THE picture represents some of the sledging parties which went in search of Sir John Franklin from the expedition under Captains Austin and Ommaney, in the year 1850. Some of these parties traveled over five hundred miles through the snow and ice of the Arctic desert. In this traveling, sails were occasionally hoisted on the sledges, and large kites were also attached.

When the wind was high, these aids propelled the sledge very rapidly over the ice, and the whole party could sometimes ride. But when the wind fell, the sledges, with the provisions and stores, had to be dragged by main force by the men harnessed to them. Most of these exploring parties returned to their ships in good health, though some of the men were badly frost-bitten.

On the 23d of August, 1850, Captain Ommaney landed with the officers of the Assistance and the Intrepid on Cape Riley, on the north side of Lancaster Sound, where they found traces of an encampment. These first traces of Franklin's expedition were soon followed by others. On Beechy Isl

and were found fragments of wood, metal, and clothing, with stacks of empty meat-tins. Here also were found the graves of three seamen, with head-boards bearing their names. "Whither sail you, Sir John Franklin?" Cried a whaler in Baffin's Bay. "To know if between the land and the Pole I may find a broad sea-way."

"I charge you back, Sir John Franklin,
As you would live and thrive;

For between the land and the frozen Pole
No man may sail alive."

But lightly laughed the stout Sir John,
And spoke unto his men :
"Half England is wrong, if he is right;

Bear off to westward, then."

The cost of the various expeditions, English and American, in search of Sir John Franklin, is estimated at upward of five millions of dollars. Lady Franklin, the wife of the missing navigator, had not abandoned the search as late as the summer of 1857, although it was then more than twelve years since Sir John had been heard from. During that summer, an expedition under Captain M'Clintock sailed for Baffin's Bay, to continue the work of exploration.

!

Be showered among the poor Vast grew his wealth, yet strove he not The mourner's tear to dry;

He never journeyed onward

From the street of By-and-By.

"Forgive thy ĕrring brother!

He hath wept and suffered long,"

I said to one, who answered,

"He hath done me grievous wrong; Yet will I seek my brother,

And forgive him ere I die." Alas! Death shortly found him In the street of By-and-By. The wearied worldling muses Upon lost and wasted days,

Resolved to turn hereafter

From the error of his ways, — To lift his groveling thoughts from earth, And fix them on the sky; Why does he linger fondly

In the street of By-and-By?

Then shun the spot, my youthful friends;
Work on, while yet you may;
Let not old age o'ertake you

As you slothfully delay,
Lest you should gaze around you,
And discover, with a sigh,

You have reached the house of "Never"
Through the street of "By-and-By."

LAY AND LIE.

IN A LETTER FROM A GIRL.

SIR: I have carefully read your remarks on the subject of Improprieties of Speech; and I take great pains to avoid the mistakes which you caution us against. But there is one blunder which I hear so frequently that I almost despair of breaking myself of the habit of falling into it. I allude to the use of the transitive verb lay when we should use the intransitive verb lie.

There are some tunes which I do not like; but, if an organ-grinder comes and compels me to hear them every other day, I soon find myself humming them, distasteful as they may be. I have read that the celebrated painter, Sir Peter Lely, made it a rule never to look at a bad picture; he having found, by experience, that whenever he did so his pencil took a tint from it.

Would that I could shut my ears to bad forms of speech as easily as Sir Peter could avoid a bad picture! But politeness forbids. I will give you a history of my annoyances at the tea-table this evening in reference to these words lay and lie. How long do you think this snow will lay on the ground?" asked my Aunt Jane.-"Lay what?" I wanted to reply; but that would have been uncivil. She meant to ask how long the snow would lie on the ground.

My ears had hardly got over this shock when they received another, which made me wince. "John," said my mother to her youngest, "do not lay (!) down on the

sofa." O! mother dear, when will you learn to say lie down? My father's friend, Captain Hawser, was present. "Where does your ship lay?" asked my dear father. -"She lays at India Wharf," replied the captain. O, father dear! O, Captain Hawser! why not say "she lies at India Wharf"? That is what you mean. If the ship lays, she must lay something, and what does she lay?

The conversation was kept up for five minutes without any very gross violation of the grammatical proprieties. At length, my Aunt Jane, who is the most inveterate sinner against the English language in the family, remarked that as she was laying awake, last night, she heard a burglar at one of the front windows. Here my patience was so far exhausted that I ventured to say, "My dear aunt, have you any objection to saying as I was lying awake,' or as I lay awake'? Pray read this passage in the SCHOOL MONTHLY on the use of the verbs lie and lay (page 64)."

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"Ah! my dear, you can not correct old habits," said my aunt. "I have been used to saying, all my life, I a am going to lay down, instead of lie down,' and lay it must be to the end of the chapter.”- "It is never too late to mend," answered I. That is true enough, Charlotte," said my father. "We have all been in fault. know better than to say the ship lays at the wharf,' instead of lies; but my ear is so accustomed to the wrong mode that I unwittingly use it. Now, let us all agree to pay a forfeit according to our means every time we use the word lay erroneously. The forfeit shall be in money, not less than five cents, and shall go to the fund for the poor-box."

"I consent," said my mother." And I too," said Aunt Jane; "but you must not expect too much of me. Charlotte, bring me my work-box. It lays on the table in my room."-"Lays?" exclaimed half a dozen voices. "A forfeit! a forfeit!"—"How much?" asked my aunt. -"A quarter of a dollar for you, Jane," said my father. Aunt Jane paid it with a

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WHY does smoke ascend the chimney? Because the air of the room, when it passes over the fire, becomes lighter for being heated; and, being thus made lighter, ascends the chimney, carrying the smoke with it.

What is smoke?-Small particles of carbon, separated by combustion from the fuel, but not consumed.

Why do smoke and steam curl as they ascend? - Because they are pushed round and round by the ascending and descending currents of air.

Why do some chimneys smoke?-Because fresh air is not admitted into a room so fast as it is consumed by the fire; in consequence of which a current of air rushes down the chimney to supply the deficiency, driving the smoke along with it.

What is charcoal? - Wood which has been exposed to a red heat till it has been deprived of all its gases and volatile parts.

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Why does a piece of burnt bread make impure water fit to drink? Because the surface of the bread, which has been reduced to charcoal by being burnt, absorbs the impurities of water, and makes it pal

Why does water simmer before it boils? Because the particles of water near the bottom of the kettle, being formed into steam sooner than the rest, shoot upward; but are condensed again, as they rise, by the cold water, and produce what is called "simmering."

What causes the rattling noise so often made by the lid of a saucepan or boiler? The steam, seeking to escape, forces up the lid of the boiler, and the weight of the lid carries it back again: this being done frequently, produces a rattling noise.

If the steam could not lift up the lid of the boiler, how would it escape?—If the lid fitted so tightly that the steam could not raise it up, the boiler would burst into fragments, and the consequences might be fatal.

What becomes of the steam? for it soon vanishes. After it has been condensed into mist, it is dissolved by the air, and dispersed abroad as invisible vapor.

And what becomes of the invisible vapor?-Being lighter than air, it ascends

where, being again condensed, it contributes to form clouds.

Why does soap greatly increase the cleansing power of water? — Because many stains are of a greasy nature; and soap has the power of uniting with greasy matters, and rendering them soluble in water.

FOR WHAT CHILDREN ARE MOST GRATEFUL.

BY EPHRAIM PEABODY.

ARENTS spend a life of toil in order to leave their children wealth, to secure them social position, or other worldly advantages. I do not underrate the worth of

these things. Had they not been valuable, there would not have been so many providential arrangements impelling men to seek them. I would only show that there is something of infinitely greater value, not only to the parent, but to be transmitted to the child.

What does the child most love to remember? I never heard a child express any gratification or pride that a parent had been too fond of accumulating money, though the child at that moment was enjoying that accumulation. But I have heard children, though their inheritance had been crippled and cut down by it, say, with a glow of satisfaction on their features, that a parent had been too kindhearted, too hospitable, too liberal and public-spirited, to be a very prosperous man.

A parent who leaves nothing but wealth, or similar social advantages, to his children, is apt to be speedily forgotten. However it ought to be, parents are not particularly held in honor by children because of the worldly advantages they leave them. These are received as a matter of course. There is comparatively little gratitude for this. The heir of an empire hardly thanks him

who bequeathed it. He more often endeavors before his time to thrust him from his throne.

But let a child be able to say, My father was a just man, he was affectionate in his home, he was tender-hearted, he was useful in the community and loved to do good in society, he was a helper of the young, the poor, the unfortunate, he was a man of principle, liberal, upright, devout, and the child's memory cleaves to that parent. He honors him, reveres him, treasures his name and his memory, thinks himself blest in having had such a parent; and the older he grows, instead of forgetting, only reveres and honors and remembers him the more. Here are experience and affection sitting in judgment on human attainments. It shows what is most worth seeking.

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poor as could be; and they worked for the bread that they ate, all three.

The old woman was feeble, rheumatic, and thin; and with very great labor she managed to spin; and all the day long, with unwearying zeal, from Monday to Saturday, round went her wheel. And yet, turn as she might, she could scarcely contrive to earn the small pittance that kept them alive. So these good little children, they both did their best, and gave from their carnings what made up the rest.

Of wealth, which so many consider a blessing, the three nothing knew. Yet the joy of possessing, even they, in their cottage so lowly, could share; for the dame had her wheel and her table and chair, while Peggy and Willy than these had far more; for hers was the blackbird that hung at the door, the sweet-singing blackbird that filled. with delight of its music the cottage from morning to night; and his was the cat that slept under his bed, and never looked famished, however ill-fed.

Now, the tale that I have in my mind. to rehearse was related by Willy, though not told in verse. Said Willy, "The cat

had a kitten that lay behind my bed's head, on a cushion of hay; a beautiful kit, though a mischievous elf, and given to prowling about by itself. Now, it happened, one day, as I came from my work, before I had put by my rake and my fork, the old cat came up, and she pawed and she mewed, with the wofulest visage that ever I viewed; and she showed me the door, and she ran in and out; I could n't conceive what the cat was about.

"At length, I bethought that the creature was good, and she should have her way, let it be what it would. And no sooner she saw me inclined to obey, than she purred her approval, then scampered away to a pond not far off, where the kitten I