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12 THE SOUTHERN WORLD, JULY 1, 1882, " The world, dear child, la is we take It, and Mfe. twanre, i« what we make it." ••TIIE NWEETE8T MOTHER.” Little liana waa helping mother Carry home the lady’a basket; , Chubby hands of course were lifting One great handle—can you ask It f As he tugged away beside her. Feeling oh I so brave and strong, Little Hans was softly singing To himself a little song: “ Borne time I'll be tall as father, Though 1 think It’s very tunny, And I’ll work and build big houses, And give mother all the mo icy, For," uud little Hans stopped singing, Feeling oh I so strong and grand, “ I have got the sweetest mother You can flndln all the land." —Mrt. M. Hangtter, in Harper's Young People. I1ABY LlOSiH Most babies are cunning, and baby cats are usually more cunning than any other kind. The lion is only a big cat, and its babies are quite naturally very much like big kittens. They are as big as full grown cats, to be Bure, and their play is sometimes rough; but they have all the funny tricks of kittehs, and are just as full of mischief. You have often seen kittens tense their mother; bitting her tail when she wants to sleep, tapping her nose with their lit tle paws, 'jumping at her, get ting in her way as she walks about, and doing a great many more very impertinent things. J list so do baby lions with their mother. You can see in the picture how two of her little ones are playing with the lion ess, while she is as gentle with them as your mother could bo with you. It is very strange and very beautiful to see how a great, savage beast like the lioness will become so soft and tender for the sake of tier children. Why, if you or I should at tempt to do half the impudent things to her that her babies do, sbe would eat us up. Some times she becomes impatient when they will not let her sleep in jieacc, and then she boxes their ears. It seems a very gen tle tap that she gives them, but it sends them rolling head over wheels. She takes grent care when she hits them, however, that her clows are covered up; for if she did not, she might kill them. If you will notice when you piny with pussy, and she is in a good humor, her paws feel like velvet; but when she is angry, they feel ns if they were full of sharp, crooked pins. It is the same with the lion; it can hide its claws, or put them out, just ns it wishes. Very naturally, almost all animals are kind totheirchild- cn; although there are some exceptions, as you learned last month, when I told you about the tortoise. In a great many cases, however, the father either cares very little, or not at all, for the babies. This is not so with the lion, who seems to love the little ones almost as much as the lioness docs. He helps to take care of them, and lights for them if they are in danger. The tigress, which is also one of the cat tribe, is very fond of her children, too, but will net do as much for them as the lioness will for hers. If the lioness hear a noise she will run out and see what it means, co that she can be ready to protect her children, if necessary. But if the tigress fear any thing she will send her children out ahead of her, so that harm may come to them first. To be sure, she will fight fiercely if any thing wrong happen to them; but it would be more loving if shodid not put them in danger in the first place. The color of the full-grown lion is the same all over its body; but the baby lions are generally striped, and might, for that reason, seem more like young tigers than young lions. These stripes go away after a while, and the young lion begins to look like its parents. It takes a lion about three years to become full grown. Lions that are captured when very young can be made very tame, but are naturally so savage that it is never safe to trust them; for if they do suddenly become angry, they are so very strong that it is almost impossible to control them. It is related of a man who bad tamed a lion and two leopards, which-are also very powerful animals of the cat tribe. These three creatures he used to put into one cage, and then go in with them. He would open the lion's mouth with hishands, and would make the leopards jump over his shoulders. For a long time he had no trouble: but one day the lion was cross about something, and would not open his mouth. The man tried to make him do so, when the lion sud denly sprang upon him and caught his arm in his mouth. Of course the man was ter ribly frightened; but did not dare to show it, for fear that worse would happen. So he stood perfectly still, and with his whip be gan to strike the lion, just as he usually did when the animal was bad. This only made the lion more angry, and he began to growl, while his eyes sparkled like coals of fire. All this time the leopards had remained still; but when they saw that the lion was really going to harm their master, they went to his relief and sprang upon the lion. This sent the second mate to do the job. But he had gone scarcely farther than his superior when he too beat a retreat. It began to look a little Berious, and the captain called, "Come boys, who’ll go? Any one of you! " None volunteering, he turned to a quiet fellow, the youngest sailor of the crew, and asked,— "William, do you dare go up and haul out that earing?" “Yes, sir,” said William “I’ll do it, sir." William went! but when not more than half-way up the ladder, he heard a deep, loud voice, appearantly directly above hiB head, say,— “It blows 1 It blows hard, don't itt" The brave boy wisely arguing that so long os the ghostly intruder did not lay hands on him, he wussafe, continued up the rigging. He let the earing go, and heard the "That's well," from below. Making all secure, he was nearly ready to make the descent, when again he heard the voice, which seemed to say right by his head, “It blows hard, don't itt'' Peering up into the darkness, and hold ing fast with his left hand, he reached with his right in the direction of the sound. To hissurprise he seized something that cut his Be n Good Render. There is an accomplishment, which I would earnestly recommend to the young reader, that of being a good reader. Culti vate, then, assiduously the ability to read well. I stop to particularize this, because it is so very much neglected, and because it is so elegant, charming, and lady-like an ac complishment. Where one person is rarely interested by music, twenty are pleased by good reading. Where one person is capable of becoming a good musician, twenty may become good readers. Where there is one occasion suitable for the exercise of musical talent, there are twenty for that of good reading. The culture of the voice, neces sary for reading well, gives a delightful charm to the same voice in conversation. Good reading is the natural exponent and vehicle of all good things. It is the most effective of all commeiftaries upon the works of genius. It seems to bring dead authors to life again, and makes us sit down famil iarly with the great and good of all ages. Did you ever notice, what life and power the Holy Scriptures has when well read? Have you ever heard the wonderful effects produced by Elizabeth Fry, on the prisoners of Newgate, by simply reading to them the parable of the Prodigal Son ? Princes and peers of the realm, it is said, counted it a privilege to stand in the dismal corridors among felons and murderers, merely to share with them the privilege of witnessing the marvelous pathos, which genius, taste, and culture could infuse into that simple story. What a fascina tion there is in really good reading! What a power it gives one! In the hospital, in the chamber of the invalid, in the nursery, in the domestic, and in the social circle, among chosen friends and companions,’ how it enables you to minister to the umusement, the comfort, the pleasure of dear ones, as no other art or accomplishment can. No instrument of man’s devising can reacli the heart as does that most wonderful in strument, the human voice. It is God’s special gift and endow ment to His chosen creatures. Fold it not away in a napkin. If you would double the value of all your acquisitions, if you would add immeasureahly to your own enjoyment and to your power of promoting the enjoyment of others, cultivate with incessant care this divine gift. No music below the skies is equal to that of pure silvery speech from the lips of a man or a woman of high culture.— Baltimore Presbyterian. BABY LIONS. made the lion turn upon them. By this time some other men had come up and handed into the man inside a heavy iron bar. With this lie beat the lion until he stopped fighting and crawled growling to one end of the cage, when the man got out. A Frightened Sailor. Many a jolly tar who would be a brave hero should he be called to stand at the cun- non’s mouth, will grow pale at the sight and sound which suggests a supernatural vis itor. In the year 184V, on a dark and windy night, the American barque Croton was leaving Havre, France. An order was given to haul out the earing of the main top sail. As this was the duty of the first mate, that oflicer came forward with alucrity. He bad, however, gone but half-way up the rigging when he suddenly turned and ran down to the deck. Pale and trembling he stammered out,— “Cap’n, I—I—can’t! there’s something— a voice there—talking to met " Surprised, but incredulous, the captain forefinger so that he felt the blood flow down his wrist und sleeve. The voice screeched, growled and groaned; something scratched and flapped at his face. But holding it fast and descending os best he could with but one hand to help, and such a struggling companion, he reached the deck. His captive was an old African parrot, gripping with her beak the hand of poor William. Poll had been a stow-away in the rigging, and had heard the sailors say to one another, when the relief at the wheel came round early after dark,— “It blows hard, don’t it? " The Captain,’ when this mystery was un ravelled, said, “Well, William, if you don’t want old foil, I’ll give you ten dollars for her.” William, having enjoyed enough of her company, willingly struck the bargain. —Youths’ Companion. Ink can be extracted from colored articles by dropping tallow on the stains and then soaking and rubbing the same with boiling milk, The Olucrvutory of Mount .Etnn. The famous Hospice of St. Bernard, which is 8120 feet above the level of the sea, lias hitherto enjoyed the distinc tion of being the most elevated building in Europe which is inhabited the year round; but is now to be deprived of that honor. During the past year the city authorities of Catania, in Sicily, have.caused to be erected near the summit of Mount .Etna an astronomical ob servatory, which stands 2943 meters above the sea-level,or fully 1000 feet higher than the Hospice of St. Bernard. The structure is nine meters (of 39.37 inches each) in height, and covers an area of 200 squre meters. It consists of an upper and lower story, and is built in a circular form. In the lower story there rises a massive pillar, upon which is placed the great refracting tele scope. This story is divided into a dining room, kitchen and store-room. In the up per story there are three bed-rooms, intend ed for the accommodation of astronomers and tourists visiting the establishment The roof consists of a movable dome. From the balconies of the upper story a prospect of vast extent and grandeur is presented. The spectator is able to see over half the island of Sicily, the island of Malta, the Lipari Isles and the province of Calabria, on the mainland of Italy. The observatory is erected upon a small cone, which will, in the cose of eruption, protect it completely from the lava-streams.