power

hour!

the finest pictures in nature,

And hail thee as a seraph bright;

skies

in these things, while another finds so many points to admire, that he has scarcely language to express all he feels. One seems to go through the world with his eyes shut, the other with them open:

"There went two travellers forth one day,

To a beautiful mountain they took

their way:

The one, an idle hour to employ ; The other to see,-to learn,-to enjoy.

"And when from their journeying homeward they came,

There crowded around them master and dame;

something to please, if only we are willing to be pleased; and even in the crumbling remains of an old castle we may discover much to instruct and interest us, as soon as we begin to inquire into its history and associations.

In the Principality of Wales is to be found much to attract the lover of the beautiful in nature. It is also rich in antiquities, and in historic associations. Especially is this the case in South Wales; and we may name the county of Pembroke as being distinguished in this respect.

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Its name is derived from pen, "head," or "end;" and vro, 'an inhabited land." It has given the title of "Earl" to several noble families. It formerly had a number of castles, some of them very fine, even in their ruins. It is said that the first castle of Pembroke was built of stakes and turf, by Arnulf de Montgomery, in the reign of Henry I. Looking at our picture, we see it must have undergone many changes since that time.

During the civil wars of Charles I., this castle made a gallant defence for the Crown, but it was taken and dismantled by Cromwell, in 1648.

Here Henry VII. of England

was born. With his ascent to the throne terminated the "Wars of the Roses,' as they were called.

He belonged to the House of Lancaster, and his Queen to that of York; so the interests of the two Houses were blended in them, and ever after they were incapable of political distinctions.

Henry seems to have been a great lover of peace; but in this particular he was not sympathized with by his subjects. They had been so long accustomed to war, that they could not readily value the blessings of peace; and, therefore, during a part of his reign we hear of nothing but plots, treasons, and insurrections. The usual preface to his treaties was "that when Christ came into the world peace was sung, and when He went out of the world peace was bequeathed."

Notwithstanding many faults, Henry seems, on the whole, to have done much good to his subjects. He endeavoured to extend the privileges of the people, and his efforts were directed to promote trade and commerce. He attempted, by his own example, to teach his people frugality, and a just payment of their debts. Some have thought that England ha

not had such another King since the days of the great Alfred.

"He rendered," one historian has said, "his subjects powerful and happy, and wrought a greater change in the manners of the people, than it was possible to suppose could be effected in so short a time." E.

:

FISHES.

"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was So. And God made the beast of the

earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good." (Genesis i. 20-25.)

HIS chapter is the history of God's great and grand work in the beginning. It tells us what He

made, or created, and the order in which He did His work. Every day's creation was different from the rest, and all were pronounced to be "very good."

You have just read above what Moses says God did on the fifth day, and on the former part of the sixth day. There appear to have been four distinct kinds of animals, or creatures, brought into being on this portion of the seven days' work.

2. The fowls that "fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven;" or, "the birds of the air."

3. "The beasts of the earth, and cattle, after their kind." 4. The creeping thing "that creepeth upon the earth.”

God commanded the waters to bring forth the fish and the fowls, and the earth to bring forth the cattle and creeping things; "and it was so, and God saw that it was good." In this Paper we shall speak about the fish. And what is a fish? An animal that lives in the water. It has a bony skeleton,

reaching from the head to the tail, and on each side branch off smaller bones down the sides of the body. Their form seems to be the best for swimming in the water, being long, and tapering toward the tail fin. They have eyes suitable for the water, and gills to enable them to breathe, and to purify their blood. Their fins are the instruments of motion, either backward, forward, down, or up. They are covered with scales, which overlie one another, so that the water cannot get beneath, and also that they may smoothly glide through the water. They have many teeth, and sharp ones; not, however, for chewing their food, because they swallow it whole, but for holding what they catch. Fish are of various sizes, strange shapes, and amazing qualities; from the monstrous whale, to the tiniest animalcule that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Some are freshwater fish, and cannot live in the salt sea; and the greater part of them reside only in the salt water. I cannot tell how long they live, or how many of them, when they die, become the food of others.

These and many other things respecting the different kinds of fishes it is desirable to know,

because they increase our admiration of the great Creator; and the more we know of Him, the more we shall adore Him for His wonderful works.

Noah had no instruction about fishes when he entered the ark, and we may suppose that they still lived in the mighty waters of the Flood. But fishes are very frequently spoken about in the Holy Scriptures. Among the great plagues that came upon Egypt, was that of the river becoming blood, when all the fish died. The children of Israel, when in the wilderness, remembered the fish they used to eat while in bondage. The Lord also commanded what fish they should, also those they should not, eat. Solomon "spake of creeping things and fishes." Nehemiah says the Syrians brought fish for sale, but were turned away because they brought them on the Sabbath. We read, also, of the