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5. Thou art casting a fretwork of silver rays
Over ruin, and palace, and tower;

Thou art gilding the temples of former days,
In this holy and beautiful hour.

6. Thou art silently roaming through forest and glade, Where mortal foot never hath trod ;

Thou art lighting the grave where the dust is laid,
While the spirit hath gone to its God!

7. Thou art looking on those I love! oh, wake
In their hearts some remembrance of me,

And gaze on them thus, till their bosoms partake
Of the love I am breathing to thee.

8. And perchance thou art casting thy mystic spell
On the beautiful land of the blest,

Where the dear ones of earth have departed to dwell,
Where the weary have fled to their rest.

9. Oh, yes! with that soft and ethereal beam,
Thou hast looked on the mansions of bliss,

And some spirit, perchance, of that glorified world,
Hath breathed thee a message to this.

10. 'Tis a mission of love, for no threatening shade
Can be blent with thy spirit-like hues,

And thy ray thrills the heart, as love only can thrill,
And while raising it, melts and subdues.

11. And it whispers compassion; for lo, on thy brow
Is the sadness of angels enshrined;
And a misty veil, as of purified tears,
Round thy beautiful form is entwined.

12. Hail, beam of the blessed! my heart
Has drunk deep of thy magical power,

And each thought, and each feeling seems bathed
In the light of this exquisite hour!

13. Sweet ray, I have proved thee so fair

In this dark world of mourning and sin,

May I hail thee more bright in that pure region where
No sorrow nor death enters in.

QUESTIONS. 2. Will you tell me some things which the moonbeam was doing? 3. What is coral? 3. What do these insects sometimes form in the ocean? 4. What is Italia?

LESSON LXXII.

* Spell and Define.

1. Clus'ter-ing, growing in clusters.
2. Puls'es, beatings of the arteries.
2. Thrill, to cause a tingling sensation.
2. Yearn'ing, feeling an earnest desire.
2. Ca-ress', to fondle.

3. Man'tling, covering with crimson.
3. Tress'es, curls of hair.

4. Strick'en, advanced in age.
4. Reed, a hollow, knotted stalk.
5. Wan'der-er, a rambler.

ERRORS.-1. Thut for that; 1. silunt for silent; 3. wins for winds; 4. an for and; 5. won for won; 5. wan'drer for wan'der-er; 5. hum for home.

DAVID'S LAMENT FOR ABSALOM.

N. P. WILLIS.

1. ALAS! my noble boy! that thou shouldst die!
Thou, who wert made so beautifully fair!
That death should settle in thy glorious eye,
And leave his stillness in this clustering hair!
How could he mark thee for the silent tomb?
My proud boy, Absalom!

2. Cold is thy brow, my son! and I am chill,
As to my bosom I have tried to press thee!

NOTES.a David was the King of Israel, and the youngest son of Jesse; he died 1015 years before Christ. b Ab'sa-lom; the son of David; he raised an army in order to dethrone his father, and was slain by Joab. See 2 Samuel, xviii 9-16.

How was I wont to feel my pulses thrill,

Like a rich harp-string, yearning to caress thee,
And hear thy sweet "my father!" from these dumb
And cold lips, Absalom!

3. But death is on thee. I shall hear the gush
Of music, and the voices of the young;
And life will pass me in the mantling blush,
And the dark tresses to the soft winds flung;
But thou no more, with thy sweet voice, shalt come
To meet me, Absalom!

4. And oh when I am stricken, and my heart,
Like a bruised reed, is waiting to be broken,
How will its love for thee, as I depart,

Yearn for thine ear to drink its last deep token!
It were so sweet, amid death's gathering gloom,
To see thee, Absalom!

5. And now, farewell! 'Tis hard to give thee up,
With death so like a gentle slumber on thee;
And thy dark sin!-Oh! I could drink the cup,
If from this woe its bitterness had won thee.
May God have called thee, like a wanderer, home,
My lost boy, Absalom!

QUESTIONS. Who was David? 1: What was the appearance of his son Absalom? 1. Who was Absalom? 1. What did he attempt to do? 1. Who slew him? Did Absalom do right in making war against his father?

LESSON LXXIII.

1. O'ri-ent, bright, shining.

1. Gor'geous, showy, fine.

2. Con-tem'pla-tive, thoughtful.

Spell and Define.

3. My-thol'o-gy, fabulous history.

3. De'i-fi-ed, ranked among the gods.

3. Mech'an-ism, art or skill.

4. Char'i-ots, cars of war.

4. An-tiq'ui-ty, ancient times.

5. Prin'ces, sovereigns, rulers.

7. Rav'ag-es, destruction by decay.

7. O-bliv'i-on, forgetfulness.

7. En-gulfed, swallowed up in an abyss 9. Ca-reer', course.

9. Per-pe-tu'i-ty, long duration.

ERRORS. 2. Artch'i-tect-ure for arch'i-tect-ure; 2. col'yumns for columns 4. struc'ter for structure; 5. leav'in for leav'ing; 6. mis'triss for mistress 8. govern-munts for gov'ern-ments; 8. gorne for gone.

RAVAGES OF TIME.

A. LLOYD.

1. WHO that contemplates the mighty empires and kingdoms which once flourished where Apollo" sheds his orient beams, would have imagined that the time would ever come when so few vestiges of their magnificent cities, splendid temples, gorgeous palaces, and cloud-capt towers, with all their thousand forms of power and wealth, would remain?

d

2. Babylon," where once was concentrated the wisdom and power of the world, is no more; even her place cannot be found. The contemplative traveler sits down amid the vast and magnificent ruins of Balbec or Palmyra. Struck with the remains of superior architecture, evidences of great advancement in the arts, he asks, "Who reared these majestic columns? who inhabited this city? for what purpose was it built?" The desert winds bring no reply.

3. Approach the land of fable and mythology. Upon the

NOTES. a A-pollo; the son of Jupiter and Latona, here used for the sun, over which he was supposed to preside. b See Babylon, p. 303, note h. c Balbec balbek'); the ancient Heliopolis, a town of Syria, a province of Turkey. On the east side, are magnificent ruins, of which the temple of the sun is the most noted. It had 54 stone columns, of which only six are standing, and each is 72 feet high, and 22 feet in circumference. d Pal-my'ra; once a magnificent city of Syria; it is now distinguished for its ruins, particularly the temple of the Sun, which is now in a good state of preservation.

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banks of its deified river, you behold the remains of cities once the pride and glory of the world. View her massy temples, her mighty pyramids," her towering obelisks, her dark labyrinths. On every hand, you perceive the marks of gigantic minds, and the labors of extraordinary mechanism.

d

4. Enter Thebes, famous in fable for her hundred gates, her million of troops, and her ten thousand chariots. Examine her majestic temple; filled with wonder, you exclaim, "Was this mighty structure erected merely for the worship of a bird? And for what purpose were the vast pyramids constructed?" Even fable scarce ventures to turn aside the curtain which conceals this. Contrasting these remnants of antiquity with the meager race that cling around their ruins, how sensibly do we perceive the ravages of time.

Classic

5. The glory of Tyres has departed, leaving scarce a vestige of her power and grandeur. Her merchants are no longer princes. Where once stood her festive halls and commercial marts, the fisherman spreads his net beside his miserable hut. Carthage, her foster-child, Rome's' rival, is no more. soil of Greece,* birth-place of heroes, school of statesmen, philosophers, and orators; mother of the Muses,' land of liberty, patriotism and genius,― how has the scythe of time prostrated all, save the mementos of your greatness!

6. How has fallen the imperial city of the Cæsars," once the mistress of the world! The iron firmness of Roman integrity and virtue, was relaxed by her luxury, wealth, and dissi

NOTES. -a See river Nile, p. 264, note b. b See pyramids, p. 258, note a. c See obelisks, p. 303, note n. d See Thebes, p. 302, note a. e The temple of Carnæ, described in Lesson LXIX. 、 f See p. 261, verse 18. g Tyre; an ancient city of Syria, distinguished for its commerce and the wealth of its merchants. It abounds in magnificent ruins of temples, aqueducts, &c. h Car'thage; one of the most famous ancient cities of Africa, founded by Queen Dido. It was situated about ten miles south-west of the place where Tunis now stands, and destroyed by the Romans 146 years before Christ. i See Rome, p. 303, note b. k See Greece, p. 303, note a. 1 Mu'ses; the goddesses of the liberal arts and sciences. They were four in number, and are said to have originated in Thrace, a Grecian province. m Cæ'sars; Julius Cæsar, Augustus Cæsar, &c. Cæsar was the family name, or title of honor, of the five Roman emperors following Julius Cæsar, and ending with Nero.

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