42. TYPHOONS AND WATER-SPOUTS. sub sīd'ing, falling; becoming | per pen die' a lar, exactly up. quiet. năv'i gāte, sail. ab'so lute, total. çy lin'drie al, having the form of a cylinder. a bātes', grows less; subsides. right; at right angles with. re võlving, rolling. es teemed, valued. phe nŎm'e na, strange or unusual things. măr'i ner, a sailor or seaman. The ships that navigate the Indian Ocean have occasionally to encounter terrific tempests, called typhoons, which are peculiar to those seas, and which, with the hurricanes of the opposite hemisphere, are the most furious storms that blow. They rise with fearful rapidity, often coming on suddenly with a calm; and before the canvas can be secured, the gale is howling shrilly through the spars and rigging, and the crests of the waves are torn off, and driven in sheets of spray across the decks. The lightning is terrible; at very short intervals the whole space between heaven and earth is filled with vivid flame, showing every rope and spar in the darkest night as distinctly as in the broadest sunshine, and then leaving the sight obscured in pitchy darkness for several seconds after each flashdarkness the most intense and absolute; not that of the night, but the effect of the blinding glare upon the eye. The thunder, too, peals, now in loud, sharp, startling explosions, now in long muttered growls, all around the horizon. In the height of the gale, curious electrical lights, called St. Elmo's fires, are seen on the projecting points of the masts and upper spars, appearing from the deck like dim stars. Soon after their appearance the gale abates, and presently clears away with a rapidity equal to that which marks its approach. These storms are found, by carefully comparing the direction of the wind at the same time in different places, or successively at the same place, to blow in a vast circle around a center; a fact of the utmost importance, as an acquaintance with this law will frequently enable the mariner so to determine the course of his ship as to steer out of the circle, and consequently out of danger, when, in ignorance, he might sustain the whole fury of the tempest. The course of a circle is the opposite of that taken by the hands of a watch, and is the same as that of the still more striking phenomena called water-spouts. Water-spouts are, perhaps, the most majestic of all those "works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep," which they behold who "go down to the sea in ships." They frequently appear as perpendicular columns, apparently of many hundred feet in height, and three feet or more in diameter, reaching from the surface of the sea to the clouds. The edge of the pillar is perfectly clean and well defined, and the effect has been compared to a column of frosted glass. A series of spiral lines runs around it, and the whole has a rapid spiral motion, which is very apparent, though it is not always easy to determine whether it is an ascending or descending line. Generally, the body of clouds above descend below the common level, joining the pillar in the form of a funnel, but sometimes the summit is invisible, from its becoming gradually more rare. Much more constant is the presence of a visible foot; the sea being raised in a great heap, with a whirling and bubbling motion, the upper part of which is lost in the mass of spray and foam which is driven rapidly round. The column, or columns-for there are frequently more than one-move slowly forward with a stately and majestic step, sometimes inclining to the perpendicular, now becoming curved, and now taking a twisted form. Sometimes the mass becomes more and more transparent, and gradually vanishes; at others, it separates, the base subsiding, and the upper portion shortening with a whirling motion till lost in the clouds. The pillar is not always cylindrical; a very frequent form is that of a slender funnel depending from the sky, which sometimes retains that appearance without alteration, or, at others, lengthens its tube toward the sea, which at the same time begins to boil and rise in a hill to meet it, and soon the two unite and form a slender column, as first described. The When these sublime appearances are viewed from a short distance, they are attended with a rushing noise somewhat like the roar of a cataract. phenomenon is doubtless the effect of a whirlwind or current of air revolving with great rapidity and violence, and the lines which are seen are probably drops of water ascending in the cloudy column. They are esteemed highly dangerous; instances have been known in which vessels that have been crossed by them have been instantly dismasted and left a total wreck. It is supposed that any sudden shock will cause a rupture in the mass and destroy it; and hence it is customary for ships to fire a cannon at such as, from their proximity, there is any reason to dread. Typhoons are seen in all parts of the world, but are most frequent in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. PHILIP HENRY GOSSE. Biography.-Philip Henry Gosse was born in Worcester, England, in 1810. Early in life he evinced an aptitude for natural history, and after reaching manhood, set out on his travels over different parts of the world. His first important work, The Canadian Naturalist," was published in 1840. Some years later, he returned to England, where he continued his researches and published a number of works on geology and natural history. The style of Gosse is clear and pleasing, and the enthusiasm of the scientist pervades every page of his writings. His principal works, aside from a number of excellent textbooks for schools, are: "Birds of Jamaica," "Ocean Described," "British Ornithology," "Rivers of the Bible," "The Aquarium," Tenby, a Sea-side Holiday." and " Language.-In the first paragraph, canvas is employed for sails, -an example of the use of a material instead of the articles made from it. The expression is an illustration of the figure metonymy. In the second paragraph, on page 195,-"The columns move forward with a stately and majestic step." What figure of rhetoric is used? Explain the comparison and state whether or not you think it is a good one. What kind of sentence is the first one in the third paragraph ? What is its subject? What is its predicate? The expression "In loud, sharp, startling explosions" is a modifier of the action-word (verb) “peals," and is therefore an adverb or adverbial phrase. A phrase is a combination of two or more words, not containing an action-word and its subject. The phrase given above is made up of the relation-word (preposition) "in" and the name-word “explosions" with its modifiers "loud," "sharp," and "startling." Point out three phrases in the last sentence of the lesson. The relation-words (prepositions) introducing them are "in," "of,” and "in." O good painter, tell me true, Has your hand the cunning to draw Shapes of things that you never saw? Ay? Well, here is an order for you. Woods and corn fields, a little brown, The picture must not be over bright- And not in the full, thick, leafy bloom, Biting shorter the short green grass, These, and the house where I was born, Perhaps you may have seen, some day, |