'Tis sweet, upon my little bed, Lesson III. What is the air which surrounds the earth called? Atmosphere. To what height does the atmosphere rise? Forty-five miles. Of what use is the air? It is our breath, we could not live without it. Animals and vegetables could not live without air. What other benefit is derived from air? It causes fire to burn, it helps the birds to fly, and brings to us the fragrant perfumes of flowers and plants. What is wind? It is air moving swiftly. What is vapor? Particles of water in the air, which rise from the land and water, and become clouds. Do these particles of water which form the clouds, descend to the earth again? They come down in rain, and water the earth. When this vapor freezes in the air what is it? It is snow, which falls gently down and covers the earth with the purest white. Lesson IV.-MOON. What do you sometimes see, when you look up to the sky in the night? The moon and stars. What is the moon? It is a secondary planet. What is a secondary planet? One that moves round a large planet. What large planet does the moon move round? The earth. What is it to the earth? A satellite. How long is the diameter of the moon? 2180 miles. How many miles is the circumference of the moon? 6,850. How far is it from the earth? 240,000 miles. How far is it from the sun? Ninety-five millions of miles. How long is the moon in moving round the earth? 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, and 8 seconds. Has the moon any other motion? It turns on its axis, in the same time that it moves round the earth. Is the moon a dark body? It is like the earth, dark, where the sun does not shine upon it and give it light. Why does the moon appear to change its shape? The moon is at so great a distance we cannot see it except where the sun shines upon it, and when the sun does not shine upon the side which is towards the earth we can see only a part of the side which the sun shines upon. What is its shape when but a small part shows itself? It is a crescent. What is it called when the moon appears all bright? Full moon. When is it full moon? When the moon is opposite the sun. Do we receive light from the moon when the sun shines upon the side of it which is towards the earth? Yes, it reflects a pleasant light upon the earth, which is delightful to the traveller, and also to the mariners, who are travelling the deep waters, in the night. What is there besides the moon, which makes the sky so beautiful in the night? A thousand stars. What are those which we call stars? Some of them are distant planets; most of them are supposed to be suns to other worlds at an immense distance. What does the bible say about these wonderful works of God? By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens. Lo, these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him. What did king David say of these wonders? When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers, the moon and stars which thou hast made, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him DIVISION OF TIME. What is time? A portion of duration. What is the time of the world? Duration from the moment the world was made until it shall end. How long has it been since the world was made? 5834 years. Will the time of the world come to an end? The day of the Lord will come in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise-the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up. How is time divided? Time is divided into eras, centuries, years, seasons, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. What is a second of time? It is only as long as it takes to count 1, 2. How many of these seconds are there in one minute? Sixty. How many minutes are there in one hour? Sixty. How many hours in one day? Twenty-four. What is a day? The time in which the earth turns once round. At what time does the day begin and end? At twelve o'clock in the night. Is any other time called day? Yes, the time when the sun shines is called day. How long is the time of light which is called daytime? In summer the day-time is fifteen hours. How long is the day-time in winter? Nine hours. How many days are there in one week? Seven. Who divided the days into weeks? God, when he made the world. Was God seven days in making the world? No, God made the world in six days; on the seventh day he rested, and made it a day of holy rest. What did he call that day of rest? The sabbath. Did he command the people which he made, to do as he had done? He told them that during six days they must labor and do all their work, but the seventh should be a holy sabbath, and on that day they should do no work. How many weeks are called a month? How many days are there in one year? dred and sixty-five. Four. Three hun How many weeks are there in one year? Fifty-two. How many months? What are they? Twelve. How many seasons? Four. What are they? Spring, summer, autumn, winter. Which are the spring months? Which are the summer months? Which the autumnal months? Which the winter months? How many days are there in each month? Thirty days has September, April, June, and November, All the rest have thirty one. February, has twenty-nine. How many years are called a century? One hundred. What is an era? Time measured from a particular date. From what period was' time measured before Christ came? The beginning of the world. How long was it after the world was made, before Christ came? Four thousand and four years. What is called the Christian era? The time since the birth of Christ. How long is that? Eighteen hundred and thirty-one years. What is that time called that is gone? Past time. What is the day that is gone last, called? Yesterday. What is the time that is now? Present. What is the day called that is now? To-day. What is the time that has not come? Future. What is the day called that is to come next? To morrow. What is the time called when people rise from sleep? Morning. What is the middle of the day called? When people go to bed? Evening. Noon. What is your time? It is what passes from the moment I was born, unto the moment I shall die. How is time measured? By clocks, watches, and dials. What will come, when time shall be no more? Eternity. What is the difference between time and eternity, as to duration? Time had a beginning, and will have an end; eternity is without beginning, and without end. We live in time, what does God live in? Eternity. Your time began a few years ago, when will it end? When our bodies die. Where will you live, when your bodies die? In eternity. What are your bodies? All that can be seen of us. What have you more? We have souls. What part of you, is your soul? That within which thinks, which learns and knows, which loves and hates. Is your soul worth more than your body? It is, it is our life, it will never die. To-day is come; to-day be wise, How soon will this sweet time be gone, For where is yesterday? 'tis gone. Gone; gone; 't will never come again, But just to ask what good I've done; Days, months, and years, will have an end, 'T will always be as long to come, As when it first began. |