in recent years supplied valuable information on many important points connected with the history of other nations. 11. At the present day travelers are struck by the universal diffusion of the general principles of knowledge among the inhabitants. Though there is only one school in Iceland, and that school is exclusively designed for the education of such as are afterward to fill offices in Church and State, yet it is exceedingly rare to meet with a boy or girl who has attained the age of nine or ten years that cannot read or write with ease. Domestic education is most rigidly attended to, and it is no uncommon thing to hear passages from Greek and Latin authors repeated by youths who have never been farther than a few miles from the place where they were born. On many occasions, indeed, the common people among the Icelanders discover an acquaintance with the history and literature of other nations which is astonishing. ... ... ... SELECT ETYMOLOGIES.-Afford : F. afforer, to set a price on a thing; fr. L. ad, to, fōr'um, what is out of doors, the Roman market-place where causes were tried and pleaded; fr. L. sör'is, out of doors; h., forensic.. Animate: L. an'ima, breath, the animal life; h., animal, animalcule, inanimate, etc. . . . Arctic: Gr. ark'tòs, a bear; a cluster of stars in the north heavens called the Bear. Asylum: L.; fr. Gr. a, not, su'laō, I rob; h., a place of refuge. ... Cavity: L. cav'us, hollow; h., cave, cavern, con-cave (hollow and curved-opposed to convex), ex-cavate. . . . Church: Gr. kuri'akŎn, the Lord's house; fr. Ku'rios, the Lord.... Cone: L. co'nus; Gr. kō'nos, a figure like a sugar-loaf, a pine-cone; h., conical, etc. . . Crevice: fr. L. crep'o, crep'itum, to crack; h., crepitate, de-crepit, dis-crepancy, etc. . . . Dense: L. den'sus, thick; h., con-dense, density.. Dialect: Gr. dialěk'tõs; fr. di'a, through, and lěg'ō, I speak.... Ebullition : L. ebullio, I boil or bubble up; fr. e, out, and bulla, a bubble. . . . Famine: L. fam'es, hunger; h., famish. . . . Fuel: fr. L. fo'cus, a fireplace.... Glacier (glas'i-er): fr. L. gla'cies, ice; h., glacial. Lava: L. lav'o, lau'tum, lava'tum and lotum, to wash; h., laundry, lavation, lave, lotion.... Recent: L. re'cens, recen'tis, that has not long existed.... Relax: L. relax'o; fr. re, again, and lax'o, laxa'tum, to loose; fr. lax'us, loose; h., lax, laxity, laxative, pro-lix, re-laxation, re-lease. Remark: F. remarquer (rem-arkā); fr. re, again, and marquer, to mark. . . . Rigorous: L. ri'geo, I am stiff or numb; h., rigid. . . . Robust: L. robustus; fr. ro'bur, a very hard kind of oak; h., cor-roborate. . . . Thunder: Ger. don'ner; L. ton'itrus, thunder: v. ASTONISH. . . . Vegetation: L. vegeta'tio, an enlivening; fr. vě geo, I quicken; allied to vi'gor, strength; fr. vi'geo, I am lively; h., invigorate, vegetable, vigorous, etc. . . . Volcano : fr. L. Vulcanus, the god of ... ... ... XCIX.-THREE DAYS IN THE LIFE OF COLUMBUS.. I. On the deck stood Columbus; the ocean's expanse, "Back to Spain!" cry his men; "put the vessel about! He sails, but the day shows no more than the night; II. The pilot in silence leans mournfully o'er The rudder that creaks mid the billowy roar; "Columbus! 'tis day and the darkness is o'er." 66 'Day! and what dost thou see?" 'Sky and ocean—no more!" III. The second day ends, and Columbus is sleeping, "Shall he perish?” "Ay, death!" is the barbarous cry; 'He must triumph to-morrow, or, perjured, must die!" Ungrateful and blind! shall the world-linking sea He traced for the future his sepulchre be? Or shall it to-morrow, with pitiless waves, Fling his corse on that shore which his patient eye craves? The corse of an humble adventurer, then; One day later--Columbus, the first among men! 16 IV. But hush! he is dreaming; and sleep to his thought Reveals what his waking eyes vainly have sought: Through the distant horizon-oh rapturous sight!— Fresh bursts the New World from the darkness of night; Oh vision of glory! ineffable scene! What richness of verdure! the sky how serene! How blue the far mountains! how glad the green isles! And the earth and the ocean, how dimpled with smiles! Joy! joy!" cries Columbus, "this region is mine!" V. But, lo! his dream changes; a vision less bright VI. Again the dream changes. Columbus looks forth, |