who choose to ascend, in the intervals of labour, are permitted to breathe occasionally the fresh air in the fields, and to enjoy the light of day. The horses, however, once taken down, never return to daylight, but are foddered and sleep in sheds cut in the salt rock.

The

Many of the chambers are very large, and supported by pillars of salt, left for the purpose: some of them are thirty or forty, and some seventy or eighty feet in height, without any support, except from the sides. roads and galleries branch out in many directions. In some parts they are very intricate, so that persons, whose light has been accidentally extinguished, have perished, not being able to find their way back.

The

extent of this stratum of salt is not known, but the length already excavated exceeds a mile, and the breadth nearly half as much. The depth already dug is about seven hundred feet.

It seems remarkable that all these places, though formed of salt, are very dry. There is one rivulet of water running through the mine, which is fresh at its source, but becomes saltish, by running in the channel which it has worn in the salt rock. The rock is hewn with pickaxes, as in our English mines in Cheshire.

There are other mines in the neighbourhood, which have been wrought above six hundred years; yet the labourers have not come to the end of the stratum of salt in any direction. Between four and five hundred miners are employed in these works; and the whole number of men engaged in them is about seven hundred. Each continues at his work for eight hours, and then, if he chooses, rises again to the surface. About 300,000 quintals, or sixty million pounds of salt, have been annually raised from thesɔ mines.-Isanc Taylor.

LESSON XXXVII.-THE LION.

There is something so noble and imposing in the presence of the lion, when seen walking free and undaunted on his native soil, that no description can convey an adequate idea of his striking appearance. He is exquisitely formed by nature for the predatory habits which he is destined to pursue. Combining in comparatively small compass the qualities of power and agility, he is enabled easily to destroy almost every beast of the forest, however superior to him in weight and stature. Though under four feet in height, he has little difficulty in dashing to the ground and overcoming the lofty and apparently powerful giraffe, whose head towers above the trees of the forest, and whose skin is nearly an inch in thickness. The lion is the constant attendant of the vast herds of buffaloes which frequent the interminable forests of the interior: he also preys on all the larger varieties of the antelopes, and on both the varieties of the gnoo. The zebra is also a favourite object of his pursuit.

The lion is very generally diffused throughout the secluded parts of South Africa. He is, however, nowhere met with in great abundance, it being very rare to find more than three, or even two, families of lions frequenting the same district, and drinking at the same fountain. It is a common thing to come upon a fullgrown lion and lioness, associating with three or four young ones nearly full-grown; at other times, full-grown males will be found hunting together in a happy state of friendship.

The male lion is adorned with a long, rank, shaggy mane, which in some instances almost sweeps the ground

The colour of these manes varies, some being very dark, and others of a golden yellow. The females are destitute of a mane, being covered with a short, thick, glossy coat of tawny hair. One of the most striking things connected with the lion is his voice, which is extremely grand and striking. It consists at times of a low, deep moaning, repeated five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs; at other times he startles the forest with loud, deep-toned, solemn roars, repeated five or six times in quick succession, each increasing in loudness to the third or fourth, when his voice dies away in five or six low, muffled sounds, very much resembling distant thunder. Not unfrequently a troop may be heard roaring in concert, one assuming the lead, and two, three, or four more regularly taking their parts, like persons singing a catch.

The habits of the lion are strictly nocturnal: during the day he lies concealed beneath the shade of some low bushy tree, either in the level forest or on the mountain side. He is also partial to lofty reeds or fields of long rank grass, such as occur in low-lying valleys. From these haunts he sallies when the sun goes down, and commences his nightly prowl. One thing conspicuous about them is their eyes, which, in a dark night, glow like two balls of fire. The female is more fierce and active than the male. At no time is the lion so much to be dreaded as when his partner has small young ones. One day, when out elephant hunting, accompanied by two hundred and fifty men, I was astonished to behold a majestic lion slowly and steadily advancing towards us, with a bearing the most noble and imposing that can be conceived. Lashing his tail from side to side, and growling haughtily, his terribly expressive eye resolutely fixed upon us, he approached. A headlong flight of the

two hundred and fifty men was the immediate result, and in the confusion of the moment, four couples of my dogs which they had been leading were allowed to escape. These instantly faced the lion, who, finding that by his bold bearing he had succeeded in putting his enemies to flight, now became solicitous for the safety of his little family, with which the lioness was retreating in the back ground. Facing about, he followed them with a haughty step, growling fiercely at the dogs, which trotted along on either side of him. On running down the hill side to recall my dogs, I for the first time observed the retreating lioness, with four cubs.-Cumming.

LESSON XXXVIII.—THE NAUTILUS.

Where Ausonian summers glowing,
Warm the deep to life and joyance,
And gentle zephyrs, nimbly blowing,
Wanton with the waves, that flowing
By many a land of ancient glory,
And many an isle renowned in story,
Leap along with gladsome buoyance ;
There, Marinere,

Dost thou appear,

In faery pinnace gaily flashing,

Through the white foam proudly dashing—
The joyous playmate of the buxom breeze,
The fearless fondling of the mighty seas.

Thou the light sail boldly spreadest,
O'er the furrowed waters gliding:
Thou nor wreck, nor foeman dreadest-

Thou nor helm, nor compass needest,

While the sun is bright above thee,

While the bounding surges love thee,
In their deepening bosom hiding,
Thou canst not fear,

Small Marinere ;

For-though the tides, with restless motion,
Bear thee to the desert ocean-

Far as the ocean stretches to the sky,
'Tis all thine own, 'tis all thy empery.

Lame is art, and her endeavour
Follows nature's course but slowly,
Guessing, toiling, seeking ever,
Still improving, perfect never;
Little Nautilus, thou showest
Deeper wisdom than thou knowest
Lore, which man should study lowly:
Bold faith and cheer,

Small Marinere,

Are thine, within thy pearly dwelling-
Thine, a law of life compelling

Obedience-perfect, simple, glad, and free—
To the GREAT WILL that animates the sea.

Hartley Coleridge.

LESSON XXXIX.-VOLCANOES.

Mountains of this class require specific notice, on account of their peculiar features, and powerful influence in modifying the physiognomy of the districts in which they are situated. The Romans applied the term Vulcania, derived from Vulcanus, the name of their imaginary