rapid streams, and steep hillsides covered with olive groves, vineyards, and fig-trees.

The Grotto at Antiparos, in Greece.

8. You would discover that the people of the present

K

day live in miserable villages or towns, all wearing an aspect of poverty and decay. But you would often meet with the ruins of temples and other edifices, built by the ancient Greeks two or three thousand years ago.

9. These would show you, that, though the modern Greeks appear to be a degraded people, yet the former inhabitants of this country were among the most remarkable people that ever lived. It is of these I am now going to tell you.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is Greece? In what direction is it from Asia Minor? From Egypt? Italy? France ? England? Russia? -2. How is Greece bounded on the north? East? South? West? The islands of Greece ?- -3. What of Antiparos ?4. Volcanic islands ?- -5. Climate in the southern part of Greece ? Northern ?- -6. What of the shores of Greece? To what pursuits are many of the present Greeks devoted?-7. The interior of Greece? -8. Present inhabitants of Greece? Ruins of temples, &c. ?-9. Do these ruins prove anything?

CHAPTER XLVII.

EUROPE continued.

-The extent of

Greece. First Settlement of the Country.

1. THOUGH Greece is one of the most famous countries on the face of the globe, it is not very extensive; its boundaries varied at different times, but it never exceeded four hundred miles in length, and about one hundred and fifty in width.

2. I must now carry you back to the first settlement of this country, which took place more than four thousand years ago. When the human race was scattered from the tower of Babel, it is supposed that the family of Japheth, Noah's youngest son, travelled from Asia into Europe. As Greece lay nearer to the land of Shinar than the other parts of Europe, it was probably settled first.

3. The Greeks themselves believed that their ancestors had sprung up out of the earth. The first inhabitants were, however, mere savages; they dwelt in wretched. huts, and fed on acorns, and their garments were the skins of wild beasts.

4. There are so many fables about the early history of Greece, that I shall pass very briefly over the first three or four centuries. Cecrops, an Egyptian, seems to have been the first who introduced civilization among the Greeks; he came with a number of his countrymen, and founded the city of Athens. This event took place about fifteen hundred and fifty-six years before the Christian

era.

5. Thirty or forty years afterwards, Cadmus came from Phoenicia, and built the city of Thebes. He was one of the greatest benefactors of the Greeks, for he taught them the cultivation of the vine, the art of working metals, and the use of the alphabet.

6. Other parts of Greece were also settled by colonies from foreign nations. The country was at length divided into a number of small states, which had little or no con

nexion with one another, but they were frequently at war among themselves.

7. Twelve of these states soon united themselves into a confederacy. Their deputies, who held a meeting twice a year, in order to consult respecting the welfare of the country, were called the council of the Amphictyons. By means of this council, the different states were kept at peace with each other, and were united against foreign enemies.

8. One of the famous events of Grecian history was the Argonautic expedition. It is said that a prince named Jason, with a company of his friends, sailed to Colchis, which lay eastward of the Black Sea; their object was to find a wonderful ram with a fleece of gold, but the whole story is supposed by some to be a fable.

9. The Trojan war was still more famous than the expedition in search of the golden fleece. Troy was a large city on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont, which is now called the Dardanelles. Paris, the son of the Trojan king, had stolen away the wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta.

10. All the Grecian kings combined together to punish this offence. They sailed to Troy in twelve hundred vessels, and took the city after a siege of ten years. This event is supposed to have occurred eleven hundred and eighty-three years before the Christian era.

11. But most historians are of opinion that the Trojan war was a much less important affair than Homer, the great Greek poet of those days, has represented it to be, for poets do not always write the simple truth. But Homer was worthy to be called the father and chief of poets, though he was a blind old man, and used to wander about the country, reciting his verses.

QUESTIONS. 1. Mention the extent of Greece? Its greatest length? Width ?- -2. How long since Greece was first settled ? The supposed first inhabitants of Greece? In which direction was

Greece from the land of Shinar? From Egypt?- -3. What did the Greeks believe of their ancestors? What of the first inhabitants of Greece?-4. By whom was civilization first introduced among the Greeks? What city was founded by Cecrops, and when? In what part of Greece was Athens ? Does Athens still exist? ANS. Yes; but the modern town is very mean, compared with ancient Athens. The ruins around it are very splendid.5. What of Cadmus? In which direction was Thebes from Athens? N. B. You must remember that there was a famous city in Egypt named Thebes. -6. How were other parts of Greece settled?-7. What did twelve of the Grecian states do? The Amphictyonic council? What effect had this council ?- -8. What of the Argonautic expedition? 9. Of the Trojan war?

-11. Of Homer?

CHAPTER XLVIII. EUROPE continued.- -The Grecian Lawgivers.

1. ONE of the principal states of Greece was called Sparta, or Lacedæmon. It was founded by Lelex, 1516 before Christ, and received a code of laws from Lycurgus, who lived nearly nine centuries before Christ. He was strict and severe, but wise and upright.

2. Lycurgus ordered that all the Spartans should eat together at public tables. The reason of this law was, that the rich citizens might not feast luxuriously at home, but that rich and poor should fare alike. The children, were not allowed anything to eat, unless they could steal it. This wicked custom was adopted with the idea that it would train up the young Spartans to be cunning in war.

3. In order that the people might not be avaricious, Lycurgus forbade any gold or silver to be coined into money, so all the money was made of iron. It could not very easily be carried in the pocket, for five shillings' worth weighed fifty pounds of our weight.

4. The children were all brought up at the public expense. They were allowed to stand near the dinner-tables and listen to the wise conversation of their parents, but the Spartans were very anxious that their children should abhor drunkenness.