England sent out a vessel that sailed to Archangel in the north of Russia. The Muscovites, or Russians, came out in great numbers from the shore to see the English vessel. They had only seen small boats before, and they were struck with astonishment at the sight of the English ship.

The Russians were then a very ignorant people, and still they have not much learning. They had learned something of the Christian religion from Constantinople.

Before the Turks took Constantinople in 1453. the inhabitants of that city were mostly Greeks, and the religious people among them formed what is called the Greek church.

Some Russians who went to Constantinople learned to worship in the forms and ceremonies of the Greeks; and afterwards almost all the Russians worshipped God in the manner of the Greek church.

Russia is a very cold country; if the people in Russia do not take great care, they get frozen; they are obliged to wear a great deal of fur to keep themselves warm in winter

There are two Russians in the print-one is standing dressed in a coat lined with fur; the other is riding in a sledge drawn by a rein deer.

A sledge is something like what we call a sleigh-it runs over snów. The rein deer runs along much faster than a horse.

Those horns of the rein deer are not like cow's horns; those branching horns are called antlers.

These

THE Laplanders live in the cold country of Lapland. They have many rein deer. rein deer give milk like our cows, and carry people about like horses. The Laplanders love the rein deer very much.

The poor Laplanders have not good houses, and glass windows, as we have; they have little low buts with a hole in the roof of the hut. They have no chimneys; they make the fire in the middle of the house, and the smoke goes out at the top. The family sit round the fire on the ground. These houses cannot be much better than a smith's shop.

The Laplander in the print has snow shoes on his feet, and a pole in his hand; with these he makes his way over the snow and ice.

1

SPAIN is the most westerly country of Europe except Portugal, which joins Spain. Spain. is the nearest country to France. The high mountains called the Pyrenees are between France and Spain. Spain has many beautiful cities; the largest of them is Madrid Oranges, lemons, and olives, grow in Spain. The Spaniards speak the Spanish language. Merino sheep come from Spain.

The Spaniards are Roman Catholics. They have a king. How they became rich and lazy is told in another place.

The Spaniards do not shave off all the beard; they leave some of it on the upper lip. These hairs on the lips are mustachios.

TURKEY is a large country of Europe. Here is a Turk, sitting with his feet under him upon a cushion. All people, every where, do not use chairs. The Turks use sofas, mats, and cushions. Formerly they did not wear hats, but wound up pieces of cloth into turbans, and put them upon their heads; they wore a plume in the turban, and an ornament called a crescent, but now they are beginning to dress as we do.

The Turks are Mahommedans; they do not believe, like us, that Christ came from Godthey believe that Mahomet came from God. Mahomet lived six hundred years after Christ. The Turk in the print, has a pipe in his mouth; he is not smoking tobacco-he is smoking opium.

The churches of the Mahommedans are mosques. The largest city of Turkey, is Constantinople. Constantinople was once called Byzantium, but a Roman emperor, Constantine, chose to call it by his own name, Constantinople, or city of Constantine.

Some of the countries now called Turkey once belonged to Greeks, and contained many wise people; many books, and fine towns, with beautiful houses, pictures, and statues in them.

The Turks were at first a small people in the west part of Asia-but in time, these Turks increased in numbers, learned the religion of Mahomet, went over to Constantinople, and took that city. They afterwards took Egypt, and then made themselves masters of the whole north coast of Africa.

EXPLANATIONS.

A crescent is in the shape of a new moon. The Turks put the crescent upon colors, and upon seals. Where a crescent is fixed, it shows that a thing belongs to the Turks, or some other Mahommedan. Many people use different things for a sign, or badge.

The Americans fix an eagle on their ships, and many other things. The English have a lion. The Scotch, a thistle. The French, a lily.

Opium is the juice of poppies; it makes people sleepy; if they take too much, they die. All medicine which causes sleep is called an opiate, after opium.