8. "Yes, yes, as soon as we find a way out, my little man," said Truman, in a kind, yet husky, voice. The air grew close and suffocating, and they took their oil-cans and food-bags to one of the galleries where it was better. 9. Truman and Logan, two of the buried hewers, were religious men. "Well, James, what shall we do next?" asked Truman. "There is but one thing we can do," said Logan. "God says, 'Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee.'"'

10. They all knelt down. Poor little Robert cried bitterly. But as the pitmen prayed,—first the one, and then the other, — their hearts grew lighter, and even the little trapper dried his tears.

11. They then got their pickaxes; but what a hopeless task it seemed to cut through that terrible mass of earth and stones to daylight! Their hearts beat with hope and joy when they first heard the sound of their friends working on the other side. It was then that they made the clink, clink, with their pickaxes, which was heard by their deliverers, and so much encouraged them in their work.

12. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday passed, and no rescue. What dark and dreadful days! Worse than all, the sounds beyond did not appear to draw nearer. At last Saturday came. Five days had passed; and the men outside knew that there was not an instant to lose. They were too anxious even to speak. It was only work, work, work, for dear life. For hours they had heard no signals. Were their poor comrades dead?

13. Suddenly the wall was pierced; a hole was made through it; feeble voices were heard.

14. "Truman, are you there?"

15. "Yes; all here."

18. "All living! all living!" shouted the men; and the

shout went up to the mouth of the pit. When Robert's father heard that his son was alive, the good news was too much for him, and he fell down senseless.

19. One hour more, and the rescuers reached their comrades. Who can describe the meeting, or the joy and gratitude of wives, mothers, and friends, as one and another were brought up to the light? What a huzza rent the air as they came in sight! "Safe! safe! God be praised!”

Model Reader.

XLV. A DISPUTE BETWEEN NOSE AND EYES.

dis-cern', to understand the difference; unterscheiden.
with a strad'-dle, with the legs far apart; spreizbeinig.
de-cree', to order; entscheiden; anordnen.
de-ci'-sive, positive; bestimmt.

Between Nose and Eyes a strange contest arose,
The spectacles set them unhappily wrong;
The point in dispute was, as all the world knows,
To which the said spectacles ought to belong.

So Tongue was the lawyer, and argued the cause
With a great deal of skill, and a wig full of learning,
While chief baron Ear sat to balance the laws,

So famed for his talent in nicely discerning.

"In behalf of the Nose it will quickly appear,

And your lordship," he said, "will undoubtedly find, That the Nose has had spectacles always in wear, Which amounts to possession time out of mind."

Then holding the spectacles up to the court

"Your lordship observes they are made with a straddle, As wide as the ridge of the Nose is; in short, Designed to sit close to it, just like a saddle.

Again, would your lordship a moment suppose

('Tis a case that has happen'd, and may be again) That the visage or countenance had not a Nose,

Pray who would, or who could, wear spectacles then?

On the whole it appears, and my argument shows,
With a reasoning the court will never condemn,
That the spectacles plainly were made for the Nose,
And the Nose was as plainly intended for them.'

Then shifting his side as a lawyer knows how,

He pleaded again in behalf of the Eyes;
But what were his arguments few people know,

For the court did not think they were equally wise.

So his lordship decreed, with a grave, solemn tone,
Decisive and clear, without one if or but —
That, whenever the Nose put his spectacles on,
By daylight or candlelight-Eyes should be shut!

Cowper.

XLVI. THE UNKNOWN WRECK.

de-scry', to see at a distance; to espy; in der Ferne sehen; erspähen.

flaunt, to wave to and fro in the wind; hin- und herwehen.

cav'-ern, a cave; Höhle.

ob-liv'-i-on, state of being forgotten; Vergessenheit.

waft, to float; schwimmen; schweben.

me-men'-to, a memorial; Erinnerungszeichen.

se-ren'-i-ty, calmness; Ruhe.

smack, a small vessel for fishing; Fischerboot.

a smack'-ing breeze, a fair wind; günstiger Wind.

hoist, to raise; aufhissen, emporziehen.

head'-way, progress made by a ship in motion; der Lauf eines Schiffes.

sur-viv'-or, one who outlives another; der Ueberlebende.

1. We one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a distance. At sea, everything that breaks the monotony of the surrounding expanse attracts attention. It proved to be the mast of a ship that must have been completely. wrecked; for there were the remains of handkerchiefs, by which some of the crew had fastened themselves to this spar, to prevent their being washed off by the waves.

2. There was no trace by which the name of the ship could be ascertained. The wreck had evidently drifted about for many months; clusters of shell-fish had fastened about it, and long sea-weeds flaunted at its sides. But where, thought I, are the crew? Their struggle has long been over, they have gone down amidst the roar of the tempest, — their bones lie whitening among the caverns of the deep. Silence, oblivion, like the waves, have closed over them, and no one can tell the story of their end.

3. What sighs have been wafted after that ship! what prayers offered up at the deserted fireside of home! How often has the wife, the mother, pored over the daily news, to catch some casual intelligence of this rover of the deep! How has expectation darkened into anxiety, anxiety into dread, and dread into despair! Alas! not one memento shall ever return for love to cherish. All that shall ever be known is, that she sailed from her port, "and was never heard of more!"

4. The sight of the wreck, as usual, gave rise to many dismal anecdotes. This was particularly the case in the evening, when the weather, which had hitherto been fair, began to look wild and threatening, and gave indications of one of those sudden storms which will sometimes break in upon the serenity of a summer voyage.

5. As we sat round the dull light of a lamp in the cabin, that made the gloom more ghastly, every one had his tale of shipwreck and disaster. I was particularly struck with a short one related by the captain.

6. "As I was once sailing," said he, "in a fine stout ship across the banks of Newfoundland, one of those heavy fogs which prevail in those parts rendered it impossible for us to see far ahead even in the daytime; but at night the weather was so thick that we could not distinguish any object at twice the length of the ship.

7. "I kept lights at the mast-head, and a constant watch forward to look out for fishing-smacks, which are accustomed to lie at anchor on the banks. The wind was blowing a smacking breeze, and we were going at a great rate through the water. Suddenly the watch gave the alarm of 'A sail ahead!' It was scarcely uttered before we were upon her.

8. "She was a small schooner, at anchor, with her broadside toward us. The crew were all asleep, and had neglected to hoist a light. We struck her just amidships. The force, the size, and weight of our vessel bore her down below the waves.

our course.

We passed over her, and were hurried on

9. "As the crashing wreck was sinking beneath us, I had a glimpse of two or three half-naked wretches rushing from her cabin. They just started from their beds to be swallowed shrieking by the waves. I heard their drowning cry mingling with the wind. The blast that bore it to our ears swept us out of all further hearing. I shall never forget that cry!

10. "It was some time before we could put the ship about, she was under such headway. We returned, as nearly as we could guess, to the place where the smack had anchored. We cruised about for several hours in the dense fog. We fired several guns, and listened if we might hear the halloo of any survivors. But all was silent,—we never saw nor heard anything of them more."

Washington Irving.