13. For, faithful to its sacred page, Nor lets the type grow pale with age QUESTIONS. 2. What did the rainbow seem to the author when a child? 6. Why was the rainbow placed in the sky? 9. What was the muse? 1. Pend'ent, hanging. LESSON XXXIX. Spell and Define. 1. Ex'qui-site, very fine, extreme. 3. Man-u-fac'tur-ed, made by art. 5. Prec'i-pi-ces, steep descents. 6. Con'fines, the boundaries of a country. 7. Prov'in-ces, subordinate countries. ERRORS. 1. Man-e-fac'tur-ed for man-u-fac'tur-ed; 2. pints for points ; 3. state'munt for statement ; 3. mount'ings for mount'ains; 4. fu'ter for future; 5. be-yend' for be-yond'; 5. lar'ders for ladders. THE CASHMERE SHAWLS. 1. THE Cashmere shawls, so much prized by the fashionables of this country and Europe,' are manufactured from the wool of the Cashmere goat, which is found along the Ural river in Thibet.c This goat is covered with a silky hair, long, fine, flat, and pendent, — and with an under vest of grayish wool, of exquisite delicacy. 2. In stature, it equals the moderate-sized goat of this country, and is robust and active; the horns are nearly erect, spiral, and diverging at the points; the ears are erect, and like the rest of the body, covered with long silky hairs, 3. The Cashmere shawl is costly, even in the country where it is manufactured, and can be purchased here, only, at a great NOTES. a Cashmere (kash-mère'); a town in the northern part of Hindostan, where Cashmere shawls were first manufactured. b See Europe, p. 109, note c. • Thibet (tib'et); a mountainous country in the western part of the Chinese empire. The price, as may be seen from the following statement. wool is first combed from the animal in the mountains of Thibet, where it is sold for about one dollar and twenty cents a pound. It is then packed in baskets, and sent to Cashmere, where it pays a duty on entry. 4. It is there bleached, spun into threads, and taken to the bazaar, where another tax is paid upon it. The thread is then dyed, the shawl woven, and the border sewed on; but the weaver cannot sell his work; he must carry it to the customhouse, where the collector puts on any tax he pleases, and in this he is limited only by the fear of ruining the weaver altogether, and consequently losing any future profit. 5. All the shawls intended for Europe, are now packed up and sent beyond the Indus." This part of the journey is generally performed on foot; for the road, in many parts, is impassable even for mules, being across deep precipices, which must be traversed by swinging bridges of ropes, and perpendicular rocks, which are climbed with ladders. 6. At each station of this long journey, which lasts twenty days, a tax is paid; generally arbitrary, but seldom exceeding ten dollars on the whole journey. From this point, until they come near the confines of Europe, in addition to the many custom-houses at which they pay tribute, these unlucky shawls have to encounter the dangers of almost continual anarchy in Afghanistan," and the risk of pillage by the inhabitants of Persia, whose forbearance must be purchased at a high price. 7. After leaving Persia, many shawls get to England over the Caucasus, and through Russia; but the largest number reach Constantinople through the Turkish provinces,' and even NOTES. - a In'dus; a large river forming a part of the western boundary of Hindostan. b Afghanistan (af-gå-nis-tän'); a country lying between Hindostan on the east, and Persia on the west. Persia (pur'she-a); a country lying between Afghanistan on the east, and Turkey on the west. d Caucasus (kau'kā-sus); a chain of mountains about 3 miles high, between the Caspian and Black seas. e Con-stan-ti-no'ple; the capital of Turkey, and anciently called Byzantium. fTurkish provinces; countries under the government of Turkey. then, they have a tedious journey to perform before they reach the place of their destination, to grace the forms of their fair wearers, in the different parts of Europe, and the United States. QUESTIONS. 1. Of what are the Cashmere shawls made? 1. Where is the Cashmere goat found? 1. What is Cashmere? 1. What is Thibet? 3. What is the woo! worth per pound where it is combed from the goat? 4. How are the shawls manfactured from the wool? 5. How are they transported beyond the Indus ? 5. What is the Indus? 6. How often is a tax paid upon them? 6. What is Afghanistan? 6. What is Persia? 7. How do the shawls get to England after leaving Persia? 7. What is the Caucasus? 7. What is said of Constantinople? 7. Wha! are the Turkish provinces ? LESSON XL. Spell and Define. 1. Ter'ri-to-ry, an extent of country. 4. Lo-ca'tion, situation as to place. 5. Im-bos'om-ed, inclosed. 5. Guard'i-ans, protectors. 8. Stud'ded, set with ornaments. 10. Antlers, the horns of the stag. 14. Gorge, a narrow passage between 15. Bat'tle-ments, walls of defense. 15. A-maze'ment, astonishment. ERRORS.1. Wil'der-niss for wil'der-ness; 1. mead'er for mead'ow; 4. grand'ur for grand'eur; 4. in-cred'er-ble for in-cred'i-ble; 5. guar'je-ans for guard'i-ans, 6. toller-bly for tol'er-a-bly; 7. scen'ry for scen'er-y; 8. i'ry for ey'ry; 15. shud' dring for shudder-ing; 17. hol'low-ed for hal'low-ed. SCENERY IN NEW YORK. J. TODD. 1. THERE is yet, in the north-eastern part of New York," a wilderness almost unbroken and unexplored, embracing a territory considerably larger than the whole of Massachusetts," exhibiting every variety of soil, from the bold, mountain that ifts its head far beyond the vegetable world, to the most beautiful meadow land, on which the eye ever rested. NOTES. a New York; one of the Middle States, situated north of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. b Massachu'setts; one of the New England States, situated south of Vermont and New Hampshire. 2. The soil is mostly primitive, composed of ranges and groups of lofty mountains and deep valleys, with beautiful intervals, alongside of the rivers, which have been washed down from the sides of the mountains. Say what we will about the fertility and glories of the everlasting flats of the West, the primitive soil is associated with what man loves, and what makes men. 3. It is connected with the blue mountains, and the pure air which flows over them. It is associated with the leaping brook, the gushing waterfall, and the pure waters which come rushing down from their mountain home; with manufactories and industry, thrift, health, a bracing climate, and a virtuous community. 4. The grandeur and number of mountains in this wilderness,arealmost incredible, while the lakes defy any attempts at description. There are more than two hundred of these whose names I know, and with whose location I am acquainted, counting none whose diameter is less than two miles, while some of them are fifteen, eighteen, and twenty miles the longest way. 5. Most of these lakes are imbosomed among mountains, which seem to hang round them like rough but stern guardians. The highest of these, Blue Mountain lake, is over eighteen hundred feet higher than Lake Champlain. 6. It would take a man in vigorous health, using all the strength and diligence which he could possibly command, at least six months, to visit all these lakes, so as to obtain any tolerably correct notions of them. 7. The scenery, on these lakes, is grand and beautiful beyond anything of which I ever conceived. The lakes of Scotland have been celebrated of old, in story and in song, but the time с NOTES.—a Primitive soil; a soil formed from the disintegration of primitive rocks, as granite, gneiss, &c. The flats or prairies of the West are alluvial soil. c Lake Champlain'; a lake lying between New York and Vermont, 120 miles in length. d Scot land; that part of Great Britain lying north of the Cheviot hills and the river Tweed. will come, I doubt not, when these lakes will become the most interesting resort to be found in this country, for the great, the rich, the curious, and the fashionable. 8. Most of them are surrounded with forests which grow on the water's edge, and glass themselves in mirrors which reflect every leaf; most are studded with romantic islands, covered with the mighty forest, where the eagle finds a home unmolested, unless, peradventure, the hunter causes the smoke of his camp to curl up among the trees, and scare him from his eyry. 9. Of all the sheets of water upon which my eyes ever rested, and I say this after having passed through Lake George four times, and among the "thousand islands" of the St. Lawrence' twice, under the most favorable circumstances, none will compare with Racket lake, for sublime and mysterious beauty. C 10. Two hundred persons have selected this spot as their permanent home, where they have built the hunter's lodge of bark, and adorned it with the antlers of many a stag, and with many a trophy of the art and skill of man, over the instincts of the forest; and if they had an eye on the grand and beautiful, I should not wonder at their choice. 11. But Racket lake is not alone in its power, to create deep emotions in the soul. If you were out on Tupper's laked in your little boat, so light and frail, that your guide can carry it on his head for miles through the wilderness, you might look up the lake, and see the islands extending for miles in length. 12. Then in the long distance, say ten miles off, you see the white pathway of Bog river, as it comes .out of its dark NOTES.- —a Lake George; a beautiful lake in the eastern part of New York, 33 miles in length. It is celebrated for the transparency of its waters, and the beautiful scenery about it. b St. Lawrence; a large river separating New York, in part, on the north from Canada. Racket lake; a small lake west of the southern extremity of Lake Champlain. d Tupper's lake; a lake south of Racket lake. |