they cannot restore our happiness, let them not take away the solace of our affliction." 11. The Philosopher's heart was smitten; and I have heard him, long after, confess that there were moments when the remembrance overcame him even to weakness; when, amidst all the pleasures of philosophical discovery, and the pride of literary fame, he recalled to his mind the venerable figure of the good La Roche, and wished that he had never doubted. MACKENZIE. 2. June 12, 1779. LESSON VII. Hagar in the Wilderness. 1. The morning broke. Light stole upon the clouds 3. She stood at Abraham's tent. Her lips were pressed 5. 6. 7. The spirit there, and his young heart was swelling Is low upon his breast, and his high brow, His lip is quivering, and his wonted step Oh! man may bear with suffering; his heart He gave to her the water and the bread, Should Hagar weep? May slighted woman turn, 9. But oh! estrange her once-it boots not how- 1. 2. LESSON VIII. The same continued. She went her way with a strong step, and slow; Her pressed lip arched, and her clear eye undimmed, As it had been a diamond, and her form Borne proudly up, as if her heart breathed through. Of a stern nation had been breathed upon. The morning passed, and Asia's sun rode up 3. She laid him down beneath the sultry sky,- Ghastly and faint, as if he would have died. 5. "God stay thee in thine agony, my boy! Upon thy brow to look, And see death settle on my cradle joy. 6. "I did not dream of this when thou wast straying, By the rich gush of water-sources playing,- 7. “Oh no! and when I watched by thee the while, In my own land of Egypt, the deep Nile,- 8. "And now the grave for its cold breast hath won thee, 9. Must feel thee cold, for a chill hand is on thee. She stood beside the well her God had given WILLIS. LESSON IX. The Chinese Prisoner. 1. A certain emperor of China, on his accession to the throne of his ancestors, commanded a general release of all those who were confined in prison for debt. Amongst that number was an old man, who had fallen an early victim to adversity, and whose days of imprisonment, reckoned by the notches which he had cut on the door of his gloomy cell, expressed the annual circuit of more than fifty suns. 2. With trembling limbs and faltering steps, he departed from his mansion of sorrow: his eyes were dazzled with the splendour of the light; and the face of nature presented to his view a perfect paradise. The jail in which he had been imprisoned, stood at some distance from Pekin, and to that city he directed his course, impatient to enjoy the caresses of his wife, his children, and his friends. 3. Having with difficulty found his way to the street in which his decent mansion had formerly stood, his heart became more and more elated at every step he advanced. With joy he proceeded, looking eagerly around; but he observed few of the objects with which he had been formerly conversant. A magnificent edifice was erected on the site of the house which he had inhabited; the dwellings of his neighbours had assumed a new form; and he beheld not a single face of which he had the least remembrance. 4. An aged beggar, who with trembling knees stood at the gate of a portico, from which he had been thrust by the insolent domestic who guarded it, struck his attention. He stopped, therefore, to give him a small pittance out of the bounty with which he had been supplied by the emperor, and received, in return, the sad tidings, that his wife had fallen a lingering sacrifice to penury and sorrow; that his children were gone to seek their fortunes in distant or unknown climes; and that the grave contained his nearest and most valuable friends. 5. Overwhelmed with anguish, he hastened to the palace of his sovereign, into whose presence his hoary locks and mournful visage soon obtained admission; and casting himself at the feet of the emperor, "Great Prince," he cried, "send me back to that prison from which mistaken mercy has delivered me! I have survived my family and friends, and even in the midst of this populous city I find myself in a dreary solitude. 6. "The cell of my dungeon protected me from the gazes at my wretchedness; and whilst secluded from society, I was the less sensible of the loss of its enjoyments. I am now tortured with the view of pleasure in which I cannot participate; and die with thirst, though streams of delight surround me." PERCIVAL. |