5. Thou art casting a fretwork of silver rays Thou art gilding the temples of former days, 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, 7. Thou art looking on those I love! oh, wake And gaze on them thus, till their bosoms partake 8. And perchance thou art casting thy mystic spell Where the dear ones of earth have departed to dwell, 9. Oh, yes! with that soft and ethereal beam, And some spirit, perchance, of that glorified world, 10. 'Tis a mission of love, for no threatening shade And thy ray thrills the heart, as love only can thrill, 11. And it whispers compassion; for lo, on thy brow 12. Hail, beam of the blessed! my heart And each thought, and each feeling seems bathed 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 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. 3. Man'tling, covering with crimson. 4. Strick'en, advanced in age. 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! 2. Cold is thy brow, my son! and I am chill, 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, 3. But death is on thee. I shall hear the gush 4. And oh when I am stricken, and my heart, Yearn for thine ear to drink its last deep token! 5. And now, farewell! 'Tis hard to give thee up, 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. 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. |