has done great things for us, whereof we are glad." Let us come with our homage and gratitude, and sing praises to Him.

5. In the worst times let this be our joyous confidence, “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth." "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." If there is one peril more than another which threatens our prosperity, I will venture to give it a name: that indifference to our mercies which might provoke God to withdraw them, and give them to another people. May God incline us more and more to that unambitious, unselfish, contented, cheerful, thankful temper, which is at once a medicine and a feast, an ornament and protection.

XIV. OVER THE RIVER.

NANCY A. W. PRIEST.

1. Over the river they beckon to me—
Loved ones who've crossed to the further side;
The gleam of the snowy robes I see,

But their voices are drowned in the rushing tide.
There's one, with ringlets of sunny gold,

And eyes, the reflection of heaven's own blue;
He crossed in the twilight, gray and cold,

And the pale mist hid him from mortal view.
We saw not the angels that met him there;
The gates of the city we could not see;
Over the river, over the river,

My brother stands waiting to welcome me!

2. Over the river the boatman pale
Carried another—the household pet;
Her brown curls waved in the gentle gale—
Darling Minnie! I see her yet!

She crossed on her bosom her dimpled hands,
And fearlessly entered the phantom bark;
We watched it glide from the silver sands,

And all our sunshine grew strangely dark.
We know she is safe on the further side,
Where all the ransomed and angels be;
Over the river, the mystic river,

My childhood's idol is waiting for me!

3. For none return from those quiet shores, Who cross with the boatman cold and pale; We hear the dip of the golden oars,

And catch a gleam of the snowy sail,

And, lo! they have passed from our yearning hearts; They cross the stream, and are gone for aye;.

We may not sunder the veil apart

That hides from our vision the gates of day;
We only know that their bark no more

May sail with us o'er life's stormy sea;
Yet, somewhere, I know, on the unseen shore,
They watch and beckon and wait for me!

4. And I sit and think, when the sunset's gold
Is flushing river and hill and shore,

I shall one day stand by the water cold,

And list for the sound of the boatman's oar;
I shall watch for a gleam of the flapping sail;
I shall hear the boat as it gains the strand;
I shall pass from sight with the boatman pale,
To the better shore of the spirit land;

I shall know the loved who have gone before,
And joyfully sweet shall the meeting be,
When over the river, the peaceful river,
The angel of death shall carry me!

XV. THE VILLAGE PREACHER.

OLIVER GOLDSMITH.

1. His house was known to all the vagrant train,
He chid their wanderings, but relieved their pain;
The long-remembered beggar was his guest,
Whose beard descending swept his aged breast;
The ruined spendthrift, now no longer proud,
Claimed kindred there, and had his claims allowed;
The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay,
Sat by his fire, and talked the night away;
Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done,
Shouldered his crutch, and showed how fields were won.
Pleased with his guests, the good man learned to glow,
And quite forgot their vices in their woe;

Careless their merits or their faults to scan,
His pity gave e'er charity began.

2. Thus, to relieve the wretched was his pride,
And e'en his failings leaned to virtue's side;
But, in his duty, prompt at every call,

He watched and wept, he prayed and felt, for all.
And, as a bird each fond endearment tries,
To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies,
He tried each art, reproved each dull delay,
Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way.

3. Beside the bed where parting life was laid, And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns dismayed,

The reverend champion stood. At his control,
Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul;
Comfort came down, the trembling wretch to raise,
And his last faltering accents whispered praise.

4. At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorned the venerable place;
Truth, from his lips, prevailed with double sway,
And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.
The service past, around the pious man,

With ready zeal, each honest rustic ran;
E'en children followed, with endearing wile,

And plucked his gown, to share the good man's smile.
His ready smile a parent's warmth expressed,-
Their welfare pleased him, and their cares distressed;
To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given,
But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven;
As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form,

Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm,
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.

Let the pupil carefully study and explain the last four lines. The simile they contain has been pronounced one of the most beautiful in the language.

XVI.-CHARACTER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

1. Mr. Lincoln's life is a noble illustration of the adage, Honesty is the best policy." Not that this adage furnishes a sufficient reason for being honest. The honesty that is induced by a desire to secure some personal advantage is hardly worth the name. There are some kinds of honesty, too, that, in the view of keen-sighted men, are very bad

policy. The true reward of personal integrity is not what is usually called personal advantage. But God has so adjusted the laws of human life, that the true good of the individual does follow the strictest honesty. And so it was in the case of Mr. Lincoln. His life was a glorious success. Few men

have ever had their names written in the annals of time, who would not be the gainers by exchanging their fame for that of our martyred chief magistrate.

2. When History is making up her lists, and the noble ones of all time are arranged in a glorious company, what form among them all will shine brighter than his? Bright in a persistent purpose to do the right, as far as he saw it; in his manly simplicity; in his unshaken trust in God, and faith in man,trusting even the assassin that was about to slay him, and never failing to confide, to the full, in the people whom he governed; and, above all, bright in the glorious privilege of sacrificing his life for his country and his principles. As an undying possession, as a heritage for all the ages, give me the clear fame of Abraham Lincoln, rather than the most magnificent reputation built up by the proudest conqueror that ever stained his guilty blade in the blood of his fellow man!

3. How many men of transcendent mental powers have sought to be President of the United States? How many

have gazed on the shining goal with longing, but unsatisfied, eyes? Henry Clay, the silver-tongued, whose fervid eloquence stirred the hearts of his admiring countrymen from sea to sea and from lake to gulf, with a high ambition," the last infirmity of noble minds,"-strove to clutch the coveted prize; and his last days were darkened by the cloud of a sad disappointment, because he failed to reach it. Daniel Webster, one of the most nobly endowed intellects of all time, who, by his masterly logic and glowing imagination,