the pump.

of the guns brought aft, that the water might run to This being done, and the guns placed where the English could use them for their own purpose, the final arrangement was made. The ship having three decks, those that belonged to the gunnerroom were all to be there, and break up the lower deck. The English slaves, who belonged to the middle deck, were to do the same with that, and watch the scuttles. Rawlins himself prevailed with the gunner to give him as much powder as would prime the guns, and told them all there was no better watchword than, when the signal gun was heard, to cry: "For God, and King James, and Saint George for England".

Then, all being prepared, and every man resolute, knowing what he had to do, Rawlins advised the gunner to speak to the captain, that he might send the soldiers to the poop, to bring the ship aft, and, weighing it down, send the water to the pumps. This the captain was very willing to do; and so at two o'clock in the afternoon the signal was given, by the firing of the gun, whose report tore and broke down all the binnacle and compasses.

But when the Turks heard this, and the shouts of the conspirators, and saw that part of the ship was torn away, and felt it shake under them, and knew that all threatened their destruction-no bear robbed of her whelps was ever so mad as they, for they not only called us dogs, and cried in their tongue "The fortune of war! the fortune of war!" but they tried to tear up the planking, setting to work hammers, hatchets, knives, the oars of the boat, the boat hook, and whatever else came to hand, besides the stones and bricks of the

cook-room, still trying to break the hatches, and never ceasing their horrible cries and threats.

Then Rawlins, seeing them so violent, and understanding that the slaves had cleared the decks of all the

Turks and Moors underneath, began to shoot at them through different holes, with their own muskets, and so lessened their number. At this they cried for the pilot, and so Rawlins, with some to guard him, went to

them, and understood by their kneeling that they cried for mercy and begged to come down. This they were bidden to do, but coming down one by one, they were taken and slain with their own swords. And the rest perceiving this, some of them leapt into the water, still crying" The fortune of war!" till the decks were well cleared, and the victory assured.

At the first report of the gun, and the hurly-burly on deck, the captain was writing in his cabin, and he came out with his sword in hand, thinking by his authority to quell the mischief. But when he saw that the ship was surprised, he threw down his sword and begged Rawlins to save his life, telling him how he had redeemed him from Villa Rise, and put him in command in the ship, besides treating him well through the voyage. This Rawlins confessed, and at last consented to be merciful, and brought the captain and five more renegades into England.

When all was done, and the ship cleared of the dead bodies, John Rawlins assembled his men, and with one consent gave the praise to God, using the accustomed services on shipboard. Then did they sing a psalm, and, last of all, embraced one another for playing the men in such a deliverance, whereby their fear was turned into joy. That same night they steered for England, and arrived at Plymouth on the 13th of February, and were welcomed with all gladness.

From "The True Story Book," edited by ANDREW LANG.

COMPOSITION.-Give a clear account of how John Rawlins regained his liberty.

LESSON 34.

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON.

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON was born in 1709 in Lichfield, where his father was a bookseller, fairly prosperous at that time, but he became poor as his son grew towards manhood. From his birth Samuel was a sickly child. He grew up to be a sturdy man, but was troubled all his life with dimness of sight, and with innumerable ailments which made life a burden to him. strange unconscious

gesticulations were the wonder and amusement of those

who saw him.

"Once he collected a laughing mob in Twickenham meadows by his antics: his hands imitating the motions of a jockey riding at full speed, and his feet twisting in and out to

make heels and

DR. JOHNSON.

His

toes touch alternately. He presently sat down and took out a book, over which he seesawed so violently that the mob ran back to see what was the matter."

He was a scholar at Lichfield Grammar School till he was sixteen, and then for two years he was at home and gathered knowledge from the folios in his father's shop. Then for three years he was at Oxford, but left

without a degree, and he appears to have gained little instruction there. But he loved to revisit Oxford, and in later years he accepted with pleasure and pride the degree which the university conferred upon him.

After leaving Oxford Johnson made several ineffectual attempts to gain a livelihood by teaching, and in 1737 he came to London, with a tragedy in his pocket.

His life in London was for some time a strenuous and almost hopeless fight with misery and want. We are told that in later and happier years-when Dr. Johnson one day read his own satire, in which the life of a scholar is painted, with the various obstructions thrown in his way to fortune and to fame,-he burst into a passion of tears.

In 1750 he started the Rambler, a periodical like the Spectator, published three times a week, and it ran for three years. It gave Johnson a great reputation, but it yields little pleasure now in comparison with the Tatler and the Spectator.

When his wife died, Johnson was labouring at his Dictionary. This gigantic task was finished in 1755, and the famous letter to Lord Chesterfield was written, which is so often quoted, and which is really one of Johnson's finest prose pieces.

A few years later his mother died at a very great age. Johnson could not afford to go to Lichfield, but he raised the money for the funeral expenses by writing his story of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia.

In 1762 he received from the bounty of the new king, George III., a pension of £300 a year, and his struggles with want were ended. He was able to indulge his feelings of pity for the poor and wretched, and he spent upon them full two-thirds of his income.