way deeper into the forest. The clearings extend, and the soil, which will be corn-land by-and-by, is laid open. He now can form a variety of tools suited to a variety of purposes. New wants are created with the increased facility of meeting them. In a word, with the introduction of metal among a savage race, stationary till then, the march of improvement has begun. The discovery of copper, silver, and gold, naturally takes place before the discovery of iron. The smelting of iron is an art much too difficult for the savage to master, till he has been long familiar with the working of the softer and easier metals. Accordingly, we find that the earliest metallic implements used in Britain were not of iron, but of bronze. Copper and tin are soft metals; but if a portion of tin is mixed with copper, the result is bronze, a metal harder than either of the two of which it is composed. Tools and weapons made of this metal are a great advance upon those made of stone or flint. Bronze, however, is but a poor substitute for iron and steel, and we may be very sure that the people who made use of bronze tools knew nothing of iron. That period during which the ancient inhabitants of a country, ignorant as yet of iron, made use of bronze tools and weapons, is called the Bronze Period.3 Let us again suppose ourselves present at the opening of an ancient British tomb. It is under a cairn heaped on the top of a hill which overlooks a wide tract of moorland. The stone coffin is very short-not over four feet in length. tion of the bones, the body has From the posievidently been There are And placed in a sitting or folded posture. cups or bowls of pottery, one or more. There is a bronze sword, but it has been broken in two before it was laid beside its owner in his long rest. what is that which glitters among the warrior's It is an ornament of gold-a bracelet or a which he had worn. dust? collar The skeleton of a dog is found beside the coffin ; for the warrior knew hunting-craft by lake and wood, and loved to pursue his game with hound and bow. So they laid his four-footed favourite, which had licked his hand and followed his halloo, in his long home beside him. Now observe the cup or bowl, which has contained drink or food-friendship's last gift to the dead. This cup is very different from the unshapely handmade and sun-dried pottery of the Stone Period. It has been rounded on a wheel. It is made of fine baked clay, and is neatly ornamented with a simple pattern. There has been progress, then, in the mechanical arts since the ruder and older time. Let the broken sword next tell its story. The last honour paid to the buried warrior was to break his sword and lay it beside him, ere his companionsin-arms piled over him the memorial cairn. The warrior of the Stone Period was buried with axe, lance, and bow, in barbarian anticipation of warfare beyond the grave; but the warrior of the Bronze Period was laid in his narrow bed with his broken sword, in token of warfare accomplished and of ex . pected rest. This speaks in no obscure language of some better and higher ideas which this ancient race had acquired. J. MACKENZIE. 'Cairn, a heap of stones piled over are called Red, from their red or coppera tomb, or on the scene of some memor-coloured skins. able event. 2 Red Indian.—The original inhabitants of America were called Indians, because when Columbus discovered the islands belonging to the Western Continent he believed that he had reached the East Indies. (See p. 313.) They 3 The Bronze Period.--The ancient Britons probably learned the art of working in metals from the Tyrians and Carthaginians, who are known to have visited the coast of Cornwall, for supplies of tin, many years before the Christian era. QUESTIONS.-Where are the materials for unwritten history found? How had the ancient boat found near Glasgow been hollowed out? What was found within it? For what purpose had the axe been used? Where is the same plan followed still? To what, then, does the axe bear witness? For what other purpose did the axe serve the ancient Briton? How can you show this? What other stone implements have been found? What is that period of history called? What shows that the ancient Britons believed in a future state? What is the first great stage in the history of civilization? What work does the introduction of metals enable the savage to improve? What metals are first discovered? Why? What is the period therefore called? How is bronze made? What is its character, compared with copper and tin? What are often found within a coffin of the Bronze Period? What difference is observed in the cup, as compared with that of the Stone Period? What story does the broken sword tell? MERCY. (To be written from memory.) THE quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,- It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God's OUTLINES OF BRITISH HISTORY. (Continued from Royal Reader No. IV., page 275.) FOURTH DIVISION. HOUSE OF TUDOR. 1485 A.D. to 1603 A.D.-118 years.-5 Sovereigns. LEADING FEATURES:-The Rise of Protestantism-The Revival of Literature-The Extension of Commerce. .began to reign 1485 | MARY (half-sister)... HENRY VII.. 1553 1509 ELIZABETH (half-sister) ...1558-1603 1. HENRY VII. was great-grandson of John of Gaunt through his mother Margaret, and grandson of Owen Tudor through his father Edmund Tudor. 2. Henry's first care was to cast into the Tower the young Earl of Warwick, a boy of fifteen, of the House of York, and the proper heir to the throne. He was kept prisoner fifteen years, and was at last beheaded. 3. Henry married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV. The White and Red Roses being thus united, those wars that for thirty years had been robbing England of her best blood came to an end; and men began to cultivate the arts of peace. 4. The beginning of the reign was, however, disturbed by some rebellions. Lambert Simnel, a baker's son, pretended to be the young Earl of Warwick, who was really a prisoner in the Tower. In Ireland he found great favour, and was crowned king under the title of Edward the Sixth; and though young Warwick was brought out of his cell, and openly shown, yet Simnel invaded England with an army, and marched into Nottinghamshire. He was defeated at Stoke, near Newark, taken prisoner, and made a scullion in the king's kitchen! 5. The next impostor was Perkin Warbeck. He gave out that he was the Duke of York, who, with his brother Edward V., was said to have been murdered in the Tower; and he was so much like that little prince and his father, Edward IV., that many believed him to be the real Plantagenet. The King of Scotland was so convinced of it that he took him into favour, and gave him the daughter of Earl Huntly in marriage. But before Warbeck could bring an army into the field, his plot was discovered; many noblemen of his party were taken and put to death, -their estates adding much to the wealth of the king; and Warbeck himself, after several fruitless invasions, was seized, put into the stocks, made to read aloud a confession of his guilt, and afterwards hanged. 6. Henry, being now firmly seated on the throne, took great pains to increase his wealth. This he did by laying heavy fines on those who offended him-sometimes even seizing the estates of the rich. It is said that he died worth twelve millions sterling, present value! 7. In this reign the New World was discovered by Columbus, who landed on the Bahama Islands in 1492. Five years afterwards the mainland of America was discovered by Cabot, whom Henry VII. had sent out from Bristol. Cabot made the first map of the Western Hemisphere. A passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope was discovered by Vasco di Gama. A law was passed to prevent the nobles from keeping great numbers of dependants. This practice had increased so much during the Wars of the Roses, that Warwick the King-maker is said to have had thirty thousand retainers! Knowledge began to be more widely spread by the introduction of printing and the establishment of schools. QUESTIONS. 1. Name the Tudor sovereigns. Give dates. Mention the leading features of the period. How long did Henry VII. reign? Give dates. Who were his father and mother? 2. What was Henry's first care? Who was the Earl of Warwick? How long was he imprisoned? did he pretend to be? Was he believed? Why? Was he successful? Why not? What became of his adherents? And of himself? 6. What was Henry's great aim after these events? What means did he use? What was his success? 3. Whom did Henry marry? Of what this reign? By whom? benefit was this to the nation? 4. What took place early in his reign? Who was Simnel? Who did he pretend to be? Did he find favour? Where? What did the Irish do? How did Simnel proceed? Was he defeated? Where? What became of him? 7. What continent was discovered in Give date. Who discovered the mainland? When? What map did Cabot first make? What other discovery was made? By whom? What law was made, limiting the power of the nobles? What reason was there for making it? What were the good effects of the introduction of 5. Who was the next impostor? Who printing? |