treasure to them for a wedding portion; that is my decision." Alexander was astonished when he heard this sentence. "Have I judged unjustly," said the king of the distant land," that thou appearest so astonished?" "By no means," answered Alexander; "but in our country a different judgment would have been given." "And how then?" asked the African king. "Both litigants," said Alexander, "would have lost their heads, and the treasure would have come into the hands of the king." Then the African king clasped his hands violently together, and said: "Shines there upon you the sun, and does the heaven send down upon you rain ?" Alexander replied: "Yes." "Then it must be," continued he, "for the sake of the innocent brute beasts that live in your country; for upon such men should no sun shine-no heaven rain !” HERDER. THE SERENADE. "WHAT Wakes me from my gentle sleep? O mother, see! what can it be? I nothing hear-I nothing see, No music comes to comfort thee "It is no earthly sound I hear 'Tis angels call me with their song, L. UHLAND. THE WOLF ON HIS DEATH-BED. ONCE upon a time, a wolf was lying at the last extremity of sickness, and took a careful retrospect of his past life. I am indeed a sinner, said he; but yet I hope not one of the greatest. I have done wrong; but I have also done much good. Once upon a time, I recollect, there came to me a bleating lamb which had wandered from the herd, and it approached so near to me, that I could with the greatest ease have devoured it, and yet I spared it. At that same time, too, I could hear the contemptuous taunts of a sheep addressed to me, with the most astonishing equanimity, even although I had not the least cause of alarm on account of any watchdog that might be at hand. "To all this," said friend Fox, who had come to comfort him in his preparation for death; "To all this, I can give a most exact testimony. Moreover, dearest Sir, I have a distinct recollection of all the circumstances connected with the case. In particular, I have now before me a little interesting incident that at that very time had just occurred,-I mean the cruel bone which had got into thy throat, and which would have inevitably strangled thee, had not a good-natured crane kindly extracted it. LESSING. A CHILD AT PRAYER. BY THE REV. ROBERT TURNBULL. BEHOLD! a scene of love, And holiness sublime, To lift the soul above This narrow earthly clime; A holy halo fills the place, Her face's heavenly glow, Her dark and pensive eye, Her alabaster brow, On which black ringlets lie, Her little hands upturned to heaven, All mingling like the hues of even This is a sight to wake, Of past delights the dreams, Like music on the lake, Or dying sunny gleams; To raise the sigh for beauty flown, And conjure up a vision grand, This too should rouse our faith, Above the shadowy earth To climes of cloudless day, Which matchless, endless and sublime No tongue can e'er express; A glory from the world above, A sun-beam of eternal love! |