them to touch it again. Not till three days after, when decomposition had probably set in, was it dragged from the shore and suspended from a tree and skinned. 5. These gigantic eel-like creatures are most forbidding in appearance, varying from six to twenty-two feet in length, having the same relative size throughout their entire length. More than nine other fishes are known to be electricians of more or less power, but little is known of their methods of using their curious means of defence.-Lippincott's Magazine. DEFINITIONS.-I. A qua'ri um, a tank for holding water, animals, and plants. 2. Hä'pen ny (half penny), a cent. 3. Mus'cu lar, strong. 4. Sō'joûrn ers, visitors. 5. In sẽrt', put in. 6. Hěft, power; force. 7. Be wil'der ed, puzzled. 8. Symp'toms, signs. 9. Commu'ni cate, impart; transmit. 10. Pros'trated, deprived of strength. II. De com'po si'tion, decay. LESSON XXX. PART I. Morning Sounds. James Beattie. But who the melodies of morn can tell? The wild brook babbling down the mountain's side; The lowing herd, the sheepfold's simple bell; The pipe of early shepherd, him descried In the lone valley; echoing far and wide, The clamorous horn along the cliffs above; The hollow murmur of the ocean-tide; The hum of bees; the linnet's lay of love! And the full choir that wakes the universal grove. The cottage curs at early pilgrim bark; Crowned with her pail, the tripping milkmaid sings; The whistling plowman stalks afield; and hark! Down the rough slope the ponderous wagon rings; Through rustling corn the hare astonished springs; Slow tolls the village clock the drowsy hour; The partridge bursts away on whirring wings; Deep mourns the turtle in sequestered bower; And shrill lark carols from her aerial tower. DEFINITIONS.-I. De scried', seen; discovered. Clăm'or ous, noisy. 3. Lay, song. 4. Stalks, walks with proud steps. 5. Se quès'tered, secluded; lonely. 6. Căr'ols, sings happily. 7. A e'ri al, pertaining to the air; high; lofty. LESSON XXX.-PART II. James Hogg. 2. One of the great names in Scottish poetry is JAMES HOGG, better known as "The Ettrick Shepherd." He was born in the Ettrick Forest, in 1770; he sprang from a family of shepherds, and his youth and early manhood were passed in the same occupation. He never received any school education, but by the time he reached the age of twenty-four he had acquired some reputation as a local poet. From the age of eighteen to twenty-seven he was in the employ of a Scottish laird, who allowed him free access to his library, and by reading and studying he managed to repair the defects of his early education. In 1801 he went to Edinburgh in order to sell a few sheep, and at this time he put forth a small volume of poems under the title "Scottish Pastorals, Poems, and Songs." A little later he became acquainted with Sir Walter Scott, and furnished him some ballads for his "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders," which Scott was then preparing. After several unsuccessful attempts at farming, Hogg, in 1810, went to Edinburgh to try a literary career. In this he was more successful. His poetry is charming, but his prose does not rank very high. 1. Bird of the wilderness, Blithesome and cumberless, Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! Blest is thy dwelling-place, Oh, to abide in the desert with thee! 2. Wild is thy lay and loud, Far in the downy cloud; Love gives it energy, love gave it birth. Where art thou journeying? Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth. 3. O'er fen and fountain sheen, O'er moor and mountain green, O'er the red streamer that heralds the day, Over the rainbow's rim, Musical cherub, soar, singing, away! 4. Then, when the gloaming comes, Low in the heather blooms Sweet will thy welcome and bed of love be! Blest is thy dwelling-place Oh, to abide in the desert with thee! 2. DEFINITIONS.-I. Blithe'some, gay; cheerful. Cum'ber less, free from care or trouble. 3. Mǎt'in, morning song. 4. Lea, meadow. 5. Em'blem, sign; type. 6. A bide', dwell. 7. Fen, boggy land; moor; marsh. 8. Shēēn, bright; radiant. 9. Moor, waste land, covered with heath or marsh. 10. Hěr'alds, pro11. Glōam'ing, twilight. claims. LESSON XXXI. The Mighty Word "No." Theodore L. Cuyler. THEODORE LEDYARD CUYLER, an American clergyman and miscellaneous writer, was born at Aurora, New York, in 1822. He studied theology at Princeton, and was graduated in 1843. He then became pastor of a Presbyterian church in Burlington, New Jersey, and afterward of a Dutch Reformed church in New York; still later he was pastor of the Lafayette-Avenue Presbyterian church of Brooklyn. I. The most tremendous word in the English language is the short yet mighty word, "No." It has been the pivot on which innumerable destinies have turned for this world and the next. Spoken at the right moment, it has saved multitudes from disgrace, from ruin. The splendid career of Joseph turned on the prompt "No" spoken at the very nick of time. 2. Nehemiah's simple, manly statement is, “So do not I, because of the fear of God." Nobly said. We wish some young man would write those sharp, ringing words in his note-book, and determine to make the same answer whenever he is tempted to do a selfish or wicked act. Daniel might easily have said to himself, "Oh! everybody about the court drinks wine, and lives high on the king's meat. I do not want to be thought queer or puritanical." He dared to be singular. "So did not I," was the motto of this sturdy young teetotaler. If he had yielded to the current of temptation and drifted with it, we never should have heard of such a man as Daniel. 3. All the people who make a marked success in life, and who achieve any good work for God, are the people who are not ashamed to be thought singular. The man who runs with a crowd counts for nothing. It is when he turns about and faces the multitude who are rushing on to do evil that he commands every eye. Then, by a bold protest, he may put a thousand to flight. Every young man must come out and be separate from sinners if he wishes to save his character and his soul. The downward pull of sin is tremendous. To be able firmly to say, "Yet will not I," requires the grace from above in the heart. 4. There is a subtle pull also in the drift of fashion and usage, which carries away every one who is not established on a Bible conscience. Three-fourths of all the persons who are drowned on the sea-shore are swept out by the undertow. |