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.

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,

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;
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

6

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,"

1

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

Blithe, joyful; gay; sprightly. 'Marge, edge.

'Her' on, a long legged and neck

ed water-fowl that lives on fish.

5

8

ISAAC MCLELLAN, JR.

" 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' bl), red.

W

SECTION II.

I.

5. DANIEL WEBSTER AT SCHOOL.

HEN Webster first entered Phillips Academy, at Exeter, 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.

5

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.

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: "Dăniël 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 rustic1o 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

be concealed talents that will move a nation and dazzle a world, when they, in their turn, might justly be made a laughing-stock, on account of their inefficiency.' BANVARD.

II.

6. THE BOY.

HERE'S something in ǎ noble boy,

Ta brave, free-hearted, careless one,

With his uncheck'd, unbidden joy,
His dread of books and love of fun,
And in his clear and ready smile,
Unshaded by a thought of guile,

And unrepress'd' by sadness,-
Which brings me to my childhood back,
As if I trod its very track,

And felt its very gladness.

2. And yet, it is not in his play,

When every trace of thought is lost,
And not when you would call him gay,
That his bright presence thrills me mōst:

His shout may ring upon the hill,

His voice be echo'd in the hall,
His merry laugh like music trill,
And I in sadness hear it all,-
For, like the wrinkles on my brow,
I scarcely notice such things now,—
3. But when, ǎmid the earnest game,
He stops, as if he music heard,
And, heedless of his shouted name
As of the carol' of a bird,
Stands gazing on the empty air,

As if some dream were passing there ;—
'Tis then that on his face I look-
His beautiful but thoughtful face-
And, like a long-forgotten book,
Its sweet familiar meanings trace,-

1 Inefficiency, (În`ef fish' en så), want of power or exercise of power to produce effective action.

"Un`re pressed', not subdued or mastered.

' Cărol, a song of great joy.

A

4. Remembering a thousand things
Which passed me on those golden wings,
Which time has fetter'd now;

Things that came ō'er me with a thrill,
And left me silènt, sad, and still,

And threw upon my brow
A holier and a gentler cast,

That was too innocent to last.

5. 'Tis strange how thoughts upon a child
Will, like a presence, sometimes press,
And when his pulse is beating wild,
And life itself is in excess

When foot and hand, and ear and eye,
Are all with ardor' straining high-
How in his heart will spring
A feeling whose mysterious' thrall'
Is stronger, sweeter far than all!
And on its silent wing,

How, with the clouds, he'll float away,
As wandering and as lost as they!

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III.

7. PETER OF CORTONA.

PART FIRST.

N. P. WILLIS.

LITTLE shepherd, about twelve years old, one day abandoned the flock which had been committed to his care, and set off for Florence," where he knew no one but a lad of his own age, almost as poor as himself, and who, like him, had left the village of Cortona,' to become a scullion in the kitchen of the Cardinal' Sacchetti." A far nobler object conducted Peter

1 Ex cěss', that which exceeds or surpasses what is usual or necessary. 'Ar' dor, warmth or heat of passion or affection; eagerness.

3 Mỹs te ri ous, secret ; not easily understood,

• Thrall, bondage; slavery. 'A băn' doned, forsook entirely. 6 Florence, a city in Italy, capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

"Cor tō'na, a town of Tuscany.

* Scull' ion, a servant who cleans pots and kettles, and does other kitchen work.

• Car' di nal, one of the seventy priests of the Pope's council, or sacred college, from among whom and by the votes of whom the pope is elected.

10 Sacchetti, (såk kêt ́ tẻ).