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now jumping upon his good horse. 18. The man sits at the table, and the book lies upon the table. 19. I have no hat on my head. 20. Where is the soldier going? 21. The soldiers are going to the field; they are already on the field. 22. The frog leaps into the river and swims in the river, and the goose swims in the pond. 23. I have read these words somewhere. 24. I can find my cap nowhere, although it

Why do you torment me with must be somewhere in this room.
your erudition?

Man easily believes what he

hopes, and sees easily what he wishes to see. The large house, that you see yonder, belongs to us.

Some of my friends are natives

of Dresden.

This man is a native Ameri

can.

EXERCISE 132.

4.

1. Wer sich das Göttliche will und das Höchste im Leben erfechten, scheue nicht Arbeit und Kampf (Körner). 2. Wer gewinnen will, muß wagen. 3. Dieses Buch ist mir lich; wer es stiehlt, der ist ein Dieb. Wer nichts lieben will, als sein Ebenbild, hat außer sich nichts zu lieben 5. Wer zweifelt, verzweifelt. 6. Wer gegen sein Vaterland streitet, ist ein Verräther. 7. Wer sich in Gefahr begiebt, kemmt tarin um. 8. Wer dem Unterprückten nicht beisteht, verdient auch keinen Beistand. 9. Wer fich gegen das Schicksal stemmen will, ist ein Narr. 10. Sind Sie ein zeborner Englänter over Amerikaner? 11. 3ch bin keins von beiden (Sect. XXXII. 2), ich bin ein geborner Deutscher. 12. Wer ist Ihre Freundin? 13. Sie ist eine Amerikanerin, gebürtig aus New York. 14. Woher ist Ihr Freund gebürtig? 15. Er ist aus England gebürtig. 16. In welchem Lande wurden Sie geboren? 17. Ich bin in ten Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika geboren. 18. Ich mache mich über diesen Mann lustig. 19. Sie sollten sich nicht über ihn lustig machen. 20. Er macht fich über Jedermann lustig. 21. Es giebt auch Narren, welche sich über Antere luftig machen 22. Dieser Mensch hält sich über jede Kleinigkeit auf (Sect. XXX.) 23. Es ist unflug, sich über eine unbeteutente Sache aufzuhalten oder lustig zu machen. 24. Wer zu viel anfängt, vollendet wenig. 25. Ich freue mich über meinen artigen Neffen 26. Der römische Kaiser Augustus war in Verzweiflung über die Niederlage, welche Varus von den Deutschen erlitten hatte. 27. Er hat mit mir über diesen Gegen stand gesprochen. 28. Wer aus Liebe zu Gott der Menschheit Pflichten entsagt-sigt im Finstern, und hält immer den Spiegel vor sich.

EXERCISE 133.

2.

1. He who assists the poor will receive divine assistance. He who would have entrance everywhere, must have golden keys. 3. He who fights for his country deserves distinction. 4. He who wishes to learn German, must give himself some trouble. 5. He who dies for his king, dies with glory. 6. He who commits high treason, dies mostly upon the scaffold. 7. They are born under a happy star. 8. In which country were those ladies born? 9. They were born in Italy, in the year 1795, but their mother was born in England. 10. Are these ladies natives of Germany? 11. No, they are natives of France. 12. Our music-master is a native of Italy, and was born in Florence. 13. I will do what I have promised. 14. Show me what you have found. 15. What enhances the glory of this hero, is his modesty. 16. Let us grant him what we at first refused. 17. Thou hast never told us what they have trusted you with. 18. Why do you make yourself merry at the misery of the oppressed? 19. The fruits which we saw in the garden of our neighbour were not so good as those which grew in yours.

KEY TO EXERCISES IN LESSONS IN GERMAN. EXERCISE 44 (Vol. I., page 245).

EXERCISE 45 (Vol. I., page 245).

1. Wo ist die Bildergallerie dieser Stadt? 2. Wo war dieser Herr geberen? 3. Er war in Böhmen geboren. 4 Wo wehnt Ihr Freunt, ter Schauspieler? 5. Er wohnt in der Stadt. 6. Wo geben diese Auswanterer hin? 7. Woher kommen diese Einwanterer? 8. Sie kommen von Frankreich. 9. Wo viel gegeben ist, wird viel verlangt. 10. Hier bringt nicht die Rache und der geweßte Dolch eines Verräthers;—unter den Schatten dieses Baumes kommt fein König. 11. Er wars tas Buch ver mir nieter. 12. Wohin gehst du? 13. Ich gehe zu meinem Schwager. 14. Werden diese Auswanderer nach Amerika geben? 15. Nein, sie werten hier bleiben. 16. Da (or es) ist Wasser im Teiche. 17. Woher kommt sie? 18. Sie femmt von Deutschland.

EXERCISE 46 (Vol. I., page 245).

1. The soldiers are here, and the commander-in-chief is coming hither also. 2. The enemy is already there, and our brave brothers must proceed thither. 3. When are you going to Spain ? 4. I do not mean to go there at all, but my father will travel thither next week. 5. Have you been there already? 6. No, but one of my acquaintances

was there, and will never go there again. 7. We are going upon the mountain; will you go with us ? 8. Does the Russian mean to send his servant to the town? 9. He has already sent him thither. 10. Will the troops come hither? 11. They will not come hither. 12. Where do these strangers come from? 13. They are immigrants, and come from Bohemia. 14. Is this ship from Bremen or Havre ? 15. It is neither from Bremen nor from Havre, it is from Venice. 16. Are these French immigrants going to Milwaukee? 17. A part of them are going there, the others remain in New York. 18. The immigrants to America are emigrants from Europe, and from other parts of the Old World. 19. When do you mean to go into the field? 20. I have been already in the field, and cannot go there again; but I must now soon go into the garden, because my teacher is there and wishes to see 21. Why will this Italian not speak English? 22. He would like to speak it, but he does not know it yet; he speaks only Italian only two, but I mean to learn others besides. and Spanish. 23. How many languages can you speak? 24. I speak

me.

EXERCISE 47 (Vol. I., page 245).

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1. Wann lebte er? 2. Er lebte im vierzehnten Jahrhundert. 3. Mein Freund sagte mir, er würde nie wieter dahin gehen. 4. Gehen Sie nach Spanien? 5. Nein, ich werde nicht dahin gehen. 6. Der Feltherr hat seine Truppen dahin geschickt, wo die größte Gefahr war. Schiff von Spanien orer von Havre? 8. Nein, es ist weter von Spanien, noch von Havre; es kommt von Hamburg. 9. Diese Einwanderer geben nach Milwaukee, und find Auswanderer von Böhmen und Benedig 10. Können Sie über jenes Thor springen? 11. Ich konnte es, als ich jung 12. Er bat mich, dahin zu geben, damit er mit mir darüber sprechen

war.

könne.

EXERCISE 48 (Vol. I., page 246).

1. Have you seen my friend? 2. Yes, he has gone down the street. 3. Will you go into the cabin? 4. No, I am going down below deck. 5. Are you going over to Mainz to-day by the steamboat? 6. Yes, and this evening I shall come over by the railroad over the new bridge of boats. 7. Our course is up and down. 8. The roe leapt down while the hare ran up the hill. 9. The soldiers sprang out of the barracks, as the enemy rushed into the town. 10. As the watchman stepped into the house, the terrified thief hastened down-stairs. 11. I cannot get out of the crossways of this garden. know how this bird got in? 13. Yes, but he does not know where he can get out again. 14. The young Swiss looked towards the blue mountains of his native country. 15. Are you not coming down to day? 16. Yes, if my uncle comes up, I shall go down. 17. Have you seen this man already? 18. Yes, he entered the door as I went out, 19. The friend went over the river and back again in one hour. 20 The stream falls down the rock with great roaring.

EXERCISE 49 (Vol. I., page 246).

12. Do you not

1. Der Sohn eilte hinunter, seinen Vater zu empfangen. 2. Erine Nede dauerte über zwei Stunden. 3. Das Reh frrang aus seinem Ver stecke hervor. 4. Werten Sie heute mit dem Dampfboote nach Frankfurt

1. Where is the brother-in-law ? 2. He is at the table. 3. Where is the confectioner going? 4. He is going into the bakehouse. 5. Where is his friend, the actor? 6. He is at the opera-house. 7. Where is his friend, the ropemaker, going? 8. He is going into his workshop. 9. Where is the shepherd? 10. He is on the mountain. 11. Where is the shepherd going? 12. He is going on the mountain. 13. Where is our old neighbour going? 14. He is now in the little hinübergehen? 5. Nein, ich werde mit der Eisenbahn hinübergeben, und garden, but he is going into the large garden soon. 15. His wife is in this house, but his cousin is going into that picture-gallery. Etand at the window, and you are coming to the window. 17. The knight already sits upon his good horse, and the servant also is just

mit dem Dampfboote zurückkommen. 6. Geben Sie nicht über den Kreu 16. I weg hinaus. 7. Ich sah Ihren Freund bereinkommen, als 3br beint binausging. 8. Diese Leute, welche über jene Brücke gehen, find in Gefale ihres Lebens. 9. Werten Sie heute mit Ihrem Freunde hinausgeben?

10. Von diesem Hügel können wir nach unserm Vaterlande hinübersehen. | 11. Wie ist der Dieb in Ihr Haus gekommen? 12. Eduard stürzte sich von dem Felsen hinab. 13. Ich werde diesen Morgen an Ihrem Hause vorbeikommen, und werde hineinkommen, ohne daß Sie mich bitten, solches zu thun.

EXERCISE 50 (Vol. I., page 259).

1. Will the aged soldier go to-day in the forest? 2. He will go, but he cannot to-day, because he has much to do. 3. The man servant is gone into the market to fetch meat. 4. To remain healthy, one must live orderly and temperately. 5. The woodcutter has gone into the forest to cut wood. 6. The butcher goes from one village to the other to buy oxen. 7. He goes from one village to the other, but can find no oxen. 8. What does he want with the oxen ? 9. He means to kill them; we must indeed have meat. 10. The peasant has two horses, which the brewer wishes to buy. 11. I go to the city to buy a hat or a cap. 12. He has books to read, and an exercise to write. 13. Where does your brother's friend wish to go? 14. He wishes to go nowhere, he wishes to remain with his uncle. 15. Will you go upon the high mountain? 16. I shall go there, but not to-day. 17. Can you go tomorrow into the country? 18. I can go there, but I will not. 19. When does your father want his horses back again? 20. He must have them to-morrow morning, because he wishes to drive to-morrow evening to Frankfort. 21. Why will he not ride there? 22, Because he has no good saddle-horse, and the weather is very cold.

EXERCISE 51 (Vol. I., page 259).

2.

1. Es ist heute zu kalt für ihn, um nach Frankfurt hinüberzugehen. Dort läuft der Hase über den Berg. 3. Da fährt Ihr Bruder. 4. Der Zuckerbäcker ist in die Backstube gegangen, um Brod zu backen. 5. Der Megger geht auf den Markt, um Schafe zu kaufen. 6. Ihr Kutscher hat mich schnell hierher gefahren. 7. Schen Sie jenen Mann auf dem Pferde, welches wir gestern jahen? 8. Die Soldaten reiten auf schönen Pferden. 9. Man sagt, in diesen Kutschen fährt man bequem. 10. Wir sind in Ihrem Wagen gefahren, um unsere Visiten abzustatten. 11. Übertritt nicht das Gesez. 12. Das neue Dampfboot fährt heute zum ersten Male den Fluß hinunter.

EXERCISE 52 (Vol. I., page 260).

1. This hunter has a fine dog, mine is finer, and yours is the finest of all. 2. The earth is smaller than the sun, and the stars are more distant than the moon. 3. Virgil is a more agreeable writer than Ovid. 4. The city of Canton is larger than Paris. 5. Alexander the Great had less prudence than courage. 6. We find much more copper than silver, and more iron than tin. 7. This girl prattles more than she works. 8. The air in the towns is more impure than the country air. 9. France is not so fertile as Germany. 10. This youth has not as much understanding as his brother, but neither has he as much vanity. 11. The rose is one of the finest flowers in the world. 12. Those are commonly the least proud, whose minds are the most educated. 13. The manners of those with whom we have intercourse are commonly influential upon us. 14. The benefits that we are worthy of are more agreeable to us than those we are unworthy of. 15. He is the richest man whose children are virtuous. 16. The Lord has no pleasure in those people who have no love to their brothers. 17. The apple-tree has a thick trunk, the beech has a thicker trunk, and the oak has the thickest trunk. 18. The more he has, the more he wants. Florence is finer than Parma.

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HISTORIC SKETCHES.-XXV. ADMIRAL BYNG ON THE 14TH OF MARCH, 1757.

19.

EVERY person in the fleet who, through cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shall in time of action withdraw or keep back, or not come into the fight or engagement, or shall not do his utmost to take or destroy every ship which it shall be his duty to engage every such person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of a court-martial, shall suffer death." This was the article of war upon which the life and honour of Admiral John Byng were given in charge to a naval court-martial on the 28th of December, 1756. The trial took place on board the St. George, in Portsmouth harbour, under circumstances of unusual excitement. All England was smarting under a sense of the disgrace which the conduct of the prisoner had appeared to bring upon it, and there was a universal cry for investigation. The populace were deeply imbued with the spirit which actuated all ranks, from the king downwards, and as Admiral Byng was brought to Portsmouth from Greenwich, under the escort of a strong guard, he was insulted in every town and village he passed through.

It is, happily, an event of most rare occurrence when a British

officer's courage is called in question; and it is a matter of satisfaction that in this case of Admiral Byng the personal courage of the accused was admitted to be unsullied. But the way in which he had conducted himself in the Mediterranean, when not his own honour only, but that of the kingdom also, was entrusted to his keeping, was said to have been such as greatly to tarnish the national glory. What that conduct was, and the result of it to the man most concerned, will be shown in this sketch.

In 1755 war, which had for a long time threatened, broke out between England and France and Spain. Various indecisive aotions had been fought between the ships of the several countries, and a few collisions took place between detached bodies of troops; but there were not any operations on a large scale till in the early part of 1756 the French determined on reducing the island of Minorca, which was held by General Blakeney for the British. All the previous winter they had been secretly preparing for the enterprise, though they had skilfully concealed the aim and objects of it. Indeed, until February, 1756, the British Ministers were not aware that the expedition was meant for any place in the Mediterranean, but fancied that the British possessions in North America were the destination. Convinced, however, at this time, of the actual designs of the French, the Government took steps, albeit tardily, to frustrate them.

A squadron of ten ships of the line was fitted out, and the command was given, on the 1st of April, to Admiral Byng, with instructions to proceed forthwith to Gibraltar, and to inquire there whether the French fleet from Toulon had passed the strait. If they had, he was to detach Admiral West, his second in command, with a portion of the fleet, to North America, where it was still supposed a blow would be struck. If they had not, he was "to go on without a moment's loss of time to Minorca." Failing to meet the enemy's fleet there, he was to go to Toulon, and blockade it in that port. He was also to use his utmost diligence to protect Minorca and Gibraltar.

As soon as he found what work was marked out for him, Admiral Byng complained to the Admiralty of the inadequacy of the force assigned to him. He had not a single frigate for reconnoitring or signalling purposes; the ships he had were foul, the crews weak both in number and health; and there were not any marines on board of them, that valuable arm of service having been withdrawn in order to make room for a regiment of soldiers he was to take to Minorca, and for another he was to pick up at Gibraltar. The only answer he received from the Admiralty was an order to proceed, and on the 7th of April he put to sea.

Owing to the foulness of his ships, on the sides and bottoms of which weed had so collected as to impair most materially their sailing qualities, the admiral did not reach Gibraltar till the 2nd of May, and there he found there were not enough stores to replenish his squadron, and that the governor would not part with the regiment which Byng had been instructed to take from him to Minorca. While lying in Gibraltar Bay, the ncws reached him that a fortnight before the French admiral, with a strong fleet, had appeared off Fort Mahon, Minorca, and had landed the Duc de Richelieu, with an army of 16,000 men, to besiege the place. The governor of Minorca was away (General Blakeney, eighty-two years of age, was deputygovernor), and there were many of the officers of the garrison on leave of absence; the fortress of St. Philip, though very strong, was very ill supplied; and there was not any assistance from Nature, in the shape of rugged cliffs or difficult beaches, to defend the place. General Blakeney did his best to prepare for the siege, with his 3,000 men against 16,000 of the enemy. Under these circumstances Admiral Byng's instructions "to go on without a moment's loss of time to Minorca" should unquestionably have been acted on to the very letter, yet the admiral waited in Gibraltar Bay till the 8th of May, and did not sight Minorca till the 19th.

Though the British flag was still flying from the citadel of Port Mahon, the place was closely invested. The Duc de Richelieu was pressing the siege with all his power, and M. de la Galissonière, the French admiral, was cruising off the island with a fleet about equal in strength to the British admiral's. General Blakeney had sunk some vessels at the mouth of the harbour to prevent the French fleet getting in, and so succeeded in relieving himself from the fire of the ship's guns; but by

this act he also closed the harbour against succours, at least until the French fleet should be driven away. To drive it away was the manifest business of the British admiral, and on the morning of the 20th of May, the day after his arrival, Byng gave the signal to bear down and engage the enemy. The number of ships was equal on both sides, though the French had twentyfour guns more than the British; but in point of numbers of men, the French exceeded their opponents by nearly 3,000. Still there was no reason why the battle should not take place, and accordingly, in obedience to orders from the commander-inchief, Admiral West began the action by falling on to the French ships immediately opposed to his division. Soon after two o'clock in the afternoon, by which time West had driven one of the French ships out of line, Byng's division was about to come into action, when a series of accidents conspired to embarrass the commander, who did not prove himself superior to them. The Intrepid, of West's division, had so much of her rigging shot away, that she became unmanageable, and drifted foul of some of the other ships. Byng's line was thrown into confusion, and his own ship, the Ramillies, was obliged, in consequence, to bring up.

M. de la Galissonière took advantage of the circumstances to discontinue the fight, and Byng believing, as he asserted afterwards, that the French fleet would renew the fight next morning, ordered his ships to lie to, in order to repair the Intrepid, Captain, and Defiance, which had been so mauled as to incapacitate them for further service until they had been repaired. Next morning at daybreak, the French fleet not appearing, he called a council of war, and took their opinion as to whether he should follow the French fleet and bring it again to action, or whether he should leave Minorca to its fate, and go to the protection of Gibraltar, which might be, though it was not, threatened. For reasons which it is difficult to trace even now, the council was unanimous in recommending that Minorca, which the admiral had been sent out specially to protect, should be abandoned, and that Gibraltar should be the admiral's care. There seems to have been an idea that, do what they could, the citadel of St. Philip could not be delivered from the numerous enemy which was besieging it; and it does not seem to have been considered that if the French fleet could have been defeated, succours might have been thrown into the place, and that the French, blockaded on the sea-side, would have been placed between two fires, and the besiegers turned into the besieged. In an evil hour Admiral Byng acted on the advice of his council of war, and gave orders for the fleet to proceed to Gibraltar. On his arrival there, on the 19th of June, he found five ships of the line awaiting his orders, having been sent out by the Admiralty to counterbalance a reinforcement which it was understood was about to join M. de la Galissonière from Toulon. With this unexpected addition to his strength, he resolved to go back to Minorca, find out the French fleet, and try to execute his original instructions. But he delayed his departure, possibly unavoidably, but the delay was fatal to Port Mahon. Notwithstanding the odds against him, which included not only the army of the Duc de Richelieu but the returned French fleet with reinforcements under M. de la Galissonière, General Blakeney refused to take the same desperate view of his position as had been taken by Admiral Byng; and he held out for more than five weeks after the departure of the fleet. Even his enemies, though annoyed by his resistance, admired it; and when, towards the end of June, he found no succour coming, and that the garrison were much straitened for stores and weakened through sickness, he proposed to capitulate, the French granted him terms that were honourable to both sides alike. On the 29th of June Minorca was surrendered to the Duc de Richelieu, and on the 3rd of July, when Admiral Byng was thinking of starting from Gibraltar to relieve it, he was surprised by the arrival of Admirals Hawke and Saunders to supersede him and Admiral West in the command of the Mediterranean fleet.

A distinction was made between the cases of the two admirals even before they reached England, and when they did arrive, Admiral West was looked upon as the man who, by his conduct on the 20th of May, had saved the national honour from irredeemable disgrace. He was graciously received, and at the request of the king another command was given to him. Admiral Byng, however, was at once arrested, and the Ministers, against whose incapacity and sheer mismanagement the

popular voice had long exclaimed, determined to let him be the scapegoat for the popular fury. There was a cry for blood, the king, whose one virtue was courage, and who cordially hated the bare appearance of cowardice, being among the most violent in urging the demand. It was resolved to bring the admiral to trial before a court-martial; and there was, it is to be feared, a strong predetermination to show no mercy in the event of the prisoner being found guilty.

The trial began on the 28th of December, 1756, and lasted many days, and then the members of the court came to a resolution that Admiral Byng had not done his utmost to relieve the citadel of St. Philip, and that he fell under part of the twelfth article of the existing articles of war.* As that article prescribed death as the only punishment for breach of any of the rules laid down therein, and left not any discretionary power to the court to moderate the punishment according to the circumstances of the case, the court had no choice but to pass sentence of death. That sentence was accordingly given, and the prisoner was condemned to be shot to death at such time, and on board of such ship as the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty should please to direct. It appeared, however, upon the evidence of those who had the fullest opportunity of judging-the evidence of officers and men, who had stood close to the admiral during the action on the 20th of May-that there was no imputation whatever upon his personal courage or coolness, that he gave his orders easily, and that he made no effort to screen himself from the enemy's fire. From other circumstances it also appeared that what had happened could not be attributed to personal cowardice or disaffection; and it was only on condition of a unanimous recommenda tion to mercy, that the minority in the court agreed to find a verdict of guilty on the charges. The court found specially that the admiral was not guilty of cowardice or disaffection, and as to the negligence charged, they wrote to the Admiralty as follows:-" We cannot help laying the distresses of our minds before your lordships on this occasion, in finding our selves under necessity of condemning a man to death, from the great severity of the twelfth article of war, part of which he falls under, which admits of no mitigation if the crime should be committed by an error in judgment; and therefore, for our own consciences' sake, as well as in justice to the prisoner, we pray your lordships in the most earnest manner to recommend him to His Majesty's clemency."

Nothing could have been stronger than this. The papers were forwarded to the king, but without any recommendation from the Admiralty. Viscount Torrington, the prisoner's kinsman, petitioned the king for mercy, and several of the Cabinet Ministers advised to the same end. The people had grown calmer, and on further reflection deemed that the Govern ment which had sent the admiral away with an insufficient force was more to blame than the admiral, and the cry for Byng's blood was considerably lessened-indeed, it began to be thought by many that the admiral was an ill-used man. The king, however, was inexorable; he would not be moved by petitions, recommendations, or anything else; he consented to refer to the twelve judges the question, whether on technical grounds the sentence was legal; and having obtained an answer in the affirmative, nothing would induce him to spare Byng's life.

It seems that Byng had, until a day or so before the close of his trial, entertained the conviction that he would be acquitted. Conscious of his own innocence, he felt persuaded his judges would end by also thinking him innocent, and he expressed considerable surprise when a friend informed him of the sentence he might expect. Even after his condemnation he seems to have believed his life would be spared, and this belief was shared by almost every one else except the king and those who were bent on screening the Government at the expense of the individual. But a warrant was sent down to Portsmouth from the Admiralty (Admiral Forbes, one of the commissioners. refused to sign it), ordering Byng's execution for the 28th of February, and then the terrible earnestness of the prosecu tion was made manifest. Even then, however, efforts were

This article was modified in the time of George III., so as to admit of a less punishment for negligence, or error in judgment; and by the present articles of war, an officer, convicted as Admiral Byng was, would be dismissed the service with disgrace.

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The annexed engraving of the Jacaranda mimosifolia, or mimosa-leaved jacaranda, a Brazilian plant (Fig. 194), illustrates the general aspect and bearing of members belonging to this natural order.

Individuals of this family belong exclusively to the tropics. Many species of Bignoniacea furnish useful principles. The wood of some and the flexible branches are applied by the American Indians to many useful purposes. The catalpa of North America (Catalpa syringifolia) and the catalpa of the West Indies (Catalpa longissima) are members of the natural order Bignoniaceae. The wood of the former is as hard as oak, and possesses the good quality of not becoming subject to the attacks of worms. The Bignonia chica is a climbing plant, which affords a red dye, called chica or carajura, used by the Indian tribes that live along the banks of the Orinoco for staining the handles of their weapons and for painting their bodies.

made to save him by the exertions of friendly members in ligneous vegetables, frequently climbers or creepers, having their place in Parliament; but the only result of their inter- opposite and stipulate leaves; flowers complete, usually irreposition was to prolong the admiral's life till the 14th of March.gular; calyx monosepalous, quinquepartite, bilabiate, or bipartite; On that day the boats of the fleet at Spithead were ordered corolla, a short tube terminating in a large throat; limb ordito surround the Monarch, the third-rate in which, since his narily bilabiate, imbricated in æstivation; stamens alternate condemnation, Admiral Byng had remained in custody of the with the divisions of the corolla, rarely five in number, ordiAdmiralty marshal. All captains and certain other officers narily four. were required to witness the deed which was to be done, and at noon all things were ready. Shortly before that time, the prisoner, whose demeanour had been invariably dignified and composed, asked the marshal to take charge of a paper he had written, containing comments upon his trial, and on the circumstances under which he had acted at Minorca. Happy for me," he wrote, "at this, my last moment, that I know my own innocence, and am conscious that no part of my country's misfortunes can be owing to me. I heartily wish the shedding of my blood may contribute to the happiness and service of my country, but cannot resign my just claim to a faithful discharge of my duty according to the best of my judgment, and the utmost exertion of my ability for His Majesty's honour and my country's service. I am sorry that my endeavours were not attended with more success, and that the armament under my command proved too weak to succeed in an expedition of such moment. Truth has prevailed over calumny and falsehood, and justice has wiped off the ignominious stain of my supposed want of personal courage, and the charge of disaffection. My heart acquits me of these crimes; but who can be presumptuously sure of his own judgment ? If my crime is an error in judgment, or differing in opinion from my judges, and if yet the error in judgment should be on their side, God forgive them, as I do; and may the distress of their minds, and uneasiness of their consciences, which in justice to me they have represented, be relieved and subsided as my resentment has done. The Supreme Judge sees all hearts and motives, and to him I must submit the justice of my cause.' Having delivered this paper, Admiral Byng walked out from his cabin on to the quarter-deck, where the marines who were to kill him were already drawn up. He had resolved not to have his eyes bandaged; but the entreaties of his friends, who feared lest his looks should intimidate the soldiers, prevailed, and he suffered a handkerchief to be bound round his brows. In three minutes from the time of quitting his cabin, John Byng was placed in his coffin, having fallen instantaneously dead, with five bullets in his body.

Thus perished Admiral Byng, whose reputation has been cleared by posterity of the blemish which malice and interested hatred were so busy in casting upon it. His body was not cold before people began to cry out that he had been murdered, and the cruel persistency of the king in carrying out the sentence of death caused Byng to be raised in the popular estimation to a height of favour he scarcely deserved. The means by which the Government sought to hide their own defects, by the sacrifice of one man, recoiled on their own heads, and the ghost of Byng, like that of Banquo, haunted them terrifically at their feasts. The sacrifice they offered up did not propitiate the national resentment, but whetted it the rather; and those whose incompetency and mismanagement had brought so many disgraces, including the loss of Minorca, upon the nation, were driven from power. But amid the blaze of glory, which the genius of Pitt and his friends shed around the latter years of George II., people did not forget-and it was well they should not forget -the disgraceful seal which was put to the former years of national disgrace, by the execution, on the 14th of March, 1757, of Admiral Byng, on board the Monarch, in Portsmouth harbour.

LESSONS IN BOTANY.—XXV. SECTION XLIX.—BIGNONIACEÆ, OR BIGNONIADS. Characteristics.-Calyx free; corolla hypogynous, monopetalous, usually irregular; stamens inserted upon the tube of the corolla; ovary one, or two, or four celled; fruit capsular, valves separated by seed-bearing dissepiments, rarely placentiferous; seeds usually horizontal and winged; seed dicotyledonous; embryo straight.

The Bignoniaceae derive their name from the genus Bignonia or trumpet-flower, dedicated to the Abbé Bignon, librarian to Louis XIV., and a great promoter of botany. They are generally

SECTION L.-PEDALIACEÆ, OR PEDALIADS. Characteristics.-These plants are generally herbaceous, hairy, sometimes viscous; the leaves are simple and without stipules; flowers complete, irregular, axillary; calyx five-partite; corolla bilabiate, imbricated in æstivation; stamens included in the tube of the corolla; ovary furnished at its base with a glandular disc, and composed of two or four carpels, forming by their different degrees of introflexion either two, four, or eight cells; the ovules are reflexed; style simple, terminal; stigma bilaminated; fruit dry or fleshy, sometimes horny at the summit by the desiccation of the carpels.

The species of this natural order are not very numerous, and are dispersed over tropical regions. The Pedalium murex, an Indian plant, diffuses an odour of musk, and when agitated with water, causes the latter to become viscous like the white of egg. The genus Martynia, an example of which, the Martynia proboscidea or proboscis-like Martynia, is given in Fig. 195, furnishes many species, all of which are annuals, bearing flowers like those of the foxglove in general aspect.

SECTION LI.—ACANTHACEÆ, OR ACANTHADS. Characteristics: Calyx free; corolla hypogynous, monopetalous; stamens inserted upon the tube of the corolla, four didynamous or sometimes two; ovary bilocular; capsule loculicidal and bivalvular; seed dicotyledonous or albuminous; radicle inferior and centripetal.

The Acanthaceae are herbaceous or ligneous plants, with branching, knotty articulated stems; leaves opposite or verticillate, simple, and devoid of stipules; flowers complete, rarely solitary, each accompanied with a bract and two bracteoles; calyx four to five partite, sometimes truncated; the corolla is ordinary bilabiate, contorted in æstivation; ovules curved; style simple, terminal; stigma ordinarily bifid; embryo usually curved; cotyledons large and orbicular.

The greater number of the Acanthus order are natives of the tropics; but a few, and that one which is the most celebrated, are indigenous to Italy, Greece, and other Mediterranean It is the Acanthus mollis, or soft acanthus, a repreregions. sentation of which is given in Fig. 196.

The picturesque beauty of the leaves of this species arrested the attention of the painters, sculptors, and architects of antiquity. The capitals surmounting the columns of the Corinthian order are formed on the general basis of an acanthus leaf. Virgil alludes to the beauty of the acanthus leaf in his third eclogue, in which he makes his shepherd praise two goblets carved in wood for him by Alcimedon, and the handles of which were ornamented with acanthus leaves :

Et nobis idem Alcimedon duo pocula fecit, Et molli circum est ansas amplexus acantho." SECTION LII.-SELAGINACEE, OR SELAGIDS. Characteristics: Calyx free; corolla hypogynous, monopetalous, sub-regular, or one or two lipped; stamens two or four, inserted upon the tube of the corolla; achania two; szed

inverted, dicotyledonous; embryo straight, corresponding with the axis of fleshy albumen; radicle superior.

The Selaginaceae, so named after the genus Selago, are all low shrubs, rarely herbs, having alternate or fasciculated leaves, simple and without stipules; their flowers are complete and generally irregular, either disposed in a corymb or a spike; calyx persistent, tubular, or spathose; corolla with four or five divisions, imbricated in aestivation; the anthers are unilocular; the ovary is composed of two uniovulate cells; ovules pendent, reflexed. All the Selaginaceae inhabit the Cape of Good Hope. This family does not possess marked properties, nevertheless many species are odorous. The Hebenstreitia dentata, cultivated in our gardens, is a shrub about two feet high, with pinnatifid leaves in the lower, dentated leaves in the upper part of the plant. The flowers have a tubular corolla, one single lip, marked with a roseate purple spot; the flowers are inodorous in the morning, but strong and disagreeable at mid-day, whilst in the evening they exhale a delicious perfume. The Selago spuria has small oblong leaves and light-blue flowers.

The stem of the Selago Gillii is flower-bearing and branched, having its flowers, which are of a pale rose-colour, disposed in the form of a loose spikelet. A representation of

SECTION LIII.-UTRICULARIE. Characteristics: Calyx free; corolla hypogynous, monopetalous, irregular; stamens two, inserted upon the tube of the corolla; fruit capsular; placenta parietal, free; seeds numerous, exalbuminous; radicle straight; all aquatic herbs. The Utricularia derive their name from their principal genus

Utricularia, which is so called from the presence of abundant aerial vesicles distributed over the surface of their subaqueous leaves. These utriculi are rounded in shape and furnished with a kind of movable aperture. Whilst the plant is young these little biadders are filled with mucus a little heavier than water, which, acting as a weight, cause the plant to descend to the bottom of the water. As the period of flowering arrives, the utriculi secrete a gas which fills them, makes them specifically lighter, and thus, by lessening the specific gravity of the leaves, causes them to rise to the water's surface. No sooner has the period of flowering terminated, than the vesicles begin once more to secrete the heavy mucous fluid, and the leaves again sinking, the plant arrives at its original situation, and deposits its seeds in the subaqueous mud, there to remain until they germinate and produce young plants.

This family is distributed over the entire world, although chiefly found in tropical regions of the old continents.

[graphic]

SECT. LIV.PLANTAGI NACEE, OR RIBWORTS. Characteris tics: Calyx free; corolla

hypogynous, monopetalous;

stamens inserted upon the corolla or upon the receptacle alternate with the petals; ovary one or two celled, uni- or multi-ovulate; fruit one or many seeded; seed dicotyle donous; embryo straight or but slightly curved in the axis of a fleshy albumen; ra dicle inferior. The plan tains are perennials, generally herbaceous; leaves sometimes radical, sometimes cauline, simple, without stipules; flowers complete, sometimes moncecious, arranged sometimes in the form of a spike, sometimes solitary, or almost The Globularia are inhabitants of temperate Europe. The solitary; calyx monosepalous, persistent, with four divisions, bitter leaves of certain species are employed in medicine. The the divisions almost equal with each other; corolla tubular Globularia Alypum (Fig. 198) was formerly denominated Frutex terribilis, in consequence of the belief that it was violently drastic. Its leaves are the "wild senna" of Germany, and are Fuently used to adulterate the genuine senna.

194. MIMOSA-LEAVED JACARANDA (JACARANDA MIMOSIFOLIA). 195. PROBOSCIS-LIKE MARTYNIA (MARTYNIA
PROBOSCIDEA). 196. SOFT ACANTHUS (ACANTHUS MOLLIS).

ovary unilocular, uniovulate, pendent, reflexed; the caryopsis
is enveloped by the calyx, sharply pointed at the persistent base
of the style.

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