Sir Ralph the Rover sail'd away,
He scour'd the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plunder'd store,
He steers his course for Scotland's shore.

So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky
They cannot see the sun on high;
The wind hath blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away.

On the deck the Rover takes his stand,
So dark it is they see no land.

Quoth Sir Ralph, "It will be lighter soon,
For there is the dawn of the rising moon."

"Can'st hear," said one, "the breakers roar? For methinks we should be near the shore; Now where we are I cannot tell,

But I wish I could here the Inchcape Bell."

They hear no sound, the swell is strong; Though the wind hath fallen, they drift along, Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock: Cried they, "It is the Inchcape Rock!"

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,
He curst himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.

But even in his dying fear

One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,
A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell,

The fiends below were ringing his knell.
R. SOUTHEY.

Aberbrothock, better known as Arbroath, a town in the county of Forfar, situated near the confluence of the small river Brothic with the German Ocean. The coast is rocky and exposed; hence the advantage of a warning bell. The ruins of the Abbey of Arbroath clearly show its former magnificence.

Sir Ralph the Rover, a pirate, who sailed the seas, plunder

ing the ships both of friends and enemies. Such pirates were very common in the old Scottish days, and their doings furnish a striking chapter in our national annals.

QUESTIONS:-1. Where is Aberbrothock? 2. For what is it celebrated? 3. Who is an abbot? 4. What had one of the abbots done to warn passing vessels? 5. How was the bell supported? 6. When did it ring? 7. Who was Sir Ralph the Rover? 8. What did he do to the bell? 9. Where did he go after this? 10. How did he become rich? 11. What happened to him on his return to Scotland?

A 12. Repeat the first stanza of the poem. 13. Quote Coleridge's lines descriptive of a calm.

("Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,

'Twas sad as sad could be ;

And we did speak only to break

The silence of the sea!

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion,

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.")

14. Describe the flight of the sea-birds. 15. What effect has the season of spring on the spirits. 16. What are "breakers"? 17. When is a vessel said to "drift"? 18. How did the Rover show his despair? 19. Describe exactly how the vessel was lost.

STAFFA is a volcanic block about 2700 yards in circumference. Its surface is composed of lava, which, in the course of centuries, has acquired a covering of thick grass; while in its basaltic sides the rough sea has hewn out many a cavern, to the most remarkable of which tradition has given the name of "Fingal's Cave."

This interesting cave opens upon the sea by a real portico, twenty-two yards in height, flanked on the right and left by a regular range of basaltic pillars.

The first idea which suggests itself on entering the cave, and observing the wonderful regularity of its structure, is, that it must have been shaped by the hand of man. The long vault, so elegantly proportioned, the upright columns, the salient angles-all appear to indicate that the chisel of skilful artists must have been used to produce so

much symmetry; for this cave does not slope below the level like ordinary caverns, and not a

single stone or fragment is to be seen which is not perfectly and regularly cut. It may be compared, indeed, to a grand Gothic cathedral, the

nave of which is lined with pillars of unequal heights, which have been injured by a fire whose ravages still blacken the entire edifice. The

bottom of this grotto is closed and dark, in form like the altar of a church. On either side rise two great walls composed of columns fifty feet high, between which, at certain intervals, occur sundry excavations three or four feet in depth. These walls are 140 feet in depth from the entrance to the natural cathedral, and at their extremity is a collection of smaller columns, so arranged as to convey the notion that this must have been the organ-loft of the choir. These smaller columns are jet black, about one to three feet in diameter, and varying in form-some are triangular, others quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal. Some have seven or eight sides, but perfect in their angular arrangement. The pillars only differ from each other in altitude by three or four feet. When the sea is smooth, it is easy to distinguish beneath the waters a perfectly black flooring, composed of well-defined squares of five, six, or seven sides.

The light of day, gradually softening, reaches to the very end of the cave; and when the eye is accustomed to the darkness of the locality, every object within can be easily distinguished. Thus, on returning to the entrance, instead of the long rows of black organ-pipes, the sight rests upon a picture which affords a delicious relief to the