dragged along by them in whatever direction they please.

When a wild horse is to be taken, the lasso is cast round the two hind legs, and the rider, moving a little on one side, the jerk pulls the entangled horse's feet in a lateral direction, so as to throw him on his side, without endangering his knees or face. Before the horse can recover from the shock, the rider dismounts, and, snatching his cloak from his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal's head. He then forces into his mouth one of the powerful bits used in the country, straps a saddle on his back, and, bestriding him, removes the cloak. The astonished horse springs on his legs, and endeavours, by a thousand efforts, to disencumber himself of his new master, who sits quite composedly on his back, and, by a discipline which never fails, reduces the horse to such obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his speed and strength in the capture of his wild companions.

Captain Basil Hall.-Celebrated traveller, born in 1788, died in 1844. He was the author of various works, principally on travel.

Chili.-One of the States of South America.

Andes.— The name given to the great mountain range that stretches from north to south along the whole length of South America.

Siesta. This is a Spanish word, and is the name given to the practice indulged in by the Spaniards, and the inhabitants of hot countries generally, of resting

two or three hours in the middle of the day, or after dinner, when the heat is too oppressive to admit of their going out of doors.

EXERCISES.

1. Explain these phrases-(a) The Andes were indistinctly seen through the waving haze; (b) The tyranny of the sun was complete; (c) The landlord remained out of civility to his guests; (d) It is made to assume a circular form; (e) The horse ploughs up the earth with his feet; (f) The entangled horse's feet are pulled in a lateral direction

2. Distinguish between the following words :-desért, désert, dessert; sight, site, cite; air, heir, ere, Ayr; rays, raze; knot, not; ring, wring; kill, kiln; course, coarse; check, cheque; wrap, rap.

3. Give the derivation of capital. What is meant by the capital of a country; capital punishment; a merchant's capital; you have forgotten to put in the capitals in your exercise; the capital of the pillar?

4. What is meant by tug in this lesson? What is the tug of war? A tug was sent in search of the missing steamer-What is this tug?

LESSON XXXII.

Mazeppa.

ag'-on-y, severe pain. brist'-ling, standing erect.

goal, the winning post, the

end of a journey.

horde, pack of wolves.

me'-ni-al, connected with ser

vants, low, base.

pin'-ions, wings.

rout, crowd.

slack'-en-ed, lessened his speed.

un-de-filed', not having been subjected to.

un'-der-wood, short shrubs

growing among trees. whelms, overwhelms, carries before it.

wrench'd, tore by force.

"BRING forth the horse!"-the horse was brought,

In truth he was a noble steed

A Tartar of the Ukraine breed

Who looked as though the speed of thought

Were in his limbs; but he was wild-
Wild as the wild deer-and untaught,
With spur and bridle undefil'd-

'Twas but a day he had been caught;
And snorting, with erected mane,-
And struggling fiercely but in vain,
In the full foam of wrath and dread,
To me the desert-born was led;

They bound me on (that menial throng)
Upon his back with many a thong ;
Then loosed him with a sudden lash-
Away!—away!—and on we dash!
Torrents less rapid and less rash.

Away-away!-My breath was gone,
I saw not where he hurried on:
'Twas scarcely yet the break of day,
And on he foam'd-away!-away!
The last of human sounds which rose,
As I was darted from my foes,
Was the wild shout of savage laughter,
Which on the wind came roaring after
A moment from that rabble rout:
With sudden wrath I wrench'd my head,

And snapp'd the cord, which to the mane
Had bound my neck in lieu of rein;

And, writhing half my form about,

Howl'd back my curse; but 'midst the tread,
The thunder of my courser's speed,
Perchance they did not hear nor heed.

It vexes me-for I would fain
Have paid their insult back again.
Away, away, my steed and I,
Upon the pinions of the wind,

All human dwellings left behind.
We sped-like meteors through the sky,—
Town-village-none were on our track,
But a wild plain of far extent,
And bounded by a forest black.
The sky was dull, and dim, and gray,
And a low breeze crept moaning by—
I could have answer'd with a sigh:-
But fast we fled, away,-away-
And I could neither sigh nor pray;
And my cold sweat-drops fell like rain
Upon the courser's bristling mane:
But, snorting still with rage and fear,
He flew upon his far career:
At times I almost thought, indeed,
He must have slacken'd in his speed;
But no-my bound and slender frame
Was nothing to his angry might,
And merely like a spur became ;
Each motion which I made to free
My swol'n limbs from their agony,
Increas'd his fury and affright;
I tried my voice,-'twas faint and low
But yet he swerved as from a blow;
And, starting to each accent, sprang
As from a sudden trumpet's clang.

Meantime my cords were wet with gore,
Which, oozing through my limbs, ran o'er;
And in my tongue the thirst became
A something firier far than flame:
We near'd the wild wood-'twas so wide,
I saw no bounds on either side;
'Twas studded with old sturdy trees,
That bent not to the roughest breeze;
But these were few, and far between,
Set thick with shrubs more young and
'Twas a wild waste of underwood,
And here and there a chesnut stood,
The strong oak and the hardy pine;

But far apart and well it were,
Or else a different lot were mine.-

green;

The boughs gave way, and did not tear
My limbs; and I found strength to bear
My wounds, already scarr'd with cold--
-My bonds forbade to loose my hold.
We rustled through the leaves like wind,
Left shrubs, and trees, and wolves behind;
By night I heard them on the track,—
Their troop came hard upon our back,
With their long gallop, which can tire
The hound's deep hate, and hunter's fire :
Where'er we flew they follow'd on,
Nor left us with the morning sun;-
Behind I saw them, scarce a rood,

At daybreak winding through the wood,
And through the night had heard their feet