"Trust in God, and do the Right." COURAGE, brother, do not stumble, Let the road be rough and dreary, Perish policy and cunning! Perish all that fears the light! Trust no party, sect, or faction; Trust no lovely forms of passion; Simple rule, and safest guiding, "Trust in God, and do the right." Some will hate thee, some will love thee, NORMAN MACLEOD. The Mammoth Trees of California. MR. HUTCHINS, in his "Scenes of Wonder in California," thus describes these monarchs of the American Forest : "The Mammoth Tree Grove is situated in a gently-sloping and heavily-timbered valley, on the ridge between the San Antonio branch of the Calaveras river, and the north fork of the Stanislaus river, at an elevation of 4,370 feet above the level of the sea, and at a distance of ninety-seven miles from Sacramento city. "Within an area of fifty acres, there are one hundred and three trees of a goodly size, twenty of which exceed twentyfive feet in diameter at the base, and consequently are about seventy-five feet in circumference. Adjoining the Big Tree Cottage Hotel, there is a stump of remarkable size. It is perfectly smooth, sound, and level; across the solid wood of this stump, five and a-half feet from the ground (now the bark is removed, which was from fifteen to eighteen inches in thickness), measures twenty-five feet, and with the bark twenty-eight feet. Think, for a moment, the stump of a tree exceeding nine yards in diameter, and sound to the very centre! "This tree employed five men for twenty-two days in felling it; not by chopping it down, but by boring it off with pumpaugers. After the stem was fairly severed from the stump, the uprightness of the tree and breadth of its base sustained it in its position. To accomplish the feat of throwing it over, about two and a-half days of the twenty-two were spent in inserting wedges, and driving them in with butts of trees, until at last the noble monarch of the forest was forced to tremble, and then to fall, after braving the battle and the breeze of nearly three thousand winters. In our estimation it was a sacrilegious act, although it is possible the exhibition of the bark among the unbelievers of the eastern part of the conti nent of America, and of Europe, may have convinced them that we have great facts in California that must be believed sooner or later. This noble tree was 302 feet in height, and ninety-six feet in circumference at the ground. "Now, let us walk among the giant shadows of the forest to another of these wonders-the largest tree now standing, which, from its immense size, and the number of small trees of the same class adjacent, has been named 'The Mother of the Forest.' In the summer of 1854, the bark was stripped from this tree by Mr. Gale, for purposes of exhibition, to the height of 116 feet, and it now measures in circumference, without the bark, at the base eighty-four feet; twenty feet from the base, sixty-nine feet; seventy feet from the base, forty-three feet six inches; 116 feet from base and up to the bark, thirtynine feet six inches. The full circumference at base, including bark, was ninety feet. Its height is 321 feet. This tree is estimated to contain 537,000 feet of sound inch timber. To the first branch it is 137 feet. It is contemplated to erect a circular stairway round this tree. "A short distance from the above lies the prostrate and majestic body of the Father of the Forest,' the largest tree of the entire group, half buried in the soil. This tree measures in circumference at the roots 110 feet; it is 200 feet to the first branch, the whole of which is hollow, and through which a person can walk erect. By the trees which were broken off when this tree bowed its proud head in its fall, it could not have been less than 435 feet high; 300 feet from its roots, and where it was broken off by striking against another large tree, it is eighteen feet in diameter. Around this tree stand the graceful yet giant trunks of numerous others, which form a family circle, and make this the most imposing scene in the whole grove. Near its base is a never-failing spring of cold delicious water. "Let us not linger here too long, but pass to the 'Husband and Wife,' a graceful pair, that are leaning with apparent affection against each other. Both of these are of the same size, and measure in circumference at the base about sixty feet, and in height are about 250 feet. "A short distance farther is 'The Burnt Tree,' which is prostrate, and hollow from numerous burnings. Into it a person can ride on horseback for sixty feet. The estimated height of this tree when standing was 330 feet, and its circumference ninety-seven feet. It now measures across the roots thirty-nine feet six inches. "Hercules,' another of these giants, is ninety-five feet in circumference, and 320 feet high. The Hermit,' a lonely fellow, is 318 feet high, and sixty feet in circumference, exceedingly straight and well formed. Besides these there are many others, mostly distinguished by fanciful names; such as the Old Maid,' the 'Old Bachelor,' the 'Siamese Twins,' 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' a hollow tree, in which twenty-five persons can be seated comfortably (not, as a friend at our elbow suggests, in each other's laps perhaps). This tree is 305 feet high, and ninety-one in circumference. "Many of the largest of these trees have been deformed and otherwise injured by the numerous and large fires that have swept with desolating fury over this forest at different periods. But a small portion of decayed timber of this genus can be seen; like other varieties of the same species it is less subject to decay, even when fallen dead, than other woods. "Respecting the age of this grove, there has been but one opinion among the best informed botanists, which is this, that each concentric circle is the growth of one year; and as 3,000 concentric circles can be counted in the stump of the fallen tree, it is correct to conclude that these trees are nearly 3,000 years old. This may very well be true if it does not grow above two inches in diameter in twenty years, which we believe to be the fact. "Could these magnificent and venerable forest giants of Calaveras county be gifted with a descriptive historical tongue, how their recital would startle us as they told of the many wonderful changes that have taken place in California within the last 3,000 years." Closing Scenes. THE EXECUTION OF LADY JANE GREY. THIS beautiful and accomplished lady was the granddaughter of Mary, youngest daughter of Henry VII. As both the daughters of Henry VIII. had been declared illegitimate by Act of Parliament, the friends of Lady Jane persuaded Edward VI. to name that lady as his successor. Edward did so. Fifteen days after, Edward died, and Lady Jane's troubles began. Her own delight had been in the cultivation of her mind. She had mastered Latin and Greek, and had a useful acquaintance with Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic, French, and Italian; she played skilfully on several instruments, and sang with exquisite sweetness. But that which made her the special favourite of the nation was her unwavering attachment to the Protestant religion. With all these advantages in her favour, it was still unlikely that her elevation to the throne would be a success. The Acts of Parliament had been reversed before Henry's death, and even if Mary and Elizabeth had been set aside, the right to the throne would have fallen to Mary Queen of Scots, who had descended from Margaret, the eldest daughter of Henry VII. Partly from these considerations, and partly from the fact that she never coveted the honours of this world, the offer of the crown greatly affected her; she burst into tears, and rejected the tempting prize; and only when she was assured by her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, and her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, that both the judges and privy counsellors had declared that the crown fell to her by right of law, did she accept it. On the 9th July, 1553, Lady Jane was proclaimed Queen of England. Her sovereignty only lasted ten days, for Mary found that even those who detested her religion acknowledged her right. Mary was accordingly proclaimed queen; and |