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no enjoyment to his noble and patriotic spirit, whilst his country continued to be threatened by her inveterate enemies. A new and glorious opportunity soon offered. The combined fleets of France and Spain, confiding in their superior numbers, ventured to quit the harbour of Cadiz, and their proud and well-disposed line of battle presented to Nelson the long-sought object of his most ardent wishes. He quickly executed his plan of attack, and, nobly seconded by the magnanimous Collingwood and all the fleet, assailed the ships of his enemies with an impetuosity which was irresistible. The effect was something superior to conquest; it was a storm of such desolating destruction, that, as Villeneuve, the gallant French admiral, confessed, it seemed the work of supernatural agents, rather than of men.

In the moment of victory the conqueror fell. He who had braved death in every form, to increase the renown of his country and to maintain its ascendancy, nobly died while the cannon's roar and the shouts of triumph confirmed the ardent wishes and confident predictions which he felt, when he gave the memorable signal to his gallant companions in arms, "England expects every man to do his duty!"

Honours and rewards were munificently bestowed on the surviving relations of the hero, and an earldom was perpetuated in the family of Nelson, of which his brother was the first possessor. A monument was afterwards voted by parliament, and many of the principal cities and towns of the United Kingdom voted a similar memorial of his unparalleled merit. Foremost among these, although last in point of time, as regards its erection, is the noble column in Trafalgar Square, London; a monument which, while it records the glorious deeds of him whose memory it is especially intended to honour, will long be regarded as a worthy memento of the prowess of the British navy, and an incentive to future deeds of heroism.

THE THANKSGIVING OFF CAPE TRAFALGAR.

Upon the high, yet gently rolling wave,
The floating tomb that heaves above the brave,
Soft sighs the gale, that late tremendous roared,
Whelming the wretched remnants of the sword.
And now the cannon's peaceful thunder calls
The victor bands to mount their wooden walls,
And from the ramparts, where their comrades fell,
The mingled strain of joy and grief to swell :
Fast they ascend, from stem to stern they spread,
And crowd the engines whence the lightnings sped:

The white-robed priest his upraised hands extends;
Hushed is each voice, attention leaning bends:
Then from each prow the grand hosannas rise,
Float o'er the deep, and hover to the skies.
Heaven fills each heart; yet Home will oft intrude,
And tears of love celestial joys exclude.
The wounded man, who hears the soaring strain,
Lifts his pale visage, and forgets his pain;
While parting spirits mingling with the lay,
On hallelujahs wing their heavenward way.

1. What were bestowed on Nelson's relations ?

2. What public monument more particularly demands attention; and in what light will it be regarded?

3. What was Lord Nelson's professional character?

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On this day, in 1778, expired the "Father of modern botany," the celebrated LINNÆUS. At the age of thirtyfour he was made professor of physic and botany in the university of Upsal; and in the year 1757 he was ennobled by his sovereign. Linnæus, in his profound adoration of the Divinity, resembled Newton, Locke, Jones, Haller, Euler, Boerhaave, and other dignified characters, whose respect for religion rendered their knowledge still more estimable. The deeper he penetrated into the secrets of Nature, the more he admired the wisdom of her Creator.

His father, Nicholas Linnæus, was a clergyman. Residing in a delightful spot, on the banks of a fine lake, surrounded by hills and valleys, woods and cultivated ground, his garden and his fields yielded him both amusement and profit, and his infant son imbibed, under his auspices, that pure and ardent love of nature for its own sake, with habitual exercise of the mind in observation and activity, which ever after marked his character, and which were enhanced by a rectitude of principle, an elevation of devotional taste, a warmth of feeling, and an amiableness of manners, rarely united in those who so transcendently excel in every branch of philosophy or science, because the cultivation of the heart does by no means so constantly as it ought keep pace with that of the understanding.

Over the door of the hall in which he gave his lectures was the following inscription: "Innocui Vivite! Numen Adest!" "Live guiltless, God observes you!

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A general mourning took place at Upsal on his death, and his body was attended to the grave with every token of respect. His memory received distinguished honours, not only in his own country, but from the friends of science in various foreign nations.

Ten years after the death of this great man, a new society of naturalists, distinguished by his name, was founded in London, and has since been incorporated by royal charter. This appellation was chosen also on account of the museum of Linnæus having fallen into the hands of Sir James Smith, its original projector, and hitherto only president. This treasure, comprehending the library; herbarium, insects, shells, and all other natural curiosities, with all the MSS. and whole correspondence of the illustrious Swede, were obtained by private purchase from his widow, after the death of his son, in 1783. The Linnæan Society have published several volumes of most valuable "Transactions."

1. Who was the father of modern botany?

2. What inscription was there over the door of the hall in which Linnæus gave his lectures?

3. What took place on the death of Linnæus ?

4. What was founded ten years after his death?

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THIS venerable promoter of the study of natural history died on this day, in the year 1753, at his house in Chelsea, aged ninety-two. Sir Hans Sloane was physician to George II., and many years President of the Royal Society. He was also known as a man of most extensive benevolence, and of a most liberal spirit, as regarded his conduct to all whose scientific and learned pursuits brought them within the circle of his acquaintance.

The rank occupied by Sir Hans Sloane among naturalists is rather that of a diligent collector and compiler, than a man of deep science or original ideas. As a physician he is said to have been distinguished for sagacity in making prognostics, and to have contributed to extend the use of the Peruvian bark, and to establish the salutary practice of inoculation. In 1721 he gave the freehold of the ground at Chelsea, near four acres, on which the botanical garden stood, to the Apothecaries' Company, on condition that the demonstrator should, in the name of the Company, deliver annually to the Royal Society fifty

new plants, till the number should amount to 2000, all specifically different from each other; the list of which was published yearly in the Philosophical Transactions. The first was printed in 1722, and the catalogues were continued until 1773, at which time the number 2550 was completed. These specimens are duly preserved in the archives of the Society, for the inspection of the curious.

The testamentary disposition of his magnificent museum has contributed to the perpetuating of his name. He bequeathed it to the public on the condition of a payment to his heirs of 20,000l., a sum said not to be more than the intrinsic value of the precious metals and gems contained in the medals and mineral specimens; besides which, there was a rich collection of curiosities, natural and artificial, of every kind, and a library of more than 50,000 books and manuscripts. Parliament accepted the legacy, and, adding to the Sloanean Museum the Harleian manuscripts and Cottonian library, deposited the treasure in Montague House, Great Russell Street, which had been purchased for that purpose, and which it was determined should thenceforth bear the name of the BRITISH MUSEUM. Till the arrival of the Egyptian antiquities from Alexandria in 1801, Montague House was competent to the reception of all its acquisitions. The Egyptian monuments, most of them of too massive a character for the floors of a private dwelling, first suggested the necessity of an additional building; rendered still more indispensable by the purchase of the Townley marbles in 1805; and a gallery adequate to the reception of both was completed in 1807. But when George IV., in 1823, made the donation of his royal father's noble library, the government ordered drawings to be prepared for the erection of an entire new museum, a portion of one wing of which was to be occupied by the recently acquired library. This wing, on the eastern side of the then museum garden, was finished in 1828; since which time other considerable alterations have taken place; and a new front, designed by Sir Robert Smirke, will complete this national building, devoted to science and literature - the nucleus of which was formed by the collections of Sir Hans Sloane.

1. Who was Sir Hans Sloane; and what was he distinguished for? 2. What did he contribute to?

3. What did he give to the Apothecaries' Company, and on what condition?

4. What did he bequeath to the public, and on what condition? 5. When was it first seen that Montague House was not large enough for the reception of all its acquisitions?

6. Whose library did George IV. present to the British Museum?

MAXIMILIAN I.

17

LESSON XII. JANUARY THE TWELFTH.

Maximilian 1.

MAXIMILIAN I., Emperor of Germany, died on the 12th of January, 1519. His faculties opened so slowly, that at the age of ten it was doubtful whether he was dumb or an idiot. From that time, however, he became remarkably addicted to letters, and arrived at the ready and eloquent use of the Latin, French, and Italian languages.

He was contemporary with Luther, the great Reformer; but the Reformation did not seem greatly to interest him. The solicitations of the monks, however, induced him to apply to Pope Leo X. to terminate the religious disputes by his decision, and he summoned Luther to appear with a safe conduct before the diet of Augsburg. His own cares were chiefly employed to secure the succession to the imperial crown for his grandson Charles. To this there existed the obstacle, that as he himself had never been crowned by the pope, he was only regarded by the Roman see as King of the Romans, and, therefore, Charles could not be invested with that dignity. Whilst he was taking measures to overcome this difficulty he was attacked by an intermitting fever, which, from violent exercise, and an imprudent indulgence in melons, soon terminated fatally.

The death of Maximilian, leaving vacant the first station among Christian princes, strongly agitated the minds of men, and formed a sort of new era in the general system of Europe. Charles, king of Spain, and Francis, king of France, immediately declared themselves candidates for the imperial crown, and employed every expedient of money or intrigue which promised them success in so great a point of ambition. Henry VIII. of England, also, was encouraged to advance his pretensions; but he found the votes of the electors already engaged. Charles was at length the successful candidate, and thus became possessed of a greater and more extensive empire than any known in Europe since that of the Romans.

1. What was remarkable of Maximilian in his early age?

2. Name the great Reformer who was Maximilian's contemporary? 3. What part did Maximilian take with respect to the Reformation? 4. What followed his death?

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