seeing different countries', I have always resided in the same city'; with the highest expectation of connubial felicity', I have lived unmarried'; and with an unalterable resolution of contemplative retirement', I am going to die within the walls of Bagdat`."

LESSON XV.

A PSALM OF LIFE.

1. TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream'!
For the soul is dead' that slumbers',

And things are not what they seem'.

2. Life is real! Life is earnest` !
And the grave is not its goal;
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"
Was not spoken of the soul.
3. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

4. Art is long, and time is fleeting;

And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

5. In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife.

6. Trust no future, howe'er pleasant,
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act-act in the living present!

Heart within, and God o'erhead.
7. Lives of great men all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime;
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

8. Footprints that perhaps another,

Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

9. Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

LONGFELLOW.

LESSON XVI.

PRACTICAL PRECEPTS.

SIR MATTHEW HALE.

1. NEVER speak any thing for a truth which you know or believe to be false. Lying is a great sin against God, who gave us a tongue to speak truths, and not falsehoods. It is a great offense against humanity itself; for where there is no regard to truth, there can be no safe society between man and man.

2. And it is an injury to the speaker; for, besides the disgrace which it brings upon him, it occasions so much baseness of mind that he can scarcely tell truth, or avoid lying even when he has no color of necessity for it; and, in time, he comes to such a pass that, as other people can not believe he speaks truth, so he himself scarcely knows when he tells a falsehood.

3. You must not equivocate, nor speak any thing positively for which you have no authority but report, or conjecture, or opinion. Let your words be few, especially when your superiors or strangers are present, lest you betray your own weakness, and rob yourself of the opportunity which you might otherwise have had to gain knowledge, wisdom, and experience, by hearing those whom you silence by your impertinent talking.

4. Be not too earnest, loud, or violent in your conversation. Silence your opponent with reason, not with noise. Be careful not to interrupt another when he is speaking. Hear him

out, and you will understand him the better, and be able to give him the better answer.

5. Consider before you speak, especially when the business is of moment; weigh the sense of what you mean to utter, and the expressions you intend to use, that they may be significant, to the point, and inoffensive. Inconsiderate persons do not think till they speak; or they speak, and then think.

In con

6. Some men excel in one thing, some in another. versation learn, as near as you can, where the skill or excellence of any person lies; put him upon talking on that subject, observe what he says, keep it in your memory, or commit it to writing. By this means you will glean knowledge from every one with whom you converse, and at an easy rate acquire what may be of use to you on many occasions.

7. When you are in company with light, vain, impertinent persons, let the observing of their failings make you the more cautious both in your conversation with them and in your general behavior, that you may avoid their errors.

8. If any one, whom you do not know to be a person of truth, sobriety, and weight, relates strange stories, be not too ready to believe or report them; and yet, unless he is one of your familiar acquaintances, be not too forward to contradict him.

9. If the occasion requires you to declare your opinion, do it modestly and gently, not bluntly nor coarsely; by this means you will avoid giving offense, or being abused for too much credulity.

LESSON XVII.

THE INQUIRY.

CHARLES MACKAY.

1. TELL me, ye winged winds,
That round my pathway roar,
Do ye not know some spot
Where mortals weep no more?

Some lone and pleasant dell,

Some valley in the west,
Where, free from toil and pain,
The weary soul may rest?

The loud wind dwindled to a whisper low,
And sighed for pity, as it answered-"No."

2. Tell me, thou mighty deep,

Whose billows round me play,
Know'st thou some favored spot,
Some island far away,
Where weary man may find

The bliss for which he sighs-
Where sorrow never lives,

And friendship never dies?

The loud waves, rolling in perpetual flow,
Stopped for a while, and sighed to answer-"No."

3. And thou, serenest moon,
That, with such lovely face,
Dost look upon the earth
Asleep in night's embrace,

Tell me, in all thy round,

Hast thou not seen some spot

Where miserable man

Might find a happier lot?

Behind a cloud the moon withdrew in woe,
And a voice, sweet but sad, responded—“No.”

4. Tell me, my secret soul,

Oh! tell me, Hope and Faith,

Is there no resting-place
From sorrow, sin, and death?
Is there no happy spot

Where mortals may be blessed,
Where grief may find a balm,

And weariness a rest?

Faith, Hope, and Love, best boons to mortals given,

Waved their bright wings, and whispered-"YES, IN

HEAVEN!"

LESSON XVIII.

THE HOUR OF PRAYER.

1. CHILD', amid the flowers at play,
While the red light fades away';
Mother', with thine earnest eye
Ever following silently';
Father', by the breeze at eve
Call'd thy harvest work to leave'—
Pray': ere yet the dark hours be,
Lift the heart and bend the knee'.
2. Traveler', in the stranger's land,
Far from thine own household band';
Mourner', haunted by the tone
Of a voice from this world gone';
Captive', in whose narrow cell
Sunshine hath not leave to dwell';
Sailor', on the darkening sea',-
Lift the heart and bend the knee.
3. Warrior', that from battle won,
Breathest now at set of sun';
Woman', o'er the lowly slain
Weeping on his burial plain';
Ye that triumph', ye that sigh',
Kindred by one holy tie',
Heaven's first star alike ye see';-
Lift the heart and bend the knee'.

HEMANS.

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed-

The motion of a hidden fire

That trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try—

Prayer the sublimest strains that reach

The Majesty on high.

MONTGOMERY.