they had to pass a little fort on Sullivan's Island. This, however, being defended only by raw militia, was hardly looked on as an obstacle.

3. Happily for America, the command of the fort had been committed to General Moultrie. For, while Moultrie was showing the fort to General Lee, and, in the language of a fiery patriot, was boasting what handsome resistance he hoped it would make, Lee with infinite scorn replied, "Pshaw! a mere slaughter-house! a mere slaughter-house! a British man-of-war will knock it about your ears in half an hour!" Lee even proposed to abandon the fort!

4. Moultrie could scarcely suppress his indignation. "No man, sir," said he to Lee, "can have a higher opinion of the British ships and seamen than I have. But there are others who love the smell of gunpowder as well as they do; and give us but plenty of powder and ball, sir, and let them come on as soon as they please."

5. His courage was soon put to the test; for about ten o'clock, on the 28th of June, in the glorious 1776, Sir Peter Parker with seven tall ships formed his line, and, bearing down within point-blank shot of the fort, let go his anchors and began a tremendous fire.

6. At every thundering blast he earnestly hoped to see the militia take to the sands like frightened rats from an old barn on fire. But, in defeat of his hopes, the militia stood their ground, firm as the black-jacks of their land. They leveled their four-and-twenty-pounders with good aim, and every fire bored the enemy's ships through and through.

7. Their third broadside carried away one of the cables of the commodore's ship; the stern of which immediately swung round right upon the guns of the fort. "Hurrah, my brave fellows! was instantly the cry along the American battery, "look well to the commodore! now, my boys, for your best respects to the commodore!"

8. Little did the commodore thank them for such respects; for in a short time sixty of his crew lay lifeless on his decks, while many more were severely wounded. The Americans stood the fire like salamanders, for the neighboring shores were lined with thousands of their dearest relatives, anxiously looking on.

9. The British tars fought with their wonted heroism. Long accustomed to mastery in battles with the French, and greatly outnumbering the fort both in men and guns, they counted on certain victory, and, though dreadfully damaged, yet scorned to yield.

10. Immense were the exertions on both sides; and, while the powder of the fort lasted, the conflict was awfully grand. From ships to fort, and from fort to ships again, all below seemed one stream of solid fire: all above, one vast mountain of smoke darkening the day; while unceasing bursts of thunder deafened all ears, and far around shook both land and sea.

11. The heroes in the fort won immortal honor. A ball from the enemy's ships carried away the flag-staff. One brave fellow, Sergeant Jasper, jumped down from the fort to the beach in the hottest fury of the battle, and, snatching up the flag, returned it to its place, waving his hat and huzzaing, "Hurrah! my boys! Liberty and America forever!" Governor Rutledge, in presence of the regiment, took his sword from his side and presented it to Jasper.

12. Another Sergeant, McDonald, while roaring away. with his twenty-four-pounder, was terribly shattered by a cannon-ball. When about to expire, he lifted up his dying eyes and said, "My brave countrymen, I die; but do not let the cause of liberty die with me.'

13. The British ships, after a long and gallant struggle, retired with great loss. Sir Peter was so overwhelmed by this defeat that it took him full eight-and-forty hours to recover his appetite for his beef and pudding.

XVIII.-PAPER-MAKING.

pulp, the material of which paper is made; Papiermasse.
gru'-el, food made of oat meal boiled in water; Haferschleim.
chlo ́-ride of lime, a compound of lime and chlorine; Chlorkalk.
cyl'-in-der, a roller; Cylinder; Walze.

1. The best paper is made of linen rags, but cotton and other materials are also much used. Of late years a method of converting straw and wood into paper has been found. If you go to paper mills, you will be shown great heaps of old dirty rags, and you will perhaps be surprised when you are told that these dirty rags of all colors are made into clean white paper.

2. The rags are first thoroughly washed and soaked in water. They are then put into a kind of box. In the sides of the box there are sharp knives, and a roller also furInished with knives turns round in it. The rags are kept in water while the roller moves round and round, tearing and cutting them to small pieces, till at last the rags and the water form a pulp somewhat like gruel. After the pulp has been rendered perfectly white by means of chloride of lime, it is put into a large vessel, where it is kept warm and constantly stirred.

3. In order to form this pulp into paper, the water must be separated from it, and the solid parts spread out into a flat thin layer. Formerly each sheet of paper was made separately by hand; now machines, moved by steam, are employed, which manufacture it far more rapidly.

4. The pulp is made to flow upon very fine wire-cloth, upon which it spreads out in a thin sheet. The wire-cloth moves slowly onward, and the water is drained off, leaving the layer of pulp. The sheet is next slightly pressed between two pairs of rollers. After passing over and under several heated cylinders, the sheet at last winds itself upon a reel in the form of dry white paper. The pulp is changed

into paper in less than two minutes. One machine will, in three hours, produce a roll of paper a mile in length.

5. Writing-paper is dipped into a tub of size, which is a particular kind of glue. If it were not for this, the ink would run when we write upon it. Blotting-paper is made without size. Some kinds of paper have a glazed surface. This is given by pressing them between heated plates. The rolls of paper are cut into the size required. The sheets are counted into quires, each containing twenty-four sheets, folded, and cut smooth round the edges. Lastly, the paper is put up into reams of twenty quires, pressed in the reams, and tied up in wrappers for sale.

Adapted.

XIX.-CORK.

ex-ter'-nal, outward; äußerlich.
re-sem ́-blance, likeness; Ähnlichkeit.

ma-tu'-ri-ty, ripeness; Reife.

in-fe'-ri-or, lower in quality; geringer.

re-pro-duce', to produce again; wieder hervorbringen.

por'-ous, full of pores; porös; löcherig.

ex-por-ta ́-tion, act of sending goods abroad; Ausfuhr.
bung, a stopper for a barrel; Spund.
con'-tra-ry, opposite; entgegengesetzt.
de-fect'-ive, imperfect; mangelhaft.

1. That most useful substance called cork is the thick, spongy, external bark of a species of oak.

The tree grows

to the height of upwards of thirty feet, and is a native of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Barbary, and some of the southern parts of France.

2. It bears a strong resemblance to the evergreen oak, and attains to a great age. When arrived at a certain state of maturity, it sheds its bark, but the quality of the bark so separated is inferior to that which is obtained by removing it at a proper time.

3. When the outer bark is removed, the inner bark appears below it, and from this the cork is reproduced in the course of a few years. The trees are generally peeled once in ten years.

4. The best cork is obtained from the oldest trees, the bark of the young trees being too porous for use. They are, nevertheless, stripped of their bark before they are twenty years old, it having been found that after every stripping the bark increases in value.

5. After the pieces of bark are detached, they are soaked in water, and when nearly dry are placed over a fire of coals, which blackens their surface, but makes them more smooth. They are next loaded with weights to make them even, and are afterwards dried and stacked, or packed in bales for exportation.

6. The spongy nature of cork makes it serve well for the stopping of bottles and other vessels, and thus preventing liquids from running out, or the air from getting in. In the cutting of corks for this use, the only tool employed is a very broad, thin and sharp knife.

7. The corks for bottles are cut lengthwise of the bark, and consequently the pores lie across. Bungs, and corks of large size, are cut in a contrary direction; the pores in these are therefore downward, which renders them much more defective than the others in stopping out the air.

XX. SIGNS OF THE WEATHER.

soot, a black substance formed by combustion; Ruß.
span'-iel, a species of dog; Wachtelhund.

ha'-lo, a luminous circle sometimes seen around the moon ;

Hof um den Mond.

rack, an instrument of torture; ein Folterwerkzeug.

tor-ment', to pain; peinigen.

dis-turb', to trouble; beunruhigen; stören.