To Riches? Alas! 'tis in vain ; And here, in their grave, are all metals forbid, To the pleasures which Mirth can afford, But the guests are all mute as their pitiful cheer, Shall we rear to Affection and Love? Friends, brothers, and sisters are laid side by side, Which compassion itself could relieve! Ah, sweetly they slumber, nor hope, love, nor fear; And here there are trophies enow. Beneath the cold dead, and around the dark stone, The second to Faith, which insures it fulfill'd; And the third to the Lamb of the great Sacrifice, Who bequeath'd us them both when he rose to the skies. 1. How old was Herbert Knowles ? 2. In what churchyard did Knowles write the verses? 3. Repeat the verse from St. Matthew on which the poem is founded. LESSON XLIX.-FEBRUARY THE EIGHTEENTH. Luther. MARTIN LUTHER, the indefatigable and intrepid reformer, departed this life on the 18th of February, 1546, aged 82. By his unceasing exertions, aided by his great learning and indomitable perseverance, the absurdities and superstitions of the Romish church were completely exposed, and the Reformation introduced into Germany. Luther was born at Isleben in Saxony, in the year 1483. He studied at Erfurth, being designed for a civilian; but an awful catastrophe made such an impression upon his mind that he resolved to retire from the world. As he was walking in the fields with a fellow-student they were struck by lightning, Luther to the ground, and his companion dead by his side. He entered into the order of Augustine monks at Erfurth, and from that place he removed to Wirtemburg, being appointed by the Elector of Saxony professor of theology and philosophy in the university just founded there by that prince. In 1612 he was sent to Rome, to plead the cause of some monks of his order who had quarrelled with their vicar-general; this gave him an opportunity of observing the corruption of the pontifical court, and the debauched lives of the dignitaries of the church, and probably gave him the first disgust to the Romish ecclesiastical government; especially as he had engaged in the monastic life from motives of genuine piety. Upon his return to Wirtemburg, it was remarked that he grew unusually pensive, and more austere in his life and conversation; he likewise read and expounded the sacred writings in lectures and sermons, and threw new lights on obscure passages. The minds of his auditors being thus prepared, a favourable occasion soon offered for carrying into execution his grand plan of reformation. In 1517, Pope Leo X. published his indulgences. Albert, Archbishop of Mentz and Magdeburgh, was commissioner for Germany, and was to have half the sum raised in that country; Tetzel, a Dominican friar, was deputed to collect, with others of his order, for Saxony; and he carried his zeal so far as to declare his commission to be so extensive, that no crime could be too great to be pardoned; and that by purchasing indulgences, not only. past sins, but those which were meditated, would be forgiven. Against these fraudulent and unholy practices Luther openly preached with wonderful success; and thus began the Reformation in Germany. 1. What made a deep impression on Luther's mind, and caused him to retire from the world? 2. What did he remark while residing at the pontifical court? 3. What did Luther preach against, and what followed? LESSON L.. -FEBRUARY THE NINETEENTH. Beauty. OH! Beauty is the master-charm, The syren of the soul; Whose magic zone encompasseth Creation with control; The love and light of human kind, "Twas Beauty hung the blue-robed heavens ; Or trippeth on the twilight breeze She danceth on the dimpled stream, She couches on the coral wave, She paints the clouds, and points the ray, She sits among the spangled trees, And woman! - Beauty was the power She crisp'd her hyacinthine hair, And on her brow her throne is there! She armed her liquid-rolling eye With fairy darts of fire; She wreathed the lip of luscious hue, She shaped her for her queenly shrine, Oh! Beauty is the master-charm, Whose magic zone encompasseth The love and light of human kind, 1. Repeat stanza the first. 2. Repeat stanza the fourth. 3. What is meant by "unwreathing the wings of night?" THE APPROACH OF SPRING. LESSON LI. -FEBRUARY THE TWENTIETH. 71 The Approach of Spring. WITH What pleasurable sensations does the husbandman now make his preparations for sowing the spring crops, while the sparkling eyes of the little gleaner already hail the tender blades of corn with anticipations of delight. Here and there a cottager, hastening from his daily labour, is speeding to that little district allotted him, where he expects to reap a double advantage for his extra toil; and numbers are now either setting, sowing, or planning the little village tract, in the full expectation of an ample produce, or eager in gathering for their disposal an early relish for the rich man's table. Another week's genial influence will clothe nature with a still more graceful appearance. The pearly snowdrop, emblematical of the young year, that hid its solitary bell in the shady copse or thicket, or stretched its slender stalk above the crowd of withered leaves, no longer remains alone and unmolested; and in the lone woods, or beneath the shelter of a closely-knit hedge, now lurk in their snug emerald beds the fair primrose and scented violet, whose rich perfume bears through the air a tale of their innocence and purity. Now the merry schoolboy roams enchantedly along, snatching the fairest of these with romantic glee; and the rustic peasant stops from his careless ditty to refresh his eye with the bright greensward, or to gaze on the noble elm, whose delicate leaves first flutter in the wave of a spring breeze. And mark the flowery meads, which yesterday boasted only of the daisy and its yellow companion,-they are now smiling with blooming visitants, all eager to pluck the flower with rude delight, and heap in their little laps a store of nature's bounty. This is indeed a field for contemplation! Look only in the adjacent pasture where the simple shepherd is tending his newborn flock, and observe those little children, as the innocent lambs, frisking in sportive recreation. Scenes like these impress the mind with sentiments of the purest gratitude, and we may be prompted to ask our hearts whether the surrounding flowers are not emblems of affection, benevolence, and purity. Bowing adorers of the gale, Unfold your cups in splendour; speak! Violets, sweet tenants of the shade, Go, bid the artist's simple stain And match your Maker's skill. www 1. What preparations is the husbandman now making? 2. What is said of the snowdrop, primrose, and violet? 3. With what sentiments do scenes like those which are here described impress the mind? LESSON LII. FEBRUARY THE TWENTY-FIRST. The Horrors of a Siege, as exemplified in that of Zaragoza (or Saragossa). THE war being now carried into the streets of Zaragoza, the sound of the alarm-bell was heard over all the quarters of the city; and the people, assembling in crowds, filled the houses nearest to the lodgments made by the French. Additional traverses and barricadoes were constructed across the principal streets; mines were prepared in the more open spaces; and the communications from house to house were multiplied, until they formed a vast labyrinth, of which the intricate windings were only to be traced by the weapons and the dead bodies of the defenders. The members of the junta, now become more powerful from the cessation of regular warfare, with redoubled activity and energy urged the defence, but increased the horrors of the siege by a ferocity pushed to the very verge of phrenzy. Every person, without regard to rank or age, who excited the suspicions of these furious men, or of those immediately about them, was instantly put to death; and amidst the noble bulwarks of war, a horrid array of gibbets was to be seen, on which crowds of wretches were suspended each night, because their courage had sunk beneath the accumulating dangers of their |
