"Speak to me:-mighty grief ere now the dust hath stirred: "Thy silver hairs I see-so still, so sadly bright! And, father, father! but for me they had not been so white! I bore thee down, high heart, at last; no longer couldst thou strive ;— Oh! for one moment of the past, to kneel and say 'forgive!' "Thou wert the noblest king, on a royal throne e'er seen, And thou didst wear, in knightly ring, of all, the stateliest mien; "Thou that my boyhood's guide didst take fond joy to be !-- 1. Why was Henry II. called Planta- of Frontevraud, where the king lay in genet? 2. Where and when was he born? 3. When did he ascend the throne? 4. When did he die, and how long did he reign? 5. What embittered the latter part of his reign? 6. Name his four sons, and say what came of them. 7. What stipulation had he to agree to, when he was forced to treat with his own son Richard? 8. What seemed to break his heart? state. 12. Who was he, and what brought him there? 13. What would he have given to obtain his father's blessing and forgiveness? 14. What does he say on beholding his father's gray hairs? 15. How does he speak of his father as a king? 16. Explain to me the last line. 17. Can these children expect God's blessing who bring down their father's gray hairs with sorrow to the grave? THE VETERAN TAR. Vet'er-an, adj. n. (L. vetus). MOIR. Vol-un-teer', n. (L. volo). A MARINER, whom fate compelled Because he could not breathe beyond He placed yon vane upon the roof, When rocked amid the shrouds, or on And in his spot of garden ground, Models of cannoned ships of war, Were round his cabin hung,-his hours, And there were charts and soundings, made Old Simon had an orphan been, E'en from his childhood was he seen A haunter of the quay; So at the age of raw thirteen, He took him to the sea. Four years on board a merchantman He knew, from pastoral St. Lucie,— To palmy Trinidad.2 But sterner life was in his thoughts, Stooped Victory from the battered shrouds, "Twas then he went-a volunteer On board a man-of-war. Through forty years of storm and shine, To where frost rocks the Polar Seas, 1 Camperdown, a village of the Netherlands, 27 miles N. W. of Amsterdam, in the North Sea, celebrated for Admiral Duncan's victory over the Dutch fleet, 11th Oct., 1797. 2 Two islands in Windward group, West Indies. 12 I recollect the brave old man- He comes again-his varnished hat, His bronzed and weather-beaten cheek, Yon turfen bench the veteran loved, And lighted up his faded face, It was a music to his ear, To list the sea-mew's wail! Oft would he tell, how, under Smith, And plied their deadly shots, intrenched And when he told, how through the Sound, They passed the Cronberg batteries, To quell the Dane in fight,- His veteran eye with light! But chiefly of hot Trafalgar The brave old man would speak; And when he showed his oaken stump, A glow suffused his cheek, While his eye filled-for wound on wound Had left him worn and weak. Ten years in vigorous old age, Tranquil as falls the snow on snow But came infirmity at length, And slowly o'er him stealt. 1 Lord Nelson, a celebrated English Admiral, born in 1758, entered the navy when He years of age, rapidly gained distinction, and was, in 1797, made Rear Admiral. annihilated the fleet which had conveyed the French into Egypt, in the bay of Aboukir, 1799. He, as Vice-Admiral, conducted the fleet against Copenhagen, 1801. He destroyed the united French and Spanish fleets at Cape Trafalgar, 21st Oct., 1805, but paid for the victory with his life. We missed him on our seaward walk, "Twas harvest time;-day after day Thus did he weaken and he wane, He made them prop him in his couch, And now he watched the moving boat, Welcome as homestead to the feet And, breathing peace to all around, 1. Why did our tar build his cottage on the mount? 2. Why placed he a vane on the roof? tors. 6. What curiosities had he collected? 7. Give us the history of Simon when a boy. 8. Where did he sail when serving his time? 9. What "sterner life" is meant? 10. Where went he then ? 14. Give the appearance of the brave old man. 12. What seat was his favourite one, and why? 13. What had happened when he was under Smith? 14. How many years of health had he in his cottage? 15. What disease at last made him bedfast? 16. Tell me how our poor old tar was when harvest came round. 17. What hour brings home the bird and the bee? 18. On what did he gaze when propped in his chair? 19. What came welcome to old Simon's cabin ? REMEMBRANCES. I REMEMBER, I remember, The house where I was born, HOOD. The little window, where the sun, I remember, I remember, I remember, I remember, And thought the air would rush as fresh My spirit flew in feathers, then, And summer pools could hardly cool I remember, I remember, I used to think their slender spires It was a childish ignorance, But now 'tis little joy To know I'm further off from heaven, Than when I was a boy. THE CHRISTIAN PAUPER'S DEATH-BED. CAROLINE SOUTHEY. Im-mortal, adj. (L. in, mors). Ag-on-ized', adj. (Gr. agōn). premo). Sup-press', v. (L. sub, pressum, see Stu-pen'dous, adj. (L. stupeo). TREAD Softly-bow the head In rev'rent silence bow No passing bell doth toll, Is passing now. Stranger! however great, |