sioned this custom to be observed in the fullest extent.

7. Numerous parties, therefore, were seen ascending and descending the hill on which the castle was situated. When the king and his attendants entered the open and unguarded gates of the external barrier, the space within presented a scene not easily reconciled with the cause of the assemblage. In one place cooks were toiling to roast huge oxen, and fat sheep; in another, hogsheads of ale were placed, to be drained at the freedom of all comers.

8. Mendicants were, of course, assembled by the score, together with strolling soldiers returned from Palestine (according to their own account); pedlars were displaying their wares, travelling mechanics were inquiring after employment, and wandering palmers, Saxon minstrels, and Welsh bards were muttering prayers, and extracting dismal dirges from their rude instruments. Jesters and jugglers were not wanting, nor was the occasion of the assembly supposed to render the exercise of their profession unbecoming or improper.

9. Such was the scene in the castle-yard at Conisborough when it was entered by Richard and his followers. The steward deigned not to take notice of the groups of inferior guests who were perpetually coming and going, unless so far as was necessary to preserve order. In his sable dress, and holding in his hand his white wand of office, this important personage made way through the miscellaneous assemblage of guests, thus conduct

ing Richard and Ivanhoe to the entrance of the

tower.

Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott (abridged).

Conisborough Castle. In the south of Yorkshire, between Rotherham and Doncaster. The name signifies "King's borough," and is supposed to have been a residence of the Saxon kings.

The Keep was the principal part of the castle, where the family resided. This keep is still standing.

Heptarchy. The seven small kingdoms into which England was divided after the coming of the Saxons Hengist.-The name given to one of the early leaders of the Saxon invaders, who came over to this country after the departure of the Romans, during the fifth and sixth

Athelstane.-The owner of the castle, whose funeral had brought all this assembly together.

Soldiers returned from Palestine. -Crusaders from the Holy Land.

Palmers.-Pilgrims who had been to the Holy Land. They carried in their hands a palm-branch, as a badge, and hence they received their

name.

Jesters and Jugglers.-These persons were frequently attached to great households. The jester or fool was distinguished by a peaked cap with bells attached, and clothes of varied colours. Their duty was to amuse the lord of the household and his company by witty remarks. The jugglers were conjurors. Both seem to our view strange attendants at a funeral.

Au'-burn, a fanciful name for a village loi'-ter-ed, walked very slowly

swain, a country labourer

blooms, blossoms

re-spons'-ive, answering back va'-cant, empty

Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain,

Where health and plenty cheered the lab'ring swain;
Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid;
And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed.
Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease,
Seats of my youth, where every sport could please,
How often have I loitered o'er thy green,

Where humble happiness endeared each scene;
How often have I paused on every charm,

The sheltered cot, the cultivated farm,
The never-failing brook, the busy mill,

The decent church that topt the neighb'ring hill,
The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade.
For talking age, and whisp'ring lovers made.

Sweet was the sound, when oft, at evening's close,
Up yonder hill the village murmur rose;

There, as I passed, with careless steps and slow,
The mingling notes came softened from below;
The swain, responsive, as the milk-maid sung;
The sober herd that lowed to meet their young;
The noisy geese, that gabbled o'er the pool;
The playful children, just let loose from school;
The watch-dog's voice that bayed the whisp'ring wind,
And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind;
These all in sweet confusion sought the shade,
And filled each pause the nightingale had made.

Goldsmith.

LESSON XXXIX.

JAMES WATT AND THE STEAM ENGINE.

drugs, substances used in medicine ab-sorb'-ed, entirely taken up in-ef-fect'-ive, not doing its work

well

re-li'-a-ble, to be trusted

much money

for'-mi-da-ble, very serious rel'-ic, a valued memorial of one dead

e-co-nom'-ic-al, not costing too con-dens'-er, a vessel for

cooling the steam 1. Like all other great inventions, the steam engine was not found out suddenly and easily. Something about the power of steam had been known from very early times. The ancient Greeks are known to have constructed some steam toys, and in the 16th century an Italian contrived a machine for pounding drugs. The Marquis of Worcester, who suffered very severely for his loyal service to King Charles I. during the Civil Wars, invented a machine, worked by steam, for drawing

water. It does not seem to have been a success, but no model of any of his inventions has been preserved.

2. Thomas Savery, a Devonshire gentleman, who was about 17 years old when the Marquis of Worcester died in 1667, is usually considered the maker of the first actual working steam engine. He also first introduced the term "horse-power" to show the amount of work an engine can do. His engine was very clumsy, and did not prove a He died in 1715.

success.

3. Thomas Newcomen, an ironmonger and blacksmith of Dartmouth, made very important improvements. The exact time either of his birth or death is not known. His home was not far from that of Savery, and it is probable that he may have worked at Savery's engine, as he lived at the same time, but was somewhat younger. His engines were used to some extent, but they were clumsy and ineffective, and the enormous consumption of coal made them very expensive, and prevented their more general use.

4. A boy named Humphrey Potter was employed to attend to two stop-taps, one admitting the steam into the cylinder, and the other admitting a jet of cold water to condense the steam. The work was very easy, but required constant attention. As the boy wanted to play, he contrived a valve which would work of itself, and thus save him trouble. It was worked by strings attached to the engine-beam. It was not only found to work admirably, but also to improve the working