sudden, he stopped, turned round, and made right for us, with his jaws open; then all we had to do, was to balk him, and give him the lance. He did not seem to have made up his mind which boat he would attack-v we were pretty near together, and he yawed at one, and then at the other. At last he made right for the other boat, and the boatsetter dodged him very cleverly, while we pulled up to him, and I put the lance up to the stock into his side. He made a plunge as if he were going to 'sound' again; and as he did so, with his flukes he threw our boat into the air, a matter of twenty feet, cutting it clean in half, and one of the boat's thwarts came right athwart of my nose, and it never has been straight since. So now you have it, messmate; and I shouldn't mind if you passed the beer this way, for this long yarn has made my throat somewhat dry."

"When you've had your swig, old chap, you may as well tell us how the matter ended,' "observed my father.

"Why it ended in our losing the whale in the first place, and the boat with her gear in the second. We were picked up by the other boat, and there was no time to be lost, for the sharks were brought together by the scent of the whale's blood; the whale sounded' again, and we were obliged to cut the line, and return on board."

THE SILKWORM.

SILK is the production of the Bombyx mori, or the silkworm of the mulberry tree. In other words, it is the web of a large caterpillar, which, at its full size, is about three inches in length. The real silk or silk-web, was first known in ancient Serica, a part of the Chinese Empire, and hence the Greeks called it Sericha, the Romans Sericum, the French Soie, the Italians Seta, and the English Silk. To Si-ling-chi, the worthy consort of the emperor. Houng-Ti, belongs the honor of having been the first silkculturist. "The empress gathered the silkworms from the trees, and, with the women attached to her household, endeavored to tend them with much care, in the imperial apartments, to supply them abundantly with mulberry leaves, and to keep them very clean." She also taught

her women to card and weave, and convert the raw material into clothing stuffs, and to embroider them with representations of flowers and animals. Silk subsequently became a profitable article of exportation. The traders of Serica carried their silken stuffs all over Asia, obtain ing great prices and ready sales. From Pers it found its way into Greece, about the year 325, B. C. From In

dia, A. D. 274. It was known at Rome in Tiberius' time, when a law was passed forbidding men to debase themselves by wearing silk, fit only for women. Heliogabalus first wore a garment of silk, 220.

"But the secret of manufacturing and producing silk was still kept in China until the sixth century, when it was obtained under the emperor Justinian, by the aid of two monks, who first brought the seeds of the mulberry, and who afterwards, in consequence of the promises of liberal rewards offered by the emperor, returned on foot to China, and at the risk of their lives, brought the eggs of the insect in a hollow cane, the exportation of them from China being forbidden on pain of death." In 1130, some Greek manufacturers of silk, brought by Roger, king of Sicily, to Europe, settled at Palermo, where they taught the Sicilians, not only to breed up the silkworms, but to spin and to weave silk. The art was afterwards carried to Italy and to the south of France. Venice in

veigled silk weavers from Greece and Palermo, in Sicily, 1207.

Silk mantles were worn by noblemen's ladies at a ball, at Kenilworth castle, in 1286. It was first manufactured in France, in 1521; in England in 1604. Silkworms and mulberry-trees were propagated by Henry IV., through all France, in 1559. The broad silk manufacture from raw silk was introduced into England in 1620. Lorube's famous silk throwing machine was erected at Derby in 1719. The first experiment made in Germany was in 1598, but nothing of importance was accomplished, until Frederick the Great regenerated the silk culture, about 1744. Now, however, the knowledge of the art has extended throughout Europe, and in France it has become one of the most productive sources of wealth. That kingdom probably derives, judging from former data, one hundred and twenty-five millions of francs annually from the growth and fabrication of silk. The amount may be

larger. The business is new in our country, but it is rapidly extending itself, and promises soon to become a source of great profit.

The modus operandi in this business, from the hatching of the worm to the reeling of the silk, inclusive, is briefly as follows: The worm is hatched from a little ash-colored egg, no larger than a grain of mustard seed. From this, it attains its full growth in about thirty-two days, during which time it casts off its outer skin, generally four times, which are called moultings. The first moulting is usually about the fourth or fifth day; the second, the eighth or ninth; the third, on or about the fourteenth; and the fourth, about the twenty-second. The intermediate times before and after, and between the moultings, are called ages. At the time of each moulting, they cease eating, and remain some hours in a sort of torpid state; but between the moultings, they feed and grow very rapidly, and especially in the last age, they devour quantities of food, considering their size. Their favorite food, as before remarked, is the leaves of the mulberry, although they will eat other leaves, when very hungry.

At the end of the fifth age, they cease feeding, and begin the operation of producing silk. This operation lasts about four days, during which time they work day and night in spinning an exceedingly fine fibre, in which they wind themselves up in a ball about the form and size of a pigeon's egg, and which may be wound or reeled off in a continuous thread. These balls are called cocoons. All that remains of the worm within the cocoon is a chrysalis, which, in about twelve days, changes into a little butterfly, or, as it is commonly called, a miller, of a grayish-white color, which eats its way out of the cocoon. These butterflies are nearly equally divided into males and females. In about thirty-six hours after leaving the cocoon, the females commence laying their eggs, of which one butterfly lays about four hundred. The butterfly never eats, but dies in a few days after it has done laying. The eggs are kept in a cool place, to be hatched another season, or whenever the operation is wished to be repeated.

After the cocoons are completed, they are assorted, the soft from the hard, and the white from the yellow; the white cocoons being the most precious. Some of the best

are selected for seed for the next year. After the floss silk is collected, the next thing to be attended to is the killing of the chrysalis in the remaining cocoons which are to be sold. This may be done by exposure to a hot sun for three days, by baking them in an oven, or by steaming or scalding them. Care is taken that the heat is not so hot as to injure the silk. One or two of the cocoons are opened to ascertain whether the chrysalis is killed. When this is accomplished, and they are collected together for the purchaser, the business of the culturist ceases, and the labor of the manufacturer commences.

It would be an unprofitable job for the culturist to sit down to find the ends of the thread upon the cocoons without the aid of conveniences previously prepared. The best course for the culturist, therefore, is to stop at the completion of the cocoons, and turn them over to the manufacturer. He throws them into hot water to soften the glutinous substance which holds the fibres together, and then gathers the ends of the threads by means of a stick notched at the end. When he has gathered several fibres he commences reeling, keeping the original number of fibres the same, by adding new ones, when any of the cocoons are run off. Each silk pod consists of one single thread, exceedingly fine, the length of which varies from nine hundred to twelve hundred feet. On an average, from seven to ten pounds of cocoons give one pound of silk. After reeling, the silk is spun, and woven into stuffs. The manufacturer's machinery is very nice and ingenious, and his art requires great care and skill.

MAN.

He is
By

MAN is the first, and noblest amongst animals. the link between the brute creation and the Creator. his body, he belongs to the material world; by his soul, he partakes, in a manner, of the Divine nature. He is thus placed between heaven and earth, endowed with knowledge and capable of affection, to contemplate, to love, and to praise the God of the universe in his name, and in the name of all creatures. What esteem should he not then have for himself, and for the high functions which he is destined to fulfil in this world?

SUPERIORITY OF MAN OVER ANIMALS.

ALTHOUGH man may be ranked, on account of his body, amongst animals; still, how superior is he not to them? Not to speak of the noble appearance of his body, what power in his soul? He can rise, as it were, above himself, and contemplate the grandeur and beauties of the eternal and almighty God. The infinite attributes of the Deity, the existence and perfection of angelical beings, the moral laws by which men ought to be governed, the most secret mysteries of nature, all come within the compass of his intelligence. His heart, made to possess and enjoy the supreme good, is capable of the purest and noblest affections; and what is still more desirable, what raises him infinitely above the brute creation, is, that he is destined, if he lives in this world according to the laws which were given to him, to be admitted in a better world, there to enjoy, in the possession of his God, the sweetest pleasures, the most inexpressible delights, and this for all eternity. Have we not every reason to conclude that man is infinitely superior to animals?

CHRISTIAN MAXIMS.

It is not sufficient to be established in the solid principles of faith, you must also be settled in the maxims of morality, and of a Christian life. The greatest danger you will find in the world, is that of corrupting your mind by its false maxims, quite contrary to those of salvation. By these the judgment being blinded, it is impossible that our life should not become disorderly. "When you are come into Babylon," said the Prophet Jeremy, writing to the Jews in captivity, "you shall see gods of gold, and of silver, and of stone, and of wood, borne upon shoulders, causing fear to the Gentiles. Beware, therefore, that you imitate not the doings of others. But when you see the multitude behind and before, adoring them, say you in your hearts; Thou oughtest to be adored, O Lord.""

I say the same to you, dear children, you will see men in the world adoring idols, that is, pleasures, vanities,