And each thought, and each feeling seems bathed 13. Sweet ray, I have proved thee so fair In this dark world of mourning and sin, May I hail thee more bright in that pure region where QUESTIONS. 2. Will you tell me some things which the moonbeam was doing? 3. What is coral? 3. What do these insects sometimes form in the ocean? 4. What is Italia ? LESSON LXXII. 1. Clus'ter-ing, growing in clusters. 3. Man'tling, covering with crimson. 3. Tress'es, curls of hair. 4. Strick'en, advanced in age. 4. Reed, a hollow, knotted stalk. ERRORS.-1. Thut for that; 1. silunt for silent; 3. wins for winds; 4. an for and; 5. won for won; 5. wan'drer for wan'der-er; 5. hum for home. DAVID'S LAMENT FOR ABSALOM. N. P. WILLIS. 1. ALAS! my noble boy! that thou shouldst die! And leave his stillness in this clustering hair! 2. Cold is thy brow, my son! and I am chill, NOTES.-a David was the King of Israel, and the youngest son of Jesse; he died 1015 years before Christ. b Ab'sa-lom; the son of David; he raised an army in order to dethrone his father, and was slain by Joab. See 2 Samuel, xviii. 9—16. How was I wont to feel my pulses thrill, Like a rich harp-string, yearning to caress thee, And hear thy sweet "my father!" from these dumb And cold lips, Absalom! 3. But death is on thee. I shall hear the gush And the dark tresses to the soft winds flung; 4. And oh when I am stricken, and my heart, Like a bruised reed, is waiting to be broken,. Yearn for thine ear to drink its last deep token! 5. And now, farewell! 'Tis hard to give thee up, With death so like a gentle slumber on thee; And thy dark sin! -Oh! I could drink the cup, If from this woe its bitterness had won thee. May God have called thee, like a wanderer, home, My lost boy, Absalom! QUESTIONS. Who was David? 1. What was the appearance of his son Absalom? 1. Who was Absalom? 1. What did he attempt to do? 1. Who slew him? Did Absalom do right in making war against his father? LESSON LXXIII. 1. O'ri-ent, bright, shining. 1. Gorgeous, showy, fine. 2. Con-tem'pla-tive, thoughtful. Spell and Define. 3. My-thol'o-gy, fabulous history. 3. De'i-fi-ed, ranked among the gods. 3. Mech'an-ism, art or skill. 4. Char'i-ots, cars of war. 4. An-tiq'ui-ty, ancient times. 5. Prin'ces, sovereigns, rulers. 7. Rav'ag-es, destruction by decay. 7. O-bliv'i-on, forgetfulness. 7. En-gulf'ed, swallowed up in an abyss. 9. Ca-reer', course. 9. Per-pe-tu'i-ty, long duration. ERRORS.2. Artch'i-tect-ure for arch'i-tect-ure; 2. col'yumns for columns 4. struc'ter for structure; 5. leav'in for leav'ing; 6. mis'triss for mistress, 8. gov'ern-munts for gov'ern-ments; 8. gorne for gone. RAVAGES OF TIME. A. LLOYD. 1. WHO that contemplates the mighty empires and kingdoms which once flourished where Apollo" sheds his orient beams, would have imagined that the time would ever come when so few vestiges of their magnificent cities, splendid temples, gorgeous palaces, and cloud-capt towers, with all their thousand forms of power and wealth, would remain ? d 2. Babylon," where once was concentrated the wisdom and power of the world, is no more; even her place cannot be found. The contemplative traveler sits down amid the vast and magnificent ruins of Balbec or Palmyra. Struck with the remains of superior architecture, evidences of great advancement in the arts, he asks, "Who reared these majestic columns? who inhabited this city? for what purpose was it built?" The desert winds bring no reply. 3. Approach the land of fable and mythology. Upon the NOTES.- -a A-pollo; the son of Jupiter and Latona, here used for the sun, over which he was supposed to preside. b See Babylon, p. 303, note h. c Balbec (balbek'); the ancient Heliopolis, a town of Syria, a province of Turkey. On the east side, are magnificent ruins, of which the temple of the sun is the most noted. It had 54 stone columns, of which only six are standing, and each is 72 feet high, and 22 feet in circumference. d Pal-my'ra; once a magnificent city of Syria; it is now distinguished for its ruins, particularly the temple of the Sun, which is now in a good state of preservation. banks of its deified river," you behold the remains of cities once the pride and glory of the world. View her massy temples, her mighty pyramids," her towering obelisks," her dark labyrinths. On every hand, you perceive the marks of gigantic minds, and the labors of extraordinary mechanism. d e 4. Enter Thebes, famous in fable for her hundred gates, her million of troops, and her ten thousand chariots. Examine her majestic temple; filled with wonder, you exclaim, "Was this mighty structure erected merely for the worship of a bird? And for what purpose were the vast pyramids constructed?" Even fable scarce ventures to turn aside the curtain which conceals this. Contrasting these remnants of antiquity with the meager race that cling around their ruins, how sensibly do we perceive the ravages of time. f 5. The glory of Tyres has departed, leaving scarce a vestige of her power and grandeur. Her merchants are no longer princes. Where once stood her festive halls and commercial marts, the fisherman spreads his net beside his miserable hut. Carthage, her foster-child, Rome's rival, is no more. k Classic soil of Greece, birth-place of heroes, school of statesmen, philosophers, and orators; mother of the Muses,' land of liberty, patriotism and genius,- how has the scythe of time prostrated all, save the mementos of your greatness! 6. How has fallen the imperial city of the Cæsars," once the mistress of the world! The iron firmness of Roman integrity and virtue, was relaxed by her luxury, wealth, and dissi NOTES. -a See river Nile, p. 264, note b. b See pyramids, p. 258, note a. c See obelisks, p. 303, note n. d See Thebes, p. 302, note a. e The temple of Carnæ, described in Lesson LXIX. f See p. 261, verse 18. g Tyre; an ancient city of Syria, distinguished for its commerce and the wealth of its merchants. It abounds in mag. nificent ruins of temples, aqueducts, &c. h Carthage; one of the most famous ancient cities of Africa, founded by Queen Dido. It was situated about ten miles south-west of the place where Tunis now stands, and destroyed by the Romans 146 years before Christ. i See Rome, p. 303, note b. k See Greece, p. 303, note a. 1 Mu'ses; the goddesses of the liberal arts and sciences. They were four in number, and are said to have originated in Thrace, a Grecian province. m Cæ'sars; Julius Cæsar, Augustus Cæsar, &c. Cæsar was the family name, or title of honor, of the five Roman emperors following Julius Cæsar, and ending with Nero. pation. Her orators, poets, and heroes, have passed away The Augustan agea has expired. 7. Our own continent exhibits striking evidences of the ravages of time. We see, in the antiquities of this hemisphere, proofs that a powerful and enlightened people once flourished here. Who were they? what revolutions have they undergone? are questions which could only have been answered in the light of the past. Oblivion has engulfed them and their works, except here and there a small remnant saved from universal wreck. 8. This is a faint picture of the ruins of time; but may it not be that those who succeed us, shall contemplate greater changes and revolutions? The existing governments of Europe may then have passed away. What great changes have occurred! Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, Greece, Carthage, Rome, all flitted their brief hour, and are gone. 9. And who can say that this infant republic, just commencing its career of glory, having become greater than the nations that produced her, shall not share their fate? Far be it from any American, to wish or desire to dwell on so mournful a catastrophe. Rather let every bosom heave, with warm aspirations, for the perpetuity of our civil and religious institutions. NOTES. -a Augustan age; the period during which Augustus Cæsar was emperor of Rome, which lasted forty-nine years. b See Europe, p. 109, note c. c See Egypt, p. 310, note a. d American; a name originally applied to the native Indians of America, but now more generally to Europeans born in the United States of America. name here used? 2. Is 2. What is Balbec? What was Palmyra? QUESTIONS. 1. Who was Apollo, and for what is the the exact spot where Babylon was situated known? 2. What is said of the ruins of the ancient city? 2. 2. What ruins are still to be seen in it? 3. What river is meant by the deified river? 3. Of what do we behold marks on every hand? 5. What is said of Tyre? 5. Where was Carthage situated, and by whom destroyed? 5. What is meant by the Muses? 6. Who were the Cæsars? 6. How was the integrity and virtue of the Romans impaired? 6. What is meant by the Augustan age? 7. What do we see in the antiquities of the eastern hemisphere? 8. What has become of Babylon, &c.? 9. What have we to fear of our republic? |