G.

GRAY, THOMAS, a poet of the reign of George II. and George III. He did not write much, but his poems are noted for the polish of the versification. The poem in the text, is his most famous work. It describes the scenery of Stoke Poges, near Windsor.

H.

HERN, the heron, a wading bird with long legs and neck. It feeds on fish, standing motionless in shallow water until its keen eye detects its prey, which the heron then secures with a sudden dart of its bill, and bears away through the air to its nest. The nest of the heron is a flat mass of sticks laid on the highest branches of a tree.

L.

LEYDEN, a celebrated city of learning situated on the Old Rhine, seventeen miles north of Rotterdam, is the oldest town in Holland. The streets are wide, the public buildings beautiful, and the canals broad and numerous. Within the city are the ruins of an old castle called "The Burg," supposed to have been built by the Romans before the birth of Christ. The chief orna. ment and glory of the city is its university, once unsurpassed by any in Europe. The origin of the University is interesting. In 1574, when Holland was struggling to throw off the yoke of Spain, Leyden was besieged by the Spaniards, and had to endure all the horrors of famine. For seven weeks the citizens had no bread to eat, and multitudes perished from hunger. The heroic burgomaster, Pieter van der Werff, even offered his body as food to some who were imploring him to capitulate. At last the Prince of Orange broke down the dykes, flooded the country, drowned a great number of the Spaniards, and relieved the town. The Prince of Orange then offered, as some compensation for its unparalleled sufferings, either to remit certain taxes, or to establish a university in the city. The citizens nobly chose the latter, which was inaugurated by Prince William in 1575. The university possesses a valuable library, a magnificent collection in medicine, a botanical garden, a museum of natural history, one of the richest in Europe, and a museum of antiquities.

LONGFELLOW. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet, was born in the State of Maine, United States, on the 27th of February, 1807, and died in 1883. He was a scholar as well as a poet, and has contributed to literature many pleasing works both in poetry and prose. Of the American poets, Longfellow was the most popular in England, and a volume of his poems may be found in almost every library. "The Wreck of the Hesperus" is a poem by Longfellow. Of his poetry, "Evangeline," 66 Hiawatha," ," and several short poems, such as "The Reaper and the Flowers," are the most widely known.

M.

MAMMOTH CAVE, the largest known cavern in the world, is in Kentucky, United States. It consists of a series of caverns, and has been explored to a distance of ten miles. There is a river traversing one portion, and travellers cross in a boat. Stalactites hang from the limestone rocks, and the earth is rich in nitre. There are many circumstances to prove that the Mammoth Cave is part of the course of a subterranean river which existed in a former condition of the surface.

N.

NAMUR, one of the chief cities of Belgium, is situated at the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse. It is a strongly-fortified town, and contains a fine cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful churches in Belgium. The present citadel was constructed in 1784, but the city has been fortified from the earliest period of its history. Namur is noted for its cutlery, its leather works, and its iron and brass foundries.

NELSON. Horatio Nelson, the greatest of Britain's admirals, was born on the 29th of September, 1758, at Burnham-Thorpe, Norfolk. At the age of thirteen he entered the royal navy, and at the age of twenty-one held the rank of post-captain. He early gained among those who knew him a reputation for boldness and skill, and when England was engaged in war with France he astonished the world by his noble deeds, which exceeded anything of the kind achieved before or since. Among the most remarkable victories he gained were those of Cape St. Vincent, Teneriffe, the Nile, and Copenhagen. On the 21st of October, 1805, he met the combined fleets of France and Spain in the Bay

of Trafalgar. Ere night the power of France upon the seas was crushed, and her threatened invasion of England had become an impossibility. But Nelson paid for his victory with his life. He died, as such men wish to die, amid the thunders of his mightiest victory.

T.

THERMOMETER, an instrument for measuring temperature. The thermometer consists of a glass tube containing mercury, or some substance very sensitive to heat. The heat causes the mercury to expand and rise in the tube; cold has the opposite effect. The tube is marked into little divisions called degrees. On the thermometer used in England the freezing point is 32 degrees, or 32o; boiling point, 212°: that is, if the instrument be placed in freezing water, the mercury marks 32°, while if put into boiling water it rises to 212°; 55° is considered temperate; 76° summer heat. On the Continent Reaumur's and the Centigrade thermometers are used, freezing point being 0° in both, and the boiling point being respectively 80° and 100°. The point on a thermometer marked 0 is called zero. From this point the degrees are reckoned above and below.

TROUT, a fish which frequents rivers. A fine river trout weighs about a pound or a pound and a half; occasionally heavier ones are found. It is very voracious, and readily devours almost any kind of animal food. The angler selects his bait according to the season. In fine weather the artificial fly is very successful; in wet weather, worms; the minnow is a good bait for trout.

TUNIS, capital of the African state of the same name, is situated on the Gulf of Tunis, in Northern Africa. It occupies rising ground, and is surrounded by walls. The streets are narrow, unpaved, and dirty; but the bazaars are well furnished, and many of the mosques are really splendid. Tunis has silk and woollen manufactures, as shawls, tapestries, mantles, caps, coloured cloths; also leather, soap, wax, and olive oil,—all of which it exports, together with grain, fruits, cattle, ivory, gold-dust, fish, and coral.