When the boats reach the shore, the oysters are thrown into broad pits, a couple of feet deep, dug in the ground, and lined with mats to prevent the earth mixing with the shells. They are, of course, fenced carefully round to prevent depredation. Here the creatures are left to die and rot. After having remained a sufficient period to become putrid and then dry, the shells can be opened without the danger of injuring the pearls, which would be the case were they opened while fresh. The shells being then carefully examined, the pearls are extracted. Sometimes a pearl is found in the body of the mollusc itself, but more generally attached to the shell. "I wonder how those pearls manage to get into the shells?" said Mat. "I heard," cried Dick, "that the shells open their mouths at night when the dew is falling, and the drops are petrified into pearls." The Professor laughed. "Such was the idea once entertained, but long since exploded. The pearl, instead of having so poetical an origin, is produced by the oyster to get rid of a source of irritation. Sometimes a minute particle of sand has been introduced between the mantle of the oyster and the shell. This producing great annoyance, the animal, who is unable to get rid of it, covers it over with a smooth coat or layer of nacre, translucent substance of which pearls are formed. Wonders of the Ocean. the New Guinea.-A large island lying to the north-east of Australia, immediately south of the Equator EXERCISES. 1. Describe in your own words the mode of fishing for pearls. 2. What precautions are taken by the divers, before plunging into the water?-Why? 3. Give the meaning of that part of each of the following words which is in italics :-surface, diver, overboard, discharged, strongest, unprotected, precious, interval. 4. Where are pearl fisheries carried on? LESSON XXIII. A Dirge. balm, comfort, consolation. gra'-cious, winning, gentle. min'-is-ter, afford, bestow. WHERE shall we make her grave? Where shower and singing-bird Harsh was the world to her- Balm for each ill: Low on sweet nature's breast, Murmur, glad waters, by! Come wandering o'er That green and mossy bed, What though for her in vain Yet still, from where she lies, Therefore let song and dew And o'er that holy earth Still come and go! Oh! then where wild-flowers wave, Where shower and singing-bird F. HEMANS. A Dirge.-Is literally a funeral service in Latin, the first word of which is dirige. Hence the word came to be applied to any hymn, or short poem, intended to express grief, sorrow, or mourning. EXERCISE. Point out the various images of rest and peace which the writer brings together in this poem. H* Man's Mortality. blast'-eth, decays, withers. con-sumes', wastes away. daint'-y, neat, trim. LIKE as the damask rose you see, Like to the grass that's newly sprung, The gourd which Jonas had.-Compare Jonah iv. Whose thread is spun, &c.—The reference is to the Parcæ, or Fates, powerful goddesses in the heathen mythology, who presided over the birth and life of mankind. They were three in number-Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis. Clotho presided over our birth, and held a distaff in her hand; Lachesis spun out all the events of our life; whilst Atropos cut the thread of human life with a pair of scissors. Like to the grass.-Compare Isaiah xl. 6; Like a tale, &c.—Compare Psalm xc. 9. Psalm xc. 5-6. Like the singing of a swan.--It was a current opinion that the swan sang itself to death "Let music sound while he doth make his choice; Then, if he lose, he makes a swan-like end, Merchant of Venice, Act. iii., scene 2. QUESTIONS:-1. State the various things to which man's life is compared in the first stanza. 2. Show that these comparisons are suitable. 3. Explain all the allusions in the first stanza. 4. State the various things to which man's life is compared in the second stanza. 5. Show that these comparisons are suitable. 6. Explain the allusions in this stanza. 7. Give an account of the Parcæ. 8. What was Jonas' gourd? 9. Why is there reference to the singing of the swan? 1. Give the meaning of the word tale in the following quotations : (a) "Ye shall deliver the tale of bricks" (Exodus v. 18). (b) "And every shepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale." MILTON, L'Allegro, line 67. (c) "An honest tale speaks best, being plainly told." King Richard III., Act. iv., scene 4. 2. Quote passages from other writings in which man's life is compared to grass, a tale that is told, and a span. 3. What do you remark regarding the length of the words in the lesson? How do you account for this? What words in the lesson come from Latin? |