Taste long admired, sense long revered, 3. Here, then, to-day (with faith as sure. As when, amidst the rites divine, 4. With this I wed, till death us part, - 5. And why? They show me every hour LESSON LXXXII. Angling. - ARMSTRONG.* 1. But if the breathless chase o'er hill and dale Affords. The crystal rivulet, that o'er Swarms with the silver fry: such through the bounds 2. Liddel,t till now, except in Doric lays, *Born about 1712; died 1779. + A river in Scotland, forming for a few miles the boundary between England and Scotland. Tuned to her murmurs by her love-sick swains, 3. Hail, sacred flood! May still thy hospitable swains be blest With painted meadows and the golden grain! 4. Oft with thy blooming sons, when life was new, Oft traced with patient steps thy fairy banks, The eager trout, and with the slender line The struggling, panting prey, while vernal clouds And from the deeps called forth the wanton swarms. 1. FAREWELL, thou busy world, and may We never meet again! Here I can eat, and sleep, and pray, And do more good in one short day Upon the most conspicuous theaters, Where naught but vanity and vice appears. 2. Good God! how sweet are all things here! How beautiful the fields appear! How cleanly do we feed and lie! *e Samian school was that of Pythagoras, who taught the transmigratia of souls. In the Indian mythology, Vishnu, their god, among his other changes, assumed that of a fish. † Flourished from 1630 to 1687. F Lord! what good hours do we keep ! What peace, what unanimity! How innocent from the lewd fashion By turns to come and visit ye! 4. Dear Solitude, the soul's best friend, That man acquainted with himself dost make, And would be glad to do so still, For it is thou alone that keep'st the soul awake Is it, alone, To read, and meditate, and write, By none offended, and offending none! To walk, ride, sit, or sleep, at one's own ease, 1. AND now, Mr. President, I draw these observations to a close. I have spoken freely, and I meant to do so. I have sought to make no display; I have sought to enliven the occasion by no animated discussion, nor have I attempted any train of elaborate argument. I have wished only to speak my sentiments fully and at large, being desirous once and for all to let the senate know, and to let the country know, the opinions and sentiments which I entertain on all these subjects. 2. These opinions are not likely to be suddenly changed. If there be any future service that I can render to the country, consistently with these sentiments and opinions, I shall cheerfully render it. If there be not, I shall still be glad to have had an opportunity to disburden my conscience from the bottom of my heart, and to make known every political sentiment that therein exists. 3. And now, Mr. President, instead of speaking of the possibility or utility of secession, instead of dwelling in these caverns of darkness, instead of groping with those ideas so full of all that is horrid and horrible, let us come out into the light of day; let us enjoy the fresh air of Liberty and Union; let us cherish those hopes which belong to us; let us devote ourselves to those great objects that are fit for our consideration and our action; let us raise our conceptions to the magnitude and the importance of the duties that devolve upon us; let our comprehension be as broad as the country for which we act, our aspirations as high as its certain destiny; let us not be pigmies in a case that calls for men. 4. Never did there devolve on any generation of men higher trusts than now devolve upon us, for the preservation of this constitution, and the harmony and peace of all who are destined to live under it. Let us make our generation one of the strongest and brightest links in that golden chain, which is destined, I fondly believe, to grapple the people of all the states to this constitution, for ages to come. 5. We have a great, popular, constitutional government, guarded by law and by judicature, and defended by the whole affections of the people. No monarchical throne presses these states together; no iron chain of military power encircles them; they live and stand upon a government popular in its form, representative in its character, founded upon principles of equality, and so constructed, we hope, as to last forever. 6. In all its history it has been beneficent: it has trodden down no man's liberty; it has crushed no state. Its daily respiration is liberty and patriotism; its yet youthful veins. are full of enterprise, courage, and honorable love of glory and renown. Large before, the country has now, by recent events, become vastly larger. 7. This republic now extends, with a vast breadth, across the whole continent. The two great seas of the world wash the one and the other shore. We realize, on a mighty scale, the beautiful description of the ornamental edging of the buckler of Achilles "Now the broad shield complete, the artist crowned And beat the buckler's verge, and bound the whole." LESSON LXXXV. Early Rising and Prayer.-HENRY VAUGHAN. 1. WHEN first thy eyes unveil, give thy soul leave To do the like; our bodies but forerun The spirit's duty: true hearts spread and heave Give him thy first thoughts, then, so shalt thou keep 2. Yet never sleep the sun up; * prayer should Rise to prevent ‡ the sun; sleep doth sins glut, 4. Serve God before the world; let him not go 5. Mornings are mysteries: the first, the world's youth, Man's resurrection, and the future's bud, Shroud in their births; the crown of life, light, truth, Three blessings wait upon them, one of which Should move - they make us holy, happy, rich. 6. When the world 's up, and every swarm abroad, Keep well thy temper, mix not with each clay; Dispatch necessities; life hath a load *Never sleep after the sun has risen. + See Exodus, chapter 16th, verses 19th, 20th, 21st. The words "prevent" and "let" are instances of the changes made by time and custom in the meaning of words. Formerly, "prevent" was used in its literal sense (pre-venire), that is, to go before for good, namely, to clear away difficulties, or to assist, while "let" signified to hinder. At the present day, they seem to have exchanged meanings. § I AM is one of the names assumed by the Deity. See Exodus, chapter 3d, verses 13th and 14th. |