THE ROMANS.-JULIUS CÆSAR. W. Shall we hear of a king today, papa?

P. Yes, of an Emperor. Oh! once there was such confusion in the Island, and such running about from place to place. From one forest to another, from mountain to mountain, away went the messengers! Through the valleys, across the lakes, the cry was, "Get ready your arms!" "Drive the sheep and cattle into the woods!" "Bring forth the chariots!" and in a very short time many large oaks were felled, and were piled up at the entrance to the woods, as barricades to protect the cattle.

The corn was hastily cut down, and gathered in. The fields were laid bare. And, from far distant tribes of Britons, there hurried across the country warriors with swords, iavelins, arrows, and spears. They were all going to one place; and, if you had gone with them, you would have heard, as you came near, a burr of wheels, and a trampling of horses: and, when you had come in sight, you would have seen crowds of blue men. W. Blue men, papa?

P. Yes, for they used to stain their bodies with the juice of a plant called "Woad," to give themselves a terrible appearance.

There you would also have seen long rows of chariots and horses moving to and fro. These chariots had scythes fastened to their wheels; and, whilst the horses dragged them along at full gallop, up steep and awkward places, the drivers would run along the pole to which their horses were fastened, or would leap on the ground, and quickly jump back to their places. Then the warriors in the chariots would brandish their spears, to show how they meant to fight soon.

W. Ah! They were "exercising," I suppose. Who was their captain?

P. Each tribe had its own captain, or leader. The leaders of the different tribes had met; and, according to their custom, had chosen a commander-in-chief. His name was CASSIBELAUNUS.

L. But what was the matter, papa, that the people should make so much bustle all at once?

P. CESAR had come again. L. Who was Cæsar, that he should frighten them so?

(You

P. I will tell you. At the south of Europe, a long way from England, is a country called ITALY. can easily find it on the map.) In Italy was a place called ROME. Rome was the most wonderful and powerful city in the world, for the Romans had conquered nearly all the nations they had heard of; and now they thought that, of course, they ought to conquer Britain too. L. Why, papa?

P. You should have asked JULIUS CESAR who so frightened the Britons. He was one of their great Generals, and had already killed thousands of people in Europe. He had two reasons for coming to Britain. 1st. He said that the Britons had been fighting against him when he was conquering the Gauls-which was true. had heard from some merchants that the Britons had large mines of tin and copper; rivers with pearls in them; and rich lands, which would grow corn; so he thought he would go and take them for himself.

W. What robbery!

2nd. He

P. People would not call that robbery, Willie; they would call it "taking a prize." We will talk about taking prizes soon.

However, Cæsar determined to

He had been conquer Britain. there the year before, but had lost many of his ships in a storm. This time, he came with eight thousand ships, and galleys rowed with oars. The ships were full of foot-soldiers and horse-soldiers. They passed the tall white cliffs at Dover, where they had met the Britons the year before, and arrived at a shallow place. Here the soldiers landed in regular order, following the bright eagles, which the Romans used for standards.

There were many battles between Cæsar and Cassibelaunus. The Romans must have had some very hard work, for Cæsar has written in one of his books, that when the chariots were brought, his men were "astonished and confounded at this new way of fighting." But in course of time Cæsar drove the Britons before him. He plundered their villages, and set them on fire. He destroyed their pretty farms, killed the cattle and sheep, and thousands of the Britons themselves. He forced others to hide themselves in the woods and marshes; until at length they laid down their arms, and agreed that every year they would pay the Romans a great deal of money, as tribute.

He

Ion. I think I know now why Cæsar fought with them. wanted their money.

P. That was certainly one reason; but when Cæsar went back again

to Rome, the people made what they called "a triumph" for him, and called him a conqueror. They said he had done a good thing, and that it was all A GREAT GLORY!

W. I wonder whether GOD said that it was a glory. How many thousands of spirits must have come to him from those dead soldiers! They must have told him all about it.

P. There is not time to talk on this subject now. I do not think you know yet what "a glory" is. Let us set to work, and make up two lessons-the lesson for last Wednesday and to-day.

W. Now, Lucy, write down

LESSONS 2 AND 3.*

(4.) In KENT, the part of Britain which is opposite France, the people lived in an agricultural state; they were HUSBANDMEN.

(5.) The poor Britons did not know the true God, but were taught about false gods by Priests, called DRUIDS.

(6.) The Roman General, JULIUS CESAR, came over to the Island of Britain to conquer it.

(7.) The Britons bravely resisted the Romans, under their general, CasSIBELAUNUS; but, at last, they were conquered, and made to pay tribute.

The children who read these chapters will find it very easy to commit the lessons to memory as they proceed. They should then repeat them, from the beginning, to their parents, once a week.

L. It comes from an animal-so it is an animal substance.

W. It is nutritious.

Mamma. Not very. Proceed. You have five senses. You may see it, · feel it, hear it, taste it, and smell it.

Ion. Oh, let me hear it, mamma. I do not hear anything. It is quiet. M. Yes, we all know that, but quietness is not a quality in the butter.

L. It has a smell, mamma.

M. It has a little smell. Tell me some other things which have a smell.

Ada. The flowers growing in the long glasses in the parlour-window.

Ion. The hyacinths, she means. Roses have a smell. So has lavender water. Hair oil has a smell, mamma; what do you call things when they have a smell?

M. We say then that they are odorous. Let me hear if one of you can count up twelve odorous things?

L. I will try. Butter is odorous. So are flowers, and the hay in the fields. Honey-soap. (W. And yellow soap too.) Onions. Pomatum. Cedar-wood. Turpentine. Morocco leather. (No, all leather.) Medicine. Peppermint-drops. Smoke. Lucifer matches, and pastiles.

Ion. And linen is odorous, if you scorch it by the fire.

M. Now let us return to THE

BUTTER. Observe it more carefully still. It has other qualities. Feel it. Ion. It is smooth.

L. I think I said that it is soft?

W. Yes, you may see that it is soft, for there is an impression of a swan on it, and I could make an impression on it with a seal, just as you can on soft sealing-wax.

Ion. But you cannot make an impression on all soft things. Wool is soft, so are feathers, and sponge, and cloth, and fur; but if you make an impression on these things they will not keep it-they will return to their own shape again.

W. Mamma, what must we call soft things which will keep an impression?

M. You may say that they are impressible. Try to think of some impressible substances.

W. Soap is impressible. So is Sealing-wax, and Gutta Percha, when it is soft, Wax, Clay, Plaster of Paris, and Putty. The mould in my garden is impressible. Last night Lucy made an impression of her foot on it, by accident. Wafers, too, are impressible, so is Dough, and Tallow

L. I have thought of another quality. The plate on which the Butter is placed,-if you were to leave it on the table for a year it would not change; but the butter, in less than a year, would become very bad.

M.. Yes, its particles would separate from one another, it would change, or decompose, as we say. Everything which has had life will decompose, or perish. So you may say it is perishable.

L. But, Mamma, what is it called because it has not any life now? You do not say it is dead, do you?

M. I must not tell you now. Suppose you learn the qualities you

have discovered already. Who can repeat them?

Ion. I can, mamma. I wrote them down on a piece of paper as we found them out. Butter is sticky, greasy, yellow, opaque, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, sometimes liquid, nice, edible, nutritious, and an animal substance. It is odorous, smooth, impressible, and perishable.

M. Now let us make its history. What must we have before we can make butter?

W. A Cow.

Ion. Yes, and many other things: hands to make it with. We should have to coax Mrs. Cow to give us milk.

M. And if you were to examine the milk carefully, you would find that one part is watery and sweet, and another part oily. When the Farmer wishes to procure butter from the milk, it is poured into a broad pan, and left there for twelve hours.

You know that oil is lighter than water, so the oily part of milk, being very light, rises to the top, and when the dairy-maid comes in the morning, she finds a thick coating on itcovering all the surface-and she calls it Cream.

She then skims the Cream from the Milk, and puts it in a long, round-shaped box, called a CHURN. Here she shakes and stirs it into a froth, and in about half an hour all the watery particles in the cream separate from those which are oily. The watery part is called Butter-milk, and is given to the Pigs, and the oily part is called Butter, and is given to

W. Good boys like Willie. Ion. Which are the principal butter-making places, mamina?

M. London is supplied from different parts of England, chiefly from Buckinghamshire, and part of Ox

ford. It is also brought from Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Cambridge; it can now be sent by Railway, from almost any part.

The salt butter, used in the kitchen, is not generally made in England. It is packed up in tubs, which are imported.

W. What does that mean, mamma? M. "Imported" means brought from foreign countries, into one of our ports. I will see if you can tell me where it is imported from. The ship which brings it has to cross the English channel; it comes from a country not far from France, where the land is, in some parts, lower than the sea.

W. Then why does not the sea overflow it, and drown the people?

M. That I will tell you some other time. In that country there is fine pasture land, and there are many Cows; so the people not only make butter, but a very great number of round cheeses-you may see them at the cheesemonger's-they look like large balls.

Ion. Oh! they are Dutch cheeses. The Dutch people live in HOLLAND. I remember now,-I have often heard the name-Dutch Butter. M. Now make up the lesson. No. 3. BUTTER.

BUTTER is an animal substance, which is sticky, greasy, yellow, opaque, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, and sometimes liquid. It is nice, edible, nutritious, odorous, smooth, impressible, and perishable.

It is made from the oily part of milk, called Cream, by stirring it very quickly in a churn.

Butter is brought to London from Buckinghamshire; part of Oxford, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, Cambridge, and other places. Salt Butter is made in HOLLAND.

FLUIDS.-CALORIC.

Lucy. It is half-past eight by the hall-clock. I wonder whether papa will give us our lesson before he goes.

W. Yes, he will be here soon; but there is a gentleman with him in the parlour.

Ion. I have been trying to make a Physical Geography drawingPapa called it a "scribble"-but I think ADOLF would like it if he were to see it. You see the blacklooking globe- that is the solid part-the EARTH. Some parts of the outside are higher than the others. These are the dry land, where men and animals live.

Then, the part which is not so dark is the liquid part-the WATER which flows over it.

L. You should say, Ion, that it flows over a great part of the earth. You have forgotten the dry land again. I have read in my geographybook, that, if you were to divide the surface of the Earth into three parts, two parts would be covered with water, and one part would be dry.

Ion. Now look at the other part of my picture. This outside part, which I have made very light, is the fluid part-the AIR. It is very thin. I could hardly make marks which were light enough-and Papa says that it becomes thinner, and thinner, the farther it is from the Earth; so that, if a man could go up very high indeed, he could not live in it.

W. What! Too thin for him to breathe! I should have thought that where it is very thin, he would breathe more easily. I know that when air is thick, on foggy days, it is very hard to breathe.

L. But the air becomes thinner, because it has so few particles ;

perhaps, in time, there would be no particles at all. What would you do then?

W. Then I would not take the trouble to breathe. What is the use of air, I wonder, going up your nose and down your throat all day?

Ion. It must have some use. You don't suppose that God would make it for nothing, do you? Papa will tell us, I dare say.

W. Oh, I wish papa would come! We shall be late at school, and shall have to take a note with us. Yesterday, I thought of something that will puzzle you. What is butter, a solid, liquid, or fluid?

Ion. A solid, to be sure.

W. But, if you put it near the fire?

Ion. Oh! then it would be melte butter. I did not talk about that.

W. But in summer it melts, and becomes oily. You call it "butter" then.

L. It is one of those substances which change easily. In the winter it is solid-in the summer, liquidand if you make it very hot, put it in a spoon over the candle, it will burst into a flame.

suppose.

IV. Then it is fluid, I I wonder whether flame is a fluid. I will ask papa.

you

Ion. I know of something else which you often find in three different states. It is generally liquid, so that we can swim in it; but, heat it, its particles will spread over a great space. I saw a copper half full of it once-and, when it was made hot by the fire underneath, its particles rose up in the air, like smoke, and spread themselves all over the washhouse.

W. Ah! To get away from the heat, and cool themselves, I suppose?

Ion. I do not know, but they