vast ocean planted with innumerable islands, that were covered with fruits and flowers, and interwoven with a thousand little shining seas that ran among them. I could see persons dressed in glorious habits with garlands upon 5 their heads, passing among the trees, lying down by the side of fountains, or resting on beds of flowers; and could hear a confused harmony of singing birds, falling waters, human voices, and musical instruments. Gladness grew in me upon the discovery of so delightful a scene. I 10 wished for the wings of an eagle, that I might fly away to those happy seats; but the Genius told me there was no passage to them, except through the gates of death that I saw opening every moment upon the bridge. "The islands," said he, "that lie so fresh and green before thee, 15 and with which the whole face of the ocean appears spotted as far as thou canst see, are more in number than the sands on the seashore; there are myriads of islands behind those which thou here discoverest, reaching further than thine eye, or even thine imagination can extend 20 itself. These are the mansions of good men after death, who, according to the degree and kinds of virtue in which they excelled, are distributed among these several islands, which abound with pleasures of different kinds and degrees, suitable to the relishes and perfections of those 25 who are settled in them; every island is a paradise accommodated to its respective inhabitants. Does life appear miserable, that gives thee opportunities of earning such a reward? Is death to be feared, that will convey thee to so happy an existence? Think not man was made in vain, 30 who has such an eternity reserved for him."

I gazed with inexpressible pleasure on these happy islands. At length I said, "Show me now, I beseech thee, the secrets that lie hid under those dark clouds which cover the ocean on the other side of the rock of adamant. The Genius making me no answer, I turned about to address myself to him a second time, but I found that he had left me; I then turned again to the vision which I had been so long contemplating; but instead of the rolling tide, the arched bridge, and the happy islands, I saw nothing but the long hollow valley of Bagdat, with oxen, 1 sheep, and camels grazing upon the sides of it.

-Joseph Addison in "The Spectator" (1711).

MICHELANGELO'S MOSES.

Michelangelo Buonarotti, the most celebrated of the great sculptors of modern times, was born in Florence, Italy, in 1475. Among the many noble and beautiful works which still exist to attest his wonderful skill, none is more famous than his statue of Moses on the tomb of Pope Julius II. in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli at Rome. As originally planned, the monument to Pope Julius was to be on a magnificent scale. It was to consist of a great quadrilateral structure, two courses high, projecting from the church wall and decorated with On the upper course was to be placed the figure statues. of the pope, with prophetic and allegoric characters at either side and at the angles- sixteen figures in all. The lower course was to be enriched with twenty-four figures

in niches and on pedestals. This design, however, was The Moses, originally intended for never completed. one of the angles of the upper course, is now placed at the level of the eye in the center of the principal face of the monument as it was at last finished in a deplorably reduced state by Michelangelo in his old age. statue dwells amidst the masterpieces of ancient and modern sculpture, an event without parallel, the representative, if not wholly faultless, still the most perfect, of an art unknown before. The Moses of Michelangelo 10 has seen God, has listened to his voice like thunder, has preserved the terrible impression of that meeting upon Sinai; his unfathomable gaze is searching into the mysteries which he sees in his prophetic vision.”

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.

I. THE STORY.

Shakespeare's comedy of "The Merchant of Venice" is founded upon three separate stories, the origin of which is unknown. These stories, each independent of the other, had been told again and again by various 5 persons in various ways for hundreds of years before Shakespeare was born. One story related how a young man, hard pressed for money, had borrowed that which he needed and given a bond whereby he agreed to forfeit a pound of his own flesh in case he should fail to repay it. 10 Another told how a prince won the lady whom he loved by choosing the right one of several caskets. A third recounted the elopement of the daughter of an avaricious money lender, and the subsequent discomfiture of her father. It was for Shakespeare to take these various 15 tales and to weave them into one harmonious drama, to give the breath of life to the actors of each, and to clothe the entire narrative with those elements of beauty and strength which have made it a thing of joy to every one who hears or reads it. Charles and Mary Lamb have 20 turned the story, as related in Shakespeare's play, into the following brief prose narrative, which one may well read before attempting the study of the comedy itself.

Shylock, the Jew, lived at Venice; he was a usurer, who had amassed an immense fortune by lending money 25 at great interest to Christian merchants. Shylock, being a hard-hearted man, exacted the payment of the money