Mass.-A religious service in the Roman Catholic and Greek Churches, performed by the officiating priest during the consecration of the bread and wine of the sacrament. Parts of the service are chanted, others are sung, accompanied by the organ or other musical instrument.

With the cross, &c.—The cross was hung inclined over the bier from a screen at the head of it, and the crown and sword of the dead king were set on a table at the foot. Steel-girt men.-Men clad in coats-of-mail, the armour of the period.

Aisle (from Latin ala, a wing).--Is the wing of a building; usually applied to the side divisions of a church, which are separated from the central part by pillars.

In knightly ring.—Tournaments; a space enclosed within lists, round which the sovereign, his noblest barons and knights, the highest ladies in rank, and the fairest for beauty, assembled to witness the tilting in the ring.

Look on me till I die.-Historians tell us that the sorrow felt by Richard for his undutiful conduct to his father was sincere and lasting.

EXERCISES.

1. Give the historical facts on which this poem is founded. 2. Point out the various terms in the poem which refer to the Church, and its services for the dead.

3. Point out any terms in the poem which refer to the armour of the period.

4. Give the etymology and exact meaning of these words— torches, mortal, priest, passion, remorse, sire, parent.

5. Distinguish between bier and beer; censer and censor; stole (noun) and stole (verb); sight, site, and cite; steel and steal; rain, rein, and reign; way and weigh; vain, vein, and vane; throne and thrown; ring and wring; mien and mean; heart and hart.

To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to make is an excellent preparative. From the moment you lose sight of the land you have left, all is vacancy until you step on the opposite shore, and are launched at once into the bustle and novelties of another world.

I have said that at sea all is vacancy; I should correct the expression. To one fond of losing himself in reveries a sea voyage is full of subjects for meditation; but then they are the wonders of the deep and of the air, and rather tend to abstract the mind from worldly themes. I delighted to loll over the quarter-railings, or to climb the maintop on a calm day, and muse for hours together on the tranquil bosom of a summer's sea; or to gaze upon the piles of golden clouds just peering above the horizon, fancy them some fairy realms, and people them with a creation of my own; or to watch the gentle undulating billows, rolling their

silver volumes as if to die away on those happy shores.

We one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a distance. At sea, everything that breaks the monotony of the surrounding expanse attracts attention. It proved to be the mast of a ship that must have been completely wrecked, for there were the remains of handkerchiefs, by which some of the crew had fastened themselves to the spar to prevent their being washed off by the waves. There was no trace by which the name of the ship could be ascertained. The wreck had evidently drifted about for many months; clusters of shell-fish had fastened about it, and long seaweeds flaunted at its sides. But where, thought I, are the crew? Their struggle has long been over; they have gone down amidst the roar of the tempest; their bones lie whitening in the caverns of the deep. Silence-oblivion, like the waves, have closed over them, and no one can tell the story of their end.

The sight of the wreck, as usual, gave rise to many dismal anecdotes. I was particularly struck with a short one related by the captain.

"As I was once sailing," said he, "in a fine, stout ship, across the banks of Newfoundland, one of the heavy fogs, that prevail in those parts, rendered it impossible for me to see far ahead, even in the daytime; but at night the weather was so thick that we could not distinguish any

object at twice the length of our ship. I kept lights at the mast-head, and a constant watch forward to look out for fishing-smacks, which are accustomed to lie at anchor on the banks. The wind was blowing a smacking breeze, and we were going at a great rate through the water. Suddenly the watch gave the alarm of 'A sail ahead!' but it was scarcely uttered till we were upon her. She was a small schooner at anchor, with her broadside towards us. The crew were all asleep, and had neglected to hoist a light. We struck her just amidships. The force, the size and weight of our vessel, bore her down below the waves; we passed over her, and were hurried on our course.

"It was some time before we could put the ship about, she was under such headway. We returned, as nearly as we could guess, to the place where the smack was anchored. We cruised about for several hours in the dense fog. We fired several guns, and listened if we might hear the halloo of any survivors; but all was silent -we never heard nor saw anything of them more!"

It was a fine sunny morning when the thrilling cry of "Land!" was given from the mast-head. I question whether Columbus, when he discovered the New World, felt a more delicious throng of sensations, than rush into an American's bosom when he first comes in sight of Europe. It is the land of promise, teeming with everything

of which his childhood has heard, or on which his studious years have pondered. From that time until the period of arrival, it was all feverish excitement. The ships of war, that prowled like guardian giants around the coast; the headlands of Ireland, stretching out into the Channel; the Welsh mountains, towering into the clouds; all were objects of intense interest. As we sailed up the Mersey, I reconnoitred the shores with a telescope. My eye dwelt with delight on neat cottages, with their trim shrubberies and green grass-plots. I saw the mouldering ruins of an abbey overrun with ivy, and the taper spire of a village church rising from the brow of a neighbouring hill-all were characteristic of England.

WASHINGTON IRVING.

The quarter-railing.-The railing that surrounds the quarter-deck, or that part of the deck which is between the main-mast and the stern of a ship.

Newfoundland.-An Island on the North American coast. The sea in the neighbourhood is noted for its fogs, and for its fisheries—particularly of cod.

EXERCISES.

1. Explain these phrases-(a) Fond of losing himself in reveries; (b) Peering above the horizon; (c) Their struggle has long been over; (d) Oblivion has closed over them; (e) The ship was under great headway; (f) Throng of sensations.

2. What portion of the coast of the British Islands will a ship coming from America to the Mersey generally pass?

2. Describe in your own words the sinking of the fishing smack. 4. Tell what you know regarding Newfoundland.