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the body, in the human family, while the vigour of their understandings, and the energy of their corporeal frames, qualify them to carry all the arts to perfection, and to raise man to that scale of eminence, to which he seems to have been fitted and destined by the Creator. Blair.

LESSON LXXXIV.

GERMANY.-AUSTRIA.-SWITZERLAND.

GERMANY is an extensive country, lying in the centre of Europe; it is divided into thirty-eight distinct and independent states, which, for common defence, are united under the name of the Germanic Confederation.

In this confederation, each individual state is perfectly independent, as it regards its own internal affairs, but as it respects foreign nations, the whole states form one great body.

The possessions belonging to Austria and Prussia are the most extensive, and these two powers are supposed to have the chief control in the management of the affairs of Germany; the other principal states are the kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and Wurtemburg.

The smaller German states may be compared to English counties in extent and population, but each has an independent sovereign, under the title of elector, duke, or prince.

The climate of Germany is, in general, mild and healthy, and the soil fruitful, producing corn and wine in abundance; among the principal cities may be named Munich, the capital of Bavaria; Leipsic†, celebrated + Lip'-sig.

* Mu'-nik.

for its fairs; Hamburg, famous for its commerce; and Dresden, the capital of Saxony.

AUSTRIA, with the exception of Russia, is the largest empire in Europe; it consists of Austria, and other German provinces, the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, the northern part of Italy, a part of Poland, and other territories.

The population of the whole of Austria is about thirty-eight millions. Vienna, the capital, is a considerable city, seated on the Danube; it contains some splendid buildings, and a population of between three and four hundred thousand.

The other principal towns of Austria are Prague, the capital of Bohemia; Buda, the capital of Hungary; Trieste, a large commercial town on the Gulf of Venice; and Mil'an and Ven'ice, in Italy.

Austria is rich in minerals, and, taken as a whole, the climate is healthy, and the soil productive; a great part of the surface is mountainous, and, in some districts, is covered with extensive forests; the principal rivers are the Danube, the Inn, the Drave, and the Save.

SWITZERLAND is a small romantic country, lying on the Alps, between Germany, France, and Italy, and the highest inhabited ground in Europe; its population rather exceeds two millions.

Switzerland is divided into twenty-two cantons, each of which is independent, as regards its own affairs, but in national concerns, the whole are united in one body, called the Swiss Conferation. The government is a republic, that is, the people elect their own rulers.

The principal towns of Switzerland are Berne, the capital; Zurich*, a wealthy manufacturing town; and

*Zu'-rik

Gene'va, noted for its rural beauties, and its manufacture of watches.

The scenery of Switzerland is beautifully romantic; it consists of rocky mountains, one rising above another; deep precipices, intermixed with fruitful valleys and delightful streams. The summit of Mount Blanc,* the loftiest mountain of the Alps, and also of Europe, is always covered with snow, and is about three miles above the level of the sea.

LESSON LXXXV.

ANNE. GEORGE I.-GEORGE II.

William III. was succeeded by ANNE, Mary's sister, in the year 1702. Anne ascended the throne under favourable circumstances; being known to be warm in the Protestant cause, and to possess an amiable disposition, she was popular with the people, and this popularity she retained to the last, for the epithet commonly given to her was that of "Good Queen Anne."

Anne was highly successful in the wars in which she engaged on the continent; the Duke of Marlborough was appointed commander-in-chief, and, under him, the British army obtained some brilliant victories; but it is more than probable that these victories were of no real advantage to the nation.

Anne's reign was favourable to the cause of literature; amongst the many literary characters that flourished in her time, may be named Prior, Pope, Addison, Steele, and Swift.

Her reign was not of long continuance, for she was

* Mong Blawng.

seized with a fit of apoplexy, which terminated fatally, in the forty-ninth year of her age, and in the thirteenth of her reign; during this reign, Scotland was united to England; before that time, the Scotch had their own parliament. St. Paul's Cathedral was finished, having been thirty-seven years in building.

Anne was succeeded by GEORGE I., Elector of Hanover, in the year 1714. George's accession to power was considered favourable to the interests of the country at large; his mature age, being fifty four, his known prudence and experience, and the general tranquillity of Europe, seemed to promise a peaceable and happy reign.

These expectations were not entirely fulfilled, for he unfortunately attached himself to party, and thus made enemies of many powerful individuals, who would otherwise have been friends.

This led to a rebellion in favour of the Pretender, the son of James II., which commenced in Scotland, and part of the rebel army advanced as far as Preston, but, being attacked by the royalists, the men were obliged to lay down their arms.

George was plain and simple in his address, grave in his deportment, and just and punctual in business; he was suddenly taken ill, when on a journey to Hanover, and died the following day, after a reign of twelve years.

George I. was succeeded by his son, GEORGE II., in the year 1727. George, being a native of Hanover, and having spent the greatest part of his life in that country, was naturally attached to it, and became alarmed at the growing influence of France, which he considered dangerous to its independence.

With the view of crippling that power, he entered into a coalition with some other states, and after nine years' fighting, victory sometimes favouring one party, and sometimes another, a peace was agreed upon, each power restoring all its conquests; this unproductive war added thirty millions to the national debt.

In the year 1745, another rebellion took place, headed by prince Charles, the son of the Pretender, who landed in Scotland, and great numbers flocked to his standard.

After gaining some advantages over the English army in Scotland, he marched his forces into England, but on reaching Derby, not meeting with that support which he expected, he thought it prudent to retrace his steps to Scotland.

The Duke of Cumberland, with a considerable army, was sent in pursuit of Charles, and the two armies at last met at Culloden, near Inverness, when the rebels were completely routed, and Charles with difficulty escaped to France.

George died suddenly from a rupture in the heart, after a reign of thirty-three years; although he embarked in expensive wars without a sufficient cause, yet he ever retained the respect of his subjects, and died sincerely regretted.

LESSON LXXXVI.

THE BIRD'S NEST.-HAMLET'S SOLILOQUY ON DEATH. -THE SABBATH MORNING.

It wins my admiration

To view the structure of that little work,
A bird's nest, mark it well within, without!-

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