ants, but are straight, and so are more like spears or swords than hoes and rakes, such as the other kinds have. Their business is fighting, and they want servants both to build their houses and take care of their children. Every evening, therefore, a little before sunset, they set out, like the kidnappers in Africa against a negro village, to surprise some industrious ant-hill in the neighbourhood, which their scouts have reported on. They surround the fortress, and then all rush upon it together. The few black ants that stand sentry at the entrances are soon mastered, and the robbers rush at once to the rooms where the eggs and young ones are, seize them and carry them off, never taking any males or females. They bring them home and hand them over to the slaves they already have of the same kind. These slaves have evidently got quite accustomed to their life, and fond of their masters, for they show great joy when prisoners are brought, and are very sad when the Amazons have failed. They run to meet them, and relieve them of their precious load, take care of the young; shampoo them, undress them, take off their swaddling clothes at the proper time, and feed them. The red children of the Amazons and the black captives are brought up together and live like brothers. Not only do the slave-ants do all the work of the nursery; they build and repair the castle, and they are sent out after the cows, and bring back the captives for their masters to milk. However, they always get their share. In fact they keep the key of the * See the paper on Ants in "Third Reader." * L pantry, for they open and shut all the doors of the castle and of the rooms in it every night and morning; and they will sometimes help the Amazons with whom they have lived, in fights against their own kind. QUESTIONS.-Why are there two kinds of ants in one ant-hill? What colours are they? What name is given to the red ant? Are they male and female ants who live, two kinds, in an ant-hill? What weapons have the Amazons? How do they get their slaves? What do they carry off? What are the duties of the black ants? What do they do beside attending to the babies? What is their duty every night and morning? Give different meanings of the following words:-pray, poll, pause, peace, peel, please, rain, raise, rode, row, roes, Rome, wrote, rest, wrap, read, ring, write, rye, rude, rough, rung. SOME MURMUR.-Archbishop Trench. Born 1807. Now Archbishop of Dublin. Author of "Poems," and learned books on "The Parables," "The Miracles," "The Study of Words," and "English, Past and Present." SOME murmur, when their sky is clear, And wholly bright to view, If one small speck of dark appear In their great heaven of blue; And some with thankful love are filled. One ray of God's good mercy, gild The darkness of their night. In palaces are hearts that ask, (Love that not ever seems to tire) AN OLD ENGLISH SONG.-T. Heywood. (A.D. 1500-1565.) PACK, clouds, away, and welcome day, With night we banish sorrow; Sweet air, blow soft-mount, lark, aloft, To give my love good-morrow! Wings from the wind to please her mind, Notes from the lark I'll bor row; Bird, prune thy wing-night- To give my love good-morrow! row. Wake from thy nest, Robin-redbreast, And from each hill let music shrill 66 CAPTAIN WILLIAM HORNBY (A.D. 1744). kid-napped par-don-a-ble nec-es-sary blun-der-buss dis-en-gaged con-ster-na-tion im-me-di-ate-ly ob-stin-ate-ly WILLIAM HORNBY was kidnapped at a very early age, and placed on board a man-of-war, to be a powder-monkey;" that is, a boy who had to serve out the powder and shot on board a man-of-war when it was in action, running from gun to gun through the thickest of the fight. Poor little children of six and seven years old used to be taken by press-gangs from the streets for this work, and many poor little fellows no older might be seen in the old days of our wars, lying dead or dying on the deck, mangled by shot or shell, and yet bearing death like heroes, as they were. The first dawn of Hornby's life was in the battle-smoke, and his schooling was that of bursting bombs, double-headed shot, and boarding-pikes. He may be said to have taken well to this schooling, but noble conduct does not consist only in deeds of warfare, and Hornby was as generous as he was brave; for one of his little shipmates, a mere child of about his own age, being charged with an offence, William generously took all the blame upon himself, and let himself be flogged with the cat, rather than betray his friend. This was the first proof of his nobility of soul, but many others were given before the end of the war sent him ashore again. He soon "got a ship," as sailors say when they get employment on board a vessel, and displayed such noble courage in rescuing the crew of a foundering brig, that, although then but a boy, he was soon made master of the vesselof course a merchantman-and sailed in her from Great Yarmouth, in the year 1744. He steered for the coast of Holland, but when well over to the other side of the Channel, a French privateer, the Braneas, came upon his vessel, the Isabella. The strength of the two vessels was very unequal, for the Isabella mounted only four carriage guns, and two swivels, and her crew consisted of only five men and three boys, besides the boy-captain; while the French ship, commanded by Captain André, had ten carriage guns, and eight swivels, and seventy-five men, with three hundred small-arms. It would have been a pardonable thing, against such odds, to have surrendered the ship and cargo. But Captain Hornby was not a man to do this; he felt that the honour of his country and the interests of his employers were concerned, and so, having stirred up his crew by some telling words, and obtained their promise of standing by him to the last, he bravely hoisted the British colours, his men giving three cheers, and with his two swivel guns returned the fire of his enemy's chase-guns. At last, after firing at each other in this way for some time, the Frenchman got close to the Isabella, and ordered Captain Hornby to strike. The brave English captain returned an answer of firm defiance, upon which the privateer, doubly shotting her guns, put her helm up, and poured such a shower of bullets |