Imatges de pàgina
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Lashed by the wind, hath rocked my bark, and showed
Its yawning caves beneath me, I have loved
Its dangers and the wrath of elements.

15. But never yet the madness of the sea

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Hath moved me, as thy grandeur moves me now.

Thou flowest on in quiet, till thy waves
Grow broken 'mid the rocks; thy current then
Shoots onward, like the irresistible course
20. Of destiny. Ah! terribly they rage,

The hoarse and rapid whirlpools there! My brain
Grows wild, my senses wander, as I

gaze
Upon the hurrying waters, and my sight
Vainly would follow, as onward to the verge
25. Sweeps the wide torrent; waves innumerable
Meet there and madden; waves innumerable
Urge on and overtake the waves before,
And disappear in thunder and in foam.

They reach, they leap the barrier: the abyss 30. Swallows, insatiable, the sinking waves.

A thousand rainbows arch them, and the woods
Are deafened with the roar. The violent shock
Shatters to vapor the descending sheets:
A cloudy whirlwind fills the gulf, and heaves
35. The mighty pyramid of circling mist
To heaven. The solitary hunter, near,
Pauses with terror in the forest shades.

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God of all truth! in other lands I've seen
Lying philosophers, blaspheming men,

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40. Questioners of thy mysteries, that draw
Their fellows deep into impiety;

And therefore doth my spirit seek thy face
In earth's majestic solitudes. Even here
My heart doth open all itself to thee.

45. In this immensity of loneliness

I feel thy hand upon me.

To my ear

The eternal thunder of the cataract brings

Thy voice, and I am humbled as I hear.

Dread torrent! that with wonder and with fear

50. Dost overwhelm the soul of him that looks

Upon thee, and dost bear it from itself,

Whence hast thou thy beginning? Who supplies,

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Age after age, thy unexhausted springs?
What power hath ordered, that, when all thy weight
55. Descends into the deep, the swollen waves
Rise not, and roll to overwhelm the earth?

The lord hath opened his omnipotent hand,
Covered thy face with clouds, and given his voice
To thy down-rushing waters; he hath girt
60. Thy terrible forehead with his radiant bow.
I see thy never-resting waters run,

And I bethink me how the tide of time
Sweeps to eternity. So pass, of man,-

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Pass, like a noonday dream,—the blossoming days, 65. And he awakes to sorrow.

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verse,

Hear, dread Niagara! my latest voice.
Yet a few years, and the cold earth shall close
Over the bones of him who sings thee now
Thus feelingly. Would that this my humble
70. Might be, like thee, immortal. I, meanwhile,
Cheerfully passing to the appointed rest,
Might raise my radiant forehead in the clouds
To listen to the techoes of my fame.

U. S. REVIEW.

QUESTIONS.-What is the difference between this lesson and the last? What is the difference between prose and poetry? Do the lines in poetry always rhyme? What is that poetry called which does not? What kind of poetry is this lesson? What is meant by feet in poetic composition? Answer the questions proposed in lines 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56. How are Niagara Falls like time?

Parse "days," in the 64th line. (It is nominative to "pass.") Parse "to listen," in the last line. In what mode and tense is "might raise," in the 72d line?

N. B. The notation of inflections, it is believed, has been sufficiently extensive to be useful to the pupil. It is desirable that he should be led along, until he can safely trust to his own judgment. Having become acquainted with the general principles, and having received such assist ance as may be necessary in the early stage of this study, he will thence. forth learn more by practicing in simple reliance upon his own judgment and taste, with such assistance and correction as his teacher may, time to time, deem appropriate, than he would from any number of lessons already marked with proper emphasis and inflections. Persevering attention to this subject, however, both on the part of the pupil and the teacher, is necessary, in order to secure the desired result.

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ARTICULATION.

Orb'd, prob'dst, troubldst, troubles, troubl'st, ribs, robb'st, handl'd, fondl'st, breadths, laugh'st, dark'ns, dark'n'd, dark'n'st, dark'n'det, strength'n, strength'ns, strengthn'd, strength'n'st, strength'nd'st.

LESSON XLV.

ARTICULATE distinctly. - Pro-duc'd, not pro-duce: which, not wich: when, not wen: per-fect-ly, not per-fec-ly: white-ness, not witemess: sounds, not soun's: pal-a-ces, not pal'ces.

1. Tem'-per-ed, a. softened.

3. E-the'-re-al, a. heavenly, formed of ether.

Se-ren'-i-ty, n. calmness, quietness.

4. Pa-vil'-ion, n. a tent, here a kind of
tower on the top of the castle.
Par'-a-pet, n. a wall or elevation
raised to keep off shot.

Buoy'-an-cy, n. (pro. bwoy-an-cy) 5. Cast'-a-net, n. an instrument of musia

lightness.

En-chant'-ment, n. the use of spells
or charms.

Col-on-nades', n. rows of columns.
Ra-di-ance', n. brightness.

made of hollowed ivory shells.

Cav-a-lier', n. a gay military man, a knight.

6. Rev'-er-ie, n. a loose, irregular train of thought.

THE ALHAMBRA BY MOONLIGHT.

[The palace or castle called the Alhambra, consists of the remains of a very extensive and ancient pile of buildings in Spain, erected by the Moors when they were rulers of the country.]

1. I HAVE given a picture of my tapartment on my first taking possession of it: a few evenings have produced a thorough change in the scene and in my feelings. The moon, which then was invisible, has gradually gained upon the nights, and now rolls in full splendor above the towers, pouring a flood of tempered light into every court and hall. The garden beneath my window, is gently lighted up; the orange and citron trees are tipped with silver; the fountain sparkles in the moonbeams; and even the blush of the rose is faintly visible.

2. I have sat for hours at my window, inhaling the sweetness of the garden, and musing on the tcheckered features of those whose history is dimly shadowed out in the elegant memorials

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around. Sometimes I have issued forth at midnight, when every thing was quiet, and have wandered over the whole building. Who can do justice to a moonlight night in such a climate, and in such a place!

3. The temperature of an Andalusian midnight in summer, ig perfectly ethereal. We seem lifted up into a purer atmosphere; there is a serenity of soul, a buoyancy of spirits, an elasticity of frame, that render mere existence enjoyment. The effect of moonlight, too, on the Alhambra, has something like enchantment Every rent and chasm of time, every moldering tint and weather stain, disappears; the marble resumes its original whiteness; the long colonnades brighten in the moonbeams; the halls are illuminated with a softened radiance, until the whole edifice reminds one of the enchanted palace of an Arabian tale.

4. At such a time, I have ascended to the little pavilion, called the queen's toilet, to enjoy its varied and extensive prospect. To the right, the snowy summits of the Sierra Nivada, would gleam, like silver clouds, against the darker firmament, and all the outlines of the mountain would be softened, yet delicately defined. My delight, however, would be to lean over the parapet of the Tecador, and gaze down upon Grenada, spread out like a map below me: all buried in deep repose, and its white palaces and convents sleeping, as it were, in the moonshine.

5. Sometimes, I would hear the faint sounds of castanets from some party of dancers lingering in the Alameda; at other times, I have heard the dubious tones of a guitar, and the notes of a single voice rising from some solitary street, and have pictured to myself some youthful cavalier, serenading his lady's window; a gallant custom of former days, but now sadly on the decline, except in the remote towns and villages of Spain.

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6. Such are the scenes that have detained me for many an hour loitering about the courts and balconies of the castle, enjoying that mixture of reverie and sensation which steal away existence in a southern climate, and it has been almost morning before I have retired to my bed, and been +lulled to sleep by the falling waters of the fountain of Lindaraxa.

QUESTIONS.-What and where is the Alhambra? Describe the effect of moonlight upon its appearance. How did the writer of this lesson employ himself at such times? Where are the mountains which are called Sierra Nivada? Where is Andalusia? What is the national instrument of the Spaniards?

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LESSON XLVI.

REMARK. — When reading poetry that rhymes, there should be a very slight pause after the words that are similar in sound, though the sense may not require it, as in the following example, where a slight pause may be made after the word rest, which would not be made, if it were prose instead of poetry.

Sweet it is, at eve to rest

On the flowery meadow's breast.

PRONOUNCE Correctly.-Nature, not na-ter, nor na-tshure: crea-ture, not crea-tshure: bough (pro. bou), not bo: con-tin-u-ous, not con-tin-yous: fra-grance, not frag-rance.

1. Gar'-ner-ed, a. laid up, treasured.

3. Studs, n. knobs, buds.

Cleav'-ing, a. dividing.

4. Rife, a. full, abounding.
Dim'-ples, n. small depression.
Am'-ber, a. yellow.

APRIL DAY.

1. ALL DAY, the low-hung clouds have dropt
Their garner'd fullness down;
All day, that soft, gray mist hath wrapt
Hill, valley, grove, and town.
There has not been a sound today

To break the calm of nature;
Nor motion, I might almost say,
Of life, or living creature;

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Of waving bough, or warbling bird,
Or cattle faintly +lowing;

I could have half believed I heard
The leaves and blossoms growing.

2. I stood to hear,-I love it well-
The rain's continuous sound;
Small drops, but thick and fast they fell,
Down straight into the ground.

For leafy thickness is not yet

Earth's naked breast to + screen,

Though every dripping branch is set

With shoots of tender green.

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