SE RENE' LY, calmly; quietly.SUR MOUNT', rise above; overcome.TRAMP, tread, or travel.EB' ON, black, as ebony.GUARD' I AN, defender; protector.CHIV' AL RIC, brave; heroic.MAIL, defensive armor.EX ALT', lift up.FRAIL' TY, weakness.BLIGHT' ED, blasted.RE NOWN', fame; celebrity.STEAD' FAST, firm; resolute.IN TER VENE', (INTER,between; VENE,to come;) come between; interpose.SUC CEED', (SUC,after;CEED,to come;) come after; follow.
PARK BENJAMIN.
1.Press on!there's no such word as fail!Press nobly on! the goal is near,—Ascend the mountain! breast the gale!Look upward, onward,—never fear!Why shouldst thou faint? Heaven smiles above,Though storms and vapor intervene;That Sun shines on, whose name is Love,Serenely o'er Life's shadowed scene.2.Press on!surmount the rocky steeps,Climb boldly o'er the torrent's arch:He fails alone who feebly creeps;He wins, who dares the hero's march.Be thou a hero! let thy mightTramp on eternal snows its way,And, through the ebon walls of night,Hew down a passage unto day.3.Press on!if once and twice thy feetSlip back and stumble, harder try;From him who never dreads to meetDanger and death, they're sure to fly.To coward ranks the bullet speeds;While on their breasts who never quail,Gleams, guardian of chivalric deeds,Bright courage, like a coat of mail.4.Press on! if Fortune play thee falseTo-day, to-morrow she'll be true;Whom now she sinks she now exalts,Taking old gifts and granting new.The wisdom of the present hourMakes up her follies past and gone:To weakness strength succeeds, and powerFrom frailty springs;—press on! PRESS ON!5.Press on! what though upon the groundThy love has been poured out like rain?That happiness is always foundThe sweetest, which is born of pain.Oft 'mid the forest's deepest glooms,A bird sings from some blighted tree,And, in the dreariest desert, bloomsA never-dying rose for thee.6. Therefore,press on! and reach the goal,And gain the prize, and wear the crown:Faint not! for, to the steadfast soul,Come wealth, and honor, and renown.To thine own self be true, and keepThy mind from sloth, thy heart from soil;Press on! and thou shalt surely reapA heavenly harvest for thy toil!
QUESTIONS.—1. What encouragement is given to those who press on? 2. Who fails, and who wins? 3. What is said of those who never dread to meet danger and death? 4. How are they rewarded, who press on?
EX PAND, develop; enlarge.EL E VATE, raise; dignify.VAR RI A BLE, changeable.PHAN TAS MA GO' RIA, magic lantern; illusive representations.UN' DU LA TING, waving; irregular.MO BIL'I TY, movableness; readiness to move.DO' CILE, teachable; obedient.CE LES' TIAL, heavenly.DIS' SI PATES, scatters, or confuses.IN FIN' I TY, boundlessness.GYM NAS' TIC, athletic exercise.O PAC' I TY, state of being opaque or dark.PA THET' IC, feeling; tender.IN DOM' I TA BLE, unconquerable.CO-OP' ER ATE, work with; join with.MOUNT PER' DU, one of the high summits of the Pyrenees mountains, in Spain. The name signifies "Lost Mountain;" in allusion, probably, to its peak being lost in the clouds.
FROM THE FRENCH OF MICHELET.
1. There are three forms of Nature, which especially command and elevate our souls, release her from her heavy clay and earthly limits, and send her, exulting, to sail amidst the wonders and mysteries of the Infinite.First, there is the unstableOcean of Airwith its glorious banquet of light, its vapors, its twilight, and its shifting phantasmagoria of capricious creatures, coming into existence only to depart the next instant.
2.Second, there is the fixedOcean of the Earth, its undulating and vast waves, as we see them from the tops of "the earth o'er gazing mountains," the elevations which testify to antique mobility, and the sublimity of its mightier mountain-tops, clad in eternal snows.Third, there is theOcean of Waters, less mobile than air, less fixed than earth, but liable, in its movements, to the celestial bodies.
3.These three thingsform the gamut by which the Infinite speaks to our souls. Nevertheless, let us point out some very notable differences. TheAir-oceanis so mobile that we can scarcely examine it. It deceives; it decoys; it diverts; it dissipates, and breaks up our chain of thought.
4. For an instant, it is an immense hope, the day of all infinity; anon, it is not so; all flies from before us, and our hearts are grieved, agitated, and filled with doubt. Why have I been permitted to see for a moment that immense flood of light? The memory of that brief gleaming must ever abide with me, and that memory makes all things here on earth look dark.
5. Thefixed Ocean of the mountainsis not thus transient or fugitive; on the contrary, it stops us at every step, and imposes upon us the necessity of a very hard, though wholesome gymnastic. Contemplation here has to be bought at the price of the most violent action. Nevertheless, the opacity of the earth, like the transparency of the air, frequently deceives and bewilders us. Who can forget that for ten years, Ramon, in vain, sought to reach Mount Perdu though often within sight of it?
6. Great,very great, is the difference between the elements; the earth is mute and the ocean speaks. The ocean is a voice. It speaks to the distant stars; it answers to their movements in its deep and solemn language. It speaks to the earth on the shores, replying to the echoes that reply again; by turns wailing, soothing, threatening—its deepest roar is presently succeeded by a sad, pathetic silence.
7. And it especially addresses itself to man. It is creation's living eloquence. It is Life speaking to Life. The millions, the countless myriads of beings to which it gives birth, are its words. All these, mingled together make the unity, the great and solemn voice of the ocean. And "what are those wild waves saying?" They are talking ofLife,—of Immortality.
8. An indomitable strength is at the bottom of Nature—how much more so at Nature's summit, the Soul! And it speaks of partnership, of union. Let us accept the swift exchange which, in the individual, exists between the diverse elements; let us accept the superior Law which unites the living members of the same body—Humanity; and, still more, let us accept and respect the supreme Law which makes us co-operate with the great Soul, associated as we are—in proportion with our powers—with the loving harmony of the world—copartners in the life of God.
QUESTIONS.—1. What are three great forms of Nature? 2. What is said of the Air-ocean? 3. How does the Ocean address itself to man?
MO NOP' O LIZED, engrossed.CEL' E BRA TED, praised; talked of.PO' TENT LY, powerfully.MAR' I TIME, pertaining to sea.SA GAC' I TY, acuteness.IN TRE PID' I TY, daring valor.SAN' GUINE, bloody; cruel.EC CEN TRIC' I TY, peculiarity, oddity.WA' RI NESS, cautiousness.ED' I BLE, eatable.E MAN' CI PA TED, freed; liberated.IN TER ME' DI ATE, lying between.DEV AS TA TING, laying waste.DOUB' LE, sail around.
[Headnote 1: BASQUES, (basks), an ancient and peculiar people, living on the slopes of the Pyrenees Mountains.]
[Headnote 2: BRE' TON, a native of Brittany, an ancient province in France.]
[Headnote 3: NOR' MAN, that is, Northman, a name given to the ancient inhabitants of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, and afterward to their descendants who settled in the north of France.]
FROM THE FRENCH OF MICHELET.
1. Who opened up to men the great distant navigation? Who revealed the ocean, and marked out its zones and its liquid highways? Who discovered the secrets of the globe?The Whale and the Whaler!And all this before Columbus and the famous gold-seekers, who have monopolized all the glory, found again, with much outcry about their discovery, what had so long before been discovered by the whalers.
2. That crossing of the ocean, which was so boastfully celebrated in the fifteenth century, had often been made, not only by the narrow passage between Iceland and Greenland, but, also, by the open sea; for the Basques[Headnote 1] went to Newfoundland. The smallest danger was the mere voyage; for these men, who went to the very end of thethenknown world, to challenge the whale to single combat, to steer right away into the Northern sea, to attack the mighty monster, amid darkness and storms, with the dense fog all around, and the foaming waves below,—those who could do this, were not the men to shrink from the ordinary dangers of the voyage.
3. Noble warfare! Great school of courage! That fishery was notthen, as it isnow, an easy war to wage, made from a distance, and with a potently murderous machine. No; the fisher then struck with his own strong hand, impelled and guided by his own fearless heart, and he risked life to take life. The men of that day killed but few whales; but they gained infinitely in maritime ability, in patience, in sagacity, and in intrepidity. They brought backlessof oil; butmore, far moreof glory.
4. Every nation has its own peculiar genius. We recognize each by its own style of procedure. There are a hundred forms of courage, and these graduated varieties formed, as it were, another heroic game. At the North, the Scandinavian, the rude race from Norway to Flanders, had their sanguine fury. At the South, the wild burst, the gay daring, the clear-headed excitement, that impelled, at once, and guided them over the world. In the center, the silent and patient firmness of the Breton[Headnote 2], who yet, in the hour of danger, could display a quite sublime eccentricity. And, lastly, the Norman[Headnote 3] wariness, considerately courageous; daring all, but daring all for success. Such was the beauty of man, in that sovereign manifestation of human courage.
5. We owe a vast deal to the whale. But for it, the fishers would still have hugged the shore; for, almost every edible fish seeks the shore and the river. It was the whale that emancipated them, and led them afar. It led them onward, and onward still, until they found it, after having almost unconsciously passed from one world to the other. Greenland did not seduce them; it was notthe landthat they sought; butthe sea, and the tracks of the whale.
6. The ocean at large is its home, andespeciallythe broad and open sea. Each species has its especial preference for this or that latitude,—for a certain zone of water, more or less cold. And it wasthatpreference which traced out the great divisions of the Atlantic. The tribe of inferior whales, that have a dorsal fin, are to be found in the warmest and in the coldest seas,—under the line and in the polar seas.
7. In the great intermediate region, the fierce Cachalot inclines toward the south, devastating the warm waters. On the contrary, the Free Whale fears the warm waters,—we should rather say, that they did, formerly, fear them,—they have become so scarce. They are never found in the warm southern current; it isthatfact that led to the current being noticed, and thence to the discovery of thetrue course from America to Europe. From Europe to America, the trade winds will serve us.
8. If the Free Whale has a perfect horror of the warm waters, and can not pass the equator, it is clear that he can not double the southern end of America. How happens it, then, that when he is wounded on one side of America, in the Atlantic, he is sometimes found on the other side of America, and in the Pacific?It proves that there is a north-western passage. Another discovery which we owe to the whale, and one which throws a broad light alike on the form of the globe, and the geography of the seas!
9. By degrees, the whale has led us everywhere. Rare as he is at present, he has led us to both poles, from the uttermost recesses of the Pacific to Behring's Strait, and the infinite wastes of the Antarctic waters. There is even an enormous region that no vessel, whether war-ship or merchantman, ever traverses, at a few degrees beyond the southern points of America and Africa. No one visits that region but the whaler.
QUESTIONS.—1. What has been done by the whaler? 2. By whom had Newfoundland been discovered? 3. What is said of the courage of the whaler? 4. What proof is given that there is a north-western passage, by water, from the Atlantic to the Pacific?
THRALL' DOM, bondage; slavery.IG NO' BLE, mean; degraded.HORDE, clan; tribe.FEUD' AL, pertaining to military tenure.DES' POTS, tyrants.PAL' TRY, mean; contemptible.RAP' INE,(rapin;) plunder; violence.FOR SOOTH', in truth; in fact.RUF' FIAN, robber; cut-throat.SERV' ILE, slavish; cringing.LIM' NERS, painters.DIS CI' PLE, learner; follower.CORSE, corpse; dead body.BRAWL, wrangle; contention.DIS TAIN' ED, sullied; stained.ECH' O ED, resounded.
[Footnote: RI EN' ZI, the last of the Roman Tribunes, was born in Rome about the year 1310. He was assassinated Oct. 8th, 1354 He was a person of extraordinary eloquence. In his day, Rome was a prey to contending factions of nobles. This kept the city in constant turmoil, and subjected the people to continual abuse and tyranny. It was the endeavor of Rienzi to arouse them to a resolution to be free.]
MISS MITFORD.
1. Friends!I come not here totalk. You know too wellThe story of our thralldom. We areslaves!The bright sun rises to his course, and lightsA race ofslaves!He sets, and his last beamFalls on aslave: not such as, swept alongBy the full tide of power, the conqueror leadsTo crimson glory and undying fame;But base, ignoble slaves!slaves to a hordeOf petty tyrants, feudal despots, lords,Rich in some dozen paltry villages;Strong in some hundred spearmen; only greatIn that strange spell,—a name.2. Each hour, dark fraud,Or open rapine, or protected murder,Cries out against them. But this very day,An honest man, my neighbor,—there he stands,Was struck,strucklike a dog, by one who woreThe badge of Ursini; because, forsooth,He tossed not high his ready cap in air,Nor lifted up his voice in servile shouts,At sight of that great ruffian!3. (f.) Be wemen,And suffer such dishonor'? MEN, and wash notThe stain away in blood'? Such shames are common!I have known deeper wrongs. I, that speak to ye,I had a brother once, a gracious boy,Full of gentleness, of calmest hope,Of sweet and quiet joy; there was the lookOf heaven upon his face, which limners giveTo the beloved disciple!4. How I lovedThat gracious boy! Younger by fifteen years,Brother at once, and son! He left my side,A summer bloom on his fair cheek,—a smileParting his innocent lips. In one short hour,That pretty, harmless boy was slain! (p.) I sawThe corse, the mangled corse, and then I criedFor vengeance! (ff.)Rouse ye, Romans!—ROUSE YE, SLAVES!Have ye brave sons? Look in the next fierce brawlTo see them die! Have ye fair daughters? LookTo see them live, torn from your arms, distained,Dishonored; and if ye dare call for justice,Be answered by the lash!5. Yet this is Rome,That sat on her seven hills, and, from her throneOf beauty, ruled the world! Yet we are Romans!Why, in that elder day, to be a Roman,Was greater than a king! And once again,—Hear me, ye walls, that echoed to the treadOf either Brutus! Once again I swear,The eternal city shall be free!
QUESTIONS.—1. In what condition did the writer say the Roman people were? 2. What wrongs are complained of? 3. What special cases are mentioned? 4. What are the people exhorted to do? 5. What is the meaning of the suffixdom, in the wordthralldom?See ANALYSIS, page 142, Ex. 189. 6. What is the meaning of the suffixless, in the wordharmless?See page 140, Ex. 187. 7. How, according to the notation mark, should the first part of the third verse be read? 8. What rule for the rising inflections, third verse? See page 28, Rule I.
MUL' TI PLY, increase; continue.COL'TER, part of the plow that cuts the sod.GE' NI AL, productive.BE NIG' NANT, kind; bounteous.SAUN' TER ING, loitering.WOOD' BINE, honeysuckle.RE SPLEN DENT, splendid, beautiful.PO' TENT, powerful.ROAD' STEAD, place where ships may anchor.RE LI' ANT, trusting; depending.PES TI LEN' TIAL, infectious; noxious.PER PET' U AL, continual.STER' ILE, barren.
[Headnote 1: LE ON' I DAS, the celebrated Spartan leader who, with three hundred men, perished in the effort to resist the Persian hosts, at the mountain pass of Thermopylae, (B.C., 480.)]
[Headnote 2: MARS' TON, that is, Marston Moor, a place in Yorkshire, England, memorable for the defeat of Charles I., (in 1644,) by the forces of Cromwell and others.]
[Headnote 3: BAN' NOCK BURN, a village in Stirlingshire, Scotland, famous for the battle between the patriots, under Robert Bruce, and the English invading army, under Edward II., fought, June 25, 1314.]
[Headnote 4: AR MA' DA, a great naval armament sent by Philip II. of Spain, in 1588, for the conquest of England. It failed utterly, however, of its object, having been scattered and disabled by violent storms.]
1. Clang! clang! the massive anvils ring,—Clang! clang! a hundred hammers swing,Like the thunder-rattle of a tropic sky,The mighty blows still multiply:Clang! clang!Say, brothers of the dusky brow,What are your strong arms forging now?2. Clang! clang!—we forge thecolternow—The colter of the kindly plow;Benignant Father, bless our toil;May its broad furrow still unbindTo genial rains, to sun and wind,The most productive soil!3. Clang! clang!—our colter's course shall beOn many a sweet and sunny lea,By many a streamlet's silver tide,Amidst the song of morning birds,Amidst the low of sauntering herds,Amidst soft breezes which do strayThrough woodbine-hedges and sweet May,Along the green hill's side.4. When regal Autumn's bounteous hand,With wide-spread glory clothes the land,—When, to the valleys, from the browOf each resplendent slope, is rolledA ruddy sea of living gold,We bless,—we bless the PLOW.5. Clang! clang!—again, my mates, what glowsBeneath the hammer's potent blows?Clink! clank!—we forge thegiant chain,Which bears the gallant vessel's strain,'Midst stormy winds and adverse tides;Secured by this, the good ship bravesThe rocky roadstead and the wavesWhich thunder on her sides.6. Anxious no more, the merchant seesThe mist drive dark before the breeze.The storm-cloud on the hill;Calmly he rests, though, far awayIn boisterous climes, his vessel layReliant on our skill.7. Say, on what sands these links shall sleep,Fathoms beneath the solemn deep`?By Afric's pestilential shore',—By many an iceberg, lone and hoar',—By many a palmy western isle,Basking in spring's perpetual smile',—By stormy Labrador'?8. Say, shall they feel the vessel reel,When, to the battery's deadly peal,The crashing broadside makes reply'?Or else, as at the glorious Nile,Hold grappling ships, that strive the while,For death or victory'?9.Hurrah!—cling! clang!—once more, what glows,Dark brothers of the forge, beneathThe iron tempest of your blowsThe furnace's fiery breath?10. Clang! clang!—a burning torrent, clearAnd brilliant, of bright sparks is pouredAround and up in the dusky air,As our hammers forge the SWORD.11. Thesword!a name of dread; yet whenUpon the freeman's thigh 'tis bound,While for his altar and his hearth,—While for the land that gave him birth,The war-drums roll, the trumpets sound,Howsacredis it then!12. Whenever for the truth and rightIt flashes in the van of fight,Whether in some wild mountain passAs that where fell Leonidas[Headnote 1];Or on some sterile plain and stern,A Marston[Headnote 2] or a Bannockburn[Headnote 3];Or, mid fierce crags and bursting rills,The Switzer's Alps, gray Tyrol's hills,—Or, as when sunk the Armada's[Headnote 4] pride,It gleams above the stormy tide,—Still, still, whene'er the battle wordIs LIBERTY, when men do standForjusticeand theirnative land,Then Heaven bless THE SWORD!
QUESTIONS.—1. What things are mentioned as being forged? 2. What is said of the colter? 3. What, of the iron cable? 4. What, of the sword?
BEN E FAC' TION, gift; favor.E LATE', flushed with success.IN HER' ENT, natural.PER FEC' TION, excellence.VIG' ILS, watchfulness.UN BRIB' ED, not influenced by gifts.CON SO LA' TION, comfort.AV' E NUE, way; entrance.A TROC' I TIES, enormities.MOCK' ER Y, derision; ridicule.FAC' UL TIES, powers of the mind.CA PAC' I TIES, abilities.
IDLER.
Let him that desires to see others happy, make haste to give while his gift can be enjoyed, and remember that every moment of delay takes away something from the value of his benefaction. And let him who proposes his own happiness, reflect, that while he forms his purpose, the days roll on, and "the night cometh when no man can work."
LONGFELLOW.
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!Sail on, O Union, strong and great!Humanity, with all its fears,With all the hopes of future years,Is hanging breathless on thy fate!We know what Master laid thy keel,What workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,What anvils rang, what hammers beat,In what a forge, and what a heat,Were shaped the anchors of thy hope.
HORACE BUSHNELL.
The true hero is the great, wise man of duty,—he whose soul is armed by truth and supported by the smile of God,—he who meets life's perils with a cautious but tranquil spirit, gathers strength by facing its storms, and dies, if he is called to die, as a Christian victor at the post of duty. And, if we must have heroes, and wars wherein to make them, there is none so brilliant as a war with wrong,—no hero so fit to be sung as he who hath gained the bloodless victory of truth and mercy.
W.G. SIMMS.
We are not always equal to our fate,Nor true to our conditions. Doubt and fearBeset the bravest, in their high career,At moments when the soul, no more elateWith expectation, sinks beneath the time.The masters have their weakness. "I would climb,"Said Raleigh, gazing on the highest hill,—"But that I tremble with the fear to fall."Apt was the answer of the high-souled queen:"If thy heart fail thee, never climb at all!"The heart! if that be sound, confirms the rest,Crowns genius with his lion will and mien,And, from the conscious virtue in the breast,To trembling nature gives both strength and will.
ADDISON.
I consider a human soul without education, like marble in the quarry, which shows none of its inherent beauties until the skill of the polisher fetches out the colors, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot, and vein that runs through the body of it. Education, after the same manner, when it works upon a noble mind, draws out every latent virtue and perfection, which, without such helps, are never able to make their appearance.
DR. JOHNSON.
No more thus brooding o'er yon heap,With av'rice painful vigils keep;Still unenjoyed the present store,Still endless sighs are breathed for more.Oh! quit the shadow, catch the prize,Which not all India's treasure buys!To purchase Heaven has gold the power'?Can gold remove the mortal hour?In life, can love be bought with gold?Are friendship's pleasures to be sold?No; all that's worth a wish—a thought,Fair Virtue gives unbribed, unbought.Cease then on trash thy hopes to bind;Letnobler viewsengage thy mind.
A. ALEXANDER.
Oh, precious gospel! Will any merciless hand endeavor to tear away from our hearts, this last, this sweetest consolation? Would you darken the only avenue through which one ray of hope can enter? Would you tear from the aged and infirm poor the only prop on which their souls can repose in peace? Would you deprive the dying of their only source of consolation? Would you rob the world of its richest treasure? Would you let loose the flood-gates of every vice, and bring back upon the earth the horrors of superstition, or the atrocities of atheism? Then endeavor to subvert the gospel; throw around you the firebrands of infidelity; laugh at religion, and make a mockery of futurity; but be assured that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment.
O.W.B. PEABODY.
1. Oh, who that has gazed, in the stillness of even,On the fast-fading hues of the west,Has seen not afar, in the bosom of heaven,Some bright little mansion of rest,And mourned that the path to a region so fairShould be shrouded with sadness and fears;—That the night-winds of sorrow, misfortune, and care,Should sweep from the deep-rolling waves of despair,To darken this cold world of tears?2. And who that has gazed, has not longed for an hour,When misfortune forever shall cease;And Hope, like the rainbow, unfold, through the shower,Her bright-written promise of peace?And, oh! if that rainbow of promise may shineOn the last scene of life's wint'ry gloom,May its light in the moment of parting be mine;I ask but one ray from a source so divine,To brighten the vale of the tomb.
EDWARD EVERETT.
1. What`! feed a child's body, and let his soul hunger'? pamper his limbs, and starve his faculties'? Plant the earth, cover a thousand hills with your droves of cattle, pursue the fish to their hiding-places in the sea, and spread out your wheat-fields across the plain, in order to supply the wants of that body which will soon be as cold and as senseless as the poorest clod, and let the pure spiritual essence within you, with all its glorious capacities for improvement, languish and pine'?
2. What`! build factories, turn in rivers upon the water-wheels, unchain the imprisoned spirits of steam, to weave a garment for the body, and let the soul remain unadorned and naked'? What`! send out your vessels to the furthest ocean, and make battle with the monsters of the deep, in order to obtain the means of lighting up your dwellings and workshops, and prolonging the hours of labor for the meat that perisheth, and permit that vital spark, which God has kindled, which He has intrusted to our care, to be fanned into a bright and heavenly flame,—permit it, I say, to languish and go out'?
3. What considerate man can enter a school, and not reflect, with awe, that it is a seminary where immortal minds are training for eternity'? What parent but is, at times, weighed down with the thought, thattheremust be laid the foundations of a building which will stand, when not merely temple and palace, but the perpetual hills and adamantine rocks on which they rest, have melted away`!—that a light maytherebe kindled which will shine, not merely when every artificial beam is extinguished, but when the affrighted sun has fled away from the heavens`?
FRUIT' AGE, collection of fruits.WAX' ES, grows; increases.JU' BI LANT, joyous.TINGE, imbue.GLO' RI FI ED, exalted to glory.UN WA' RY, incautious.FAM' ISH ED, afflicted with hunger.BAN' ISH ED, driven out; expelled.RE NEW' ED, made new again.MA TUR' ING, ripening.VINT' AGE, produce of the vine.DIS LOY' AL TY, unfaithfulness.BE QUEATH' ED, left by inheritance.CON SID' ER ATE, thoughtful.RE VIV' I FY, (RE,again; VIV,live; IFY,to make;) to make alive again, to bring to life; renew.
GAIL HAMILTON.
1. "We all do fade as a leaf." Change is the essence of life. "Passing away," is written on all things; and passing away is passing on from strength to strength, from glory to glory. Spring has its growth, summer its fruitage, and autumn its festive in-gathering. The spring of eager preparation waxes into the summer of noble work; mellowing in its turn into the serene autumn, the golden-brown haze of October, when the soul may robe itself in jubilant drapery, awaiting the welcome command, "Come up higher," where mortality shall be swallowed up in life.
2. Why, then, should autumn tinge our thoughts with sadness. We fade as the leaf, and the leaf fades only to revivify. Though it fall, it shall rise again. Does the bud fear to become a blossom, or the blossom shudder as it swells into fruit; and shall the redeemed weep that they must become glorified'? Strange inconsistency`! We faint with the burden and the heat of the day. We bow down under the crosses that are laid upon our shoulders. We are bruised and torn by the snares and pitfalls which beset our way, and into which our unwary feet often fall.
3. We are famished, and foot-sore, and travel-stained, from our long journey, and yet we are saddened by tokens that we shall pass away from all these,—away from sin and sorrow, from temptation and fall, from disappointment, and weary waiting, and a fearful looking-for of evil, to purity and holiness, and the full fruition of every hope,—bliss which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived,—to a world whence all that made this dreary is forever banished, and where all that made this delightful is forever renewed and increased,—a world where the activities and energies of the soul shall have full scope, and love and recognition wait upon its steps forever.
4. Let him alone fear, who does not fade as the leaf,—him whose sources are not in God, and who does not draw his life thence,—him whose spring is gathering no strength, whose summer is maturing no fruit, and whose autumn shall have no vintage. Is not this the real sorrow of us all? not a dread of change, but a secret consciousness of wasted power,—of disloyalty to God, as the supreme object of our love and service.
5. Yet even here the fading leaf brings hope. Our future is always before us. The past is fixed. No tears can wash away its facts. Let us waste no vain regrets upon it; but, from the wisdom which its very mistakes and sins have bequeathed us, start afresh on the race. Though yesterday we were weak, and selfish, and indolent, let us to-day—at this moment—begin to be strong, and brave, and helpful, and just, and generous, and considerate, and tender, and truthful, and pure, and patient, and forgiving. "Now" is a glorious word. "HENCEFORTH" is always within our grasp.
QUESTIONS.—1. To what are we compared? 2. What is said of change? 3. What change takes place in the leaf? 4. What, in man? 5. Who have reason to fear? 6. What is said of the past and the future?
UN HEED' ED, not regarded.EX POS' ED, unprotected.EX HORT' ED, urged; persuaded.AT TUN' ED, put in tune.ES SEN' TIAL, real; true.AN NOUNC' ED, proclaimed.
POLLOCK.
1. The seasons came and went, and went and came,To teach men gratitude; and, as they passed,Gave warning of the lapse of time, that elseHad stolen unheeded by: the gentle flowersRetired, and, stooping o'er the wilderness,Talked of humility, and peace, and love.The dews came down unseen at evening tide.And silently their bounties shed, to teachMankind unostentatious charity.2. With arm in arm the forest rose on high,And lesson gave of brotherly regard;And, on the rugged mountain brow exposed,Bearing the blast alone, the ancient oakStood, lifting high his mighty arm, and stillTo courage in distress exhorted loud.The flocks, the herds, the birds, the streams, the breeze,Attuned the heart to melody and love.3. Mercy stood in the cloud, with eye that weptEssential love; and, from her glorious brow,Bending to kiss the earth in token of peace,With her own lips, her gracious lips, which GodOf sweetest accent made, she whispered still,She whispered to Revenge, Forgive! forgive!4. The Sun, rejoicing round the earth, announcedDaily the wisdom, power, and love of God.The Moon awoke, and, from her maiden faceShedding her cloudy locks, looked meekly forth,And, with her virgin stars, walked in the heavens,—Walked nightly there, conversing as she walkedOf purity, and holiness, and God.5. In dreams and visions, sleep instructed much.Day uttered speech to day, and night to nightTaught knowledge: silence had a tongue: the grave,The darkness, and the lonely waste, had eachA tongue, that ever said, Man! think of God!Think of thyself! think of eternity!6. Fear God, the thunders said; Fear God, the waves;Fear God, the lightning of the storm replied;Fear God, deep loudly answered back to deep.And, in the temples of the Holy One,Messiah's messengers, the faithful few,Faithful 'mong many false, the Bible opened,And cried: Repent! repent, ye Sons of Men!Believe, be saved.
QUESTIONS.—1. What do the seasons teach? 2. What, the trees? 3. What, the sun and moon? 4. What, Messiah's messengers?
BE DECK' ED, adorned.AR RAY', dress; attire.MAN' TLED, spread; rushed.DE VO' TION, attachment.I DOL A TROUS, excessive.SEV' ER ED, rent; sundered.EN CIR' CLED, inclosed; surrounded.SA' BLES, mourning clothes.GIFT' ED, talented.FOUND ED, established.AL LURE', (AL,to; LURE,draw;) draw to; entice.
[Footnote: These lines are founded on the following passage of Jewish history:—"It was the custom of the Jews to select the tenth of their sheep after this manner: The lambs were separated from their dams, and inclosed in a sheep-cot, with only one narrow way out; the lambs hastened to join the dams, and a man, placed at the entrance, with a rod dipped in ocher, touched every tenth lamb, and so marked it with his rod, saying, 'LET THIS BE HOLY.' Hence, God says by his prophet, 'I will cause you to pass under the rod.'"]
MARY S.B. DANA.
1. I saw the young bride, in her beauty and pride,Bedecked in her snowy array;And the bright flush of joy mantled high on her cheek,And the future looked blooming and gay:And with a woman's devotion she laid her fond heartAt the shrine of idolatrous love;And she anchored her hopes to this perishing earth,By the chain which her tenderness wove.But I saw, when those heartstrings were bleeding and torn,And the chain had been severed in two,She had changed her white robes for the sables of grief,And her bloom for the paleness of woe!But the Healer was there, pouring balm on her heart,And wiping the tears from her eyes;And He strengthened the chain He had broken in twain,And fastened it firm to the skies!There had whispered a voice,—'twas the voice of her God:"I love thee—I love thee—pass under the rod!"2. I saw the young mother in tenderness bendO'er the couch of her slumbering boy;And she kissed the soft lips as they murmured her name,While the dreamer lay smiling in joy.Oh, sweet as the rose-bud encircled with dew,When its fragrance is flung on the air,So fresh and so bright to that mother he seemed,As he lay in his innocence there.But I saw when she gazed on the same lovely form,Pale as marble, and silent, and cold,But paler and colder her beautiful boy,And the tale of her sorrow was told!But the Healer was there, who had stricken her heart,And taken her treasure away;To allure her to heaven, He has placed it on high,And the mourner will sweetly obey.There had whispered a voice,—'twas the voice of her God:"I love thee—I love thee—pass under the rod!"3. I saw, too, a father and mother who leanedOn the arms of a dear gifted son;And the star in the future grew bright to their gaze,As they saw the proud place he had won;And the fast coming evening of life promised fair,And its pathway grew smooth to their feet,And the starlight of love glimmered bright at the end,And the whispers of fancy were sweet.And I saw them again, bending low o'er the grave,Where their hearts' dearest hope had been laid;And the star had gone down in the darkness of night,And the joy from their bosoms had fled.But the Healer was there, and His arms were around,And He led them with tenderest care;And He showed them a star in the bright upper world,'Twas their star shining brilliantly there!They had each heard a voice,—'twas the voice of their God:"I love thee—I love thee—pass under the rod!"
QUESTIONS.—1. What custom is alluded to, in the passage "I will cause you to pass under the rod?" See note. 2. Where is that passage found in the Scriptures? Ans. Ezekiel, 20th chap., 37th verse. 3. What instances are mentioned of individuals "passing under the rod?"