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with rice almost to bursting; he can hardly fly for corpulency. Last stage of his career, we hear of him spitted by dozens, and served up on the table of the gormand, the most vaunted' of southern dainties, the rice-bird of the Carolinas.

13. Such is the story of the once musical and admired, but finally sensual and persecuted boblink. It contains a moral worthy the attention of all little birds and little boys; warning them to keep to those refined and intellectual' pursuits, which raised him to so high a pitch of popularity, during the early part of his career; but to eschew' all tendency to that gross and dissipated indulgence, which brought this mistaken little bird to an untimely end. WASHINGTON IRVING.

IV.

4. THE NOTES OF THE BIRDS.

ELL do I love those various harmonies

WE

That ring so gayly in Spring's budding woods,
And in the thickèts, and green, quiet haunts,*
And lonely copses," of the Summer-time,
And in red Autumn's ancient solitudes.

2. If thou art pained with the world's noisy stir,

Or crazed with its mad tumults, and weigh'd down

With any of the ills of human life;

If thou art sick and weak, or mourn'st the loss

Of brethren gone to that far distant land

To which we all do pass, gentle and poor,
The gayèst and the gravèst, all ălike;
Then turn into the peaceful woods, and hear
The thrilling music of the forest-birds.

3. How rich the varied choir!" The unquiet finch
Calls from the distant hollows, and the wren
Utterèth her sweet and mellow plaint at times,
And the thrush mournèth where the kalmia' hangs

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Its crimson-spotted cups, or chirps half-hid
Amid the lowly dogwood's snowy flowers;
And the blue jay flits by, from tree to tree,
And, spreading its rich pinions, fills the ear
With its shrill sounding and unsteady cry.

4. With the sweet airs of Spring, the robin comes;
And in her simple song there seems to gush
A strain of sorrow, when she visitèth

Her last year's wither'd nest. But when the gloom
Of the deep twilight falls, she takes her perch
Upon the red-stemm'd hazel's slender twig,
That overhangs the brook, and suits her song
To the slow rivulet's inconstànt chime.'

5. In the last days of Autumn, when the corn
Lies sweet and yellow in the harvest-field,
And the gay company of reapers bind

6.

The bearded wheat in sheaves, then peals ăbroad
The blackbird's merry chant. I love to hear,
Bold plunderer! thy mellow burst of song
Float from thy watch-place on the mossy tree,
Close at the corn-field edge.

Lone whip-poor-will,'
There is much sweetnèss in thy fitful hymn,
Heard in the drowsy watches of the night.
Ofttimes, when all the village lights are out,
And the wide air is still, I hear thee chant
Thy hollow dirge,' like some recluse' who takes
His lodging in the wildernèss of woods,

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And lifts his anthem when the world is still :
And the dim, solemn night, that brings to man
And to the herds deep slumbers, and sweet dews
To the red roses and the herbs, doth find
No eye, save thine, a watcher in her halls.

1 Chime, the harmonious sound of musical instruments, bells, running waters, etc.

2 Whip'-poor-will, an American bird, related to the nighthawk, so called from the sounds of its voice.

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Dirge, a mournful song. 'Recluse', a person who lives in retirement, or apart from others.

An' them, a piece of music set to verses from the Bible, used in church; & sacred song or hymn, etc.

I hear thee oft at midnight, when the thrush
And the green roving linnet are at rest,

And the blithe,' twittering swallows have long ceased
Their noisy note, and folded up their wings.

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7. Far up some brook's still course, whose current streams The forest's blacken'd roots, and whose green marge Is seldom visited by human foot,

3

The lonely heron sits, and harshly breaks
The Sabbath-silence of the wilderness;

And you may find her by some reedy pool,
Or brooding gloomily on the time-stain'd rock,
Beside some misty and far-reaching lake.
8. Most awful is thy deep and heavy boom,*
Gray watcher of the waters! Thou art king
Of the blue lake; and all the winged kind
Do fear the echo of thine angry cry.
How bright thy savage eye! Thou lookèst down,
And seest the shining fishes as they glide;

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And, poising thy gray wing, thy glossy beak
Swift as an arrow strikes its roving prey.
Ofttimes I see thee, through the curling mist,
Dart, like a specter of the night, and hear
Thy strange, bewildering call, like the wild scream
Of one whose life is perishing in the sea.

9. And now, wouldst thou, O man! delight the ear
With earth's delicious sounds, or charm the eye
With beautiful creations? Then pass forth,
And find them midst those many-colored birds
That fill the glowing woods. The richest hues
Lie in their splendid plumage, and their tones
Are sweeter than the music of the lute,'

Or the harp's melody, or the notes that gush
So thrillingly from Beauty's ruby lip.

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ISAAC MCLELLAN, JR.

1 Pois ́ ing, balancing.

Spěc ́ter, a ghost; the appear

ance of a person who is dead.

7

Lute, a stringed musical instrument formerly much used. "Ruby, (ro' bf), red.

SECTION II.

I.

5. DANIEL WEBSTER AT SCHOOL.

HEN Webster first entered Phillips Academy, at Exe

WH

ter, he was made, in consequence of his unpolished' country-like appearance, and because he was placed at the foot of the class, the butt of ridicule by some of the scholars. This treatment touched his keen sensibility, and he spoke of it with regret to his friends where he boarded. They informed him that the place assigned him in the class was according to the standing regulations of the school, and that by diligence' he might rise above it. They also advised him to take no notice of the laughter of the city boys; for, after awhile, they would become weary of it and would cease.

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2. The assistant tutor, Mr. Emèry, was informed of the treatment which Webster received. He, therefore, treated him with special consideration, told him to care for nothing but his books, and predicted that all would end well. This kindness had the desired effect. Webster applied himself with increased diligence, and with signal success. He soon met with his reward, which made those who had laughed at him hang their heads with shame.

3. At the end of the first quarter, the assistant tutor called up the class in their usual order. He then walked to the foot of the class, took Webster by the arm, and marched him, in front of the class, to the head, where, as he placed him, he said, 'There, sir, that is your proper place." This practical rebuke' made those who had delighted to ridicule the country boy feel mortified and chagrined. He had outstripped them.

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4. This incident greatly stimulated' the successful student. He applied himself with his accustomed in'dustry, and looked forward with some degree of solicitude' to the end of the second term, to see whether he would be able to retain his relative' rank in the class. Weeks slowly passed away; the end of the term arrived, and the class was again summoned to be newly arranged, according to their scholarship and deportment, as evinced during the preceding term!

5. While they were all standing in silence and suspense, Mr. Emery, their teacher, said, fixing his eye at the same time upon the country boy: "Daniël Webster, gather up your books and take down your cap." Not understanding the design of such an order, Daniel complied with troubled feelings. He knew not but he was about to be expelled from school for his dullness.

6. His teacher perceived the expression of sadness upon his countenance, but soon dispelled' it by saying: "Now, sir, you will please pass into another room, and join a higher class; and you, young gentlemen," addressing the other scholars, "will take an affectionate leave of your classmate, for you will never see him again!" As if he had said: "This rustic lad, whom you have made the butt of ridicule, has already so far outstripped you in his studies, that, from your stand-point, he is dwarfed in the distance, and will soon be out of sight entirely. He has developed' a capacity for study which will prevent you from ever overtaking him. As a classmate, you will never see him again." 7. It would be in'teresting to know who those city boys were who made the young rustic" an object of sport. What have they come to? What have they accomplished? Who has heard of the fame of their attainments? Scholars should be careful how they laugh at a classmate because of his unpolished manners or coarse raiment. Under that rough exterior" may

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