from the downright of the Crusades, to the far-slaying weapons of the present day. One of the most remarkable circumstances connected with the late war was the mode in which peace-loving science was made to lend itself to the art of war. And among the various branches of science, electricity was pressed into the service, and gave

its aid towards exploding mines at a great distance, and otherwise annoying the foe. And it is not at all impossible that the comparatively clumsy expedient of burying gunpowder in the path of an enemy, and then exploding it at the right moment by electrical means, will be discarded, and that a mode will be discovered by which the entire destruction will be caused by electricity itself. Yet, even were this great advance in warlike art to take place, we

should only be on a level with a 15 fish, which has been in the habit of destroying its enemies by electrical shocks, ages before amber was discovered to attract light substances when rubbed.

I have no doubt whatever, that if science proceeds with the rapid strides of the last few years, we shall always find some natural object either on a level with or in advance of us, and probably on account of properties to which we had long been familiar, but which we failed to comprehend. The loadstone was a toy for hundreds of years before it was used to guide vessels over the trackless ocean. The mere perfume of a flower, or the phosphoric light of certain marine creatures, may at some future time lead to unexpected results, just as the falling apple led to the law of gravitation, and the rainbow to the true theory of light. And when the discovery is made, we shall wonder why such a simple fact was not discovered long ago, forgetting that when an egg is to be balanced, a Columbus is required to do it. Men advance to the very verge of a grand discovery, and there stop trembling on its very edge. The slightest impulse would carry them over, but that impulse is not given until the man comes whose daring mind overleaps the petty obstacle, and displays the vast fields to an astonished world. In other words, the discovery is not made, because the time has not come for it. See how such is the case with every great discovery!

And, apparently in order to show that this is the right view of the matter, and to prevent the discoverer from being too much puffed up with the idea of his own powers, the same discovery is either made simultaneously in another part of the world, and by a person with whom there has been no connection whatever, or it is seen, after all, to be only a revival of the facts found out and

noted by some one who lived long ago, and who died in obscurity. 16 From "My Feathered Friends,”

(INSERTED BY PERMISSION.)

1falconer, a person who breeds falcons or hawks, and trains them to the pursuit of other birds. theory is derived from a Greek word signifying to look at, and is here used to express rules or principles upon which the science is based. 3analogy, an agreement or likeness between things in some circumstances or effects, when the things are otherwise entirely different. impetuously, hastily; passionately; violently; in an impetuous manner. The word is derived from the Latin impeto, I rush upon. 5 elimination comes from the Latin elimino, I turn out from the threshold. It is used in our language to express the act of expelling or throwing off. Hence by course of elimination may be understood the process of setting aside from time to time those methods which were found to be useless, and adopting others founded on scientific principles. 6 Tubal Cain, a descendant of Cain, son of Adam (see Gen. iv. 22). 1 steel-sinewed men, men with powerful muscles or sinews. In the Village Blacksmith we read

"The muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands."

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8 the Minié rifle was first used by the English army in 1851. Many improvements have been made upon this. The favourite rifle at the present time is called the Martini-Henry. tournament, a very popular military sport of the middle ages, in which combatants engaged one another with the object of exhibiting their courage, prowess, and skill in the use of arms. The death of Henry II. of France, in 1559, consequent on the loss of his eye at a tournament, led to the general abandonment of this sport both in France and elsewhere, and there have been few attempts to revive it. amalgamation, the mixing or blending of different things. "offensive, causing displeasure; making the first attack. 12 defensive, serving to defend. To be on the defensive, means to be prepared to offer resistance. 13 tilting lance, the lance used in tournaments. cap-à-pie (pronounced kap-a-peé), French, from head to foot. a fish, the torpedo. 16 My Feathered Friends, a very interesting and instructive work by the Rev. J. G. Wood.

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NOTE.-See Appendix for the following: heron, hawk, mantis, chaetodon, skunk, teledu, bombardier-beetle, ant-lion, sword fish, lobster, torpedo, amber, Columbus, Michael Angelo.

EVERY urchin has had the little gilt toy-watch that is always at half-past seven o'clock. Whoever attempted to convince its happy possessor that it did not keep good time, or was not the exact counterpart of " father's," would be trespassing upon the good old proverb, that "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." Next to this comes the silver watch which "goes," really goes, and which is 2susceptible of being wound up by its shortjacketed owner, on his way to school, to drive some nonwatch-possessing boy to the verge of distraction. The manner in which this watch is 3alternately set forward and allowed to run down at the caprice of its owner is known only to anxious parents, whose entreaties in favour of a more systematic mode of treatment, and whose threats of taking it away, go in at one ear only to go out at the other. Then there is the ladies' 5 Liliputian watch, the dear little mite, perhaps set round with diamonds. This dear little mite, so pretty to look at, with its curious little trinkets dangling at the belt. Time would fail to tell how often. it is unnecessarily inspected in omnibuses, railway carriages, and ferry boats; in shops, and places of amusement, and on the public promenade; and how dainty looks the jewelled forefinger of the owner, as the obedient lid obeys the touch on the spring. All this is interesting till it gets to be an old story, and all its owner's lady friends have commented freely upon it. Then it is occasionally left on the sofa, or piano, or mantel-piece over night, instead of nestling in its soft-cushioned box in the drawer, as at first; or it is dropped on the hearth, or is

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left hanging for days in the watch-pocket of some one of many dresses in the closet, until a speedy visit to the watchmaker's seems essential to its restoration to activity. The watchmaker smiles as he examines it: he has seen

"ladies' watches" many a time and oft. He understands without explanation why it does not "keep as good time as my husband's" or "my brother Tom's watch;" he keeps his gravity when he is asked if hanging it up, or wearing