from a spirit of mischief, pricked with his needle the trunk that was extended for the usual bunch of fruit. The animal, who believed in "tit for tat," returned that way several hours after and spurted a few gallons of dirty water on his humorous friend, reminding him that even an elephant can enter with spirit into a practical joke. As a general rule, the elephant becomes exceedingly attached to those who notice him, and can be as playful as a household pet. Nature-which is only another name for the Deity-never comes short in any of her works, and never overdoes them. Her productions are simply perfect and complete. When we view the elephant, his structure, his intelligence, his natural abode, his willingness to become the friend of man, all is so perfect that to suppose any alteration is to suppose a change for the worse. The hand would be as imperfect by a finger added to it as by one taken way; and so we can only study the marvellous works of God, not to improve or amend them, but to appreciate the wisdom and adore the goodness of Him who hath made everything beautiful in its season. PAPERS FOR THOUGHTFUL BOYS. III. NATURAL PRODUCTS-SILVER AND COPPER. SILVER. ILVER is the whitest of metals. It is about ten and a half times heavier than water; does not easily tarnish by the air, and is not converted into dross by heat continued for any length of time, or, in chemical language, it is not oxidised. As native silver it occurs among the oldest rocks. It is found also in the same rocks associated with ores of other metals, as gold, antimony, &c. In the secondary strata it is often found with iron, lead, &c., and in the metamorphic rocks with copper. The earthy minerals with which it is most frequently united are granites, porphyries, and various metamorphic shales. When lead ore is found to contain silver in sufficient quantities to pay for its extraction, it is subjected to the flame of a furnace, blown on to with a strong blast; the flame melts the lead and converts it into oxide, called "litharge," which is in the form of reddish scales, and as these are formed the blast blows them off; in this way the lead is gradually consumed, leaving the silver with but a small quantity of it. This is put on to a cup made of bone-ashes, called a cupel (which gives to this operation the name of "cupellation"); the heat is then raised, and the lead which remains, forming a liquid glass with the broken ashes, sinks into them, leaving the silver bright and pure. In some districts silver is 66 extracted from its ores by what is called "amalgamation;" the finely powdered ore is mixed with water, some cuttings of iron, and quicksilver, and turned round in a barrel for a considerable time, when the quicksilver is drawn off through a small hole, and is found to contain all the silver in the ore, together with some other metals. The quicksilver is got rid of, first, by pressing, and then by distillation, so that it is all recovered for a second operation. Silver is sometimes found in quicksilver mines, but the latter is never found in silver mines. At Pasco, in Peru, there are several silver mines opening into the houses of the owners. Silver is chiefly found at Potosi, in South America. The mine was discovered by Hualpa, an Indian, whilst he was running after a wild animal. In laying hold of a branch of a tree he found several small pieces of silver sticking to the roots, which were torn up by his weight; but, making a confidant of a friend, who betrayed the secret to some Spaniards, he did not reap much benefit from his discovery, for the Spaniards took possession of the mine in the year 1545. Peru contains 784 mines of silver, as well as 69 gold mines. Silver is chiefly used for coin, for ornamental purposes, and for the service of the table, for which its cleanliness and beauty strongly recommend it. It is so frequently mentioned in Scripture that it must have been as much in use among the Hebrews as it is in Britain. Whence was it obtained? Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel point to Tarshish. The former notices Tarshish as being for silver what Ophir was for gold. That in common use among the Hebrews seems to have been obtained in an impure state-"Take away the dross from he silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer" (Prov. xxv., 4). The touching words of Zechariah (xiii., 9) assume their full meaning when regarded from this point of view:- "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God." When the silver was thus dealt with it became "refined" (1 Chron. xxix., 4) and "fire-abiding" (Numb. xxxi., 23.) We have mention made of it as current "money" among the Hebrews (Gen. xxiii., 15, 16). It was made into " 99 66 cups," ornaments," and "idols." It was extensively used in the work of the Tabernacle, and manufactured into a variety of articles besides those mentioned. Some of its peculiarities are also referred to. Thus its bright colour is noticed in Ps. lxviii., 13-" The wings of a dove covered with silver "-the sheen, namely, on the wing-covers. In Hebrew poetry it is frequently named in a figurative way. Thus the words of the Lord are "choice silver"; they are 66 pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth" (Ps. xii., 6). The tongue of the just is as "choice silver" (Prov. x., 20.), the “wicked are reprobate silver" (Jer. vi., 30). COPPER. Copper is a very ancient metal. It is of a reddish colour and very heavy, about eight and a half times heavier than water. It is moderately hard, and is easily beaten with a hammer into any form. Copper is obtained abundantly in Cornwall, where the mines produce yearly upwards of ten thousand tons of pure metal. There are some very profitable mines near Lake Superior, between Canada and the United States, which yield eight thousand tons per year of pure copper. Copper is usually found, mixed with other substances to form an ore, in veins among rocks. It is most probable that all copper, including the great lumps of pure native copper, were once in the form of ore, or combined with native substances. The rocks close to which the native copper is found, were forced into the earth whilst in a molten state, and their intense heat affected the copper ores close by. The substances combined with the copper to form the ore were destroyed by the heat, and the pure metal remained. The ores of copper are known by the following various names :Native copper; white, grey, black, red, and variegated copper ores; and as copper glance, malachite, azure copper, black oxide of copper, atacamite, copper mica, copper pyrites, and the like. The forms most available in modern commerce are the copper pyrites, the grey and the azure copper ores. To prepare copper ores for market, children are employed to pick them from the rubbish with which they are mixed. The large fragments of ore are broken into smaller pieces by women, and after being again picked are given to girls, who, with a flat hammer, break the copper ore into pieces not larger than the tip of the finger. These pieces are crushed still smaller by passing them under a wheel, or they are bruised by heavy weights or hammers in a stamping-mill, while a stream of water runs through the broken ore and carries with it all that is sufficiently bruised. It is next shaken in a kind of iron sieve while under water, the earthy matter is washed away, and the copper which remains is piled up for sale. The ore, being picked and broken, is heated in a furnace. It is next melted in a smaller furnace, when the metal falls to the bottom, and the kind of cinder which separates from it is cast into masses, and used like bricks for building. The copper is next poured into water two or three times to separate impurities, which are chiefly sulphur, iron, and arsenic. It is then cast into long pieces, which are broken up, roasted, and melted with charcoal in the refining furnace; lastly, it is cast into solid cakes, or rolled by a mill into sheets, which are sent in ships to the different markets. Copper unites readily with some other metals. With tin it forms bell metal and bronze. With zinc it makes pinchbeck and brass. With tin and nickel it will also form German silver. Copper is sometimes hammered into very thin leaves to imitate gold leaf. It is this mock gold which is laid on gingerbread, which children should beware of eating, for the copper covering or "gilt is poisonous. Copper is also much used in manufacturing various vessels, such as kettles and saucepans, which are the bright and ornamental, as well as useful, furniture for the kitchen. A great quantity of copper is made into plates for engravers. Sheet copper is extensively used for covering the bottom of ships, to defend them from sea-worms, and preserve them from decay by water. The large boiling vessels which you see at home called coppers are made of sheet copper. And, then, our penny pieces, halfpenny pieces, and farthings are largely made of copper. The copper is rolled into sheets, out of which the round pieces are cut by a press; and by another press both sides are stamped at the same time with the patterns, or dies, cut in steel. At each press thirty thousand penny or halfpenny pieces may thus be stamped or coined in a day. David provided an immense quantity of copper for the use of the Temple. Of this substance all sorts of vessels were made for the Temple, as they had been for the Tabernacle; and to these may be added weapons, more especially helmets, armour, shields, and spears. Inscriptions on copper, various utensils, and figures of lions in solid metal have been exhumed from the ruins of Nineveh. Tools, daggers, arrow-heads, and armour were formed from the ore, as was commonly the case among Asiatic nations, while the metal in powder was used to colour the bricks and ornaments in the Assyrian palaces. TOM FOSTER, THE ORPHAN. CHAPTER III.-" A FRIEND IN NEED." [OM'S mother was buried in a parish coffin and a pauper's grave. We must pass over many of the incidents that might be recorded here if we were making a book instead of writing a short story for boys and girls. We pass on, therefore, just observing that for several weeks after his mother's death Tom had a very hard time of it. When he could earn a few coppers by doing any odd job he was always ready to do so. Sometimes he earned sufficient to procure food and lodgings; this, however, was but seldom. He passed many nights in outhouses, and days in rambling about to find bread. His manner of living, or rather existing, is simply indescribable. When his mother had been dead some weeks, it occurred to him one day that if he could get to his aunt's-his father's sister-he might get her to take him in. Tom had once seen that lady, and, though he had no very pleasant recollections of her, he determined to try and find her. She lived in a large town, which for convenience we will call Liverpool, though that is not its real name. This town was quite sixty miles off. After making several inquiries about the way, he started upon his journey without a penny in his pocket, a shoe to his foot, or a mouthful of bread to eat. Starting early next morning, he soon left the town behind him, and travelled for some hours along the country road. He passed many happy-looking children on their way to school. More than once he looked wistfully into the cottages he passed. Now and then, through an open door, he could see blazing fires, easy-chairs, and the appearance of plenty. But, alas! they were not for him. It is our duty as far as possible to be content and thankful for the position in which God has placed us. It may be easy to do this when we have all the comforts of life. But let our lot be like Tom's, and we may find it hard to be content then. Still, we should try to remember that "God will never leave us, All our wants He knows, About noon, Tom sat down hungry, cold, tired, and footsore. A few country people passed him. How he wished himself in the place of any one of them. When he saw a boy with good clogs on his feet and clothes on his back, you cannot blame him so much for looking with an envious eye upon him. After sitting for some time, there came up to him a healthy-looking boy about Tom's own age. "Are you hungry?" said the strange lad. "I am both hungry and cold," said Tom. "Then why don't you go home?" said the boy. "I have no home," said Tom. "My mother is dead, and I have no place in which to live." "Then come with me to my mother," said the kind-hearted country lad; "I am sure she will give you some bread, and you can warm yourself by our fire." The two started together; one glad that he was about to have bread and warmth, the other equally glad that he was the means of getting it for him. "He that gives blesses twice," him to whom he gives and himself in giving. Boys should never forget this. And there are two or three other lessons which you may learn here. First, to thank God for giving you kind parents, good homes, and warm clothing. "Not more than others I deserve, Yet God has given me more; For I have food while others starve, |