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Zoems to be Remembered.

DAY:-A PASTORAL.

EVENING.

WHEN this poem was written, it was the common practice to use cattle for ploughing Now horses are generally employed. In this picture of Evening, the heifer, having drawn the plough all day, is left to roam free over the common at night; and the sun, as he sets, makes the village windows shine with his golden rays. The second verse alludes to the sunset, and asks if it is possible for the painter to paint it. The ploughman going home to his little cottage, the smoke of which is quietly ascending to the sky, sees his shadow stretching along the ground at enormous length.

nests.

'ER the heath the heifer strays

Free-(the furrowed task is done).
Now the village windows blaze,
Burnished by the setting sun.

Now he hides behind the hill,
Sinking from a golden sky :
Can the pencil's mimic skill
Copy the refulgent dye?

Trudging as the ploughmen go

(To the smoking hamlet bound), Giant-like their shadows grow,

Lengthened o'er the level ground.

The next scene the poet describes is that of the rooks returning home to their They build in high trees, and so their beds are airy. A large number of them generally live together in a grove. The lark sings in the evening as well as in early morning, and as the twilight deepens, the moon, "breaking through a parted cloud," is a beautiful sight. The owl, who is a true hermit, and cannot bear the sun, peeps out from his hole in the barn as it is getting dark, and the lake in the distance is only to be seen from the blue mist that covers it.

Where the rising forest spreads
Shelter from the lordly dome,
To their high-built airy beds,
See the rooks returning home!

As the lark with varied tune
Carols to the evening loud,
Mark the mild, resplendent moon,
Breaking thro' a parted cloud!

YOUNG SCHOLARS' COMPOSITIONS.

Now the hermit owlet peeps

From the barn or twisted brake;
And the blue mist slowly creeps,
Curling on the silver lake.

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The trout in the rivers begin to sport playfully about, and rings are seen on the surface of the water, arising from their gambols underneath. The girl, who has been milking the cow, comes tripping through the grass with her milk-pail on her head. Linnets, which have numerous notes, and the cuckoo, which has only two (cuck--o0), with their last songs bid good-bye to the setting sun.

As the trout in speckled pride,
Playful from its bosom springs,
To the banks a ruffled tide
Verges in excessive rings.

Tripping through the silken grass,
O'er the path-divided dale,
Mark the rose-complexioned lass,
With her well-poised milking-pail.

Linnets with unnumbered notes,
And the cuckoo-bird with two,

Tuning sweet their mellow throats,

Bid the setting sun adieu.

CUNNINGHAM.

Young Scholars' Compositions.

A VISIT TO THE BRADFORD EXHIBITION.

ON Friday last, October 3rd, I went with my father to the Bradford Art Treasures and Industrial Exhibition. When we got to Bradford we went round the new Town Hall. We thought it was a very nice building. Round it were the statues of the monarchs of England since the Conquest. After we had admired the Town Hall we went into the Exhibition. The first room which we went into was a machinery room- there was a printing machine, an envelope-folding machine, a frilling loom, and a cardmaking machine. Then there were some rooms with a great many pictures in. Some were painted by Sir Edwin Landseer, who died last week. Two of the best which Sir E. Landseer painted were "Laying Down the Law" and "Bolton Abbey in the Olden Times." After having seen the pictures, some of which were very large and costly, we went into a room where there was some glass-blowing going on. The man made some glass thread out of a thick piece of glass. Besides this he made rings, jugs, birds, and glass pens. They were all made very cleverly. There was some armour, pistols, and guns, which looked very rusty, and which had been used in battle. When we came out of the Exhibition we looked round

Bradford. We went into St. George's Hall, which was fitted up for an opera. We also went into the market, and round the Exchange. Then we came home, having enjoyed our holiday very much.

WILLIAM H. HATCH (aged 12).

This has been honestly done.-JAMES HATCH, Master, Range Bank School, Halifax.

A VISIT TO JUMIEGES, NEAR ROUEN.

WE left Rouen at half-past eight in the morning for the little country place of Jumieges, about twenty miles distant. We had two carriages, as there were nine of us. The country was very pretty all the way. For a long time we drove close to the river Seine. About eleven o'clock we stopped at the inn of a market village called Duclair. After ordering our luncheon we took a little walk. It was market day, and we saw a great deal of fruit in baskets ready to send to England. When we returned to the inn our luncheon was ready, and after having a very good meal we got in the carriage and drove to Jumieges. On arriving we went to the house of the gentleman with whom we had been staying at Rouen. When we had seen the house we went into the garden, which was very pretty. After we had been there some time we visited the ruins of an old abbey close by. They were very beautiful. The arch now standing is 155 feet high. The abbey itself is 1,200 years old. When we had been over the ruins we returned to the house, and had some refreshments, and went back to Rouen after spending a very pleasant day. FLORENCE (aged 11).

Icertify the above to bethework of Florence.-BLANCHE HODGSON.

Editor's Examinations.

Answers should reach the Editor by the 10th instant. They should be written on only one side of the paper, and should not contain a larger number of words than would fill one-half or three-quarters of a page of this Magazine. Each answer should be signed by the writer, and should state his age from his last birthday. Boys and girls who have completed their thirteenth year are eligible to answer the first question; boys and girls under thirteen must confine themselves to the second question. The papers written by scholars of the same age will be examined together, and the writers of the two best in each division will receive a prize. All papers should contain a certificate from the teacher of the school that they have been honestly worked. Transcription is not composition.

SUBJECTS FOR THIS MONTH.

For Seniors.-(Boys and girls of the ages of 13, 14, 15, and 16.) Write an outline of the story of Robinson Crusoe (limited to 300 words).

EDITOR'S EXAMINATIONS.

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For Juniors.—(Boys and girls of the ages of 9, 10, 11, and 12.) Write a letter to a friend, giving a description of France (limited to 200 words).

The Publisher has much pleasure in giving PRIZES to the writers of the two best answers to each question in every number. The first prize will be a book of the value of FIVE SHILLINGS; the second, a book of the value of THREE SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE. Two books of each kind will be given-four in all; but a Scholar, after taking one prize, cannot obtain another until an interval of six months has elapsed. Should his paper during that time obtain the distinction which would otherwise entitle him to a prize, it will be printed in its proper position, but the prize will be awarded to the Scholar who has written the answer next in merit.

PRIZES FOR LAST MONTH'S SUBJECTS.

A five shillings prize to W. H. SHAWCROSS, aged 15, Paddockstreet Academy, Hanley (certified by W. Shawcross, Principal); and EDWARD HURLSTONE, aged 10, Eccleshall National Schools, (certified by G. W. Hewitt, master).

A three shillings and sixpenny prize to ROBERT SMITH, aged 16, Deane School, near Bolton (certified by M. Molineux, master); and MABEL MAUGHAN, aged 10, East Kirkby, near Spilsby, Lincolnshire (certified by the Rev. G. Maughan, vicar).

The above-named Prize Essayists are desired to send to the Publisher, Mr. JOHN HEYWOOD, 141 and 143, Deansgate, Manchester, the name of any book or books, of the value referred to, which they would like to receive, and such will be forwarded, post free, within one week afterwards. The Publisher, of course, reserves to himself the right of refusing to forward any work the character of which he may think injurious; but with that single exception Prize Essayists may select any work they please. They will, doubtless, avail themselves of the advice of their parents or teachers in their selection.

A catalogue of three thousand works will be sent by the Publisher on receipt of a penny postage stamp for postage.

LIFE OF WILLIAM PITT, THE YOUNGER.

WILLIAM PITT, a younger son of the great Earl of Chatham, became Prime Minister of England at the early age of 24. Inheriting the commanding talents of his father, he had before distinguished himself as a sound orator and statesman. The affairs of India pressing on his attention, he brought into Parliament an East India Bill, which gave the Government a share in the control of that empire. Having in view the reduction of the national burdens, he established a Sinking Fund to reduce the National Debt at the rate of a million a year.

In

1785 he introduced a Reform Bill, by which the right to vote at elections would be conferred on larger numbers. This bill was unfortunately thrown out. Mr. Pitt desiring to consolidate the different parts of the monarchy, he introduced a bill for the union of the Parliaments of England and Ireland. The Churches of England and Ireland also were to be united. Twenty-eight Irish peers were to be chosen for life to sit in the House of Lords; and also one hundred members were to be chosen by the Irish electors to sit in the House of Commons. This bill was passed. It took effect from January 1st, 1801. Being unable in this year to carry a Catholic Emancipation Bill, Mr. Pitt retired from office. He was succeeded by Mr. Addington. In 1804 Mr. Pitt again took office. He died on the 23rd of January, 1806, in poverty. He had controlled the finances of Great Britain for more than twenty years, and had stood by her in her hours of deepest danger. His name will be handed down to future generations amongst the wisest and noblest of mankind.

WILLIAM HENRY SHAWCROSS (aged 15).

His own composition.-W. SHAWCROSS, Principal, Paddockstreet Academy, Hanley.

WILLIAM PITT, the second son of the great Lord Chatham, was born at Hayes, in Kent, on May 28th, 1759. At the age of 14 he went to study at Pembroke Hail, Cambridge, having previously had a very careful education at home. A short stay in France was followed by legal study, which fitted him for the bar in 1780. In 1781 he was returned as M.P. for Appleby, and he soon made his eloquence to astonish even that assembly. In 1783 he opposed the Indian Bill introduced by Mr. Fox, which proposed to place the government of India in the hands of seven directors. The bill was defeated, and in the same year Pitt was made First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Fox supported the opposition to these proceedings, but Pitt, supported by the King, was victorious, and on the dissolution of Parliament Fox's party was completely ruined. In 1798 the Income-tax was brought in by Pitt; and in 1801, differing with the King on the subject of relieving the Catholics from the heavy penalties and severe restrictions (which he upheld), he resigned his office. When the Addington Ministry broke down in 1804, Pitt was commissioned to form a new Ministry, and not to let Fox have any place in it. During this Ministry the battle of Trafalgar was fought, and as Pitt had just received the news of General Mack's surrender to Buonaparte, the news of Nelson's victory put him into his right spirits again. But the news of the battle of Austerlitz, 1805, and an attack of gout, wasted this great statesman almost to a shadow, and at Putney, January 28, 1806, he breathed his last at the age of 46.

ROBERT SMITH (aged 16).

I certify that the above composition has been honestly done by the person whose name it bears. MOSES MOLINEUX, Head Master, Deane School, near Bolton.

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