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He also had an active part in the victory gained over that commander on the 12th of April, 1782, for which he was created Baron Hood, of Catherington, in the kingdom of Ireland. In 1784 he was elected into Parliament for Westminster; but in 1788 he vacated his seat on being named one of the lords of the admiralty. In 1793 he was appointed to command in the Mediterranean, where he distinguished himself by taking possession of Toulon, and, when it was no longer tenable, destroying the arsenal, dockyard, and shipping. After this he made himself master of Corsica, and then returned to England, where he was made a viscount, and governor of Greenwich Hospital.

His lordship was bred in the old school, like the Blakes, the Ansons, and the Hawkes of former times. To great bravery he united great seamanship; he possessed, at the same time, a certain promptitude of decision, coupled with extraordinary coolness, skill, and judgment. These qualities justly entitled him to the confidence of the public, which he uniformly possessed; while all under his authority yielded a ready obedience to a commander who, when necessary, always appeared foremost in danger; but never risked either ships or men, except for the attainment of some great object, obviously calculated to redound to the advantage or to the glory of his country.

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1. Where was Lord Hood born, and who was his father?

2. At what age did Lord Hood go to sea ?

3. For what was he made post-captain?

4. What did he do in the West Indies?

5. How did he distinguish himself in the Mediterranean?
6. What was his general character ?

LESSON XXVIII.

JANUARY THE TWENTY-EIGHTH.

The Ocean an Image of Eternity.

ROLL on, thou deep and dark blue ocean - roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ;
Man marks the earth with ruin - his control

Stops with the shore; upon the watery plain
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain
A shadow of man's ravage, save his own,
When, for a moment, like a drop of rain,
He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,
Without a grave, unknell'd, uncoffin'd, and unknown.

THE OCEAN AN IMAGE OF ETERNITY.

His steps are not upon thy paths, - thy fields
Are not a spoil for him, thou dost arise

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And shake him from thee; the vile strength he wields
For earth's destruction thou dost all despise,
Spurning him from thy bosom to the skies,
And send'st him, shivering in thy playful spray,
And howling, to his gods, where haply lies

His petty hope in some near fort or bay,

And dashest him again to earth: there let him lay.

The armaments which thunder-strike the walls
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake,
-And monarchs tremble in their capitals,
The oak leviathans, whose huge ribs make
Their clay creator the vain title take
Of lord of thee, and arbiter of war;
These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake,
They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar
Alike the' Armada's pride, or spoils of Trafalgar.

Thy shores are empires, changed in all save thee
Assyria, Greece, Rome, Carthage, what are they?
Thy waters wasted them while they were free,
And many a tyrant since; their shores obey
The stranger, slave, or savage; their decay
Has dried up realms to deserts : not so thou,
Unchangeable save to thy wild waves play
Time writes no wrinkle on thine azure brow
Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now.

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Thou glorious mirror, where the' Almighty's form
Glasses itself in tempests; in all time,

Calm or convulsed-in breeze, or gale, or storm,
Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime
Dark-heaving;

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boundless, endless, and sublime

The image of Eternity the throne

Of the Invisible; even from out thy slime

The monsters of the deep are made; each zone Obeys thee; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone!

N. B. This Lesson (taken from Lord Byron's Childe Harold, canto 4) will afford the Teacher ample room for directing the Pupil's attention to some of the most striking images to be met with in poetical composition; and also in ascertaining how far he understands them, by desiring that he will relate in plain and simple language what certain figurative expressions mean: as, for example, What does the Poet intend by the following line,

"Time writes no wrinkle on thine azure brow?"

LESSON XXIX.

JANUARY THE TWENTY-NINTH.

A Thunder-storm in the Highlands of Scotland. An enormous thunder-cloud had lain all day over Ben Nevis, shrouding its summit in thick darkness, blackening its side and base, wherever they were beheld from the surrounding country. All the cattle on the hills, and in the hollows, stood still or lay down in their fear — the wild deer sought, in herds, the shelter of the pine-covered cliffs - the raven hushed his hoarse croak in some grim cavern, and the eagle left the dreadful silence of the upper heavens. Now and then the shepherds looked from their huts, while the shades of the clouds deepened the hues of their plaids and tartans; and at every creaking of the heavy branches of the pines, or wide-armed oaks, in the solitude of their inaccessible birth-place, the hearts of the lonely dwellers quaked, and they lifted up their eyes to see the first wild flash-the separating of the masses of darkness and paused to hear the long loud rattle of heaven's artillery, shaking the foundations of the everlasting mountains. But all was yet silent.

not a blade

The peal came at last, and it seemed as if an earthquake had smitten the silence. Not a tree of grass moved. There was a low, wild, whispering, wailing voice, as of so many spirits, all joining together, from every point of heaven-it died away - and then

the rushing of rain was heard through the darkness; and, in a few minutes, down came all the mountain torrents in their power, and the sides of all the steeps were suddenly sheeted, far and wide, with waterfalls.

Great rivers were suddenly flooded- and the little mountain rivulets, a few minutes before only silver threads, were now scarcely fordable to shepherds' feet. It was time for the strongest to take shelter, and none now would have liked to issue from it; for while there was real danger to life and limb in the many raging torrents, and in the lightning's flash, the imagination and the whole soul were touched with awe in the long resounding glens, and beneath the savage scowl of the angry sky. It was such a storm as becomes an era among the mountains; and it was felt that before the next morning there would be a loss of lives-not only among the beasts that perish, but among human beings overtaken by the wrath of that irresistible tempest.

1. Where is Ben Nevis mountain situated?

2. What effect had the coming thunder-storm on the beasts and birds? 3. Describe the effect of the storm after the peal of thunder.

DECOLLATION OF CHARLES I.

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LESSON XXX.

JANUARY THE THIRTIETH.

Decollation of Charles I.

On this day, in 1649, Charles I. of England was beheaded. Few kings have been more distinguished by private virtues. Sober, chaste, pious, he lived on the throne as he would have done in a condition the least exposed to the temptations of power and splendour. His temper, though somewhat cold and reserved, was kind and affectionate; and, with a degree of stateliness in demeanour, he was capable, by the solid goodness of his heart, of engaging the warmest attachment of his subjects and servants. His talents were considerable; but he shone more in suffering than in acting. Firm in certain points, he was too yielding in others; and his false steps were chiefly owing to a want of due confidence in his own judgment, and too high an opinion of that of others.

His mind was cultivated by letters and a taste for the polite arts. He was particularly fond of painting, and a munificent encourager of its professors. During his prosperity he formed a collection of works of art, extremely valuable for the judgment shown in the choice. He had some little skill in poetical composition, and wrote in a good style in prose. He possessed many exterior accomplishments, and in figure and countenance well became his princely station.

As to his political character, it has been, and probably ever will be, the subject of contrary opinions. Previous to and during the civil war, both king and people seem to have been in the wrong; the former closing his ears to the increased power of the public voice, and the latter exerting that power vexatiously, rather than with a just and wholesome reference to sound moral and political principle. In short, Charles had the misfortune to occupy the throne at the time when old and new principles were so equally opposed, that an unavoidable shock between them must ensue. The high maxims of royalty in which he had been educated could not be practically maintained. Concession was necessary; but when did power concede willingly? If he was insincere in his agreement to some of the conditions imposed on him, can it be said that those conditions were moderate ?

During the later contests between the royalist and parliamentarian armies, the king became so powerless, that he took the resolution of throwing himself upon the good

feeling of the Scottish army, then lying before Newark ; and by that army he was basely sold, and delivered into the hands of the parliament. For a time he was treated with much outward respect, but becoming alarmed for his personal safety, he found means to make his escape from Hampton Court. He was, however, intercepted in his attempt to leave the coast, and confined in Carisbrook Castle, in the Isle of Wight. At length the dominant party, with the crafty and ambitious Cromwell at their head, caused him to be brought to trial, and with mock solemnity condemned him to that ignominious fate to which the savage regicides had in their hearts previously consigned him.

On the whole, the errors of the beginning of King Charles's reign were more than compensated by his sufferings at the end of it; and they who do not honour him as a martyr, are unjust to his memory if they do not pity him as a victim to gross fanaticism.

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1. What was the private character of King Charles I.

2. Of what kind was his temper?

3. What is said of his political character?

4. By whom was Charles delivered up to the parliament ?

5. In what castle was he confined?

6. What are those bound to do who refuse to honour Charles as a martyr?

LESSON XXXI.

JANUARY THE THIRTY-FIRST.

Churches on the Continent.

THE custom that prevails all over the Continent of leaving the churches open during the day and evening is (says a modern traveller) one of the few religious usages that 1 should like to see adopted in England, as I am persuaded it would be attended with a beneficial effect. How frequently, when harassed by the cares and annoyances of life, from which not even the most fortunate are exempt, might our thoughts be turned to another channel, and our minds be tranquillized, by resorting to a temple sacred to the Divinity: a place that shuts out the poignant sense of present misfortunes, to which we are so prone to succumb, by lifting our aspirations to a sphere, where the mourner ceases to sorrow, and the weary are at rest.

How can we be engrossed by selfish cares when we

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