Now all was ready for the foes; Said Mr. C. to Mr. B., "Here one of us may fall, "I do confess I did attach Said Mr. B., "I do agree;— "But look! the morning now is bright, Why can't we aim above, as if We had called out the sun ?" So up into the harmless air Ex. XL-OVERTHROW OF BELSHAZZAR. BELSHAZZAR is king! Belshazzar is lord! PROCTER. And a thousand dark nobles all bend at his board ;- And the beauty that maddens the passions of earth; Till the vast roofs ring, "All praise to Belshazzar, Belshazzar, the king!" "Bring forth,” cries the monarch, "the vessels of gold, "Praise, praise to Belshazzar, Belshazzar, the king!" Now, what cometh ?-look, look!-Without menace, or call, Who writes, with the lightning's bright hand, on the wall? What pierceth the king, like the point of a dart? What drives the bold blood from his cheek to his heart? They are read;—and Belshazzar is dead on the ground! On a conqueror's wing; And a Mede 's on the throne of Belshazzar, the king. Ex. XLI.-DIRGE FOR THE BEAUTIFUL. SOFTLY, peacefully, Lay her to rest; On her young breast; Gently, solemnly, Bend o'er the bed Where ye have pillowed Plant a young willow Over the tomb; Sprinkle fresh buds there ; Beauty and bloom. Let a bright fountain, Limpid and clear, ANON. Murmur its music, (Smile through a tear,) Where the loved lies,- Like angels' eyes. Then shall the bright birds On golden wing, Murmuring sing; Then shall the soft breeze Pensively sigh, Bearing rich fragrance Lay the sod lightly She was but given, To blossom in heaven. Ex. XLII.-THE PILGRIM FATHERS. THE pilgrim fathers-where are they? Still roll in the bay, as they rolled that day, The mists that wrapped the pilgrim's sleep, J. PIERPONT. And his rocks yet keep their watch by the deep, But the snow-white sail, that he gave to the gale, As an angel's wing, through an opening cloud, The pilgrim exile-sainted name! Rejoiced, when he came, in the morning's flame, And the moon's cold light, as it lay that night, Still lies where he laid his houseless head ;- The pilgrim fathers are at rest: When summer 's throned on high, And the world's warm breast is in verdure drest, The earliest ray of the golden day On that hallowed spot is cast; And the evening sun, as he leaves the world, The pilgrim spirit has not fled— And it watches the bed of the glorious dead, It watches the bed of the brave who have bled, And shall guard this ice-bound shore, Till the waves of the bay, where the May-flower lay, Ex. XLIII-REPUBLICS. H. S. LEGARE. THE name of REPUBLIC is inscribed upon the most imperishable monuments of the species; and it is probable that it will continue to be associated, as it has been in all past ages, with whatever is heroic in character, and sublime in genius, and elegant and brilliant in the cultivation of arts and letters. It would not be difficult to prove that the base hirelings who have so industriously inculcated a contrary doctrine have been compelled to falsify history and abuse reason. *Pronounced, "Legree." It might be asked, triumphantly, what land has ever been visited with the influences of liberty, that has not flourished like the spring? What people has ever worshiped at her altars, without kindling with a loftier spirit, and putting forth more noble energies? Where has she ever acted, that her deeds have not been heroic? Where has she ever spoken, that her eloquence has not been triumphant and sublime? With respect to ourselves, would it not be enough to say that we live under a form of government and in a state of society to which the world has never yet exhibited a parallel? Is it, then, nothing to be free? How many nations, in the whole annals of human kind, have proved themselves worthy of being so? Is it nothing that we are republicans? Were all men as enlightened, as brave, as proud, as they ought to be, would they suffer themselves to be insulted with any other title? Is it nothing, that so many independent sovereignties should be held together in such a confederacy as ours? What does history teach us of the difficulty of instituting and maintaining such a polity, and of the glory that, of consequence, ought to be given to those who enjoy its advantages in so much perfection and on so grand a scale? For, can any thing be more striking and sublime than the idea of an imperial republic, spreading over an extent of territory more immense than the empire of the Cæsars in the accumulated conquests of a thousand years-without prefects or proconsuls or publicans-founded in the maxims of common sense-employing within itself no arms but those of reasonand known to its subjects only by the blessings it bestows or perpetuates, yet capable of directing, against a foreign foe, all the energies of a military despotism, a republic, in which men are completely insignificant, and principles and laws exercise, throughout its vast dominion, a peaceful and irresistible sway, blending in one divine harmony such various habits and conflicting opinions, and mingling in our institutions the light of philosophy with all that is dazzling in the associations. of heroic achievement, and extended domination, and deepseated and formidable power! W. C. BRYANT Ex. XLIV.-SONG OF MARION'S MEN. OUR band is few, but true and tried,—— |