LESSONS IN DRAWING.

cuting their explorations; and in June, 1857, they set out on an expedition inland from the coast of Zanzibar, having received instructions from the Royal Geographical Society to proceed westward along the 6th parallel of south latitude, in search of some of the great lakes in the interior that were said to be in or near that latitude. Eight months later, in February, 1858, they stood on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, about 600 miles from the coast; and from the report of a native, who said there was a large river running northwards out of the northern extremity of the lake, they believed they had reached the source of the Nile. This fact, however, they were not in a condition to prove, and finding themselves exhausted by illness, fatigue, and privations, and harassed by the natives, they were compelled to leave the question in doubt, and retrace their steps to the coast. On their way back to Zanzibar, Speke left Burton at Kazeh, and travelled northwards. His solitary journey resulted in the discovery of the Victoria Nyanza, and to Speke belongs the honour of being the first Englishman whose eyes had rested on the broad expanse of the lake which is perhaps the largest, though not the only lake that helps to swell the waters of the Nile.

In 1860-63 Captain Speke, accompanied by a brother officer, Captain Grant, travelled along the northern coast of the lake Victoria Nyanza and countries in its vicinity, and found a large stream, now known as the river Somerset, issuing from the lake at a point situated nearly in the middle of the north coast, and falling at a short distance from its point of exit from the lake over a broad ledge of rocks, forming a cataract which has been named Ripon Falls. Had the travellers been able to trace the Somerset northwards through the whole length of its course, they would have found that it was only a head-stream of the Nile, and not the Nile itself; and they would have discovered the Albert Nyanza, the lake from which the Nile really issues, about forty miles northward of the point where the Somerset enters the lake. Satisfied, however, that the sources of the Nile were discovered, they quitted the course of the river and proceeded northwards to Gondokoro, where they met Sir Samuel and Lady Baker on their way to the south.

It was Sir Samuel Baker who ascertained in 1864 that the main stream of the Nile issued from the north of Lake Albert Nyanza, of which he is the discoverer. Worn out by illness and fatigue, he reached the edge of a precipitous line of cliffs towering above the lake, one bright and beautiful morning, and beheld its waters spreading before him in every direction, with a background of blue mountains in the western distance. impossible," he writes, "to describe the triumph of that moment. Here was the reward for all our labour; for the years of tenacity with which we had toiled through Africa. England had won the sources of the Nile!"

"It was

With a brief mention of Mr. Petherick, who has explored a considerable part of the country west of the Nile between Gondokoro and the Albert Nyanza; of Dr. Charles Beke, who has travelled through Abyssinia; of Mr. Stanley, who has already been mentioned as the finder of Livingstone, and who subsequently started on another expedition to Central Africa; and of Captain Cameron, who journeyed across Africa during 1875-76, we here close our historical sketch of the progress of geographical discovery from the earliest years to the present date. Of late but little has been done.

LESSONS IN DRAWING.-XIII. OUR next subject in these lessons will be the theory and practice of drawing foliage; by this we do not mean merely the leafage of trees, but we include all herbs and plants that enrich the ground, and add so materially to the effect of a picture by their variety of form, their colour, and wild luxuriant growth; all combining to make the meanest subject interesting. It is not in the forest alone that we must look for beauty; a common without a single tree has its charms; its uncultivated and undulating surface varied with patches of purple heath, yellow furze, and ferns, its many irregular gravel-pits, over the sides of which grow untrained and uncared-for the bramble, the wild rose, the honeysuckle, the foxglove, with the broad-leaved dock-plant, will compose a picture in which all lovers of nature must delight. Each season of the year makes its own demands upon our attention, each brings with it the changes of condition to which the vegetable world is subject, so that the mind

of the observer must be fully prepared at all times to note down
the peculiarities which influence the growth of trees and vege-
tation of all kinds and under all circumstances. When trees
are stripped of their leaves we have the advantage of studying
the course of their growth. Trees in winter are not to some
such interesting objects as they are when clothed with their
summer foliage, but to the student they offer, perhaps, even a
stronger claim to his attention, as they present many features
which an uninterested eye would pass over as less worthy of
regard. It is at this season that we have before us the skeleton
or framework upon which depends the strength and proportion
of the whole; to understand a tree thoroughly we must be fully
acquainted with its anatomy, that is, the character and dispo-
sition of its branches. Trees individually differ as much in this
respect as they do in their foliage, and therefore we are equally
Compare the branches of the oak with those of the
capable of distinguishing any particular tree in winter as we are
in summer.
poplar, the willow, or the cedar. The disposition of the oak, in
a general way, is to send out its branches at right angles with
the parent stem from which they spring (Fig. 98); the poplar
collects its branches closer together, and lifts them upwards
parallel with the main trunk; the willow droops; and the cedar
spreads out its branches horizontally. In short, each tree has its
own marked characteristics in its ramifications, and is worthy
To draw a tree successfully we must
of as much attention and study in winter as when covered with
its fresh summer leaves.
divide our attention between two important considerations.
First, the trunk and its branches; second, the foliage. We
repeat, that the first lesson to be received from nature is at the
time when the branches are totally bare of leaves, as then we
can study to very great advantage the dispositions of the
trunk and boughs of every kind of tree separately, which, as we
have remarked, may be called the skeleton framework of the
tree, and it is evident, therefore, that the disposition of the
foliage very materially depends upon the disposition of the
out the first instructions we gave respecting the drawing of a
branches. We must now again recommend our pupils to follow
point the place where the tree
line, by first marking in with a
rises from the ground; then observe the inclination of the trunk,
and place another point at that part of the main trunk from
which the first, and in most cases the largest branches start
off; then observe the proportion that the remainder of the
tree, as a whole, bears to the part already marked in, and with
a few additional points determine the general size of the tree
and the space it has to occupy upon the paper; then return to
the points which are arranged for the commencement of the
branches from the trunk, and mark in their courses and extent;
join these points by lines, and lastly go through the same pro-
cess with regard to the minor branches. All this is a prepara-
tion for the completion of the drawing, and for where it will be
necessary to follow out the method still further for the more
receding branches; in short, we must allow nothing to pass
unnoticed in the arrangement that has the stamp of individu-
When the places for the trunk, the most pro-
ality upon it; after this the drawing will prove to be com-
paratively easy.
minent boughs, and other branches are settled, the attention will
only have to be directed to the form that each successive part
presents. We will remind our pupils that there is a good moral
maxim which we must follow in arranging the characteristic
parts of a tree, as well as in anything else, as it contains a prin-
ciple applicable to drawing that should not be disregarded: let
each line individually be so placed that it may afford every
advantage to its neighbour, and not take up the smallest space
which does not belong to it, or cause an adjoining line to be
pushed out of its proper place, or appear to claim for itself
greater consideration than it justly deserves. The next important
step towards drawing a tree is the foliage: in this we must be
guided principally by the light and shade; when we look at a
tree, the eye does not rest upon leaves singly, but upon foliage
collectively. The pupil may have remarked-if not, the obser-
vation we are about to make will induce him to consider it-
that when we look at any object, but at trees especially, the eye
first rests upon the parts in light. They are the first to attract
the eye, and therefore, with regard to trees, it is the branches in
light upon which the eye rests, and it requires an effort to look
into the shadows; it consequently follows that in drawing a
tree we must be especially careful to distinguish the lights, and
of course this is done by adding the shadows, but the shadows

Fig. 95.

LESSONS IN DRAWING.

N'aviez-vous pas besoin de mon
frère ?

Nous avions besoin de lui.

Il en avait grand besoin.

Did you not want my brother?
We wanted him.

Le marchand n'avait-il pas besoin Did not the merchant want money?
d'argent ?
He had great need of it.
What carriage were you driving ?
For whom were you taking me?
I was coming to you when I met you.

Quelle voiture conduisiez-vous ?
Pour qui me preniez-vous ?
Je venais vous trouver quand je

vous rencontrai,

A qui écriviez-vous ce matin ?

frère.

To whom were you writing this morning?

brother.

EXERCISE 103.
Pêche, f. fishing.
Peind-re, 4. ir. to paint.
Rencontr-er, 1. to meet.
Reven-ir, 2. ir. to re-
turn.

Teind-re, 4, ir. to dye.
Teinturier, m. dyer.
Toile, f. linen cloth.
Val-oir, 3. ir. to be
worth.

must be made subservient to the lights, that is, they must be worked about the lights in such a way as to relieve them, and throw out their forms clearly. The first practical example we will give is Fig. 98, and relates to the drawing of the trunk and branches. As we have already given the principles which are to guide the pupil in first arranging the trunk and branches, and afterwards drawing them, we will procced to the foliage; and here we advise him to practise many times the examples from Fig. 88 to Fig. 97. The first four are merely masses of foliage, and it will require a considerable amount of repetition to secure a free and flowing manner of accomplishing this first difficulty in drawing foliage. Each example must be done, not by continued J'écrivais à ma sœur et à mon I was writing to my sister and to my lines, but by broken touches, the only way to arrive at that light appearance peculiarly characteristic of foliage. The pencil may be allowed to press a little heavier on the under parts on the opposite side to the light, and it must be held almost perpendicularly, because in that position the pencil can be guided upwards, downwards, or to the right and left with equal ease and freedom; a tolerably soft pencil, say a B, will be the most suitable. To relieve the lights straight lines may be drawn at first, as in Figs. 92, 94, and afterwards the manner of Fig. 96 may be employed for the parts of the tree in shadow; but before attempting Fig. 96 let Fig. 97 be mastered, as the former is but a combination of the latter. Fig. 98 is the same tree as Fig. 99; one represents the branches as in winter, the other when covered with foliage as in summer; and we advise the pupil to make his drawing of the branches first from Fig. 98, and then arrange the foliage from the other example. We again repeat, all this will require a great deal of patient perseverance, for no one can expect to overcome the difficulties without making many failures; but we particularly recommend the pupil to execute slowly and carefully the first trials, and not on any account to attempt a slight-of-hand kind of treatment, from a supposition that a rapid movement of the pencil is necessary to accomplish the task.

LESSONS IN FRENCH.-XXV.
SECTION LIV.-THE IMPERFECT (continued).

1. The imperfect of the indicative of every French verb,
regular or irregular, ends in ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient.
2. No verb of the first conjugation, er, is irregular in this
tense.

3. The only irregularity found in the imperfect indicative of the irregular verbs of the second conjugation, ir, is that, iss is not inserted between the stem and the ending as, ven-ir, je ven-ais; cour-ir, je cour-ais; cueill-ir, je cueill-ais.

4. The irregular verbs of the third conjugation, oir, change this termination into ais, &c., like the regular verbs of the same; as, sav-oir, je sav-ais; av-oir, j'av-ais. Exceptions: se-oir, to become; voir, to see; and their compounds, and déchoir [see § 64].

5. The changes which the stem of the irregular verbs of the fourth conjugation undergoes, in this tense, are too various to admit of a complete classification. We, however, offer the following:

6. Like prendre and écrire are conjugated, in this tense, those verbs in which prendre and crire appear in composition: as, comprendre, je comprenais; souscrire, je souscrivais.Like craindre and connaître, those ending in indre and aître : as teindre, je teignais; paraître, je paraissais.--Like conduire, those ending in ire: as, lire, je lisais; faire, je faisais; luire, je luisais; dire, je disais, &c.

7. Mettre and its compounds, and être are regular in this tense.

8. The participle present, from which the French grammarians derive the imperfect, presents of course the same irregularities: as, venant, valant, prenant, écrivant, craignant, connaissant, conduisant. Exceptions: avoir, ayant; savoir, MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES.

sachant.

De quoi notre ami avait-il peur ? Of what was our friend afraid?
Il n'avait peur de rien.
He was afraid of nothing.

Cass-er, 1. to break.
Autrement, otherwise.
Chasse, f. hunting.
Di-re, 4. ir. to say.
Moins (au), at least.
Montre, f. watch.
Mort, e, dead.
Offens-er, 1. to offend.
Oubli-er, 1. to forget.

Sav-oir, 3. ir. to know.
Se tromper, 1. to be
mistaken.

Venir, 2. ir. to come, to
have just.*
Vite, quickly.

1. Pourquoi n'écriviez-vous pas plus vite ce matin? 2. Parce que j'avais peur de me tromper. 3. Ne craigniez-vous pas d'offenser cette dame? 4. Je craignais de l'offenser, mais je ne pouvais faire autrement. 5. Que peigniez-vous ce matin? 6. Je peignais un tableau d'histoire. 7. Qu'est-ce que votre teinturier teignait ? 8. Il teignait du drap, de la soie et de la toile. 9. De quelle couleur les teignait-il? 10. Il teignait le drap en noir, et la soie et la toile en vert. 11. Conduisiez-vous le jeune Polonais à l'école lorsque je vous ai rencontré ? 12. Je conduisais mon fils aîné à l'église. 13. Que lisiez-vous? 14. Je lisais des livres que je venais d'acheter. 15. Ne saviez-vous pas que ce monsieur était mort? 16. Je l'avais oublié. 17. Combien la montre que vous avez cassée valait-elle ? 18. Elle valait au moins deux cents francs. 19. Ne valait-il pas mieux rester ici que d'aller à la chasse? 20. Il valait beaucoup mieux aller à l'école. 21. Que vous disait votre ami? 22. Il me disait que son frère est revenu d'Espagne. 23. N'alliez-vous pas à la chasse tous les jours lorsque vous demeuriez à la campagne ? 24. J'allais souvent à la pêche. 25. Mon frère allait tous les jours à l'école quand il était ici.

EXERCISE 104.

1. Were you afraid this morning when you came to our house? 2. I was afraid. 3. Of what were you afraid? 4. I was afraid of the horse. 5. Was not your friend afraid of falling? (de tomber. See Sect. 20, R. 2. 4.) 6. He was not afraid of falling, but he was afraid of making a mistake (de se tromper. See 2. in Exercise above). 7. Were you taking your son to school? 8. I was conducting him to school. 9. What colour was the dyer dyeing the silk? 10. He was dyeing some red and some green? 11. Was he dyeing his linen cloth black or green? 12. He was neither dyeing it black nor green, he was dyeing it pink (rose). 13. What was the gentleman reading? 14. He was reading a letter which he had just received. 15. Were you cold when you came here? 16. I was cold, hungry, and thirsty. 17. Were you not ashamed of your conduct (conduite)? 18. I was ashamed of it. 19. Whither were 21. Were you driving your brother's carriage? 20. I was going to your house. you going when I met you? 22. I was driving my own (la mienne). 23. Were you writing to me or to my father ? 24. I was writing to your friend's cousin.

LESSONS IN ARITHMETIC.-XXIII.

THE MEASURES OF WEIGHT.

12. THE smallest weight in use is called a grain, and by Act of Parliament is defined in the following manner :-A vessel, of which the capacity is a cubic inch, when filled with distilled water at a temperature of 62° (Fahrenheit's thermometer), has

* In the sense of to have just, venir is always followed by de and a verb in the infinitive, and, in this acceptation, is only used in the prosent and imperfect of the indicative.

For measuring dry goods, such as grain, fruit, etc., we have, any amount of gold coin can be legally paid in liquidation of a further, the following denominations :