must, however, bear in mind that though what we say is very important, what we do is even more so. It is more easy to make amends for an unkind word than an ungenerous action; because actions are not actions only, but speak in powerful language which no words can contradict." XXVI. OUR FATHERS. OUR fathers were high-minded men, Nor should their deeds be e'er forgot, Who struggled hard for sacred rights, And such as our forefathers were, That baffled tyranny. Then we'll uphold the cause of right; Is the noblest thing to do. XXVII.-IVAN THE CZAR. MRS. HEMANS. [Ivan, the czar of Russia, surnamed the Terrible, in his old age was besieging the town of Novogorod. His nobles, perceiving that his powers were impaired by age, requested that the assault might be made under the command of his son. This proposal threw him into the greatest fury; and nothing could soothe him. His son threw himself at his feet; but his savage father repulsed him, and struck him so cruel a blow that the unhappy youth died from the effects of it in two days after. The father then sauk into the deepest despair. He abandoned alike the conduct of the war and the government of the empire, and soon followed his son to the tomb.] I. He sat in silence on the ground, That many a field had won, To the earth beside his youthful dead, His fair and first-born son. II. With a robe of ermine for its bed And a sad and solemn beauty On the pallid face came down, III. Low tones, at last, of woe and fear The voice that through the combat Had shouted far and high, Came forth in strange, dull, hollow tones, IV. "There is no crimson on thy cheek, That I the deed have done — V. "Well might I know death's hue and mien; But on thine aspect, boy, What, till this moment, have I seen, Save pride and tameless joy? Swiftest wert thou to battle, And bravest there of all; How could I think a warrior's frame Thus like a flower should fall? VII. "Didst thou not know I loved thee well? VIII. "Thou wert the first, the first fair child, I reared thee as an eagle ;. To the chase thy steps I led; I bore thee on my battle horse; I look upon thee IX. dead! "Lay down my warlike banners here, And bury my red sword and spear, X. And thus his wild lament was poured Through the dark, resounding night; And the battle knew no more his sword, Nor the foaming steed his might. He heard strange voices moaning In every wind that sighed; From the searching stars of heaven he shrank; XXVIII.-INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON. [This interesting reminiscence of Washington appeared in the National Intelligencer, a newspaper printed in Washington. The inauguration described was on the 4th of March, 1793, and in the city of Philadelphia.] I ONCE had an opportunity of seeing Washington under circumstances the best possible for exhibiting him to the greatest advantage. It was a privilege which could be granted but once to any one; and I esteem the hour when I enjoyed it, as one of the brightest of my life. The remembrance of it is yet fresh in my mind; years have not dimmed it; and I need not say with what force repeated public occasions of a like kind have since recalled it to my thoughts. Yes, it was my favored lot to hear and see President Washington, when elected for the last time, address the Congress of the United States. Of men now living, how few can say the same! I was but a school boy at the time, and had followed one of the many groups of people, who, from all quarters, were making their way to the hall where the two Houses of Congress then held their sittings, and where they were to be addressed by the president, on the opening of his second term of office. Boys can often manage to work their way through a crowd better than men; at all events, it so happened that I succeeded in reaching the steps of the hall, from which elevation, looking in every direction, I could see nothing but human heads; a vast, fluctuating sea, swaying to and fro, and filling every accessible place which commanded even a distant view of the building. They had come, not with the hope of getting into the hall, for that was physically impossible, but that they might see |