mixed with spirits of turpentine, forms white paint.

Zinc is an imperfect metal; it is seven times heavier than water, and called imperfect because it will not bear hammering; as it does not rust, it is extensively used for chimney pots, water pipes, and similar articles. Brass is a compound metal, being formed of three parts copper, and one part zinc. Pewter is also a compound metal, being made by mixing tin and lead together; it is chiefly used for ale, wine, and spirit

measures.

LESSON XXXIX.

THE LITTLE SPY.-THE RARE PLANT.

Their are few things more contemptible than impertinent curiosity; Robert Lamber was much addicted to this disagreeable habit, and although his father frequently reproved him for giving way to it, yet it was all in vain.

In consequence of this unbecoming propensity he got the nickname of "The Little Spy," and on several occasions he met with the most mortifying insults, and other boys appeared ashamed of his company.

On one occasion he was walking down one of the streets of the town in which he lived, when he observed two women talking very earnestly together, and being anxious to know the subject of their conversation, he silently glided towards them, when one of the women suddenly turned round, and seizing him by the collar, boxed his ears well, and told him "to go home and learn better manners."

But no rebuke had any effect on Robert, and nothing could overcome his desire of becoming acquainted with every person's business. He was at work one day in his little garden, when he saw his father go into the summer-house with a stranger, and shut the door close after them.

Robert, as usual, must know the nature of their -business, and gliding softly to the spot, he applied his ear to a crack in the wood-work, and listened to what they were saying, but he soon felt a strange tickling in his ear, and shortly afterwards, a pain so acute, that he screamed out with agony.

His father and the stranger ran out in alarm, and seeing his sufferings to be so great, a surgeon was immediately sent for, who applied a syringe and soon brought out a large earwig which had come out of the wood and entered the ear.

Robert was now fully sensible of the impropriety of his conduct, and as he was no longer in pain, his father rejoiced at the incident, thinking it might probably be the means of his amendment.

"My reproofs" said he, "have been disregarded, but this insect has, I trust, read you a more valuable lesson; if this warning fail, some greater evil will befall you, and the contempt, and hatred of mankind, will be found to produce a sharper sting than the nip of an earwig."

From the German.

Two country girls, Bridget and Elizabeth, walked side by side, to the market of a neighbouring town, each having a large basket on her head. Bridget grumbled the whole of the way at the weight of her basket, while Elizabeth walked briskly along, without uttering a single complaint.

"I do not know what it is" said Bridget, "that

makes you merry; your basket is as heavy as mine, and I am, at any rate, as strong as you, so that the load is as heavy for you as for me."

"Before I set out" replied Elizabeth, "I furnished myself with a rare plant, which takes off half the weight of my burden, and if you were to adopt my plan, you would soon be convinced of its excellence."

"A plant" exclaimed Bridget, "it is strange that any plant should possess such a power; I wish you would tell me where to find it?" "If you will promise me not to complain any more to day, when we return in the evening I will tell you."

Bridget agreed, and the two girls, having sold all their fruit, returned together to their village; as they walked along, Bridget reminded her friend of the promise she had made, and Elizabeth told her that the plant which she meant was reared in her own bosom.

"It is a sprig of patience," said she, "and if you will apply the same remedy, you will find that it has a wonderful effect in making labour easy, burdens light, and the cares and sorrows of life less grievous."

From the German

LESSON XL.

MARS. -THE ATEROIDS.-JUPITER.

Mars comes the fourth in order from the sun: this planet takes his name from his blood-red colour, Mars, being in heathen myth-ol'-o-gy, the god of war.

The orbit of Mars is one hundred and forty-five millions of miles from the sun, and his diameter is rather less than half of that of the earth; he makes his journey round the sun in six hundred and eighty-seven

days, that his year is nearly twice the length of ours, and he moves at the rate of fifty thousand miles an hour.

The body of Mars is supposed to be much the same as our earth, but with a less proportion of water; two parts out of three of the surface of the earth are water, while not more than one-third of his surface is covered with it.

This planet appears much larger at one time than he does at another, and this is easily accounted for, when we consider that in his revolution round the sun, he is at one time, one hundred and ninety millions of miles nearer the earth, than he is at another.

If Mars be peopled, the inhabitants will only enjoy about half the degree of heat that we do, on account of their greater distance from the sun; the seasons will be much the same as those of the earth, but they will be of longer duration.

In one season of his year, the northern part of his surface appears to be white, and this is thought to be 'caused by the accumulation of snow and ice during the winter, as this whiteness disappears in the summer.

The Asteroids are small planets which have their orbits between those of Mars and Jupiter; they have all been discovered since the year 1800.

Some imagine that these small planets are the frag ments of a larger planet, which, by some terrible convulsion, has been blown asunder; what tends to strengthen this supposition is, that these asteroids are not round, like other planets, but irregular in their forms, as all fragments will naturally be.

i If these be, in reality, the fragments of some larger planet, it may, perhaps, in some measure, explain the 'mystery of stones falling from the sky; some, indeed,

are of opinion, that these falling stones are still smaller fragments of some planet, wandering about, and occasionally brought within the influence of the earth's attraction.

That stones occasionally fall from the sky, is a fact, so well authenticated, that no one can doubt its truth; some stones have fallen which weighed nearly three hundred pounds, and others have exploded in the air, with a great noise, their contents falling in showers to the earth.

The principal of these asteroids are Vista, As-tre'-a, Juno, Pallas, and Ce'res, but none of these can be seen without the aid of a telescope.

The planet that comes next in order to the Asteroids, is Jupiter, who is probably so called from his being the chief of the planets, as, in heathen myth-ol'-o-gy, he is chief of the gods.

This majestic globe is four hundred and ninety-five millions of miles distant from the sun, and never less than four hundred millions of miles distant from the earth; his diameter is eighty-nine thousand miles, and he is equal in bulk, to fourteen hundred worlds such as we inhabit.

Jupiter is nearly twelve years in performing his journey round the sun, so that a year upon this planet is equal to twelve of our years; he moves at the rate of twenty-eight thousand miles an hour.

The appearance of Jupiter, to the naked eye, is very brilliant, indeed more so than that of any other planet, with the exception of Venus; when viewed through the telescope, he is easily distinguished from all other planets, by the broad stripes or belts, which extend across his disc or face.

Jupiter has also four satellites, or moons, which move