Chapter XVI: Section V: The Rhetorical Pause (10)

9. Here flocked the illustrious men of all climes, and were received with warm, unpretending, almost rustic hospitality. Here the French Houdon modeled his statue, and the English Pine painted his portrait, and caused that jocose remark, "I am so hackneyed to the touches of the painters' pencil, that I am altogether at their beck, and sit like 'Patience on a monument!'"

10. Then came another summons from the land he had saved, and he was chosen by unanimous voice its chief ruler. Thousands of men, women, and children, sent up acclamations, and called down blessings on his head, as he made his triumphal progress from Mount Vernon to New York, to take the presidential oath. The roar of cannon rent the air. The streets through which he passed, were illuminated and decked with flags and wreaths. Bonfires blazed on the hills. From ships and boats floated festive decorations. At Gray's Ferry, he passed under triumphal arches.

11. On the bridge across the Assumpink, at Trenton, (the very bridge over which he had retreated in such blank despair, before the army of Cornwallis, on the eve of the battle of Princeton,) thirteen pillars, twined with laurel and evergreens, were reared by woman's hands. The foremost of the arches those columns supported, bore the inscription, _"The Defender of the Mothers will he the Protector of the Daughters."_ Mothers, with their white-robed daughters, were assembled beneath the vernal arcade. Thirteen maidens scattered flowers beneath his feet, as they sang an ode of gratulation. The people's hero ever after spoke of this tribute, as the one that touched him most deeply.

13. When his first presidential term expired, and his heart yearned for the peace of his domestic hearth, the entreaties of Jefferson, Randolph, and Hamilton, forced him to forget that home for the one he held in the hearts of patriots, and to allow his name to be used a second time. A second time he was unanimously elected to preside over his country's welfare. But, the period happily expired, he thankfully laid aside the mantle of state, the scepter of power, and, five days after the inauguration of Adams, returned here to his Mount Vernon home. And here the good servant, whom his Lord, when He came, found watching and ready, calmly yielded up his breath, exclaiming, "It is well!" and his spirit was wafted to Heaven by the blessings of his enfranchised countrymen.

QUESTIONS.--1. Where is Mount Vernon? 2. What is said of Washington's tomb? 3. Mention some of the things which he did here? 4. What demonstrations were made by the people, as he went to New York to take the oath of office? 5. Did he serve more than one term as President?

* * * * *

LESSON XCIX.

CHIV' AL ROUS, gallant; heroic.
HAL' LOW, consecrate; keep sacred.
MER' CE NA RY, mean; venal.
AD VEN' TUR ER, fortune-seeker.
VAN' QUISH ED, conquered.
OUT' CAST, exile; castaway.
TRAP' PINGS, ornaments; equipments.
CRU SADE', battle zealously.
CA REER' ED, moved rapidly.
PHAL' ANX, compact body of men.
TRANS PORT' ING, exulting.
TRO PHIES, memorials of victory.
PA' GEANT, pompous; showy.
MIN' ION, favorite.

LA FAYETTE.

CHARLES SPRAGUE.

1. While we bring our offerings for the mighty of our _own_ land, shall we not remember the chivalrous spirits of _other_ shores, who shared with them the hour of weakness and woe'? Pile to the clouds the majestic column of glory`; let the lips of those who can speak well, hallow each spot where the bones of your bold repose`; but forget not those who, with your bold, went out to battle.

2. Among those men of noble daring, there was _one_, a young and gallant stranger, who left the blushing vine-hills of his delightful France. The people whom he came to succor, were not _his_ people; he knew them only in the melancholy story of their wrongs. He was no mercenary adventurer, striving for the spoil of the vanquished; the palace acknowledged him for its lord, and the valley yielded him its increase. He was no nameless man, staking life for reputation; he ranked among nobles, and looked unawed upon kings.

3. He was no friendless outcast, seeking for a grave to hide a broken heart; he was girdled by the companions of his childhood; his kinsmen were about him; his wife was before him. Yet from all these loved ones he turned away. Like a lofty tree that shakes down its green glories, to battle with the winter storm, he flung aside the trappings of place and pride, to crusade for Freedom, in Freedom's holy land. He came`; but not in the day of successful rebellion', not when the new-risen sun of Independence had burst the cloud of time, and careered to its place in the heavens'.

4. He came when darkness curtained the hills, and the tempest was abroad in its anger`; when the plow stood still in the field of promise, and briers cumbered the garden of beauty`; when fathers were dying, and mothers were weeping over them`; when the wife was binding up the gashed bosom of her husband, and the maiden was wiping the death-damp from the brow of her lover`. He came when the brave began to fear the power of man, and the pious to doubt the favor of God. It was _then_ that this one joined the ranks of a revolted people.

5. Freedom's little phalanx bade him a grateful welcome. With them he courted the battle's rage; with theirs, his arm was lifted; with theirs, his blood was shed. Long and doubtful was the conflict. At length, kind Heaven smiled on the good cause, and the beaten invaders fled. The profane were driven from the temple of Liberty, and, at her pure shrine, the pilgrim-warrior, with his adored commander, knelt and worshiped. Leaving there his offering, the incense of an uncorrupted spirit, he at length rose, and, crowned with benedictions, turned his happy feet toward his long-deserted home.

6. After nearly fifty years, that _one_ has come again. Can mortal tongue tell? can mortal heart feel, the sublimity of that coming? Exulting millions rejoice in it; and their loud, long, transporting shout, like the mingling of many winds, rolls on, undying, to Freedom's farthest mountains. A congregated nation comes around him. Old men bless him, and children reverence him. The lovely come out to look upon him; the learned deck their halls to greet him; the rulers of the land rise up to do him homage.

7. How his full heart labors! He views the rusting trophies of departed days; he treads the high places where his brethren molder; he bends before the tomb of his "father;" [Footnote: Washington] his words are tears,--the speech of sad remembrance. But he looks round upon a ransomed land and a joyous race; he beholds the blessings these trophies secured, for which these brethren died, for which that "father" lived; and again his words are tears,--the eloquence of gratitude and joy.

8. Spread forth creation like a map; bid earth's dead multitudes revive; and of all the pageant splendors that ever glittered to the sun, when looked his burning eye on a sight like this? Of all the myriads that have come and gone, what cherished minion ever ruled an hour like this? Many have struck the redeeming blow for their own freedom; but who, like this man, has bared his bosom in the cause of strangers?

9. Others have lived in the love of their own people; but who, like this man, has drank his sweetest cup of welcome with another? Matchless chief! of glory's immortal tablets there is one for him, for _him_ alone! Oblivion shall never shroud its splendor; the everlasting flame of Liberty shall guard it, that the generations of men may repeat the name recorded there, the beloved name of LA FAYETTE.

QUESTIONS.--1. Of what country was La Fayette a native? 2. What was his position at home? 3. In what condition was this country when he came to join our army? 4. How many years after, before he revisited this country? 5. What demonstrations were manifested by the people? 6. What is said of his fame?

* * * * *

LESSON C.

PRO FU' SION, abundance; variety.
CON FU' SION, intricacy; indistinct movement.
COM MO TION, agitation; shaking.
RE SULT', effect.
DI MIN' ISH, lessen.
MYS' TER Y, maze; secrecy.
HIS' TO RY, plain matter of fact.
PA' GES, boy-servants; attendants.
SPAR' RING, boxing; disputing.
PUP' PETS, dolls; small figures of persons.
FIN ISH, completion.
GLO' RI OUS, grand; splendid.
RE JECT, refuse; deny.
RE FLECT' ED, turned back; borrowed.

THE MYSTIC WEAVER.

REV. DR. HARBAUGH.

1. Weaver at his loom is sitting,
Throws his shuttle to and fro;
Foot and treadle,
Hand and pedal,
Upward, downward,
Hither, thither,
How the weaver makes them go!
As the weaver _wills_ they go.
Up and down the web is plying,
And across the woof is flying;
What a rattling!
What a battling!
What a shuffling!
What a scuffling!
As the weaver makes his shuttle,
Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

2. Threads in single,
Threads in double;
How they mingle!
What a trouble,
Every color!
What profusion!
Every motion--
What confusion!
While the web and woof are mingling,
Signal bells above are jingling,
Telling how each figure ranges,
Telling when the color changes,
As the weaver makes his shuttle,
Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

3. Weaver at his loom is sitting,
Throws his shuttle to and fro;
'Mid the noise and wild confusion,
Well the weaver seems to know,
As he makes his shuttle go,
What each motion,
And commotion,
What each fusion,
And confusion,
In the _grand result_ will show:
Weaving daily,
Singing gayly,
As he makes his busy shuttle,
Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

4. Weaver at his loom is sitting,
Throws his shuttle to and fro;
See you not how shape and order
From the wild confusion grow,
As he makes his shuttle go'?
As the web and woof diminish,
Grows beyond the beauteous finish:
Tufted plaidings,
Shapes and shadings,
All the mystery
Now is history:
And we see the reason subtle,
Why the weaver makes his shuttle,
Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

5. See the Mystic Weaver sitting,
High in Heaven--His loom below.
Up and down the treadles go:
Takes for web the world's long ages,
Takes for woof its kings and sages,
Takes the nobles and their pages,
Takes all stations and all stages.
Thrones are bobbins in His shuttle;
Armies make them scud and scuttle.

6. Web into the woof must flow,
Up and down the nations go,
As the Weaver _wills_ they go.
Men are sparring,
Powers are jarring,
Upward, downward,
Hither, thither,
See how strange the nations go,
Just like puppets in a show.
Up and down the web is plying
And across the woof is flying.
What a rattling!
What a battling!
What a shuffling!
What a scuffling!
As the Weaver makes His shuttle
Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

7. Calmly see the Mystic Weaver,
Throw His shuttle to and fro;
'Mid the noise and wild confusion,
Well the Weaver seems to know
What each motion
And commotion,
What each fusion
And confusion,
In the grand result will show,
As the nations,
Kings and stations,
Upward, downward,
Hither, thither,
As in mystic dances, go.

8. In the Present all is mystery,
In the Past 'tis beauteous History.
O'er the mixing and the mingling,
How the signal bells are jingling!
See you not the Weaver leaving
Finished work behind in weaving'?
See you not the reason subtle,
As the web and woof diminish,
Changing into beauteous finish,
Why the Weaver makes His shuttle,
Hither, thither, scud and scuttle'?

9. _Glorious wonder_! What a weaving!
To the dull beyond believing!
Such no fabled ages know.
Only Faith can see the mystery
How, along the aisle of History
Where the feet of sages go,
Loveliest to the purest eyes,
Grand the mystic tapet lies!
Soft and smooth and even-spreading
As if made for angels' treading;
Tufted circles touching ever,
Inwrought figures fading never;
Every figure has its plaidings,
Brighter form and softer shadings;
Each illuminated,--what a riddle!--
From a Cross that gems the middle.

10. 'Tis a saying--some reject it,--
That its light is all reflected:
That the tapet's hues are given
By a Sun that shines in Heaven!
'Tis believed, by all believing
That great God Himself is weaving!
Bringing out the world's dark mystery
In the light of Faith and History;
And, as web and woof diminish,
Comes the grand and glorious finish:
When begin the golden ages,
Long foretold by seers and sages.

QUESTIONS.--1. Describe the process of weaving. 2. Who are weaving the web of history?

* * * * *

LESSON CI.

CON FOUND', perplex; confuse.
WOOF, cloth; texture.
RAR' ER, scarcer; more excellent.
PRAI' RIES, large tracts of land, with few trees, and covered
with grass.
SAV' AGE, wild; uncultivated.
SAVAN'NA, open meadow or plain.
PI O NEERS', persons that go before to prepare the way for
others.
SCOUTS, spies.
HEART' EN, encourage.
SCAN' NED, closely examined.
CLEAV' ING, parting; separating.
HOL' I DAY, day of rest or joy.

WORK AWAY.

HARPERS' MAGAZINE.

1. Work away!
For the Master's eye is on us,
Never off us, still upon us,
Night and day!
Work away!
Keep the busy fingers plying,
Keep the ceaseless shuttles flying,
See that never thread lie wrong;
Let not clash or clatter round us,
Sound of whirring wheels, confound us;
Steady hand! let woof be strong
And firm, that has to last so long?
Work away!

2. Keep upon the anvil ringing
Stroke of hammer; on the gloom
Set 'twixt cradle and the tomb,
Showers of fiery sparkles flinging;
Keep the mighty furnace glowing;
Keep the red ore hissing, flowing
Swift within the ready mold;
See that each one than the old
Still be fitter, still be fairer
For the servant's use, and rarer
For the Master to behold:
Work away!

3. Work away!
For the Leader's eye is on us,
Never off us, still upon us,
Night and day!
Wide the trackless prairies round us,
Dark and unsunned woods surround us,
Steep and savage mountains bound us;
Far away
Smile the soft savannas green,
Rivers sweep and roll between:
Work away!

4. Bring your axes, woodmen true;
Smite the forest till the blue
Of heaven's sunny eye looks through
Every wild and tangled glade;
Jungled swamp and thicket shade
Give to day!

5. O'er the torrents fling your bridges,
Pioneers! Upon the ridges
Widen, smooth the rocky stair,--
They that follow far behind
Coming after us, will find
Surer, easier footing there;
Heart to heart, and hand with hand,
From the dawn to dusk of day,
Work away!
Scouts upon the mountain's peak,--
Ye that see the Promised Land,
Hearten us! for ye can speak
Of the Country ye have scanned,
Far away!

6. Work away!
For the Father's eye is on us,
Never off us, still upon us,
Night and day!
WORK AND PRAY!
Pray! and Work will be completer;
Work! and Prayer will be the sweeter;
Love! and Prayer and Work the fleeter
Will ascend upon their way!

7. Fear not lest the busy finger
Weave a net the soul to stay;
Give her wings,--she will not linger,
Soaring to the source of day;
Clearing clouds that still divide us
From the azure depths of rest,
She will come again! beside us,
With the sunshine on her breast,
Sit, and sing to us, while quickest
On their task the fingers move,
While the outward din wars thickest,
Songs that she hath learned above.

8. Live in Future as in Present;
Work for both while yet the day
Is our own! for lord and peasant,
Long and bright as summer's day,
Cometh, yet more sure, more pleasant,
Cometh soon our Holiday;
Work away!

* * * * *

LESSON CII.

PROP O SI' TION, proposal.
AD HE' SION, attraction.
AB SURD I TY, folly; nonsense.
VIS' ION ARY, fanciful; imaginary.
DIS CUS' SION, debate; controversy.
THE' O RY, idea; scheme of doctrine.
AM BAS' SA DOR, messenger; deputy.
NAV' I GA TORS, voyagers; seamen.
SPEC U LA' TION, theory; mental view.
EN' TER PRISE, attempt; undertaking.
FRI VOL' I TY, levity; triflingness.
PRE SENT' I MENT, previous notice.

AN TIP' O DES, (ANTI, _opposite_; PODES, _the feet_;) having
their feet opposite to ours; that is, living on the other side
of the earth.

[Headnote 1: GEN O ESE', a native of Genoa,--a famous fortified seaport city in Northern Italy.]

[Headnote 2: LAC TAN' TIUS, one of the fathers of the Latin church, born about the year A.D. 250. He was celebrated as a teacher of eloquence, and before his conversion to Christianity, had so successfully studied the great Roman orator that he afterwards received the appellation of the "Christian Cicero."]

QUEEN ISABELLA'S RESOLVE.

FROM VINET.

QUEEN ISABELLA OF SPAIN, DON GOMEZ, AND COLUMBUS.

_Isabella._ And so, Don Gomez, it is your conclusion that we ought to dismiss the proposition of this worthy Genoese.[Headnote 1]

_Don Gomez._ His scheme, your majesty, seems to me fanciful in the extreme; but I am a plain matter-of-fact man, and do not see visions and dreams, like some.

_Isa._ And yet Columbus has given us cogent reasons for believing that it is practicable to reach the eastern coast of India by sailing in a westerly direction.

_Don G._ Admitting that his theory is correct, namely, that the earth is a sphere, how would it be possible for him to return, if he once descended that sphere in the direction he proposes`? Would not the coming back be all up-hill'? Could a ship accomplish it with even the most favorable wind'?

_Columbus._ Will your majesty allow me to suggest that, if the earth is a sphere, the same laws of adhesion and motion must operate at every point on its surface; and the objection of Don Gomez would be quite as valid against our being able to return from crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.

_Don G._ This gentleman, then, would have us believe the monstrous absurdity, that there are people on the earth who are our antipodes,--who walk with their heads down, like flies on the ceiling.

_Col._ But, your majesty, if there is a law of attraction which makes matter gravitate to the earth, and prevents its flying off into space, may not this law operate at every point on the round earth's surface'?

_Isa._ Truly, it so seems to me; and I perceive nothing absurd in the notion that this earth is a globe floating or revolving in space.

_Don G._ May it please your majesty, the ladies are privileged to give credence to many wild tales which we plain matter-of-fact men can not admit. Every step I take, confutes this visionary idea of the earth's rotundity. Would not the blood run into my head, if I were standing upside down! Were I not fearful of offending your majesty, I would quote what the great Lactantius [Headnote 2] says.

_Isa_. We are not vain of our science, Don Gomez; so let us have the quotation.

_Don G_. "Is there any one so foolish," he asks, "as to believe that there are antipodes with their feet opposite to ours,--that there is a part of the world in which all things are topsy-turvy, where the trees grow with their branches downward, and where it rains, hails, and snows, upward'?"

_Col_. I have already answered this objection. If there are people on the earth who are our antipodes, it should be remembered that we are theirs also.

_Don G_. Really, that is the very point wherein we matter-of-fact men abide by the assurance of our own senses. We know that we are not walking with our heads downward.

_Isa_. To cut short the discussion, you think that the enterprise which the Genoese proposes, is one unworthy of our serious consideration; and that his theory of an unknown shore to the westward of us is a fallacy.

_Don G_. As a plain matter-of-fact man, I must confess that I so regard it. Has your majesty ever seen an ambassador from this unknown coast?

_Isa_. Don Gomez, do you believe in the existence of a world of spirits? Have you ever seen an ambassador from that unknown world?

_Don G_. Certainly not. By faith we look forward to it.

_Isa_. Even so by faith does the Genoese look forward, far over misty ocean, to an undiscovered shore.

_Col._ Your majesty is right; but let it be added that I have reasons, oh! most potent and resistless reasons, for the faith that is in me: the testimony of many navigators who have picked up articles that must have drifted from this distant coast: the nature of things, admitting that the earth is round: the reports current among the people of one of the northern nations, that many years ago their mariners had sailed many leagues westward till they reached a shore where the grape grew abundantly; these and other considerations have made it the fixed persuasion of my mind, that there is a great discovery reserved for the man who will sail patiently westward, trusting in God's good providence, and turning not back till he has achieved his purpose.

_Don G._ Then truly we should never hear of him again. Speculation! mere speculation, your majesty! When this gentleman can bring forward some solid facts that will induce us plain matter-of-fact men to risk money in forwarding his enterprise, it will then be time enough for royalty to give it heed. Why, your majesty, the very boys in the streets point at their foreheads as he passes along.

_Isa._ And so you bring forward the frivolity of boys jeering at what they do not comprehend, as an argument why Isabella should not give heed to this great and glorious scheme? Ay, sir, though it should fail, still, it has been urged in language so intelligent and convincing, by this grave and earnest man, whom you think to undervalue by calling him an adventurer, that I am resolved to test the "absurdity," as you style it, and that forthwith.

_Don G._ Your majesty will excuse me if I remark, that I have from your royal consort himself the assurance that the finances are so exhausted by the late wars, that he can not consent to advance the necessary funds for fitting out an expedition of the kind proposed.

_Isa._ Be _mine_, then, the privilege! I have jewels, by the pledging of which I can raise the amount required; and I have resolved that they shall be pledged to this enterprise, without any more delay.

_Col._ Your majesty shall not repent your heroic resolve. I will return, your majesty; be sure I will return, and lay at your feet such a jewel as never queen wore yet, an imperishable fame,--a fame that shall couple with your memory the benedictions of millions yet unborn, in climes yet unknown to civilized man. There is an uplifting presentiment in my mind, a conviction that your majesty will live to bless the hour you came to this decision.

_Don G._ A presentiment? A plain matter-of-fact man, like myself, must take leave of your majesty, if his practical common-sense is to be met and superseded by presentiments! An ounce of fact, your majesty, is worth a ton of presentiment.

_Isa._ That depends altogether upon the source of the presentiment, Don Gomez. If it come from the Fountain of all truth, shall it not be good?

_Don G._ I humbly take my leave of your majesty.

QUESTIONS.--1. What reasons did Don Gomez advance in proof that the earth is not a sphere? 2. What argument did Columbus present in proof that it was? 3. What did Queen Isabella resolve to do?

* * * * *

LESSON CIII.

CON FIRM' ING, corroborating.
AS SUR AN CES, assertions.
MU TI NEER', one who resists orders.
IN FER' RED, concluded.
CRAV' ED, begged.
AS SO' CIA TING, joining; connecting.
EX PEC TA' TION, hope; a looking for.
VER' I FIED, made true; realized.
PHOS PHO RES' CENCE, faint light.
HES I TA' TION, doubt.
EN JOIN' ING, commanding; ordering.
AM PHI THE' A TER, circular theater.
CON TR AST' ED, set in opposition.
DE MEAN' OR, behavior.
DE FAULT', defect; absence.
IN SIG' NIA, marks; signs.
IN I' TIALS, first letters.
DEV AS TA TION, a laying waste.

DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD.

LAMARTINE.

1. At sunrise, on the second day, some rashes recently torn up, were seen near the vessels. A plank, evidently hewn by an ax, a stick skillfully carved by some cutting instrument, a bough of hawthorn in blossom,--and lastly, a bird's nest built on a branch which the wind had broken, and full of eggs, on which the parent bird was sitting amid the gently-rolling waves,--were seen floating past on the waters. The sailors brought on board these living and inanimate witnesses of their approach to land. They were a voice from the shore, confirming the assurances of Columbus. Before the land actually appeared in sight, its neighborhood was inferred from these marks of life.

2. The mutineers fell on their knees before the Admiral, whom they had insulted but the day before, craved pardon for their mistrust, and struck up a hymn of thanksgiving to God for associating them with this triumph. Night fell on these songs welcoming a new world. The Admiral gave orders that the sails should be close-reefed, and the lead kept going; and that they should sail slowly, being afraid of breakers and shoals, and feeling certain that the first gleam of daybreak would discover land under their bows.

3. On the last anxious night none slept. Impatient expectation had removed all heaviness from their eyes; the pilots and the seamen, clinging about the masts, yards, and shrouds, each tried to keep the best place and the closest watch to get the earliest sight of the new hemisphere. The Admiral had offered a reward to the first who should cry _Land_, provided his announcement was verified by its actual discovery.

4. Providence, however, reserved to Columbus himself this first glimpse, which he had purchased at the expense of twenty years of his life, and of untiring perseverance. While walking the quarter-deck alone, at midnight, and sweeping the dark horizon with his keen eye, a gleam of fire passed and disappeared, and again showed itself on the level of the waves. Fearful of being deceived by the phosphorescence of the sea, he quietly called a Spanish gentleman of Isabella's court, in whom he had more confidence than in the pilots, pointed out the direction in which he had seen the light, and asked him whether he could discern any thing there.

5. He replied that he did, indeed, see a flickering light in that quarter. To make the fact still more sure, Columbus called another in whom he had confidence to look in the same direction. He said he had no hesitation in pronouncing that there was a light on the horizon. But the blaze was hardly seen before it again disappeared in the ocean, to show itself anew the next moment. Whether it was the light of a fire on a low shore, alternately appearing and disappearing beyond the broken horizon, or whether it was the floating beacon of a fisherman's boat now rising on the waves, and now sinking in the trough of the sea, they could not determine.

6. Thus both land and safety appeared together in the shape of fire to Columbus and his two friends, on the night between the 11th and 12th of October, 1492. The Admiral, enjoining silence, kept his observation to himself, for fear of again raising false hopes, and giving a bitter disappointment to his ships' companies. He lost sight of the light, and remained on deck until two in the morning,--praying, hoping, and despairing alone, awaiting the _triumph or the return_ on which the morrow was to decide.

7. He was seized with that anguish which precedes the great discoveries of truth, when, suddenly, a cannon-shot, sounding over the sea, a few hundred yards in advance of him, burst upon his ear the announcement of a _new-born world_, which made him tremble, and fall upon his knees. It was the signal of land in sight! made by firing a shot, as had been arranged with the _Pinta_, which was sailing in advance of the squadron, to guide their course and take soundings.

8. At this signal a general shout of _"Land ho!"_ arose from all the yards and riggings of the ships. The sails were furled, and daybreak was anxiously awaited. The mystery of the ocean had breathed its first whisper in the bosom of night. Daybreak would clear it up openly to every eye. Delicious and unknown perfumes reached the vessels from the outline of the shore, with the roar of the waves upon the reefs and the soft land breeze.

9. The fire seen by Columbus indicated the presence of man, and of the first element of civilization. Never did the night appear so long in clearing away from the horizon; for this horizon was to Columbus and his companions a second creation of God. The dawn, as it spread over the sky, gradually raised the shores of an island from the waves. Its distant extremities were lost in the morning mist. It ascended gradually, like an amphitheater, from the low beach to the summit of the hills, whose dark-green covering contrasted strongly with the blue heavens.

10. Within a few paces from where the foam of the waves breaks on the yellow sand, forests of tall and unknown trees stretched away, one above another, over the successive terraces of the island. Green valleys and bright clefts in the hollows, afforded a half glimpse into these mysterious wilds. Here and there could be discovered a few scattered huts, which, with their outlines and roofs of dry leaves, looked like bee-hives, and thin columns of blue smoke rose above the tops of the trees. Half-naked groups of men, women, and children, more astonished than frightened, appeared among the thickets near the shore, advancing timidly, and then drawing back, exhibiting, by their gestures and demeanor, as much fear as curiosity and wonder, at the sight of these strange vessels, which the previous night had brought to their shores.

11. Columbus, after gazing in silence on this foremost shore of the land so often determined by his calculations, and so magnificently colored by his imagination, found it to exceed even his own expectations. He burned with impatience to be the first European to set foot on the sand, and to plant the flag of Spain,--the standard of the conquest of God and of his sovereigns, effected by his genius. But he restrained the eagerness of himself and of his crew to land, being desirous of giving to the act of taking possession of a new world, a _solemnity_ worthy of the greatest deed, perhaps, ever accomplished by a seaman; and, in default of men, to call God and His angels, sea, earth, and sky, as witnesses of his conquest of an unknown hemisphere.

12. He put on all the insignia of his dignities as Admiral of the Ocean, and the Viceroy of these future realms; he wrapped himself in his purple cloak, and taking in his hand an embroidered flag, in which the initials of Ferdinand and Isabella were interlaced, like their two kingdoms, and, surmounted by a crown, he entered his boat, and pulled toward the shore, followed by the boats of his two lieutenants.

13. On landing, he fell on his knees, to acknowledge, by this act of humility and worship, the goodness and greatness of God in this new sphere of His works. He kissed the ground, and, with his face on the earth, he wept tears of double import, as they fell on the dust of this hemisphere, now, for the first time, visited by Europeans,--tears of joy for the overflowing of a proud spirit, grateful and pious,--tears of sadness for this virgin soil, seeming to foreshadow the calamities, and devastation, with fire and sword, and blood and destruction, which the strangers were to bring with their pride, their knowledge, and their power.

14. It was the _man_ that shed these tears; but it was the _earth_ that was destined to weep. As Columbus raised his forehead from the dust, with a Latin prayer, which his companions have handed down to us, he thus addressed the Sovereign Ruler of the world: (_sl_.) "Almighty and eternal God, who, by the energy of thy creative word, hast made the firmament, the earth, and sea, blessed and glorified be Thy name in all places! May Thy majesty and dominion be exalted forever and ever, as Thou hast permitted Thy holy name to be made known and spread by the most humble of Thy servants, in this hitherto unknown portion of Thy empire."

15. He then gave to this land the name of San Salvador. His lieutenants, his pilots, and his seamen, full of gladness, and impressed with a superstitious respect for him whose glance had pierced beyond the visible horizon, and whom they had offended by their unbelief,--overcome by the evidence of their eyes, and by that mental superiority which overawes the minds of men,--fell at the feet of the Admiral, kissed his hands and his clothes, and recognized, for a moment, the power and the almost divine nature of genius; _yesterday_ the victims of his obstinacy,--_now_ the companions of his success, and sharers in the glory which they had mocked. Such is humanity,--persecuting discoverers, yet reaping the fruits of their inventions.

QUESTIONS.--1. What evidences had Columbus that land was near? 2. What did the mutineers do? 3. In what month and year was the _new world_ discovered? 4. What is said of the natives? 5. What did Columbus do on landing? 6. What was the conduct of the officers and seamen?

* * * * *

LESSON CIV.

FER' MENT, heat; glow.
EN THU' SI ASM, excitement.
PRO DIG' IOUS, very great.
SPEC I MENS, samples.
LEAGU' ED, joined; banded.
PER SUAD' ED, convinced.
PRE POS' TEROUS, absurd; ridiculous.
VAUNT' ED, boasted.
DE LU' SION, deception.
CRED' U LOUS, apt to believe.
UN RE LI' A BLE, untrustworthy.
SUS PI'' CION, doubt; mistrust.

THE RETURN OF COLUMBUS.

VINET.

DON GOMEZ AND HIS SECRETARY.

_Don Gomez_. WHAT! what is this you tell me? Columbus returned? A new world discovered? Impossible!

_Secretary_. It is even so, sir. A courier arrived at the palace but an hour since with the intelligence. Columbus was driven by stress of weather to anchor in the Tagus. All Portugal is in a ferment of enthusiasm, and all Spain will be equally excited soon. The sensation is prodigious!

_Don G_. Oh, it is a trick! It must be a trick!

_Sec_. But he has brought home the proofs of his visit,--gold and precious stones, strange plants and animals; and, above all, specimens of a new race of men, copper-colored, with straight hair.

_Don G_. Still I say, a trick! He has been coasting along the African shore, and there collected a few curiosities, which he is passing off for proofs of his pretended discovery.

_Sec_. It is a little singular that all his men should be leagued with him in keeping up so unprofitable a falsehood.

_Don G_. But 'tis against reason, against common sense, that such a discovery should be made.

_Sec_. King John of Portugal has received him with royal magnificence, has listened to his accounts, and is persuaded that they are true.

_Don G._ We shall see, we shall see. Look you, sir, a plain matter-of-fact man, such as I, is not to be taken in by any such preposterous story! This vaunted discovery will turn out no discovery at all.

_Sec._ The king and queen have given orders for preparations on the most magnificent scale for the reception of Columbus.

_Don G._ What delusion! Her majesty is so credulous. A practical, common-sense man, like myself, can find no points of sympathy in her nature.

_Sec._ The Indians on board the returned vessels, are said to be unlike any known race of men.

_Don G._ Very unreliable all that! I take the common-sense view of the thing. I am a matter-of-fact man; and do you remember what I say, it will all turn out a trick! The crews may have been deceived. Columbus may have steered a southerly course, instead of a westerly. Any thing is probable, rather than that a coast to the westward of us has been discovered.

_Sec._ I saw the courier, who told me he had conversed with all the sailors; and they laughed at the suspicion that there could be any mistake about the discovery, or that any other than a westerly course had been steered.

_Don G._ Still I say, a trick! An unknown coast reached by steering west? Impossible! The earth a globe, and men standing with their heads down in space? Folly! An ignorant sailor from Genoa in the right, and all our learned doctors and philosophers in the wrong? _Nonsense!_ I'm a matter-of-fact man, sir. I will believe what I can see, and handle, and understand. But as for believing in the antipodes, or that the earth is round, or that Columbus has discovered land to the west,--Ring the bell, sir; call my carriage; I will go to the palace and undeceive the king.

* * * * *

LESSON CV.

HAR' BIN GER, forerunner; precursor.
UN PIL' LAR ED, unsupported by pillars.
UN YIELDING, stubborn.
DE CREES', edicts; laws.
HAL' LOW ED, sacred; consecrated.
MOLD' ER ING, decaying.

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO,

GRENVILLE MULLEN.

1. Wake your harp's music!--louder,--higher,
And pour your strains along;
And smite again each quivering wire,
In all the pride of song!
(f.)Shout like those godlike men of old,
Who, daring storm and foe,
On this blessed soil their anthem rolled,
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

2. From native shores by tempests driven,
They sought a purer sky;
And found, beneath a milder heaven,
_The home of Liberty!_
An altar rose,--and prayers,--a ray
Broke on their night of woe,--
The harbinger of Freedom's day,
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

3. They clung around that symbol too,
Their refuge and their all;
And swore, while skies and waves were blue,
That altar should not fall!
They stood upon the red man's sod,
'Neath heaven's unpillared bow,
With home,--a country, and a God,--
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

4. Oh! 'twas a hard, unyielding fate
That drove them to the seas;
And Persecution strove with Hate,
To darken her decrees:
But safe, above each coral grave,
Each booming ship did go,--
A God was on the western wave,--
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

5. They knelt them on the desert sand,
By waters cold and rude,
Alone upon the dreary strand
Of oceaned solitude!
They looked upon the high, blue air,
And felt their spirits glow,
Resolved to live or perish there,--
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

6. The warrior's red right arm was bared,
His eyes flashed deep and wild:
Was there a foreign footstep dared
To seek his home and child'?
The dark chiefs yelled alarm, and swore
The white man's blood should flow,
And his hewn bones should bleach their shore,
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

7. But lo! the warrior's eye grew dim,--
His arm was left alone;
The still, black wilds which sheltered him,
No longer were his own!
Time fled,--and on the hallowed ground
His highest pine lies low,--
And cities swell where forests frowned,
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

8. Oh! stay not to recount the tale,--
'Twas bloody, and 'tis past;
The firmest cheek might well grow pale,
To hear it to the last.
The God of Heaven who prospers us,
Could bid a nation grow,
And shield us from the red man's curse,--
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

9. Come, then,--great shades of glorious men,
From your still glorious grave!
Look on your own proud land again,
O bravest of the brave!
We call you from each mouldering tomb,
And each blue wave below,
To bless the world ye snatched from doom,
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

10. Then to your harps!--yet louder,--higher
And pour your strains along;
And smite again each quivering wire,
In all the pride of song!
(f.)Shout for those godlike men of old,
Who, daring storm and foe,
On this blessed soil their anthem rolled,
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO!

QUESTIONS.--1. Who are meant by _godlike men of old_? 2. Why did they flee to this country? 3. Who warred against them?

* * * * *

LESSON CVI.

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.

PRESS ON.

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 might
Tramp 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 feet
Slip back and stumble, harder try;
From him who never dreads to meet
Danger 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 false
To-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 hour
Makes up her follies past and gone:
To weakness strength succeeds, and power
From frailty springs;--_press on_! PRESS ON!

5. _Press on_! what though upon the ground
Thy love has been poured out like rain?
That happiness is always found
The 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, blooms
A 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 keep
Thy mind from sloth, thy heart from soil;
_Press on_! and thou shalt surely reap
A 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?

* * * * *

LESSON CVII.

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.

THE THREE FORMS OF NATURE.

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 unstable _Ocean of Air_ with 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 fixed _Ocean 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 the _Ocean of Waters_, less mobile than air, less fixed than earth, but liable, in its movements, to the celestial bodies.

3. _These three things_ form the gamut by which the Infinite speaks to our souls. Nevertheless, let us point out some very notable differences. The _Air-ocean_ is 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. The _fixed Ocean of the mountains_ is 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 of _Life,--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?

* * * * *

LESSON CVIII.

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.]

THE WHALE AND THE WHALER.

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 the _then_ known 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 not _then_, as it is _now_, 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 back _less_ of oil; but _more, far more_ of 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 not _the land_ that they sought; but _the sea, and the tracks of the whale_.

6. The ocean at large is its home, and _especially_ the 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 was _that_ preference 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 is _that_ fact that led to the current being noticed, and thence to the discovery of the _true 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?

* * * * *

LESSON CIX.