An end was put to this extraordinary scene by the Earl of Shrewsbury, who ordered him to pray.

4. His prayer was the echo of his sermon; but Mary heard him not. She was employed at the time in her devotions, repeating with a loud voice, and in the Latin language, passages from the book of Psalms, and, after the dean was reduced to silence, a prayer in French, in which she begged of God to pardon her sins, declared that she forgave her enemies, and protested that she was innocent of ever consenting, in wish or deed, to the death of her English sister. She then prayed in English for Christ's afflicted Church, for her son James, and for Queen Elizabeth, and in conclusion, holding up the crucifix, exclaimed, "As Thy arms, O God, were stretched out upon the cross, so receive me into the arms of Thy mercy and forgive my sins !"

5. When her maids, bathed in tears, began to disrobe their mistress, the executioners, fearing the loss of their usual perquisites, hastily interfered. The queen remonstrated, but instantly submitted to their rudeness, observing to the earls, with a smile, that she was not accustomed to employ such grooms or to undress in the presence of so numerous a company.

6. Her servants, at the sight of their sovereign in this lamentable state, could not suppress their feelings; but Mary, putting her finger to her lips, commanded silence, gave them her blessing, and solicited their Kennedy, tak

prayers. She then seated herself again. ing from her a handkerchief edged with gold, pinned it over her eyes; the executioners, holding her by the arms, led her to the block; and the queen, kneeling down, said repeatedly, with a firm voice, "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."

7. But the sobs and groans of the spectators disconcerted the headsman. He trembled, missed his aim, and inflicted a deep wound in the lower part of the skull. The queen remained motionless; and at the third stroke her head was severed from her body. When the executioner held it up, the muscles of the face were so strongly convulsed that the features could not be recognized. He cried, as usual, "God save Queen Elizabeth!"-"So perish all her enemies!" subjoined the Dean of Peterborough.—“ So perish all the enemies of the gospel!" exclaimed, in a still louder tone, the fanatical Earl of Kent. Not a voice was heard to cry "Amen!" Party feeling was absorbed in admiration and pity.

DEFINITIONS.—5. Per qui şîtes, allowances beyond the usual compensation or salary. Grooms, officers of a royal household. 7. Diseon çert ́ed, confused. Sub joined', added. Fa năt ́ic al, excessively enthusiastic.

NOTE.—Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, was born at Linlithgow, Scotland, about the 7th of December, 1542. She was the only surviving child of James V. and Mary of Guise. She was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle on the 8th of February, 1587.

83.-A PORTRAIT.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH was born in the county of Cumberland, England, April 7, 1770. He was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge. His earlier poems were severely criticised,-perhaps not without reason. His writings, however, improved; so that he soon gained the reputation of being one of the greatest poets of his time. The charms of natural simplicity are united in his poems with a depth of meditative pathos, and all his works show how strongly their author was impressed by the beauties of the material world. The Excursion is one of the longest of his poems, and perhaps the best known. He died April 23, 1850.

1. SHE was a phantom of delight

When first she gleamed upon my sight,

A lovely apparition, sent
To be a moment's ornament:
Her eyes as stars of twilight fair;
Like twilight's, too, her dusky hair;
But all things else about her drawn
From May-time and the cheerful dawn ;
A dancing shape, an image gay,
To haunt, to startle, and waylay.

2. I saw her, upon nearer view,
A spirit, yet a woman too;
Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin liberty;

A countenance in which did meet
Sweet records, promises as sweet ;
A creature not too bright or good
For human nature's daily food,—
For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.

3. And now I see with eye serene
The very pulse of the machine;
A being breathing thoughtful breath,
A traveler betwixt life and death;
The reason firm, the temperate will,
Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;
A perfect woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command ;
And yet a spirit still, and bright
With something of an angel light.

DEFINITIONS. 1. Ăp pa ri'tion, appearance. 2. Trăn ́sient, momentary. Wiles, sportive tricks.

84.-THE FISH-HAWK.

ALEXANDER WILSON was born at Paisley, Scotland, July 6, 1766. He was apprenticed while young to a weaver. While yet a lad he wrote several poems. In 1794 he came to the United States, where he earned his living first as an engraver, and afterward by teaching school. He devoted his leisure hours to collecting birds and studying their habits. His principal work, and one which has made his name famous, is American Ornithology, in nine volumes. He died August 23, 1813, while the seventh volume was passing through the press.

1. THIS formidable, vigorous-winged, and well-known bird subsists altogether on the finny tribes that swim in our bays, creeks, and rivers, procuring his prey by his own active skill and industry, and seeming no farther dependent on the land than as a mere resting-place, or, in the usual season, a spot of deposit for his nest, eggs, and young.

2. The fish-hawk is migratory, arriving on the coasts of New York and New Jersey about the 21st of March, and retiring to the South about the 22d of September. Heavy equinoctial storms may vary these periods of arrival and departure a few days; but long observation has ascertained that they are kept with remarkable regularity.

3. On the arrival of these birds in the northern parts of the United States, in March, they sometimes find the bays and ponds frozen, and experience a difficulty in procuring fish for many days. Yet there is no instance on record of their attacking birds or inferior land-animals with intent to feed on them, though their great strength of flight, as well as of feet and claws, would seem to render this no difficult matter. But they no sooner arrive than they wage war on the bald eagles as against a horde of robbers and banditti, sometimes succeeding, by force of numbers and perseverance, in driving them from their haunts, but seldom or never attacking them in single combat.

4. The first appearance of the fish-hawk in spring is