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THERE was a poor widow who lived in a cot,
She scarcely a blanket to warm her had got;
Her windows were broken, her walls were all bare,
And the cold winter-wind often whistled in there.

Poor Susan was old, and too feeble to spin,
Her forehead was wrinkled, her hands they were thin;
And bread she'd have wanted, as many have done,
If she had not been blessed with a good little son.

But he loved her well, like a dutiful lad,
And thought her the very best friend that he had;
And now to neglect or forsake her, he knew
Was the most wicked thing he could possibly do.

For he was quite healthy, and active, and stout,
While his poor mother hardly could hobble about,
And he thought it his duty, and greatest delight,
To work for her living from morning to night.
So he started each morning as gay as a lark,
And worked all day long in the fields till 'twas dark:
Then came home again to his dear mother's cot,
And cheerfully gave her the wages he got.

And oh, how she loved him! how great was her joy!
To think her dear Jem was a dutiful boy:

Her arm round his neck she would tenderly cast,
And kiss his red cheek, while the tears trickled fast.

Oh, then, was not little Jem happier far,
Than naughty, and idle, and wicked boys are?
For as long as he lived, 'twas his comfort and joy,
To think he'd not been an undutiful boy.

JANE TAYLOR,

A JOURNAL OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE FAMILY AND THE SCHOOL.

4th Week.

MONDAY.

Moral Biography.

INDUSTRY.

THE MAN WHO MADE A STEAM-ENGINE-(Continued).

P. You could not understand all that Watt did to his model of the steam-engine, unless I could show it to you and explain it. Other improvements were soon added. The most striking was that of the separate condenser; the next was what was called the condenser pump. It is said that from these two inventions the gain was enormous; for " 'one pound of coal was made to do as much work as five pounds in Newcomen's engine."

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Further improvements were soon made. Notwithstanding the former alterations, Newcomen's engine was not really a steamengine. Indeed, it was called the atmospheric engine, and that was its proper name, for the atmosphere (as it pressed upon the piston") was the real moving power. Watt soon made the steam to work better than the air, by forming a closed cylinder. This caused the steam to force up the "piston," and made it a STEAMENGINE. He made another improvement in order to save the coals, by shutting up the cylinder in a wooden jacket, or drum, while he smeared the piston with wax, tallow, and oil, to make it air-tight.

He

All these improvements were made by Watt in two years, and during his leisure hours. I need not stop to tell you what the public said. continued his improvements, and in the course of twenty years he had rendered his engine applicable to all manner of purposes. He invented the parallel-motion, the double-acting engine, and many new features which you cannot understand; until at last he was able to make a bushel of coals perform the labour of twenty men working for ten hours. Thus a man's daily work was performed at the cost of a halfpenny.

Watt was not content yet. Wherever there was a chance of making an improvement, the improvement was made. Indeed, it is said he thought of nearly everything that has yet been invented in the steamengine. He increased its regularity; he added an exquisitely ingenious apparatus called the governor, and improved, and improved, and improved, until, as it is said, "that which he had found a clumsy, weak, and boisterous apparatus, only applicable for the draining of mines, he converted into a machine, compact,

calm, and regular; powerful as an earthquake, yet docile as a child; and useful for almost every process of manufacture or art."

But it is little to what it has done itself. It is said that

"To express by any ordinary terms in our language the advantages of Watt's improvements of the steam-engine would be altogether impossible.

It is hardly worth while to tell you of the good which Watt gained for himself by "The steam-power at present this invention. It was a very employed in Great Britain and Iregreat good to say, "I invented land is equal to about 8,000,000 of the steam-engine!" It was men's power, or 1,600,000 horsein itself enough to make his power. It is calculated that a horse heart glad. Could he not think requires eight times the quantity of the good which would be of soil for producing food that gained to his country? of the a human being does; if, therefore, help it would be to his fellow-horse-power were made to supermen? to the manufacturer for 1,600,000 horses would require sede steam-power, additional food of goods; to the wearers of to be raised, which would be equal the goods; to those who dig to the food of 12,800,000 men. under the earth; to those who fly over its surface? Conld he not count up the many wonderful ways in which his powerful engine would be useful? and was not the thought of these things more delightful than the thought of money?

Oh, how much is an idea worth! Think, Willie, when you go to school, that you may get all the ideas you can. How much did the ideas which James Watt had when he was a boy, tell upon the world! And he saw and was glad. He saw an immense impulse given to the business of mining; he constantly saw new mines opened. Old mines which did not answer before were reopened and worked with success. He saw perhaps thousands of people getting work and earning their daily bread, and owing it all to his ideas. Thousands? Ah! the steamengine has employed even tens of thousands.

"It is in consequence of the improved mechanical arrangements, and employment of inanimate forces in Great Britain, that this comparatively small country is enabled to manufacture goods cheaper, and with greater profit, than can be done by the largest and most populous countries, in which mechanism is imperfect, and labour performed exclusively by living agents.

"Thus are we taught that KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.'

But Watt was not left without riches. After taking a partner in business who failed, he was joined by Mr. Matthew Boulton, a rich iron-founder of Birmingham. The partners improved the engines of the various mines, only asking in return a third of the coal saved by each engine. In one engine this amounted to £2,500 per annum, so that every year coal to the value of £7,500 was saved from that engine alone.

Thus from the owners of the hundreds of engines in the

various mines a vast stream of wealth flowed in; and although the partners had at first spent £47,000 without seeing any money in return, and other men had tried to deprive them of their rights, both men became immensely rich.

Mr. Watt thus gained not only pleasure and riches, but honours. All men honoured him, for his talents forced them to do so. When he was a boy he learned to look into things; but how much had he done so when he was a man! With his astonishing memory, he seemed to know everything; and when, as an old man, he left his business to his sons, then the men of learning and science gathered around him to listen to the voice of his old age.

All men also loved him; they loved him as one of the best and kindest of human beings. They admired his unassuming manners; they liked his quiet grave humour, and his pleasant jokes and anecdotes. It is said that whatever was the topic of conversation, if he took it up, they were astonished by the treasures of knowledge which he drew from the mine they had thus opened. He could teach them new ideas in chemistry; he was also learned in antiquity, metaphyics, medicine, and etymology. He had studied modern languages and literature, German logic, and German poetry. He allowed his mind, like a great cyclopedia, "to be opened at any

letter his friends might choose to turn up."

a

Who would not honour such

man? His remarkable powers were preserved even to the day of his death. He lived till his 84th year, when he saw death coming, and calmly waited for it. He thanked his Heavenly Father for having been allowed to spend so many days on this earth, and that he had been able to employ them usefully. God had intrusted him with more than "ten talents," and they had all done service for his fellow-creatures.

The world did not forget James Watt when he died; neither will they forget him. By public subscription a statue was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey; and on it an inscription by the great Lord Brougham was written. A statue was erected over his burial-place in the parish church of Handsworth, near Birmingham; another in his birth-place, at Greenock; another in Glasgow, the place where he lived and worked.

Statues of James Watt will never be wanting. As long as giant steam-engines, full of power and motion, encompass the carth, bringing the ends of the earth together, so that men know and love each other more; each will tell you to honour James Watt. Each strong giant may remind you, "I was made by a thinking man, who lookea into things.""

Would not you like, Willie, to copy that man?

CHAPTER II.

THE PARTS OF A PLANT.

P. WE have spoken of the plant as a whole; now let us describe its organs, or parts.

we will begin by examining the ROOT.

THE ROOT.

W. I observe that it is the lowest part of the plant.

I may as well tell you here that the whole vegetable kingdom may be arranged into two divisions. 1st, The FLOWER- Ion. Secondly, it grows in a ING PLANTS (Phanerogamia); downward direction. (The stem 2ndly, The FLOWERLESS- of the plant grows up in the air, PLANTS (Cryptogamia). These towards the light; and the latter have no flowers, neither root grows downwards-in the are there the organs of repro-earth-from the light.) duction, the "seeds;" the new L. Thirdly, the root has plants are produced by minute | branches like the stem. You particles called spores. In your see that each branch becomes lessons from the Great Exhibi- smaller, until, at last, they are tion,* when we talked of the only mere fibres. vegetable food in frigid countries, you heard of these plants.

Ion. Yes; I remember them -they are the Lichens, Mosses, Sea-weeds, and Ferns.

P. True; these flowerless plants are the lowest kinds of vegetable, and are found in the frigid countries, while the flowering plants (and the most beautiful flowers) are found in the warm tropics. Our lessons on botany will only relate to the flowering plants.

Here is one. Look at it, and tell me the different parts you

observe.

Ion, This is a Buttercup, papa! I notice that it has a root, a stem, leaves, and a flower, and I suppose it has some seed!

P. Yes. You have mentioned the five principal parts;

"Fireside Facts from the Great Exhibition."

Ion. What a multitude of small fibres there are, Lucy! How do they end?

P. Bring the root to me. The ends of these fibres are perhaps the most important organs in the plant, for they are its mouths. I will put one or two into the microscope, that you may see them. Now look!

Ion. I can see, nicely. Just notice, Lucy! At the end of each fibre there are a number of very small pores, just like the pores of a sponge.

I will

P. That is the case. give you the names of these parts. The small fibres are called rootlets, and these spongelike organs are called spongioles.

Now that you have noticed the parts of the organ, I will tell you its functions. The spongioles are used to absorb the water from the earth. Thus,

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