1.If you were to go up in a balloon，and through some accident be swept across the North Sea to Sweden，you would soon perceive that you were in a very different land from your own.If you were to ask the first boy whom you met to tell you where you were，he would answer in a strange language；and if you gave him a penny to make him speak more plainly，he would take off his cap and shake hands with you.
2.Suppose，then，that he takes you to his home，and that you sit down to table with his father，mother，brothers，and sisters.A little，flaxen-haired girl，the youngest child of the household who can speak，stands at her father‘s side，and says a little verse in Swedish，while all bow their heads.I will translatesays.It is this，-“In Jesus’name，we sit at meat；May God now bless the food we eat！”
When the meal is finished，the same little one re-turns thanks in another verse to the Giver of all good things.Then every boy and girl shakes hands with mother and father，and says，“Thanks for the food.”
3.We will suppose that it is summer-time，and that the boys take you out to see their farm.The horses and colts come running to you，stretch their necks over the fence，and rub their noses on your shoulder；and the great oxen lying in the shade give you a friendly look out of their big brown eyes.Every animal is tame andgentle，for in Sweden the boys never throw stones at beasts or birds，and never frighten or torment them in any way.
4.After supper，the sun is still high in the heavens；and at nine o‘clock，when you go to bed，it is shining brightly as it swings lowalong the horizon.Ifyou wake up at midnight and go to the window，y o u b e h o l d t h e w h o l e n or t he r n sky g lo wi ng with red and yellow hues.
Whether it is sunset or sunrise it is hard to say，for the sky is full of light all through the short summer nights.Indeed，in the north of Sweden，for a whole month the sun never sets.
5.If you like winter，you will surely be pleased with Sweden.Here are cold，snow，and ice enough to satisfy anybody，and that for four or five months at least.Here you can enjoy all your own winter sports to perfection，and you may see others that are quite new to you.Yon can learn how to slip over the snow-clad hills andthrough the deep，dark northern forests on “skees，”asthey are called.
6.These skees，or snow-skates，are thin straps of wood from six to nine feet long，about four inches wide，and turned up at the front like the runners of a sledge.Your feet are bound to the middle of them in such a way that，while the toes and ball of the foot are fast，the heel is free to move up and down.With a staff in your hand to help you up the hills，and to aid you in steering down them，you may glide over the snow at the rate of six or eight miles an hour.
7.Then there is the “kicker.”I know you would like that.It is a very light kind of sledge.Two upright posts some three feet high rise from the frame-work，and behind these the runners extend backward five or six feet.You grasp the top of the posts，one with eachhand，stand with one foot on one of the r unners，while with your other foot you push your “kicker “and yourself over the half-trodden snow highways.
8.The push should be a long，strong，sweeping，and regular kick against the snow between the runners.When one leg is tired，you stand upon the other runner and kick with the other leg.You must have a steel plate strapped on to the ball of each foot，with three or four projecting spikes in it，to catch in the snow.
9.Another winter sport is sailing on skates.The Swedish sail is in form like the capital letter A with the top cut off.You place the cross-bar over your shoulder to windward，and with a good breeze glide away overthe ice at the rate of a mile in two minutes.You can not only sail before the wind，but you can glide to and froacross the lake with wind abeam，or tack to windwardas gallantly as the fleetest yacht .
10.The wintry days are merry，but they are very short.At Stockholm，the capital of Sweden，there are in December only six hours of daylight，and in the far north it is night during the whole twenty-four hours，day after day-if night can be called day-for over a month.By the darkness of winter you have to pay forthe long days and luminousnights of summer.
1.For every great work where strength and lightness are required，steel has now taken the place of iron.Our steam-ships and steam-engines，our railways and railway bridges，are all made of steel.That we are able to produce steel in large enough quantities and at a small enough cost for such purposes，we owe chiefly to the discoveries and inventions of one man，Sir Henry Bessemer.
2.He was the son of French parents，his father having settled in England during the terrors of the FrenchRevolution.He was born at Charlton，in Hertford-shire，in 1813.As a boy his favourite amusement was claymodelling.In London he was making his way in lifeas a modeller and designer，and working also as anengraveron steel，when something happened which
promised at first to secure him a comfortable position for life.
3.All important documents require a government stamp.These stamps are now embossed upon the documents themselves；but in Bessemer’s early days they were made separately，like our postage stamps，and gummed on.The government was losing many thousands of pounds each year，by dishonest people taking off the stamps from old documents and fixing them on new ones.
4.After several months of hard work，Bessemer succeeded in making a machine which would pierce the parchment of the document itself with hundreds of small holes，arranged so as to form a stamp.The government was satisfied with this invention，and offered Bessemer the post of Superintendent of Stamps as a reward.Before he was appointed to the post，however，a friend suggestedto him that it would bestill simpler to use a dieby which a date would be puton each stamp as it was printed.
5.Bessemer saw that if this plan was adopted by the government，the post which they had just offered him would become unnecessary.Still，trusting in the fairness of the government to give him some reward，Bessemer unfolded to them the new plan.Judge of his disappointment when the government at once adoptedEmbossed，raised.
Suggested，proposed.Die，stamp.this new method，but refused to give the inventor a single farthing of reward.
6.His next invention was happily a more profitable one.He was struck with the fact that the bronze powder used for gilding，which was then sold for seven shillings an ounce，was made from a material which cost only one shilling per pound.He set to work to invent a method of making the powder，and after two years he succeeded in his task.
7.Warned by his former experiences，and knowingvery little of the patent law，Bessemer decided to keepthis secret to himself，and to begin the manufacture of the powder on a small scale.The room in which the manufacture was carried on was kept locked，and only a few trusted workmen were allowed to know the secret.The business proved a prosperous one，and it is still carried on by two of Bessemer‘s assistants，who keep the process secret.
8.But it is in connection with his improvements in the manufacture of iron and steel that Sir Henry Bessemer’s name is best known，and it was for these improvements that he received the honour of knight-hood.Cast iron is weak and brittle on account of itsBronze，a mixture of copper and tin.
Patent law，law giving the right to the profits of an invention to the inventor for a certain time.
impurities，and in order to get rid of these impurities，the melted iron had to be stirred about by men，who suffered much from the extreme heat.The effect of this stirring was to burn up all the impurities，partly by bringing them while hot into contact with the air.
9.The invention of the Bessemer process made theproduction of malleableiron and of steel very muchsimpler and cheaper.This process consists of forcingair through the melted iron.The oxygenof the aircombines with or burns up the impurities，and leaves the iron soft and malleable.Steel is produced in the same way，the only difference being that steel contains asmall proportion of carbon.The steel produced in thisway is not so fine as that made by the older process，but it costs only one-fifth as much.In this way it has been possible to use steel for rails and bridges and other great undertakings where iron was formerly used.