productive of more true glory, than the victorious march of twenty conquering warriors moving in desolation and slaughter. Peace has her trophies as well as war. It is not alone from the bloody battle-field that laurels are to be acquired. In that retired chamber in the capitol, once dignified by his presence, John Marshall reaped a richer harvest of renown, than Bona. parte a gathered on the plains of Austerlitz,b or Wellington, from the field of Waterloo. LESSON XXXII. THE FIRST AMERICAN CONGRESS.- MAXCY. [The pupil may note the exclamatory phrases in this piece, and tell how they should be read. See Rule 9, p. 115.] 1. The interposition of Divine Providence was eminently conspicuous in the first general congress:- what men, what patriots, what independent, heroic spirits! chosen by the unbiased voice of the people; chosen, as all public servants ought to be, without favor and without fear; what an august assembly of sages! Rome, in the height of her glory, fades before it. 2. There never was in any age or nation, a body of men, who, for general information, for the judicious use of the results of civil and political history, for eloquence and virtue, for the true dignity, elevation, and grandeur of soul, could stand a comparison with the first American congress! See what the people will do when left to themselves, to their unbiased good sense, and to their true interests! The ferocious Gaul would have dropped his sword at the hall-door, and have fled, thunder-struck, as froin an assembly of gods! Bonaparte, (Napoleon,) see page 85. b Austerlitz, a place near Brunn, in Moravia, where Bonaparte fought a great battle in 1805. Wellington, (Duke of,) born, 1769, in Ireland. He defeated Bonaparte at Waterloo, a Belgian village, in 1815, and died in 1853. 3. Whom do I behold? a Hancock, a Jefferson, an Adams, a Henry, a Lee,b a Rutledge! Glory to their immortal spirits! On you depend the destinies of your country; the fate of three millions of men; and of the countless millions of their posterity! Shall these be slaves, or will you make a noble stand for liberty, against a power whose triumphs are already coextensive with the earth; whose legions trample on thrones and scepters; whose thunders bellow on every ocean? How tremendous the occasion! How vast the responsibility! 4. The president, and all the members of this august assembly take their seats. Every countenance tells the mighty struggle within. Every tongue is silent. It is a pause in nature; that solemn, awful stillness, which precedes the earthquake and tornado! At length Demosthenes arises,-he only is adequate to the great occasion,- the Virginian Demosthenes, the mighty Henry! What dignity! What majesty! Every eye fastens upon him. Firm, erect, undaunted, he rolls on the mighty torrent of his eloquence. 5. What a picture does he draw of the horrors of servitude, and the charms of freedom! At once he gives the full rein to all his gigantic powers, and pours his own heroic spirit into the minds of his auditors; they become as one man; actuated by one soul, and the universal shout is "Liberty or Death!" This single speech, of this illustrious man, gave an impulse, which probably decided the fate of America. . Hancock, (John,) one of the most conspicuous friends of the American Revolution, and president of congress when the Declaration of Independence was signed. He died in 1793. Lee, (Richard Henry,) the member of congress from Virginia, who first proposed the Declaration of Independence. LESSON XXXIII. PROGRESS OF LIBERTY.- PRENTICE. The pupil may determine the character of the language in this piece, an 1 tell how it should be read. See Rules 9 and 10, pages 185 and 188.] 1. Weep not that time Is passing on,-it will ere long reveal 2. The day-spring!-see! 't is brightning in the heavens! Is sounding o'er the earth. Bright years of hope A type of love and mercy on the cloud, LESSON XXXIV. NEW ENGLAND.- PERCIVAL. [The reader may tell the kind of verse to which this piece belor.gs and the number of feet in the different lines. See 1. Hail to the land whereon we tread, Our fondest boast; The sepulcher of mighty dead, Who sleep in glory's brightest bed, p. 210.] No slave is here,—our unchained feet Our coast. 2. Our fathers crossed the ocean's wave They left behind the coward slave, With hearts unbent, and spirits brave, They sternly bore Such toils, as meaner souls had quelled; To soar. 3. Hail to the morn, when first they stood And, fearless, stemmed the invading flood, And mowed in ranks the hireling brood, In desperate fight! O! 't was a proud, exulting day, For e'en our fallen fortunes lay 4 There is no other land like thee, Thou art the shelter of the free; Thou hast been, and shalt ever be, Till time is o'er. Ere I forget to think upon My land, shall mother curse the son 5. Thou art the firm, unshaken rock, And, rising from thy hardy stock, All, who the wreath of freedom twine, Let foreign navies hasten o'er, And on our heads their fury pour, And peal their cannon's loudest roar, They still shall find, our lives are given, Our hand. |