there begin to come, from seas which are then getting too warm for them, numbers of seals, to remain until the following month of November.

2. When the time comes for the annual visit to the islands to be made, it is usual for the full-grown male seals, acting as pioneers, to journey there in advance, for the purpose of selecting the exact spot where they propose to live during their stay, and the mothers follow about six weeks later.

3. The latter, however, on their arrival, do not always find a home in readiness for them, as they probably anticipate; for it is said that sometimes the males fight so desperately for favorite positions on the "rookeries," as the rocks to which they resort are termed, that often a fatal ending ensues, and when the other members of the seal family come to the island, the defeated ones are looked for in vain. By the beginning of July thousands and tens of thousands of seals have landed on the rocks, and many acres of ground-extending over twenty miles along the shore-are covered by them as closely as they can lie.

4. During their stay on the islands, these seals are not allowed to remain unmolested, for from them is obtainable a beautiful and valuable fur, and in order to secure this, very great numbers of them are every year destroyed, the right of killing them being purchased from the United States Government, to which the islands belong, by a large company of traders.

When it is in

5. The mode of capture is very simple. tended to secure the seals, all that is necessary is for a few natives-who alone are permitted to be employed by the company-to make their way into the midst of one of the "rookeries," and there choose those which they consider best suited to their purpose.

6. As a rule, seals are very much on their guard when approached by human beings; the kind of which we speak,

however, are not in any way shy, and the natives move amongst them with the utmost freedom. When a sufficient number have been selected, the seals are next made to move from their restingplaces near the shore, and then, having been formed into a flock, just as sheep might be, they are driven inland in a long straggling line, extending sometimes for a mile, towards the villages, where they are to be slain.

7. The journey thither is, however, a difficult one for the seals, and the rate at which they can travel is very slow; for, though their movements in the water are rapid and graceful, such is not the case on land, where their method of walking, owing to the peculiar construction of their bodies, is, as it were, by a series of sudden starts or jerks, which are very tiring; and it is not surprising to learn that many of the poor animals fail, through exhaustion, to reach the villages alive.

Chatterbox.

XXIV. AMERICA.-NATIONAL HYMN.

lib'-er-ty, freedom; Freiheit.

rill, a small brook; Bächlein.

tem'-pled, crowned with temples; mit Tempeln versehen.

rapt'-ure, delight; Entzücken.

thrill, to feel a shivering sensation; schauern; beben.

par-take', to have part; teilnehmen.

pro-long, to lengthen; verlängern.

au'-thor, creator; Urheber.

pro-tect', to guard; to shield; beschüßen.

1. My country! 't is of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing ;

Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride;
From every mountain side,

Let freedom ring.

2. My native country! thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love:

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.

3. Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees,
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake,
Let all that breathe partake,
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

4. Our fathers' God! to thee,
Author of Liberty!

To thee we sing;

Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might,

Great God, our King!

S. F. Smith.

XXV.-ORIGIN OF YANKEE DOODLE.

prov'-ince, a portion of a state; Provinz.

mot'-ley, variegated in color; composed of disagreeing parts; bunt

scheckig.

as-sem'-bly, company; meeting; Versammlung.

re-lax', to slacken; ermatten; erschlaffen.

anch'-o-rite, a hermit; Einsiedler.

de-scend'-ant, an offspring; Abkömmling.

crop, to cut off the ends; stugen.

ac-cou'-ter-ments, military dress and arms; militärische Ausrüstung.

un-ac-cus'-tomed, not accustomed; new; ungewohnt.

sci'-ence, knowledge; Wissenschaft.

sur-geon, one who cures by operation; Wundarzt.

mar-tial, pertaining to war; friegerisch.

a-maze-ment, a feeling of surprise or wonder; Verwunderung. com-po-si'-tion, a piece of music; Tondichtung.

lev'-i-ty, frivolity; Leichtsinn.

des'-ti-ny, fate; Bestimmung.

in-spire', to enliven; beleben; begeistern.

o-rig'-i-nal, first in order; first made; ursprünglich.

1. In 1755 simultaneous attacks were made upon the French posts in America. That against the fort on the

Ohio, where the city of Pittsburgh now stands, was conducted by General Braddock; and those against Niagara and Frontenac by Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, and General Johnson, of New York. The army of Shirley and Johnson, during the summer of 1755, lay on the eastern bank of the Hudson, a little south of the city of Albany.

2. In the early part of June the troops of the eastern provinces began to pour in, company after company; and such a motley assembly of men never before thronged together on such an occasion, unless an example may be found in the ragged regiment of Sir John Falstaff.

3. It would have relaxed the gravity of an anchorite to have seen the descendants of the Puritans marching through the streets of that ancient city (Albany), and taking their situations to the left of the British army: some with long coats, some with short coats, and others with no coats at all; with colors as varied as the rainbow: some with their hair cropped like the army of Cromwell, and others with wigs, the locks of which floated with grace around their shoulders.

4. Their march, their accouterments, and the whole arrangement of the troops furnished matter of amusement to the rest of the British army. Their music were airs of two centuries ago; and their appearance, on the whole, exhibited a sight to the wondering strangers, to which they had been unaccustomed.

5. Among the club of wits that belonged to the British army there was a Dr. Shackburg attached to the staff, who

combined with the science of a surgeon the skill and talent of a musician. To please the new comers, he composed a tune, and with much gravity recommended it to the officers as one of the most celebrated airs of martial music.

6. The joke took, to the no small amazement of the British. Brother Jonathan exclaimed it was "mighty fine,' and in a few days nothing was heard in the provincial camp but the air of Yankee Doodle.

7. Little did the author then think that an air, made for the purpose of levity and ridicule, would be marked for such high destinies. In twenty years from that time the national march inspired the heroes of Bunker Hill, and in less than thirty Lord Cornwallis and his army marched into the American lines to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

8. This tune, however, was not original with Dr. Shackburg: he made it from an old song, which can be traced back to the reign of Charles I.—a song which has, in its day, been used for a great variety of words.

Selected.

XXVI. HOW THE UNITED STATES CAME TO BE

CALLED "UNCLE SAM."

des'-ig-nate, to name; bezeichnen.

dec-la-ra'-tion, announcement; Erklärung.

con-tract'-or, one who agrees to do a certain service; Kontraktor;

Lieferant.

Vin-spect'-or, one who oversees; Aufseher.

fa-ce'-tious, sportive; launig.

ral'-ly, to mock; neden.

re-cruit', to gain new men for military service; rekrutieren.

front'-ier, the border; Grenze.

cam-paign', the time an army is engaged in marching, fighting,

or camping; Feldzug.

i-den'-tic-al, the same; not different; nämliche.

rec'-og-nize, to know again; to acknowledge; wieder erkennen; anerkennen.