"What does the rainbow's beauteous arch declare?
That Justice still cries strike, and Mercy, spare."

1. All nature lay in sleep; no zephyrs stirred
Its sweet repose. The trees were motionless;
E'en the fair flow'ret hung its beauteous head,
And gently closed its varied-colored leaves.
The waters, like a mighty mirror, lay
Extended wide; scarcely a ruffle stirred
Their glossy surface; and the sun's bright ray
Pierced their transparent bosom, clear and bright.

2. The scene was changed; the elements awoke,
Grown strong by their late slumber, and burst fort
In all the wildness of their common nature.
The winds spread forth their pinions, and rushed où,
Laying fair nature's gifts in sadness low.
The slender saplings bowed their graceful heads,
And yielded to the blast. The giant oak,

The pride of this our land, emblem of strength,
Of grandeur, and of might, low, blighted lay,
Remnant of what it once had been.

3. The heavens rolled sternly on, in frowning forms, Throwing their darkened shadows far below, Upon the groaning and deep-heaving earth.

The sea roused up, and lashed with whitening foam

The rocky shores, reflecting far and wide

The lightning's vivid flash; while here and there.

The hills and vales sent back, in echoes wild,

4.

5.

The thunder's roar. The heavens poured streaming down

In torrents wild, their waters o'er the earth.

The storm had past. All nature shone
In bright, redoubled splendor. Earth, air, and ocean,
Refreshed by heaven's delightful showers, breathed forth
His wisdom, strength, and love, in sweetest strains;
The bird sung sweetly from the chestnut's bough,
Sparkling with dewy gems, and the sweet flow'ret
Breathed its rich perfume on the air around.
The heavens spread forth their canopy of blue,
And the bright sun cast forth its healing rays,
O'er hill, and plain, and sea.

But above all,

Surpassing all, in splendor and in grace,

The Bow of God, the emblem of his love,

Stretched o'er the blue, ethereal dome of heaven,
Its streaks of varied light; in modesty,

In beauty, in rich magnificence, it lay,

Bright emblem of that glorious, matchless love

To us, poor sinful mortals of the dust,

Which none but God can tell, none but God give.

LESSON LXV.

SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS IN FAVOR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.-WEBSTER.

1. It is true, indeed, that in the beginning we aimed not at independence. But there's a divinity which shapes our ends. The injustice of England has driven us to arms; and, blinded to her own interest, for our good, she nas obstinately persisted, till independence is now within our grasp. We have but to

reach forth to it, and it is ours. Why then, should we defer the declaration? Is any man so weak, as now to hope for a reconciliation with England? Do we mean to submit to the measures of parliament,- Boston port-bill and all? I know we do not mean to submit. We never shall submit.

2. The war, then, must go on. We must fight it through. And if the war must go on, why put off longer the declaration of independence? That measure will strengthen us. It will give us character abroad. The nations will then treat with us, which they never can do, while we acknowledge ourselves subjects in arms against our sovereign. Nay, I maintain that England herself, will sooner treat for peace with us, on the footing of independence, than consent, by repealing her acts, to acknowledge that her whole conduct toward us, has been a course of injustice and oppression.

3. Sir, the declaration will inspire the people with increased courage. Instead of a long and bloody war for restoration of priviliges, for redress of grievances, for chartered immunities held under a British king,—set before them the glorious object of entire independence, and it will breathe into them anew the breath of life.

4. Read this declaration at the head of the army; every sword will be drawn from its scabbard, and the solemn vow uttered to maintain it, or perish on the bed of honor. Publish it from the pulpit; religion will approve it, and the love of religious liberty will cling round it, resolved to stand with it, or fall with it.

5. Send it to the public halls; proclaim it there; let them hear it, who heard the first roar of the enemy's cannon; let them see it, who saw their brothers and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill, and in the streets of Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in its support.

а

* Bunker Hill, Lexington, and Concord, places in Massachusetts, where fighting had already commenced.

6. Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My judgment approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it; and I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the declaration. It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment; -independence now, and independence forever.

LESSON LXVI.

ELOQUENCE.- CASS.

1. What country ever offered a nobler theater for the dis play of eloquence than our own? From the primary assemblies of the people, where power is conferred, and may be retained, to the national legislature, where its highest attributes are deposited and exercised, all feel and acknowledge its influence.

2. The master spirits of our father-land, they who guided the councils of England in her career of prosperity and glory, whose eloquence was the admiration of their contemporaries, as it will be of posterity, were deeply imbued with classical learning. They drank at the fountain and not at the stream, and they led captive the public opinion of the empire, and asserted their dominion in the senate, and the cabinet.

3. Nor have we been wanting in contribution to the general stock of eloquence. In our legislative assemblies, at the bar, and in the pulpit, many examples are before us, not less cheering in the rewards they offer, than in the renown which follows them. And, if our lamps are lighted at the altar of ancient and modern learning, we may hope that a sacred fire will be kept burning, to shed its influence upon our institutions, and the duration of the Republic.

4. But after all, habits of mental and moral discipline, are the first great objects in any system of instruction, public or private. The value of education depends far less upon varied and extensive acquirements, than upon the cultivation of just pow. ers of thought, and the general regulation of the faculties of the understanding. That it is not the amount of knowledge, but the capacity to apply it, which promises success and usefulness in life, is a truth, that cannot be too often inculcated by instructors, and recollected by pupils.

5. If youth are taught how to think, they will soon learn what to think. Exercise is not more necessary to a healthful state of the body, than is the employment of the various faculties of the mind to mental efficiency. The practical sciences are as barren of useful products as the speculative, where facts only, are the objects of knowledge unless the understanding is habituated to a continued process of examination and reflection.

6. No precocity of intellect, no promise of genius, no extent of knowledge, can be weighed in the scale with those acquisitions. But he, who has been the object of such sedulous attention, and the subject of such a course of instruction, may enter the great duties of life, with every prospect of an honorable and a useful career. His armor is girded on for battle. However difficult the conjuncture in which he may be called on to act, he is prepared for whatever may betide him.

upon

LESSON LXVII.

VALUE OF TIME.-MRS SIGOURNEY.

1. As nothing truly valuable can be obtained without industry, so there can be no persevering industry, without a sense of the value of time. Youth would be too happy, might they add to their own beauty and felicity, the wisdom of riper years.