3. England and Wales form the southern part of Outlets to the Atlantic are the North Channel and the island of Great Britain.

THE WORLD

AT

AT HOME.

1. OUR ISLAND HOME.

1. This book will tell us about the land we live in our beautiful Island Home.

2. Let us suppose ourselves seated in a fairy car, floating high over the British Islands. Up, up we go higher and higher, till we can see each island lying like a gem in the summer sea.

3. We cannot count them all, for there are more than a thousand. We can see only the larger islands. The smaller ones appear as mere dots peeping above the waters.

4. Right down below us is the Irish Sea, the largest inland sea of the British Islands, and nearly surrounded by land. Look to the east of it, and you will see the largest of all the British Islands. It consists of three divisions-England and Wales in the south, and Scotland in the north.

5. This beautiful island is called Great Britain. It is our island home, with all its woods and valleys green. It is the largest island of Europe, and the seventh largest island in the world.

6. Look now to the west, and you will see another large island, whose eastern shores are washed by the Irish Sea, and whose western shores face the broad

Atlantic. This is Ireland, the second largest of the British Islands, but only about half the size of the island of Great Britain. Ireland is so famous for the rich green colour of its pastures and hills that its people love to call it the Emerald Isle.

7. These two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, are known as the United Kingdom. They have one government, and are ruled over by one sovereign our own beloved Queen Victoria.

8. Britain or Britannia is the ancient name of the island. The word means the land of the Britons, who are said to have taken their name from a Celtic word meaning "painted," on account of their habit of painting figures on their bodies.

9. In those far-off times there were no towns in our land, no houses like those in which we live, no schools, and no churches.

10. Many of the people were savages, who spent a great part of their time in hunting and fighting. They painted their bodies, and clothed themselves with the skins of animals. Their houses were round huts made of reeds and branches of trees.

11. But you may ask, Are we descended from these Ancient Britons? No; the English are a mixed race. In your histories you may read how Britain was conquered by the Romans, and then by the English. The Romans were masters of Britain for about four hundred years, and then they were forced to leave this country to fight for their own land.

12. After the Romans had gone away, there came various tribes from beyond the North Sea-from Norway, Denmark, and Germany. These tribes

gradually overcame the Ancient Britons, and took possession of the land. The people of the chief tribe were called Angles; hence the country was called the land of the Angles, or Angle-land. word gradually became England.

This

SUMMARY.-The British Islands consist of Great Britain, Ireland, and a great many small islands. Great Britain-the largest island of Europe and the seventh largest in the world-contains England, Wales, and Scotland. The British Islands, as the United Kingdom, are under the government of one sovereign,-Queen Victoria.

EXERCISE.-Draw the Map on page 6.

2. ENGLAND AND HER QUEEN.
1. Hurrah! hurrah for England!
Her woods and valleys green;
Hurrah for good old England!
Hurrah for England's Queen!

2. Strong ships are on her waters,
Firm friends upon her shores;
Peace, peace within her borders,
And plenty in her stores.

3. Right joyously we're singing,

We're glad to make it known,
That we love the land we live in,

And our Queen upon the throne.
4. Then hurrah for merry England!
And may we still be seen
True to our own dear country,
And loyal to our Queen!

M. A. STODART.