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And the rich blood that is in thee swells in thy indignant

pain;

Till careless eyes, which rest on thee, may count each started vein.

Will they ill-use thee? If I thought-but no, it cannot be

Thou art so swift, yet easy curbed, so gentle, yet so free. And yet, if haply when thou 'rt gone, my lonely heart should

yearn,

Can the hand which casts thee from it now command thee to return?

Return, alas! my Arab steed, what shall thy master do, When thou who wert his all of joy hath vanished from his

view?

When the dim distance cheats mine eye, and through the gathering tears,

Thy bright form for a moment like the false mirage ap

pears,

Slow and unmounted will I roam, with weary foot alone, Where with fleet step and joyous bound, thou oft has borne

me on.

And sitting down by that green well, I'll pause and sadly think,

'Twas here he bowed his glossy neck when last I saw him drink.

When last I saw thee drink? Away! the fevered dream is o'er,

I could not live a day, and know that we should meet no

more.

They tempted me, my beautiful! for hunger's power is strong,

They tempted me, my beautiful! but I have loved too long. Who said that I had given thee up? who said that thou wert sold?

'Tis false-'tis false, my Arab steed, I fling them back their

gold;

Thus thus, I leap upon thy back, and scour the distant

plains,

Away! who overtakes us now, shall claim thee for his pains.

EXERCISE.-34. MEANINGS of Words.

1. Give the meaning of the following:-fleet, sted, exiled, crested, indignant, mirage, curbed, unmounted.

2. Distinguish between :-sighed, side; earth, hearth; sold, soled; pause, paws; rein, rain.

3. Illustrate the different meanings of :-crest, cast, saw, arm, mount, count, scour, well.

4. How do you mark the difference between the noun "desert,” a wilderness, and the verb " desert," to abandon ?

MARLBOROUGH'S VICTORIES.

rev-er-ence [L. re; vereor, to fear], admiration mingled with fear and respect. en-voy [F. envoyer, to send; from en, on; voie, a way], a messenger. an-ti-ci-pa-ted [L. ante, before; capio, to take], imagined, foreseen. op-er-a-tions [L. opus, a work], actions, movements of an army.

ALTHOUGH Queen Anne and her brother-in-law, William of Orange, had never been on very friendly terms, she adopted and followed his policy, in every respect, as soon as she was seated on the throne. She always admired his wisdom and foresight, and had great reverence for his talents, though she did not like him personally.

William's persistent policy had been to curb the power of Louis XIV. of France, the great-grandfather of "Louis the unforgotten," as Carlyle styles him. In pursuance of this policy, the famous John Churchill, who had been created Earl of Marlborough by William III., was appointed Captain General of the Forces, and, in the early part of 1702, was sent to Holland as ambassador-an envoy not much to the taste of Louis. On his return to England, war was declared against France and Spain.

In less than two months, Marlborough took the command of the allied army in Flanders, and promptly reduced the fortified towns of Ruremonde and Liege. His other measures were sagaciously planned; and, if their results were not such as he wished and anticipated, they still served to harass and weaken the army. Sir George Rooke attacked Cadiz, but was obliged to withdraw. He compensated for this

by capturing and destroying several French ships of war, in the bay of Vigo. The exploits of Admiral Benbow, too, at this period, are worthy of all praise, but he was unfortunately wounded in an action with the French fleet off the Spanish coast, and died soon after, from the effects of his wounds, at Kingston in Jamaica.

For the general success of his operations, Marlborough publicly received the thanks of both houses of parliament, the honour of a dukedom from the queen, and, what was a more substantial reward to one so fond of money, a pension of £5000 a year. This pension was afterwards made perpetual, that is to say, it was ordered that the sum should be paid yearly to his heirs, so long as any exist.

During the following year, 1703, the French and Bavarians were successful in the south of Germany, but Marlborough maintained his ground in the north of that country.

In 1704, Marlborough displayed the full power of his genius in arranging a plan of operations, which would, if successful, gain him most important advantages and have the effect of completely frustrating the aims of his enemies. These plans he laid before Prince Eugene of Savoy, who entirely approved of them, and promised to exert himself to the utmost to bring them to a favourable issue.

No time was lost in carrying them out, for promptitude is the soul of war, as despatch is that of business. Donauwerth was the first place taken, and, after some other operations, Eugene and Marlborough encountered the French and Bavarians at Blenheim, on the Danube, in Bavaria. Marshal Tallard, who commanded the French, incautiously weakened his centre. Marlborough saw his enemy's fatal error and his own opportunity, and with the promptitude and dash of a Napoleon, without a moment's hesitation, hurried forward his men, broke the line, and in a very short time the day was gained, and Tallard was a prisoner in his hands.

The advantages gained by this splendid success were fully followed up, and Blenheim may be noted as one of the most complete victories that it is in the power of historians to record.

As a reward for this important service and a token of national gratitude, he received the manor of Woodstock, in

Oxfordshire; and on this a magnificent mansion, to be called Blenheim House, was ordered to be built at the public expense, to perpetuate his gallant services. Thus he attained one great object of his early ambition; to be one of the highest peers of the realm, and have the means of upholding his rank.

About this time the nation was further gratified by the capture of the fortress of Gibraltar, one of the strongest fortified places in the world, and which Britain has since held in defiance of Europe. In the same year the British fleet completely crippled the naval power of France in a bloody engagement off Malaga, on the Spanish coast.

In 1706, Marlborough gained the important victory of Ramilies over the troops of Marshal Villeroi, while Prince Eugene performed his part at the same time, in a satisfactory manner, by driving the French out of Italy.

Louis now began to find himself so exhausted both in money and troops, that he made overtures for peace; but the allies had so little confidence in him that they paid no great attention to his proposals.

In 1708, another great victory was gained over Marshal Vendome at Oudenarde, which put Flanders completely into the power of the English.

In the next year, 1709, Prince Eugene and Marlborough gained Malplaquet, and afterwards captured Mons.

While Marlborough was abroad, winning for himself that imperishable fame and reputation for military skill, which place him in the first rank of the world's warriors, the queen was becoming tired of her former friend, the Duchess of Marlborough, with whom she had been on terms of the greatest intimacy. Her Grace was beginning to presume too much upon the renown of her famous husband, and so domineering and ill-tempered was she occasionally, that Anne felt great annoyance, and determined to free herself from the influence that the duchess habitually exercised over her. This paved the way for a new favourite, and soon the duchess saw with mortification her place taken by Abigail Hill, otherwise known as Mrs. Masham.

The influence of this person ultimately became as great as that of the duchess had been, and it soon effected many important changes.

Space will not permit us to trace the history of the intrigues that followed, but they ended in the great duke being deprived of all his offices, and being obliged to retire from the kingdom, to which he did not return until Anne's death, in 1714.

The allies, deprived of the presence of the masterly genius who had always led them to certain victory, allowed the war to languish; and at the peace of Utrecht, Louis had the satisfaction of obtaining more moderate terms than he either expected or hoped for.

Marlborough died on the 16th June, 1722, and was buried among the illustrious dead of the nation, in Westminster Abbey.

EXERCISE.-35. COMPOSITION.

1. Make a list of (a) persons, (b) places, and (c) dates, with events named in this lesson.

2. What is meant by the expression: Promptitude is the soul of war? Quote a similar proverb from the lesson.

3. Describe the manner in which Marlborough was rewarded for his military services.

4. Write a brief account of the Duchess of Marlborough.

5. Rewrite the first paragraph, altering as many of the words as you

can.

MUSHROOM HIVED ANTS.

PAUL B. DU CHAILLU.*

ed-i-fice [L. ædifico, to build, from ades, a house; facio, to make], a building of any kind. in-clem-en-cies [L. in, not; clemens, merciful], severities. in-tru-der [L. in, into; trudo, to thrust], one who thrusts himself in where he has no right, or where he is not welcome.

THERE is an ant in Central Africa that builds a mushroomshaped edifice. These singular hives, shaped like gigantic mushrooms, are scattered by tens of thousands over the

* PAUL DU CHAILLU, a Frenchman by birth, is one of those adventurous travellers, who, like Capts. Burton, Speke, and Grant, Sir Samuel Baker, and Dr. Livingstone, have distinguished themselves by their researches and explorations in Africa. Mr. Du Chaillu was the first who sent specimens of the savage and powerful ape, called the gorilla, to this country. The above curious account of the "mushroom-hived ant," is taken from his second work of African travel and adventure, entitled "A Journey to Ashango-land."

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