of course, towards the south pole; and it does
this in consequence of its being magnetised. A card is fixed above,
sometimes below, this bar of steel (which is called the needle), whereon
are marked the cardinal points--north, south, east, and west--with their
subdivisions or intermediate points, by means of which the true
direction of any point can be ascertained.

"Aha!" you exclaim, "Mr Author, but you yourself have omitted part of
the explanation. _Why_ is it that the magnetising of the needle causes
it to turn to the north?"

I answer humbly, "I cannot tell;" but, further, I assert confidently,
"Neither can anybody else." The fact is known, and we see its result;
but the reason why magnetised steel or iron should have this tendency,
this polarity, is one of the mysteries which man has not yet been able
to penetrate, and probably never will.

Having explained the nature of the compass, as far as explanation is
possible, we present our reader with a picture of one.

It will be seen that there are four large points--N, S, E, and W--the
cardinal points above referred to, and that these are subdivided by
twelve smaller points, with one little black triangular point between
each, and a multitude of smaller points round the outer circle. To give
these points their correct names is called "boxing the compass,"--a
lesson which all seamen can trip off their tongues like A, B, C, and
which most boys could learn in a few hours.

For the sake of those who are anxious to acquire the knowledge, we give
the following explanation: Let us begin with north. The large point
midway between N and E (to the right) is _north-east_. The
corresponding point midway between N and W (to the left) is
_north-west_. A glance will show that the corresponding points towards
the south are respectively _south-east_ and _south-west_ (usually
written S.E. and S.W., as the two former points are written N.E. and
N.W.). Now, to read off the compass with this amount of knowledge is
very simple. Thus: _North_, _north-east_, _east_, _south-east_,
_south_, _south-west_, _west_, _north-west_, _north_. But be it
observed that, in the language of the sea, the _th_ is thrown overboard,
except when the words north and south occur alone. When conjoined with
other points they are pronounced thus: nor'-east, sou'-east; and so on.

To come now to the smaller subdivisions, it will suffice to take a
quarter of the circle. The point midway between N.E.