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In the bright muse, though thousand charms conspire,
Her voice is all these tuneful fools admire ;
Who haunt Parnassus but to please the ear,
Not mend their minds; as some to church repair,
Not for the doctrine, but the music there.

8. 'Tis hard to say, if greater want of skill
Appear in writing, or in judging ill;
But, of the two, less dangerous is the offence
To tire our patience, than mislead our sense;
Some few in that, but numbers err in this;
Ten censure wrong, for one who writes amiss.
A fool might once himself alone expose;
Now one in verse makes many more in prose.
'Tis with our judgments as our watches, none
Go just alike, yet each believes his own.

9. Of chance or change, O let not man complain,
Else shall he never, never cease to wail;
For, from the imperial dome, to where the swain
Rears the lone cottage in the silent dale,
All feel the assault of fortune's fickle gale;
Art, empire, earth itself, to change are doom'd;
Earthquakes have raised to heaven the humble vale,
And gulfs the mountain's mighty mass entomb'd,

And where the Atlantic rolls wide continents have bloom'd.

But sure to foreign climes we need not range,
Nor search the ancient records of our race,
To learn the dire effects of time and change,
Which in ourselves, alas! we daily trace.
Yet at the darken'd eye, the wither'd face,
Or hoary hair, I never will repine:

But spare, O Time, whate'er of mental grace,

Of candour, love, or sympathy divine,

Whate'er of fancy's ray or friendship's flame is mine.

SECTION IV.

EXPRESSION OF IDEAS.

Let the Pupil express the ideas contained in the following passages, in sentences of his own construction and arrangement:

EXAMPLE.

Alfred, reduced to extremity by the Danes, who were spreading devastation all over England, was obliged to relinquish the ensigns of his dignity, to dismiss his servants, and to seek shelter, in the meanest disguise, from the pursuit and fury of his enemies. He concealed himself under a peasant's habit, and lived some time in the house of a neat-herd, who had been intrusted with the care of some of his cows. There passed here an incident, which has been recorded by all the historians, and was long preserved by popular tradition; though it contains nothing memorable in itself, except so far as every circumstance is interesting, which attends so great virtue and dignity reduced to so much distress. The wife of the neat-herd was ignorant of the condition of her royal guest; and, observing him one day busy by the fireside in trimming his bow and arrows, she desired him to take care of some cakes which were toasting, while she was employed elsewhere in other domestic affairs. But Alfred, whose thoughts were otherwise engaged, neglected the injunction; and the good woman, on her return, finding her cakes all burned, rated the king very severely, and upbraided him, that he always seemed very well pleased to eat her warm cakes, though he was thus negligent in toasting them.

Alfred, having been driven from his throne by the Danes, was forced to seek refuge, under the disguise of a peasant, in the house of one of his own neat-herds. Here occurred an incident, which both tradition and history have preserved. One day, as Alfred was sitting by the fire trimming his bow and arrows, the wife of his host, who did not know that he was the king, desired him, while she was otherwise occupied, to attend to some cakes that were toasting; an injunction, which the monarch, who was thinking of far different matters, neglected to obey. "You have allowed the cakes to burn, by your carelessness," said the good woman, on her return; "but you seem always very well pleased to eat them."

EXERCISES.

1. Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, was far from being happy, though he abounded in riches, and all the pleasures which riches can procure. Damocles, one of his flatterers, was one day complimenting him on his power, his treasures, and his royal magnificence, and affirming that no monarch ever was greater or happier than he. "Hast thou a mind, Damocles," says the king, "to taste this happiness, and know, by experience, what the enjoy.

ments are of which you have so high an idea ?" Damocles gladly accepted the offer. Upon this the king ordered, that a royal banquet should be prepared for him, and a gilded couch, covered with rich embroidery. Side-boards, loaded with gold and silver plate of immense value, were arranged in the apartment. Pages of extraordinary beauty were ordered to attend his table, and to obey his commands with the greatest readiness and the most profound submission. Fragrant ointment, chaplets of flowers, and rich perfumes, were added to the entertainment. The table was loaded with the most exquisite delicacies of every kind. Damocles was intoxicated with pleasure. But in the midst of all his happiness, as he lay indulging himself in state, he sees let down from the ceiling, exactly over his head, a glittering sword hung by a single hair. The sight of impending destruction put a speedy end to his joy and revelling. The pomp of his attendants, the glitter of the carved plate, and the delicacy of the viands, ceased to afford him any pleasure. He dreads to stretch forth his hand to the table. He throws off the garland of roses. He hastens to remove from his dangerous situation; and earnestly entreats the king to restore him to his former humble condition, having no desire to enjoy any longer a happiness so terrible.

2. A nightingale, that all day long

Had cheer'd the village with his song,
Nor yet at eve his note suspended,
Nor yet when eventide was ended,
Began to feel, as well he might,
The keen demands of appetite;
When, looking eagerly around,
He spied far off, upon the ground,
A something shining in the dark,
And knew the glow-worm by his spark.
So, stooping down from hawthorn top,
He thought to put him in his crop.
The worm, aware of his intent,
Harangued him thus, right eloquent:
"Did you admire my lamp," quoth he,
"As much as I your minstrelsy,
You would abhor to do me wrong,
As much as I to spoil your song:
For 'twas the self-same Pow'r divine
Taught you to sing, and me to shine;

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