of the globe, that the great exhibition of 1851 was aptly named "The World's Fair." To the looker-on in London, it might have seemed as if the world had indeed given itself a holiday, and gone thither to enjoy it. When the exhibition was over, many schemes were devised for the future disposition of the building. At length, in May of 1852, the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park was purchased by a private company of English gentlemen. They designed that this noble structure "should rise again, greatly enhanced in grandeur and beauty; that it should form a palace for the multitude, where, to the inhabitants of London especially, should be afforded, in wholesome country air, amidst the beauties of nature, the elevating treasures of art, and the instructive marvels of science, an accessible and inexpensive substitute for the injurious and debasing amusements of a crowded metropolis." The Crystal Palace rising amid the natural beauties of Sydenham, in Kent, within a few miles of London, has amply fulfilled this noble design. The palace and its grounds occupy two hundred acres. To the lover of out-door beauty, parterres filled with the richest and gayest flowers, green terraces, fountains, parks, lakes, and every attraction of landscapegardening, allure in this fascinating spot. To the lover of art there exists within a world of interest and delight. And yet so simple is the arrangement of the treasures within this mighty edifice, that there is no confusion,-nothing inharmonious. In the fine arts and industrial courts and galleries, the visitor, whether a man of science or of literature-poet, painter, sculptor, artisan, or mechanic, may learn, as it were in epitome, of all that his fellow-man has accomplished, almost from the first dawn of civilization down to the present moment. In the great nave, sixteen hundred and eight feet in length, is beheld-a glorious vista of fountains and foliage, flowers and statuary. On either side, tiers of pendant baskets filled with graceful vines and richest bloom, perfume the air with delicious fragrance. The ear is regaled with the singing of birds, the playing of the grand organ, or the music of the orchestra, or, if these are hushed, with the refreshing sound of the fountains. Prominent in the foreground of the picture rises the transparent fountain of glass, which, glittering with all the colors of the rainbow, and towering from a solid base up to a point, pours its unceasing streams upon the crystal basin below. In this sheet of water float the gigantic leaves of the Victoria Regia. In the basins of other fountains are to be found rare and curious aquatic plants, water-lilies, gold-fish, and in some basins all the curiosities of the aquarium. Beds or borders ranging on either side of the nave, in front of the various courts, contain the rich botanical treasures of the palace. In these groves may be found the trees and shrubs and plants of almost every clime. Their waving foliage forms a pleasing background to the numerous specimens of statuary, which singly or in sculptured groups, adorn the whole extent of this magnificent nave. And over all, heightening immeasurably the effect of this scene of beauty, stretches the arched roof, with its delicate aerial tint, spanning the whole as it were with a vault of opal. Thus stands the Crystal Palace-an enduring monument of a new and wonderful architecture, a permanent palace of education and art for the use of mankind, and an ample fulfillment of the noblest designs of its foundation. "Forms of beauty, shapes of wonder, Trophies of triumphant toil; Gazed on such a costly spoil." QUESTIONS.-Mention the most prominent features in the history of religion during this period.-Relate the account of the origin of the Bible Society.-When and by whom were Sunday-schools founded? What is said of the reviews and magazines of this time? By whom was the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge established? What valuable works has it published?-What is remarked of the improvements and discoveries of this century?—What mention is made of steam-vessels ?-Relate what is said of railways. -Name some of the architectural triumphs of this age. Repeat the account given of the electric telegraph.-Repeat the description given of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. -- PART XII. COLONIAL. A. D. 1801-1860. "Look to the East, where Ganges' swarthy race CHAPTER LXVIII. INDIA. MAHRATTA WARS-BURMESE WARS-THE AFGHAN INVASION AND DISASTER. Ar the opening of the nineteenth century we find the extent and importance of the British dependencies so greatly increased, that from this date a separate chapter will be devoted to the colonial history of Great Britain. First in importance is India. During the first quarter of the century upon which we have entered, the English were engaged in wars with various robber tribes of Hindostan, and in an important contest with the Burmese empire. Among the native powers which most formidably threatened the Company's territories in India, were the Mahrattas, the Ghoorkas, and the Pindarrees. The sway of the Mahrattas extended over a population of forty millions; their frontier on the north reaching to the Indus and the Himmalayas, and on the south nearly to the extremity of the Indian peninsula. They had overthrown the power of the Great Mogul, and spread devastation, tyranny, and anarchy throughout the land. 1803. It was in wars with the Mahrattas, that Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington, laid the foundation of his military fame. In the great battle of Assaye, won in September, 1803, against overwhelming numbers of the enemy, began the victories of the "Iron Duke❞— the hero of Waterloo; the conqueror of Napoleon. General Lake, another of the East India Company's able soldiers, defeated an army of French and natives in a battle fought within sight of the palaces and minarets of Delhi, and restored the Mohammedan sovereign to his throne. These victories broke the power of this formidable tribe. 1806. The Company, anxious to pursue a policy of peace and conciliation towards the natives, and thus to avoid the expense of conquest, authorized a treaty with the Mahrattas, which was far too favorable in its concessions to the conquered enemy. The moral influence of such a treaty over a vain-glorious and treacherous people, who are to be trusted as subjects, allies, and neighbors, only so long as they are kept in awe, was extremely prejudicial to the Company's interests in India. Ten years later the Mahrattas organized a formidable confederacy against British power. Meanwhile the English had come into collision with the Ghoorkas, a warlike tribe, inhabiting the mountain regions of Nepaul, in the northern part of India. They were superior in skill and bravery to any Hindoo people whom the conquerors had yet encountered, and at first their unlooked-for valor made even British troops recoil. In the end they were defeated, and entered into a treaty, by which a large district of country lying east of the Sutlej River was added to the British dominions. Scarcely had the Ghoorka war ended, before the English troops were required to take the field against the powerful Mahrattas and their confederates-the active, cruel PindarThese latter were bands of cavalry gathered from every part of India. They would burst upon the cultivated plains and rich villages of the Company's territory, with all the suddenness and fury of a whirlwind. They came and were rees. 1816 and 1817. gone, leaving behind them ruin, devastation, and death. Truly of them it might be said: "The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness." Vigorous measures for the destruction of these cruel banditti were taken by the Indian government. They were pursued and surrounded by the troops of the Presidencies; were cut off from their Mahratta confederates; sustained successive defeats, and at length, when Chutoo, the most daring of the robber chieftains, had fallen by a death more fearful than that upon the battle-field,prey to the fierce tiger in the lonely jungle,—he was the last warrior of the Pindarrees. By the year 1818, the power of these marauders was subdued. In those provinces which had been so long devastated by war, rapine, and cruelty, order and tranquillity were established, and the inhabitants had reason to bless the new rule, under which they might sow and reap their fields, without fear of the Pindarree robber or the harsh Mahratta master. -a Between the years 1823-1826, during the administration of Lord Amherst, war was carried on with the Burmese. In the year 1798, ten thousand wretched Burmese had rushed across the frontier, and implored, in British territory, protection from the intolerable oppression of their own government. These poor people declared they would flee to the recesses of the pestilent jungle, and there, amid the haunts of the lion and the tiger, subsist on leaves and reptiles, rather than return to live again under Burmese tyranny. The British government, though alarmed at their numbers, could not refuse a shelter to the starving suppliants. Waste lands were appropriated to their use, and a settlement of forty thousand of these peaceful invaders was made upon them. In the course of subsequent years, the expulsion of the fugitives was frequently demanded by the Burmese government, and invariably refused by the English. This refusal, in the year 1823, led to hostilities on the part of the king of Ava, the ruler of the Burmese Empire, which precipitated war. Neither party had sufficiently counted the cost of this |