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Few rocks so bare but to their hights
Some tiny moss-plant clings;
And round the peaks so desolate,
The sea-bird sits and sings.
Believe me, too, that rugged souls,
Beneath their rudeness, hide
Much that is beautiful and good,-
We've all our angel side.

2. In all there is an inner depth,
A far-off, secret way,

Where, through the windows of the soul,
God sends His smiling ray.
In every human heart there is

A faithful, sounding chord
That may be struck, unknown to us,
By some sweet, loving word.
The wayward will in man may try

Its softer thoughts to hide,-
Some unexpected tone reveals.
It has an angel side.

3. Despised, and lone, and trodden down,
Dark with the shades of sin,

Deciphering not those halo-lights
Which God has lit within;
Groping about in endless night,

Poor, poisoned souls they are,
Who guess not what life's meaning is,
Nor dream of heaven afar.

O that some gentle hand of love
Their stumbling steps would guide,
And show them that, amidst it all,
Life has its angel side!

4. Brutal, and mean, and dark enough,
God knows some natures are;
But He, compassionate, comes near,
And shall we stand afar?

Our cruse of oil will not grow less
If shared with hearty hand;
For words of peace and looks of love
Few natures can withstand.

Love is the mighty conqueror,

Love is the beauteous guide,

Love, with her beaming eyes, can see
We've all our angel side.

LESSON XIII.

THE SEAL.

1. Seals are amphibious animals, and are found in almost every quarter of the globe, but are especially abundant in the frozen regions of the North. The Arctic species are very numerous, and are applied by the Esquimaux* to a great variety of purposes. They furnish food for his table, oil for his lamp, clothing for his person, while their bones and skins. supply materials for the light boats in which he travels across the icy seas.

2. The common seal is from four to five feet long, and its weight is sometimes above two hundred pounds. Its head is round, and in some positions has the appearance of that of a dog. The limbs of the seal are like paddles. The arm and fore-arm of the anterior limbs are very short, so that the paw

* Esquimaux (es'ki-mo), a people living in the northern part of North America.

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extends but little from the body. The paw is made of what corresponds to the finger-bones in man, and is covered with a skin which stretches between the fingers, so as to resemble the webbed feet of swimming birds. In giving the backward stroke in swimming, the fingers are spread out, but in the forward stroke they are brought together.

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3. The hinder limbs are directed backward, so as to look very much like a tail at the end of a tapering body. In swimming, the seal uses the fore-paws as paddles; and the hinder ones, with an up and down motion, form both a sculling and steering oar. On land or ice the movements of the seal are very awkward, it being carried forward by the fore paws, while the hinder feet are dragged along. Its body is covered with a glossy fur, closely set to the skin, so as not to interfere with its swimming, which it performs with great

celerity. The nostrils and the ears have valves, which the animal can close when it goes under water, where it can, like the whale, remain for some length of time.

4. The Esquimau uses various stratagems for taking these creatures, which are by no means easy of capture. They are usually very shy and suspicious, even in places where man has never been seen by them. They have also other enemies, especially the great Polar bear; and the dread of this tyrant. of the icy seas keeps them ever on the alert. Notwithstanding their watchfulness, however, both bear and man make great havoc among them, and each year hundreds of thousands of them are destroyed.

5. The bear, in capturing seals, exhibits a cunning excelled only by that of man himself. When this great quadruped perceives a seal basking on the edge of an ice-field, he does not rush directly toward it, for he knows that this would defeat his purpose; for, if seen by the seal, the latter would at once sink into the water, or swim beyond his reach. To prevent this, the bear makes his approaches under water by diving below the surface, now and then cautiously raising his head to see the true position of his intended victim. At last he gets close in to the edge of the floe, in such a position as to cut off the seal's retreat. A single spring brings him on the ice, and then before the poor seal has time to flounder to the water, it finds itself locked in the deadly embrace of the bear.

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6. When a seal is thus detected asleep by a native, he approaches it in his kayak,* taking care to paddle cautiously and silently till he gets between it and the open water. he succeeds in this, he then easily kills it with a club or spear. Sometimes, however, the seal goes to sleep on the surface of the open water. Then the approach is made in a similar manner by the kayak, and the animal is struck by a harpoon.

*Kayak, a light boat made of seal-skin stretched across a frame.

But a single blow does not always kill a seal, especially if it be a large one, and the blow has been ill-directed.

7. In such a case the animal would undoubtedly make its escape and carry the harpoon along with it, which would be

a serious loss to the owner, who does not obtain such a weapon without great difficulty. To prevent this, the Esquimau attaches a float or buoy to his harpoon by means of a cord; and this so impedes the progress of the seal through the water, that it can neither dive nor swim to any great distance. Wherever the seal may go, the float betrays its track, and the Esquimau follows in his shuttle-shaped kayak till he can strike again with a surer aim.

8. In winter, when the sea is quite covered with ice, one might fancy that the seal fishery would be at an end; for the seal is essentially a marine animal. But although it can exist on the ice or dry land it can not subsist there. It must have access to the water in order to procure food, which consists of small fish and mollusca. When the ice becomes, as it often does, a full yard in thickness, extending over hundreds of miles of the sea, how does the seal get to the water? and when in the water, how does the Esquimau get at the seal? It could not be reached at all, and in such a season the poor natives would undoubtedly starve, were it not for a habit peculiar to this animal, which, happily for these people, brings it within their reach.

9. Though the seal can live for a long time under water like a fish, it must now and then come to the surface for fresh air. With this design, while the ice is yet thin it breaks a hole in it, and this hole it keeps carefully open during the entire winter, clearing out each new crust as it forms. No matter to what thickness the ice may attain, this hole always forms a breathing-place for the seal, and a passage by which it may reach the upper surface, and indulge in its favorite siesta in the open air. Knowing this habit, the Esquimau takes advantage of it to make the seal his captive.

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