of the two countries still continue peculiar.1 The common law 2 and the judicial establishments of England differ much from those of Scotland; the prevailing religion and the church establishment 3 of the former are also materially different from those of the latter, and the manners and customs of the two countries, though gradually assimilating, still preserve many distinguishing features.— (J.R. M'CULLOCH, Statistical Account of the British Empire.)

5

DESCRIPTION OF ENGLAND.

FEW Countries exhibit a greater variety of surface than England, or have been more highly favoured by nature.6 "Although," says Dr. Aikin, "its features are moulded on a comparatively minute scale,7 they are marked with all the agreeable interchanges which constitutes picturesque beauty. In some parts, plains clothed in the richest verdure, watered by copious streams, and pasturing innumerable cattle, extend as far as the eye can reach :10 in others,11 gently rising hills 12 and bending vales, fertile in corn, waving with woods,13 and interspersed with flowery meadows, offer the most delightful landscapes of rural opulence and beauty.14 Some tracts furnish prospects of the more romantic and impressive kind; lofty mountains, 1 sont, de nos jours encore, pro6 See page 2, note 15. pres à chacun d'eux.

2 le droit coutumier. 'Law,' in the sense of the Latin jus, is, in French, droit, while loi corresponds to 'law' in the sense of the Latin lex.

3 l'Eglise (or, l'église établie). 4 les mœurs et coutumes; or, les us ct coutumes.

5 quoique se rapprochant (or, more strictly according to grammar, but by no means elegantly here, quoiqu'elles-ils- se rapprochent) graduellement. The adverb, in French, usually follows the verb, in a simple tense; in a compound sense, it usually stands between the auxiliary and the participle.

7 Quoique les points de vue, dit

ne s'y montrent relativement que dans de petites proportions.

8 par toute cette succession agréable et alternative de sites variés. 9 Ici.

10 jusqu'où la vue peut porter. We also say, tant (or, aussi loin) que la vue peut s'étendre; but this same verb, s'étendre, coming just before, an awkward repetition must be avoided. Farther than the eye can reach,' would be à perte de vue. 11 Là.

12 des coteaux à pente douce. 13 couverts de bois ondoyants (or, ondulants).

14 Bad. Some tracts,' Plus loin.

craggy rocks, deep dells, narrow ravines, and tumbling 1 torrents nor are there wanting, as a contrast to 2 those scenes in which every variety of nature is a different charm, the vicissitude of 3 black barren moors and wide inanimated heaths." Such is a vivid description of the general appearance of England. But the beauty and fertility of the country are not the only things to excite 6 admiration. The mildness of the climate, removed alike from the extremes of heat and cold; the multitude of rivers, their depth, and the facility they afford to internal navigation; the vast beds of coal and other valuable minerals hid under the surface; the abundance and excellence of the fish in the rivers and surrounding seas; the extent of sea-coast; the number, capaciousness, and safety of the ports and bays; and the favourable situation of the country for commerce; give England advantages that are not enjoyed in an equal degree by any other nation.9-(J. R. M'CULLOCH, Statistical Account of the British Empire.)

11

7

MAHOMET'S MIRACLES.

THE votaries of Mahomet are more assured than himself of his miraculous gifts, and their confidence and credulity increase as they are further removed 10 from the time and place of his spiritual exploits. They believe or affirm that trees went forth to meet him ; 12 that he was saluted by stones; that water gushed from his fingers; that he fed the hungry and the sick, and raised the dead; 13 that a beam groaned to 14 him; that a camel complained to him ;15

2

that a shoulder of mutton informed him of its being 1 poisoned; and both animate and inanimate nature were equally subject to this apostle of God. His dream of a nocturnal journey is seriously described as a real and corporeal transaction.3 A mysterious animal, the Borak, conveyed him from the temple of Mecca to that of Jerusalem; with his companion Gabriel, he successively ascended the seven heavens, and received and repaid the salutations of the patriarchs, the prophets, and the angels, in their respective mansions.5 Beyond the seventh heaven, Mahomet alone was permitted to proceed; he passed the veil of unity, approached within two bow-shots of the throne, and felt a cold that pierced him to the heart,8 when his shoulder was touched by the hand of God. After a familiar, though important conversation, he again descended to Jerusalem, remounted the Borak, returned to Mecca, and performed in the tenth part of a night the journey of many thousand years. 10-(GIBBON, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.)

se plaignit à lui. I shall explain this latter construction farther on (p. 260, n. 1; and p. 131, n. 17).

1

qu'elle était. This turn, viz., 'my,' 'thy,' 'his,' 'its,' &c., followed by a present participle, is not French; see p. 14, n. 16

2Both,' followed by and,' is usually rendered, in French, the same as in Latin, by et repeated; but here, we should thus have et occurring three times, and we must, therefore, leave 'both' out, and change a little the construction accordingly.

3 comme un événement réel, comme un acte corporel.

4 la Mecque. The definite article is used, exceptionally, before the names of some towns; as, le Havre, le Mans (in France), le Caire (Cairo, in Egypt), &c.

6

5 demeures.-'the patriarchs,' &c.; see page 8, note 1.

6 Il eut seul la permission (or, Il fut permis à M―seul) de s'avancer au delà, &c. As permettre, like some other verbs, when active, does not admit, in French, of a noun of person for its object (or accusative), it does not, for an obvious reason, admit of it either, when it is passive, for its subject (or nominative), and therefore we must use another turn. Ex.: 'you are allowed,' &c., on vous permet, &c.; or, il vous est permis, &c. (as in Latin, tibi permitto, tibi permittitur).

7 il se trouva à deux portées de trait (or, d'arc).

8 jusqu'au cœur.
9 il redescendit.

10 plusieurs milliers d'années.

3

COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA.

THE letter of Columbus to the Spanish monarchs, announcing his discovery, had produced the greatest sensation at court. The event it communicated was considered the most extraordinary of their prosperous reign. The sovereigns themselves were 2 for a time dazzled and bewildered by this sudden and easy acquisition of a new empire, of indefinite extent and apparently boundless wealth; and their first idea was to secure it beyond the reach of question or competition. Shortly after his arrival in Seville, Columbus received a letter from them, expressing their great delight, and requesting him to repair immediately to court, to concert plans for a second and more extensive expedition.5 As the summer was already advancing, the time favourable for a voyage, they desired him to make any arrangements at Seville, or elsewhere, that might hasten the expedition, and to inform them by the return of the courier what was necessary to be done on their part. This letter was addressed to him by the title of "Don 10 Christopher Columbus, our Admiral of the Ocean Sea,11 and Viceroy and Governor of the Islands discovered in the Indies;" at the same time he

9

6

7 ils le priaient. The imperfect of the indicative is here used, instead of the preterite (see p. 1, n. 6), because reference is made more directly to the contents of the letter, as read by the recipient, than to the act of writing it on the part of the senders.

8 de prendre... les arrangements nécessaires pour hater (p. 3, n. 18).

9 de ce qu'ils avaient à faire (or, de ce qu'il fallait qu'ils fissent) de leur côté. Falloir governs the subjunctive; and fissent is in the imperfect of the subjunctive, as corresponding to the imperfect of the indicative fallait.

10 L'adresse de la lettre portait:"A don.

11 sur la mer océane.

was promised still further1 rewards. Columbus lost no time in 2 complying with the commands of the sovereigns. He sent a memorandum 3 of the ships, men, and munitions that would be requisite, and having made such dispositions at Seville as circumstances permitted,5 set out on his journey for Barcelona, taking with him the six Indians, and the various curiosities and productions he had brought from the New World.7

9

The fame of his discovery had resounded throughout the nation, and as his route lay through several of the finest and most populous provinces of Spain, his journey appeared like the progress 10 of a sovereign. Wherever he passed,11 the surrounding country poured forth its inhabitants, 12 who lined the road and thronged the villages. In the large towns, the streets, windows, and balconies were filled with eager spectators, who rent the air with 13 acclamations. His journey was continually impeded 14 by the multitude pressing to gain a sight of him and of the Indians,15 who were regarded with as much admiration as 1 still further;' encore de nou- mener, 'to bring back'). velles.he was promised;' see page 21, note 6.

pour.

3 un état détaillé. 4 See page 8, note 1. 5 à Séville toutes les dispositions que permettaient les circonstances, See p. 3, n. 18; also p. 10, n. 3, and p. 3, n.

3

il partit. As the verb 'set out' is rather far from having made' and 'he sent,' it is better to repeat, in French, the pronoun il before partit.

7 emmenant avec lui les six Indiens qui l'avaient suivi en Espagne, et prenant aussi les curiosités et productions diverses qu'il avait rapportées du Nouveau-Monde. We must obviously use here a different turn from the English; for, 'to take' (to take with oneself, to take away) is emporter, if the person, animal, or object, is carried, whereas it is emmener, if not; and the same distinction is made between apporter and amener, 'to bring' (as well as between rapporter and ra

8 et comme il devait traverser, pour se rendre à Barcelonne.

9 See p. 16, n. 10. The article is to be used here, but merely on account of the superlative, which somewhat alters, in French, the grammatical connexion of the words, in this case; for, otherwise, we say, province d'Espagne, de France, &c., without the article.

10 ressembla à la marche triomphale.

11 The imperfect of the indicative is preferable here to the preterite, though the latter would not te incorrect. The imperfect makes the mind dwell more upon the length and incidents of the journey, as described. See p. 1. n. 6.

12 il voyait se presser autour de lui la population tout entière des environs.

13 qui faisaient retentir l'air de bruyantes.

14 Il était arrêté à chaque instant. 15 qui se pressait sur son passage pour tâcher de l'apercevoir, ainsi