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broken arches, but fell through, one after another, being quite tired and spent with so long a walk. I passed some time in the contemplation of this wonderful structure, and the great variety of objects which it presented.

My heart was filled with a deep melancholy, to see several dropping, unexpectedly, in the midst of mirth and jollity, and catching by every thing that stood by them to save themselves. Some were looking up towards the heavens in a thoughtful posture, and, in the midst of a speculation, stumbled and fell out of sight. Multitudes were very busy in the pursuit of bubbles, that glittered in their eyes and danced before them; but often, when they thought themselves within the reach of them, their footing failed, and down they sunk.

In this confusion of objects, I observed some with cimeters in their hands, and others with lancets, who ran to and fro upon the bridge, thrusting several persons on trap-doors which did not seem to lie in their way, and which they might have escaped, had they not been thus forced upon them.

The Genius, seeing me indulge myself in this melancholy prospect, told me I had dwelt long enough upon it. 66 Take thine eyes off the bridge," said he, "and tell me if thou yet seest any thing thou dost not comprehend." Upon looking up, “What mean,” said I, "those great flights of birds that are perpetually hovering about the bridge, and settling upon it from time to time? I see vultures, harpies, ravens, cormorants, and, among many other feathered creatures, several little winged boys, that perch, in great numbers, upon the middle arches."

"These," said the Genius, "are Envy, Avarice, Superstition, Despair, Love, with the like cares and passions that infest human life." I here fetched a deep sigh. "Alas!"

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said I, "man was made in vain! how is he given away to misery and mortality! tortured in life, and swallowed up in death!" The Genius, being moved with compassion towards me, bid me quit so uncomfortable a prospect. Look no more," said he, "on man, in the first stage of his existence, in his setting out for eternity; but cast thine eye on that thick mist, into which the tide bears the several generations of mortals that fall into it."

I directed my sight as I was ordered, and--whether or no the good Genius strengthened it with any supernatural force,

or dissipated part of the mist, that was before too thick for the eye to penetrate-I saw the valley opening at the farther end, and spreading forth into an immense ocean, that had a huge rock of adamant running through the midst of it, and dividing it into two equal parts. The clouds still rested on one half of it, insomuch that I could discover nothing in it: but the other appeared to me a vast ocean, planted with innumerable islands,* that were covered with fruits and flowers, and interwoven with a thousand little shining seas, that ran among them.

I could see persons dressed in glorious habits, with garlands upon their heads, passing among the trees, lying down by the sides of fountains, or resting on beds of flowers; and could hear a confused harmony of singing birds, falling waters, human voices, and musical instruments. Gladness grew in me upon the discovery of so delightful a scene. I wished for the wings of an eagle, that I might fly away to those happy seats; but the Genius told me, there was no passage to them, except through the gates of death, that I saw opening every moment upon the bridge.

"The islands," said he, "that lie so fresh and green before thee, and with which the whole face of the ocean appears spotted, as far as thou canst see, are more in number than the sands on the sea shore. There are myriads of islands behind those which thou here discoverest, reaching farther than thine eye, or even thine imagination, can extend itself. These are the mansions of good men after death, who, according to the degrees and kinds of virtuet in which they excelled, are distributed among these several islands, which abound with pleasures of different kinds and degrees, suitable to the relishes and perfections of those who are settled in them. Every island is a paradise accommodated to its respective inhabitants.

"Are not these, O Mirza, habitations worth contending for? Does life appear miserable, that gives thee opportunities of earning such a reward? Is death to be feared, that will convey thee to so happy an existence? Think not man was made in vain, who has such an eternity reserved for him." I gazed with inexpressible pleasure on those happy islands. At length, said I, "Show me now, I beseech thee, the secrets that lie under those dark clouds, that cover the ocean on the other side of the rock of adamant."

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The Genius making me no answer, I turned about to address myself to him a second time, but I found that he had left me. I then turned again to the vision which I had been so long contemplating; but, instead of the rolling tide, the arched bridge, and the happy islands, I saw nothing but the long, hollow valley of Bagdat, with oxen, sheep and camels grazing upon the sides of it.

LESSON XXXV.

The World we have not seen.— -ANONYMOUS.

THERE is a world we have not seen,
That time shall never dare destroy,
Where mortal footstep hath not been,
Nor ear hath caught its sounds of joy.

There is a region, lovelier far

Than sages tell, or poets sing,
Brighter than summer beauties are,
And softer than the tints of spring.

There is a world,--and O how blest!-
Fairer than prophets ever told;
And never did an angel guest

One half its blessedness unfold.

It is all holy and serene,

The land of glory and repose;
And there, to dim the radiant scene,
The tear of sorrow never flows.

It is not fanned by summer gale;
'Tis not refreshed by vernal showers;

It never needs the moon-beam pale,

For there are known no evening hours,

No: for this world is ever bright
With a pure radiance all its own;

The streams of uncreated light

Flow round it from the Eternal Throne.

There forms, that mortals may not see,
Too glorious for the eye to trace,
And clad in peerless majesty,
Move with unutterable grace.

In vain the philosophic eye

May seek to view the fair abode,
Or find it in the curtained sky :-
It is THE DWElling-place of God.

LESSON XXXVI.

The Better Land.-MRS. HEM'ANS.

"I HEAR thee speak of the better land;
Thou call'st its children a happy band;
Mother! oh, where is that radiant shore ?-
Shall we not seek it, and weep no more?-
Is it where the flower of the orange blows,
And the fire-flies dance through the myrtle boughs ?"
--"Not there, not there, my child!"

Is it where the feathery palm-trees rise,
And the date grows ripe under sunny skies?-
Or midst the green islands of glittering seas,
Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze,
And strange bright birds, on their starry wings,
Bear the rich hues of all glorious things?"

"Not there, not there, my child!”

Is it far away, in some region old,
Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold,
Where the burning rays of the ruby shine,
And the diamond lights up the secret mine,
And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand?
Is it there, sweet mother! that better land ?"

"Not there, not there, my child!

"Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy!
Ear hath not heard its deep sourds of joy;
Dreams cannot picture a world so fair;
Sorrow and death may not enter there;

Time doth not breathe on its fadeless bloom;
Beyond the clouds, and beyond the tomb;

It is there, it is there, my child!"

LESSON XXXVII.

The Widow and her Son.-C. EDWARDS.

"My life, my joy, my food, my all the world!
My widow-comfort, and my sorrow's cure!"

CONSUMPTION is a siren. She can give a charm even tử deformity. In my school boy days, there lived an aged widow near the church-yard. She had an only child. I have often observed, that the delicate, and the weak, receive more than a common share of affection from a mother. Such a feeling was shown by this widow towards her sickly and unshapely boy.

There are faces and forms which, once seen, are impressed upon our brain; and they will come again, and again, upon the tablet of our memory in the quiet night, and even flit around us in our day walks. Many years have gone by since I first saw this boy; but his delicate form, his quiet manner, and his gentle and virtuous conduct, are often before me.

I shall never forget,-in the sauciness of youth, and fancying it would give importance to my bluff outside,--swearing in his presence. The boy was sitting in a high-backed easy chair, reading his Bible. He turned round, as if a signal for dying had sounded in his ear, and fixed upon me his clear gray eye-that look! it made my little heart almost choke me:-I gave some foolish excuse for getting out of the cottage; and, as I met a playmate on the road, who jeered me for my blank countenance, I rushed past him, hid myself in an adjoining cornfield, and cried bitterly.

I tried to conciliate the widow's son, and show my sorrow for having so far forgotten the innocence of boyhood, as to have had my Maker's name sounded in an unhallowed manner from my lips: but I could not reconcile him. My spring flowers he accepted; but, when my back was turned, he flung them away. The toys and books I offered to him were put aside for his Bible. His only occupations were, the feeding of a favourite hen, which would come to his

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