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its high points nodded against the clouds; the dashing of the waves upon it, which, breaking high with foam, lined its base with a white crust; and the thundering sound of the crackling mass, and the breaking and tumbling down of huge pieces, as well as its nearness and approach, which added a slight element of fear-all combined to give it the character of true sublimity.

The main body of the mass was, as I have said, of an indigo color, its base crusted with frozen foam; and as it grew thin and transparent toward the edges, its color shaded off from a deep blue to the whiteness of snow. It seemed to be drifting slowly toward the north, so that we kept away and avoided it. It was in sight all the afternoon, and when we got to leeward of it, the wind died away, so that we lay to, quite near it, for the greater part of the night.

Unfortunately there was no moon; but it was a clear night, and we could plainly mark the long, regular, heaving mass, as its edges moved slowly against the stars. Several times in our watch loud cracks were heard, which sounded as though they must have run through the whole length of the iceberg, and several pieces fell down with a thundering crash, plunging heavily into the sea. Toward morning a strong breeze sprung up, and we filled away, and left it astern, and at daylight it was out of sight.

No pencil has ever yet given anything like the true effect of an iceberg. In a picture they are huge, uncouth masses stuck in the sea; while their chief beauty and grandeur-their slow, stately motion, the whirling of the snow about their summits, and

the fearful groaning and crackling of their parts— the picture can not give. This is the large iceberg; while the small and distant islands, floating on the smooth sea, in the light of a clear day, look like little floating fairy isles of sapphire.N

R. H. DANA, JR.

Biography.- Richard Henry Dana, Jr., was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1815, and died in 1882.

When about twenty years of age, he made a voyage to San Francisco, an account of which was published in 1810 under the title of "Two Years Before the Mast." Probably no other book has been written which gives such an accurate picture of sailor life; and its popularity, both in this country and in England, has been remarkable.

Mr. Dana was for many years a distinguished member of the Boston Bar, but his national reputation is due to his books. "The Seaman's Friend," containing a treatise on practical seamanship, was published in 1841, and republished in London in 1856.

Notes.- Port signifies the side of a boat which is at the left hand of a person looking toward the bow.

The companion way is the name of a staircase leading from the deck to the cabin of a ship.

Sapphire is a gem of a bluish color.

Elocution. The long sentences used in description, should be read somewhat more slowly than conversation. The pauses, both grammatical and rhetorical, should be carefully regarded. Point out the location of the rhetorical pauses in the last paragraph of the lesson.

Language. Let us select a subject and a predicate from the lesson and join them to form a sentence.

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Example.-"A breeze " (subject) sprung up" (predicate). Adding an adjective to the subject and an adverbial phrase to the predicate, we have

"A strong breeze sprung up toward morning."

This is called a simple sentence because it contains only a single subject and a single predicate.

If we join to this sentence another sentence-"We sailed away," and use a connecting word "and" between them, we shall have a compound sentence,

Compose two compound sentences, after the model just given.

21. THE EMPEROR'S

ex çĕss'ĭve ly, in an extreme degree.

com plied', agreed.

im pŏl'i tie, unwise. gôr'ġèqŭs (ğôr'jùs), beautiful; showy.

în viş'i ble, unable to be seen.

NEW

CLOTHES.

ex pā'ti āt ed (eks pā'shĭ at ed),
talked at length.
eoun'seled, advised.

rět'i nuè, a train of attendants.
en chȧnt'ed, delighted in a high
degree.

de ri'sive, mocking; scornful.

In ages long past there lived an emperor who was excessively fond of new clothes. He spent at least half of his time in his wardrobe, looking at his costly robes, and trying on one after another, to see which best pleased his fancy.

One day there came to his capital two clever rogues who declared that they were weavers, and able to produce a fabric surpassing every other in color and design, but that the clothes made from it had the wonderful property of becoming invisible to any one who was unfit for the office he held, or unworthy of the esteem of his fellow-men.

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'What capital clothes those would be!" thought the emperor. "If I wore such clothes, I should be able to see what men in my empire are unfit for their posts and unworthy of my confidence. Yes, I will have a suit of those clothes made directly.” So orders were given to the two rogues to begin at once.

As for them, they put up a loom and pretended to be working; but in reality it was all a pretense. They demanded the finest silk and the purest gold; these they put in their pockets, and worked at their empty loom from morning till night.

"I should like to know how the weavers are get

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ting on with my wonderful clothes," thought the emperor; 'but I must send some one whom I know to be both able and faithful, or he will be unable to see anything." So the emperor called his prime minister, and sent him to examine the marvelous cloth, and to bring him a faithful report.

Now the minister knew the peculiar property of the cloth, but readily complied with his royal master's wishes, for he felt confident of his own fitness for the high office he had held so long.

So the old minister entered the room where the two rogues sat working at the empty loom. On approaching, he opened his eyes wide, but the loom seemed to him quite empty. "Mercy on me! I can not see anything at all!" he whispered to himself.

Both the rogues drew his attention to the beautiful fabric they had woven, and asked him if he did not admire the brilliant colors and chaste design. While speaking they seemed to be handling something in the loom, and to be pointing out its beauties; but the good minister was grieved that he could see nothing. Thinking it impolitic to let it be known that the wonderful cloth was invisible to him, he peered through his spectacles, as if he saw it, and occasionally exclaimed, "Charming!” "Delightful!"

The minister on returning spoke of its gorgeous colors and the rare beauty of its design in the same terms that he had heard from the weavers.

The emperor, wishing to put his officers to the test, sent them one after another to witness the weaving, and to bring back a report of the progress made by the weavers. All of them were re

ceived courteously by the two rogues, who expatiated to their visitors on the beauty of the material they had woven, and all of them pretended to be enchanted with what they had witnessed.

By this time all the people in the town were talking of the wonderful fabric, which was now supposed to be nearly completed. Before it was taken from the loom the emperor wished to see it himself. With a crowd of courtiers, including all the statesmen who had previously visited the loom, the monarch entered the hall, where the two cunning rogues were weaving with might and main without warp or woof.

"What's this?" thought the emperor. "Why, I can see nothing at all! This is indeed terrible! Am I, then, unfit to be emperor?" But as the monarch thought it would be very unwise to confess his inability to see the wonderful cloth, he nodded his head in a contented way, and said aloud, "It is indeed magnificent! It has our highest approval."

The whole retinue stood round the loom with admiring looks, and reëchoed their sovereign's words. The ministers present counseled him to wear his new clothes for the first time at the great procession that was soon to take place.

"It is splendid—charming!" went from mouth to mouth. On all sides there seemed general satisfaction, and the emperor gave the rogues the title of Imperial Court Weavers on the spot.

In the presence of the court the rogues proceeded to take the cloth from the looms. They went through all the motions proper for the purpose, and begged to be left for two days to prepare

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