Oh, still in thy loveliness emblem the flower,

Give the fragrance of feeling to sweeten life's way; And prolong not again the brief cloud of an hour,

With tears that but darken the rest of the day! 2. Forgive and forget! there's no breast so unfeeling, But some gentle thoughts of affection there live; And the best of us all require something concealing,

Some heart that with smiles can forget and forgive. Then away with the clouds from those beautiful eyes, That brow was no home for such frowns to have met; O, how could our spirits e'er hope for the skies,

If Heaven refused-TO FORGIVE AND FORGET ?

LESSON XII.

EXPLANATORY NOTES.-1. THE DELTA is an island formed by two mouths of the river Nile, so called from its resemblance, in shape, to Della, the name of the fourth Greek letter (▲), answering to D. It has been formed by the mud and sand, washed down from the upper parts of Egypt, by the frequent overflowing of the Nile.

2. THE SPHINX is a colossal statue in Egypt. which is one hundred and fifty feet long and sixty-three fect in hight. It has the form of a human head on the body of a lion, in a recumbent posture. Those of a smaller size are found among the tombs of Egypt. Among the ancients, the SPHINX was a fabulous monster of hideous form.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PYRAMIDS.

DR. E. D. CLARKE.

1. We were roused as soon as the sun dawned, by Antony, our faithful Greek servant and interpreter, with the intelligence that the pyramids were in view. We hastened from the cabin; and never will the impression made. by their appearance be obliterated. By reflecting the sun's rays, they appear as white as snow, and of such surprising magnitude, that nothing we had previously conceived in our imagination, had prepared us for the spectacle we beheld.

2. The sight instantly convinced us that no power of de scription, no delineation, can convey ideas adequate to the ef

fect produced in viewing these stupendous monuments. The formality of their construction is lost in their prodigious magnitude; the mind, elevated by wonder, feels at once the force of an axiom, which, however disputed, éxperience confirmsthat in vastness, whatsoever be its nature, there dwells sublimity.

3. Another proof of their indescribable power, is, that no one ever approached them with other emotions than those of terror, which is another principal source of the sublime. In certain instances of irritable feeling, this impression of awe and fear has been so great as to cause pain rather than pleasure ; hence, perhaps, have originated descriptions of the pyramids, which represent them as deformed and gloomy masses, without taste or beauty.

4. Persons who have derived no satisfaction from the contemplation of them, may not have been conscious that the uneasiness which they experienced, was a result of their own sensibility. Others have acknowledged ideas widely different, excited by every wonderful circumstance of character and of situation-ideas of duration, almost endless; of power, inconceivable; of majesty, supreme; of solitude, most awful; of grandeur, of desolation, and of repose.

5. Upon the 23rd of August, 1802, we set out for the pyramids, the inundation enabling us to approach within less than a mile of the larger pyramid, in our boat. Our approach to the pyramids was through a swampy country, by means of a narrow canal, which, however, was deep enough; and we arrived, without any obstacle, at nine o'clock, at the bottom of a sandy slope, leading up to the principal pyramid. Some Bedouin Arabs, who had assembled to receive us upon our landing, were much amused by the eagerness, excited in our whole party, to prove who should first set his foot upon the summit of this artificial mountain.

6. With what amazement did we survey the vast surface that was presented to us, when we arrived at this stupendous monument which seemed to reach the clouds. Here and there appeared some Arab guides upon the immense masses above us, like so many pigmies, waiting to show the

way to

the summit.

Now and then we thought we heard voices, and listened; but it was the wind in powerful gusts sweeping the immense ranges of stone.

7. Already some of our party had begun the ascent, and were pausing at the tremendous depth which they saw below. One of our military company, after having surmounted the most difficult part of the undertaking, became giddy in consequence of looking down from the elevation he had attained; and being compelled to abandon the project, he hired an Arab to assist him in effecting his descent. The rest of us, more accustomed to the business of climbing hights, with many a halt for respiration, and many an exclamation of wonder, pursued our way toward the summit.

8. The mode of ascent has been frequently described; and yet, from the questions which are often proposed to travelers, it does not appear to be generally understood. The reader may imagine himself to be upon a stair-case, every step of which, to a man of middle stature, is nearly breast high, and the breadth of each step is equal to its hight, consequently the footing is secure; and although a retrospect, in- going up, be sometimes fearful to persons unaccustomed to look down from any considerable elevation, yet there is little danger of falling. In some places, indeed, where the stones are decayed, caution may be required, and an Arab guide is always necessary to avoid a total interruption; but, upon the whole, the means of ascent are such that almost every one may accomplish it.

We carried

9. Our progress was impeded by other causes. with us a few instruments, such as our boat-compass, a thermometer, a telescope, &c.; these could not be trusted in the hands of the Arabs, and they were liable to be broken every instant. At length we reached the topmost tier, to the great delight and satisfaction of all the party. Here we found a platform thirty-two feet square, consisting of nine large stones, each of which might weigh about a ton, although they are much inferior in size to some of the stones used in the construction of this pyramid.

10. Travelers of all ages, and of various nations, have here inscribed their names. Some are written in Greek, many in French, a few in Arabic, one or two in English, and others in Latin. We were as desirous as our predecessors, to leave a memorial of our arrival; it seemed to be a tribute of thankfulness due for the success of our undertaking; and presently every one of our party was seen busied in adding the inscription of his name.

11. The view from this eminence amply fulfilled our expectations; nor do the accounts which have been given of it, as it appears at this season of the year, exaggerate the novelty and grandeur of the sight. All the region toward Cairo and the Delta,' resembled a sea covered with innumerable islands. Forests of palm-trees were seen standing in the water, the inundation spreading over the land where they stood, so as to give them an appearance of growing in the flood.

12. To the north, as far as the eye could reach, nothing could be discerned but a watery surface thus diversified by plantations and by villages. To the south we saw the pyramids of Saccára; and upon the east of these, smaller monuments of the same kind nearer to the Nile. An appearance of ruins. might indeed be traced the whole way from these pyramids to those of Saccára, as if they had been once connected, so as to constitute once vast cemetery.

13. Beyond the pyramids of Saccára we could perceive the distant mountains of the Said; and upon an eminence near the Libyan side of the Nile, appeared a monastery of considerable size. Toward the west and south-west, the eye ranged over the great Libyan Desert, extending to the utmost verge of the horizon, without a single object to interrupt the dreary horror of the landscape, except dark floating spots caused by the shadows of passing clouds upon the sand.

14. Upon the south-east side is the gigantic statue of the Sphinx,' the most colossal piece of sculpture which remains of all the works executed by the ancients. The French have uncovered all the pedestal of this statue, and all the cumbent or leonine parts of the figure; these were before entirely concealed by sand.

Instead, however, of answering the expectations raised concerning the work, upon which it was supposed to rest, the pedestal proves to be a wretched substructure of brick-work and small pieces of stone put together, like the most insignificant piece of modern masonry, and wholly out of character both with respect to the prodigious labor bestowed upon the statue itself, and the gigantic appearance of the surrounding objects.

LESSON XIII.

EXPLANATORY NOTES.-1. MEMNONIUM was a palace of ancient Thebes, in Egypt, dedicated to Memnon, an ancient hero. It is now, as well as most of the city, in which it was located, in ruins, among which is a colossal statue of Memnon.

2. POMPEY, OF POMPEY'S PILLAR, is a stupendous monumental column at Alexandria, in Egypt. It is uncertain by whom or for whom it was built. 3. BALBEC, the ancient Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, in Syria, presents the finest ruins of the east. It contained a magnificent temple of the Sun, a great part of which is still uninjured. It is one of the most splendid remains of antiquity. The size of the stones, of which it is built, is astonishing. No mechanical expedients now known, would be able to place them in their present position.

1.

2.

3.

THE RAVAGES OF TIME.

I SAW a vale-sequestered-green,-
From which a crystal fount was welling
Its silv'ry tide, whose rippling sheen,
Over the tufted marge, was swelling.

And onward, o'er its verdant bed

Yet noiseless one might mark it stealing;

Now "hiding its diminished head,"

And now again its course revealing.

Time sped. That brooklet onward flowed
To mingle with the mighty ocean;
And all the charms its source bestowed,

Were lost amid the waves' commotion.