THE SPRING JOURNEY.

LXXVI. THE SPRING JOURNEY.

OH green was the corn as I rode on my way,
And bright were the dews on the blossoms of May,
And dark was the sycamore's shade to behold,
And the oak's tender leaf was of emerald and gold.

The thrush from his holly, the lark from his cloud,
Their chorus of rapture sung jovial and loud,
From the soft vernal sky to the soft grassy ground
There was beauty above me, beneath, and around.

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The mild southern breeze brought a shower from the hill,
And yet though it left me all dripping and chill,
I felt a new pleasure as onward I sped,

To gaze where the rainbow gleamed broad overhead.

Oh such be life's journey, and such be our skill,
To lose in its blessings the sense of its ill;

Through sunshine and shower may our progress be even,
And our tears add a charm to the prospect of Heaven.

Bishop Heber.

LXXVII.—THE COVETOUS PORTER PUNISHED.

Cel'-e-brate, to have rejoicings at.
Cer'-e-mony, operation.
Ex-cla'imed, cried out.
Guests, persons asked to the
feast.

Hu'-mor-ist, person fond of jokes.

Mad'-caps, crazy fellows.
Man'-sion, large house.
Por'-ter, gate-keeper.
Res'-o-lute-ly, firmly.
Ven'-tured, dared.

A NOBLEMAN who lived in a fine mansion near Pisa, in Italy, was about to celebrate his marriage feast. He had obtained every kind of dainty but fish. The sea had been so stormy for some days that no boats had ventured to leave the shore. On the very morning of the feast, however, a poor fisherman made his appearance with a large turbot.

The nobleman, greatly pleased, asked him to name

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THE COVETOUS PORTER PUNISHED.

any price he thought proper for the fish and it should be instantly paid.

"Well," said the fisherman, "what I wish to have as the price of my fish is, one hundred lashes on my bare back, and I will not bate one stroke on the bargain."

The nobleman and his guests were astonished at the oddity of the request, and thinking the fisherman was only in jest, he was offered a handsome sum of money, which he resolutely refused, and said they would have the fish only on the conditions he had stated.

"Well, well," said the nobleman, "the fellow is a

THE COVETOUS PORTER PUNISHED.

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humorist, and the fish we must have; but lay on lightly, and let the price be paid in our presence."

After he had received fifty lashes, "Hold, hold," exclaimed the fisherman, "I have a partner in this business, and it is right that he should receive his due share."

"What!" cried the nobleman, "are there two such madcaps in the world? Name him, and he shall be sent for instantly."

"You need not go far for him," said the fisherman; "you will find him at your gate, in the shape of your own porter, who would not let me in until I had promised that he should have the half of whatever I received for my turbot."

"Oh! oh!" said the nobleman, "bring him up then, and he shall receive the other fifty lashes with the strictest justice."

This ceremony being finished, he dismissed the porter from his service and amply rewarded the fisherman.

DICTATION.

When c and g are followed by a, o, u, and any consonant except h, which generally softens c and renders g silent, they have almost always their hard or shut sounds, as in :-Bargains, guest, conditions, exclaimed, cried, madcap, go, gate, strictest; which, such, much, each, beech, bright, flight, tight.

QUESTIONS.

Where did the nobleman live? Where is Pisa? What was the nobleman about to celebrate? What kind of food had he not obtained? What prevented them from having fish? What was the name of the fish which the poor fisherman brought on the very morning of the feast? What did the nobleman ask him to name? What did the fisherman ask? what were the nobleman and his guests astonished? Thinking the fisherman was in jest, what was he

At

offered? Did he accept or refuse what was offered? Where did the nobleman say the price was to be paid? When the fisherman had received fifty lashes what did he say? Who did he say was his partner in this business? What had the porter made the fisherman, promise? What did the nobleman say the porter should receive? When the porter had got his fifty lashes what did the nobleman do to the porter? What did he do to the fisherman?

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HONEST POVERTY.

LXXVIII.-HONEST POVERTY.

[In Scotland the sound of l is silent in such words as all, ball, call, fall, &c. Unless the Scotch spelling of words that are as much English as Scotch be modernised, some of the finest lyrics that ever flowed from the pen of poet, ancient or modern, will become obsolete to English readers. The Scotch and English languages are essentially the same in origin and grammatical construction; consequently there should be no hesitation in doing for Burns, Ramsay, Tannahill, &c., what has been done for Shakespere and Milton. If these grand old English poets had been left in their original uncouth spelling, they would have been nearly as much unknown in our day as Chaucer and Spencer.]

BLUSH not for honest poverty,

That hangs his head and all that;
The coward slave, we pass him by,
And dare be poor for all that.
For all that, and all that,

Our toils obscure and all that;
The rank is but the guinea-stamp,
The man's the gold for all that.

What though on homely fare we dine,
Wear coarsest garb and all that;
Give fools their silks and knaves their wine,
A man's a man for all that.

For all that, and all that,

Their tinsel-show, and all that;
The honest man, though e'er so poor,
Is king of men for all that.

You see yon upstart called a lord,

Who struts and stares and all that;
Though hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a man for all that.

For all that and all that,

His ribbon, star, and all that;
The man of independent mind
He looks and laughs at all that.

HONEST POVERTY.

A prince can make a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, and all that;
But an honest man's above his might,
Though sceptred, crowned, and all that.
For all that and all that,

Their dignities and all that;

The pith of sense and pride of worth
Are higher ranks than all that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for all that,
That sense and worth o'er all the earth,
May bear the palm, and all that.

For all that, and all that,

"Tis coming yet for all that,

That man to man the world o'er

Shall brothers be, and all that.

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Har-poon', barbed spear.

Fa'-roe, islands in the Arctic Mê-lée, confused battle.

Ocean.

Em-ba'yed, land-locked.

Ex-haust'-ed, got to the end of.
Flinch'-ing-knife, long knife.

Mis'-siles, things thrown by hand.

Lys'-sel-mand, sheriff of Faroe.

ONE morning, just as we are beginning to think that we have seen all the curiosities of Faroe, and exhausted everything except the kindness of the people, we hear, even while we are dressing, a great bustle both in and out of the house.

"Will you never come down?" cries the Lysselmand; "here are two hundred whales embayed in