HABITATIONS OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 173 then to be considered: that's villanous; and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. 1. What does Hamlet say is the true end of playing? 2. What "offends him to the soul?" 3. How are those players described who seem to have been made by "Nature's journeymen?" LESSON CXXIII. MAY THE THIRD. Habitations of the Ancient Britons. In those early periods of our history which are before the invasion by the Romans, our ancestors appear to have had scarcely any other dwellings than thickets, dens, and caverns; and, according to Tacitus and Cæsar, could have been little better in point of civilization than many of the recently-discovered inhabitants of the South Seas. Specimens of these ancient caverns are still to be seen in the western isles of Scotland and in parts of Cornwall. In some parts of Southern England, however, particularly in Kent, the inhabitants appear to have acquired a sufficient knowledge to build houses somewhat more substantial and convenient. The earliest style of architecture practised in Britain, we have no doubt, was similar to that which is still used in the smaller hamlets of England, technically called by village architects "wattle and dab;" being a daubing or rude plastering over the chinks and crevices of the wattled walls of their wicker-worked cabins with clay, and filling up the interstices with moss. The roofs were formed much after the present mode, with boughs of trees thatched with straw as a security against the weather. The best authorities relate that the form of the wooden houses, or huts, of the ancient Britons and Gauls was circular, with lofty conical roofs; at the top or centre of which was an aperture for the admission of light and the emission of the smoke. This description of structure seems to have been the original house; and the early periods of the history of most countries exhibit it as the type and origin of their architecture. We can trace it from the ancestors of the polished Greeks to the aboriginal Britons; and the villages of the Hottentots and Caffres of Africa exhibit it to this day. The foundations of some of the largest of these ancient British mansions were of stone, of which there are yet vestiges in the island of Anglesey, and other thinly-populated parts of these islands. It is probably in imitation of these primeval wooden huts that the oldest stone buildings, of which there are remains in the western isles of Scotland and parts of Ireland, were built circular on their plan, and conical in their elevation, with circular apertures at the top; so that what was a mansion among the ancient Britons, and served the noblest of our ancestors for withdrawing-rooms, boudoirs, parlours, &c., would make an excellent, though small-sized, tile-kiln of the present day. When the Romans first invaded this country, they found nothing agreeing with modern ideas of towns or cities, but merely scattered assemblages of huts; for, according to Strabo, what the Britons called a town was a tract of woody country, surrounded by a mound and a ditch for the security of themselves and their cattle from the ravages of their enemies. The palaces of their chiefs resembled the dwellings of the common people in construction, and differed only in the size and solidity of their workmanship. From the expression of Caractacus, who, when taken captive and sent in triumph to Rome, exclaimed, in passing through its streets of palaces, how was it possible that a people possessed of so much magnificence at home could envy humble cottage in Britain?- we may infer, as coming from the mouth of a primeval British monarch, that his subjects had made no considerable improvement in their architecture for at least a hundred years after the first invasion of the Romans. his 1. In what part of the British dominions are still to be seen specimens of the caverns of the ancient Britons ? 2. What was the form of their wooden huts? LESSON CXXIV. MAY THE FOURTH. - Barthelemy. On this day, in 1795, died, in Paris, at the age of eighty, the Abbé Barthelemy, the celebrated author of "Anacharsis's Travels in Greece; a general work on the history, manners, customs, literature, &c. of Greece, presented in the novel and elegant form of the supposed observations of a traveller,-Anacharsis, an imagined ACCOUNT OF MASSIEU. 175 descendant of the ancient Scythian philosopher of that name. This person is represented as visiting Greece in the year 363 B. C., and fixing his residence in Athens, whence he makes excursions, not only to the other Grecian cities, but to Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, and the islands of the Ægean Sea. Admitting this basis of fiction, every thing else is supported by the authority, exactly referred to, of ancient writers. An infinite number of detached circumstances derived from them are digested into a lively and connected narrative, which, by the help of retrospects, is made to comprise every thing curious and important relative to a people, undoubtedly the most interesting in the history of mankind, down to the period fixed upon for the philosopher's travels, which is that of Epaminondas, Phocion, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, and other men of extraordinary merit. The elegance of style, the beauties of narration, and the judiciousness of reflection, render this the first work, in point of entertainment and instruction, that so brilliant a subject has produced. It is an excellent addition to the literary cabinet of Europe, and its value has been recognized by abundant editions and translations into different languages. It is said that this admirable work was the labour of thirty years' incessant application! 1. Who expired on this day, in 1795 ? 2. What renders Anacharsis's Travels the first work, in point of entertainment and instruction, that so brilliant a subject has produced? Account of Massieu, a Deaf and Dumb Pupil of the Abbé Sicard. THE Abbé Sicard was an eminent Instructor of the Deaf and Dumb, and successor of the Abbé L'Epée, founder of that excellent institution in Paris. It was during Sicard's imprisonment, in the too memorable "reign of terror," that he composed that course of instruction for the deaf and dumb, which has since made his name so famous throughout all civilized nations. One of his pupils, Massieu, who was the wonder of the school, published the following account of himself and his feelings: : His ideas of right and wrong were taught him, he says, by his father's applauses, and by a cane, which stood in the corner of the room. From seeing the family at times on their knees, with uplifted hands, he had conceived there was something greater beyond the clouds, and this it was, he supposed, that descended at night and drew towards it the plants and seeds which were committed to the earth. Animals, he thought, were produced and grew like plants. He perceived that other boys were in possession of some faculty that he had not, and thought that it might be acquired at school, where they regularly assembled, but he found (and it made him weep) that he gained nothing by going there. He learned to count ten in taking care of his sheep, and would then notch down one upon his staff, and begin counting another ten, but that was the extent of his acquirements. When first brought to Bourdeaux, he was every day in expectation of seeing the new flock he was to take care of; and fearful in the mean time of some evil intention in those about him, and of some mischief in every motion; and was trying to get back to his sheep again, when the Abbé Sicard commenced his education. It seems almost incredible that this poor lad should have so rapidly become what he is here described, and that he should have astonished the audience, as he frequently did at the exhibitions of the Abbé Sicard, by answers to such questions as people frequently came prepared to ask. Thus: What is eternity? It is a day without yesterday, or tomorrow it is a never-ending time of which we know not the beginning. What is a revolution? It is a tree, the roots of which have shot up in place of the stem. What is gratitude? It is the memory of the heart. Such are the answers which Massieu gave, nor would it be easy to give better, or express them more happily. There is a simplicity in the language of these people, when they express themselves upon paper, which is very interesting. It happened once to Massieu to have his pocket picked, and his attestation before the magistrate was as follows: "I am a sourd-muet. I was stand ing with others, sourd-muets like myself, looking at the pyx of the holy sacrament, when a man perceived a red pocket-book in my right coat pocket. He approached me gently and took it. My hip informed me of what had happened. I turned towards him: he was frightened, and threw the pocket-book against the leg of another man, who picked it up and gave it to me. I took him by the coat; he turned pale and trembled; I beckoned to a soldier and showed him the pocket-book. The soldier has BATTLE OF PRAGUE. 177 brought this man-robber before you, and I have followed. I swear before God he took my pocket-book. He dares not swear before God. I hope he will not have his head cut off, but only be made to row upon the sea, for he has not killed." The first effusions of his mind, when his teacher had made him feel the necessity of a Supreme Being, and convinced his reason that there was a God, were truly astonishing. He begged that he might return home and give the blessed information to his parents, and to his brothers and sisters; and when he was informed that the government had decreed him 1200 livres a year as an assistant teacher; "Ah, how happy I am!" was his exclamation, "my dear parents now can never want bread!" 1. Who was the Abbé Sicard? 2. By what were Massieu's ideas of right and wrong taught him? 3. How did he explain the meaning of eternity? 4. What was Massieu's exclamation when informed that the government had decreed him 1200 livres a year? LESSON CXXVI.-MAY THE SIXTH. Battle of Prague. On this day, in 1757, was fought the battle of Prague, in which the Austrians were defeated by the King of Prussia, and their whole camp taken. In this famous engagement the brave Marshal Schwerin, a Prussian general, was killed. This battle was perhaps the bloodiest in which Frederick was ever engaged. The Prussians performed wonders, and displayed a bravery beyond all praise; but in consequence of a most destructive fire of grape shot, and the difficulty of approaching the enemy, they began to lose courage and to give way. Schwerin, who was posted before a narrow pass, seeing his regiment falling back, snatched the colours from an ensign of the second battalion, placed himself in front of the regiment, and calling out to his men, "Do you not see that the enemy are already turning their backs?" encouraged them to advance. But scarcely had he proceeded a few steps when he was wounded by a grape shot above the right ear; another having struck him in the heart, and two in the lower part of the belly, he fell and instantly expired. The last act of this heroic veteran turned the fate of the |