UPON his royal throne he sat, In a monarch's thoughtful mood; With foolish flatteries, false and vain, They told him e'en the mighty deep He smiled contemptuously, and cried, Down to the ocean's sounding shore King Canute's power proclaim; Not so, thought he, their noble king, His throne was placed by ocean's side, Louder the stormy blast swept by, The briny deep its waves tossed high, As threatening, in their angry play, The monarch with upbraiding look, But none, the kindling eye could brook For in that wrathful glance they see Canute! thy regal race is run; The Persian, in his mighty pride, But it was worthier far of thee To know thyself, than rule the sea! 1. Of what countries was Canute king? 2. How great did his flatterers say his power was? 3. Did the king believe what they said? 4. In how many ways did they say the sea would own his power? 5. To what verb is they, in verse 4th the nominative? 6. When seated on the shore, what command did the monarch give the sea? 7. What effect did it produce? 8. Who are meant by the word all, in verse 5th ? Bernard Barton. 9. What sort of look did the king give his nobles? 10. What might they see in his wrathful glance ? 11. What mightier monarch is meant? 12. When did Canute flourish ? 13. What keeps his name alive still? 14. Relate the historical fact referred to in the last verse? 15. What king is mentioned in the New Testament who believed similar flattery? 16. What happened to him for this act? V.-STUDY OF THE WORKS OF NATURE. "To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty; and in the same field it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again. The heavens change every moment, and reflect their glory or gloom on the place beneath. The state of the crop on the surrounding farms alters the expression of the earth from week to week. The succession of native plants in the pastures and roadsides, which makes the silent clock by which time tells the summer hours, which make even the divisions of the day sensible to a keen observer. The tribes of birds and insects, like the plants, punctual to their time, follow each other, and the year has room for all."-R. W. Emerson. O NATURE! all-sufficient! over all! Enrich me with the knowledge of thy works! Show me; their motions, periods, and their laws, Give me to scan; through the disclosing deep, A search, the flight of time can ne'er exhaust! In sluggish streams about my heart, forbid And whisper to my dreams. From thee begin, 1. What mean you by the rolling wonders of heaven? 2. What would he like to learn about these worlds? 3. Who will name to me the three kingdoms of nature? 4. Name them in their order, beginning with the lowest. 5. Where are the strata or beds of minerals found? 6. Whence is the vegetable world thrust, as the poet beautifully expresses it? 7. What system of works stands above the vegetable kingdom? 8. What is the grandest work of creation here below? 9. Shall the material universe perish? 10. Will the souls of men ever cease to exist? 11. Does the poet mean by Nature here, a power distinct from the Almighty? 12. Does he not simply mean God as seen in the material universe, and especially as seen in the mind of man? 13. What perfections of God may we learn from the material world? 14. Ah, but where do we learn that He is a God of mercy and justice combined? VI. NAPOLEON AND THE BRITISH SAILOR. "THE history of Napoleon, shows a spirit of self-exaggeration, unrivalled in enlightened ages, and which reminds us of an Oriental king to whom incense had been burnt from his birth as to a deity. This was the chief source of his crimes. He wanted the sentiment of a common nature with his fellow-beings. He had no sympathies with his racc. That feeling of brotherhood, which is developed in truly great souls with peculiar energy, and through which they give up themselves willing victims, joyful sacrifices, to the interests of mankind, was wholly unknown to him. His heart, amidst its wild beatings, never had a throb of disinterested love. The ties which bind man to man he broke asunder. The proper happiness of a man, which consists in the victory of moral energy and social affection over the selfish passions, he cast away for the lonely joy of a despot. With powers, which might have made him a glorious representative and minister of the beneficent Divinity, and with natural sensibilities which might have been exalted into sublime virtues, he chose to separate himself from his kind. to forego their love, esteem, and gratitude, that he might be come their gaze, their fear, their wonder; and for this selfish solitary good, parted with peace and imperishable renown."-Channing. I LOVE Contemplating-apart The traits that soften to our heart Napoleon's story. "Twas when his banners at Boulogne, They suffered him, I know not how, His eye, methinks, pursued the flight A stormy midnight watch, he thought, To England nearer. At last when care had banished sleep, He hid it in a cave, and wrought Oh dear me! 'twas a thing beyond For ploughing in the salt sea field, From neighbouring woods he interlaced A French guard caught him on the beach, Till tidings of him chanced to reach With folded arms Napoleon stood, "Rash youth, that wouldst yon channel pass "I have no sweetheart," said the lad; "And so thou shalt," Napoleon said, He gave the tar a piece of gold, Our sailor oft could scantly shift 1. In what light did the poet love to contemplate Napoleon? 2. What mean you by his homicidal glory? 3. What freedom was our captive tar allowed? 4. How far to Boulogne from Dover? 5. Where was he constantly turning his eye? 6. Why think you, would he watch the birds flying to England? 7. What do you understand by midnight watch? 8. What saw he floating towards him one morning? 9. What did he make from the large cask? 10. With what did he fasten his sorry skiff together? 11. State what his wretched wherry was leficient in? Campbell. 12. To whom was the story told? 13. What was Napoleon's usual attitude? 14. What did the Emperor think must have caused the sailor to make such a rash attempt? 15. Give the exact words of the sailor's reply? 16. Repeat Buonaparte's reply to the tar. 17. Tell me how the sailor's mother had won Napoleon's favour. 18. How was the sailor's filial affection rewarded? 19. How greatly did the sailor value the coin? 20. For what did God bless this sailor and cause Napoleon to set him at liberty? 21. Who will repeat to me the fifth commandment? |