LESSON VIII. 1. TIME AND BEAUTY. RUTHLESS Time,b who waits for no man, Saw one morning, Beautyb pass. 2. O'er the flowers she bounded lightly, Smiling as a summer's day;d 3. Time, who marked her eyes beam brightly, "Maid," he rudely cried, "good morrow! Knowest thou not what rights are mine? Beauty 't is my wont to borrow ;d And I come to gather thine." 66 4. "I'll not yield it," cried she boldly, 5. Time his scythe extended o'er her, 6. But the maiden all intrepid, Answered, laughinge carelessly, "I am young, and thou decrepidWhat hast thou to do with me?" 7. Time replied with purpose steady," "n 8. Time pursued with will unshaken ;a 9. But the maiden, nothing fearful, Calls on wisdom's power divine; 10. There her eye all passion loses, 11. Thoughtb restrains her youthful wildness; 12. Time saw heavenly graces cluster, Time was vanquished; Beauty won. a § 26. 3. b § 24. 1. c § 43. 1. d § 12. 2. e Sound of gh. g § 14. 3. n § 43. 7. m § 44. 12. o § 43. 6. i § 43. 6. of ci. t § 44. 9. § 18. 1. No. 1. What figure of speech is the whole of this lesson Which became virtuous? By what means? What is the moral of this lesson? To whom is it applicable ? No. 2. Ruthless, see W. D. Lightly, extended, carelessly, cheerful, diffuse, mildness. No. 6. Why should there not be a semicolon at the end of every line in the first verse? What is the difference between a comma and a semi colon ? No. 7. Mien and mean, caul and call, prey and pray, right, rite, write, and wright, fare and fair, scythe and sythe. No. 10. Mention the subjects, predicates, and objects, with their various modifiers, in the first verse. No. 12. All the words in the third verse. LESSON IX. THE PROVINCIAL. 1. "Now, father, tell us all about the old gun," were the words of one of a number of children, who were seated around the hearth of a New England cottage. The old man sat in an arm-chair at one side of the fire place, and his wife at the other, well seated in one of smaller dimensions. The boys, that they might not disturb the old man's meditations, seemed to keep as much silence as possible for individuals of their age; the fire burned high,d with a sound like that of a trumpet; and its blaze occasionally shone on an old rifle which was suspended horizontally above the mantel. 2. "Willingly, my boys," said the old man, apparently animated by his returning recollections. "It may help to give you an idea of old times, when boys could not stay in their quiet homes as you do, but were forced, or rather glad, to do what little they could for their country. My father lived in Tewksbury, a small town in Middlesex county. We were not generally much interested in the news of the day, but the spirit of resistance had then spread to every cottage in the country. The younger men of our village, following the example of others, had formed themselves into military bands, who were obliged, by the terms of their association, to be ready to march at a moment's warning; and were, therefore,g called Minute men.' 3. "Perhaps, if you accent the last syllable of that word, minute, it would better describe a considerable portion of our number, of whom I was one. I armed myself with that rifle which you see over the mantel, though it was a weary1 labor to me to bear it on a march; and this, with a leathern1 bag for bullets, and a powder horn, completed my equipments. We relied more on the justice of our cause, not to mention our skill in sharp shooting, than our military discipline, and thence derived courage, which was not a little needed; for the name of 'Regular' was a very formidable one to every American ear.1 4. "Having completed our preparations, such as they were, we waited for an opportunity, which the British were expected soon to give us. It was understood that their purpose was to possess themselves of certain military stores at Concord, and a secret arrangement was made with the friends of liberty in Boston, that when they marched out for that purpose, lights should be displayed in certain steeples, to alarm the country. One night in April, after an unusually hard day's-labor, we were suddenly started with a sound that shook all the windows of the house. Another followed it, and we said in deep and breathless tones to each other, 'it is the signal gun!' 5. "I must confess that my heart beat1 hard at the sound, and my cheek was cold with dismay; but my father, who was lame with a wound received in the old French war, encouraged us by his animation. Now, my boys,' said he, 'the time has come. Go, and do your best.' We had no time for sad reflections, so we ran hastily to the meeting-house, where the rest of our number were already1 collected, by the light of lanterns. With your ideas' of military show, you might, in a calmer moment, have smiled at our display. 6. "The younger men were gathered in groups round certain veterans, who rejoiced in that opportunity of fighting their battles over again; but the arrival of the Colonel broke up the conference. He came not in pompous state, with his staff of officers around him, but simply with that" sign of authority, the sword, in his hand. He was a man whose equanimity nothing ever disturbed, and I am free to confess, that I heartily1 envied him, when I heard1 his quiet tones, calling his men to mind their business; and when they had sufficiently arranged their ranks, saying, 'Come, we'd as good's go along.' Along he went, as quietly as he had followed his ploughs that day; but there were hearts among his followers that were sorely oppressed by the excitement of the scene. 7. "We moved on in darkness and silence, on the road to Lexington. As we came near the town, we thought we heard the sound of some unusual motion, and as the day began to dawn, were on the watch to discover, when suddenly, as we turned the base of a hill, martial music burst upon the ear, and the bright colors, and long red files of the British army came full in view. As if by one consent, we all stood stilla for a time; and I declare to you, that helpless as we were in comparison with such a force, and young as I was for such encounters, the moment I saw what the danger was, I felt at once relieved; and nothing doubting that an engagement must take place, I longed for it to begin. 8. "In a few moments we heard the sound of irregular firing, and saw our countrymen dispersing in all directions. Then our senior officer gave orders-not after a military sort, but still the best that could be given on such an occasion-for each1 man to go into the fields and fight' on his own hook.' This was done at once, and with surprising execution. A close fire was poured in on the regulars from all quarters, though not an American was to be seen. They fired passionately and at random, but every moment they saw their best men falling, and found themselves obliged to retreat without revenge. When 9. "Unused as we were to blood, we felt a triumph when each one of our enemies fell. I received two balls in my clothes, and one passed through my hat, but so engaged was I in firing, that I hardly noticed them at that time. my powder was gone, I went out on the track of the retreating army, with a high heart and burning cheek, I assure you. The first of the fallen that I saw before me, was a young officer, not older than myself, who had received a wound in his breast, and was lying by the way side. 10. "There was a calm repose in the expression of his features,' which I have often seen in those who died with gunshot wounds; his lips were gently parted, and he seemed like one neither dead nor sleeping, but profoundly wrapped in meditation on distant scenes and friends. I went up to him with the same proud feeling I had maintained throughout the battle ; but when I saw him lying there in his beauty, and thought of all the hopes that were crushed by that blow,-of those who were dreaming of him as one free from danger, and waiting that happy moment that was to restore him to their arms; and more than all, when I thought that I might have been the cause of all this destruction, my heart relented within me; and I confess to you, that I sat down by that poor youth and wept like a child. 11. "I left the spot with the heavy steps of one that feels the weight of blood upon his head, and returned to my father's house, resolved to expiate my crime. The image of that youth, pale and bleeding, was before my eyes by day, and at my bedside by night, for weeks after; and in every wind, I thought I heard the avenger of blood." "And did you fight no more, father?" "Oh! yes, my boy. As soon as Boston |