ants of Sicily and of other districts. It is one of the most gigantic of edible fish, sometimes being found upwards of eight feet in length, and weighing from three to four hundredweights. The little anchovy, about three inches in length, is eagerly captured, then pickled, and transported in tin boxes to every part of the world. In the net of the fisherman the formidable sword-fish, the ferocious shark, or the classic dolphin is sometimes found in company with smaller inhabitants of the deep. In the rivers falling into the Black and Caspian Seas, the sturgeon abounds, and is captured for the manufacture of isinglass and caviare, as well as for its highlyesteemed flesh. The Caspian possesses many species of fish found nowhere else, except in the neighbouring salt lakes. The rivers of northern Europe are also renowned for their fish. The salmon, which during the floods of winter and early spring leaves the fresh water for a sojourn in the salt sea, is very plentiful in the streams of Ireland, Scotland, and Norway. Pike, trout, and perch, although less renowned, are also very valuable to the fisherman. On the foggy banks of Newfoundland, the cod-fishery has been pursued for nearly two hundred years, without diminishing in any perceptible degree the vast shoals of fish which exist on those submarine plateaus. The adjacent shores also teem with fish, the principal being salmon, cod, mackerel, and herrings. The fish of tropical waters are more remarkable for their extreme beauty, their diversity of form, and their means of attack or defence than for their value as articles of diet. Shoals of flying-fish, with silvery wings and blue bodies glittering in the rays of a vertical sun, relieve, by their movements, the monotony of a long voyage. The blue, white, and hammer-headed sharks, the terror of mariners, are found in almost every part of the ocean, but abound in warm climates. The mango-fish is a native of the Ganges, and is considered the most delicious of the inhabitants of Indian waters. The chaetodon is kept in globes, as we often see gold-fish in this country, to afford the interest of watching it shooting insects with a drop of water. The inhabitants of China convert unproductive land into fish ponds, and stock them with gold-fish. They were introduced into Britain, about two hundred years ago. The shores of Australia teem with fish, which are mostly of a distinct species to those familiar to the inhabitants of our islands. It is customary to speak of the whale as a fish, but its only claim to be so considered is that of living in the sea. It has warm blood, and possesses lungs exactly the same as those of quadrupeds. It is pursued among the icebergs of the Northern Ocean, and in the high latitudes of the south. The great Greenland whale is found seventy feet in length, yields about four thousand gallons of oil, seven thousand feet of whalebone six or eight inches broad, and is worth about £1000 to his captors. The seal, another warm-blooded animal, is captured on the coast of Scotland, in the Arctic and Southern oceans, and in the Baltic and Caspian seas. It is pursued for the oil it yields, as well as for its valuable skin. EXERCISE.-45. PARSING, ETC. 1. Parse the words :--strange, as, climbing, by, far, so, great, as, accompanying, what, congealed, mountain, found, moss, fish, almost, rich, poor, found in the first two paragraphs. 2. What is the analysis of each of the following expressions? (a) To find them inhabiting volcanoes and hot springs. (b) To determine in what temperature fish cannot exist. (c) They regain their former powers on the return of spring. (a) Nature has provided. (e) So long unknown to civilized man. On every sea shore. THE AMERICAN WAR. de-mon-stra-tions [L. de; monstro, to show], actions by which popular feeling is expressed. har-bour [A.-S. hereburga, from here, an army; beorgan, to protect], a place of refuge or shelter, a port for ships. com-mer-ci-al [L. con, with; merx, merchandise], mercantile. IN the year 1775 began the struggle for independence on the part of the Americans, which continued for nearly eight years, and which ultimately separated that country from Great Britain. Some years previously, the mother country had been engaged in war, chiefly to protect the American colonies, and the government thought it only just that the colonies should bear part of the burden entailed by it. Accordingly, it was proposed that a tax should be imposed on several articles of American trade; and that, as in Britain, the colonists should be charged with stamp duties. The news was received in the principal cities of America with tolling of bells and public demonstrations; and resolutions were passed denying the right of the British parliament to tax the colonies without their own consent, it being a principle of the British constitution that there shall be no taxation without representation. By Pitt's influence, the stamp act was repealed; and in 1770 Lord North repealed all the taxes except that on tea. The dissatisfaction in America, however, still prevailed, though no serious outbreak occurred until three years afterwards, when three ships, laden with tea, entered the harbour of Boston, and were immediately boarded by several persons, disguised as Indians, who threw about £18,000 worth of tea loose into the sea. England retaliated by declaring the port of Boston closed, and providing that, in future, the council of Massachusetts should be appointed by the crown, instead of being elected by the people. The Americans then drew up a Declaration of Rights, claiming for themselves the liberties of Englishmen, and declared that all commercial intercourse with England should cease until the obnoxious statutes were repealed. Both parties now prepared for war, and a skirmish took place at Lexington, in April, 1775, in which the English lost nearly three times as many men as the Americans, who, immediately after, met in Congress at Philadelphia, and elected Colonel George Washington commander-in-chief. Reinforcements were sent from England, consisting of three generals, Burgoyne, Howe, and Clinton, and about 10,000 men, and no time was lost in trying to dislodge the colonists from the neighbourhood of Boston. This led to the battle of Bunker's Hill, which the Americans claimed as a victory, although the English gained the ground and held possession of Boston for months after. Owing to the failure of their provisions, however, they were ultimately compelled by Washington to evacuate the town, and Halifax was made head-quarters until assistance should arrive from England. As the arrangements of the home government were but slowly carried out, the Declaration of Independence was signed before the arrival of Lord Howe, who had been empowered to treat with the colonists. All attempts at reconciliation were therefore vain, and the war went on. General Clinton defeated the Americans at Brooklyn, and New York was captured; but General Howe, who lacked vigilance, allowed the colonists time to recover themselves, and, as the year 1776 was closing, Washington surprised the Hessians encamped at Trenton, and made prisoners of nearly 1000 men. Next year, however, he was defeated by General Howe at Brandywine, and, fifteen days afterwards, Philadelphia was occupied by the royal troops. The successes in the south were counterbalanced by the defeat of Burgoyne in the north. He had advanced from Canada, and repulsed the Americans under Arnold, but being obliged by the loss of men and the want of provisions to retreat to Saratoga, he was completely surrounded by the enemy under Yates, and compelled to surrender with his entire force. Burgoyne's defeat decided the French to take part with the Americans, and, in 1778, the independence of the colonies was recognised by that nation, and by Spain in the following year. The French fleet, in conjunction with the American army, attacked the British in Rhode Island, but were driven off by Lord Howe, the Americans losing a considerable quantity of shipping and stores. Georgia was also taken by the British, and, with a view to reducing South Carolina, General Clinton laid siege to Charleston, and compelled Lincoln to capitulate. Lord Cornwallis, who had joined General Clinton, defeated Yates at Camden, and was then sent to Virginia to join Arnold, who some time before had gone over to the English. Several small battles were fought with varying success, until, in 1781, General Washington, assisted by the French fleet under De Grasse, captured York Town from Cornwallis, who, after a gallant defence, was compelled to surrender L with his entire army of 7000 men. With this surrender the American war, so far at least as active operations were concerned, may be said to have terminated. EXERCISE.-46. MEANINGS OF WORDS, ETC. 1. Give the meaning of the following:-ultimately, entailed, colonists, demonstration, obnoxious, reinforcement, reconciliation, conjunction, surrender, entire, active, terminated. 2. Distinguish between :-serious, series; Howe, how; tolled, told; eight, ate, hate, ait. 3. Illustrate the different meanings of :-constitution, representation, resolution, occupied. 4. Give a short account of the events that led to the American war. In whose reign did it take place? BEFORE VICKSBURG. G. H. BOKER. chief [F. chef, from Gk. kephale, the head], leader, general of an army, dole-ful [L. dolor, grief], lamentable, pitiable. gen-er-al [L. genus. birth, race], an officer of high rank, the commander of an army or division of an army. en-vy [L. invidia, from in, on, video, to look, or see], ill will, mortification at another's success or prosperity. WHEN Sherman stood beneath the hottest fire Weeping and sorely lame, The merest child, the youngest face Man ever saw in such a fearful place. Stifling his tears, he limped his chief to meet ; Around the circle of his little feet There spread a pool of bright young blood. Sherman cried, "Halt! front face! |
