prepared in copper vessels must never be allowed to remain in them beyond the time necessary to cook it.

8. Copper is very ductile, that is, it can easily be drawn into thin wire. The Atlantic Cables, which connect America with Europe, consist of a number of copper wires.

9. Copper is used for coining. Inferior pieces of money, such as the cent in the United States and Canada, the pfennig in Germany, the penny in England, the centime in France, were formerly struck from it, but are now made of bronze, a compound of copper and tin. Silver and gold coins are alloyed with copper, both to give them a greater durability and a larger volumen. By Act of Congress, in 1837, our standard gold and silver is pure, and alloy, this being in gold coins half silver and half copper, in silver coins, pure copper. Our nickel pieces contain 88 parts of copper and 12 parts of nickel. For the same reason an alloy is added to the precious metals in the manufacture of jewelry.

10. Mixtures of copper with some of the lower metals form very useful and valuable combinations. Two parts of copper, one of nickel, and one of zinc make the beautiful German silver; 71 per cent. of copper, and 29 per cent. of zinc form brass; about 85 per cent. of copper, and 15 per cent. of tin is bronze; the gunmetal contains 90 parts of copper, and 10 of tin; the bellmetal, 75 of copper, and 25 of tin. Adapted.

LXXXIX. FULTON'S FIRST STEAMBOAT.

project, plan; scheme; Entwurf; Plan.

vis'-ion-a-ry, fanciful; unreal; eingebildet; geträumt.
civ'-il, kind; polite; anständig; höflich.

lam-en-ta'-tion, expression of sorrow; Wehklage.

ex-pend ́-i-ture, expense; Ausgabe; Kosten.

man'-i-fest, clear; apparent; offenbar; zweifellos.
mor-ti-fi-ca ́-tion, humiliation; Demütigung.

shrug, a drawing up of the shoulders; Achselzucken. in-dulge', to have patience; Nachsicht haben.

a-ban'-don, to give up; aufgeben.

res'-pite, delay; Frist.

con-cede', to grant; to admit; zugestehen; einräumen.

mal-ad-just ́-ment, a wrong adjustment; schlechte Anordnung.

ro-man'-tic, abounding in strange and various beauty; romantisch. dis-ap-point ́-ment, defeat or failure of expectation; Täuschung ; Mißlingen.

su-per-sede', to set aside; aufheben.

Though not the first to make the experiment of steam navigation, Fulton was the first to make it successful. This he did in New York in the year 1807. Judge Story, who had heard him relate the history of his labors, gives the substance of it, if not the actual words, in the following report from memory.

1. When I was building my first steamboat in New York, the project was viewed by the public either with indifference or with contempt as a visionary scheme. My friends, indeed, were civil, but they were shy. They listened with patience to my explanations, but with a settled cast of incredulity on their countenances. I felt the full force of the lamentation of the poet:

"Truths would you teach, to save a sinking land,

All shun, none aid you, and few understand."

2. As I had occasion to pass daily to and from the building-yard while my boat was in progress, I would often loiter unknown near the idle groups of strangers gathering in little circles, and would hear various inquiries as to the object of this new contrivance. The language was uniformly that of scorn or of ridicule. The loud laugh often rose at my expense; the dry jest; the wise calculation of losses and expenditures; the dull but endless repetition of the Fulton Folly. Never did a single encouraging remark, a bright hope or a warm wish, cross my path. Silence itself was but politeness vailing its doubts or hiding its reproaches.

3. At length the day arrived when the experiment was to be made. To me it was a most trying and interesting oc

casion. I invited many friends to go on board to witness the first successful trip. Many of them did me the favor to attend out of personal respect, but it was manifest that they did it reluctantly, fearing to be the partners of my mortification, and not of my triumph. I was well aware that in my case there were many reasons to doubt of my success.

4. The machinery was new and ill made; many parts of it were constructed by mechanics unaccustomed to such work, and unexpected difficulties from other causes might reasonably be expected to present themselves. The moment at last arrived in which the word was to be given for the vessel to move. My friends were in groups on the deck. There was anxiety mixed with fear among them. They were silent, and sad, and weary. I read in their looks nothing but disaster, and I almost repented of my efforts.

5. The signal was given, and the boat moved on a short distance, and then stopped and became immovable. To the silence of the preceding moment now succeeded murmurs of discontent, and agitations, and whispers, and shrugs. I could hear distinctly repeated, "I told you it would be So. It is a foolish scheme. I wish we were all out of it." I elevated myself upon a platform and addressed the assembly. I stated that I knew not what was the matter, but if they would be quiet and indulge me for a half hour, I would either go on or abandon the voyage for that time. This short respite was conceded without objection.

6. I went below, examined the machinery, and discovered that the cause was a slight mal-adjustment of some of the work. In a short period it was obviated. The boat was again put in motion. She continued to move on. All were still incredulous. None seemed willing to trust the evidence of their own senses. We left the fair city of New York; we passed through the romantic and ever-varying scenery of the Highlands; we descried the clustering houses of Albany ; we reached its shores; and then, even then, when all seemed

achieved, I was the victim of disappointment. Imagination superseded the influence of fact. It was then doubted if it could be done again, or, if done, if it could be made of any great value. J. Story.

XC.-THE GEYSERS OF ICELAND.

as'-pect, look; Ansicht.

ir'-ri-tate, to provoke; to anger; reizen.

fun'-nel, a tube for pouring liquids into bottles; Trichter.
seethe, to boil; sieden; kochen.

ad-min'-is-ter, to supply; darreichen; geben.

pas'-sion, emotion; anger; Leidenschaft; heftige Aufregung. qualm, a sudden attack (of illness); Anwandlung (von Übelkeit). ma-li'-cious, evil-minded; boshaft.

retch, to strain in the effort to vomit; sich heben.

la'-tent, secret; verborgen; geheim.

lan'-guid, feeble; weak; schwach.

pool, a small pond; Pfuhl; Teich.
dome, a cupola; Gewölbe.

un-sta-ble, not steady; unbeständig.

spec'-ta-cle, sight; Anblick.

sun'-lit, illuminated by the sun; von der Sonne beleuchtet.

1. The following day, we came upon a wide, flat valley, along which we skirted till we began to see, at the distance of two or three miles, on a piece of sloping ground, under a small hill, a strange assemblage of masses of steam waving in the evening breeze. Our eyes became fixed, of course, on this object, which every minute had a different aspect. Presently, there shot up amongst the waving masses a column of steam, spreading at the top like a tree; and I then felt sure that we were at length approaching the object of our journey.

2. Crossing the flooded meadow-ground, and passing a farm-house on the hill-face, we came, about ten o'clock at night, to the field which contains these wonderful springs. It was still clear daylight. The ground seemed like a place where some work is going on that calls for extensive boilings of caldrons. Were 5000 washerwomen to work in the

open air together, the general effect, at a little distance, might be somewhat similar.

3. As the baggage horses, with our tents and beds, had not yet arrived, we sat quietly down to coffee, brewed in Geyser water; when suddenly it seemed as if beneath our very feet a quantity of cannon were going off underground. The whole earth shook. We set off at full speed toward the Great Geyser, expecting to see the grand water explosion. By the time we reached its brim, however, the noise had ceased, and all we could see was a slight trembling movement in the centre.

4. Irritated at this false alarm, we determined to revenge ourselves by going and tormenting the Strokr. Strokr, or the churn, you must know, is an unfortunate Geyser, with so little command over his temper and his stomach that you can get a rise out of him, whenever you like. All that is necessary is to collect a quantity of sods and throw them down his funnel.

5. As he has no basin to protect him from these liberties, you can approach to the very edge of the pipe, about five feet in diameter, and look down at the boiling water which is perpetually seething at the bottom. In a few minutes the dose of turf you have just administered begins to disagree with him; he works himself up into an awful passion.

6. Tormented by the qualms of sickness, he groans and hisses, and boils up, and spits at you with malicious vehemence; until at last, with a roar of mingled pain and rage, he throws up into the air a column of water forty feet high. This carries with it all the sods that have been chucked in, and scatters them scalded and halfdigested at your feet.

7. So irritated has the poor thing's stomach become by the discipline it has undergone, that, even long after all foreign matter has been thrown off, it goes on retching and sputtering, until at last nature is exhausted. Then, sobbing and sighing to itself, it sinks back into the bottom of its den.