presented to her unhappy favourite on his departure for Cadiz, with the tender promise, that of whatsoever crimes his enemies might have accused him, or whatsoever offences he might actually have committed against her, on returning to her that pledge, she would either pardon him or admit him at least to justify himself in her presence. Transported at once with rage and grief on learning the barbarous treachery of which the Earl had been the victim and herself the dupe, the Queen shook the dying countess in her bed; and-vehemently exclaiming that God might forgive her, but she never could-flung out of the chamber.

Returning to her palace, she surrendered herself without resistance to the despair which had seized her heart on this fatal and too late disclosure. Hence her refusal of medicine and almost of food; hence her obstinate silence, interrupted only by sighs, groans, and broken hints of a deep sorrow which she cared not to reveal; hence the days and nights passed by her seated on the floor, sleepless, her eyes fixed and her fingers pressed upon her mouth; hence, in short, all those heart-rending symptoms of incurable and mortal anguish which conducted her in the space of twenty days to the lamentable termination of a long life of power, prosperity, and glory.

On Wednesday, the 23rd of March (1603), Elizabeth grew speechless. That afternoon by signs she called for her council; and by putting her hand to her head when the King of Scots was named to succeed her, they all knew he was the man she desired should reign after her.

"About six at night," says Robert Carey in his memoirs, "she made signs for the archbishop and her chaplains to come to her; at which time I went in with

them, and sat upon my knees, full of tears to see that heavy sight. Her majesty lay upon her back, with one hand in bed and the other without. The bishop kneeled down by her and examined her first of her faith; and she so punctually answered all his several questions, by lifting up her eyes and holding up her hand, it was a comfort to all beholders. After he had continued long in prayer till the old man's knees were weary, he blessed her, and meant to rise and leave her. The Queen made a sign with her hand. My sister Scrope, knowing her meaning, told the bishop the Queen desired he would pray still. He did so for a long half-hour after, and thought to leave her. The second time she made sign to have him continue in prayer. He did so for half an hour more, with earnest cries to God for her soul's health, which he uttered with that fervency of spirit as the Queen to all our sight much rejoiced thereat, and gave testimony to us all of her Christian and comfortable end. By this time it grew late, and parted, all but her woman that attended her. Between one and two o'clock of the Thursday morning, he that I left in the cofferer's chamber brought me word that the Queen was dead."

every one de

DR.

FALLS OF THE ZAMBESI.

R. LIVINGSTONE, the celebrated African traveller, was the first European to witness the Falls of the Zambesi, which he called the "Victoria Falls," in honour of our Queen. On coming into the country near the Falls he was asked by a friendly chief, "Have you smoke that sounds in your country?" The chief

then offered to take him in his canoe down the river Zambesi, to see 66 the smoke that sounds."

When within five or six miles of the Falls he saw five columns of vapour, whose tops seemed, at that distance, to mingle with the clouds. They were white below, and higher up became dark from the condensation of the vapour, thus presenting the appearance of smoke. Already" the sound of the smoke" was heard, and on drawing near the Falls, the thundering of the waters was equal in grandeur to the view of the stupendous cataract.2

Just at the verge of the precipice is situated an island which serves as a convenient platform from which to see the Falls.

The intrepid traveller ventured to row down to this island, under the direction of natives well acquainted with the rapids. "But though we had reached the island, and were within a few yards of the Falls, I believe that no one could perceive where the vast body of water went: it seemed to lose itself in the earth, the opposite lip of the fissure being only eighty feet distant. I, at least, did not comprehend it, until, creeping with awe to the verge, I peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to bank of the broad Zambesi, and saw that a stream of a thousand yards broad leaped down a hundred feet, and then became suddenly pressed into a space of fifteen or twenty yards across. The entire Falls are simply a crack made in a hard basaltic rock, from the right to the left bank of the Zambesi, and then prolonged from the left bank away through thirty or forty miles of hills." The river there, with its foaming waters, looks like a white band stretched out between two lofty walls of cliffs.

Two rainbows were seen in the vapour, and the grandeur and magnificence of the scene were increased by the beauty of the surrounding country; for the constant spray and the gentle rain, always descending from the condensed vapour of the "cloudy pillars," clothe the forest trees, with their tropical underwood,5 in vivid green. "At the period of our visit several trees

were spangled over with blossoms. Trees have each their own physiognomy." There, towering over all, stands the great burly baobab, each of whose enormous arms would form the trunk of a large tree; besides groups of graceful palms, which, with their featheryshaped leaves depicted on the sky, lend their beauty to the scene,"

the

1 Condensation of vapour, formation of drops of water by the invisible particles of vapour coming together. (Lat. densus, thick.) 2 Stupendous cataract, a waterfall so tremendous as almost to stupefy with wonder.

3 Verge of the precipice, edge of the perpendicular rocks over which the water falls.

4 Fissure, the deep crack, or cleft, in the rocks, down which the water falls.

5 Tropical underwood, undergrowth

of plants in a "tropical" forest; that is, one situated within the tropics, as the two circles are called drawn 23 degrees from the Equator, north and south.

6 Spangled, dotted over with bright spots; thus the sky is "spangled " with stars.

7 Physiognomy, the particular cast or make of the face; as applied to trees, it means the particular form and make which distinguishes each kind.

A

A PETTY ANNOYANCE.

MONG the minor annoyances of life a prominent place must be accorded to the common house fly. There are few of our summer visitors with which we are more familiar, or respecting which we are, most of us, more ignorant.

In the popular opinion, perhaps, these aggravating little intruders may all be divided into two sorts-flies and bluebottles; and probably nine persons out of ten would suppose that all the different sizes of either sort merely represent different degrees of development1— that some flies are smaller than others simply because they are younger.

Some naturalists tell us, however, that there are at least a hundred varieties of flies and gnats that find their way into our houses, and a very trifling degree of attention will be sufficient to satisfy any one that of the common fly alone the varieties are very numerous. The notion that young flies are very small, and that they grow bigger as they grow older, is, of course, altogether erroneous, as the slightest knowledge of insect life would show.