10. Near to Westminster Abbey stands the Palace of Westminster, better known as the Houses of Parliament. This building contains the House of Lords and the House of Commons. 11. St. Paul's Cathedral is the largest Protestant church in the world. A magnificent cathedral, which had been one hundred and fifty years in building, was completed in 1240; but in the Great Fire of London in 1666, when a large portion of the city was burned down, it was totally destroyed. The present noble building was finished in 1710, from plans by the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren. In St. Paul's are buried Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and many other famous men. 12. The British Museum contains splendid collections of ancient art, and of natural history, and a great national library. There may be seen Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215; the deathwarrant of Mary Queen of Scots, signed by Elizabeth in 1587, and that of Charles the First, signed by Cromwell in 1649. Au-gus-tus em-ploy-ment mu-se-um con-fes-sor for-ti-fied re-lig-ion to-tal-ly Pal-es-tine state-ly war-ri-ors em-per-or mag-nif-i-cent par-li-a-ment states-man Wel-ling-ton em-pire might-i-est Prot-es-tant teem-ing West-min-ster Mag-ni-tude, size. Re-ga-li-a, things belonging to a SUMMARY.-London, on the Thames, is the queen city of the world. Population, about four million. Chief buildings, the Tower, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the British Museum. 1. The seas around our shores kept us much longer to ourselves than we should have been had we lived on the Continent. We can trade with other lands only by means of ships. It was our ships that at last gave us the command of the seas. 2. Now we have thousands of ships, hundreds of thousands of sailors, and good harbours for loading and unloading vessels. At this moment, and every moment, all through the day, and all night long, there are ships crossing the seas to bring what we need from every quarter of the globe. 3. And not only are thousands of ships manned (736) 8 by hardy sailors so employed, but men of every race and colour are busy helping in some way to provide us with food and clothing. 4. For us the Chinaman gathers the leaves of the tea-plant; the Arab shakes the ripe berries from the coffee-plant; the Negro cuts down the sugarcane, and picks the down from the cotton-tree; and hunters, trappers, and farmers in many lands are ready to supply us with corn, skins, wool, and furs. 5. But perhaps some one asks the question, How do we pay for these things? We sell, as well as buy. Other nations grow many things that we need; but we make many things that they need. 6. Our vast mines of coal and iron make us the richest people in the world. Without them, we should be among the poorest. With them and our manufactures, we can pay for all the things we want from other lands. 7. So busy are we in manufacturing, buying, and selling goods, and in conveying them from place to place, that we are at the present time the chief commercial nation in the world. SUMMARY.-By means of our ships we trade with every part of the world. Our coal and iron enable us to manufacture enough goods for ourselves, and also to pay for the things we need from other lands. We are the chief commercial nation in the world. 45. OUR COAL-FIELDS. 1. There was a time when the greater part of England was covered with forests, in which the Ancient Britons hunted the wolf, the bear, and the wild boar. So dense were these forests that for hundreds of years they kept the people from spreading over the country. 2. Time passed on, and the forests began to disappear. Then a large part of the country was cleared, and the ground yielded scanty harvests of golden grain. 3. The wood obtained from the forests was used in building huts and houses. It was also used for fuel; for in those far-off times the coal-fields of England lay deep in the earth untouched and unknown. 4. After centuries of fierce war among its different races, England became a peaceful, settled country. She was now to take a foremost place among the nations of the earth. For her coming manufactures she needed fuel to an enormous extent. The forests of the country could not supply it; but deep down in the earth that fuel had been prepared thousands and thousands of years before. 5. The trees and plants of which coal consists were once above ground, and had been parts of vast forests in which grew great ferns and mosses and other plants. The trees and plants died, and others sprang up in their places; these also died, and others grew up; and so immense beds, composed of decayed plants and trees, were formed, of from twenty to thirty feet in thickness. |