I kissed the star on her forehead-my pretty, gentle lassBut I knew that she'd be happy back in the old Blue-grass : A suit of clothes of Conrad's, with all the money I had, And Kentuck, pretty Kentuck, I gave to the worn-out lad. I guided him to the southward as well as I knew how : And then the glow it faded, and my heart began to swell, When Conrad came in the evening, the moon was shining high; Baby and I were both crying-I couldn't tell him why But a battered suit of clothing gray was hanging on the wall, And a thin old horse with drooping head stood in Kentucky's stall. Well, he was kind, and never once said a hard word to me; grass. Blue The lad had got across the border, riding Kentucky Belle; Ah! we've had many horses, but never a horse like her! CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON. Biography.-Constance Fenimore Woolson is a well-known contributor to periodical literature. Among her works, may be mentioned, "Castle Nowhere," 66 'Rodman, the Keeper," "Southern Sketches," "Two Women" (a poem), and Lake County Sketches." Notes.-The Confederate general, John H. Morgan, received the name of "The Raider" on account of his bold and usually successful expeditions. The Tus ca ra' was is a shallow stream of water in Ohio. Blue-grass is a kind of grass found in some parts of Kentucky, and considered excellent for horses and cattle. 29.-LAND AND SEA-BREEZES. dis'si pāt ed, driven away; scattered. req'ui şite (rěk'wi-zit), neces sary. măg'ni tūde, size; importance. re verber at ing, echoing. sug gest'ive, full of thought. sûr'plus, that which remains after use is satisfied. rā di ā'tion, the casting off of re mōte, distant. În vig'or āt ing, refreshing. The inhabitants of the sea-shore in tropical countries wait every morning with impatience for the coming of the sea-breeze. It usually sets in about ten o'clock. Then the sultry heat of the oppressive morning is dissipated, and there is a delightful freshness in the air, which seems to give new life to all for their daily labors. About sunset there is again another calm. The sea-breeze is now over, and in a short time the landbreeze sets in. This alternation of the land and seabreezes a wind from the sea by day, and from the land by night-is so regular in tropical countries, that it is looked for by the people with as much confidence as the rising and setting of the sun. N In extra-tropical countries, especially those on the polar side of the trade-winds, these breezes blow only in summer and autumn; for then only is the heat of the sun sufficiently intense to produce the requisite amount of lightness in the air over the land. This depends in a measure also upon the character of the land upon which the sea-breeze blows; for when the surface is arid and the soil barren the heating power of the sun is exerted with most effect. In such cases the sea-breeze amounts to a gale of wind. In the summer of the southern hemisphere the sea-breeze is more powerfully developed at Valparaiso than at any other place to which my services afloat have led me. Here regularly in the afternoon, at this season, the sea-breeze blows furiously; pebbles are torn up from the walks and whirled about the streets; people seek shelter; business is interrupted, and all communication from the shipping to the shore is cut off. Suddenly the winds and the sea, as if they had again heard the voice of rebuke, are hushed, and there is a great calm. The lull that follows is delightful. The sky is without a cloud, and the atmosphere is wonderfully transparent; the Andes seem to draw near; the climate, always mild and soft, becomes now doubly sweet by the contrast. The evening invites one abroad, and the population sally forth-the ladies in ball costume, for now there is not wind enough to disarrange the lightest curl. In the southern summer this change takes place day after day with the utmost regularity; and yet the calm always seems to surprise one, and to come before one has had time to realize that the furious sea-wind could so soon be hushed. Presently the stars begin to peep out; timidly at first, as if to see if the elements here below have ceased their strife, and whether the scene on earth be such as they, from their bright spheres aloft, may shed their sweet influence upon. Alone in the night-watch, after the sea-breeze has sunk to rest, I have stood on the deck under those beautiful skies, gazing, admiring, wondering. I have seen there, above the horizon at the same time, and shining with a splendor unknown to northern latitudes, every star of the first magnitude -save only six-that is contained in the catalogue of the one hundred principal fixed stars of astron omers. There lies the city on the sea-shore, wrapped in sleep. The sky looks solid, like a vault of steel set with diamonds. The stillness below is in harmony with the silence above; and one almost fears to speak lest the harsh sound of the human voice, reverberating through those vaulted "chambers of the south," should wake up echo, and drown the music that fills the soul. Within the tropics the land and sea-breezes are more gentle; and though the night scenes there are not so suggestive as those just described, yet they are exceedingly lovely and delightful. The oppressive heat of the sun is mitigated, and the climate of the sea-shore is made both refreshing and healthful, by the alternation of those winds, which invariably come from the cooler place-from the sea, which is the cooler by day, and from the land, which is the cooler by night. About ten in the morning the heat of the sun has played upon the land with sufficient intensity to raise its temperature above that of the water. A portion of this heat being imparted to the air above it, causes it to rise; when the air, first from the beach then from the sea, to the distance of several miles, begins to flow in with a most delightful and invigorating freshness. When a fire is kindled on the hearth, we may see, if we observe the motes N floating in the air of the room, that those nearest to the chimney are the first to feel the draught, and to obey it-they are drawn into the flame. The circle of inflowing air is gradually enlarged, until it is scarcely perceived in the remote parts of the room. Now, the land is the hearth; the rays of the sun the fire; and the sea, with its cool and calm air, the room: and thus we have at our firesides the sea-breeze in miniature. When the sun goes down, the fire ceases; then the dry land commences to give off its surplus heat by radiation, so that by dew-fall it and the air above it are cooled below the sea temperature. The atmosphere on the land thus becomes heavier than that on the sea, and, consequently, there is a wind seaward, which we call the land-breeze. LIEUT. M. F. MAURY. Biography.—Matthew Fontaine Maury was born in Virginia in 1806, and died in 1873. Maury entered the U. S. navy in 1825, as a midshipman. In 1835, he published his "Treatise on Navigation." In 1839 he was rendered incapable of active service, and devoted his time to literary work. When the National Observatory at Washington was erected, Maury was placed in charge of it, and succeeded in obtaining for the institution the favorable attention of the leading astronomers of Europe. Maury's "Wind and Current Charts" and book of "Sailing Directions" led to the adoption of a uniform plan of observations at sea by all the great maritime powers of the world. Notes.-Extra-tropical countries means those lying outside of, or beyond, the tropics. Motes are very small particles of matter; they can if we look through the rays of sunlight entering a room. be seen Language.-Explain the force of the suffix ward in the follow ing words:-Seaward, homeward, upward, forward. Give a sentence showing the meaning of homeward. Composition.-Select six points for an analysis of the subject"A Visit to the Sea-side." |