en the king; and this so provoked the lord mayor, who was with the king, that he immediately knocked down Wat Tyler with his mace, and one of his attendants killed him with a sword*. Wat Tyler's mob, having thus lost their leader, were violently angry, but the young king spoke to them in the mildest manner possible, and told them "that they should not want a leader, for that he would be their leader himself, and he felt sure that they would be his faithful and loyal subjects." This pleased them so much, that they gave up all thoughts of rebelling against the king, and went quietly to their homes again.

King Richard, however, though he began so well, did not goon in the same manner. He soon shewed that he did not know how to govern the nation; and this encouraged his cou sin, the duke of Lancaster, to try to get the kingdom out of his hands, This duke had been banished by the king, but he came home again, and landed in Yorkshire, and was joined by

*See the Picture.

so many people, that he was soon able to put the king aside, and to be crowned in his stead. This was all wrong, for the duke of Lancaster had no right at all to be king of England. Some time after this, poor king Richard was murdered in a cruel manner at Pomfret castle. It is said that eight savage murderers were sent to kill him, and that he snatched a pole-axe out the hand of one of them, with which he killed four of them, and was at last killed himself. Another account is, that he was starved to death in prison. Whichever way it was, it was truly barbarous, and it is impossible to help feeling compassion for the distresses, and the miserable end of this king. He died in the year 1899.

(To be continued.)

THE BUTTERFLY.

TAKE care how you handle that butterfly. Would you believe it? all that powder which comes off on your fingers is feathers. You would presently be convinced of that if you were to see it through a microscope; by which I instrument fitted up with

an

glasses so as to make these small things appear quite large, so that we can see every part of them.-Mrs. Trimmer.

SOLAN GEESE, OR GANNETS. THESE are birds of passage. They are seen in great numbers, in some of the small islands near Scotland. In one of these islands, about a mile round, you may see, about the month of May or June, the whole surface of

the ground so completely covered with nests, eggs, and young birds, that it is scarcely possible to walk without treading on them. The flocks of birds on the wing are so large that they darken the air like clouds, and their noise is so great that a man can hardly hear his neighbour's voice. If you look down from the top of the precipice, you will see it on every side covered with an immense number of birds, swimming about, and hunting for prey. When sailing round the island, if you look at the hanging cliffs, you will perceive every crag and fissure of the rock to be completely covered with these birds. The rocks of St. Kilda*, abound with Gannets.

They form the chief food of the inhabitants, who are said to consume not less than twenty-two thousand six hundred young birds of this species every year, besides a great many of their eggs. When these geese come to the islands, the people then know that the herrings are coming. They

One of the Hebrides (Héb-ri-dés) or Islands on the West of Scotland.

live chiefly upon fish. They build their nests on the highest and steepest rocks they can find near the sea. They hover over a shoal of herrings or pilchards, as a kite does over its prey; then they drop head foremost like a stone, into the water, and never fail to bring up a fish.

So great is the number of these birds, that you may watch many hours in vain for some end to their long lines, which stream from all quarters along the surface of the water, as they steer their course home to their beds in the evening. This is a daily occurrence; and, whatever the weather may be, nay even in the thickest fogs, their course is still straight to the mark. So certain is their flight, that boatmen, unprovided with a compass, place perfect reliance on them, as it is said the Norwegians of old did on their ravens. In addition to this property, we cannot but admire the beautiful provision made by nature, to prevent them from being killed by the stroke of the water when they fall down from aloft, with such force on their prey. The skin is so nearly independent of the breast as to be held to it only by a few slight filaments or