into it, when empty, a quantity, e.g., 150 grains, of sand. Supposing that the sand had not displaced any water, the bottle, when filled up with that fluid, would now weigh 1,150 grains; but on actually weighing the bottle after it has been filled up. it is found that the water and sand together weigh only 1,096 grains; the sand, therefore, has displaced 54 grains of water. We have thus the data for calculating the specific gravity of the sand: 150542-777, the specific gravity of the sand.

If the substance be soluble in water, it must be weighed ir air as usual; then in spirit of wine, in oil of turpentine, or in some liquid which does not dissolve it, and the specific gravity of which is known. If the body be so light as to float in water, it must be attached to a solid, the weight of which in water has been ascertained, and which is sufficiently heavy to keep the lighter body, when fastened to it, beneath the surface; the weight in water of the two united bodies is then determined, and the result thus obtained is deducted from the weight of the heavier solid in water: if to this remainder the weight of the light body in air be added, we are furnished with the weight of a bulk of water equal to that of the lighter solid, and have the data for calculating the specific gravity in the usual manner.-W. A. Miller.

LESSON XXXIII.-WEDNESDAY.

EVENING HYMN.

The moon hath risen on high,
And in the clear dark sky
The golden stars all brightly glow;
And black and hush'd the woods,
While o'er the fields and floods
The white mists hover to and fro.

How still the earth! how calm!
What dear and home-like charm
From silent twilight doth she borrow!
Like to some quiet room,

Where, wrapt in still soft gloom,
We sleep away the daylight's sorrow.

Look up; the moon to-night
Shows us but half her light,
And yet we know her round and fair
At other things how oft

We in our blindness scoff'd
Because we saw not what was there.

We haughty sons of men
Have but a narrow ken,
We are but sinners poor and weak.
Yet airy dreams we build,

And deem us wise and skill'd,
And come not nearer what we seek.

Thy mercy

let us see,

Nor find in vanity

Our joy; nor trust in what departs;
But true and simple grow,

And live to Thee below

With sunny pure and childlike hearts.

Let death all gently come
At last to take us home,
And let us meet him fearlessly;

And when these bonds are riven,
O take us to Thy heaven,

Our Lord and God, to dwell with Thee.
We sink to slumber now,
Lord, in Thy name; do Thou
Forgive our sins, and o'er our heads

Keep watch the livelong night;
And let soft sleep alight

On us, and on all sick and painful beds.

Claudius, 1782.

LESSON XXXIV.—THURSDAY.

ENGLISH HISTORY-STUART LINE.

The restoration of monarchy was received by the English nation with enthusiastic demonstrations of joy, and Charles II. ascended the throne unfettered by any stipulations as to

his future conduct. It might have been expected that years of exile and adversity would have strengthened the character of the young monarch, and taught him wisdom and moderation. But it soon appeared that he had profited little by the lessons of experience; destitute equally of religion and morality-incapable of gratitude or of self-denial-he valued royalty but as it placed within his reach the means of selfindulgence, without any sense of its duties or responsibilities. The example of the Court was followed by other classes; a re-action from the strictness of the preceding reign to the wildest license took place; and England has never witnessed another period of such general profligacy and corruption of manners.

The punishment of the regicides was the first care of the Government. Of these, some were dead, others had escaped into foreign lands, thirteen were taken and executed. Sir Henry Vane, who had opposed the death of the king, was beheaded, in defiance of law and justice, for republican opinions; and the bodies of Cromwell, his mother and daughter, and some of his adherents, were disinterred, and exposed upon the gallows at Tyburn.

A new parliament assembled in 1661, which had a longer existence than the one known as the Long Parliament, for it lasted seventeen years. It began by restoring Episcopacy. By the Corporation Act, all persons not members of the Established Church were deprived of their civil rights, and disqualified from holding any offices. By the Act of Uniformity, all clergymen were required to give public assent to everything contained in the book of Common Prayer, or to be expelled from their benefices. On St. Bartholomew's day, 1662, more than 2,000 ministers, unable to make the required declaration, gave up their livings, and resigned themselves to poverty and privation. The ejected ministers were treated with great severity, and forbidden to preach or to teach schools; all meetings for worship unsanctioned by the Church were also prohibited, and those attending them condemned to fine, imprisonment, and even transportation.

The marriage of Charles with Catherine of Braganza, a Catholic princess, gave great offence. Large supplies had been voted to him, and his bride brought a rich dowry; but

his expenditure far exceeded the revenue, and to raise money, he sold Dunkirk to the French king-a bargain which caused universal dissatisfaction. War with Holland was commenced, and conducted in a manner disgraceful to the national honour. The fleet was ill provided, the seamen unpaid. Peace was soon sought, but before negotiations could be concluded, the Dutch fleet sailed up the Thames, burned the shipping at Chatham, and threatened the capital. The treaty of Breda at length put an end to the disastrous struggle.

Whilst the Dutch war was in progress, London was the scene of terrible calamities. The Great Plague swept off, in six months, more than 100,000 of its inhabitants; and scarcely had the panic occasioned by this visitation subsided, when a fresh disaster filled the capital with distress and terror. A fire broke out near the river, and raged for three days and nights with irresistible fury, laying waste the whole city, from the Tower to the Temple, and destroying upwards of 13,000 houses, nearly 100 churches, and many public buildings. The faults and disgraces of the administration roused public resentment against its head, the earl of Clarendon, who was deprived of his offices and driven into banishment. He was succeeded by the "Cabal," so called from the initials of the names of its members-Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale. Just before the "Cabal" came into office, a treaty, known as the "Triple Alliance," had been made between England, Holland, and Sweden, to check the encroachments of France, and maintain the balance of power in Europe. But this wise and popular coalition was scarcely completed, when it was perfidiously broken by Charles, who engaged in a secret alliance with France, binding himself to support the policy of Louis XIV., on condition of receiving an annual grant for the maintenance of his fleet, and a private pension of £200,000 per annum.

In 1672, the Ministry, ever in pecuniary difficulties, resorted to the shameful expedient of "shutting the Exchequer," an act equivalent to national bankruptcy. It was customary for bankers and capitalists to advance money to Government, receiving 8 per cent. interest; payment was now suspended, and the interest added to the principal. A

large sum of money was thus obtained, but multitudes were involved, by the loss of their incomes, in distress and ruin. A second naval war with Holland followed, in fulfilment of the secret compact with Louis, who attacked the republic by land; but the young Prince of Orange defended his native country with skill and success, and peace was once more restored in 1674.

The favour extended at Court to the Catholics increased the distrust and jealousy with which they were regarded; and these feelings were excited to frenzy by the pretended discovery of a Popish plot for the destruction of Protestants. The story was invented by Titus Oates, a man of worthless character, supported by accomplices equally undeserving; but at the time it was widely credited, and created a panic of terror and fury, to which many innocent lives were sacrificed. The "Test Act" was also passed, which excluded Roman Catholics from seats in parliament, and obliged the duke of York to resign his commissions.

The attempt to force Episcopacy on Scotland drove the people to arms; they renewed the Covenant, put to death the cruel Archbishop Sharp, and gained possession of Glasgow, but were afterwards defeated at Bothwell Bridge, and suffered long and severe persecution.

In 1679, parliament was dissolved, and three others were successively summoned, all of them having a majority against the Court. The first of these passed the celebrated "Habeas Corpus" Act, which secures to prisoners the benefit of immediate trial. The great aim of the popular leaders was to effect the exclusion of the duke of York, an avowed Papist, from the throne, to which he was heir at the death of his brother. A bill for this purpose passed the Commons, but was thrown out by the Lords, Charles supporting his brother's title. By the aid of France he was able to govern for a time without a parliament, and no other was called during his life. In these perilous circumstances, Lord William Russell, Algernon Sidney, and some other patriots, formed an association for the defence of liberty. A plot, of which they were ignorant, was at the same time in existence, having for its object the assassination of the king and the duke of York. This latter, "The Rye-House Plot," was