stances, how superstition blinds men's minds. It so takes away their reason that they cannot tell right from wrong. Some of these foolish men would never have believed that they were going to do wrong; they were firmly convinced that they should advance the religion of our loving Saviour Jesus Christ by their horrid deeds. On the other hand, the Gunpowder Plot may cause reflections against Protestants as well as Papists. James and the Protestant bishops still held the foolish superstition that they had a right to persecute others for their belief. The Catholics as well as the Puritans had suffered long during Elizabeth's reign. But their troubles were now as bad as ever, perhaps even worse. For instance, in the very year of the conspiracy six priests were tried, condemned, and executed, because they would remain in England to teach their flocks. Their people were told to expect the same treatment if they heard mass from a priest. But even a stronger instance of persecution may be found. A Catholic gentleman of Cheshire, shocked at the execution of the priests, and the bad treatment of others, sent a petition to James, complaining of the persecution. The answer was a summons to the Star Chamber! He was then imprisoned, and put in the pillory twice, and fined £1,000. When in the pillory he was to have been nailed by the ears, but, as a majority of one or two thought that the criminal was very aged, his ears were spared. We live, dear children, in a Protestant country, and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ we should so love Protestantism that we should be ready to die for it. But, in your love for the Protestant religion, remember JUSTICE, which is as important as truth. If we, as Protestants, saw our clergymen put to death for attending to their duty, and if we were told that we, too, should be punished if we let them teach us; and if we saw a faithful Protestant pinioned for petitioning on our behalf, what would our feelings be? So, in justice, let us remember that the Protestants, as well as the Papists, did not do right in God's sight. And lastly, we may remember again that the Catholics were not only enraged-they were blinded by superstition; so let us think of them, not with anger, but with pity. TO-DAY. DON'T tell me of to-morrow; How much that we have left to do, We cannot do at last! To-day it is the only time For all on this frail earth, It takes an age to form a life, A moment gives it birth!-NORTH STAR, U.S. THE ENGLISH TRAVELLER. SURREY. "MY DEAR CHILDREN,"I have given you all the information I can collect concerning the soil of Surrey. There is not much relating to the towns which is worth recording. across the country to DORKING, which is a very pretty and clean town. At the inn where I dined the waiter told me that Dorking is famous for its fowls. The poultry are of a peculiar breed, having five claws to each foot. They are supposed to have been brought over by the Romans. "The railway from Dorking soon brought me to REIGATE, a place I had often heard of. The noise which the railway porters make in shouting Reigate and Redhill Junction!' to the travellers on the Brighton Railway has caused many to hear very much of this town before seeing it. But the impression which these porters "On my way from Kingston to Guildford, I passed through the town of EPSOм, and a district called Ewell. At Epsom malting and brick-making are carried on, as at Kingston. Perhaps the largest building in the neighbourhood is the Grand Stand, on the downs, where the races are held. How, once a year, this stand is crammed with rich and fashionable company to see the races, and how the race-course and the town are crammed with tens of thou-have made on the 'tympanum' sands of visitors, is well known to most people. "GUILDFORD is the county town of Surrey. It is only remarkable for its antiquity. Its numerous ancient houses reminded me very much of Ipswich, the ancient capital of Suffolk. In English history we read of Guildford before the time of Alfred the Great; and we find that, at his death, he bequeathed it to his son. The town is situated on the river Wey. "There is another town on the Wey, also an ancient place, called GODALMING, which was also bequeathed to his son by King Alfred. "From Godalming I walked of my ears will be more lasting than that caused by the town itself. It is a very pretty place, however; and the clock-house and market-house, with the town-hall over it, interested me;-but that is all. miles, many merchants and City gentlemen live here, going to and fro by rail. "As Croydon is at the edge of Banstead Downs, it is not only pleasant, but healthy. In the neighbourhood is Addiscombe College, where cadets are trained for the service of the East India Company; and the town has a barracks, a jail, and town-hall. The name Croydon is derived from two Saxon words, croie, chalk, and dune, hill; and its name is written in the Domesday-book as Croinedone. "The town was given by William the Conqueror to Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, whom you may remember in your English History. Lanfranc built a splendid archbishop's palace here, which was the chief residence of many archbishops after him. There are few traces of the first building at present, but the Archbishop of Canterbury still has a summer residence at Addington Park, three miles and a half from the town. "Walworth, the Lord Mayor whose name is so well known in English history from his having killed Wat Tyler, also lived at Croydon. therhead, Wimbledon, Camber- "Your faithful friend, SURREY. (Shape and Position.)-Surrey is a squarish-shaped county, but very irregular at the north, from the windings of the Thames, which forms its natural boundary. At the north of Surrey is Middlesex; at the south, Sussex; at the east, Kent; and at the west, Hampshire and Berkshire. (Soil.) The soil of Surrey is, on the whole, rather poor; there being much chalk, barren sand, heath, and hills. The chalk hills, a part of the southern range, extend through this county. (Rivers.) The principal rivers are the Mole, the Wey, and the Thames. (Capital and Towns.)-The capital is Guildford, a very ancient town; the other towns and villages are Epsom, Godalming, Dorking, Reigate, Croydon, Farnham, Kingston, Richmond, Kew, Streatham, Tooting, Putney, "There are many more vil- Wandsworth, Battersea, Claplages and parishes in Surrey ham, Kennington, Brixton, Norwhich are worthy of notice. wood, Sydenham, Dulwich, WalAt the extreme west of the worth, Camberwell, Peckham, county is FARNHAM, where Merton, Wimbledon, Esher, abundance of hops are grown; Leatherhead, Lambeth, Southand nearer London are Lea-wark, &c. &c. &c. ETYMOLOGY. CHAPTER III. THE INFLECTIONS OF VERBS-THE TENSES. W. I REMEMBER the tenses | might show that I was more we learned last week, papa. obedient if I could say, I "had There were the imperfect and finished it when you came in, perfect past tenses, and the an hour ago." imperfect and perfect future tenses. You said that there are two others. P. Yes. One tense is past, and the other is present. Here are two examples: I had boiled the pudding when you ordered the pie. I am boiling the pudding now. We will consider the past tense first. Will you tell me whether it is perfect or imperfect? L. "Had boiled" must be perfect. The action was perfectly done when you ordered the pie. P. True. We can not only say that it is, but that it was, perfectly done. L. Yes; the time "when you ordered the pie" is a past time. So the action was perfectly past at a past time. P. On this account, "I had boiled" is said to be more than a perfect past tense. From the Latin word "plus," which means more, we call the tense "pluperfect past." L. That is the finest tense of all, to be more than perfect. Suppose, papa, that you gave me a task to do, it would show that I was very obedient if, when you inquired, I could say I "have finished it"; but it W. I shall always remember the pluperfect tense by the word had. I'll make some examples: I had eaten my dinner. P. Now let us examine the present tense. "I am boiling” the pudding. L. That is an imperfect tense, certainly. But, suppose I say "I do boil,"-that is a present tense. P. Yes; it is. L. Or, suppose I say, "I do praise," or "I praise," or "I do learn my lesson." These verbs are in the present tense, but they seem to be perfect also. P. No; all present tenses are imperfect, for directly an action is perfectly done it is "past." When you say "I do praise," or "I praise," it means "I am praising." W. I can understand that an action must be imperfect while it is being done. So we must say that the "present" tense is imperfect. I will make some examples of the present tense: I am loving, I love, I do love. I am praising, I praise, I do praise. I am counting, I count, I do count. Ion. So we may arrange our present, past, and future tenses in two classes: 1. (Imperfect) present tense-I am praising. Imperfect past tense-I was praising. Imperfect future tense-I will praise. 2. Perfect past tense-I have praised. Pluperfect past tense-I had praised. Future perfect tense-I shall have praised. only show the power to perform the action. W. Only they do not show that he has it now, but that he did have it. They are in the past tense. P. Yes; they are called the imperfect past. But here is another past tense-"I have tried, and I hope I may have succeeded." L. That is the perfect past tense. The words "have succeeded" show that. Is there any pluperfect past tense in the potential mood? P. Yes. Here is an example-"If you had made haste then you might have caught him." P. And if you will examine each tense, you will see that it points out two things-first, that you have the power to do the W. Yes; that is the pluperaction; secondly, that you exer- fect tense, because it shows that cise the power-therefore these the action of catching might have tenses all belong to the INDI-been done at some past time. CATIVE MOOD. L. Are there as many tenses in the other moods?-in the Infinitive, and the Potential, and the Imperative? P. No. In the potential mood we have only four tenses. Tell me what tense this is-"I may eat." Ion. It is the present tense. P. Here is another tense of the potential mood: I told him that he might eat. I said that he could eat. I said that he should eat. The boy said that he would eat. You see that all these tenses are "potential," because they You P. These are the four tenses of the potential mood. may make examples of each. L. I will. POTENTIAL MOOD. 1. (Imperfect) present tense-I may dance; I can dance. Imperfect past tense-I might dance; I could dance; I would dance; or I should dance. 2. Perfect past tense-I may have danced; I can have danced. Pluperfect past tense-I might have danced; I would have danced; I could have danced, &c. Thus we have heard of the six tenses in the indicative mood, and four in the potential. No. 26. PARSING EXERCISE. I sing because I am glad. Oh, I wish you would sing. I may sing, but I cannot. I think I may have persuaded him to sing. We shall see. I had persuaded him when you saw him. I might have added my persuasions to yours. I said that he might sing: then he said he would. |