Are its 11s not on lazoned with deeds of renown?
What! though for ages it drops in the dust,
Shall it droop thus forever? No! no! God is just!
Take it up! take it up! from the tyrant's foul tread,
Let him ter the Green Fag, we will snatch its last shred,
And beneath it we'll Used as our forefathers bled.
And we'll vow by the dust in the graves of our dead,

And we'll swear by the blood which the Briton has shed,
And we'll vow by the wreeks which through Erin he spread,
And we'll swear by the thousands who, famished, unfed,
Died down in the ditches—wild — howling for bread,
And we'll vow by our heroes whose spirits have fled,
And we'll swear by the bones in each coinless bed,
That we'll battle the Briton through danger and dread!
That we'll cling to the cause which we glory to wed,
Till the gleam of our steel and the shock of our lead
Shall prove to our foe that we meant what we said —
That we'll lift up the Green, and we'll tear down the Red!

Lift up the Green Flag! oh! it wants to go home;
Full long has its lot been to wander and roam;
It has followed the fate of its sons o'er the world,
But its folds, like their hopes, are not faded nor furled.
Like a weary-winged bird, to the East and the West
It has flitted and fled; but it never shall rest,

Till, pluming its pinions, it sweeps o'er the main,
And speeds to the shores of its old home again,
When its fetterless folds o'er each mountain and plain
Shall wave with a glory that never shall wane.

Take it up! take it up! bear it back from afar,
That Banner must blaze 'mid the lightnings of war;
Lay your hands on its folds, lift your gaze to the sky,
And swear that you'll bear it triumphant or die,
And shout to the clans scattered over the earth,
To join in the march to the land of their birth;

And wherever the Exiles, 'neath heaven's broad dome,
Have been fated to suffer, to sorrow and roam,
They'll bound on the sea, and away o'er the foam
They'll sail to the music of "Home, Sweet Home!"

Questions: What names are used instead of Erin? What are clans? Name some Irish clans. Who are the Celts? When did they thus swear around their flag? Give another name for "Erin's Sunburst." What is the meaning of "a gleam through the gloom"? What is a banner's sheen? Mention some deeds of renown that emblazon Erin's banner. What is the meaning of "tyrant's foul tread"? What is a shred? When is a banner in shreds? What is the period called in which people die in "ditches — wild — howling for bread"? How does the bird plume its pinions? What exiles are meant in the last stanza? Where are these exiles found?

GEORGE STEPHENSON.

GEORGE Stephenson and James Watt are the two

men to whom we owe much of the spread and comfort of railway travelling. James Watt, a Scotchman, devoted himself to the perfection of the steam-engine; and George Stephenson, the son of a poor engine-tender, succeeded in adapting the steam-engine for locomotion. George was born in 1781, at a mining village called Wylam, on the banks of the Tyne, about eight miles from Newcastle. When George was about eight years. old his father removed to another coal mine at Dewley Burn, where George was sent to herd cows, for which he paid five cents a day. And here we see him, a strong,

was

bare-legged herd-boy, driving his cows or chasing butterflies, or amusing himself by making water-mills, or even going so far as to model small steam-engines in clay.

In these pursuits we have a glimpse of his genius for mechanics. Often we see that boys take a bent towards what first excites their fancy. Brought up among coal-pits and pumps, and wheels and engines, it was not surprising that his mind should be full of them. He pried into every mechanical contrivance that he came near, and acquired a knack of making things with no other help than an old knife. Leaving farm work, he got employment at Dewley Burn to drive a horse, by which change he had another rise of five cents a day, his wages being now sixty cents a week.

In a short time he went to act as an assistant-fireman to his father at Dewley. While at this occupation he developed a steady character-that was a great point gained. The world is always looking about for steady men, and sometimes it is not easy to get hold of them. George was rigorously sober, and was never so happy as when he was at work; though he took pleasure also, after work-hours, in wrestling, throwing the stone, and other feats of muscular skill. A general favorite for his good-nature and skill at games, George likewise gave satisfaction to his employers, and, being a clever, handy young man, was promoted to the situation of engineman at Newburn. It was an important post, and not without trouble. If the pumps went wrong, he had to go down into the pit, and do his best to set them right by plugging- that is, stuffing any hole or crevice to make them draw; and, if the defect was beyond his power to mend, his duty was to report to the chief engineer.

When the engine was going in excellent trim, and nothing was wrong with the pumps, there was little to do, and there was often time to spare. By way of occupying these idle minutes and hours, George began to model miniature steam-engines in clay, in which ho had already some experience. It was a mere amusement, but it helped to fix shapes and proportions in his memory. While so engaged, he was told of engines of a form and character he had never seen. They were not within reach, but were described in books. If he read these, he would learn all about them. But George, though now eighteen years of age, was still ignorant of the alphabet. He clearly saw that unless he learned to read he must certainly stick where he was. So, having made up his mind that he would go to school, cost what it might, he found out a teacher who agreed to give him lessons in the evening, for which Stephenson was to pay him seven cents a week, and by the time he was ninet en he was able to write his name. As there was not much time for arithmetical study during his short schoolhours, George got sums set on his slate, which next day he worked out while attending to his engine. And this was all the school education he ever got.

In 1810 an opportunity occurred for George Stephenson to signalize himself. A badly-constructed steam-engine at Killingworth High Pit could not do its work; one engineer after another tried to set it to rights, but all failed; and at last in despair they were glad to let "Georgie" try his hand, though, even with his reputation for cleverness, they did not expect him to succeed. To their mortification and astonishment, he was perfectly successful. He took the engine to pieces, re-arranged it skilfully, and set it to work in the most effectual manner. Besides receiving a present of $50 for this useful service,

he was placed on the footing of a regular engineer, and was afterwards consulted in cases when the

not working well.

pumps were

Slowly, inch by inch, he fought his way against poverty and every other discouragement, until, in 1815, the invention of a safety-lamp brought his name before the public.

It was at Killingworth that Stephenson constructed his first locomotive. He was next employed to make a railway between Liverpool and Manchester. That he proposed to work the line with an engine which was to go at the rate of twelve miles an hour was a fact sufficient in itself, people thought, to show how wild and absurd the scheme was. "Twelve miles an hour!" said the Quarterly Review-"as well trust one's-self to be fired off on a Congreve rocket!" When the line was completed, the directors offered a prize of $2,500 for the best locomotive that could be brought forward to compete in running on a certain day. Stephenson won the prize, and his engine was not only remarkable for its speed, but also for the contrivances by which the speed was attained. This was in the year 1829.

And now the tide of fortune, for which Stephenson had worked so hard and waited so long, flowed in abundantly. In 1836, two hundred and fourteen miles of railway, involving a capital of twenty-five millions, were put under his direction; but, in the midst of his immense labors, his heart remained as youthful as ever. In spring he would snatch a day for bird-nesting or gardening, or in autumn to go nutting; and we find him. even at this time writing a touching account to his sou of a pair of robins. In the autumn of 1845 he visited Spain and Belgium to plan new railways, and on his way home he caught a severe cold, from which he never