RESS on! there 's no such word as fail;
Press nobly on! the goal is near,-
Ascend the mountain! breast the gale!

Look upward, onward,-never fear!

PRESS ON.

Why should'st thou faint? Heaven smiles above
Though storm and vapor intervene;
That Sun shines on, whose name is Love,
Serenely o'er life's shadowed scene.

Press on! surmount the rocky steeps,
Climb boldly o'er the torrent's arch;

He fails alone who feebly creeps;

He wins who dares the hero's march. Be thou a hero! let thy might

Tramp on eternal snows its way, And through the ebon walls of night Hew down a passage unto day.

Press on! if once, and twice, thy feet
Slip back and stumble, harder try;
From him who never dreads to meet
Danger and death, they 're sure to fly.
To coward ranks the bullet speeds;

While on their breasts who never quail,
Gleams, guardian of chivalric deeds,
Bright courage, like a coat of mail.

Press on! if fortune play thee false
To-day, to-morrow she 'll be true;
Whom now she sinks, she now exalts,
Taking old gifts and granting new.
The wisdom of the present hour

Makes up for follies past and gone;
To weakness strength succeeds, and power
From frailty springs;-Press on! PRESS ON!

Press on! what though upon the ground
Thy love has been poured out like rain?
That happiness is always found

The sweetest that is born of pain.

Oft 'mid the forest's deepest glooms,
A bird sings from some blighted tree;
And in the dreariest desert, blooms
A never-dying rose for thee.

Therefore, press on! and reach the goal,
And gain the prize, and wear the crown;
Faint not! for to the steadfast soul

Come wealth and honor and renown.
To thine own self be true, and keep
Thy mind from sloth, thy heart from soil;
Press on! and thou shalt surely reap
A heavenly harvest for thy toil.

PARK BENJAMIN.

A TRUE WOMAN.

COVE

IVE ear, fair daughter of love, to the instructions of prudence, and let the precepts of truth sink deep in thy heart: so shall the charms of thy mind add lustre to the elegance of thy form; and thy beauty, like the rose it resembleth, shall retain its sweetness when its bloom is withered. In the spring of thy youth, in the morning of thy days, when the eyes of men gaze on thee with delight, and nature whispereth in thine ear the meaning of their looks; ah! hear with caution their seducing words; guard well thy heart, nor listen to their soft persuasions. Remember

that thou art made man's reasonable companion, not the slave of his passion; the end of thy being is not merely to gratify his loose desire, but to assist him in the toils of life, to soothe him with thy tenderness, and recompense his care with soft endearments. Who is she that winneth the heart of man, that subdueth him to love, and reigneth in his breast? Lo! yonder she walketh in maiden sweetness, with innocence in her mind and modesty on her cheek. Her hand seeketh employment, her foot delighteth not in gadding abroad. She is clothed with neatness, she is fed with temperance: humility and meekness are as a crown of glory circling her head. crown of glory circling her head. On her tongue dwelleth music, the sweetness of honey floweth from her lips. Decency is in all her words; in her answers are mildness and truth. Submission and obedience are the lessons of her life, and peace and happiness are her reward. Before her steps walketh prudence, and virtue attendeth at her right hand. Her eye speaketh softness and love; but discretion

with a sceptre sitteth on her brow. The tongue of the licentious is dumb in her presence; the awe of her virtue keepeth him silent. When scandal is busy, and the fame of her neighbor is tossed from tongue to tongue; if charity and good nature open not her mouth, the finger of silence resteth on her lips. Her breast is the mansion of goodness; and therefore she suspecteth no evil in others. Happy were the man that should make her his wife; happy the child that shall call her mother. She presideth in the house, and there is peace; she commandeth with judgment, and is obeyed. She ariseth in the morning, she considers her affairs, and appointeth to every one their proper business. The care of her family is her whole delight, to that alone she applieth her study; and elegance with frugality is seen in her mansions. The prudence of her management is an honor to her husband, and he heareth her praise with a secret delight. She informeth the minds of her children with wisdom; she fashioneth their manners from the example of her own goodness. The word of her mouth is the law of their youth; the motion of her eye commandeth obedience. She speaketh, and her servants fly; she pointeth, and the thing is done; for the law of love is in their hearts, and her kindness addeth wings to their feet. In prosperity she is not puffed up; in adversity she healeth the wounds of fortune with patience. The troubles of her husband are alleviated by her counsels, and sweetened by her endearments: he putteth his heart in her bosom, and receiveth comfort. Happy is the man that hath made her his wife; happy the child that calleth her mother.

NDUSTRY is a substitute for genius. Where one or more faculties exist in the highest state of development and activity,-as the faculty of music in Mozart, invention in Fulton,-ideality in Milton,- we call their possessor a genius. But a genius is usually understood to be a creature of such rare facility of mind, that he can do anything without labor. According to the popular notion, he learns without study, and knows without learning. He is eloquent without preparation, exact without calculation, and profound without reflection. While ordinary men toil for knowledge by reading, by comparison, and by minute research, a genius is supposed to receive it as the mind receives dreams. His mind is like a vast cathedral, through whose colored windows the sunlight streams, painting the aisles with the varied colors of brilliant pictures. Such minds may exist. So far as my

observations have ascertained the species, they abound in academies, colleges, and Thespian societies; in village debating clubs; in coteries of young artists, and among young professional aspirants. They are to be known by a reserved air, excessive sensitiveness, and utter indolence; by very long hair, and very open shirt collars; by the reading of much wretched poetry, and the writing of much yet more wretched; by being very conceited, very affected, very disagreeable. and very useless, -beings whom no man wants for friend, pupil, or companion.

HENRY WARD BEECHER

THE LIGHT OF STARS.

THE night is come, but not too soon;

And sinking silently,
All silently, the little moon

Drops down behind the sky.

There is no light in earth or heaven,
But the cold light of stars;

And the first watch of night is given

To the red planet Mars.

Is it the tender star of love?

The star of love and dreams?
O no! from that blue tent above,
A hero's armor gleams.

And earnest thoughts within me rise,
When I behold afar,
Suspended in the evening skies,
The shield of that red star.

O star of strength! I see thee stand
And smile upon my pain;

Thou beckonest with thy mailéd hand,
And I am strong again.

Within my breast there is no light,
But the cold light of stars;

I give the first watch of the night
To the red planet Mars.

The star of the unconquered will,
He rises in my breast,
Serene, and resolute, and still,

And calm, and self-possessed.

And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art,
That readest this brief psalm,
As one by one thy hopes depart,
Be resolute and calm.

O fear not in a world like this,
And thou shalt know ere long,
Know how sublime a thing it is
To suffer and be strong.

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW.

A HAPPY LIFE.

SOW happy is he born and taught,
That serveth not another's will;
Whose armor is his honest thought,
And simple truth his utmost skill!
Whose passions not his masters are,
Whose soul is still prepared for death,
Not tied unto the world with care
Of public fame, or private breath;

Who envies none that chance doth raise,
Or vice; who never understood

How deepest wounds are given by praise;
Nor rules of state, but rules of good;

Who hath his life from rumors freed,
Whose conscience is his strong retreat;
Whose state can neither flatterers feed,
Nor ruin make oppressors great;

Who God doth late and early pray,
More of his grace than gifts to lend;
And entertains the harmless day
With a well-chosen book or friend;

This man is freed from servile bands,
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall;
Lord of himself, though not of lands;
And having nothing, yet hath all.

SIR HENRY WOTTON.

T

SUCCESS IN LIFE.

AKE earnestly hold of life, as capacitated for and destined to high and noble purpose. Study closely the mind's bent for labor or a profession. Adopt it early and pursue it steadily, never looking back to the turning furrow, but forward to the ground that ever remains to be broken. Means and ways are abundant to every man's success, if will and actions are rightly adapted to them. Our rich men and our great men have carved their paths to fortune, and by this internal principle—a principle that cannot fail to reward him who resolutely pursues it. To sigh or repine over the lack of inheritance is unmanly. Every man should strive to be creator instead of inheritor. He should bequeath instead of borrow. He should be conscious of the power in him, and fight his own battles with his own lance. He should feel that it is better to earn a crust than to inherit coffers of gold. When once this spirit of self-reliance is learned, every man will discover within himself the elements and capacities of wealth. He will be rich, inestimably rich in self-resources, and can lift his head proudly to meet the noblest among men.

MY lord, lie not idle:

HONORABLE EMPLOYMENT.

The chiefest action for a man of great spirit
Is never to be out of action. We should think;
The soul was never put into the body,
Which has so many rare and curious pieces
Of mathematical motion, to stand still.

Virtue is ever sowing of her seeds:

In the trenches for the soldier: in the wakeful study
For the scholar; in the furrows of the sea
For men of our profession: of all which
Arise and spring up honor.

JOHN WEBSTER.

A RHYME OF LIFE.

F life be as a flame that death doth kill,
Burn, little candle, lit for me,

With a pure flame, that I may rightly see
To word my song, and utterly
God's plan fulfill.

If life be as a flower that blooms and dies,
Forbid the cunning frost that slays

With Judas kiss, and trusting love betrays;

Forever may my song of praise
Untainted rise.

If life be as a voyage, foul or fair,
Oh, bid me not my banneis furl
For adverse gale, or wave in angry whirl,
Till I have found the gates of pearl,
And anchored there.

CHARLES WARREN STODDARD.

T

INDUSTRY.

HE way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality; that is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing will do, and with them everything. Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy; and he that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night, while laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him. Industry need not wish, and he that lives upon hopes will die fasting. There are no gains without pains; then help, hands, for I have no lands; or if I have, they are smartly taxed. He that hath a trade hath an estate, and he that hath a calling hath an office of profit and honor; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. If we are industrious, we shall never starve; for, at the working-man's house, hunger looks in, but dares not enter. Nor will the bailiff or the constable enter, for industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them. Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour. Leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; for a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

M

MY WORK.

ASTER! to do great work for thee, my hand
Is far too weak. Thou givest what may suit
Some little chips to cut with care minute,
Or tint, or grave, or polish. Others stand
Before their quarried marble, fair and grand,
And make a life-work of the great design
Which thou hast traced; or, many-skilled, combine

To build vast temples, gloriously planned,
Yet take the tiny stones which I have wrought,
Just one by one, as they were given by thee,
Not knowing what came next in thy wise thought.
Set each stone by thy master-hand of grace,
Form the mosaic as thou wilt, for me,
And in thy temple-pavement give it place.

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.