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tinguished all human sympathies. Whole families sickened and died, without attendance, without consolation, without burial.

2. In the midst of these dreadful scenes a man clad in plain garments a stranger-approached the plague-stricken city. The flying inhabitants warned him of the peril he was about to encounter, but he heeded them not. He entered within the walls, and took his way with a firm step to the most infected regions.

3. In the first house that he entered he found a young maiden alone and almost in the agonies of death; and her feeble cry was for something to slake her burning thirst. He placed to her lips a cool draught, of which she drank eagerly; then he sat down to watch by her side. In a little while the hot fever began to abate, and the sufferer slept.

4. Then he lifted her in his arms, and bore her beyond the city walls, where the air was purer, and where were those appointed to receive and minister to the sick who were brought forth.

5. Again he went into the deadly atmosphere and among the sick and the dying; and soon he returned once more with a sleeping infant that he had removed from the enfolding arms of its dead mother. There was a calm and holy smile upon the stranger's lips as he looked into the sweet face of the innocent child ere he resigned it to others; and those who saw that smile said in their hearts, "Verily, he hath his reward."

6. For weeks the plague hovered, with its black wings, over that devoted city; and during the whole time this stranger to all the inhabitants passed from house to house, here supporting a dying head, there giving drink to such as were almost mad with thirst, and bearing forth in his arms those for whom there was any hope of life. But when "the pestilence that walketh in darkness and wasteth at noonday" had left the city he was nowhere to be found.

7. For years the castle of De Montfort was without a lord. Its knightly owner had departed, though to what far country no one knew. At last he returned,—not on mailed charger, with corselet, casque, and spear, a boastful knight, with hands crimsoned by his brother's blood,-not as a pious devotee, from his cloister; but as a man, from the city where he had done good deeds amid the dying and the dead.

8. He came to take possession once more of his stately castle and his broad lands,—not as a knight, but as a man,-not to glory, as formerly, in his proud elevation, but to use the gifts with which God had endowed him, in making wiser, better, and happier his fellow-men.

9. He had work to do, and he was faithful in its performance. He was no longer a knight-errant, seeking for adventure wherever brute courage promised to give him renown; he was no longer an

idle hermit, shrinking from his work in the great harvest-fields of life; but he was a man, doing valiantly, among his fellow men, truly noble deeds—not deeds of blood, but deeds of moral daring, in an age when the real uses of life were despised by the titled few.

10. There was the bold knight, the pious hermit, and the man; but the MAN was best and greatest of all.

T. S. ARTHUR.

BLANCH, to make white.

LESSON CCX L.

CRETE, one of the largest islands in the
Mediterranean Sea.

CREW, here used in a bad sense, a low
company.

FATE, destiny, a fixed necessity, by which the order of events is prescribed. OR'A-CLE, among pagans, the utterance

of a god, usually respecting future events.

SHAM'ED, in line 41 must be read in two
syllables

SOV'ER-EIGN, Supreme in power.
URN, a vessel in which the ashes of the
dead were formerly kept; hence used
to denote the state of death.

PRONUNCIATION.-Monʼarch 9, suit 19, pupil 3c, sov'er-eign 33, caseʼment 1b,

shriek 23, rev'el-ing 4b.

THE WINE-CUP.

LYCIUS, the Cretan prince of race divine,
Like many a royal youth, was fond of wine.
So, when his father died and left him king,
He spent his days and nights in reveling.
5. Show him a wine-cup, he would soon lay down
His scepter, and for roses change his crown,
Neglectful of his people and his state,

The noble cares that make a monarch great.
One day in summer-so the story goes-

10. Among his seeming friends, but secret foes,
He sat and drained the wine-cup, when there came
A gray-haired man, who called him by his name,
Lycius!" It was his tutor, Philocles,

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Who held him when a child upon his knees.
15. "Lycius," the old man said, "it suits not you
To waste your life among this drunken crew.
Bethink you of your sire, and how he died
For that bright scepter lying by your side,
And of the blood your loving people shed
20. To keep that golden circlet on your head.
Ah! how have you repaid them?"-" Philocles,"
The prince replied, "what idle words are these?
I loved my father, and I mourned his fate;
But death must come to all men, soon or late.
25. Could we recall our dear ones from their urn,
Just as they lived and loved, 'twere well to mourn;
But since we cannot, let us smile instead :

I hold the living better than the dead.

.

My father reigned and died, I live and reign. 30. As for my people, why should they complain? Have I not ended all their deadly wars,

Bound up their wounds, and honored their old scars?
They bleed no more; enough for me and mine

The blood of the grape, the ripe, the royal wine!
35. Slaves, fill my cup again!" They filled, and crowned
His brow with roses, but the old man frowned.

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Lycius," he said once more, "the state demands Something besides the wine-cup in your hands; Resume your crown and scepter, be not blind; 40. Kings live not for themselves, but for mankind." "Good Philocles," the shamed prince replied, His soft eye lighting with a flash of pride, "Your wisdom has forgotten one small thingI am no more your pupil, but your king. 45. Kings are in place of gods; remember, then, They answer to the gods, and not to men.' "Hear, then, the gods, who speak to-day through me The sad but certain words of prophecy:

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'Touch not the cup; small sins in kings are great; 50. Be wise in time, nor further tempt your fate.""

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Old man! there is no Fate, save that which lies

In our own hands that shape our destinies :

It is a dream. If I should will and do
A deed of ill, no good could thence ensue;
55. And willing goodnesss, shall not goodness be
Sovereign, like ill, to save herself, and me?

I laugh at Fate." The wise man shook his head :
"Remember what the oracles have said:

'What most he loves who rules this Cretan land, 60. Shall perish by the wine-cup in his hand.” Prophet of ill! no more, or you shall die!

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See how my deeds shall give your words the lie,
And baffle Fate, and all who hate me-so!"
Sheer through the casement, to the court below,
65. He dashed the half-drained goblet in disdain,
That scattered as it flew a bloody rain;

His courtiers laughed. But now a woman's shriek
Rose terrible without, and blanched his cheek:
He hurried to the casement in a fright,

70. And lo! his eyes were blasted with a sight
Too pitiful to think of death was there,
And wringing hands and madness and despair!
There stood a nurse, and on her bosom lay
A dying child, whose life-blood streamed away,
75. Reddening its robe like wine! It was his own,
His son, the prince that should have filled the throne
When he was dead, and ruled the Cretan land,

Slain by the wine-cup from his father's hand!

R. H. STODDARD.

LESSON CCXLI.

IN-CRUST-A'TION, a crust, or covering,
formed of any substance on the sur-
face of an object.
LE-AN'DER, a youth very celebrated in
ancient history, who used to swim by
night across the Hellespont (now called
the Dardanelles) at Abydos to visit his
mistress, Hero. The strait at that point
is about one mile broad. Lord Byron

achieved the same feat. In his last attempt Leander was drowned. MERMAID, an imaginary creature, half woman and half fish, living in the sea. SAN'DAL WOOD, & fragrant wood, found in some warm climates, the oil from which is in high esteem as a perfume. TON'GA (Tong ga) ISLANDS, a group | about 150 in number.

PRONUNCIATION.-Cav'ern 9, Eu-ro-pe'an 26f, gov'ern-or 9, a-part ́ment 1b, ex-posed' 2b, danʼger 9, mis'tress le.

THE SAFE RETREAT.

1. THERE is a cavern in one of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, which can be entered only by diving into the sea, and has no other light than what is reflected from the bottom of the water.

2. A young chief discovered it by accident, while diving after a turtle; and the use which he made of his discovery will probably be sung in more than one European language, so beautifully is it adapted for a tale in verse.

3. There was a tyrannical governor in this island, against whom one of the chiefs formed a plan of insurrection. The plan was betrayed, and the chief, with all his family and kin, was ordered to be destroyed. He had a beautiful daughter, betrothed to a person of high rank, and she also was included in the sentence.

4. The youth who had found the cavern and had kept the secret to himself loved this damsel. He told her of the danger to which she was exposed, and besought her to trust herself to his protection. She yielded to his entreaties, and they embarked in a canoe for the place of safety.

5. On the passage the lover gave her a description of the cavern which he had found, and of the mode of access. Like all the women of those islands, she could swim like a mermaid, and did not hesitate on reaching the place to dive after him into the water. She rose in the cavern, which she found to be a spacious and splendid apartment, sufficiently lighted, and with its roof covered with brilliant incrustations.

6. Here he brought her the choicest food, the finest clothing. mats for her bed, and sandal-wood oil for perfume; here he visited her as often as was consistent with prudence; and here, as may be imagined, this Tonga Leander wooed and won the maid whom, to make the interest complete, he had long loved in secret, when he had no hope.

7. Meantime he prepared, with all his dependents, male and

female, to emigrate in secret to a distant island. The intention was so well concealed that they made their retreat in safety.

8. At the point of their departure, his people asked him if he would not take with him a Tonga wife; accordingly, to their great astonishment, having steered close to a rock, he desired them to wait while he went into the sea to fetch her. With these words he jumped overboard, and just as they were beginning to be seriously alarmed at his long disappearance, he rose with his mistress from the water.

9. This story is not deficient in that which all such stories should have, to be perfectly delightful—a fortunate conclusion. The party remained abroad till the oppressor died, and then returned to their native island, where they enjoyed a long and happy life.

LESSON CCXLII.

BAL LAD, a short poem, suitable to be |

set to music.

IN-HER IT, to take by descent from an ancestor.

TOUCH'ING, affecting, pathetic, moving the feelings.

WORTHY (wur'the), matching or fitting in excellence, suitable.

PRONUNCIATION.-Whole (rhymes with roll); fa'vor ite 5a; con-sid-er-a ́tion 3b; in ci-dent 3c; for-ev'er 3d.

WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE.

1. A GENTLEMAN, who had inherited an ample estate and reared thereon a family of children became embarassed in his affairs. His difficulties grew at last so great that he was compelled to sell his farm to pay his debts.

2. The family was scattered; the children pursued their fortunes with varied success. One of the sons, after an absence of many years, returned to the home of his childhood. Visiting the farm, he found that a favorite tree, under which with his brothers and sisters he had been wont to pursue his childish sports, was just on the point of being cut down for fire-wood.

3. The tree was an old friend; he resolved to rescue it from the ax. "In youth it sheltered me," said he; "I will protect it now." A bargain was therefore made with the owner, by which, in consideration of a payment in money, the tree was to be forever preserved. On this incident is founded the following touching ballad.

4. The ballad was set to worthy music, and attained universal popularity. On one occasion, when it was sung with great feeling by a public singer, an elderly gentleman became so excited that he rose in his place and, interrupting the performance, begged to be informed "if the tree was spared."

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