The fall of waters! rapid as the light,
The flashing mass foams shaking the abyss;
The hell of waters where they howl and hiss
And boil in endless torture;

and how the giant element

From rock to rock leaps with delirious bound, Crushing the cliffs, which, downward worn and rent With his fierce footsteps, yield in chasms a fearful vent To the broad column which rolls on.

Smooth to the shelving brink, a copious flood
Rolls fair and placid, where collected all

In one impetuous torrent, down the steep

BYRON.

It thundering shoots and shakes the country round.
At first an azure sheet it rushes broad,
Then whitening by degrees, as prone it falls,
And from the loud resounding rocks below,
Dash'd in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft
A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless shower.
Nor even the torrid wave here finds repose,
But raging still among the craggy rocks,
Now flashes o'er the scattered fragments, now
Aslant the hollow'd channel rapid darts,
And falling fast from gradual slope to slope,
With wild infracted course and lessen'd roar
It gains a safer bed, and steals at last
Along the mazes of the quiet vale.

Now round the rock, now mounting o'er,
In lawless dance they win their way,

Still seeming more and more

To swell as we survey.

They rush and roar, they whirl and leap,
Not wilder drives the wintry storm,

Yet a strong law they keep,

Strange powers their course inform.

- KEBLE.

As you read the first description of a waterfall try to picture it, and consider whether you have ever seen such a fall. Select the words which refer to the motion and sound, and describe in your own language the motion or sound which each indicates. What feature of the fall was most strongly suggested to the poet, beauty or strength?

Describe the river pictured in the second quotation. Was it the writer's purpose to call attention to some marked characteristic of this fall, or merely to give an accurate description of the river? Do you find any points of resemblance between this description and the one given by Byron? Which presents the more vivid picture of the fall itself? of the water as it dashes against the rocks below the fall? Read the last line of each description and consider what impressions you receive from them. How does the third description differ from the other two? Do you think this fall was similar in size and general appearance to the others? Discuss the emotions aroused in these three cases, and if you discover any differences in the mental attitude of these writers toward the streams they describe, state them.

Practical and Poetical Views of Niagara Falls Compared. -You have doubtless heard many comments and opinions. both for and against destroying for commercial purposes, the beauty of some natural feature of the landscape near your home. You may also have heard or read of the desires of those who wish to put to practical use such famous natural wonders as the Palisades of the Hudson and the Falls of Niagara, and of the efforts of others to preserve

these magnificent examples of nature's workmanship. Perhaps you have noted that the widely opposing views which people hold upon these subjects, result from different personal interests. The following upon the utilizing of the great water-power of Niagara presents the opinion of a man who regards the desire of those who would preserve the magnificence and grandeur of this wonder of nature as worthless sentiment.

"Probably there is no waterfall in the world equal to Niagara. It is situated in the center of one of the most enterprising nations in the world. It is the outlet of a series of the largest lakes in the world, extending over half a continent. It is estimated that the falls are capable of producing 350,000,000 horse-power. Is it reasonable to suppose that this great power exists simply for the gratification of a few tourists? I believe that the falls were formed for the use of man in his evolved state, and that now is the appropriate time to use them. We have

arrived at the point in the progress of the arts and sciences that we are able to utilize this great power for the good of mankind.

Coal and gas will in a few years become scarce and expensive. Electricity is the only power that can take the place of these. This 350,000,000 horse-power can and should be so developed that it can be utilized for all the power, light, and heat required for every purpose in central New York and central Canada.

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Why not in this twentieth century, which is so progressive and ambitious, utilize Niagara Falls for our business and pleasure, and develop them for the use of future generations while we can?

"The state ought to derive enough revenue from them to pay all its taxes."

After reading the practical view of this manufacturer, it may be interesting to read what the novelist, Dickens, says of the thoughts suggested and the emotions aroused by the sight of this awe-inspiring spectacle.

AT NIAGARA

Oh, how the strife and trouble of daily life receded from my view, and lessened in the distance during the ten memorable days which we passed on that enchanted ground! What voices spoke from out the thundering water; what faces, faded from earth, looked out upon me from its gleaming depths; what Heavenly promise glistened in those angels' tears, the drops of many hues that showered around, and twined themselves about the gorgeous arches which the changing rainbows made!

To wander to and fro all day, and see the cataracts from all points of view; to stand upon the edge of the great Horse Shoe Fall, marking the hurried water gathering strength as it approached the verge, yet seeming, too, to pause before it shot into the gulf below; to gaze from the river's level up at the torrent as it came streaming down; to climb the neighboring heights and watch it through the trees, and see the wreathing water in the rapids hurrying on to take its fearful plunge; to linger in the shadow of the solemn rocks three miles below; watching the river as, stirred by no visible cause, it heaved and eddied and awoke the echoes, to have Niagara be

fore me, lighted by the sun, and by the moon, red in the day's decline, and gray as evening slowly fell upon it; to look upon it every day, and wake up in the night and hear its ceaseless voice: this was enough.

I think in every quiet season now, still do those waters roll and leap, and roar and tumble all day long; still are the rainbows spanning them a hundred feet below. Still, when the sun is on them, do they shine and glow like molten gold. Still, when the day is gloomy do they fall like snow, or seem to crumble away like the front of a great chalk cliff, or roll down the rock like a dense white smoke. But always does the mighty stream appear to die as it comes down, and always from its unfathomable grave arises that tremendous ghost of spray and mist, which is never laid.

From "American Notes."-DICKENS.

The writer of the following does not say so much of the fall itself as of what is suggested to him by the sight of it.

THE FALL OF NIAGARA

The thoughts are strange that crowd into my brain,
While I look upward to thee. It would seem
As if God poured thee from his hollow hand,
And hung his bow upon thine awful front,
And spoke in that loud voice that seemed to him
Who dwelt in Patmos for his Saviour's sake
The sound of many waters; and had bade
Thy flood to chronicle the ages back,

And notch his centuries in the eternal rocks.

Deep calleth unto deep. And what are we,
That hear the question of that voice sublime?
O, what are all the notes that ever rung

From war's vain trumpet, by thy thundering side?
Yea, what is all the riot man can make

In his short life to thy unceasing roar?

And yet, bold babbler, what art thou to Him
Who drowned a world, and heaped the waters far
Above its loftiest mountains? a light wave,
That breaks, and whispers of its Maker's might.

- BRAINARD.

What effect does Mr. Dickens say the sight of Niagara had upon him? What visions of the imagination were called up by it? Why did he wander "to and fro all day to see the cataract from all points of view"? Mention the things he saw. Do you think the writer of the first quotation saw these same things when he looked at the falls and the rapids below them? In what way did Niagara become a continual delight to Mr. Dickens? Mention some other example from literature of the lasting joy which nature gives to those who observe and love her. What is suggested to the writer of the last selection by the sight of Niagara? What comparisons does he make to express his thought of the power and strength of the water and the greater power