Oh! remembered for age be that blessed Isle, All the day of life until night; And when evening glows with its beautiful smile, -B. F. TAYLOR. 16. THE MEETING OF THE WATERS. There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet; Oh, the last ray of feeling and life must depart Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart. Yet it was not that Nature had shed o'er the scene 'Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near, Who made every dear scene of enchantment more dear, And who felt how the best charms of Nature im prove When we see them reflected from looks that we love. Sweet vale of Avoca! how calm could I rest In thy bosom of shade with the friends I love best, Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease, And our heart, like thy waters, be mingled in peace! -THOMAS MOORE. 17. LOOK ALOFT. I. In the tempest of life, when the wave and the gale Are around and above, if thy footing should fail, If thine eye should grow dim, and thy caution depart, "Look aloft," and be firm, and be fearless of heart. II. If the friend, who embraced in prosperity's glow, With a smile for each joy and a tear for each woe, Should betray thee when sorrows like clouds are arrayed, "Look aloft"-to the friendship which never shall fade. III. Should the visions which hope spreads in light to thine eye, Like the tints of the rainbow, but brighten to fly, Then turn, and through tears of repentant regret "Look aloft "-to the Sun that is never to set! IV. Should they who are dearest heart, -the son of thy The wife of thy bosom in sorrow depart, "Look aloft"- from the darkness and dust of the tomb To that soil where "affection is ever in bloom!" V. And oh when death comes in his terrors to cast -JONATHAN LAWRENCE. 18. THE STUDY OF WORDS. There are many words which have very curious and interesting origins. When we know them the words seem something fresh and new to us. Some of them, too, are very common words. Why do you call the pretty field flower with golden centre and white fringes a daisy? It is the day's eye. The centre is like the sun; the white fringes are like the sun's rays. In your garden grow tulips, geraniums, heliotropes, nasturtiums, and fragrant pinks. Each of these flowers has a beautiful name. But what does the name mean? Tulip is from the Turkish word for turban. The brilliant tulip was long ago likened to the showy head-dress of the Turks, and named after it. Look at the long-pointed fruit into which the geranium flower ripens. Isn't it like a crane's bill? Watch the sensitive heliotrope turn toward the sun. Helio is from the Greek word for sun; trope is from the Greek word meaning to turn. Inhale the sharp, spicy fragrance from your bed of nasturtiums. Nasturtium is the Latin for nosewring. The first part of the word is from the Latin noun nasus, meaning the nose; the remainder is from the Latin verb torqueo, twist or wring. To pink is to prick or cut finely. You pink the edges of a table scarf. Did you know that the delicately cut edges of your fragrant pinks give them their name? We think we have done away with the old heathen gods and goddesses. Yet when we call a person jovial we really allude to generous, goodnatured Father Jupiter, or Jove, the king of the gods among the Greeks and Romans. We sometimes say a person has a mercurial temperament when he is quick and hasty. We call to mind the god Mercury, the swift messenger of the gods, appearing suddenly here or there with his winged sandals and cap. We call wheat, corn, barley, and rye, cereals, because Mother Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, presided over them. But would you ever think there is any relationship between the words violin and veal. They are almost the same word. Each comes from the Sanscrit word meaning a calf. At Roman festivals, a calf was led through the streets to the place of sacrifice. It was followed by players who performed upon the violin, an instrument which, in its early forms, was known to the oldest nations. The calf and the music were the principal features of the occasion. The instrument was called the violin or the little calf, the ending in meaning little. The flesh of the calf was called veal. Some of our common articles of clothing received their names from strange sources. Calico gets its name from Calicut in India, whence it was first imported. Muslin is named from Moussel, a town in Asiatic Turkey, where it was first made. Cambric is named from Cambray in France, whence it came. Our beautiful damask napkins and tablecloths were originally woven in Damascus, in Asia; hence the name. Why do you call a person kind when he is careful and considerate towards others? Does he not recognize that he is akin to his friends? He is |