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had called them to another sphere, Sir Walter Scott thus speaks:

Drop upon Fox's grave the tear,

"Twill trickle to his rival's bier;

O'er PITT's the mournful requiem sound,
And Fox's shall the notes rebound.
The solemn echo seems to cry,

"Here let their discord with them die;
Speak not for those a separate doom,
Whom fate made brothers in the tomb;
But search the land of living men,

Where wilt thou find their like again?"

1. What was Lord Chatham's object, with respect to his younger children? -and why?

2. Of what character was the person and physiognomy of William Pitt?

3. What quality brought this great statesman into notice?

4. What is said of Mr. Pitt's integrity?

LESSON XXIV.-JANUARY THE TWENTY-FOURTH.

Adrian.

In the year 76 of the Christian era, and on this day of the month, was born, at Rome, the Emperor Adrian. He entered early into the army, and became tribune of the legion. He married Sabina, the heiress of Trajan, whom he accompanied in his expeditions, and became successively prætor, governor of Pannonia, and consul. On the death of Trajan, in 117, he assumed the government, made peace with the Persians, and remitted the debts of the Roman people.

No monarch travelled more than Adrian. In 120 he visited Gaul, from whence he crossed over to Britain, where he built a wall from the mouth of the Tyne to Solway Frith, eighty miles in length, to secure the Roman province from the incursions of the Caledonians.

On leaving Britain he went into Africa and Asia, and was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries at Athens, in 125.

In his reign the Christians suffered a dreadful persecution. He built a temple to Jupiter on Mount Calvary, and placed a statue of Adonis in the manger of Bethlehem; he also had the images of swine engraved on the gates of Jerusalem. He died at Baiæ, in the sixty-third year of his age, having reigned twenty-one years.

A short time before his death he was tranquil enough to write a few lines on the occasion, in a strain of tender levity, which have been rendered famous by several translations and imitations.

Animula vagula, blandula,
Hospes, comesque corporis,
Quæ nunc abibis in loca,
Pallidula, rigida, nudula?
Nec ut soles, dabis jocos.

Little, courteous, wand'ring thing,
Whither wilt thou turn thy wing,
The body's friend and guest?
Pale and naked, cold as clay,
Forgot, alas! thy wonted play,

Where wilt thou take thy rest?

1. What did Adrian on the death of Trajan? 2. What countries did Adrian visit ?

3. When in Britain what did he build?

4. What befel the Christians in his reign?

5. What did Adrian do a short time before his death? 6. Repeat the English verse.

LESSON XXV.-JANUARY THE TWENTY-FIFTH.

Description of Russian Manners—their Dwarfs, &c. THE Russians seem to hold a place in their habits, manners, and pursuits, between the Europeans and Asiatics. They have a great deal of the intelligence, the activity, and the shrewdness of the former, with no small degree of the cunning, the pride, and the selfishness of the latter. Their taste for slaves and magnificence is quite oriental; but they have social and convivial dispositions which do not belong to the Asiatics. The custom among the Muscovite nobility of keeping dwarfs is peculiar to themselves; and the following description of these unfortunates is given by an author who had ample opportunities during his intercourse with the best society there, of correctly delineating them:

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They are the pages and the playthings of the great; and at almost all entertainments stand for hours by their lord's chair, holding his snuff-box, or waiting his commands. There is scarcely a nobleman in this country who is not possessed of one or more of these freaks of nature; but in their selection I cannot say that the

DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIAN MANNERS.

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noblesse display their gallantry, as they choose none but males.

"These little beings are generally the gayest drest persons in the service of their lord, and are attired in a uniform or livery of very costly materials. In the presence of their owner their usual station is at his elbow, in the character of a page; and during his absence, they are then responsible for the cleanliness and combed locks of their companions of the canine species.

"Besides these Lilliputians, many of the nobility keep a fool or two, like the motleys of our court in the days of Elizabeth; but like in name alone, for their wit, if they ever had any, is swallowed up by indolence. Savoury sauce and rich repasts swell their bodies to the most disgusting size; and, lying about in the corners of some slendid saloon, they sleep profoundly, till awakened by command of their lord to amuse the company. Shaking their enormous bulk, they rise from their trance, and, supporting their unwieldy trunks against the wall, drawl out their heavy nonsense, with as much grace as the motions of a sloth in the hands of a reptile fancier. One glance was sufficient for me of these imbruted creatures; and with something like pleasure, I turned from them, to the less humiliating view of human nature in the dwarf.

"The race of these unfortunates is very diminutive in Russia, and numerous. They are generally well-shaped, and their hands and feet particularly graceful. Indeed, in the proportion of their figures, we should nowhere discover them to be flaws in the economy of nature, were it not for a peculiarity of feature and the size of the head, which is usually exceedingly enlarged. Take them on the whole, they are such compact, and even pretty little beings, that no idea can be formed of them from the clumsy deformed dwarfs which are exhibited at our fairs in England. I cannot say that we need envy Russia this part of her offspring. It is very curious to observe how very nearly they resemble each other; their features are all so alike, that you might easily imagine that one pair had spread their progeny over the whole country."

1. In what respect do the Russians seem to partake both of the European and Asiatic character?

2. What custom is peculiar to the Muscovite nobility?

3. What is the occupation of these diminutives when in attendance on their owners?

4. Describe the personal appearance of the Russian dwarfs.

LESSON XXVI.

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JANUARY THE TWENTY-SIXTH.

A Squire of Queen Anne's Time.

He was an independent gentleman of about three hundred pounds per annum, who commonly appeared in a plain drab or plush coat, large silver buttons, a jockey cap, and rarely without boots. His travels never exceeded the distance of the county town, and that only at assize and session time, or to attend an election. Once a week he usually dined at the next market-town, with the attorneys and justices. This man went to church regularly, read the weekly journals, settled the parochial disputes between the parish officers at the vestry, and afterwards adjourned to the neighbouring ale-house, where he frequently got drunk, either merely to gratify his bibulous propensity, or in discussing a political topic with a few more gentlemen of his own grade, in which case he no doubt right loyally thought that it was for the good of his country.

He was commonly followed by a couple of greyhounds and a pointer, and announced his arrival at a neighbour's house by smacking his whip, or giving the view-halloo. His drink was generally ale, except on Christmas, the 5th of November, or some other gala days, when he would make a bowl of strong brandy punch, garnished with a toast and nutmeg. A journey to London was, by one of these men, reckoned as great an undertaking as is at present a voyage to the East Indies, and undertaken with scarcely less precaution and preparation.

The mansion of one of these squires was of plaster striped with timber, not unaptly called calamanco-work, or of red brick, large casemented bow windows, a porch with seats in it, and over it a study; the eaves of the house well inhabited by swallows, and the court set round with hollyhocks. Near the gate was a horse-block for the convenience of mounting.

The

The hall was furnished with flitches of bacon, and the mantel-piece with guns and fishing-rods of different dimensions, accompanied by the broad-sword, partizan, and dagger, borne by his ancestor in the civil wars. vacant spaces were occupied by stags' horns. Against the wall was pasted King Charles's Golden Rules, Vincent Wing's Almanack, and a portrait of the Duke of Marlborough; in his window lay Baker's Chronicle, Fox's Book of Martyrs, Glanvil on Apparitions, Quincey's

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Dispensatory, the Complete Justice, and the Book of Farriery.

In the corner, by the fireside, stood a large wooden two-armed chair with a cushion, and within the chimneycorner were a couple of seats. Here, at Christmas, he entertained his tenants, assembled round a glowing fire made of the roots of trees and other great logs, and told and heard the traditionary tales of the village respecting ghosts and witches, till fear made them afraid to move. In the mean time the jorum of ale was in continual circulation.

The best parlour, which was never opened but on particular occasions, was furnished with Turk-worked chairs, and hung round with portraits of his ancestors; the men in the character of shepherds, with their crooks, dressed in full suits and huge full-bottomed perukes; others in complete armour or buff coats, playing on the bass-viol or lute. The females likewise as shepherdesses, with the lamb and crook, all habited in high heads and flowing robes.

"Alas!" exclaims the octogenarian of our own day, "alas! these men and these houses are no more!"

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1. How did the Squire of Queen Anne's time occupy himself on a Sunday?

2. What was his idea of a journey to London ?

3. How was the Squire's hall furnished?

LESSON XXVII.

JANUARY THE TWENTY-SEVENTH.

Lord Hood.

On this day, in 1816, expired Samuel Lord Viscount Hood, aged ninety-two. He was the eldest son of the Rev. Samuel Hood, vicar of Butley, in Somerset, and afterwards of Thorncombe, in Devonshire, at which last place his lordship was born in 1724. He went to sea at the age of sixteen, and after serving six years, was made a lieutenant. In 1754 he became a master and commander; and for his gallantry in taking a fifty-gun ship, was made post-captain in 1759. In 1778 he was appointed commissioner of Portsmouth dockyard, which place he resigned in 1780, and was made rear-admiral. With this rank he sailed to the West Indies, where he defeated the attempt made upon St. Christopher's by Count de Grasse.

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