XVIII.-ICEBERGS.

LAT'I-TUDE, n., breadth; distance from the Equator.

A-ZORES' (A-zōrz), n., islands in the
Atlantic Ocean, belonging to Portu-
gal.

Es'QUI-MAUX (Es'ke-mo), n., a race of
Indians in the Arctic regions.
CON'TI-NENT, n., a large extent of land.
IN-DENT'ED, a., notched.
AC-CU'MU-LA-TED, a., piled up.

PRE-CIP'I-TOUS, a., very steep.

COM-PACT, a., close; solid.

In latitude, altitude, century, tube, &c., attend to the y sound of the u. Do not say levl for level; tremendyous for tre-men'dous; Artic for Arc'tic.

1. ICEBERGS are those masses of ice, resembling mountains, which abound in the polar seas, and are sometimes found floating in the moderate latitudes. In the Arctic regions, the snow, which annually falls on the islands or continents, being again dissolved by the progress of the summer's heat, pours forth numerous rills and limpid streams, which collect along the indented shores, and in the deep bays enclosed by precipitous rocks.

2. Here this clear and gelid water soon freezes, aud every successive year supplies an additional crust, till, after the lapse, perhaps, of several centuries, the icy mass rises, at last, to the size and aspect of a mountain, equal in elevation to the adjoining cliffs. The melting of the snow, which is afterward deposited on such enormous blocks, likewise contributes to their growth; and, by filling up the accidental holes or crevices, it renders the whole structure compact and uniform.

3. Meanwhile the principle of destruction is already at work. The ceaseless agitation of the sea gradually wears and undermines the base of the icy mountain, till at length, by the action of its own accumulated

weight, when it has perhaps attained an altitude of a thousand, or even two thousand feet, it is torn from its frozen chains, and precipitated, with a tremendous plunge, into the abyss below.

4. This mighty launch now floats, like a lofty island, on the ocean, till, driven southward by winds and currents, it insensibly wastes and dissolves away in the wide Atlantic. Icebergs have been known to drift from Baffin's Bay to the Azores. Being composed of fresh water, the ice is clear and solid; and from the cavities the crews of the northern whalers are accustomed, by means of a hose or a flexible tube of canvas, to fill their casks easily with the purest and softest

water.

5. Some of the masses of floating ice in the polar seas are two miles long, and a mile or more broad. An idea may be formed of the immense depth to which icebergs descend, from the fact that the mass of ice below the level of the water is about eight times greater than that above. Captain Scoresby once counted five hundred of these bergs drifting with the current. They rose above the surface, from the height of one hundred to two hundred feet, and measured from a few yards to a mile in circumference. Many of them were loaded with beds of earth and rocks.

6. An incident is related by Dr. Kane, that shows the wonderful powers of endurance of the Esquimaux. Two of these people were hunting the walrus, on the open ice of the frozen sea, when a north wind broke up the ice, and they found themselves afloat. An iceberg being near, they urged their dogs toward it, and made good their landing on it with them and the carcass of the walrus. It was at the close of the last moonlight of December, a season when daylight is unknown in the Arctic latitudes.

7. A complete darkness settled around them. They

tied the dogs down to knobs of ice, and built a sort of screen from the wind for themselves. The berg drifted toward the south, and here, for a whole month, drifting, drifting along the coast-line of Baffin's Bay, dwelt these two hardy adventurers, wedged in ice, eating their walrus-meat, and sustaining life in spite of the intense cold. At length the iceberg grounded, and they contrived to make their way, on a sort of ice-raft, to the main land.

XIX. - BELSHAZZAR.

HERD, n., a drove; a company.
COURTIER, n., one who courts favor.
BEAK'ER, n., a drinking cup.
MA'GI-AN, n., an Eastern sage.

ME'NI-AL, a., servile; low.

PROPHET, N., one who foretells future events; an interpreter.

| FES'TI-VAL, n., a time of feasting.

Do not say droring for draw'ing; writin for writing ; toomult for tü'mult.

The story of Belshazzar may be found in the Bible, in the Book of Daniel, Chap. v.

THE midnight hour was drawing on;
Hushed in repose lay Babylon.

But in the palace of the king

The herd of courtiers shout and sing:
There, in his royal banquet-hall,
Belshazzar holds high festival.

The servants sit in glittering rows,

The beakers are drained, the red wine flows;
The beakers clash, and the servants sing,

A pleasing sound to the moody king.

The king's cheeks flush, and his wild eyes shine;
His spirit waxes bold with wine;

Until, by maddening passion stung,

He scoffs at God with impious tongue;

And his proud heart swells as he wildly raves,

'Mid shouts of applause from his fawning slaves

He spoke the word, and his eyes flashed flame!
The ready servants went and came;

Vessels of massive gold they bore,

Of Jehovah's temple the plundered store.

And, seizing a consecrated cup,
The king, in his fury, fills it up:
He fills, and hastily drains it dry,
From his foaming lips leaps forth the cry,
"Jehovah! at thee my scorn I fling!

I am Belshazzar, Babylon's king!"
Yet scarce had the impious words been said,
When the king's heart shrank with a secret dread:
Suddenly died the shout and yell, —

A death-like hush on the tumult fell.

And, lo! on the wall, as they gazed aghast,
What seemed like a human hand went past,
And wrote and wrote, in sight of all
Letters of fire upon the wall!

The king sat still, with a stōny look,
His trembling knees with terror shook ;
The menial throng nor spoke nor stirred;
Fear froze their blood, no sound was heard!

The magians came; but none of all

Could read the writing on the wall.

At length, to solve those words of flame,
Fearless but meek the prophet came;
One glance he gave, and all was clear!
"King! there is reason in thy fear;
Those words proclaim, thy empire ends,
The day of woe and wrath impends:
Weighed in the balance, wanting found,
Thou and thy empire strike the ground!"
That night, by the servants of his train,
Belshazzar, the mighty king, was slain!

FROM THE GERMAN OF HEINE

XX.- ANECDOTES OF A SKYLARK.

CEILING, n., the upper surface of a SEWING (sō'ing), ppr., uniting with

room, opposite to the floor.

RIBBON, n., a slip of silk or satin.
KNUCKLES, n., joints of the fingers.
DES-SERT (děz-zert'), n., a service of
fruits, &c., after a meal.

CON-CEIVE', v. t., to imagine.

GE'NI-AL, a., enlivening.

needle and thread.
IN'TER-EST-ING, a., engaging.
DE-MOL'ISA, v. t., to pull down.
OP'PO-SITE, a., placed in front; ad-

verse.

DEXTER-OUS-LY, ad., expertly.

WHOOP (hoop), n., a shout of pursuit.

Avoid saying bust for burst. In which, while, when, &c., mind the aspirate.

1. THE skylark, which pours forth its animated song while floating high in the air, is an inhabitant of most parts of Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but is not found in America. A lady, belonging to a family in the south-east of Ireland, has recorded some very interesting anecdotes of a pet skylark, to which the name of "Tommy" had been given.

2. This little bird was so tame that, when the family were assembled at breakfast, he would fly upon the table, and walk round, picking up crumbs; and sometimes he would hop up on a loaf, and actually allow a slice to be cut under his feet. It was curious to see him watching the operation of threading a needle. When the thread was put ever so little into the eye, he would seize the end of it, and dexterously pull it through.

3. Sometimes, when one of the three young ladies of the family had fastened her thread to her work, and continued sewing, he would make a sudden plunge at the thread, and pull it out of the needle, then fly out of reach, and chuckle over the mischief. Sometimes he would hop on an open work-box, and, seizing the end of a cotton thread, would fly with it to the other side of the apartment, unwinding yard upon yard from the revolving spool.

4. The second of the young ladies to whom we