other substances also, only these are in the largest quantity. Did somebody laugh at me and call me a charcoal-man just then? Very well, my dear, suit yourself; it does not hurt my feelings!

But I said that both plants and animals contain charcoal. The animals get it from the plants, or by eating one another, but where do the plants get it?

In this way. All animals, of course including human beings, must have oxygen to breathe, and they steadily use it up in making carbonic acid. So then, if the life-giving gas be constantly removed from the air and a deadly one put in its place, the atmosphere must in time become unfit to breathe, and life upon the earth be rendered impossible. It is, however, the duty of the plants to breathe in carbonic acid from the atmosphere, take away its charcoal, and give back the oxygen in a fit state for our lungs. And so the charcoal goes back and forth; we eat the plant, and, after using its charcoal, breathe it out again to be reconsumed by other plants, and again made fit for our use.

There are several varieties of charcoal known under different names; they all contain the element carbon. Coal is one of these.

Long ages since, before men lived upon the earth, there were vast forests in which great palms, and gigantic ferns as large as our trees, flourished luxuriantly. As these trees decayed and fell, others took their places, just as in our forests now, while the great logs and dead branches

and half-rotted leaves, accumulated on the ground. Thus layer after layer of vegetable matter full of carbon was heaped one above another. Then soil was formed above, inch by inch and foot by foot, pressing the remains of the ancient trees into a solid mass, which slowly changed into what we now extract from the bowels of the earth and use as fuel,-coal. In the rocks surrounding the coal-beds, and often in the coal itself, we find the prints of leaves with even the marks of the delicate veins, and sometimes petrified logs with all the original markings of the bark, as distinct as if the trees had died but yesterday.

So these old forests, which no man ever saw, have written their history for us in the solid rocks. How many millions of years ago these forests flourished no man can say; we only know that their trees differed from all which grow at the present time, and that they stored up fuel for us. They died, but were not wasted, for waste is unknown in 10 Nature.

The same process is going on to-day. The decaying vegetation of huge swamps slowly changes into peat, which is but one step in the formation of coal, and will in future ages become the fuel of other races of men.

Almost all our artificial lights contain carbon. The flame of a candle, of a gas-burner, or of a lamp depends for its light upon little particles of charcoal, which, when collected, form common lampblack, or soot. "Petroleum, from which 12 kerosene

is made, is also rich in carbon, being formed probably from decaying vegetables and animals, which lived ages ago. In many cases the petroleum was hidden away in the rocks long before the mighty forests which formed the coal were covered up with solid layers of stone; in others, the wells of oil have a more recent origin.

But, besides coal and charcoal, two other important forms of carbon exist, both of which are dug from the earth. One of these is common black lead, from which our lead-pencils are made, and which the kitchen-girls use in their stovepolish. The other is-what do you think?diamond! Yes, the brilliant, clear, precious diamond is nothing but carbon, precisely the same substance as common, dirty, every-day charcoal.

So we see that carbon, whether we call it charcoal or not, is almost everywhere. It is in the solid rocks of the earth, it blossoms in the rose and is exhaled in its perfume, it lights us to bed, it feeds us, and keeps us warm. It flows in our blood, and lives in our brains, muscles, hearts, and even in the very eyes with which we look at it. It is in the printer's ink upon the page before you; you write with it, wear it, and exhale it. And yet in its most important uses it is found combined with other substances. And so, dear children, this little piece of charcoal teaches us this valuable lesson-that our lives are most beautiful and most useful, when spent in working with, and for, others,

3

1 science, is literally knowledge, but it more particularly denotes a systematic and orderly arrangement of knowledge. Certain branches of knowledge, such as chemistry, astronomy, physiology, etc., are classed among science subjects. Each of these subjects has been so thoroughly investigated, that positive statements concerning them can be made. These statements are founded upon the nature of things, or established by observation and experiment. 2 veined, having veins; streaked. A vein is a streak or wave of different colour, appearing in wood, marble, etc. original, first. Origin comes from a Latin word signifying to rise or become visible; hence the origin of anything is that from which it first proceeds. transparent, clear. This word comes from a Latin word signifying to appear across or through; hence anything which has the power of transmitting rays of light so that bodies can be distinctly seen through, is said to be transparent. saleratus, a powder composed of bicarbonate of potash, much used in cookery. cave. This cave is near Naples. Java, one of the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, south-east of Asia. to be reconsumed, to be again consumed; swallowed; used up; or absorbed. petrified, converted or changed into stone. 10 Nature, comes from a Latin word signifying to be born or produced; hence by Nature we understand the creation, the universe, the existing system of things coming from the Creator. and worked by His agencies. Waste is unknown in Nature. "Petroleum, rock oil; an inflammable, bituminous (containing bitumen or pitch) liquid, exuding from the earth. A large quantity of the petroleum used in this country comes from North America. 12 kerosene, an oil used for illumination and other purposes. Petroleum cannot be used in its natural state. Oils such as kerosene and paraffin are distilled from it.

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6

7

THE GLADNESS OF NATURE.

Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,

When all is smiling above and around;

When even the deep-blue heavens look glad,

And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?

There are notes of joy from the blackbird and wren,
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky;
The ground-squirrel gaily chirps by his den,

And the 'wilding bee hums merrily by.

The clouds are at play in the 'azure space,
And their shadows sport in the deep green vale;
And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
And there they roll in the easy gale.

There's a dance of leaves in that 'aspen bower,

There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree,
There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea.
And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles
On the dewy earth, that smiles in his ray,
On the leaping waters and gay young isles,—
Ay, look, and he'll smile all thy gloom away.

1

4 W. C. BRYANT.

1 wilding, roaming freely about from flower to flower. 2 azure, the blue colour of the sky, sky-blue. aspen, a species of poplar, whose leaves quiver with the slightest movement of the air. * Bryant, an American poet, born 1794.

TRIAL

OF A COMPLAINT MADE AGAINST SUNDRY PERSONS FOR BREAKING THE WINDOW OF DOROTHY CAREFUL, WIDOW, AND DEALER IN GINGERBREAD.

PART I.

dis-sat-is-fac'-tion prov-o-ca'-tion in'-sti-tu-ted

dis-cred'-it

THE Court being seated, there appeared in person

the Widow Dorothy Careful, to make a complaint