The British Colonies and Dependencies have their internal affairs administered by Governors and Councils appointed by the Crown, and controlled by the Secretary of State for the Colonies in London, who is a member of the Cabinet. The more populous and older colonies have been placed as far as possible on the footing of self-government, that is to say, there is in each a legislative assembly elected by the people. The Dominion of Canada may be taken as an example of a self-governed colony. The executive power is vested in the Governor-General, aided by a Privy Council, all the members of which are appointed by the Crown. The legislature consists of two Houses-the Senate, or Upper House, consisting of seventy-seven members appointed by the Governor-General in Council; and the House of Commons, consisting of two hundred members elected by the people for the term of five years. For local purposes, each province has a Lieutenant-Governor and a legislature of its own-the latter generally consisting of two Houses. The governments of the Australasian colonies are very similar to this, with the exception that the legislative council, or Upper House, is generally appointed by the Crown. In New Zealand, New South Wales, and Queensland, there is in each a Governor and a Cabinet, or executive council, of four or five members, appointed by the Crown; a legislative council of from fifteen to thirty members, also appointed by the Crown; and a legislative assembly, or Lower House, elected by the people. In South Australia, the legislative council is elected by the whole colony voting as one province; in Tasmania and Victoria, it is elected by the upper and moneyed classes, but in other respects the arrangements are the same as in the neighbouring colonies. India is an example of a dependency still directly under imperial control. Since 1858 the affairs of India have been regulated by the Secretary of State for India and the Council of State, sitting in London, of which he is president. The Council consists of fifteen members, -seven appointed by the Court of Directors of the East India Company, and eight by the Crown. The executive authority in India is vested in the Governor-General or Viceroy appointed by the Crown, and acting under the orders of the Secretary of State for India. He is assisted in his administrative duties by a supreme council sitting at Calcutta, consisting of five ordinary members appointed by himself, with ten additional members for the purpose of framing laws and regulations. There are also five chief secretaries of state in India, to superintend the different departments of the government. For administrative purposes, India is divided into three PresidenciesBengal, Madras, and Bombay. The extensive territories included in the first presidency are administered by three Lieutenant-Governors (Bengal, NorthWest Provinces, and Punjab), and three Chief Commissioners (Oude, Central Provinces, and British Burmah). In each of the other presidencies-Madras and Bombay-there is a Governor and a Council. Ceylon, which is independent of India as a colony, is an example of a government in which the local and the imperial elements are combined. But the influence of the latter greatly preponderates. The Governor and the executive council of five members are appointed by the Crown. The legislative council contains fifteen members-five of them are the executive council, other four are also officials, and six only are unofficial members. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. THE following table presents a general view, according to the most recent authorities, of the CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS :— DIVISION I.-BACK-BONED ANIMALS (Vertebra'ta-L. vertebra, backbone). They have a skull and an internal skeleton, held together by a vertebral column or back-bone. CLASS I-Mammals (Mammalia-L. mamma, breasts), or Sucklers, are warm-blooded, produce their young in a living state, and are more or less covered with hair. Sub-orders. a. Finger-winged.. b. Insect-eaters.... c. Sole-walkers d. Toe-walkers ......... e. Sea mammals... 4. GNAWERS. 5. CUD-CHEWERS 6. THICK-SKINNED. 7. TOOTHLESS. 8. POUCHED Bat......... {Cheiroptera (Gr. cheir, hand; ptera, Hedgehog, mole. {Insectivora (L. insectum, insect; voro, .Bear, badger.......... { Plant'igrade (L. planus, flat; gradior, I walk). Cat, lion, dog.... {Digitigrade (L. digitus, finger; gra dior, I walk). Whale, walrus, ( Cetacea (L. cete, whale, from Gr. chaino, Rat, mouse, hare, {ox, sheep, camel,} Rodentia (L. rodens, gnawing). Ruminantia (L. rumino, I re-chew). Elephant, horse. {Pachydermata (Gr. pachys, thick; derma, skin). .Sloth, ant-eater.... Edenta'ta (L. e, without; dens, tooth). Kangaroo, opos sum Marsupialia (L. marsupium, pouch). CLASS II. Birds (A'ves) are warm-blooded, are hatched from eggs, and covered with feathers. 1. BIRDS OF PREY... .Eagle, hawk, owl.. Rapto'res (L. rapio, I seize). 2. PERCHERS (including Crow, sparrow, Insessores (L. in, on; sedeo, I sit). song-birds).. 3. CLIMBERS.. lark, thrush... Parrot, cuckoo, Scanso’res (L. scando, I climb). woodpecker..... * The scientific names for the Classes and Orders in the Animal Kingdom are here given, for the convenience of those teachers who may wish to use them. The English equivalents, which are given first, will in most cases be deemed sufficient for the present stage. CLASS III.-Reptiles (Reptil'ia-L. repo, I creep) are cold-blooded, produced from eggs, breathe by lungs, and are sometimes covered with scales or plates. .. Serpent, viper.....Ophidia (Gr. ophis, serpent). 1. SNAKES.. 2. SCALE-COVERED. 3. SHIELDED.. {Lizard, crocodile,} Sauʼria (Gr. saura, lizard). .Tortoise, turtle.... Chelo'nia (Gr. chelōnē, tortoise). CLASS IV.-Amphibians (Amphib'ia-Gr. amphi, both; bios, life), or creatures that live both on land and in water, are cold-blooded, and breathe by gills when young, and by lungs when mature. Examples.. .. Frog, toad, newt. CLASS V.-Fishes (Pis'ces) are cold-blooded, and breathe by gills. DIVISION II.—JOINTED ANIMALS (Articula'ta-L. artus, a joint). Their nervous system is distributed in knots all over the body. The different Classes of this division are: I. Worms and Leeches.... II. Centipedes...... III. Crabs and Lobsters. IV. Spiders.. V. Insects. Annel'ida (L. annellus, a little ring). {Myriapoda (Gr. myrioi, 10,000; pous, ..Crustacea (L. crusta, crust, shell). Arachnida (Gr. arachnēs, spider). ..Insec'ta (L. in, into; seco, sectum, I cut). The last comprises six Orders, arranged according to the form and number of their wings. Their representatives are:-1. Beetle; 2. Grasshopper; 3. Dragon-fly; 4. Bee, wasp, ant; 5. Butterfly, moth (these undergo a series of changes-egg, worm, chrysalis, moth); 6. Fly, gnat. DIVISION III.-SOFT-BODIED ANIMALS (Mollusca-L. mollis, soft), as snails, limpets, oysters, mussels, and cuttle-fish. DIVISION IV.-RAYED ANIMALS (Radia'ta-L. radius, ray), as starfishes and sea-urchins. DIVISIONS V. AND VI. include the lowest forms of animal life, in which the organs are very partially developed. (Calentera'ta: Gr. koilos, hollow; entera, intestines; and Protozoa: Gr. prōtos, first; zōon animal.) BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX. SHORT LIVES OF THE LEADING AUTHORS AND IMPORTANT PERSONAGES REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING LESSONS. In the text the names are indicated by a superior b: thus, ADDISON.(b) Addison, Joseph, essayist and poet, was born in Wiltshire in 1672. His fame rests chiefly on his weekly papers in the Spectator, Tatler, and Guardian. His chief poem is the Letter from Italy. His prose style is remarkable for grace, purity, and quaint humour. He became a Secretary of State in 1717, and died at Holland House, London, in 1719. Es chylus, the father of the Greek drama, was born at Athens in 525 B. C. He was wounded at Marathon (490 B. C.), and fought at Salamis (480 B.C.). He was the first to introduce on the stage more actors than one, and to give them appropriate dresses. Of ninety dramas produced by him, only seven have come down to us. In 468 B. C. Sophocles defeated him in the public competition of dramas, and he retired to Sicily, where he died in 456 B.C. Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, was born in 356 B. C., and trained by Aristotle, the great philosopher. On the death of his father Philip, 336 B. C., he succeeded him, subdued the hostile Greeks, and was made Generalissimo of Greece. Then began (334 B.C.) his great career of conquest. He subdued Phoenicia, Syria, Egypt, Persia, and part of India. He died of fever at Babylon in 323 B.C. Anacreon, a celebrated Greek lyrical poet, was born at Teos in Asia Minor, about 563 B. C. The Odes ascribed to him are possessed of great sweetness and elegance. Much of what he wrote has certainly been lost, and the genuineness of the works which bear his name has been doubted. He lived a dissipated and intemperate life, chiefly at Athens and Samos (an island in the Ægean Sea). He died in 478 B. C. Aristi'des, a celebrated Athenian, surnamed "The Just," from his purity in the discharge of public offices. He fought with signal bravery at Marathon (490 B. c.); and though he had charge of the spoils, he took nothing for himself. Themistocles was his political rival; and, gaining the ascendency in Athens, he banished Aristides by ostracism-that is, by a public vote of censure. He was afterwards recalled, however, and rendered great service to Themistocles at the Battle of Salamis (480 B. C.). He died in obscurity in 467 B.C.; but he received a splendid funeral, and his family were provided for by the state. Aristotle, the greatest of Greek philosophers, was born at Stagira, 384 B.C.,hence called "The Stagirite." He studied with great diligence under Plato. He was tutor to Alexander the Great, and afterwards taught philosophy at Athens with great success. He produced a great number of learned works on rhetoric, politics, ethics, poetry, physics, mathematics, logic, and metaphysics. He died in 323 B. C. Aytoun, William Edmondstoune, a romantic poet of the school of Scott, was born at Edinburgh in 1813. He was for many years a regular contributor to Blackwood's Magazine. His papers include many humorous tales and sketches, but his fame rests chiefly on his Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers. For many years he was Professor of Rhetoric in the University of Edinburgh. He died in 1865. Bacon, Francis, Lord, the eminent statesman, and the father of experimental philosophy, was born at London in 1561. He was educated at Cambridge, and after a brief sojourn in France, practised as a lawyer at Gray's Inn. He entered Parliament in 1592. In 1604 he published his Advancement of Learning. In 1618 he became Lord Chancellor. The greatest of all his works was published while he held this high office, in 1620. Shortly afterwards he was accused of bribery and corruption, was tried, and sentenced to pay a heavy fine. He confessed his guilt, but threw the blame of his acts partly on the prevailing customs of the law courts, partly on his servants. He was afterwards pardoned, but spent the remainder of his life in retirement. He died in 1626. Belzo'ni, a celebrated explorer of Egyptian antiquities. He made many important discoveries, and sent to London some of the most valuable Egyptian relics in the British Museum. Born at Padua (Italy), 1774; died in Africa, 1823. Blake, Admiral Robert, one of England's most famous and daring seamen, was born at Bridgewater (Somerset) in 1598. In 1617 he took his degree at Ox-| ford. In 1640 he sat for Bridgewater in the Long Parliament; and on the outbreak of the civil war, he sided with the Parliamentarians. He was appointed to the command of the fleet in 1649. One of his greatest achievements was the defeat of the Dutch fleet of forty-five sail under Van Tromp, with only twenty-three ships, in the Downs, 1652. He died on board his ship in 1657. Brooke, Henry, a writer of dramas and novels, was born in Ireland in 1706. He acquired some celebrity by the opposition of the government to the performance of his Gustavus Vasa, on account of the boldness of its language. He is best known as the author of an excellent novel entitled The Fool of Quality. He died in 1783. Browning, Robert, one of the greatest of living poets, was born at Camberwell, in 1812. He published Paracelsus in 1836; and in the following year Strafford, a tragedy. Neither this drama nor The Blot on the Scutcheon, produced in 1843, proved successful on the stage. Yet Browning possesses undoubted dramatic genius, and a wonderful power of condensed expression. This latter gives an air of obscurity to his writings which repels many readers. He has also written Pippa Passes; Dramatic Lyrics; Men and Women; The Ring and the Book, and other poems. Buf'fon (Boof-fong), George Louis, a great French naturalist, and author of a colossal work on "Natural History, General and Particular," in thirty-six quarto volumes. Its publication covered thirtynine years. Born 1707; died 1788. Bunyan, John, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, and other works, was born at Elstow (Bedfordshire) in 1628. He began life as a travelling tinker,-an ignorant, thoughtless, and, by his own account, profane youth. A remarkable series of incidents led to his conversion, In 1656 he began to preach in Bedfordshire. After the Restoration (1660) he was, on account of his preaching, shut up in Bedford gaol for twelve years, during which he wrote his most famous works. He continued to preach and to teach after his release, and died at London in 1688. Buonaparte, Napoleon, the greatest military genius of modern times, was born at Ajaccio in Corsica in 1769. His brilliant career began in 1793, when he expelled the English from Toulon. He carried on the wars of the French Revolution, which dis In turbed Europe for twenty years. In the Burns, Robert, the national poet of Byron, George Gordon, Lord, a great English poet of the romantic school, was born at London in 1788. He led a restless and wandering life, chiefly abroad after 1810. The publication of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, his greatest poem, began in 1812. He also wrote Manfred (a tragedy); and Turkish tales in verse, as The Corsair; The Giaour. In 1823 he sailed for Greece, to aid the Greeks in their war of independence, and died there in 1824. Callimachus, an Athenian general, who commanded the right wing at the Battle of Marathon, and, after performing the most signal feats of valour, fell fighting in the field;-490 B.C. Camby'ses, King of Persia, was son of Cyrus the Great, whom he succeeded, 529 B.C. He conquered Egypt in 525 B. C., when the ancient dynasty of the Pharaohs came to an end. He committed dreadful excesses in Egypt, destroyed many of its finest monuments, and made the country a waste. Campbell, Thomas, author of The Pleasures of Hope, and other elegant poems, was born at Glasgow in 1777. After 1803 he lived in London, having adopted literature as a profession. His fame depends chiefly upon his patriotic lyrics-Ye Mariners of England, The Battle of the Baltic, which are full of fire, fervour, and poetical feeling. He died in 1844. Char'lemagne, the great founder of the Germanic-Roman Empire, was born in Bavaria in 742 A.D. When his father died in 768, his dominions were divided between |