LESSON. LXXVIII. 77 1. RANGED, placed in order. 2 SEN'TRIES, Soldiers on guard. 2. SA'BER, a sword with heavy blade. 3. MOS'LEM, a Mohammedan. ERRORS. — In 'is for in his; wus for was; heart tan' 'and for heart and hand. 1. Ar midnight, in his guarded tent, The Turk was dreaming of the hour, At midnight, in the forest shades, 2. An hour passed on, the Turk awoke : "To arms! they come! the Greek! the Greek!” "Strike - till the last armed foe expires! altars and your your fires! Strike - for the green graves of your sires! ? They fought, like brave men, long and well: Bleeding at every vein. LI-OTES, a mixed people, spwking a neuliar dialect. They were harly, resolute rave, and faithful to the cause of dracian liberty. This battle was fought in 1823. His few surviving comrades saw His smile, when rang their proud "hurrah," Then, saw in death his eyelids close, 4. Come to the bridal chamber, Death! Come to the mother's, when she feels, For the first time, her first-born's breath; Come, when the blessed seals That close the pestilence are broke, And crowded cities wail its stroke; Come in consumption's ghastly form,The earthquake's shock, the ocean storm; Come, when the heart beats high and warm, With banquet song, and dance, and wine, And thou art terrible! - the tear, The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier, 5. But to the hero, when his sword The thanks of millions yet to be. Bozzaris! with the storied brave * Greece nurtured in her glory's time, Rest thee; there is no prouder grave, That were rot born to die. LESSON LXXIX. 79 1. TERRA-CES, raised banks of turf. 3. STRATA, layers of earth or stone. 3. AL-TERN'ATE, one after another. 3. GYPSUM, a species of rock from which plaster of Paris is made. 4. CLAS'SIC, relating to ancient Greek and Roman authors. 6. TROPIC-AL, pertaining to the tropics. 13. PRACTI-CA-BLE, that may be done. 15. GNOMES, imaginary beings. ERRORS.Ter'rub-ble for terri-ble; ac'ker-ate-ly for ac'cu-rate-ly; ex-tens, for ex-tends'; ord'na-ry for or'di-na-ry; trav'ler for trav'el-er. MOUNT ETNA. - MEYERS'S UNIVERSUM. 1. MOUNT ETNA is the highest elevation of land in Sicily.* It is the greatest and most remarkable, the most powerful, and, in its effects, the most terrible volcano of Europe. It is more than 11,000 feet high, and consists of a single cone without a ridge, without high plains or terraces, without valleys or rivers. 2. The enormous mass rests on a basis of twenty-four square miles; and its flame-vomiting crater penetrates the region of eternal snow. In all Europe, only some peaks of the Alps † and a few points of the Sierra Nevada‡ surpass it in height. 3. The whole mountain is of volcanic origin; and it consists of some hundred strata of lava, each varying in thickness and color, with alternate deposits of gypsum, sulphur, and ashes. With the latter, the upper regions are entirely covered. A few sulphurous springs run from the lower part of the mountain. 4. Mount Etna is classic ground for scientific observation. For those who wish to study the influence which elevation ex *Sic'i-ly, (sis'si-le,) the largest, most fruitful, and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea, lies to the south of Italy, from which it is separated by the strait of Messina, which, in the narrowest part, is only two miles wide. A chain of mountains extends through it from east to west; but the most elevated summit is the famous volcano of Etna. Its population in 1850 was 2,041,583. † Alps. See note, page 325. Si-er'ra Ne-va'da, (sē-er'rä nã-vä'dä,) a Spanish name, signifying the "snow. clad mountain ridge," is the highest range of mountains in Spain. Perpetual snow covers its loftiest summits, one of which is nearly 14,000 feet in height. ercises upon climate and the vegetable world, no place more convenient can be found in the Old World. Probably in no part of Europe are the different zones of vegetation so accurately marked, or so distinctly presented to observation. 5. The peasants and shepherds inhabiting the mountain have indicated these relations by names. They divide the Ætna into three' regions, the cultivated part, the forest, and the waste. The first extends to the height of twenty-five hundred feet. Here the most luxuriant vegetation prevails in numberless vineyards, superb fields of wheat and barley, and in groves of southern fruits. 6. The flowers on the sunny slopes of the central side are truly tropical. Sugar-cane and cotton are cultivated with success; and a great variety of the cactus family clothes the black rocks with a splendid array of brightly colored flowers. 7. The forest, or second zone, extends to the height of six thousand feet. The tropical productions, with the orange and olive-tree, are here no longer visible; and the tender almond hardly thrives in protected nooks; and, higher up, even the vine no longer embraces the elm. 8. The true lords of this region are noble species of the pine, oak, and poplar, forming forests really majestic. In the lower range are found the olive, the walnut, and the chestnuttree, which attain an almost incredible size. Many of these giants have been known by special names, for centuries. 9. One chestnut-tree is called "the tree of the hundred riders"; and, just above the ground, it is said to measure one hundred and eighty feet in circumference! Around the upper border of that second zone the forest vegetation ceases entirely; and nothing remains except the creeping juniper, and the barberry-bush, with its bunches of red berries. 10. The third and highest zone extends from a height of seven thousand five hundred feet, to the edge of the crater. Here trees and herbs have disappeared. The soil is covered with bare black lava and ashes, and some varieties of cryptogamic plants, which occur in the lower part of this region. 11. Although Mount Etna extends above the limit of perpetual snow, yet, owing to the intense volcanic heat which warms its sides, snow and ice can remain on it no more than upon the margin of a heated stove. The heaviest snowstorms clothe the cone in white but a few days. 12. The ascent of Mount Etna is difficult; and it requires more than ordinary courage, and great vigor of body. It is generally made from the sea-side, starting from Catania,† and is a journey of two days. 13. The first night is passed in the " English House," erected in 1811, at the joint expense of the British residents of Sicily. It is situated thirteen hundred feet below the center cone. There is a path practicable for mules up to this station; and the traveler can ride. The rest of the journey, he is obliged to perform on foot. 14. In general, the ascent is extremely difficult and wearisome, owing to the danger of slipping on the ashes and the loose, polished fragments of pumice-stone. The ascent to the edge of the principal crater is practicable only from a deep chasm, formed by a rent in the walls. 15. A look from its margin into the depth of the fiery abyss is truly terrible! The entire inner wall of the crater is cov¬ ered with sulphur blocks of ghastly shapes, blackened with smoke and soot; and the glowing imagination readily forms them into the fiendish and misshapen figures of gnomes and dragons, which glare, grinning and threatening, upon the excited traveler. 16. In the deepest recess of the abyss, the actual passage, leading to the hidden workshop of the earth, is visible through volumes of smoke and flame. A blazing lava-torrent boils Cryp-to-gam'ic, a class of plants whose stamens and pistils are not distinctly visible, such as ferns, mosses, sea-weeds, mushrooms, &c. † Ca-ta'ni-a, a city of Sicily, situated on a gulf of the Mediterranean, at the foot of Mount Etna. This city has been repeatedly destroyed by tremendous earthquakes. DD * 23 |