ference. Animals can speak. That is to say, they can make a noise. Some can chirp, and others can bleat! W. Yes, and animals can crow, and animals can bark,-and can buzz, and can bellow, and howl, and sing-and some can say, "What's o'clock?" Ion. And some can say Cuck-00! But not all animals have organs of speech; you never heard a worm speak, nor a fish. L. Then we will say, 7th difference,-Most ANIMALS have organs of speech. VEGETABLES have not organs of speech. Now, we will write the lesson. Lesson 6. HOW WE KNOW AN ANIMAL FROM A VEGETABLE. We know an Animal from a Plant (1.) Because it can move from one place to another of its own accord, and, therefore, only requires ONE MOUTH, which it carries to its food. (2.) It eats solid food, and has an organ, called A STOMACH, to digest it. (3.) It has an organ for circulating its blood, called A HEART. (4.) An organ for purifying its blood, and for breathing, called THE LUNGS. (5.) Organs of feeling, or sensation, called NERVES. (6.) An organ of consciousness (or knowing), called THE BRAIN. (7.) An organ of Speech. M. You must remember, however, that not all animals have these things. If you find a living thing with all these distinctions, you may at once be sure that it is an animal. W. And I could tell, mamma, if it had only some of these things. M. Yes. If, when you found a living thing, you could only observe that it had the power of knowing, or consciousness, this distinction would be quite enough. It must be an animal. This is a distinction which all animals have. Many animals have not all the other six distinctions, but this one they must have. So, when you find a living thing which has not any consciousness— no matter what it is like-it must be L., W., Ion, & Ada. A vegetable. THE STARS ARE BRIGHT. THE stars are bright This beautiful night, But when the moon appears, They'll fade as soon As lamps at noon, In the brightness that she wears; The stars grow dull, The moon at full, Has now her course begun; Her light will fail, Before the glorious sun. The sun's bright rays, Will soon go down in night, Will never lose its light; That saints and angels wear; TRAINING-SCHOOL SONG-BOOK. THE SAXON KINGDOM. INVASION OF THE DANES. P. Where did we stop in our history last week? L. At the end of "The period of the Saxon Heptarchy." We had learned of three periods: The Roman period, which ended A.D. 430; The period of the Saxon Invasion, which ended A.D. 600; and The period of the Saxon Heptarchy, which ended A.D. 827. P. Then, to-day, we will begin a new period-the period of the Saxon Kingdom. I said, you may remember, that the seven Saxon Kingdoms were united-forming a kingdom which was called England. W. And I suppose that now, when they had "settled down," the people began to make themselves comfortable. P. They had only begun to make themselves comfortable, Willie, when some new visitors came. L. Did they send in their cards? P. No; for they knew they were not wanted, I'm sure: too many people had come from Europe already. The population of England was made up of Britons, Romans, and many Saxon tribes, so that there were three or four different languages spoken in the island. And, now, Egbert had only been king of England five years, when there came this most terrible company. L. What part of Europe did they come from, papa? P. Get your map of Europe and you will see. Opposite England is a small country called DENMARK, consisting of a peninsula, and some little islands. At the east of Denmark is a sea called the Baltic; and at the north of Denmark and the Baltic are two countries called Sweden and Norway. In the islands of the Baltic, and in the coasts of the countries round it, these lived barbarians, who were called DANES. They were much like the ancient Saxons, except that they liked to fight on the sea instead of the land. With their ships they paid visits to countries far and near, to rob and kill the people. Living in a cold climate, they were very strong, and were rough and savage pirates. They seized the ships of other lands, robbed and murdered the sailors in the vessels they met on the waters; and, in time, they became masters and kings of the sea. Very fierce fellows were these "Sea-kings." Poor creatures! they thought it was a fine thing to fight. They would fight like men who were mad; for they liked to be slain in battle, and thought it was the only proper way to die! A seaking would not appear before his god after death, unless he was covered with wounds. So, if any king had the misfortune to live to grow old, he would, just before he died, cut great wounds in his body that WODEN might think he had been killed in a fight; or, he would load a ship heavily with stones, bore holes in it, and sink to the bottom of the sea. The Danes would tell you "That is an honourable death,-only cowards die in their beds !" So, it is no wonder that when they liked to be killed they were always fighting. They attacked Germany, France, and Spain;went down in their ships to the Mediterranean, attacked Sicily, Italy, Rome, and even Africa. Then they had some struggles with the Saracens, the fierce followers of the false prophet Mahomet, whose "religion" was then spreading very fast. You shall hear more about Mahomet one day. I have heard, too, that there is very little doubt of their having made an expedition to America, a land which was not yet discovered. So, having fought in so many lands, it might be expected that they would attack so near a country as England. When, therefore, Egbert had been king for about five years, in many parts of Kent was heard a cry of "The Danes!" "the Danes!"-Down they had come with fire and sword, burning the cottages, and murdering the people of the island of Sheppey, a place very near to the Isle of Thanet, which the poor Britons had first given to the Saxons. Egbert, when he heard of this, tried to catch and punish them; but this time they made their escape in safety. The next year they came again. They came with thirty-five ships, and landed in Dorsetshire. They then travelled into Cornwall; but they were met and driven away by Egbert, who afterwards defeated them in two other great battles, and then died. sels, and made a settlement, or colony, in the Isle of Thanet. Egbert's son, ETHELWOLF, was then king; but he could not drive them away. He, therefore, made a pilgrimage to Rome, with his little son ALFRED, who was then about six years old. There he made great presents of money-some for the lamps of St. Peter; some for the lamps of St. Paul; and he gave much money to the Pope himself. The people of England thought that by such good deeds the favour of Heaven would be gained, and that they should be safe from the attacks of the Danes. But the Danes came down from the Isle of Thanet, burnt the cities of Canterbury and London, and spread themselves all over the country. They continued their cruel ravages until the end of the reigns of Ethelbald, Ethelbert, and Ethelred, the three grandsons of Egbert; and by that time the island was nearly overrun with these robbers. They killed the Saxon farmers, and made themselves at home in their cottages. They ate, drank, and feasted on their farms, and treated the people as their slaves. When they found a monastery (where, you will remember, the monks lived), they stole the gold, silver, and jewels, which had been often set the building on fire. Egbert was succeeded by his son ETHELWOLF, and by his grand-placed there for protection, and sons ETHELBALD, ETHELBERT, and ETHELRED. During the short reigns of these kings, which lasted altogether about thirty years, the Danes came almost every year to plunder the country, and to carry away riches. Once they came with 350 ves The country was thus in a most miserable and distressed state, when in the year 871 there came to the throne a man, who was destined to be a great king. He was the fourth grandson of King Egbert, and was called ALFRED. THE NORTHERN SEAS. UP! up! let us a voyage take, I long to see the Northern Lights, I long to see those ice-bergs vast, I long to hear the thund'ring crash And the echoes from a thousand cliffs, Like lonely voices call. There shall we see the fierce white bear, And the spouting whales, that to and fro There may we tread on depths of ice, And while the unsetting sun shines on We'll pass the shores of solemn pine, And there in wastes of the silent sky, We shall see far off, to his lonely rock, The lonely eagle go. Then softly, softly will we tread By inland streams, to see Where the corm'rant of the silent north Sits there all silently. We've visited the northern clime, Its cold and ice-bound main ; So now, let us back to a dearer land, To Britain back again! COFFEE. M. Here are some Coffee-berries. W. What nasty looking things! -they don't look nice and brown, like the Coffee in papa's cup. M. That is because they have not been roasted. Tell me some of the qualities of these berries. W. I should be ashamed of my qualities, if I were a berry. In the 1st place, they all have a dirty yellow colour; in the 2nd place, they have not half so nice a smell as the brown berries-indeed, they have no smell at all. Ion. So, they are in-odorous. Let me taste them. Bah! They have a very nasty taste. me something else which has an aromatic smell. L. Nutmegs have, mamma, and Cloves, and Cinnamon-and, all Spices, I suppose. Ion. And Camphor has, and Myrrh, I think. M. Yes. This scent is peculiar to the Spices, and one or two other productions of hot countries. L. The taste of the berries, mamma, is rather bitter, but still it is agreeable. So I shall say that roasted coffee-berries are of a deep brown colour, crisp, aromatic, and agreeable to the taste. M. There are more qualities yet. You cannot, however, find them out by observing the coffeeberries themselves. You can only discover them when you have taken the coffee into your stomach, and begin to feel its effect on your M. So you may say of the coffee-berries which are not roasted, that they are of a dingy yellow colour; inodorous; disagreeable to the taste-and, yet-the qualities which render coffee so nice to drink, must be in these berries-bodyfor the mere roasting could not make them taste so. Now-here are some roasted berries for you. Let Lucy examine them. L. They have a brown colour. W. But what sort of a brown? There are so many "browns.” L. A rich deep brown, a chesnut brown. 2ndly, They break easily almost as easily as the brown crust of bread--so, they are crisp. 3rdly, They have a nice smell. I should call it a peculiar smell-it is very peculiar. It is not sweet, like the smell of a flower. W. Let me smell it, please. It is not a sweet smell, and yet it is rich. It smells something like spice. What do you call such a smell, mamma? M. We say it is aromatic. Tell Ion. What is an effect? W. I can tell you, Ion. Suppose I were to strike you-then, you would feel a pain-that would be the effect of my striking you. Ion. And I can tell you another effect. I should be angry with you. W. Yes, and if I were to hurt you much, you would cry. That would be an effect-the effect of the pain. Ion. Then, my eyes would be red, that would be another effectthe effect of the crying. I think I know now, what an effect is. It is something that is done to you. W. It is not that, exactly. It is that which comes after anything that is done to you. Becauselisten-if I strike you, I give you a blow-that is what is done to |