and thus he kept an account of his time. I have heard, too, that in order to make the candles burn steadily, he invented lanterns. W. That shows that he was very exact. P. He knew that learning was a good thing, and would do the people good, so he advised all the nobles in the land to teach their children to read. He sent to Italy and France for books, he sent vessels, with men to get knowledge from other countries, and made one or two voyages himself. He sent for learned men to teach, and caused many more schools to be built. He began the first college for young men at Oxford, and thus founded what is now called the Oxford University. He led the people on, and showed them that he was in earnest by his own love of hard work. He translated part of the Testament (the four Gospels) from Latin into English, and studied Grammar, History, Geometry, Architecture, Music, and Poetry. He knew that order was a good thing, and he, therefore, made many good laws. He wished all his people to be properly taken care of, and to be protected from robbery, so he placed guards in all parts of the country, and men like our policemen; and I have heard that he was so strict in making people honest, that if golden bracelets were hung in the highways, A SONNET FOR Non Angli sed Angeli! this is praise Higher than mortals may deserve or earn, And as through lapse of long since vanished days Our backward glance inquiringly we turn, How should our hearts with shame within us burn, To mark how little we have done, to raise The lofty pile that ages may discern, no robber would dare to touch them. He repaired the mischief which the Danes had made. He rebuilt part of London, and many other cities which they had burned. He caused stone houses and churches to be built-for, hitherto, they had been made chiefly of wood. He thought that instead of curing evils it would be better to prevent them, so, he built a fleet of nearly a hundred long ships, as large as those of the Danes, and some much larger. With these he met them on the sea, and kept them away from the land. In this way, and in many other better ways, he tried to prevent evil, and to do good. He made the people more happy than they had been since the days of the Romans,-so he felt happy, too. Though he was brave, he was kind, merciful, and gentle. His enemies feared him, his subjects loved him, and all people admired him. The greatness he gave to his kingdom came back to him, and he was called Alfred the Great. The goodness he showed to his people came back to him, and he was called "The good King Alfred." The good which he did has not yet been forgotten, and his glory will last for a long, long while, because he tried to copy the "King of kings," whose glory will last for ever. ANGLO-SAXONS. With living splendour of Good Deeds ablaze : [to do, Something we've done, but more remains Far more for us of Anglo-Saxon race; If to the prompting of our hearts but true, Who shall contest with us the foremost place, In the progressive march of human kind? TO TEACH, to BLESS, to CIVILIZE, such is our work assigned. ADAMS'S PEACE LYRICS. COFFEE (Continued). L. Now, mamma, may we have the history of Coffee, please? nor M. Yes. A long, long time ago-I don't know when where-a Prior, who lived in a Monastery, had a message brought to him. The man who took care of the monastery goats, or the Goatherd, as they called him, said that the goats would browse on a certain plant with red berries -and, that whenever they did so, they wouldn't go to sleep at night, but were disposed to cut capers, and keep late hours. W. Well, they were "exhilarated!" M. Now, this Prior had some monks in his monastery, who were too sleepy. They had to get out of bed very early every morning, and come down to repeat their Matins, or morning prayers, which, perhaps, they did not understand, so they found that it was very difficult to keep themselves awake. The prior, therefore, tricd them with these berries-or, perhaps, the juice of them, for they were Coffee-berries; and, it had the effects which we spoke of last week. It stimulated them, and refreshed them you asked him whether he'd take milk and sugar, he would tell you "No," but would put in some cloves, or cinnamon, or something else with a nice aromatie flavour. In time, other people found out that coffee was a pleasant thing, and it was drunk in Spain, France, Germany, and various parts of the Continent. One of the French kings sent for a coffee plant, which he placed in the Royal Gardens, at Paris. There it was carefully nursed, and when it had grown to a tree, it was sent to the French colonies in the West Indies. During the long voyage there, the water on board ship became very scarce and each passenger had a very small portion given him daily. The gentleman who had the charge of the plant, gave it, every day, a part of his little allowance and thus succeeded in keeping it alive, and in bringing it to his destiny. When it reached the West Indies it there bore fruit and seeds, which in time formed more plants, and led to the cultivation of coffee in those parts. The French people are still very fond of coffee-they make beautiful coffee in Paris. L. When did they learn to drink it in England, mamma? M. I will tell you. About 200 years ago, it was not known in this country, no one had tasted it here W. And exhilarated them? M. Perhaps; but it is not always easy to exhilarate a monk, especially at matins. Then the prior took some himself, and liked itand soon it was "strongly recom- Ion. Was that in the year 1650? mended" to the neighbours, until M. No. It was two years after it became the fashionable drink in then-in the year 1652. A Greek Mecca, Cairo, Constantinople-servant, named Pasqua, came to throughout Arabia, Egypt, Syria, England, and set up in business as Turkey, Persia, and all Eastern a "coffee man," near Cornhill. It Countries. became more and more liked in England, and now the English people use about 36,000,000 pounds every year. You should see a Turk drink coffee. Sometimes he uses a quarter of a pound in a day. If L. Thank you, mamma. Now may we hear its natural history-I mean the history of its naturehow it grows and so on? M. In Arabia and Eastern Countries, the coffee trees are allowed to grow to a good height, and the berries are left on the trees until they are ripe-so that they easily fall off when the branches are shaken, and drop on to a mat which is placed underneath. They are then spread out on the mat, to be dried by the heat of the sun. The husk, or dry berry, is afterwards crushed by a stone roller, and the seeds are picked out. But in the West Indies it is cultivated differently. The trees are grown in large plantations, which are often situated on the hills and high grounds that are not rich enough for the sugar. If any one who has been cultivating sugar for a long time should happen to be in bad health, the change of air to a coffee plantation will often make him better. These plantations are pleasant to see. The shrubs, which are only allowed to grow to the height of about four feet, have leaves of a bright green colour, something like the leaves of our orange tree in the greenhouse. It has leaves at all times of the year. L. So, it is called an Evergreen, is it not, mamma ? M. Yes; and these evergreen shrubs, at the time of blossom, have a beautiful appearance. They are then covered with a brilliant white flower, something like the jasmine. These flowers open in such abundance that the leaves of the trees are completely hidden-and from the distance, appear as white as heaps of snow, at the same time they have a delicious and fragrant smell. The blossoms are followed by the red berries, which look something like small cherries. When these berries are ripe the negroes come and pick them, and put them in bags which are fastened round their necks. They are next spread out under the hot sun until the soft part, or pulp, ferments;-or, sometimes the pulp is bruised on a mill, and made softit is then washed away, and the seeds are dried. These seeds are packed up in bags or bales, and exported-some of them to England. The grocer who buys them puts them in a close iron box, and roasts them over a slow charcoal fire-then, they swell, and have the qualities which we spoke of last week-they become darker in colour, more crisp, with a bitter, aromatic, and agreeable flavour. There are several ways of roasting it now. If you go to some of the large grocers' shops-you will see some curious engines for roasting, and you will hear of patent roasters, dessicated coffee, and of many strange ways which I do not understand. W. Do they not mix Chicory. with coffee, mamma? M. Yes. A little chicory is said to improve the flavour of coffee, but as it is cheaper than coffee, the "cheap" grocers often mix too much with it, and so spoil it. Many people also spoil their coffee by boiling it. The best way to prepare it is by pouring boiling water upon it-for, if it is left long on the fire, the aromatic part of its flavour is driven away, and only the bitter taste remains. I do not think I can tell you anything else about coffee Ion. Please tell us the different sorts of coffee, mamma. M. You may have seen the names of the different coffees on the large tickets in the grocer's windows. The cheap Ceylon coffee is brought from an island at the south of the East Indies-it is imported in bags. A much better coffee is procured from a large West India island, called Jamaica -and from part of South America, called Berbice. The best coffee is that brought from Arabia, near a town called Mocha. Now you may make up the lesson. L. Thank you, mamma. Lesson 8. COFFEE. 1. UNROASTED COFFEE SEEDS are of a dingy yellow colour, inodorous, and disagreeable to the taste. ROASTED COFFEE SEEDS are of a rich brown colour, crisp, aromatic, bitter, and pleasant to the tastewhilst in their effects they are stimulating, refreshing, and exhilarating. Eastern countries, where it is said to have grown wild, and to have been eaten by the goats. Its use spread through Arabia, Turkey, and Europe, and it was introduced by the French to the WEST INDIES. In 1652, it was brought into England by a Greek. 3. Coffee is the seed found in "a little red berry, which grows on an evergreen shrub. The shrubs in Arabia are allowed to grow to a good height, but in the West Indies the mode of cultivation is different. The shrubs are allowed to grow only to the height of about four feet, whilst the berries are picked by the Negroes when they are red. The seeds, when sent to England, are roasted and ground before they are fit for use. 4. The different kinds of Coffee Ceylon, Jamaica, Berbice, 2. Coffee was first discovered in | Mocha coffee, &c. &c. are TIME. TIME speeds away-away-away: The eye grows dim and strange to all. He undermines the stately tower, The friends that loved-the friends that blest: KNOX THE CRUST OF THE EARTH. FLINT OR SILICA. P. Tell me, Ion, some earths which contain lime. Ion. Chalk, papa, or Limestone, Spar, Bath Stone, Plaster of Paris, and others. These you said were called Calcareous earths. W. The earths which are like the Argil, or Clay, are Potter's Clay -Pipe Clay-Fuller's Earth, and others. P. And these, from the Latin word Argil, are called Argillaceous earths. To-day, here is a flint for you to study. This is another part of the earth's crust-indeed it forms the hard foundation of the crust, and it gives firmness to the mountains. down cart-loads of granite, broken into little square pieces? P. Mac-adamize them, you mean. Ion. That is the word papa, they use granite to macadamize the roads-and for the curb-stones. Is there any silicon in the pavement stones? P. Yes, the pavement is made of a sandstone which consists of little grains of silicon or sand, cemented together. There are many large rocks made of sandstone. L. I thought that sand must contain silicon, papa. It is something like little grains of flint, and are not the great rocks made of silicon-and the little stones too? P. Yes, rocks consist of silicon -and so do stones. Stones are only small pieces of rock; you shall hear their history one day. Now, all these hard substances containing W. I thought that the mountains must have something inside them harder than lime, or clay-silicon-such as flint, rock crystal, and so must the earth itself the round ball or else it would not be strong-it would lose its shape, I think! P. Yes, the hardness of the flint renders it useful to make a durable foundation for the mountains. This flint consists almost entirely of a very hard substance called silicon. Can you remember that word? L. I can, papa. P. And there are in the earth's crust other substances besides flint, which consists partly of "Silicon." The piece of rock crystal on the mantel-piece came out of the earth, -this piece of quartz was found in the mountains. Down very deep in the earth was found this piece of speckled stone. Ion. This is called granite, papa. Waterloo Bridge is made of granite: -and it is used in making roads, when they mac-What do men do to the roads, papa, when they throw quartz, granite, sandstone, and sand, are called siliceous earths. W. So there are three kinds of earths. I will say them once more-Earths composed of lime, are called CALCAREOUS EARTHS. Earths composed of clay, are called ARGILLACEOUS EARTHS. Earths composed of flint, are called SILICEOUS EARTHS. P. Now, let us sit down and study this flint-we will find out its qualities, and uses. 5 L. I will begin, papa. First, It is very hard-so hard that if you strike it against a steel, it will "strike fire." W. And, so hard that it will scratch glass. P. Yes it is the flint (or silicon) which gives hardness to glass. Glass is made principally of silicon. If you mix sand with an alkali called soda-or with potash, and put it in a fierce fire, it will melt. |