unlaçing his armor, spread it out for him to lie upon, and held his golden shield to screen him from the mid-day sun.

8. When the king raised his eyes, and beheld the glittering canopy, he was conscious of the omen. "The oracle has said that where the ground should be of iron, and the sky of gold, there should my grave be made! Behold the fulfillmènt! It is à mournful thing! The young cypress is cut down in the vigor of its strength, in the first fullness of its beauty. The thread of life is snapped suddenly, and with it ȧ thousand prospects vanish, à fhousand hopes are crushed! But let the will of fate be done! She has long obeyed my behest !1 I yield myself now to hers! Yět, my mother!"

9. And the monarch mused in mel'aneholy silence. At length he tûrned to his attendants, and ordered his tablets to be brought; and he took them, and wrote, "Let the customary älms, which my mother shall distribute at my death, be given to those who have never felt the miseries of the world, and have never lost those who were dear to them; and sinking back upon his iron eouch, he yielded up his breath. They buried him where he died, and an army wept over his grave!

II.

62. THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER.

W

PART SECOND.

HEN the intelligence of the death of Alexander waş brought to his mother, as she sat åmỏng her ladies, she was overwhelmed by anguish. "Ah! why," she exclaimed, "was I exalted so high, only to be plunged into such depth of misery? Why was I not made of lower condition, so, haply, I had escaped such grief? The joy of my youth is plucked up, the comfort of my age is withered! Who is more wretched than I?" And she refused to be comforted.

2. The last wish of her son was read to her, and she resolved to perform that one remaining duty, and then retire to solitude,4 to

1 Be hěst', that which is willed or ordered; commånd.

2 Anguish (ang'gwish), extreme pain of body or mind; bitter sorrow.

3 Mis'er y, wretchedness; woe; great unhappiness.

4 Sŏl'i tude, the state of being ålōne; loneliness.

THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER.

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indulge her grief for the remainder of her life. She ordered her servants to go into the city, and bring to the palace such as the will of Alexander directed-selecting those who were the poorest. 3. But the messengers, êre long, returned, and said that there were none of that description to be found among the poor. "Go then," said the queen, "and apply to all classes, and return not without bringing some who have never lost any who were dear to them."

4. And the order was proclaimed through all the city, and all heard it and påssed on. The neighboring villages gave no better success; and the search was extended through all the country; and they went over all Macedōnĭå, and throughout Greece, and at every house they stood, and cried, "If there are any here who have never known misery, and never lost those that were dear to them, let them come out, and receive the bounty of the queen; " but none came forth.

5. And they went to the häunts1 of the gay, and into the libraries of the philosophers; to the seats of public office, and to the caves of hermits; they searched among the rich, and among the poor-among the high and among the low; but not one person was found who had not tasted misery: and they reported the result to the queen.

6. "It is strange!" said she, as if struck with sudden astonishment. "Are there none who have not lost their friend? And is my condition the condition of all? It is not credible! Are there none here, in this room, in this palace, who have always been happy?" But there was no reply to the inquiry.

7. "You, young page, whose countenance is gay, what sŏrrōw have you ever known?”—“ Alås! madam, my father was killed in the wars of Alexander, and my mother, through grief, has followed him."

8. And the question was put brother, a father, or a mother. in perplexity, "can it be that all

to others; but all had lost ȧ "Can it be," said the queen, are as I am?"

9. "All are as you are, madam," said an old man that was present, "excepting in these splendors and these consolations. By poverty and humility, you might have lost the alleviations,2

1 Haunts (hänts), resorts; places Ŏften visited.

2 Al lē'vi ā'tion, that which mitigates, or makes more tolerable.

but you could not have escaped the blow. There are nights without a star; but there are no days without a cloud. To suffer is the lot of all; to bear, the glory of a few!"-"I recognize," said the queen, "the wisdom of Alexander!" and she bowed in resignation, and wept no more.

III.

WALLACE.1

63. SOLOMON AND THE BEES.

WHEN Solomon was reigning in his glory,

WH

Unto his throne the Queen of Shebȧ came-
(So in the Talmud2 you may read the stōry)—–—
Drawn by the magic of the monarch's fame,
To see the splendors of his court, and bring
Some fitting tribute to the mighty king.

2. Nor this ålōne: much had her Highness heard

What flowers of learning graced the royal speech ;
What gems of wisdom dropped with ěvèry word;
What wholesome lessons he was wont 4 to teach
In pleasing proverbs; and she wished, in sooth,
To know if Rumor spoke the simple truth.

3. Besides, the Queen had heard (which pïqued 5 her mōst) How through the deepèst riddles he could spy;

How all the curious arts that women bōast
Were quite transparent to his piercing eye;
And so the Queen had come-ȧ royal guest-
To put the sage's cunning to the test.

4. And straight she held before the monarch's view,
In either hand, a radiänt wreath of flowers;
The one, bedecked with ěvèry charming hue,

1 Horace Binney Wallace, an American lawyer and author, was born in Philadelphia, Feb. 26, 1817. His essays and other miscellaneous writings display great depth of thought, power of description, and a finely cultivated taste. He died suddenly in Paris, Dec. 16, 1852.

2

brew laws, traditions, and explanations,or the book that contains them.

3 Trib' ute, ȧ personal gift bestowed in tōken of services rendered, or as that which is due or deserved. 4 Wont (wǎnt), uşed; accustomed. 5 Piqued (pekt), wounded the pride of ; offended.

6 Tălmud, the body of the He

Sāge, ȧ wise man.

SOLOMON AND THE BEES.

Was newly culled from Nature's choicèst bowers;
The other, no less fâir in every part,

Was the râre product1 of divinèst Art.

5. "Which is the true, and which the false?" she said.
Great Solomon was silent. All ȧmāzed,

Each wondering courtier 2 shook his puzzled head;
While at the garlands long the monarch gazed,
As one who sees a miracle,3 and fain,

For věry rapture, nê'er would speak again.

6. "Which is the true?" once more the woman åsked,
Pleased at the fond ȧmazement of the King;
"So wise à head should not be hardly tåsked,
Mōst learned Liege, with such a triviäl thing!"
But still the sage was silent; it was plain
A deepening doubt perplexed the royal brain.
7. While thus he pondered, presently he sees,
Hard by the casement 6-so the stōry gōes—
A little band of busy, bustling bees,

Hunting for honey in a withered rōse.

The monarch smiled, and raised his royal head;
Open the windōw!"-that was all he said.

66

8. The window opened at the King's commånd;
Within the rooms the eager insects flew,
And sought the flowers in Sheba's dexter" hand!
And so the king and all the courtiers knew
That wreath was Nature's; and the baffled Queen
Returned to tell the wonders she had seen.

1 Product, that which is produced, brought forth, or effected; fruit; work.

2 Court'ier, one who attends or frequents the courts of princes; one who courts or solicits favor; one who flatters to please.

3 Mĭr'a cle, å wonder; an event or act beyond, or contrary to, the laws of nature.

4 A māze❜ment, the act or condition of being filled with fear, sudden

8

203

9. My story teaches (every tale should beâr
A fitting moral 1) that the wise may find
In trifles light as atoms in the âir

Some useful lesson to enrich the mind-
Some truth designed to profit or to please-
As Israel's king learned wisdom from the bees!

O

IV.

64. COMPENSATION.

SAXE.

NE day an Antelope was lying with her fawn' at the foot of the flowering Mimōså.5 The weather was intensely sultry, and a Dove, that had sought shelter from the heat among the leaves, was cooing åbove her head.

2. "Happy bird!" said the Antelope-"happy bird! to whom the air is given for an inheritance, and whose flight is swifter than the wind. At your will you alight upon the ground, at your will you sweep into the sky, and fly races with the driving clouds: while I, poor I, am bound å prisoner to this miserable earth, and wear out my pitiable life crawling to and fro upon its surface."

3. Then the Dove answered, "It is sweet to sail along the sky, to fly from land to land, and coo among the valleys; but, Antelope, when I have săte åbove amidst the branches, and watched your little one close its tiny lips upon your breast, and feed its life on yours, I have felt that I could strip off my wings,

1 Mŏr'al, the inner meaning of å fable, narrative, or occurrence; the practical lesson which any thing is intended or fitted to teach.

2 John G. Saxe, an American poet and journalist, was born in Highgate, Franklin Co., Vermont, June 2, 1816. His poems åbound in fine wit and satire.

3 An'te lope, an animal almost midway between the deer and goat. Its horns are almost always round and ringed. The eyes of some varietics are large, black, and very beautiful.