THE RAZOR-SELLER. The following is a fine reading exercise, and pains should be taken to give it the same de gree of naturalness that we should expect if the original scene had been acted before our eyes. 1. A fellow in a market town, Most musical, cried razors up and down, As every man would buy, with cash and sense. 2. A country bumpkin the great offer heard— That seemed a shoe-brush stuck beneath his nose- With cheerfulness the eighteen pence he paid, And proudly to himself, in whispers, said, 3. "No matter if the fellow be a knave, It certainly will be a monstrous prize." And quickly soap'd himself to ears and eyes. "Twas a vile razor!-then the rest he tried- "I wish my eighteen pence within my purse." That people flay themselves out of their lives': 6. "Friend," quoth the razor-man, "I'm not a knave: Upon my soul' I never thought' That they would shave'." "Not think they'd shave' !" quoth Hodge, with wondering eyes, "What were they made for, then, you dog?" he cries: “Made'!” quoth the fellow, with a smile—“TO SELL." JOHN WOLCOTT (PETER PINDAR). PART X. FIRST DIVISION OF GEOLOGY. [This subject is continued in the Sixth Reader.] Behold! a new kind of medals, much more important and incomparably more ancient than those of the Greeks and the Romans.-KNORR'S Monuments. LESSON I.-INTRODUCTORY. 1. It is from the "Medals of Creation"-the fossil remains of plants and animals scattered throughout the rocky strata of the globe-that we are enabled to read that wonderful portion of our earth's history which reaches back even into chaos itself, myriads of ages before the creation of man. These are the electrotypes of nature-faithful records, which there is no conflicting testimony to invalidate, and which no criticism can gainsay. 2. It is believed by most geologists that the earth was at one time a molten mass, surrounded by an atmosphere filled with dense gases and vapors; and that, as the outer portions cooled, forming the rocks and the dry land, the vapors, condensing and falling in showers, formed springs, rivers, and the waters of the ocean. This is the geological theory of the gradual calling of order out of chaos, after the great work of creation had been completed. 3. It is maintained that this view of the early condition of our globe, and of the successive changes that subsequently occurred in it during thousands and perhaps millions of years prior to the creation of man, does not at all conflict with the scriptural account of the creation. The scriptural account, U as paraphrased by a modern commentator, would read thus: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was desolate. Afterward, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters;" thus allowing the possibility of even millions of years between the first act of creative power and the six days' work of arranging the universe. 4. Different opinions long prevailed among the learned with regard to the nature, the extent of time, and the date of the six days' work of creation, for the Bible gives us no explanation on these points; but by most of the learned of the present day, and by all eminent geologists, the "six days" are understood to be indefinite periods of time, as it is said that, with the Almighty, "a thousand years are to be reckoned but as one day." It seems reasonable to suppose that they may have been prophetic periods looking into the past, and seen in vision by the inspired historian. "The Creation" has been chosen as a theme for august description by the poet Milton, and it likewise forms the subject of Haydn's grandest oratorio. LESSON II.-RAPHAEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION. Her ever-during gates-harmonious sound- The King of Glory, in his powerful Word And Spirit coming to create new worlds. On heavenly ground they stood; and, from the shore, 2. "Silence, ye troubled waves, and thou deep, peace!" Uplifted, in paternal glory rode Far into chaos, and the world unborn; For chaos heard his voice: him all his train Followed in bright procession, to behold 3. Then stayed the fervid wheels, and in his hand MILTON. And said, "Thus far extend, thus far thy bounds, then founded, then conglobed 6. Sojourned the while. God saw the light was good, Thus was the first day, even and morn: By the celestial choirs, when orient light Exhaling first from darkness they beheld; Birthday of heaven and earth: with joy and shout The hollow universal orb they filled, And touched their golden harps, and, hymning, praised LESSON III.-CHARACTER OF THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE EARTH. 1. GEOLOGY is the science which treats of the materials that compose the earth, and of the organic remains which they contain. According to Sir Charles Lyell, "Geology is the science which investigates the successive changes that have taken place in the organic and inorganic kingdoms of nature; it inquires into the causes of these changes, and the influences which they have exerted in modifying the surfaceand external structure of our planet." 2. The earth has not always existed in its present condition, and geology gives us a view of its history during a period of unknown length-not only thousands, but perhaps millions of years-long before the creation of man. It appears that, during this time, the earth underwent many changes; that beds or strata of rock were formed during successive ages at the bottom of the seas by the gradual wearing away of rocks on land, through atmospheric agencies and the action of water, and their deposition on the bed of the ocean in the form of mud, and sand, and gravel; that these strata were sometimes thrown up by subterranean forces; and that hills and valleys were thus formed, and the sea and land often made to change places. But what is more wonderful than all this, and that which gives the study of geology peculiar interest, we have abundant proof that while these operations were going on, there arose a succession of plants and animals, beginning with those of simplest form, often widely different from any now in existence, and advancing to those of higher character, until those nearest the present races appeared. 3. All this wonderful history has been learned in the following manner. From the present appearances of mountain chains, and chasms, and from artificial excavations, geologists have been enabled, after an almost incredible amount of labor and research, directed by the light of science, to rearrange, measure, and examine the different formations called stratified rocks, which are supposed to reach, when unbroken, to the depth of about ten miles below the surface; below which, and of an unknown depth, are the unstratified masses, which show from their position, and the crystalline arrangement of their parts, the action of heat, and an origin earlier in point of time. All but the lower or first formed class of the stratified rocks are found to contain the remains of plants and animals, generally in a fossil state, nearly all of which (except those in the very uppermost strata), to the number of more than thirty thousand species, were different from any that now exist. 4. It is surprising how much may be learned of the structure and habits of animals from a few fossil remains. It is stated that, so mathematically exact are the proportions between the different parts of an animal, "from the character of a single limb, and even of a single tooth or bone, the forms and proportions of the other bones, and the condition of the entire animal, may be inferred. Hence, not only the frame-work of the fossil skeleton of an extinct animal, but also the character of the muscles by which each bone was moved, the external form and figure of the body, the food, and habits, and haunts, and mode of life of creatures that ceased to exist before the creation of the human race, can, with a high degree of probability, be ascertained." |