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Among his other duties, he furnishes the town clerk with a list of the persons assessed to work in his particular district; he notifies the assessed when and where to work, and reports the negligent and idle to the magistrate, to be dealt with according io law; he is to keep the gates in repair, clear the road of loose stones, and account to the commissioner of highways once or more in each year.

For the performance of his duties he must be invested with some powers; will you enumerate them?

His powers are brief, said Mr. Brown. He can re-assess for deficier ces in the road tax, or any extra expense; he fixes the rate of team work, and commutes with labourers at sixty two and a half cents a day; and he is liable to a fine of ten dollars if he neglects his duty.

MENSURATION.-LESSON 11.

The Sides of a Tiangle.

A Triangle is a figure of three sides, resembling the base of a prism, of these there are several kinds.

In a right angled triangle represented by the subjoined diagram A, B, C, the side A, B, is called the base, B, C, the perpendicular, and A, C, the hypotenuse. Now, the length of the hypotenuse may be found by the given length of the

other two sides, by the following

50ft.

30ft.

A

B

40ft.

RULE. Square the given sides, and add the results;-then the square root of the sum will give the hypotenuso.

40×40=1600, square of the base,

30X30 900, square of the perpendicular,

2500, sum of the squares; the

square root of which is 50. Ans.

Ors. 1. In this example, it appears that the sum of the squares of the two short sides, is equal to the square of the long side; therefore, when the length of any two sides of a right angle triangle is given, that of the other side may be easily found by inspection:-For, from the square of the hypotenuse subtract the square of the base, and the square of the perpendicular is left, the square root of which gives its length; and

from the square of the hypotenuse, subtract the square of the perpendicular, and the square of the base is left, the square root of which gives its length. Thus: -

B's garden presents the figure of a right angle triangle, the base of which is 24 rods, and the hypotenuse 40 rods: what is the length of the perpendicular?

40X40 1600, square of the hypotenuse,

24×24= 576. square of the base; then

1600-576-1024, the square root of which is 32ft. Ans. Suppose a right angle triangle whose perpendicular is 32 feet, and hypotenuse 40; what is the base?"

40X40-1600,

32X32=1024, then,

1600-1024-576, the square root of which is 24ft. Ans. OBS. 2. If the base and perpendicular of a right angle triangle be given in one sum, and their product in another, then sach of the sides of the triangle may be found, respectively, by the following

RULE. 1. Square the given sum, and subtract therefrom 4 times the given product; the square root of the remainder will give the difference of the sides.

2. The half of this difference, added to half the given sum, will give the longest side; and subtracted, will give the shortest side. Thus:

The sum of the base and perpendicular of a right angle triangle, is 70. and their product is 1200; what are the sides respectively?

70X70-4900: and 1200X4=4800, then 4900-4800100. the square root of 100=10÷2=5.

Then,

70÷2=35+5=40, the longes tside; and 35-5=30, the shortest side. Then the square root of the sum of the squares of these sides, will give the hypotenuse, as in the above example.

REMARKS, &c.-LESSON 12.

Poetic Pauses.

Poetic pauses are of two kinds;-one may be termed the pauses of sense, which are distinguished by points, and the other, the pauses of harmony, called cesural pauses.

The cesural pause falls near the middle of each line, and sometimes co-incides with the pause of sense.

In heroic verse the cesural pause may fall on the fourth, fifth, or sixth syllable. Thus:

Y

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

The silver eel',, in shining volumes röll'd',

The yellow carp',, in scales be-drop'd with gold.
Round broken columns',, clasping ivy twin'd',
ǎnd ō'er the ruins',, stalk'd the stately hind'.

The sun shall waste',, the skeis in smōke děcāy;
Rocks fall to dust', ănd mountains melt away`.
But fix'd his wōrd',, his saving pōw'r rěmāins':
Thy realm for ever lāsts',, thy ōwn Messiah reigns'.

There's a fine, bald bird',, with a binding beak',
With an angry eye',, and ǎ startling shriek',

That inhabits the crag',, where the cleft flow'rs blōw'.
on the precipice-tōp',, în pĕrpētŭăl snōw`.

He's the bird of our flag`,, the eagle that braves',
When the battle is there',, the wrath of the waves:
Hě rides on the stōrm',, in its hurricane march',

'Mid lightning's brōad flash',, across the bluc arch. NOTE. The scholar of taste, who wishes to be a judge of poetry, and to read it with force, variety, and beauty, is advised to make occasional selections, and, with a pencil, mark them in conformity to the above examples, and pronounce them aloud to a hearer of judgment, conversant with verse, and capable of pointing out the defects of delivery, if any. A few exercises of this kind, will do much in the line of improvement, and stimulate to further exertions.

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CONVERSATIONS, &C.-LESSON 14.

Overseers of the Poor and School Commissioners. We come now w to the Overse

Overseer of the Poor, said Horace;~~~ an officer who, I can suppose, should be possessed of great mildness and compassion; for he has to do with the old, the infirm, and the wretched.

That is true, my son, said Mr. Brown, and he has also to do with the idle and sturdy, able to work but not willing, and therefore he should be inflexible also and justly severe.

The office is as old as the country; it was borrowed probably from the English police.

How many overseers of the poor have we in each town, asked Philo, and who appoints them?

There are two annually elected in each town by the people, said the father, and their province is to superintend the relief of the poor of the town; to make prudent use of the means provided by the town for that purpose; to preserve the town free

from foreign poor, and yet to give to such all the relief to which they are entitled by law; and to account to the supervisor and justices of the peace for all their doings in relation to their receipts and expenditures.

What is done when an overseer of the poor goes out of of fice? asked Horace.

He then hands over to his successor, his books and vouchers, with the money in his hands, and all other matters and things pertaining to his office, or forfeit the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars.

How do the overseers of the poor know how to proceed in all cases that come under their notice? asked Horace.

The law points out their duties and powers in every emergency, and while they follow that, they are safe; and if they do injustice, an appeal lies to the court of general sessions which has power to correct their proceedings.

Commissioners of Common Schools.-The next officer in rotation, is the Commissioner of Common Schools, said Horace; how many of these are appointed and by whom?

There are three appointed annually for each town in the state, replied the father, by the vote of the people; and they must be taken from among the freeholders of the towns respectively.

We shall be glad to hear something of the duties and powers of these school officers, said Philo.

They attend are to formation of school districts, which, when formed, are to be described and numbered, and a distret meeting is to be called, at which the clerk and trustees for the district are appointed, and a site determined for the school house, and a tax laid to purchase the same, and to build a house, and to do all other necessary matters and things in the premises.

What powers do they possess, asked Philo, to enable them to do the duties of their appointment?

They have power to fill vacancies; to exonerate the poor and indigent from the school tax; to call special meetings; to receive and distribute the school monies agreeably to the apportionment of the trustees, in connexion with whom, they have power to hold real estate for the benefit of the district schools. What compensation do the commissioners receive for their services? inquired Horace.

The same, answered the father, that is given to commissioners of highways, and their accounts are audited and set

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