first month of the year, was dedicated to Mars, the god of war; and from him it had its name. 4. April, the fourth month, means the opening month, derived from the word ap-e-rire, to open; as at this period buds and flowers generally begin to expand. • It is the only month in the year that has had a name given to it expressive of the appearances of nature. The other months are called after heathen deities, or Roman emperors, or according to their place in the calendar. 5. May, the fifth month, and June, the sixth month have an uncertain derivation, but are said by some writers to have been so named by Romulus, the first King of Rome, in honor of the Ma-jo'rēs and Ju-ni-o'rēs, two classes of senators who assisted him in the government. 6. July, the seventh month, was so named by Mark Antony in honor of Julius Cæsar, who had performed the great service of reforming the calendar. August, the eighth month, was named by the Roman Senate in honor of Augustus, to whom we owe the completion of the improvements begun by Julius Cæsar. 7. September, the ninth month, has a name derived from septem, seven, because it was the seventh month after March. Several of the Roman emperors gave names to this month, in honor of themselves; but they were not so fortunate as Augustus in keeping their places in the calendar. 8. This month, and the three following,- October, the tenth month, from octo, eight; November, the eleventh month, from novem, nine; December, the twelfth month, from decem, ten, retain their names unaltered, though the names no longer indicate their place in the year. 9. These names are better than if they were descriptive of any particular thing occurring in the months, or of the seasons, because they may be used in nearly all countries. Had the names been given on account of some natural appearance, they would only have been applicable to that climate for which they were first intended. The drop that mingles with the flood, the sand dropped on the sea-shore the word you have spoken, will not be lost. Each will have its influence and be felt till time shall be no more. The influence you may exert by every word and deed is incalculable. It will not cease when your bodies lie in the grave, but will be felt, wider and still wider, as year after year passes away. 1. NOTHING is lost: the drop of dew Which trembles on the leaf or flower Is but exhaled to fall anew In summer's thunder-shower: That fronts the sun at fall of day; 2. Nothing is lost; the tiniest seed. By wild birds bōrne, or breezes blown. The language of some household song, The perfume of some cherished flower, 3. So with our words; or harsh or kind, So with our deeds; for good or ill, They have their power scarce understood; To make them rife with good! J. T. Prince. CXLI. THE DYSPEP'TIC PATIENT. 1. AT one of the English watering-places there is a physician who has acquired a great name for curing dys pepsia, or derangement of the digestive organs, though he does scarcely anything for his patients but cause them to eat and drink moderately, and take a little out-of-door exercise. 2. A heavy, middle-aged man came to him, one day, complaining that he was grievously out of order. The doctor soon learned that he was one of those numberless people who, having great wealth, perform all their movements in a carriage, and never deny themselves any luxury for which they have a desire. 3. He asked his patient to accompany him in a drive a few miles from town; to which the other consented. When the doctor had got about five miles into the country, he dropped his whip, and requested his patient to step out and pick it up. 4. As soon as the gentleman was out of the carriage, the doctor wheeled about, and set out on his way back to town, first looking over his shoulder and laughingly telling his patient to find his way back on foot, by which means he would probably have a good appetite for dinner. This was the first step to a complete cure of the complaint. 5. A gentleman in similar circumstances applying for advice to an eminent but eccentric surgeon in London, the only reply he obtained was, "Live upon sixpence a day, and earn it." Though oddly spoken, this was unquestionably the very thing the patient ought to have done. CXLII. A VILLAGE OVERWHELMED. 1. MANY feet under the rough rocks on which the church of Goldau, in Switzerland, now stands, is a buried village. It was overwhelmed by the fall of a mountain in the year 1806. The mountain that did this mischief was a staid, grave pile. two miles away, and was so little distrusted that 1 it was covered, like the rest of the hills around, with pastures, and huts, and grazing cattle. 2. Any ge-ologist would have hesitated to live upon it, however; for, though the whole long slope from Goldau to the distant summit was of firm rock, covered by rich soil, deep underneath this was a treacherous stratum of clay. Yielding to the temptation of the autumn rains, this mountain took a drop too much. It lost its gravity-staggered fell. The clay became slush, and down the greased ways the whole vast mass slid upon the valley. 3. Any one who has seen a large vessel launched can conceive, perhaps, what im'petus a mass of rock, of the weight of millions of loaded ships, would get in sliding a distance of two miles down a slope five hundred feet high. But it is almost impossible to conceive of the desolation scattered before it. The whole broad valley, for a distance of four or five miles, and a breadth of two or three, was filled with ghastly rubbish. The sky was utterly blackened by a cloud of flying stones and dust. 4. High up the opposite side of the valley, where, if nature had issued tickets, a spectator would have taken his place without hesitation to witness the convulsions, volleys of immense rocks were hurled like grape-shot, carrying all before them. The church bell of Goldau was found knocked a mile, and one village chapel was swept half a league from its foundation. Of those who were immediately exposed, only three escaped. 5. Four hundred and fifty men, women and children, were buried alive in the mass; and more than three thousand buildings disappeared. Nature has drawn a partial screen of moss and grass and bushes over the chaos in the valley, and man has built a road over it, and a church and a tavern on the site of the principal village destroyed; but the mountain side is bare and scathed, and the terrible ruin will be forever evident. 18* མ། 1. "WHAT an excellent thing is knowledge!" said a sharp-looking, bustling little man to one who was much older than himself. 66 Knowledge is an excellent thing! Knowledge is power!" repeated he; "my boys know more of age than I did at twelve. They can read all sorts of books, and talk on all sorts of subjects. The world is a great deal wiser than it used to be. Everybody knows something of everything Do you not think, sir, that knowledge is an excellent thing?" at six and seven years 2. now. 3. "Why, sir," replied the old man, looking gravely, "that depends entirely upon the use to which it is applied. It may be either a blessing or a curse. Knowledge is only an increase of power, and power may be a bad as well as a good thing.""That is what I cannot understand," said the bustling little man. "How can power be a bad thing?" 4. "I will tell you," meekly replied the old man; and thus he went on: "When the power of a horse is under restraint, the animal is useful in bearing burdens, drawing loads, and carrying his master; but when that power is unrestrained, the horse breaks his bridle, dashes his carriage to pieces, or throws his rider."—“ "I see! I see!" said the little man. 5. "When the water of a pond is properly conducted by trenches, it renders the fields around fertile; but when it bursts through its banks, it sweeps everything before it, and destroys the produce of, the field.""I see! I see!" said the little man; "I see!" 6. "When a ship is steered aright, the sail that she hoists enables her the sooner to get into port; but if steered wrong, the more sail she carries, the further she will go out of her course.""I see! I see!" said the little man; "I see clearly!" |