As I wandered one evening in the woods, at some distance from the cataract of Niagara, the last glimmering of daylight disappeared, and I enjoyed, in all its loveliness, the beautiful prospect of night amid the deserts of the New World.

An hour after sunset the moon appeared above the trees in the opposite part of the heavens. A balmy breeze, which the queen of night had brought with her from the east, seemed to precede her in the forests. The lovely luminary slowly ascended in the firmament, now peacefully pursuing her azure course, and now shaded by groups of clouds which resembled the tops of snow-covered mountains.

These clouds, by the contraction and expansion of their vapory forms, rolled themselves into transparent folds, or scattered in airy masses of foam, so lovely to the eye that you could imagine it possible to feel their softness and elasticity.

The scenery on the earth was not less enchanting. The moonbeams darted through the intervals between the trees, and threw rays of light into the midst of profound darkness. The river that glided at my feet was now lost in the wood, and now it reappeared, glistening with the stars reflected on its bosom. In a vast plain beyond the stream the radiance of the moon reposed on the verdure.

Birch trees, scattered here and there and agitated by the breeze, formed shadowy islands which floated on a motionless sea of light. Near me all was silence and repose; but at a distance was heard, at intervals, the solemn roar of the Falls of Niagara -a roar that, in the stillness of the night, died away among the solitary forests. The grandeur, the

astonishing solemnity, of the scene can not be well expressed in language; nor can the most delightful nights of Europe afford any idea of it.

THE KING.

JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.

They rode right out of the morning sun
A glimmering, glittering cavalcade
Of knights and ladies, and every one
In princely sheen arrayed;

And the king of them all, Oh, rode he ahead,
With helmet of gold, and a plume of red
That spurted about in the breeze and bled
In the bloom of the everglade.

And they rode high over the dewy lawn,

With brave, glad banners of every hue
That rolled in ripples, as they rode on
In splendor, two and two;
And the tinkling links of the golden reins
Of the steeds they rode rang such refrains
As the castanets in a dream of Spain's
Intensest gold and blue.

And they rode and rode; and the steeds they neighed

And pranced, and the sun on their glossy hides Flickered and lightened and glanced and played Like the moon on rippling tides;

And their manes were silken, and thick and strong,
And their tails were flossy, and fetlock-long,
And jostled in time to the teeming throng
And the knightly song besides.

Clank of scabbard and jingle of spur,

And the fluttering sash of the queen went wild In the wind, and the proud king glanced at her As one at a wilful child,

And as knight and lady away they flew,
And the banners flapped, and the falcon, too,
And the lances flashed and the bugle blew ;
He kissed his hand and smiled.

And then, like a slanting sunlit shower,
The pageant glittered across the plain,
And the turf spun back, and the wildweed flower
Was only a crimson stain.

And a dreamer's eyes they are downward cast, As he blends these words with the wailing blast: "It is the King of the Year rides past!"

And Autumn is here again.

cas'ta nets, two small concave shells

fastened to the thumb and beaten together with the middle finger. cav' al cade', a procession of persons on horseback.

ev' er glade, low region, like the everglades of Florida.

fal' con, a bird of prey trained to the pursuit of other birds.

sheen, glitter.

(SCENE III.

BRUTUS AND CASSIUS.

WILLIAM SHAKSPERE.

Within the tent of BRUTUS.

LUCIUS

and TITINIUS at some distance from it. Enter BRUTUS and CASSIUS.)

Cassius. That you have wronged me doth appear in this :

You have condemned and noted Lucius Pella,
For taking bribes here of the Sardians;
Wherein, my letters, praying on his side,
Because I knew the man, were slighted off.
Brutus. You wronged yourself, to write in such

a case.

Cas. In such a time as this, it is not meet That every nice offense should bear his comment. Bru. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself Are much condemned to have an itching palm; To sell and mart your offices for gold,

To undeservers.

Cas.

I an itching palm?

You know that you are Brutus that speak this,
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last.
Bru. The name of Cassius honors this corrup-

tion,

And Chastisement doth, therefore, hide his head. Cas.

Chastisement!

Bru. Remember March, the ides of March remember.

Did not great Julius bleed for justice's sake?
What villain touched his body, that did stab,
And not for justice? What, shall one of us,

That struck the foremost man of all this world,
But for supporting robbers-shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
And sell the mighty space of our large honors
For so much trash as may be grasped thus ?
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman.

Cas.

Brutus, bay not me,

I'll not endure it: you forget yourself,
To hedge me in; I am a soldier, I,

Older in practice, abler than yourself
To make conditions.

Bru.

Cas. I am.

Go to; you're not, Cassius.

Bru. I say, you are not.

Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself. Have mind upon your health; tempt me no further.

Bru. Away, slight man!

Cas. Is't possible?

Bru. Hear me, for I will speak.

Must I give way and room to your rash choler?
Shall I be frightened, when a madman stares?

Cas. O, ye gods! ye gods! must I endure all

this?

Bru. All this? ay, more: Fret till your proud heart breaks,

Go, show your slaves how choleric you are,

And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge?
Must I observe you? Must I stand and crouch
Under your testy humor? By the gods,
You shall digest the venom of your spleen,
Though it do split you; for, from this day forth,
I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter,
When you are waspish.