you some general idea of it. But to-night we have another theme And now which of you can tell me of what water is composed?

George. I have heard that it was composed of a combination of gases, but I do not know the names of them.

M. F. Water is a combination of eight parts of oxygen and one of hydrogen, by weight, or of two parts of hydrogen and one of oxygen, by measure. By a series of experiments, which have been made by scientific men, it is known that water can be decomposed, that is, the two gases can be separated. If two thin wires, connected with the poles of a galvanic battery, be so placed that one end of each shall enter a glass vessel, a portion of water contained therein will be decomposed, and the gaseous product will be collected in tubes, fixed immediately over the point of each wire. The wire connected with the positive pole of the battery gives out oxygen; that with the other, or negative pole, hydrogen. I do not suppose that you can understand fully this matter now, yet it will be well to fix it in your memory.

Flora. Pray, Mr. Forrester, how can air exist in the water? You told us at the last evening, when we were talking about the atmosphere, that there was air in the water, and then a short time after, you said air was lighter than water, and that it rose in bubbles to the top of the water.

M. F. A very proper question. It is now rendered very certain that water is composed of very small particles, nearly, or quite round in form, and that the spaces between are filed with air, just like a tea-cup full of fine shot or mustard seed, only infinitely smaller. These particles cannot be seen, they are so small, and the air in water, when it rises in any considerable quantity, displaces them. Liquids, when left to themselves, naturally form into the globular shape. Shot are made by pouring melted lead through a sieve, at the top of some high building. As soon as the drops are left to themselves they acquire the proper shape, and before reaching the ground they cool and become hard. Drops of rain, when falling, are round. Hail-stones are rough when they reach the ground. Now can any one tell me why they are not round like shot, for they are made in the same way, substantially?

George. Perhaps it is the wind, for I have noticed that high winds generally accompany hail-storms.

M. F. You are doubtless correct. There seems to be some dispute about the precise way in which hail-stones are formed. It is, however, true that they are frozen drops of rain. There are strong reasons for believing that electricity, that subtle fluid which pervades all creation, the most wonderful, fearful, and unknown agent, has some connection with the formation of hail. If so, probably no one will ever be able to say exactly the cause and manner of their formation. Another theory is that the hail-stones, at first, are no larg. er than the smallest drops of rain, and that in falling through a cloud other drops are attached to them, and become frozen; thus causing them to grow larger and larger, until they reach the ground. Flora. How large hail-stones ever fall?

M. F. It would be impossible to say, as there are frequent hailstorms in mountainous countries, which are uninhabited. I have seen them of considerable size myself. I sat under the shelter of a huge rock, high on the White Mountains, many years ago, with a friend, during a very severe hail-storm. It was in June, and one of the hottest days of the season. Our dog was a short way off, barking at a gray squirrel, when the hail began to come down, but he very soon came running towards us, yelping in a most piteous manner. The storm lasted but a very few minutes, not more than five, yet in that short period a great quantity of hail fell. I could have easily picked up a bushel of hail-stones as large as butternuts. Most of them were much smaller, and at the foot of the mountain the stones were

no larger than walnuts. A vast quantity of green leaves and tender twigs from the trees were also cut off, and fell down, nearly covering the ground. Hail-storms are very common in the south of France, and on the Pyrenees mountains. The hail-stones which fall there are frequently as large as a hen's egg, and there is no reason to doubt that they have fallen even twice that size. But I think we are wandering from our subject somewhat.

I have told you that water can be decomposed, and the two gases, of which it is formed, weighed and measured.

Helen Williams. What if the two gases be put together again? M. F. I have been waiting to have some of my new acquaint"break the ice" for some time. I am glad to find you are all interested. If the two gases are put together again and inflamed,

ances

they become water as before. But they must be in the exact proportions I have named. If we take three parts of hydrogen to one of oxygen, and explode them, one part of the hydrogen will remain uncombined. Oxygen and hydrogen, when mixed in the right proportions to form water, are very explosive, and it is unsafe to experiment with them except in very small quantities.

Water freezes at thirty-two degrees above zero. Fresh water congeals much quicker than sea-water. Probably the constant motion of the waves of the ocean acts as a preventive. About seven tenths of the earth's surface is covered with water. Of course this includes both fresh and salt water, lakes, rivers and ponds, as well as oceans. Henry. I once heard an old sailor say that the ocean, in some places, had no bottom. Don't you suppose that he knew better? M. F. I cannot tell. A single moment's reflection would convince any person, not a complete idiot, that the ocean must have a bottom. The ocean is so deep in some places that no bottom has ever been found by sounding, and perhaps this was what the sailor meant. There are various obstacles to prevent sounding to a great depth. As the lead sinks, the water becomes more and more dense or compact, and consequently the lead becomes comparatively lighter. Then again the motion of the ship tends to curve the line, so that the sinking of the lead is impeded. Scoresby sounded the Greenland Ocean to the depth of seven thousand two hundred feet, over a mile and a quarter, without finding any bottom. Others have sent the lead still deeper; and it is at least probable that the ocean is somewhat deeper, in some places, than the height of the highest mountain, or over five miles. Whether any unknown fishes or sea-monsters live at this great depth, we cannot tell.

Flora. For my part, I do not understand how fishes separate the air from the water when they breathe.

M. F. God has provided them with apparatus, perfect and complete. The water is thrown off through the gills. If you were to hold a fish's gills so that it could not open them, the creature would soon die.

George. Several years ago, I heard a person say that it would not kill fishes to freeze them. I suppose he must have been mis.

taken.

Fishes are cold

M. F. No; he was without doubt correct. blooded, and in that respect differ from all other animate objects. I have never seen the experiment tried, yet there is abundant evidence to prove that not only fishes, but frogs, snails, and lizards, after being frozen hard, solid as a stone, are capable of being reänimated. Ah! I see symptoms of unbelief in several countenances. Well, I cannot wonder. It does seem almost impossible. And yet it is as well known in some northern countries as any other fact. Not only so, but various experiments have been tried to ascertain the fact. Sir John Franklin, the enterprising navigator, now in the northern seas, and about whose safety there is so much interest manifested, both in this country and Europe, while at Fort Chipewyan, in March, 1820, makes the following notes: "It may be worthy of notice here, that the fish froze as soon as they were taken out of the nets, and in a short time became solid masses of ice. Of course they exhibited no signs of life. If, however, in this completely frozen state they were thawed before the, fire, they recovered their animation. This was particularly the case with the carp, and we had occasion to observe it repeatedly, as Doctor Richardson occupied himself in examining the structure of the different species of fish, and was always, in the winter, obliged to thaw them before he could cut them. We have seen a carp recover so far as to leap about with great vigor, after it had been frozen for thirty-six hours."

If frozen fish are thawed in cold water, they live ultimately, though when brought to a fire they never thoroughly recover, but soon die. This is because it is an unnatural way to thaw them. You know that when individuals freeze their ears, fingers, or toes, it is exceedingly dangerous to thaw them by a fire. But by putting on snow or cold water, the extremities soon lose their numbness. But we must break off.

Alexander Hamilton.

We present to our young patrons, in this article, a portrait and sketch of the life of one of the remarkable men of the Revolution. God, it would seem, raised up a class of men well fitted, by natural