LESSON XCIV. The Indian Chief.-ANONYMOUS. The following poem is founded on a traditionary story which is common in the neighborhood of the Falls of Niagara. 1. THE rain fell in torrents, the thunder roll'd deep, But neither the night nor the tempest could keep 2. The war shout has sounded, the stream must be cross'd; Why lingers the leader afar! "Twere better his life than his glory be lost; 3. He seiz❜d a canoe as he sprang from the rock, The mountain wave seem'd all his efforts to mock, 4. "Great Spirit," he cried," shall the battle be given, May this struggle land me with them or in heaven!' 5. He has quitted the shore, he has gained the deep, But he felt not with fast, irresistible sweep, 6. But the cataract's roar with the thunder now vied; He spoke, and just turn'd to the cataract's side, 7. All the might of his arm to one effort was given, But the treacherous oar with the effort was riven, 8. "Be it so," cry'd the warrior, taking his seat, "Let the cataract shroud my pale corse with its sheet, And its roar lull my spirit to rest. 9. "The prospect of death with the brave I have bornc, I shrink not to bear it alone; I have often fac'd death when the hope was forlorn, 10. The thunder was hush'd, and the battle field stain'd, LESSON XCV. The Burial of Sir John Moore.*-REV. C. WOLFE. 1. NOT a drum was heard, not a funeral note, O'er the grave where our Hero was buried. 3. No useless coffin enclosed his breast, Nor in sheet nor in shroud we wound him; 4. Few and short were the prayers we said, 5. We thought-as we hollowed his narrow bed, How the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head. 6. "Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone, But nothing he'll reck, if they let him sleep on 7. But half of our heavy task was done, When the clock tolled the hour for retiring, A gallant British General, killed by the French in battle, at Corunna, in Spain, Jan. 16th, 1809. And we heard the distant and random gun, 8. Slowly and sadly we laid him down, From the field of his fame fresh and gory We carved not a line, we raised not a stone, But we left him-alone with his glory! LESSON XCVI. Boadicea.*-Cowper. 1. WHEN the British warrior queen, 2. Sage beneath the spreading oak Weep upon thy matchless wrongs, All the terrors of our tongues. 4. "Rome shall perish-write that word 5. "Rome, for empire far renown'd, 6. "Other Romans shall arise, Heedless of a soldier's name; 7. "Then the progeny that springs *Boadicea was queen of the Iceni, in Britain. She was defeated and conquered by the Romans, A. D. 59. A Priest of the ancient Britons. Arm'd with thunder, clad with wings, 8. " Regions Cesar* never knew 9. Such the bard's prophetic words, 10. She, with all a monarch's pride, 11. "Ruffians, pitiless as proud, Heav'n awards the vengeance due: Shame and ruin wait for you." LESSON XCVII. The Common Lot.- MONTGOMERY. 1. ONCE in a flight of ages past, There lived a man :-and wHо was HE ? 2. Unknown the region of his birth; 3. That joy and grief, and hope and fear, 4. The bounding pulse, the languid limb, The changing spirits' rise and fall; Julius Cesar, a Roman General. He was the first Roman that invaded Britain, which he twice reduced to apparent subjection. He was assassinated by conspirators, B. C. 43. We know that these were felt by him, 5. He suffer'd-but his pangs are o'er ; Had friends-his friends are now no more; 6. He lov'd-but whom he lov'd, the grave 7. The rolling seasons, day and night, 8. He saw whatever thou hast seen; 9. The clouds and sunbeams, o'er his eye 10. The annals of the human race, LESSON XCVIII. On the Irresolution of Youth.-Goldsmith. 1. THE most usual way among young men, who have no resolution of their own, is, first to ask one friend's advice, and follow it for some time; then to ask advice of another, and turn to that; so of a third; still unsteady, always changing. However, every change of this nature is for the worse. 2. People may tell you of your being unfit for some peculiar occupations in life; but heed them not; whatever employment you follow with perseverance and assiduity, will be found fit for you; it will be your support in youth, and comfort in age. |