the other hand, the teacher who is familiar with the principles and rules, and experienced in the use of the method, is not put out by any answers he may receive. He knows at once how to deal with them. Perhaps, by a few additional questions based upon the faulty answers, he leads the whole of the pupils to see and correct the faults, and leads them on to the point he had in view; and, it may be, impresses it more strongly on their minds, by contrasting what is right with the wrong answers given. In short, he who is fully master of his method, and can employ it with coolness and self-possession, never passes over a point in the lesson till he has brought it clearly, definitely, and, as it were, tangibly before the minds of his pupils. This may to some appear to be a slow way of proceeding. But it is slow in appearance only, for whatever the pupils acquire in this way, they acquire perfectly -they assimilate it, and make it their own.

LESSONS ON THE RIVERS OF EUROPE.

(Continued from page 380.)

Rivers entering the Atlantic.

19. THE SEINE rises on the western slope of the mountains of Côted'Or, in France, flows north, then west by south; it afterwards takes a general direction of west-north-west, and empties itself into the English Channel. This river is very winding; so much so, that although in a direct line it does not measure more than 260 miles, yet its whole length is estimated at 480 miles. The lower part of its course is full of shoals and shifting sand-banks, which render the navigation intricate. and dangerous. Vessels of 300 tons can ascend as far as Rouen, whilst those of smaller size can go as high up as Troyes, a distance of 370 miles. The basin of the Seine is estimated at 30,000 square miles. Among its tributaries may be mentioned the Aube, the Yonne, and the Oise.

Troyes, on the left bank of the Seine, is the chief town of the department of l'Aube. Although from its position it is of considerable. importance, it is badly built, most of the houses being made of wood. It has manufactures of cotton, woollen cloths, and hosiery; it also possesses paper mills and bleaching establishments. Here took place the marriage between Catherine of France and Henry V. of England; and, in 1429, the place was taken from the English by the French, under Joan of Arc. Population, 29,000.

Paris, the capital of France, is situated on both banks of the Seine, including an island which was the original site of the city. In its greatest breadth it measures about three miles and a half, whilst it extends along the banks of the river nearly five miles. It is entirely surrounded by walls, which are entered by fifty-eight gates. At each of these gates or barrières is a toll-house for the collection of dues on all goods entering the capital.

Paris ranks as the second city of Europe in reference to population; but it stands unrivalled in the number, the beauty, and the magnificence of its public buildings, its museums, its libraries, its picture gal

leries, its gardens or parks, and its numerous places of amusement. The streets are, however-except where recent improvements have taken place-narrow, badly paved and lighted; whilst, internally, the houses are inferior to those in England in point of comfort and conveniences. Among its buildings and public institutions may be mentioned the following:

The Church of Notre-Dame, a noble Gothic structure, ranking first, both as respects grandeur and antiquity, among the religious edifices.

The Louvre, containing a most extensive and valuable collection of pictures and statues.

The Museum of Natural History, the first of the kind, not only in Europe but in the world.

The National Library, the most extensive in the world, containing 80,000 MSS., and more than 800,000 books and pamphlets, besides medals, engravings, and maps or plans.

The Palais de l'Elysèe National, containing some magnificent apartments, now occupied by Louis Napoleon, the President of the Republic.

Many branches of industry are conducted in Paris on a very large scale. We may mention as the principal objects of industry-furniture, bronzes, jewellery, watches, toys, mathematical and musical instruments, shawls, gloves, carpets, tapestry, &c.

Paris has communication by means of canals, the Seine and its tributaries, with the north of France, with Lyons and the Rhone, with the Loire, and with the Rhine. It is also the terminus of several railways, which connect it not only with the principal towns in France, but with those in Belgium, Prussia, and several German States. Population, 1,250,000.

Rouen, on the right bank of the Seine, 75 miles from its mouth, the ancient capital of Normandy, and now the chief town of the department of the Lower Seine. The city is ill-built; the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty; but it possesses some buildings, not only of great historical interest, but of much splendour and beauty. The most important of these are the cathedral of Nôtre-Dame and the abbey church of St. Ouen. The former contains a vast number of monuments, including those of Rollo and William Longsword. It also formerly possessed the tombs of Henry, the brother of Richard I.; the great Talbot; and one in which was placed the heart of the Lion King himself; all of which were however destroyed.

Rouen is the grand seat of the cotton manufacture in France; it is, therefore, sometimes termed the French Manchester. Among its other objects of manufacture may be mentioned preserved meats and confectionery, glue, dyes, chemical products, pottery, refining of sugar, woollen cloth, flannel, blankets, &c.

It is admirably situated for commerce, and has a considerable import and export trade. By means of railways it communicates with Paris, Havre, Dieppe, and other important places. Population, 91,000.

* Lord John Talbot occupies a prominent place in the wars of Henry V.

This city occupies an important place in history. Rollo, a duke of of Norway, about the year 876, sailed up the Seine, took Rouen the capital of Normandy, then called Neustriæ, and compelled Charles the Simple, king of France, to give him the sovereignty of the whole province. It was the residence of the dukes of Normandy till William the Conquerer ascended the throne of England. This too was the scene of the Conqueror's death, and in one of the churches in the neighbourhood was he buried.

Here, in 1203, Arthur of Brittany was put to death by order of his uncle, John, king of England. The city was soon after this besieged and taken by Philip Augustus, who annexed it and the whole of Normandy to the crown of France. In 1417, it was retaken by Henry V., and retained by the English for 30 years. It was during this period that the famous Joan of Arc was burned. A fountain, surmounted by a statue, marks the spot where the execution took place.

Havre (properly Le Havre de Grâce) lies on the north bank of the estuary of the Seine, and is a place of great trade. It is very strongly fortified, both on the sea and land sides; the fortifications are about three miles and a half in circuit. The harbour, which is the best on the coast, is composed of five basins and an outer port, separated by locks, and capable of holding more than 500 ships. The entrance to the harbour is guarded, on one side, by a tower 70 feet in height and 85 feet in diameter; and, on the other, by a small battery mounting six pieces of cannon. Havre is the port of Paris, almost all the articles of consumption required for the capital being imported thither. The imports consist of coffee, sugar, spices, indigo, tobacco, timber, hides, iron, cotton, &c. The principal exports are silks, lace, cotton stuffs, gloves, glass, brandy, Burgundy, Champagne and other wines. The manfactures consist of paper, ship cordage, furniture, oil, pottery, carpenters' tools, &c. There are also sugar refineries and ship-building yards. There is regular communication by steam-boats with London, Brighton, Southampton, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Hamburgh, St. Petersburgh, Rouen, Bayonne, &c.; there are also packet-ships to Bahia, New York, New Orleans, and Vera Cruz. Population, 21,000.

Rivers entering the North Sea or German Ocean.

20. THE SCHELDT (Fr. Escaut) rises in the north of France, near the frontier of Belgium, runs through the west of Belgium, with a general direction to the north-east as far as Antwerp. It then turns north-west, and soon afterwards enters Holland, where it divides into two arms or outlets, forming between them the vast delta of Zealand. One branch, which flows northwards into the German Ocean, is called the East Scheldt; the other, which passes southwards, is termed the West Scheldt. These two outlets enclose the islands of North Beveland, South Beveland, and Walcheren. The current of this river is slow; and in the lower parts, where the country is very flat, dykes are thrown up to prevent the lands from being inundated. The whole length of the river is 211 miles; and it can be navigated to Cambray,

in France, a distance of 195 miles. The principal tributaries are the Scarpe, the Lys, the Haisne, and the Senne.

Valenciennes, a town of France, is built on the Scheldt, which divides it into two unequal parts. It has manufactures of lace, lawn, hosiery, toys, saltpetre, pottery, &c.; there are also tanneries, distilleries, cotton-printing works, beet-root sugar factories, &c. Population, 22,000.

This was the birth-place of Froissart, the famous chronicler of chivalry, and of Watteau, a celebrated painter.

Mons, on the Trouille, a tributary of the Scheldt, is the capital of Hainault, one of the provinces of Belgium. This place is very strongly fortified. Formerly it had a flourishing trade in lace, now much decayed. The chief wealth of the city arises from the numerous coalmines which are in the neighbourhood; there are also quarries of slate, of building stone, and of black marble with white veins or streaks, which is sent in large quantities to Paris. Population, 30,000.

Oudenard, on the Scheldt, in the province of East Flanders, is in general a well-built town, and a place of considerable trade. It is the centre of a district in which the linen manufacture is carried on, and the market in which its products are sold. In the vicinity of this place, the allies, under Marlborough and Prince Eugene, gained a signal victory over the French, on the 11th July, 1708. Population, 5000.

Ghent, the capital of East Flanders, stands at the confluence of the Scheldt and Lys. It is so intersected by canals as to form 26 islands, connected with each other by 80 bridges. It is a well-built city, and is surrounded by walls which are entered by seven gates. Among its buildings may be mentioned the cathedral, which contains some fine paintings, among which is Vandyck's famous picture of "The Crucifixion." This is one of the principal seats of manufacturing industry in Belgium, chiefly cotton. More than 19,000 persons are employed in spinning, weaving, bleaching, and printing this material. There are also manufactures of lace, woollen cloths, pins, paper, &c. It communicates with Ostend by a canal passing through Bruges, and with the Western Scheldt by another terminating at Terneuse. This was the birth-place of John Duke of Lancaster, generally called John of Gaunt. Population, 97,000.

SKETCH OF A BIBLE LESSON.

THE INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER. EXODUS xii. 1-12.

HEADS OF THE LESSON.

1. Explanation of the principal words and phrases.

2. The chief points to be illustrated.

3. The application, or the practical lessons.

1.

Congregation-household-without blemish-assembly soddenpurtenance thereof--token.

Congregation, all the people of Israel.

* Ask the children to give the meaning of the words; if they cannot, then the teacher must give them.

Household, the number of people in a house; a family.
Without blemish, without spot or stain; whole, sound.
Assembly, the people taken together.

Sodden, boiled.

Purtenance thereof, the heart, lungs, liver, &c. of the lamb.
Token, a mark or sign.

II.*

(a) God's command in reference to the year-(6) the gathering of the people (c) the lamb for sacrifice-(d) the sprinkling of the blood -(e) the eating of the paschal lamb.

(a) Moses and Aaron, you will remember, were sent by God to bring his people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt. God had already done many wonders by the hands of his servants; but Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, would not allow the Israelites to depart. God was now about to bring them out with a strong hand and a mighty arm; the promise made to Abraham was going to be fulfilled; and to keep this event in everlasting remembrance, God ordered them to make this month the beginning of months, that is, the first month in the year. It was not only to be the first in order, but the highest in their estimation. Formerly it had been the seventh month of their year, but it was to be so no longer.†

(b) Moses, we learn from the 10th chapter, was ordered out of the presence of the Egyptian king, with this threat, "Take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die." He seems then to have gone to the land of Goshen to prepare the children of Israel for their departure, which was now close at hand. He gathers the people together; he tells them what the Lord Jehovah commanded them to do. They were to take a lamb or a kid, offer it in sacrifice, and then eat it. But if the lamb was too much for one family, then two families were to unite in order to partake of the lamb. They seem to have at once obeyed the command of God; for we read, verse 27, "The people bowed the head and worshipped."

(c) They depart to put in execution the order; they collect their flocks; they carefully look over them to find a lamb such as was required. It must be young, a male of the first year-one perfect in form, beautiful in appearance, sound in every part, "without blemish and without spot." It was to be a male, as being more excellent than a female, and less than one year old, because a young lamb is noted for its simplicity and harmlessness.

The lamb or the kid is chosen; it is shut up from the tenth until the fourteenth day of the month. This was done to see whether it was perfectly sound and good; for if any one was lame or injured, it could not be eaten.

(d) The evening of the fourteenth day has come. You may perceive an unusual bustle in the tents of Israel; the perfect lambs are brought

* The second part is to be given in the form of a lecture. Questions, however, should occasionally be proposed to test the attention of the pupils.

† Question before proceeding further. The same remark applies to all the other headings.