The reigns of the first and second George were marked by no very distinguishing features. George II., like his father, was rather German than English in habits and sympathies; and the country progressed more by virtue of its sound constitutional institutions than from any special care of the Crown.

For some time after the Hanoverian line had been recognised by the parliament and nation, the successors of the Stuart line, in the persons of the two Pretenders, asserted claims to the throne, and caused some uneasiness. But their followers, the Jacobites, were never very formidable, and the cause became quite hopeless after the battle of Culloden, in 1746.

During the reign of Anne, the country progressed both in industry and literature. In 1707, the union ot the two parliaments of Scotland and England took place, and it was about this time, too, that the Duke of Marlborough gained such military glory in his great campaign against France, which was ended by the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713.

The next preceding reign, that of William III. (at first conjointly with his wife, Mary, the daughter of James II., and afterwards alone,) was one of great importance, It was ushered in by what is commonly known as the "Glorious Revolution of 1688." To understand this great event it is necessary to go back some two hundred years in our history.

The Tudor sovereigns, beginning with Henry VII. in 1485, and ending with Elizabeth in 1603, had by virtue of great personal ability, materially extended the English power at home and abroad. In doing this, they had often stretched the royal authority beyond its just constitutional limits; and although the people often mur

mured at this curtailment of their liberties, yet as a rule, they submitted to sovereigns of so much power and

success.

During this Tudor period took place the great religious revolution we call the Reformation. The writings of Wycliffe and other causes had been working for generations in this direction, and at last, Henry VIII. having quarrelled with the Pope, renounced the papal supremacy in England, and declared himself supreme head of the Church. Before long, the ancient abbeys were overturned; and in the time of Edward VI. and Elizabeth, the Church of England was reformed and established on its present basis.

This was an age of immense progress in every direction. After bravely repulsing the Armada, England became the "Queen of the Ocean," and our modern English society began rapidly to form itself.

EXERCISES..-I. Define,-Succeeded, liberty, inheritance, government, colonies, monarchy, integrity, and sympathies. 2. Trace the chief sovereigns and events from Victoria to William III. 3. Write the most noteworthy events of the reign of George III.

Dear Joseph, five-and-twenty years ago,-
Alas! how time escapes, 'tis even so !—
With frequent intercourse and always sweet
And always friendly, we were wont to cheat
A tedious hour,-and now we never meet.
As some grave gentleman in Terence says
('Twas therefore much the same in ancient days),
"Good lack, we know not what to-morrow brings, -
Strange fluctuation of all human things!"
True. Changes will befall, and friends may part,
But distance only cannot change the heart;
And were I called to prove the assertion true,
One proof should serve,—a reference to you.
Whence comes it, then, that in the wane of life,
Though nothing have occurred to kindle strife,
We find the friends we fancied we had won,
Though numerous once, reduced to few or none?
Can gold grow worthless that has stood the touch ?
No.
Gold they seemed, but they were never such,
Horatio's servant once, with bow and cringe
Swinging the parlour door upon its hinge,
Dreading a negative, and overawed

;

Lest he should trespass, begged to go abroad.
"Go, fellow !—whither ?"-turning short about
"Nay. Stay at home ;-you're always going out."
"Tis but a step, sir; just at the street's end."
"For what?" "An please you, sir, to see a friend.”
"A friend?" Horatio cried, and seemed to start,-
"Yea, marry shalt thou, and with all my heart!
And fetch my cloak, for though the night be raw,
I'll see him too,-the first I ever saw."

I knew the man, and knew his nature mild,
And was his plaything often when a child;

But somewhat at that moment pinched him close,
Else he was seldom bitter or mor

Perhaps his confidence just then betrayed,

His grief might prompt him with the speech he made;
Perhaps 'twas mere good-humour gave it birth,
The harmless play of pleasantry and mirth.
Howe'er it was, his language in my mind,
Bespoke at least a man that knew mankind.
But not to moralize too much, and strain
To prove an evil of which all complain
(I hate long arguments verbosely spun),
One story more, dear Hill, and I have done.
Once on a time, an emperor, a wise man,
No matter where, in China or Japan,
Decreed that whosoever should offend!
Against the well-known duties of a friend,
Convicted once, should ever after wear
But half a coat, and show his bosom bare ;
The punishment importing this no doubt,
That all was nought within and all found out.
O happy Britain! we have not to fear
Such hard and arbitrary measure here;
Else could a law like that which I relate,
Once have the sanction of our triple state,
Some few that I have known in days of old
Would run most dreadful risk of catching cold;
While you, my friend, whatever wind should blow
Might traverse England safely to and fro,

An honest man, close buttoned to the chin,
Broad-cloth without, and a warm heart within.

WILLIAM COWPER, one of the most natural of poets, and a charming letter-writer, was born at Berkhampstead, Herts, in 1731. He spent the greater part of his life in quiet seclusion, either at

Olney or Huntingdon. He wrote some of our most popular hymns, several homely and touching poems and pieces, as well as translations of Homer and other ancient poets. He died in 1800.

This lesson supplies a good series of Parsing Exercises. It is recommended that the entire piece should be so used. A portion of about three lines being given for each lesson, the whole will form about twenty exercises.

EXERCISES.-I. Define,-Traverse, betrayed, arguments, assertion, confidence, and pleasantry. 2. Give in your own words the illustration relating to Horatio's servant. 3. Define a simple sentence, and give three examples from the foregoing extract.

GALILEO.

Monasteries, houses in which monks lived together. Alchymists, those who tried to make common metals into gold. Vibrations, regular motions to and fro.

Pendulum, a weight suspended by a rod and allowed to swing freely.

Telescope, a tube with lenses for making distant objects appear

near.

Scientific, relating to science. Allegiance, the duty to a governor. Crude, in a rough state. Astrologers, those who tried to foretell events by the stars. Pulsations, the movements of the blood through the veins. Mechanics, the science of motion and force.

Satellites, moons, or small planets which move round larger ones. Commuted, changed for.

It will now, perhaps, be advisable to take a slight glance at the scientific knowledge that was possessed by the most enlightened some three or four centuries ago; after which we shall be the better able to appreciate the labours of those whose researches have tended to bring science up to its present position.

In Book IV. of this series we have shown how even a child may learn some of the simplest yet most important facts bearing upon the earth, the sun, moon, and stars, and their positions and relations to each other. Now, although these truths may appear very obvious to us, yet