DICTATION.

Is your coffee sweet enough? It is hard to toil and sweat the long day through. Friend after friend departs. The savages behaved like fiends. His niece died of fever. We request the favour of your company. The carpenter bored a hole through the board with an auger. Where is the wooden trough? What do you augur from his conduct? He was naturally gentle and humane. Is that wretched hut a human habitation? Throw this mantle round you. Thinking is a mental operation.

ICELAND is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, between Greenland and Norway. It is somewhat larger than Ireland, and has belonged to Denmark since the beginning of the fifteenth century.

This island is one of the dreariest regions inhabited by man. During the winter, which is long and severe, an almost perpetual night covers its frozen wastes, and the waves of a stormy ocean thunder against its shores. In summer, however, the country is not without its charms. Then the eye reposes with delight on green valleys and crystal lakes, and on purple hills and snowcapped mountains rising above the distant horizon.

There are no forests in Iceland, and no grain of any kind can be raised; but on the eastern shore the soil is wonderfully good, and in some places small patches of

turnips, potatoes, and dwarf cabbages are to be seen. The inhabitants are dependent for fuel on the Gulf Stream, which brings drift-wood from the shores of America; and it is not uncommon to find cottages on the coast built of timber which has been felled in the forests of Mexico.

The pasture-grounds on some of the best farms are almost as good as the meadows of England; and on these farms herds of oxen and flocks of sheep may be seen grazing during the summer. The islanders, however, live chiefly on the flesh and eggs of sea-birds, and on fish, which are caught in great abundance near the coasts.

There are very few public schools in the island, but education is by no means neglected. It is not uncommon to hear youths repeat passages from Latin authors; and in almost every hut there is some person able to converse well upon subjects far above the understanding of persons of the same class in other countries. Children are educated at home. Every father teaches his family to read and write. While his little cottage is almost buried in snow, and darkness and desolation reign without, the light of an oil-lamp illumines the pages from which he reads to them aloud lessons of knowledge, religion, and virtue.

Iceland, though a region of ice and snow, might almost as well be called Fireland. It is remarkable for the number of its volcanoes. The most famous is Mount Hecla; but there are thirty others, and eight of these have been active within the last hundred years. The latest eruption of Mount Hecla occurred in 1846, and on that occasion much damage was done by the lava and burning ashes.

Near the volcanoes the surface of the ground is almost entirely covered with hot springs, and with small craters or crevices, which send out smoke and steam. The most celebrated of these springs are the Geysers. The word Geyser means roarer or rager; and these fountains, when in full operation, are well worthy of their name.

The Great Geyser is situated in a green plain, through which several streams meander like threads of silver. There are hundreds of boiling fountains of smaller size around it; but these are unheeded by the traveller, whose attention is absorbed by the monarch of springs, which is not merely one of the curiosities of Iceland, but one of the wonders of the world. Its form is that of an immense bowl or basin, sixty feet wide and seven feet deep; and in the centre is the pipe or opening through which the water rises.

Standing on the brink of this far-famed spring when it is at rest, the traveller can hardly believe that its waters, which appear so clear and placid, can ever be put into violent agitation. But, suddenly, a noise like thunder startles him; the ground trembles beneath his feet; and all at once a massive column of water, wreathed in vapour of dazzling whiteness, shoots into the air to the height of eighty feet, showering steam and spray in every direction. A second and a third jet rapidly follow, and after a few minutes the fairy spectacle has vanished like a vision, and the waters retire into the recesses from which they had sprung. An eruption of this kind takes place once in about forty hours.

In many places in the vicinity of the hot springs the ground is so soft that a person walking over it is in danger of breaking through. Of course, when such accidents happen, as they sometimes do, the person is

more or less scalded by the steam, which rushes out whenever an opening is made.

You would like to visit Iceland, I dare say, and see its

wonders with your own would care to live there.

eyes; but I hardly think you

The people, however, are very fond of their country, and one of their common sayings is this: "Iceland is the best land that the sun shines on."

Geyser (pr. gi'ser)-a natural fountain of boiling water.

Iceland was peopled by the Norwegians in 874. It has belonged to Denmark since 1397. Its capital, Rey'kiavik, contains 1,200 inhabitants. The language of the people is called Norse or Icelandic.

Gulf Stream-a current of warm water which issues from the Gulf of Mexico (whence its name) and, flowing through the Atlantic, loses itself in the Arctic Ocean.

Latin-the language of the ancient Romans.

Volcano-a burning mountain; that is, a mountain which emits from its summit or sides flames, smoke, ashes, and torrents of melted matter called lava. The crater is the hollow from which the fire ascends. The principal volcanoes in Europe are Mount Vesuvius, in Italy; Mount Etna, in Sicily; Mount Hecla, in Iceland; and Strombo'li, in the Lip'ari Islands. The last is constantly burning, and is called "The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean."

QUESTIONS.

Where is Iceland? What is its size? To what country does it belong? What sort of a land is it? Describe its condition in winter and in summer. What is said of the vegetation of the island? How do the inhabitants obtain fuel? What is the Gulf Stream? What is the chief food of the people? Are there many schools in Iceland? What facts show that education is not neglected? How are the children educated? Why might Iceland have been

named Fireland? What are volcanoes? craters? How many volcanoes are there in Iceland? Which is the most famous? What are the Geysers? Why so called? Where is the Great Geyser? What is its form? its size? What happens during an eruption? How often do such eruptions occur? What accident may happen to a person walking near the Geysers? What do the Icelanders think of their country?

Form nouns by adding ance to-rid, quit, admit,'ally, convey, allow, rely, appear, grieve, utter, enter, hinder, remember.

DICTATION.

Volcanoes have a singular appearance. Send the potatoes by the same conveyance. Denmark and Norway have entered into an alliance The Icelanders are islanders. What stands at the entrance? This is an unexpected hindrance. The servant refused him admittance. He gave utterance to many threats which have escaped my remembrance. I place no reliance on this man's promises.