at the proper time, wedges are driven in, which soon swell in the water and blast out, as it were, without further help from human hands, the great blocks in the desired form. 6. As the traveler wanders on through the long, dark passages, he sees statues and holy images in niches and at the corners; he passes large vaulted rooms, dark caves, that seem to have no end; and at times he comes upon stairs, cut in the salt, which he has to descend carefully, so smooth and slippery is the material of which they are formed. 7. Every now and then the visitor sees a bell-shaped shaft, from the top of which hangs a frail ladder, free in the air, swaying and swinging to and fro with the cold currents that blow here; and he looks with wonder and fear at the poor miner, who crosses himself piously, as he sets foot on the slim rounds and descends slowly into a black darkness below. · CXXII. THE SALT-MINES OF WIELICZKA. PART II. col-os'-sal, gigantic; riesig. choir, that part of the church appropriated to the singers; Chor. chan-de-lier', a hanging branched lamp; Kronleuchter. ruf'-fle, to wrinkle; kräuseln. del-uge', the great flood in the days of Noah; Sündflut. trink'-et, a small ornament; Geschmeide. prop, to prevent from falling; stüßen. 1. All of a sudden, the traveler sees bright lights before him, and, dazzled and surprised, he enters a vast cathedral, the walls of which shine and shimmer all around in fanciful, flitting lights, as the light of the torches and candles fall upon the bright masses of salt; there is the altar with its colossal cross, and at the side, the organ and the choir; here also statues and images abound on all sides, and even human worshipers, kneeling down in silent prayer, are cut out in the yielding material. Further on, he is led into a great banquet room with brilliant chandeliers, glittering and glistening like the fairest crystals; then into bed-chambers with mocking couches-in short, the whole upper world is repeated here below. 2. Gradually the passages become lower; the ceiling sinks more and more on the left, and at last the visitor is forced to bend, until he fairly creeps along on all fours. But suddenly he sees before him a startling scene: dark waters, sparkling bright in the light of torches fastened to the glistening walls. Like a vast black mirror, a lake, silent and motionless, stretches far into the endless darkness. 3. Never has the wing of a bird dipped its feathers into the smooth waters; never has a breath of air ruffled their quiet, sleeping surface. Like walls of iron, the rocks of salt rise all around in grim solemnity, and hold the restless element bound in unbroken silence and peace. The scene is beautiful, and yet fearful in its utter loneliness and deathlike stillness. 4. A few shells and remnants of plants are found on the banks of the black lake, but they belong to times as old as the Deluge. No life has ever been known to grace the lake. Only long, long years ago, when the waters that now rest deep below the world of men came purling down the mountain-side, they bore with them these tiny houses of animals, and in their wanderings through the depths of the earth carried them with them to their silent resting place. 5. At the further end of the lake, to which the traveler is rowed in a skiff, a little chapel rises, simple and old, and yet of great import. It is devoted to the memory of the pious wife of one of Poland's early kings, to whom God gave, in 1252, the knowledge of these wonderful treasures for her poorer subjects. 6. She was far off in Hungary, the legend says; and hearing there of the fearful suffering of her native land, she prayed for help from the Father above; she was ordered to cast a precious ring, which she valued most of all her trinkets, into a deep well. She did it in simple faith, and, when she returned to her home at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, some peasants brought her a piece of rock-salt, believing it to be a costly jewel. It was of little value in itself, but, oh wonder! in the heart of the transparent mass her ring lay imbedded. 7. She understood the direction from on high, ordered search to be made for more of the shining substance, and thus were discovered the great mines of Wieliczka, which have ever since been a source of greater wealth than rich mines of gold and diamonds. 8. Beyond the little chapel the work begins again, and miners are seen busy loosening great lumps of salt from the mass, blasting the less pure material with powder, and cutting out the more valuable blocks carefully with chisel and chipping-knife. Others harness the twelve horses that are kept below and have never seen the light of heaven to rude sledges, on which the blocks are drawn to the foot of the shafts that lead up to the world above; while still others are opening new passages or propping up dangerous places with large wooden pillars. With a feeling of pity for their hard work, the traveler passes them, returning their friendly greeting, and gladly he beholds once more, as he rises to the top of the shaft, the bright light of day and the beautiful face of God's earth. Selected. CXXIII.-ALEXANDER THE GREAT, AND A ROBBER. ex-ploit', deed; That. as-sas'-sin, a secret murderer; Meuchelmörder. blast, to injure; verheeren. in-sa'-ti-a-ble, unsatisfied; unersättlich. ham'-let, a small village; Dörfchen. sub-vert', to overthrow; umstürzen, a-tone', repay; erseßen. Alexander. What, art thou the Thracian robber, of whose exploits I have heard so much? Robber. I am a Thracian, and a soldier. Alex. A soldier!-a thief, a plunderer, an assassin! the pest of the country; I could honor thy courage, but I must detest and punish thy crimes. Robber. What have I done, of which you can complain? Alex. Hast thou not set at defiance my authority, violated the public peace, and passed thy life in injuring the persons and properties of thy fellow subjects? Robber. Alexander! I am your captive-I must hear what you please to say, and endure what you please to inflict. But my soul is unconquered; and if I reply at all to your reproaches, I will reply like a free man. Alex. Speak freely. Far be it from me to take the advantage of my power, to silence those with whom I deign 'to converse. Robber. I must then answer your question by another. How have you passed your life? Alex. Like a hero. Ask Fame, and she will tell you. Among the brave, I have been the bravest; among sovereigns, the noblest; among conquerors, the mightiest. Robber. And does not Fame speak of me, too? Was there ever a bolder captain of a more valiant band? Was there ever but I scorn to boast. You yourself know that I have not been easily subdued. Alex. Still, what are you but a robberhonest robber? a base, dis Robber. And what is a conqueror? Have not you, too, gone about the earth like an evil genius, blasting the fair fruits of peace and industry; plundering, ravaging, killing, without law, without justice, merely to gratify an insatiable lust for dominion? All that I have done to a single district with a hundred followers, you have done to whole nations with a hundred thousand. If I have stripped individuals, you have ruined kings and princes. If I have burned a few hamlets, you have desolated the most flourishing kingdoms and cities of the earth. What is, then, the difference, but that, as you were born a king, and I a private man, you have been able to become a mightier robber than I? Alex. But if I have taken like a king, I have given like a king. If I have subverted empires, I have founded greater. I have cherished arts, commerce, and philosophy. Robber. I, too, have freely given to the poor what I took from the rich. I have established order and discipline among the most ferocious of mankind, and have stretched out my protecting arm over the oppressed. I know, indeed, little of the philosophy you talk of; but I believe neither you nor I shall ever atone to the world for the mischief we have done it. Alex. Leave me; take off his chains, and use him well. -Are we, then, so much alike? Dr. Aikin. CXXIV.—ELIAS HOWE AND THE SEWING-MACHINE. · in-ge-nu'-i-ty, superior skill; power of invention; Scharfsinn. top'-ic, the subject of a discourse; Thema. u-til-i-ty, usefulness; Brauchbarkeit; Nüßlichkeit. pawn, to give in pledge; verpfänden. cel'-e-bra-ted, famous; berühmt. in-frin'-ger, a violater; Rechtverleßer. rev'-e-nue, return; Einfominen. |