lowest of all, the melted rock itself, which is called lava.

And where would that come out? At the top of the chimney? At the top of the cone?

The melted lava rises in the crater-the funnel inside the cone—but it never gets to the top. It is so enormously heavy that the sides of the cone cannot bear its weight, and give way low down. And then, through ashes and cinders, the melted lava burrows out, twisting and twirling like an enormous fiery earthworm, till it gets to the air outside, and runs off down the mountain in a stream of fire. And so you may see two eruptions at once-one of burning stones above, and one of melted lava below.

-CHARLES KINGSLEY (Abridged).

downs: hilly land.-Eifel (ï' fěl): a range of hills in Germany.

Life is a leaf of paper white

Whereon each one of us may write
His word or two; and then comes night.

Though thou have time

But for a line, be that sublime;

Not failure, but low aim, is crime.

-JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

ARMIES IN THE FIRE

The lamps now glitter down the street;
Faintly sound the falling feet;

And the blue even slowly falls

About the garden trees and walls.

Now in the falling of the gloom
The red fire paints the empty room:
And warmly on the roof it looks,
And flickers on the backs of books.

Armies march by tower and spire
Of cities blazing, in the fire;—
Till as I gaze with staring eyes,
The armies fade, the lustre dies.

Then once again the glow returns;
Again the phantom city burns;
And down the red-hot valley, lo!
The phantom armies marching go!

Blinking embers, tell me true

Where are those armies marching to,
And what the burning city is

That crumbles in your furnaces!

-ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.

lustre (lŭs' tẽr): brightness.-phan'tom: ghostlike.

THE GREAT SNOWBALL FIGHT AT

BRIENNE SCHOOL

PART I

That Snowball Fight is now famous. It was in the winter of 1783. Snow fell heavily; drifts piled up in the schoolyard at Brienne. The schoolboys marveled and exclaimed; for such a snowfall was rare in France. Then they began to shiver and grumble. They shivered at the cold, to which they were not accustomed; they grumbled at the snow which, by covering their playground, kept them from their usual out-of-door sports, and held them for a time prisoners within the dark schoolrooms.

Suddenly the young Napoleon had an idea.

"What is snow for, my brothers," he exclaimed, "if not to be used? Let us use it. What say you to a snow fort and a siege? Who will join me?"

It was a novel idea; and, with all the boyish love for something new and exciting, the boys of Brienne entered into the plan at once.

"The fort, the fort, young Straw-nose!" they cried. "Show us what to do! Let us build it at once!"

With Napoleon as director, they straightway set to work. The boy had an excellent head for such things; and his mathematical knowledge, together with the preparatory study in fortifications he had already pursued in the school, did him good service.

He was not satisfied with simply piling up mounds of snow. He built regular works on a scientific plan. The snow 66 packed well," and the boys worked like beavers. With spades and brooms and hands and homemade wooden shovels, they built under Napoleon's directions a snow fort that set all Brienne wondering and admiring.

It took some days to build this wonderful fort. For the boys could work only in the hours of recess. But at last, when all was ready, Napoleon separated the boys into two unequal divisions. The smaller number was to hold the fort as defenders; the larger number was to form the besieging force.

At the head of the besiegers was Napoleon. Who was captain of the fort I do not know. His name has not come down to us. But the story of the Snowball Fight has.

For days the battle raged. At every recess hour the forces gathered for the exciting sport. The rule was that when once the fort was captured, the besiegers were to become its possessors, and were, in turn, to defend it from its late occupants, who were now the attacking army, increased to the required number by certain of the less skillful fighters of the successful army.

Napoleon was in his element. He was a dashing leader; but he was skillful too; and he never lost his head.

Again and again, as leader of the storming party, he would direct the attack; and at just the right moment, in the face of a shower of snowballs, he would dash from his post of observation, head the assaulting army, and, scaling the walls with the fire of victory in his eye and the shout of encouragement on his lips, would lead his soldiers over the ramparts, and with a last dash drive the defeated defenders out from the fortification.

The snow held for nearly ten days; the fight kept up as long as the snow walls, often repaired and strengthened, would hold together.

The thaw, that relentless enemy of all snow sports, came to the attack at last, and gradually dismantled the fortifications; snow for ammunition grew thin and poor, and gravel become more and more a part of the snowball manufacture.

Napoleon tried to prevent this, for he knew the danger from such weapons. But often, in the heat of battle, his commands were disregarded. One boy especially, named Bouquet, was careless or vindictive in this matter.

On the last day of the snow, Napoleon saw young Bouquet packing snowballs with dirt and gravel, and commanded him to stop. But Bouquet only flung out a hot "I won't!" at the commander, and launched his snowball against the decaying fort.

Napoleon was just about to head the grand assault.