Robert Schomburgk," "when we saw to the south-east high columns of smoke ascending to the skies-the sure signs of a savanna fire; and at the same time the Indians anxiously pressed us to speed on, as the burning torrent would most likely roll in our direction. "We could already distinguish the flames of the advancing column, already hear the bursting and crackling of the reeds, when, fortunately, the sharp eye of the Indians discovered some small eminences before us, only sparingly covered with a low vegetation, and to these we now careered as if Death himself were behind us. Half a minute later and I should not have lived to relate our adventures. With beating hearts we saw the sea of fire rolling its 'devouring billows towards us: the suffocating smoke, beating on our faces, forced us to turn our backs upon the advancing conflagration, and to await the dreadful decision with the resignation of helpless despair. Two arms of "And now we were in the midst of the blaze. fire encircled the base of the little hillock on which we stood, and united before us in a waving mass, which, rolling onwards, travelled further and further from our gaze. The flames had devoured the short grass of the hillock, but had not found sufficient nourishment for our destruction. Soon the deafening noise of the conflagration ceased, and the dense black clouds in the distance were the only signs that the fire was still proceeding on its devastating path over the wide wastes of the savanna." At length, after a long drought, when all nature seems about to expire from the want of moisture, various signs announce the approach of the rainy season. The sky, instead of its brilliant blue, assumes a leaden tint, from the vapours which are beginning to condense. Like distant mountain-chains, banks of clouds begin to rise over the horizon, and, forming in masses of increasing density, ascend higher and higher, until at length the sudden lightnings flash from their dark bosom, and with the loud crash of thunder the first rains burst in torrents over the thirsty land. Scarcely have the showers had time to moisten the earth,* when the dormant powers of vegetation begin to awaken with an almost miraculous 'rapidity. The dull, tawny surface of the parched savanna changes, as if by magic, into a carpet of the most lively green, enamelled with thousands of flowers of every colour. And now, also, the animal life of the savanna awakens to the full enjoyment of existence. The horse and the ox rejoice in the grasses, under whose covert the jaguar9 frequently lurks to pounce upon them with his fatal spring. On the border of the swamps, the moist clay, slowly heaving, bursts asunder, and from the tomb in which he lay embedded rises a gigantic watersnake or huge crocodile. The new-formed pools and lakes swarm with life, and a host of water-fowl,-i'bises, cranes, flamiñ'goes,—make their арpearance to regale on the abundant banquet. A new creation of insects and other unbidden guests now seek the wretched hovels of the Indians. Worms and vermin of all names and forms emerge from the 'inundated plain; for the tropical rains have gradually converted the savanna, which erewhile exhibited a waste as dreary as that of the Sahara, into a boundless lake. HARTWIG AND SCHOMBURGK. adʼmirable, wonderful. announce', in'timate. banquet, feast. cau'tiously, care'fully. den'sity, bulk; thickness. devastating, destroy'ing. devour'ing, ravaging. em'inences, eleva'tions. exhaust'ed, worn-out. able. inter minable, end'less. monotonous, tire'some. nour'ished, support'ed. pen'etrated, made way. protection, covering. rapid'ity, speed; celer'ity. stagna tion, dead'ness. surpass'es, excels'; exceeds'. 7 Water-boa, a species of snake which has the power of living in water. The rainy season. In tropical countries, there is a dry season, during which there is no rain, followed by a rainy season, during which rain falls every day. At and near the equator, there are two rainy seasons and two dry ones in the year; at the tropics, only one. The reason of this is, that the rain depends upon the sun, which crosses the equator twice a year, and each of the tropics only once. This description of the return of the rainy season in South America should be compared with that of the advent of the south-west monsoon in Ceylon, at p. 293. Jaguar, the American tiger or panther, an extremely fierce and destructive beast of prey. QUESTIONS.-What is the characteristic feature of Nature in South America? What striking contrast do the llanos of South America present at different seasons? Wherein do they differ from the wintry solitudes of Siberia? What refreshment does the mule obtain in the savanna? What effect has the drought upon animated nature? What animals bury themselves for the season? What sometimes adds its ravages to complete the image of death? What is the best way to escape from it? What signs announce the approach of the rainy season? What is remarkable about the revival of vegetation? What animals return to the savanna? Into what have the tropical rains converted it? THE DEATH OF NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. bil'low, wave. May 5, 1821. WILD was the night, yet a wilder night They knew, by his awful and kingly look, That he dreamed of days when the nations shook, He dreamed that the Frenchmen's sword still slew, The bearded Russian he scourged again, And again on the hills of 'haughty Spain Over Egypt's sands, over Alpine snows, Where the wave of the lordly Danube flows, On the snowy cliffs where mountain streams He led again, in his dying dreams, Again Maren go's3 field was won, Made pale at his cannons' rattle. He died at the close of that 'darksome day— In the rocky land they placed his clay, haught'y, imperious. cher'ished, fos'tered; held kneeling, on bended knee. 6 M'LELLAN. scourged, lashed; pun' ished. tri'umphed, prevailed'. wrath'ful, añ'gry. A 2 Beagle, a small hound, formerly used in hunting hares. 3 Marengo, in Italy, where Napoleon, after crossing the Alps, defeated the Austrians in 1800. Je'na, in Saxe- Weimar (Germany), where Napoleon defeated the Prussians in 1806. 1 Wild was the night." As if to mark | indicated the original strength of his cona closing point of resemblance betwixt stitution, breathed his last."-SCOTT's Life Cromwell and Napoleon, a dreadful tem- of Napoleon. pest arose on the 4th of May, which preceded the day that was to close the mortal existence of this extraordinary man. willow, which had been the exile's favourite, and under which he often enjoyed the fresh breeze, was torn up by the hurricane; and almost all the trees about Longwood shared the same fate. The 5th of May came amid wind and rain. Napoleon's passing spirit was deliriously engaged in a strife more terrible than that of the elements around. The words 'Tête d'armée,' the last which escaped his lips, intimated that his thoughts were watching the current of a heady fight. About eleven minutes before six in the evening, Napoleon, after a struggle which In the rocky land, &c.-He was buried on St. Helena in 1821; but in 1840 his remains were, with the consent of England, removed to France, and reïnterred in Paris. "Left him alone with his glory."This is from the last line of "The Burial of Sir John Moore." (See p. 22.) HYMN BEFORE SUNRISE, IN THE VALE HAST thou a charm to stay the morning star O dread and silent mount! I gazed upon thee Till thou, still present to the bodily sense, Didst vanish from my thought; 'entranced in prayer Yet, like some sweet beguiling melody, So sweet we know not we are listening to it, Thou the meanwhile wast blending with my thought (394) Voice of sweet song! Awake, my heart! awake, Thou first and chief, sole sovereign of the vale !5 6 Or when they climb the sky, or when they sink,- Your strength, your speed, your fury, and your joy, And who commanded, and the silence came,"Here let the billows stiffen and have rest"? 15 |