ABOUT SPONGES.

r [ee coasts of Great Britain may be said to be

rather rich in sponge growths; twenty-four
kinds have been discovered. Fresh-water lakes and
rivers also possess their sponges. Those found on
our coasts, although unfit for the sponge market,
form most interesting objects for the cabinet or the
aquarium. A warmer sea and more genial climate
than ours appear necessary to develope the sort of
sponge sought by the merchant, who obtains the
great bulk of his supply from the ports of the Medi-
terranean; the coast of Syria, the Greek Islands, and
Barbary, being noted for their yield of sponge. ‘Tri-
poli, Latakia, and Beyrout, are the principal ports of
shipment. The Turkish sponge-trade is also of con-
siderable importance; from 4000 to 5000 men, and
between 600 and 700 boats, being annually employed
in it. The Greeks may, however, be considered the
principal sponge-fishers. Much experience, skill, and
hardihood, are needed to qualify a man for a first-
class place among sponge-divers ; many of the most
valuable specimens, which. sell readily in Paris -or
Vienna for from Ti. to 102. each, being obtained at
depths varying from ten to thirty-five fathoms. To
aid in the descent, the divers make use of a triangular
stone, with a hole in one corner, through which a rope
is spliced. On reaching the deep sea-gardens, where
the rock-ledges and pinnacles are clothed with marine
growths, the diver, retaining a hold on his rope,
dexterously breaks away the holdfast of the sponges,
places them, with their foundations, under his arm,
until a sufficient load has been gleaned, when a pull
of the rope signals to haul up, and he ascends to the
surface with his ocean treasures.—Cassell’s Popular
Educator.

 

 

A CLEARING SHOWER.
Suet a miserable day at Brighton! Outside, the

rain driving against the window, the wind howl-
ing, and the dull thud of the waves breaking upon the
beach. Inside, a bright blazing fire. A pretty drawing-
room, with three people in it—two visitors, anda young
girl doing her best to amuse Granny’s guests this
terribly wet day.

Julia was only thirteen, buf even girls of thirteen
can be very useful in helping to make a house
pleasant, if they like. Julia lived most of the year
with Granny. Her mother was dead, and her father,
a retired military man, was thankful that she had
such a kind relation to care for her. Julia had been
rather a delicate child, and so she had not had much
regular education, yet, from listening to Granny’s
talk and reading, she was growing up a well-informed
girl on many subjects.

‘ See, this is my cabinet; everything in it is my very
own. Father brought it for me from Japan. It has
six secret drawers, and everyone has a present in it to
surprise me—studs in one, a ring in another, and. . .
T really forget what was in the rest. Look, this is a
piece of a monk’s gown; that is the oldest curiosity I
have got. It came from St. Edmund’s Priory, the
house Granny used to live in before she came here.
She knew the house was an old monastery, but when
it was last used as such no one could tell. New

 

 

 

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stables were being built when, one day, the butler
came in to say that the workmen had just found
a long stone box, would her ladyship like to come
and see it opened? All the house assembled to see
what it contained, and there lay the skeleton. of a
monk, in the gown of his order. Of course Granny
had him put back carefully in his grave, but she kept
this bit of his robe to show. Isn’t it a funny yellow-
brown colour?’

So we went on turning over the little treasures,
Julia telling us something interesting about nearly
everyone. ‘Qh, Cousin Clare, here is the prettiest
thing of all! Granny brought it from Leipzig when
she was a girl. They don’t make such toys now.’

It certainly was a very pretty plaything, a copy of
a German fair in tin, all the different stalls and
booths—not two alike.

Julia could not resist the wish to set them up in a
regular square, with rows of shops, as they really are
seen inGermany. My thoughts meanwhile flew back
—oh, so many years! to when I was a little girl, and
lived in a German town, where this very sort of. fair,
which came regularly four times a-year, was looked
forward to with the greatest excitement. You must
not imagine it was like the common English fairs,
which are generally only visited by servants and
farm-labourers ; to these German fairs everyone goes,
and everyone buys a fairing for everybody else. No
child thought of buying anything at a shop if ‘fair
time’ was near. It was always, ‘Oh, keep your
gulden till the fair comes; you know it will soon be
here, and then you will be able to ride as often as
you like on the merry-go-round, and buy presents for
everyone else as well,’

One fair specially I remember. Some one had
brought us word that it was an extra good one this
time, more peep-shows than usual, and a delightful
gingerbread stall. This warning put us all on our
guard against frittering our pocket-money away ; for
had we not always a special half-holiday in fair week,
on purpose to spend our pocket-money and enjoy
ourselves to our hearts’ content ?

There had been some whispers of fever about the
town, but no one we knew had been attacked by it,
when, on the Saturday before fair week, little Jackie
complained of headache and sore throat.

‘I hope it won’t be anything serious,’ said nurse.

“What a pity it would be if he could not see the
wild beast show !’

The next day Jackie was no better, and to our dis-
may the disease was pronounced ‘scarlet fever !’

We were not afraid of the fever, but mother said,
‘I cannot let you children go about as usual; our
friends would not care to meet you in the streets,
people are so afraid of infection: but Friulein
Schmidt can take you out for country walks. Mind
you do not go into the town!’

‘ Not go into the town!’ ‘That was just as good as
saying, ‘ Not go near the. fair.’

Oh, how we fumed and sulked! Yes, bitter tears
were shed. Little Jackie was not ill enough to make
anybody anxious, only bad enough so to ‘spoil all our
pleasure,’ as we selfish children said. How thankful
we ought to have been that he had the disease so
lightly !

‘What can we do?’ ‘I quite hate our holiday!’

 

 

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