bent at last before hard work, the other two only thought she would soon get better, and when she became no better, and the doctor looked very serious, and neighbours seemed afraid to leave them alone, they were in a whirl of grief, until one afternoon, just as the sun was going away up the Thames, away to the west, and his last beams were flickering through palace smoke she fell asleep, and one of the deacons who was there spoke kindly of the many mansioned home with no sunset, but the brother and sister thought of their own cheerless house now, once so cheerful, only it was not until some days after, when the coffin with the corpse was carried away and they had seen it buried, that they returned back alone, and found that they were desolate.

EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE.

There has been little pleasure to be got by travelling for some time past, or going out of doors, and as Mr. John Ross Semple has nothing better to do than prepare for the flowers of 1860, and pay a little attention to his remaining dahlias and China roses; and the long vacation is past, without bringing work to him; he has become tutor to the young McVeys voluntarily. They could not have fallen into better hands, for Mr. Ross Semple is honest, learned, and systematic.

When the children had gone to bed-only a few evenings ago, and gusts of wind were raving round the old place, through among the tops of chimnies and trees like wild beasts, and Mr. Semple bad turned the ingredients of his second " brewst" into his tumbler, and was stirring the liquid to break up the sugar at the bottom; he looked over to Mrs. Semple and said

"I am like Mr. Pittenweem, my dear."

'Mercy on us," exclaimed the startled lady. "How so? and I hope not."

"Perfectly true, I have a mission and a work." "Is that your second tumbler only, I thought it was but your second, Mr. Semple !" and the lady's smiles indicated more than her words.

"Only the second, ma'am, only the second, and the last. I've taken a note of the mission and work thus in my 'Lett's Diary;' I find it a very convenient form of note book, my dear, Mem.: Under 25 October, decided to commence my great series of works.' A memorable evening, Mrs. Semple."

As another rude blast swept through the trees, and shook the windows, on which the rain rattled fiercely, the lady rose, drew aside the curtain, and looked out, saying, "Were you ever much at sea ?"

"Not often, Mrs. Semple, with thankfulness be it said, except over to Burntisland, and thirteen times up to and down from London, in the Leith steamers, some other casual voyages; and, as you remember, to Calais from London and back."

"And I agree now, with your opinions twenty years ago, and, for the sake of the young, I am to bring out a new set."

"And in which department, Mr. Semple ?"

"In all departments, ma'am. I like scholastic work, and a tutor should be at home in all departments."

"But would they pay, Mr. Semple; pray what's the good of harassing yourself and losing your money. That's the way of Mr. Pittenweem, certainly a good, kind man, who worries his wife, they say, with new plans; why he talked of growing tea on his own muirs-who ever heard such nonsense, tea never grows out of the air of the tiger-not it! Would they pay ?"

'Why not ?" "Why not ?" pursued the lady. "Why, because nobody wants them-parents dont want them, they don't know, don't mind; fathers are busy-mothers are busy, I am sure. Teachers don't care; schools change books often, of course, that pays them; but would they pay you, consider that, Mr. Semple, and don't worry your mind out for nothing."

"Do roses pay?" said Mr. Semple.

"Roses, Mr. Semple, do pay, admirably well, I assure you, in Bengal, where they have them as I told you, in fields of ten, or twenty, or a hundred, or more acres."

"Well, granting that, we have schools in this country, and whereat the English language is spoken by great numbers, and I cannot see why good school books should not pay me admirably. The fact is--”

"But have there been no school books written, Mr. Semple, of late years? Dear me! why I thought there were boards, and commissions, and committees; and training and model schools, and boarding academies, and everything-even publishing committees !"

"It's all true, my dear, but will you just look at this Butter ?'

said to be anything made by art,' and should be by hand. It springs not only from manus, the hand, but facere, to make. Next we have Merchant,' a Foreign Trader,' just as if he could not be a home trader, and coming from merr, merchandise. Now you see, Mercator."

"Yes, but don't now, Mr. Semple, be so particular-don't go so much into detail-so deep among the roots."

"It's all necessary to show you the necessity of my great project. There's now 'militia' from Miles, a soldier, said to be the standing army,' and that is exactly what militia are not-never thought of so bad teaching as this being current in the world. We come now to the word 'Administrator,' from minister, a servant, as if it might not be got out of a verb-" one who takes charge of the property of a person dying without a will," as if he might not be a person who takes charge of any other property, and one who administers the affairs of the State. Next here are words from mons, a mountain, Amount,' we are told, is 'to rise to the total' -yet the amount of anything is just the total thereof; 'dismount'-I wish we had Mr. Graham here, to be told what that means to get off a horse,' which it is, of course; but it might be to dismount from any other animal or thing. There's Pittenweem, now how many hobbies he has dismounted from, I am sure an accountant would be needed no enumerate. Only think what a pretty sample of stupids these young children are to grow up into if they are taught to believe that the militia is a standing army; especially now that Mrs. Semple, by the way, we are thinking of having a local militia here, in this county. There was Johnson asking, only the other day, if I would accept a commission. It seems to be the duty of a gentleman."

"Better, my dear, complete the school books first."

"As you please," and Mr. Semple had just turned to Henry's first Latin book. "I'll show you Mrs. Semple how they do in other departments, here's a book with ever so many Greek words in Greek type, for young beginners in Latin. Did you ever hear worse than that ?"

"Often, Mr. Semple, I am told that boys once on a time learned Latin grammar in Latin.” "True, my dear, but then Latin is Latin. Now I'll show you. I'll explain,"

"There are wheels Mr. Semple, some one out in this dreadful night. Now who can it be? Its long past the time when your friends Mr. and Miss Garvie could be expected reasonably.”

"Take it they are here, though, reasonably or unreasonably," and there they were. As for them I need not describe them, and don't think I could. They had brought the Lonachies however, at least one Mr. and Mrs. Lonachie, with them, and then of course there were bags and boxes to extricate from one place, and put into another, and the rain it dashed on everything in floods, and the wind threatened to lift off the roof of the house,

and all beneath it, and the carriage was nearly blown away, while the horses had to be stabled for a night, and when all was over all had to begin again, so that what with inquiries respecting everybody, and useless regrets as to the terrible day and night, and the getting up of some kind of temporary dinner, the eating thereof, and everything subsequent thereupon, it was far into the night before any one could describe the strangers-Mr. Lonachie is a broad-shouldered, short, stout gentleman, large face, and head, a little rough with a grey moustache, which is getting forward to the dignity of a beard, grey eyes, Roman nose, good teeth, and a ruddy complexion for an ex-WestIndian, and sixty. Now that should do for him. Mrs. Lonachie must be a great many years younger, must have been, and not in her own hearing one would say is, very pretty, rather mild and soft, and gentle, and gentle womanly; although beneath the quiet demeanour there comes up just now and then, when something is said, a flash in the light blue eyes, that whispers no more than only it would be quite possible to offend their owner irretrievably. I was never able to make out distinctly the colour of any lady's hair that was not black jet or raven black, another shade is doubtful, especial if it gets reddish, then it has a tinge of yellow and becomes auburn, Mrs. Lonachies must be flaxen, aquiline nose, slightly florid complexion, a fine figure, and as long as her husband, of perhaps half the weight. She had never met Mrs, Semple before that evening, but in no time at all the two ladies were immersed in a discussion on babies and children, and the toils and troubles of mothers in the upbringing of a family; that seem to me always great enough to increase one's thankfulness for the continuance of families. Then how to explain the transfer of Mrs. McVey, a lady endowed with a reasonable income, into Mrs. Semple with all the difficulties of young families goes out of my comprehension. However, the gentlemen had been talking loudly rather, just getting more excited with their subjects as if they were not to be put down by the wind. "No, I'll tell you Mr. Garvie its plain on the nail to me, clean out and out. Men should not swear, still and allowing that, aud certain names being very unhappy its just this they have to pay out Satan somehow that they have."

"You mean there will be the '

"Don't go on if you will be good enough-don't, Mrs. Lonachie's nerves are easily shaken, and I've had to back out of these hard underground terms or do them genteely."

"What great act of self-denial is this you have done, David, for my sake now."

"I was merely telling our friend here of these con.-most, very, con.-well confounded States fellows and their niggers."

"Yes," and he says Mrs. Lonachie "that they will have to pay out a certain severe creditor of theirs somehow."

Perhaps," said the lady, "even if that be

so, we should not speak roughly of a fellowbeing."

"He's not a fellow-being," Mrs. Lonachie. "Not at all."

"Not of our caste now, Mr. Garvie, a Jew, or Pariah, or Portuguese, or what? Strange customs of adding interest on interest these coloured persons have," said Mrs. Semple. "I've heard that much."

"Its not a person, Mrs. Semple, I assure you: at least, not a human person; but he runs up interest hard enough no doubt."

"Oh, I see, yes to be sure, that he does-very inexorable, Mr. Garvie, never gives time, if he can help it; I warrant you, horrid hard-worse than any Shylock or Skinflint in the trade."

"But you know, my dear Mrs. Semple, we should not speak lightly on such subjects." "Oh no, Mrs. Lonachie, certainly not, anything but that; and how did he worm himself in among us, tell me that."

"Indeed ma'am he's everywhere almost," said Mrs. Lonachie's husband, "and I was just explaining to our friend here that if the States won't emancipate their slaves, why then you see, the slaves will fight, and anyhow, that person- -as I was saying that personage-I wish after all that we could speak out plain in the presence of ladies, Mr. Garvie; will have his own, either downright cash some five hundred millions of dollars, or

Precisely so, sir; and then all these cotton people at home will be in distress-operatives idle, spinners insolvent, great newspapers hammering away at over-trading, banks blowing to nothing like balloons; widows and orphans cut out of their last penny; subscriptions and the workhouse ahead everywhere, and revolution around most possibly; and all because capitalists, manufacturers and statesmen at home will not lay out a little money in growing cotton in British Guiana, which could supply the world, or Jamaica which could supply us.'

"Then, Mr. Lonachie, tell me this-why don't you go into the trade ?"

"Go into the trade, to-morrow I would go." "Not in such a night as this, would you ?” And Mrs. Semple smiled.

"Well, not to-night exactly, but I would go-only I'm out of business: sold off everything. Have duties here, bundles of them; and it's for young fellows-but I have had my day, only I don't half like those insurrections; and that Harper's Ferry affair is only a note of what's to come."

"Then you would say buy cotton, Mr. Lonachie ?"

And heartfelt was the blessing of the rescued from the dead.

But the uoblest men must perish, and the bravest often die.

When all around is happiness, and not a foe is nigh.

The thunder was not rolling, and the winds were all asleep,

There was quiet in the Heavens, there was peace upon the deep.

A ship was weighing anchor, and a boat beside her lay;

Farewell, she said, and on she sailed and soon was

far away.

She heard no shriek of agony, no cry of helpless might,

She knew not that a soul the less beheld the morning light,

That the saviour of a hundred lives the foeman of the grave

Was numbered with the numberless who sleep beneath the wave,

But his name will live beyond him, and his deeds recorded be,

For a hero of God's making was the hero of the WILLIAM JOHN ABBAM.

sea.

We omitted some time since to mention that the first edition of "The Popular Tales from the Norse,'* by George Webbe Dasent, which we noticed in the present volume had been followed by a second edition, which Mr. Dasent says contains all the Norse tales; and it has a few more than the first with an appendix of Negro tales, not very numerous, but interesting in their position. Norse literature has not been much studied, and we know comparatively little of the traditions of a race, not far separated from our own and to whom we are allied closely. Any effort to interest the public more in the northern nations, their history, movements, traditions, and even tales, deserves, and in this case it appears to have received, such encouragement as may induce the author and others to continue these researches in other departments.

The Children's Charter, by the Rev. John Edmond,† is a series of discourses originally; now converted into rather the essay form, on the con-nexion of children with the Christian Church and the duties regarding them. It is a useful book, not too large for those who have not much time to read, and yet large enough to allow a full discussion of matters intensely interesting to all families. Mr. Edmonds is a popular preacher, and this little book leads to the supposition that his popularity is founded on lasting qualities.

Manners and Customs of the English Nation, by John Brookes, begins by telling us that we know little of the ancient Britons before the history of Julius Cæsar. Starting at that point Mr. Brookes sketches the leading features in the character of the people through the steps in their progress down

* Edinburgh: Edmonstone and Douglas. 1 vol. pp. 507. + London: J. Nisbet and Co. 1 vol. pp. 247. London: James Blackwood. 1 vol. pp. 180.

to 1840 and penny postage. As he conveys a cousiderable mass of information in a condensed and popular form, with abundant references to his authorities the work should be popular as it is useful. The general knowledge of our own history is not profound. It might with much advantage enter more into the scholastic teaching of the country. Many young men of liberal acquirements know more of Greece and Rome two thousand years ago than of Britain two hundred years since, and the circumstance is not creditable.

England Subsists by Miracle, by Feltham Burghley, who writes a broad strong hand, and denounces many things of which the public think well. He does not in any manner favour Mr. Bright and his politics and opposes man hood suffrage, and an educational suffrage, but supports the idea of a decrepid and old suffrage, beginning at forty-five years of age; a practical union with the colonies, which is a sensible chapter in his discourse-and a strong navy. Mr. Burghley is a nervous writer, and whoever wants to see our errors and weak points thrown open without mercy will find many of these secrets in the essay.

Theory of Compound Interest and Annuities. By Fedor Thoman. To the theory an addition of logarithmic tables is made which increase the utility of a valuable work, although we repudiate the bare idea of guaranteeing the accuracy of so many figures or equivalents. The process would oocupy a long period. We are compelled to take many of the figures and signs, in all similar works, as granted, on the authority of a competent name, and Mr. Thoman is high anthority on these points. The volume quite deserves the attention of actuaries or accountants, and all persons who pp. 109.

* London: James Blackwood.

† London, Lockwood and Co. pp. 127.