10. The stealthy nights encroach upon the days, The earth with sudden whiteness is ablaze, And all her paths are lost in crystal maze! 11. Tread lightly where the dainty violets blew, Where the Spring winds their soft eyes open flew Safely they sleep the churlish Winter through. 12. Though all life's portals are indiced with woe, And frozen pearls are all the world can show, Feel! Nature's breath is warm beneath the snow. 13. Look up, dear mourners! Still the blue expanse, Serenely tender, bends to catch thy glance; Within thy tears sibylic sunbeams dance! 14. With blooms full-sapped again will smile the land, (The fall is but the folding of His hand,) Anon with fuller glories to expand. 15. The dumb heart hid beneath the pulseless tree Will throb again; and then the torpid bee Upon the ear will drone his drowsy glee. 16. So shall the truant bluebirds backward fly,So shall loved things that vanish, or that die, Return to us in some sweet By-and-By! CXI. OUR WONDROUS ATMOSPHERE. 1. The atmosphere rises above us about thirty miles with its dome, arching toward the heavens, of which it is the most familiar synonym and symbol. It floats around us, like that grand object which the Apostle John saw in his vision "a sea of glass like unto crystal." 2. So massive is it, that when it stirs it tosses about great ships like playthings, and sweeps cities and forests, like snow-flakes, to destruction before it. Its weight is so enormous that iron shivers before it like glass; yet a soap bubble sails through it with impunity, and the thinnest insect waves it aside with its wing, and it is so subtile that the great bulk of mankind scarcely realize that they are continually bathed in an "ocean of air." 3. It ministers lavishly to all the senses. We touch it not, but it touches us. Its warm south winds bring back color to the face of the invalid; its cool west winds refresh the fevered brow, and make the blood mantle in our cheeks; even its northern blast braces into new vigor the hardened children of our rugged climate. 4. The eye is indebted to it for all the magnificence of sunrise, the full brightness of mid-day, the chastened radiance of the twilight, and the clouds that cradle near the setting sun. But for it the rainbow would want its "triumphal arch," and the winds would not send their fleecy messengers on errands around the heavens. The cold ether would not shed snow feathers on the earth, nor would drops of dew gather on the flowers. The kindly rain would never fall; nor hail, nor storm, nor fog diversify the face of the sky. 5. Our naked globe would turn its tanned and unshadowed forehead toward the sun, and one dreary monotonous blaze of light and heat would dazzle and burn up all things. Were there no atmosphere, the evening sun would in a moment set, and, without warning, plunge the earth in darkness. But the air keeps his rays, and lets them slip but slowly through her fingers; so that the shadows of evening are gathered by degrees, and the flowers have time to bow their heads, and every creature an opportunity to find a place of rest. 6. In the morning the sun would burst at one bound from the bosom of night, and blaze above the horizon: 1; but the air watches for his coming, and sends at first one little ray to announce his approach, and then another, and by and by a handful, and so gently draws aside the curtain of night, and slowly lets the light fall on the face of the earth, till her eyelids open, and like a man, she goeth forth again to her labors till the evening. CXII. TYPOGRAPHY: ITS ORIGIN AND PROGRESS. 1. The discovery or invention of no other art can compare, in point of usefulness, to the typographic art. Notwithstanding its great importance, and the recent ness of its origin, my readers will be surprised to learn that its inventor and early history are alike veiled in doubt. 2. "The inventor of this noble art to find, On Gutenberg, and Faust, and on Schoffer." 3. Some assert that printing has been practiced in China from the earliest days of antiquity; but it is quite certain that the fifteenth century has the honor of making it available to the world at large. All admit that, previous to that time "types" were not known. 4. It is probable that the idea was suggested to Caster, an old bachelor, by a few letters or characters which he had cut in the bark of a beech-tree. After this he cut letters on blocks, and from them printed toys for the children of his brother, with whom he resided. 5. For some time the matter to be printed was cut, inverted, on blocks of wood, from which the impressions were taken. At this early period, the present printed characters were unknown,-only script letters were used; and, of course, all the printing in those days looked like writing. 6. Wooden type was soon found to be insufficient, and resort was had to metal, on which the type was cut the same as on wood. The Bible was the first book printed with this metal type, and, in fact, the first book of much note printed at all, though there had been several pamphlets, a grammar and some other small books printed. 7. The first publishers of the Bible were John Faust, Peter Schoffer, and John Gutenberg; and their first edition was issued A. D. 1450. Previous to this time, the Bible was furnished by scribes; and as it took a long time to copy it, and as but few persons could write, a complete copy was very expensive, often costing as high as six hundred crowns, or six hundred and fifty-four dollars each. 8. Faust, who was the money man of the firm, conceived an idea for enhancing their moneyed interest. To this end he went to Paris, taking a number of copies of the Bible with him, which he sold as manuscripts, at first, at the ordinary prices. 9. Soon, however, he reduced the price to sixty, and shortly after to thirty crowns a copy. This excited the astonishment of the people; but how much greater was their wonder when, on comparing different copies, they found them to be exactly alike. 10. Given not a little to the marvelous, the people were quite positive that something more than human agency had conspired to produce such wonderful results; and, as Satan is always considered the instigator of innovation, it was at once declared that Faust was in league with the devil. 11. This declaration was held to be proved beyond controversy, by the fact that the manuscripts were embellished with red ink, which they supposed to be blood. Faust was thrown into prison, and would have atoned for his enormous sin by his life, had he not revealed the secret. Faust probably died of the plague, at Paris, in 1466. 12. Peter Schoffer is entitled to the credit of inventing metal types as they now exist. At first, the type, made of lead only, was found too soft; but this defect was soon remedied by compounding harder metals with the lead. This improved metal type was first used in 1459. 13. Since that time great improvements have been made in type in their composition, size, form and general appearance. At that day the type was all of one size, and much larger than that now in general use. For much of this improvement, as well as for the invention of metal types, and even of typography itself, we are indebted to the Germans. 14. Printing was introduced into England by William Caxton, in 1474. In 1569 it found its way into Mexico, North America, and not until 1639 did it appear in what is now the United States. To Cambridge, Massachusetts, belongs the honor of setting up the first printing-press in America. This press was established by the Rev. Jesse Glover, under the direction of Stephen Day. The first thing printed was the Freeman's Oath; the second, an Almanac; and the third, a Version of the Psalms. 15. John Forster introduced the first press into Boston in 1675. Though Cambridge has the honor of owning the |