trayed by a word or look of his, would have shot, like an electric spark, through the whole ship's companya tumultuous rush would have been made to the boatsand two out of the three, if not all, must have been swamped, and every man in them drowned.

Captain Hickey and his crew had been serving together in the same ship for many years before, in the course of which period they had acquired so thorough an acquaintance with one another, that this great trial, instead of loosening the discipline, only augmented its compactness, and thus enabled the commander to bring all his knowledge and all the resources of his vigorous understanding to bear at once, with such admirable effect, upon the difficulties by which he was surrounded.

There are some men who actually derive more credit from their deportment under the severest losses than others can manage to earn by brilliant success, and it may certainly be said that Captain Hickey is one of these; for although he had the great misfortune to lose his ship, he must ever enjoy the noble satisfaction of knowing that his skill and firmness, rendered effective by the discipline he had been so many years in perfecting, enabled him to save the lives of more than a hundred persons, who, but for him, in all human probability 15 must have perished with their hapless chief.

THE

FALLS OF NIAGARA.

HE Falls of Niagara must be witnessed, for their stupendous mass of waters to strike the mind with due effect. No words can adequately convey1 the grandeur of the scene, and a picture is wholly incapable of representing their might and magnitude. To a cultivated ear music might probably be made the most powerful means of producing that feeling of awful grandeur which is awakened by the mighty cataract on all who witness its amazing leap; for the astonishing sound of its falling waters, perhaps, exceeds in sublimity their imposing spectacle.

Figures may help to convey a faint idea of the magnitude of these Falls. At the brow of the precipice over which the river Niagara plunges, is perched an island, called Goat Island, which divides the cataract into two unequal portions. The Fall on the Canadian side of the river, called the Horseshoe Fall, from its shape, is 2,000 feet broad and 150 feet high; that on the American side is a little higher but not nearly so wide. The volume of water precipitated every minute over these Falls has been estimated to exceed half a million tons.

2

It is almost impossible to realise the significance of these figures. Travellers quite familiar with these measurements before visiting the Falls, tell us how wholly unprepared they were for the amazing spectacle they present.

"So entirely," says Mr. Weld, "was I unprepared for the enormous volume of water, that, in the weakness of my comprehension and inability to grasp the scene, I was unwilling to turn my eyes from the glorious spectacle, apprehending it could only endure for a season, and that the overwhelming rush of waters must

speedily cease. But as I gazed with trembling anxiety, and marked no change beyond the masses of sprayclouds, swayed by the wind across the mighty sheet, which ever retained its sublime proportion, the truth began to force itself upon me that for thousands of years the waters had been falling, by day and by night, at all times and seasons, ever sounding, in a voice which once heard can never be forgotten, the praise of Him who bade them flow. Here, indeed, may be felt the beauty of the words in our Canticle, O ye seas and floods, bless ye the Lord; praise Him and magnify Him for ever!' And it was probably with feelings of deep awe that the Indians of the olden time, worshipping the Great Spirit, gave the peculiar name of O-Ni-au-ga-rah, 'The Thunder of Waters,' to this matchless scene. is indeed eloquent as with the voice of many thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!""

6

It

Mr. Charles Dickens's description does even fuller justice to the glories of Niagara. "When I felt how near to my Creator I was standing, the first effect, and the enduring one, instant and lasting, of the tremendous spectacle, was peace-peace of mind, tranquillity, calm recollections of the dead, great thoughts of eternal rest and happiness; nothing of gloom or terror. Niagara was at once stamped upon my heart as an image of beauty, to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses cease to beat for ever.

4

"I think in every quiet season now-Still do those waters roll and leap, and roar and tumble, all day long. Still are the rainbows spanning them a hundred feet below. Still, when the sun is on them, do they shine and glow like molten gold. Still, when the day is gloomy, do they fall like snow, or seem to crumble

away like the front of a great chalk cliff, or roll down the rock like dense white smoke. But always does the mighty stream appear to die as it comes down, and always from its unfathomable grave arises that tremendous ghost of spray and mist which is never laid, which has haunted this place with the same dread solemnity since darkness brooded on the deep, and that first flood before the Deluge-light-came rushing on creation at the word of God!"

1 Adequately convey, impart in a sufficient manner.

2 To realise, &c., to make oneself really acquainted with the "significance," or extent of meaning, of these figures.

3 Canticle, a song.

The "Canticle

referred to is the "Benedicite " in the Prayer-book.

4 Indelible, not capable of being destroyed or blotted out. (Lat. deleo, I destroy.)

A FATHER'S FIRST LESSON TO HIS CHILD.

Y

My father was seated on the lawn before the house,

his straw hat over his eyes (it was summer), and his book on his lap. Suddenly a beautiful delf blueand-white flower-pot, which had been set on the window-sill of an upper storey, fell to the ground with a crash, and the fragments spluttered up round my father's legs. Sublime in his studies as Archimedes in the siege, he continued to read: Impavidum1 ferient ruina.

66

'Dear, dear!" cried my mother, who was at work in the porch; "my poor flower-pot, that I prized so much! Who could have done this? Primmins Primmins!”

Mrs. Primmins popped her head out of the fatal window, nodded to the summons, and came down in a trice, pale and breathless.

"Oh!" said my mother, mournfully, "I would rather

have lost all the plants in the green-house in the great blight last May-I would rather the best tea-set was broken! The poor geranium I reared myself, and the dear, dear flower-pot which Mr. Caxton bought for me my last birthday! That naughty child must have done this!"

Mrs. Primmins was dreadfully afraid of my fatherwhy, I know not, except that very talkative social persons are usually afraid of very silent shy ones. She cast a hasty glance at her master, who was beginning to evince signs of attention, and cried promptly, "No, ma'am, it was not the dear boy. . . . It was I!" "You? How could you be so careless? and you knew how I prized both. Oh, Primmins!"

Primmins began to sob.

"Don't tell fibs, nursey, said a small shrill voice; and Master Sisty (coming out of the house as bold as brass) continued rapidly, "don't scold Primming, mamma; it was I who pushed out the flower-pot."

"Hush!" said nurse, more frightened than ever, and looking aghast towards my father, who had very deliberately taken off his hat, and was regarding the scene with serious eyes wide-awake. "Hush! And

if he did break it, ma'am, it was quite an accident; he was standing so, and he never meant it. Did you, Master Sisty? Speak (this in a whisper), or pa will be so angry."

"Well," said my mother, "I suppose it was an accident; take care in future, my child. You are sorry, I see, to have grieved me. There's a kiss; don't fret."

"No, mamma, you must not kiss me; I don't deserve it. I pushed out the flower-pot on purpose."

"Ha! and why?" said my father, walking up. Mrs. Primmins trembled like a leaf.