"And fast before her father's men, Three days we've fled together, For should he find us in the glen, My blood would stain the heather. "His horsemen hard behind us ride; Out spoke the hardy, Highland wight, "And, by my word! the bonny bird In danger shall not tarry; So, though the waves are raging white, I'll row you o'er the ferry." By this, the storm grew loud арасе, The water-wraith was shrieking; And, in the scowl of heaven, each face Grew dark as they were speaking. But still, as wilder grew the wind, "O haste thee, haste !" the lady cries, The boat has left the stormy land, When oh! too strong for human hand, The tempest gathered o'er her. And still they rowed against the roar Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore, For sore dismayed, through storm and shade, One lovely hand she stretched for aid, "Come back! come back!" he cried in grief, And I'll forgive your Highland chief; 'T was vain: the loud waves dashed the shore, The waters wild went o'er his child, Ex. XVIII-TO. THE EVENING WIND. WM. C. BRYANT. SPIRIT that breathest through my lattice, thou Nor I alone,- Go, rock the little wood-bird in his nest, Curl the still waters, bright with stars; and rouse The faint old man shall lean his silver head To feel thee; thou shalt kiss the child asleep, And softly part his curtains to allow Go-but the circle of eternal change, Which is the life of nature, shall restore, With sounds and scents from all thy mighty range, Ex. XIX.-THE WORLD OF BEAUTY AROUND US. HORACE MANN. A HIGHER and holier world than the world of Ideas, or the world of Beauty, lies around us; and we find ourselves endued with susceptibilities which affiliate us to all its purity and its perfectness. The laws of nature are sublime, but there is a moral sublimity before which the highest intelligences must kneel and adore. The laws by which the winds blow, and the tides of the ocean, like a vast clepsydra, measure, with inimitable exactness, the hours of ever-flowing time; the laws by which the planets roll, and the sun vivifies and paints; the laws which preside over the subtle combinations of chemistry, and the amazing velocities of electricity; the laws of germination and production in the vegetable and animal worlds;-all these, radiant with eternal beauty as they are, and exalted above all the objects of sense, still wane and pale before the Moral Glories that apparel the universe in their celestial light. The heart can put on charms which no beauty of known things, nor imagination of the unknown, can aspire to emulate. Virtue shines in native colors, purer and brighter than pearl, or diamond, or prism, can reflect. Arabian gardens in their bloom can exhale no such sweetness as charity diffuses. Beneficence is godlike, and he who does most good to his fellow-man is the Master of Masters, and has learned the Art of Arts. Enrich and embellish the universe as you will, it is only a fit temple for the heart that loves truth with a supreme love. Inanimate vastness excites wonder; knowledge kindles admiration; but love enraptures the soul. Scientific truth is marvelous, but moral truth is divine; and whoever breathes its air, and walks by its light, has found the lost paradise. For him a new heaven and a new earth have already been created. His home is the sanctuary of God, the Holy of Holies. Ex. XX.-THE VULTURE. ANON. I'VE been among the mighty Alps, and wandered through their vales, And heard the honest mountaineers relate their dismal tales, As round the cotter's blazing hearth, when their daily work was o'er, They spake of those who disappeared, and ne'er were heard of more. And there, I, from a shepherd, heard a narrative of fear, "It is among those barren cliffs the ravenous vulture dwells, "I hurried out to learn the cause, but, overwhelmed with fright, The children never ceased to shriek, and, from my frenzied sight, I missed the youngest of my babes, the darling of my care; But something caught my searching eyes, slow sailing through the air. "Oh! what an awful spectacle to meet a father's eye,His infant made a vulture's prey, with terror to descry; And know, with agonizing heart, and with a maniac rave, That earthly power could not avail, that innocent to save! "My infant stretched his little hands imploringly to me, And struggled with the ravenous bird, all vainly to get free! At intervals I heard his cries, as loud he shrieked and screamed! Until, upon the azure sky, a lessening spot he seemed. "The vulture flapped his sail-like wings, though heavily he flew, A mote upon the sun's bright face, he seemed unto my view; But once I thought I saw him stoop, as if he would alight,'Twas only a delusive thought, for all had vanished quite. "All search was vain, and years had passed,—that child was ne'er forgot, When once a daring hunter climbed unto a lofty spot, "I clambered up that rugged cliff,-I could not stay away,I knew they were my infant's bones, thus hastening to decay; A tattered garment yet remained, though torn to many a shred; The crimson cap he wore that morn, was still upon his head." That dreary spot is pointed out to travelers passing by, Who often stand, and musing, gaze, nor go without a sigh; And as I journeyed the next morn along my sunny way, The precipice was shown to me whereon the infant lay. Ex. XXI.-THE PIONEER. BRAINARD. FAR away from the hill-side, the lake and the hamlet, |