Imatges de pàgina
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fallacious standard of my own weakness, I began to be very uneasy for the situation of the preacher.. For I could not conceive how he would be able to let his audience down from the hight to which he had wound them, without impairing the solemnity and dignity of the subject, or perhaps shocking them by the abruptness of his fall. But, no: the descent was as beautiful and sublime, as the elevation had been rapid and enthusiastic.

8. The first sentence, with which he broke the awful silence, was a quotation from Rousseau: "Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus Christ, like a God!" I despair of giving you any idea of the effect produced by this short sentence, unless you could perfectly conceive the whole manner of the man, as well as the peculiar crisis in the discourse. Never before did I completely understand what Demosthenes meant by laying such stress on delivery.

9. You are to bring before you the venerable figure of the preacher; his blindness, constantly recalling to your recollection old Homer, Ossian, and Milton, and associating with his performance the melancholy grandeur of their geniuses; you are to imagine that you hear his slow, solemn, well-accented enunciation, and his voice of affecting, trembling melody; you are to remember the pitch of passion and enthusiasm, to which the congregation were raised; and then, the few moments of portentous, death-like silence, which reigned throughout the house; the preacher, removing his white handkerchief from his aged face, (even yet wet from the recent torrent of his tears), and slowly stretching forth the palsied hand which held it, begins the sentence, "Socrates died like a philosopher"-then, pausing,. raising his other, pressing them both, clasped together, with warmth and energy, to his breast, lifting his "sightless balls" to heaven, and pouring his whole soul into his tremulous voice— "but Jesus Christ-like a God!"

10. This man has been before my imagination almost ever since. A thousand times, as I rode along, I dropped the reins of my bridle, stretched forth my hand, and tried to imitate his quotation from Rousseau: a thousand times I abandoned the attempt in despair, and felt persuaded, that his peculiar manner and power arose from an energy of soul, which nature could give, but which no human being could justly copy. As I recall, at this moment, several of his awfully striking attitudes, the chilling tide with which my blood begins to pour along my arteries, reminds me of the emotions produced by the first sight of Gray's introductory picture of his Bard.

WIRT

QUESTIONS. Can

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describe the personal appearance of the blind

preacher? What effect was produced by his manner? What, by his language? When he described the character and conduct of Christ, what was the effect on the congregation? What effect was produced by the circumstance of his blindness? What was the secret of the preacher's great power?

PRONUNCIATION. Join, not jine: cov-er'd, not cov-ud: sac-rament, not sa-cra-ment: pict-ure (pro. pict-yur) not pic-tshure, nor pic-ter : fig-ure, pro. fig-yur: grand-eur, pro. grand-yur: por-ten-tous, not por-tenshus: at-ti-tudes, pro. at-tit-yudes.

SPELL AND DEFINE. - - 1. Understanding: 2. palsy, ascertained: 4..distribute, crucifixion, selected: 5. description, convulsively: 6. utterance: 7. impairing: 9. grandeur: 10. energy, introductory.

LESSON LIX.

RULE.- Be careful to speak such little words as by, in, on, a, and, at, of, with, for, to, from, through, the, &c., very distinctly, and yet not to dwell on them so long as on other more important words.

Words to be Spelled and Defined.

1. In'-ter-views, n. meetings, mutual sight or view.

2. Rav'-age, n. waste, ruin.

Un-knell'ed, p. without the tolling of a
bell at one's funeral.

3. Arm'-a-ment, n. a body of naval forces
equipped for war; ships of war.
Le-vi'-a-than, n. a huge sea animal:
here used figuratively for ships.

Ar'-bi-ter, n. one who controls or decides between others.

Yeast, n. here used for the foam of the

sea.

4. Realms. n. kingdoms.

Az'-ure, a. blue, like the sky.

5. Glass'-es, v. mirrors as in a glass. Slime, n. sticky mud.

APOSTROPHE TO THE OCEAN.

1. THERE is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes

By the deep sea, and music in its roar.
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the universe and feel

What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

*Throughout this work, that definition is given which belongs to the word as it is used in the lesson. This meaning is frequently figurative.

2. Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ;
Man marks the earth with ruin, his control
Stops with the shore: upon the watery plain
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain
A shadow of man's ravage, save his own,
When for a moment, like a drop of rain,
He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,
Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown.

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3. The armaments which thunderstrike the walls
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake,
And monarchs tremble in their capitals;
The oak leviathans, whose huge ribs make
Their clay creator the vain title take

Of lord of thee, and arbiter of war;

These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake,
They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar
.Alike the Armada's pride, or spoils of Trafalgar.

4. Thy shores are empires, changed in all save thee;
Assyria, Greece, Rome, Carthage,—what are they?
Thy waters wasted them while they were free,
And many a tyrant since; their shores obey
The stranger, slave, or savage; their decay
Has dried up realms to deserts: not so thou,
Unchangeable save to thy wild waves' play;
Time writes no wrinkles on thy azure brow;
Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now.

5. Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form
Glasses itself in tempests; in all time,

Calm or convulsed; in breeze, or gale, or storm,
Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime

Dark heaving; boundless, endless, and sublime,

The image of Eternity, the throne

Of the Invisible; even from out thy slime
The monsters of the deep are made; each zone
Obeys thee; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone.

BYRON.

QUESTIONS.- -What is the society which exists where none intrudes? What is meant by "oak leviathans?" How is the ocean the image of eter nity? Where is Trafalgar, and for what is it celebrated? Where were Assyria, Rome, Greece, and Carthage?

PRONUNCIATION.

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- Path-less, not path-liss : u-ni-verse, not u-nivuss thou-sand, not thou-sund: mo-ment, not mo-munt: ar-ma-ments, not ar-ma-munts: sav-age, not sav-ij: tem-pests, not tem-pists.

SPELL AND DEFINE.-1. Rapture, intrudes: 2. control, wrecks, uncoffined: 3. quake, capitals, flake: 4. empires, realms: 5. mirror.

RULE.

LESSON LX.

When two or more consonants come together, let the pupil be careful to sound every one distinctly. It exists every where. Thou smooth'st his rugged path. Thou sat'st upon thy throne. Do you see the birds' nests? Thou call' st in vain. Alkaline earths.

Words to be Spelled and Defined.

3. Tab'-er-na-cle, n. a temporary habita- | 8. Pre-sump'-tu-ous, a. bold, rash.

tion.

5. Test'-i-mo-ny, n. solemn declaration.

Stat-utes, n. written laws.

1.

Do-min'-ion, n. power, controlling influence.

NATURE AND REVELATION.

THE heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament showeth his handwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech,

And night unto night showeth knowledge.

2. There is no speech nor language,
Where their voice is not heard..

Their line is gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

3. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

4. His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
And his circuit unto the ends of it:

And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

5. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple,
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

6. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

7. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned:

And in keeping of them there is great reward.

8. Who can understand his errors?

Cleanse thou me from secret faults,

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.

9. Then shall I be upright,

And I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, Be acceptable in thy sight,

O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer!

QUESTIONS.

BIBLE.

What is the character of God, as exhibited by the works of nature? What is the character and influence of the law of God? How can a man be kept from sin?

In the 8th paragraph, which are the pronouns? What does the word pronoun mean? Which is the interrogative pronoun in that paragraph? Which are the nouns in the plural number? Which, in the singular? Which, of the neuter gender? Which, of common gender? In what case are they all? What does the word noun mean? Which are the verbs? What does the word verb mean? Why is this part of speech so called? Which are in the imperative mode? What does the word imperative mean?

ARTICULATION.- Utter distinctly the r, giving it its soft sound, in the following words: declare, there, nor, where, their, circuit, perfect, converting, sure, pure, enduring, ever, sweeter, moreover.

SPELL AND DEFINE.-1. Firmament, handwork: 3. bridegroom, chamber: 4. circuit: 5. converting: 6. enduring, judgments: 8. errors: 9, transgression, meditation, acceptable, redeemer.

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