1. Combien de temps corresponds with the English expres- livres. sion, how long.

Combien de temps avez vous de- How long did you live in Italy? meuré en Italie ?

2. Combien de fois answers to the English, how often, how physician is gone as far as Cologne. 5. Has he taken his son many times.

with him? 6. He has not taken him. 7. How have you brought your two little girls? 8. I brought one in a carriage, and I carried the other. 9. Is she too little to walk? 10. She is not too small to walk, but she is sick. 11. Have you brought your horse? 12. We have brought two horses. 13. Have you brought the books which you have promised me (promis) ? 4. Jusqu'à quelle heure (till what hour), means also, how late. 14. I have forgotten to bring them. 15. Has that lady brought

her eldest (ainé) son? 16. She has brought all her children. 17. How did they come? 18. They came in a carriage. 19.

5. D'où means whence; par où, which way, in what direction. Which way did your brother come from Germany? 20. He

cian? 28. I have not brought him, no one is sick at our house. 29. Will you take this book to church? 30. I have another, I do not want it. 31. Have you taken my letter to the postoffice? 32. I have forgotten it. 3. How late did you write? 34. I wrote until midnight (minuit). 35. Whence do your sisters come? 36. They come from Paris.

LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY.-VII. DISCOVERIES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. THE greatest modern navigator, whose fame is European, is acknowledged to be Captain James Cook. His first voyage had for its grand object the observation of the transit of Venus, that is, the passage of this planet in its orbit over the disk of the sun, a phenomenon, alike important in astronomy, navigation, and geography. The ship Endeavour was put under the command of this young lieutenant, who had previously given more than one proof of his skill and courage. The Endeavour left England on the 26th of August, 1768, touched at Rio Janeiro, and proceeded to the straits of Lemaire, in order to double Cape Horn. Terra del Fuego did not present to him such a dreadful aspect as it did to Wallis; the naturalists of the expedition collected there some plants and animals. One of their excursions, however, nearly proved fatal to them. Having ascended a mountain whose vegetable products they wished to examine, they were overtaken by the shades of evening and the coldness of a severe frost. Dr. Solander was on the point of perishing under its influence, when the wise importunity, or rather pertinacity of his companions saved his life, by hindering him from giving way to sleep, the forerunner of death. After having spent several hours in great distress, and having seen two of their servants sink under its power, the imprudent explorers with much difficulty reached the coast. After this delay in the Straits of Magellan, Cook stood out for Tahiti, where the astronomical observations intrusted to the care of the expedition, were to be made.

The natives of Tahiti welcomed this expedition in the same manner as they had done that under Bougainville, in a hospi, table and agreeable manner. During their three months resi dence in this island, Cook and his learned companions made an ample collection of specimens of its natural history, and of observations on the manners and customs of its natives. They then visited several other islands of the Tahitian group, and gave to the whole Archipelago, the name of the Society Islands. They explored New Zealand, and found the natives the very opposite of the Tahitians in their disposition, both hostile and cruel. They discovered that this island consisted of two separate parts intersected by a strait, which now bear the name of Cook; but they durst not examine the interior of the country; as it would have been too dangerous to have ventured into the midst of a race of cannibals, whose savage habits were very soon observed by the expedition. Cook left the shores of New Zealand on the 31st of March, 1770, and in twenty days afterwards beheld those of New Holland, where he discovered the bay, which forms now one of our most important colonial settlements, called Botany Bay. Proceeding northward, he was nearly shipwrecked in latitude 16° S. by the vessel striking on a coral rock. The Endeavour was providentially saved, and mabled to reach a small harbour where she was repaired, and put into a condition to resume her homeward voyage, which she completed without meeting any further disaster.

each other among the ice, proceeded to New Zealand, where they again met. After useless explorations to the east of this island, and as far as the 46th parallel of latitude, Captain Cook made for the Society Islands, where he remained until the health of the expedition was recruited.

A second attempt to discover the southern continent soon brought the expedition to latitude 71° S., but here again the passage to the south was blocked up by ice, and it was obliged to return northwards. In a new exploration of the seas of Oceanica, Captain Cook rediscovered Easter Island, which Commodore Byron, Carteret, and Bougainville had searched for in vain; he also discovered some new islands belonging to the Marquesan Archipelago, returned to Tahiti, and revisited Tongataboo and the Friendly_Islands, where he discovered Savage Island, and Batoa or Turtle Island, belonging to the group of the Feejee Islands; he then re-established several points of New Guinea, and discovered Tanna, Erromango, and several other islands of the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, and the Sandwich Islands. The point of departure for a third exploration of the Antarctic or Southern Seas was New Zealand. Captain Cook endeavoured to reach the South Pole in a more easterly direction than formerly. Having arrived at latitude 55° 48′ S., he sailed towards Cape Horn, and continued his route towards the east. In this route he discovered the Island of South Georgia, to the east of Terra del Fuego; and south-east of the former a group of islands which he called Sandwich Land. Here he terminated his voyage toward the southern circumpolar regions. He had circumnavigated the globe in high southern latitudes, and had demonstrated that no southern continent existed in the immense zone which he had explored. The hypothesis of its existence was thrown many degrees nearer the South Pole; and the illusion of this problematic continent, so richly endowed by nature, was dissipated for ever!

In this remarkable expedition Captain Cook was absent from England more than three years; and he arrived at Portsmouth on the 13th of July, 1775. In the interval, some other voyages were made in the South Seas; and the islands of Marion and Crozet, as well as that called Kerguelen's Land, were discovered by the navigators whose name they bear. Again the indefatigable Cook resumed his voyages of discovery. This time he intended to search for the north-west passage to India, by passing through Behring's straits. He left England on the 12th of July, 1776, with the ships Resolution and Discovery, under his command. He first visited the islands above mentioned, and then touched at Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand. Soon after, he discovered the central Polynesian group Toubouai, the Archipelago of Harvey's Islands or Monaian group, and the islands Watehoo and Otakootai, in the same seas. Sailing to the north of Tahiti, he arrived at the Sandwich Islands, where he was taken for a superior being, and as such received by the natives. On the first of January, 1778, he made the discovery of this important group. Captain Cook then prepared for the accomplishment of the principal object of the expedition. He sailed along the north-western coast of the new world, until he reached a point of land which he called Icy Cape, in latitude 70° 27'. Here a solid mass of ice, ten feet thick, extending to the opposite coast of Asia, presented to him an insuperable barrier. He returned to the Sandwich Islands, where, alas! his fate awaited him. On the island, in this archipelago, called O-why-hee, he fell by the hands of a savage; and thus, unfortunately, ended the life of the greatest navigator of modern times. Captain Clarke, who was second in command, took charge of the expedition, and sailed to the The second voyage of Captain Cook undertaken in July, 1772, | north-east in search of the passage to the Atlantic; but the had for its object, the discovery of that great southern land same obstacles compelled him to return and abandon the which had been for ages supposed, by navigators and geo-enterprise. graphers, to exist in the southern part of the Great Pacific To attempt to describe all the benefits which the discoveries Ocean, and which Abel Tasman fancied he had seen when he landed on New Zealand. Two vessels called the Resolution and the Adventure, were put under the command of Captain Cook. The expedition proceeded directly southward; but in latitude 67° 13' S. it met with rocks which appeared to be impassable. No attempt was made to get beyond this obstacle, and the expedition returned northward to the nearest cape, under the conviction that if any southern continent existed, it could only be at a very great distance, and quite in the vicinity of the South Pole. The two vessels which were separated from

of Captain Cook has conferred on the sciences of geography and hydrography, is more than can be done in this historical sketch of these memorable expeditions. The accuracy with which this illustrious navigator determined the geographical positions of the places which he discovered or visited, rectified numerous errors in the maps and charts of the century in which he flourished, and accelerated the progress of the science to which these remarks form our introduction, in a degree hitherto unknown. Mathematical geography has, since his time, taken her place among the exact sciences.

In concluding this lesson, we may remark, that Cook lifted the veil of darkness which hung over the extremities of the Pacific Ocean, and the junction of the continents of Asia and America. His last voyage, by disclosing the vast breadth of America at the latitude of Behring's Straits, made the hopes of discovering the north-western passage darker than ever. That continent had, previous to the time of the English navigator, been considered as terminating to the north in a point or cape, after passing which, the navigator would find himself at once in the south seas, and in full sail to China or Japan. But the discovery of Cook showed that there was found intervening a space of land of nearly three thousand miles in breadth, a very large portion of the circumference of the globe. Hence, geographers viewing the coast running northward from Behring's Straits, and Hudson's and Baffin's Bays, all enclosed by land, received the impression, and constructed their maps accordingly, that an unbroken mass of land reached onwards to the Pole, and that all these boundaries were for ever barred against the enterprising navigator.

The wild wall-flower has a bushy stem, from one to two feet high, large flowers, appearing in May and June, with rich yellow petals. It grows on old buildings and high walls. Of this plant Moir says, with enthusiasm, —

"The wall-flower-the wall-dower,
How beautiful it blooms !

It gleams above the tower,

Like sun-light over tombs:

It sheds a halo of repose

Around the wrecks of Time ;-
To beauty give the flaunting rose,
The wall-flower is sublime.

In the season of the tulip-cup,

When blossoms clothe the trees,
How sweet to throw the lattice up,
And scent thee on the breeze;
The butterfly is then abroad,

The bee is on the wing,

And on the hawthorn by the road
The linnets sit and sing.

Rich is the pink, the lily gay:

The rose is summer's guest;

Bland are thy charms when these decay,--
Of flowers-first, last, and best;
There may be gaudier in the bower,
And statelier on the tree;
But wall-flower-loved wall-flower!
Thou art the flower for me !"

and the middle toes are separated, can be determined by the claws being deeper, and the impression more hairy; the print is also larger and narrower, and the ball of the foot more prominent. Wolf-hunters commonly assert that the animal is weak in the loins, and, when first put to speed, that his hind quarters seem to waver; but, when warmed, that he will run without halting, from the district where he has been hunted, taking a direct line for some favourite cover, perhaps forty miles or more in distance. On these occasions he will leap upon walls above eight feet high, cross rivers obliquely with the current, even if it be the Rhine, and never offer battle unless he be fairly turned; then he will endeavour to cripple the opponent by hasty snaps at the fore-legs, and resume his

route.

"As to attacking the wolf," said a shepherd to Mr. Barrow, when he was in Spain; "it is no very pleasant task; he has both teeth and claws, and dog or man who has once felt them, likes not to venture a second time within his reach. These dogs of mine will seize a bear singly with considerable alacrity; though he is a most powerful animal; but I have seen them run away howling from a wolf even though there were two or three of us at hand to encourage them."

Another shepherd said: "A dangerous person is the wolf, and cunning as dangerous: who knows more than he? He knows the vulnerable point of every animal; see, for example, how he flies at the neck of a bullock, tearing open the veins with his grim teeth and claws. But does he attack a horse in this manner? I trow not." "Not he," said the first shepThe cabbage bore a name among the Greeks which arose herd, "he is too good a judge; but he fastens on the haunches, from the seed resembling that of the radish, while that used and hamstrings him in a moment. Oh! the fear of the horse by the Romans, Brassica, still employed by botanists, is sup- when he comes near the dwelling of the wolf. My master was posed to be derived from præseco, because it was cut off from the other day, riding above the pass, on his fine Andalusian the stalk. Another Latin name for it was caulis, on account steed, which had cost him five hundred dollars: suddenly the of the goodness of its stalks, and from which the English name horse stopped, and sweated, and trembled, like a woman in cole, colwort, or colewort is derived, The word cabbage, by the act of fainting; my master could not conceive the reason, which all the varieties of this plant are now imperfectly called, but presently he heard a squealing and growling in the means the firm head or ball that is formed by the leaves turn bushes, whereupon he fired off his gun, and scared the wolves, ing close over each other; hence the saying the cole has cab-who scampered away; but he tells us that the horse has baged, the lettuce has cabbaged. The cant-word used in speak- not yet recovered from his fright." ing of tailors, who formerly worked at private houses, intimates that they rolled up pieces of cloth belonging to their customers, instead of the list and shreds which they claimed as their due.

At one time the wolf was the plague and terror of our island. The Saxons, it is said, called January, "wolf-monat," or wolf-month, because the wolves of our ancient forests, impelled by hunger at this season, were wont to prowl and attack man himself; the inferior animals, on whom they usually preyed, having retired or perished from the inclemency of the weather. Then, laws were made with a view to the destruction of this animal, retreats were built in the northern districts to secure passengers from its attacks, and taxes were paid in wolves' heads.

Gerard is the oldest English author who has written fully on this useful vegetable. He mentions the white cabbage cole, the red cabbage cole, the curled cabbage cole; and says the Savoie cole is among the headed coleworts or cabbages. He says also," the swolen colewort of all others is the strongest, and which I received from a worshipfull marchant of London, Master Nicholas Lete, who brought the seed out of France, who is greatly in love with rare and faire flowers and plants; for which he doeth carefully send into Syria, having a servant there at Alepo, and in many other countries; for the which myself and likewise the whole lande are much bound unto." The same writer adds: "Rape cole is another variety; they were called in Latin caulo-rapum and rapo-caulis, participating of two plants, the coleworts and turnips, from whence they derive their name. They grow in Italy, Spain, and some places in Germanie, from whence I have received seeds for my garden." This variety has long become one of our hardiest field-plants. The German cabbage is grown to so great a size in Holland that a single head often weighs forty pounds, and remains per-Then, too, kings and chiefs adopted the name of the wolf or fectly sweet and tender.

LESSONS IN NATURAL HISTORY.-No. VII.

THE WOLF.

[Order CARNIVORA, species CANIS LUPUS.]

THE wolf is larger, stronger, and more muscular than the dog. His colour is generally pale gray. His powers of scent are very delicate, his hearing is acute, and his habits always cautious. He never carries his tail curled upwards, and his pace is marked by hesitancy and indecision. The track of a wolf is readi y distinguished from that of a dog by the two middle claws being close together; while in the dog they are separated the marks, however, when the wolf is at speed,

King Edgar, to encourage the destruction of these animals, commuted the punishment of criminals, in many cases, into a requisition of a certain number of wolves' tongues from each, according to the degree of the offence. A Welsh prince who paid tribute to him, was oppressively ordered to produce annually, instead of money, a hundred wolves' heads. Nor was this a solitary instance of rigorous enactment; for, as Somerville says,

"Caml ria's proud kings (though with reluctance) paid
Their tributary wolves; head after head,
In full account, till the woods yield no more,
And all the ravenous race extinct, is lost."

have been recognised by it, either in consequence of their ravages, or from a desire to appear truly formidable. Such was the case among the Saxons, and hence we read in history of Ethelwolf, or noble wolf; Berthwolf, or illustrious wolf; Eadwolf, or prosperous wolf; and other combinations of the same kind, which are similarly significant.

Though endeavours were long made to exterminate the wolf and lingered still longer in the Islands of Scotland. The last in England, it maintained its ground there for many centuries, wolf is said to have fallen in Lochaber, by the hands of Sir Ewen Cameron, of Lochiel.

Thomson thus pictures the ravages of these creatures in other lands

:

"By wintry famine roused from all the tract
Of horrid mountains, which the shining Alps,