at the same instant, the uplifted steel descends, with resistless force, on the skull of the wretched woman, who falls dead at his feet. The perpetrator then calmly wipes the blood off the murderous axe, and returns to his work. The dreadful tale speedily came to the knowledge of the magistrates, who caused the uncalled avenger to be arrested and brought to trial. He was, of course, sentenced to the punishment ordained by the laws; but the sentence still wanted the sanction of the emperor. Alexander caused all the circumstances of this crime, so extraordinary in the motives in which it originated, to be reported to him, in the most careful and detailed manner. Here, or nowhere, he thought himself called on to exercise the godlike privilege of mercy, by commuting the sentence, passed on the criminal, into a condemnation to labor not very severe. LESSON CXXVI. Hymn before Sun-rise, in the Vale of Chamouny.-Coleridge. HAST thou a charm to stay the morning star O dread and silent mount! I gazed upon thee, Didst vanish from my thought: entranced in prayer, Yet, like some sweet, beguiling melody, So sweet, we know not we are listening to it, Thou, the meanwhile, wast blending with my thought,- As in her natural form, swelled vast to heaven! Awake, my soul! Not only passive praise Thou, first and chief, sole sovereign of the vale! Or when they climb the sky, or when they sink,- Thyself earth's rosy star, and of the dawn And you, ye five wild torrents, fiercely glad! Your strength, your speed, your fury, and your joy, And who commanded-and the silence came "Here let the billows stiffen, and have rest?" Ye ice-falls! ye, that, from the mountain's brow, Adown enormous ravines slope amain Torrents, methinks, that heard a mighty voice, And stopped at once amid their maddest plunge! Who made you glorious as the gates of heaven Ye living flowers, that skirt the eternal frost! Ye wild goats, sporting round the eagle's nest! Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain-storm! Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds! Ye signs and wonders of the elements ! Utter forth "God!" and fill the hills with praise ! Thou, too, hoar mount! with thy sky-pointing peaks, Oft from whose feet the avalanche, unheard, Shoots downward, glittering through the pure serene, Into the depth of clouds, that veil thy breastThou, too, again, stupendous mountain! thou That, as I raise my head, awhile bowed low In adoration, upward from thy base Slow travelling with dim eyes suffused with tears,— To rise before me,-rise, O ever rise! Rise, like a cloud of incense, from the earth. And tell the stars, and tell yon rising sun, 66 Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God." LESSON CXXVII. The Soldier's Widow.-WILLIS. Wo! for my vine-clad home! That it should ever be so dark to me, With its bright threshold, and its whispering tree! That I should ever come, Fearing the lonely echo of a tread, Beneath the roof-tree of my glorious dead! Lead on, my orphan boy; Thy home is not so desolate to thee, May bring to thee a joy ; But, oh! how dark is the bright home before thee, To her who with a joyous spirit bore thee! Lead on; for thou art now My sole remaining helper. God hath spoken, The forehead of my upright one and just, He will not meet thee there, Who blessed thee at the eventide, my son; The lips that melted, giving thee to God, Ay, my own boy, thy sire Is with the sleepers of the valley cast, With his high glance of fire. Wo! that the linden and the vine should bloon Why, bear them proudly, boy,— And shall we have no joy? For thy green vales, O Switzerland, he died; LESSON CXXVIII. Extract from "Suggestions on Education."- WOMAN has been but little aware of the high incitements, that should stimulate to the cultivation of her noblest powers. The world is no longer to be governed by physical force, but by the influence which mind exerts over mind. How are the great springs of action, in the political world, put in motion? Often by the secret workings of a single mind, that in retirement plans its schemes, and comes forth to execute them only by presenting motives of prejudice, passion, selfinterest or pride, to operate on other minds. Now, the world is chiefly governed by motives that men are ashamed to own. When do we find mankind acknowledging, that their efforts in political life are the offspring of pride, and the desire of self-aggrandizement? And yet who hesitates to believe that this is true? But there is a class of motives, that men are not only willing, but proud to own. Man does not willingly yield to force; he is ashamed to own he can yield to fear; he will not acknowledge his motives of pride, prejudice, or passion. But none are unwilling to own they can be governed by reason; even the worst will boast of being regulated by conscience; and where is the person who is ashamed to own the influence of the kind and generous emotions of the heart. Here, then, is the only lawful field for the ambition of our sex. Woman, in all her relations, is bound to "honor and obey" those, on whom she depends for protection and support; |