that it would by and by blow quite as certainly in another direction. But it is still much more dull to find one's self in a calm on a tropical sea. Only imagine to yourselves a stagnant and shoreless sea, often with unsightly masses of sea-weed floating on it, a sky constantly of a gloomy-looking red, and nothing to be seen day after day except this sky and sea; insupportable thirst, and bad water to quench it, and the ship all the time rocking to and fro with a nasty dull motion, and the ropes and sails idly flapping against the masts and yards. This is well described by the poet Coleridge, in his beautiful ballad of "The Ancient Mariner." Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down, And we did speak only to break The silence of the sea. All in a hot and copper sky, The bloody sun at noon, Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion, As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, And not a drop to drink. SECTION V. LESSONS FROM THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1.-England and Scotland once two separate Kingdoms. Cel'e-brat-ed, famous. cause. Nu'mer-ous, containing, Sep'ar-ate, to disjoin; to Pos-sess', to own; to have. ENGLAND is the southern, and Scotland is the northern part of the celebrated island call1 Great Britain. England is greatly larger than Scotland, and the land is much richer, and produces better crops. There are also a great many more men in England; and both the gentlemen and the country people are more wealthy, and have better food and clothing there than in Scotland. The towns, also, are much more numerous, and more populous. Scotland, on the contrary, is full of hills, and huge moors and wildernesses, which bear no corn, and afford but little food for flocks of sheep or herds of cattle. But the level ground that lies along the great rivers, is more fertile, and produces good crops. The natives of Scotland are accustomed to live more hardily in general than those of England. The cities and towns are fewer, smaller, and less full of inhabitants than in England. But as Scotland possesses great quarries of stone, the houses are commonly built of that material, which is more lasting, and has a grander effect to the eye, than the bricks used in England. Now, as these two nations live in the different ends of the same island, and are separated by large and stormy seas from all other parts of the world, it seems natural that they should have been friendly to each other, and that they should have lived as one people under the same government. Accordingly, about two hundred and forty years ago, the King of Scotland becoming King of England, the two nations have ever since been joined in one great kingdom, which is called Great Britain. But before this happy union of England and Scotland, there were many long, cruel, and bloody wars between the two nations; and, far from helping or assisting each other, as became good neighbours and friends, they did each other all the harm and injury that they possibly could, by invading each other's territories, killing their subjects, burning their towns, and taking their wives and children prisoners. This lasted for many many hundred years. The English are very fond of their fine country; they call it Old England, and Merry England, and think it the finest land that the sun shines upon. And the Scots are also very proud of their own country, with its great lakes and mountains, and, in the old language of the country, they call it "The land of the lakes and mountains, and of the brave men;" and often, also, "The Land of Cakes," because the people live a good deal upon cakes made of oatmeal, instead of wheaten bread. But both England and Scotland are now parts of the same kingdom, and there is no use in asking which is the best country, or has the bravest men. II.-William the Lion.-Origin of Armorial Bearings. blem. Ar-mo'ri-al, belonging to | De-vice', contrivance; emthe arms or escutcheon of a family. Coun'te-nance, the face; look; protection; patronage. Dec-or-a'tion, ornament. Emblem, a representation or picture having allusion to some other object. Em-ble-mat/i-cal, having reference to emblems; obscurely representative. Whim'si-cal, fanciful; capricious. Mis-de-mea'nour, an offence. Pe-cu'li-ar, particular; appropriate. Science, knowledge; skill. De-scent', extraction; declivity; invasion. Te-na'cious (shus), holding fast an opinion or privilege; retentive; obstinate. [spect. Hom'age, obeisance; reIn'fi-del, an unbeliever. 1165. Malcom the Maiden was succeeded by his brother William, a son of Prince Henry, and grandson of the good King David. In his time, warriors and men of consequence began to assume what are called armorial bearings, which you may still see cut upon seals, engraved on silver plate, and painted upon gentlemen's carriages. Now, it is as well that little boys should know the meaning of this ancient custom. In the time of which I am speaking, the warriors went into battle clad in complete armour, which covered them from top to toe. On their head they wore iron caps, called helmets, with vizors, which came down and protected the face, so that nothing could be seen of the countenance, except the eyes peeping through bars of iron. But as it was necessary that a king, lord, or knight, should be known to his followers in battle, they adopted two ways of distinguishing themselves. The one was by a crest, that is, a figure of some kind or other, as a lion, a wolf, a hand holding a sword, or some such decoration, which they wore on the top of the helmet, as we talk of a cock's comb being the crest of that bird. But, besides this mark of distinction, these warriors were accustomed to paint emblematical figures, sometimes of a very whimsical kind, upon their shields. These emblems became general; and at length no one was permitted to bear any |