for thee to kick against the goads. And I said', Who art' thou, Lord'?

5. And he said', I am Jesus', whom thou persecutest. But rise and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear' unto thee; delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God; that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified, by faith that is in me.

6. Whereupon, O king Agrippa', I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision; but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts. of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Having, therefore, obtained help of God', I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small' and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come; that Christ should suffer', and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles.

7. And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning hath made thee mad. But he said, I am not mad', most noble Festus', but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom I speak freely; for I am persuaded that none of these things are. hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner'. King Agrippa', believest thou the prophets'? I know' that thou believest.

8. Then Agrippa said unto Paul'; Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost' and altogether' such as I am, except these bonds. And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor and Bernice, and they that sat with them.

And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying: This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus: This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Cæsar.

XLIII.-HENRY V. TO HIS TROOPS.
FROM SHAKSPEARE.

[Tais lesson requires a high key.]

1. ONCE more unto the breach, dear friends', once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then' imitate the action of the tiger';
Stiffen the sinews', summon up the blood',
Disguise fair nature with hard-favored rage;
Then' lend the eye a terrible aspect;

Let it pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock

O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean.

2. Now set the teeth`, and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath', and bend up every spirit
To its full height! On, on', you noblest English',
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers, that, like so many Alexanders,

3.

Have, in these parts, from morn till even, fought,
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument;
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,

And teach them how to war.

And you, good yeomen',

Whose limbs were made in England, show us here

The mettle of your pasture; let us swear

That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not,
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble luster in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot`;
Follow your spirit: and, upon this charge,
Cry "God for Harry, England, and St. George I

XLIV.-HECTOR'S ATTACK ON THE GRECIAN WALLS.
FROM POPE'S TRANSLATION OF HOMER.

ALEXANDER POPE was born in London, in 1688, and received an excellent private education. His whole life was devoted to literary pursuits, and he soon became the first poet of his day. He died at Twickenham, in 1744.

1. THEN godlike Hector and his troops contend

To force the ramparts and the gates to rend;
Nor Troy could conquer, nor the Greeks would yield,
Till great Sarpedon towered amid the field.

In arms he shines, conspicuous from afar,

And bears aloft his ample shield in air,

And, while two pointed javelins arm his hands,
Majestic moves along, and leads his Lycian bands.

2. (1) So, pressed with hunger, from the mountain's brow,
Descends a lion' on the flocks below;

So, stalks the lordly savage o'er the plain,
In sullen majesty and stern disdain.
In vain, loud mastiffs bay him from afar,
And shepherds gall him with an iron war;
Regardless, furious, he pursues his way,

He foams, he roars', he rends the panting prey.

3. Unmoved, the embodied Greeks their fury dare,
And fixed, support the weight of all the war`;
Nor could the Greeks repel the Lycian powers',
Nor the bold Lycians force the Grecian towers`.

4. (1) As, on the confines of adjoining grounds,

Two stubborn swains' with blows dispute their bounds;
They tug', they sweat; but neither gain nor yield
One foot, one inch of the contested field:

Thus, obstinate to death, they fight', they fall`;
Nor these can keep', nor those can win the wall.
Their manly breasts are pierced with many a wound,
Loud strokes are heard, and rattling arms resound;
The copious slaughter covers all the shore,
And the high ramparts drop with human gore.

5. (1) As when two scales are charged with doubtful loads, From side to side the trembling balance nods, (While some laborious matron, just and poor, With nice exactness weighs her woolly store),

Till, poised aloft, the resting beam suspends
Each equal weight'; nor this', nor that descends.
So stood the war, till Hector's matchless might
With fates prevailing, turned the scale of fight.

6. (h) Fierce as a whirlwind up the walls he flies,
And fires his hosts with loud repeated cries:

'Advance, ye Trojans'! lend your valiant hands',
Haste to the fleet', and toss the blazing brands'!"
They hear, they run'; and gathering at his call,
Raise scaling engines, and ascend the wall:
Around the works a wood of glittering spears
Shoots up, and all the rising host appears.

7. A ponderous stone bold Hector heaved to throw,
Pointed above, and rough and gross below':
Not two strong men the enormous weight could raise,
Such men as live in these degenerate days.
Yet this as easy as a swain could bear
The snowy fleece, he tossed and shook in air:
Thus armed, before the folded gates he came,
Of massy substance, and stupendous frame,
With iron bars and brazen hinges strong,
On lofty beams of solid timber hung:
Then, thundering through the planks with forceful sway,
Drives the sharp rock'; the solid beams give way`;
The folds are shattered'; from the crackling door
Leap the resounding bars, the flying hinges roar.

8. Now rushing in, the furious chief appears,
Gloomy as night, and shakes two shining spears:
A dreadful gleam from his bright armor came,
And from his eyeballs flashed the living flame.
He moves a god', resistless in his course,
And seems a match for more than mortal force.
Then pouring after, through the gaping space,
A tide of Trojans flows. and fills the place;
The Greeks behold, they tremble, and they fly':

The shore is heaped with death, and tumult rends the sky

XLV. RIENZI'S ADDRESS TO THE ROMANS.

FROM MISS MITFORD.

[THIS Lesson is marked for inflection, emphasis, and modulation, and is an admirable exercise for them all.]

1. I COME not here to talk'. You know too well

The story of our thralldom. We are-slaves!
The bright sun rises to his course and lights
A race of slaves! He sets, and his last beams
Fall on a-slave'; not such as swept along
By the full tide of power, the conqueror led
To crimson glory and undying fame:

(1) But-base-ignoble-slaves; slaves to a horde
Of petty tyrants, feudal despots, lords,

2

Rich' in some dozen paltry villages`;

Strong in some hundred spearmen'; only greať
In that strange spell ;—

-a NAME.

Each hour, dark fraud,

Or open rapine, or protected murder,

Cries out against them. (h) But this very day,
An honest man, my neighbor,-there he stands',-
Was struck-struck' like a dog', by one who wore
The badge of Ursini; because, forsooth,
He tossed not high his ready cap in air,

Nor lifted up his voice in servile shouts,

At sight of that great ruffian! (hh) Be we men',

And suffer such' dishonor? men', and wash not

The stain away in blood'? (1) Such shames are common.
I have known deeper wrongs; I` that speak' to ye,

(1) I had a brother once- —a gracious boy,

3.

Full of all gentleness, of calmest hope,

Of sweet and quiet joy,—there was the look
Of heaven upon his face, which limners give
To the beloved disciple.

How I loved

That gracious boy! Younger by fifteen years',
Brother at once, and son! He left my side,
A summer bloom on his fair cheek'; a smile
Parting his innocent lips'. In one short hour,
That pretty, harmless boy was slain'! I saw

The cōrse, the mangled cōrse, and then (h) I cried

For vengeance! (hh) Rouse', ye ROMANE! ROUSE', ye SLAVES!