discovered, and these stars were arranged into the twelve constellations, known as the signs of the zodiac, long before the historical era. Many of the other constellations were also named, but some were afterwards altered by the Greeks and Romans; and even in modern days a few additions have been made, as, for instance, the Shield of Sobieski and the Heart of Charles I.

It must not be supposed that any resemblance can be traced between the shape marked out by the stars and the figures they are supposed to represent. The original idea seems to have been merely to map out the sky into convenient portions for examination, and at the same time to immortalise certain real or mythical heroes; but as the system became adopted universally, it has been retained to the present day, and serves as a ready means of distinguishing and registering the stars.

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