ington did not think himself justified in relaxing the sentence.

The touching bas-relief represents, on one side, a British officer, who is carrying a flag of truce and a letter to the tent of General Washington, with the entreaty of Andre, that, as a soldier, he might be shot, and not hung. One of the American officers is weeping.

The request was refused; but, as it would have been too painful to represent Andre's death on the gibbet, the sculptor has represented his youthful and handsome figure standing at the right of the bas-relief, before a platoon of soldiers, as though his petition had in reality been granted. The sculptor, Van Gelder, has been very successful; but the heads of Washington and Andre have several times been knocked off and stolen by base and sacrilegious hands.

The American visitor will gaze on the tomb with still deeper interest when he is told that the wreath of richly-colored autumn leaves on the marble above was brought from the site where Andre's gibbet stood, and placed where it now is by the hands of Arthur Stanley, late Dean of Westminster. CANON F. W. FARRAR.

Spell and pronounce:- astronomy, aloe, genii, monument, allegory, comet, Venus, mathematics, currency, Mercury, Saturn, sacrilegious, ingenious, steelyard, symbolize, and Jupiter.

Synonyms. - disguise — conceal; dissemble; hide; secrete; mask. justify-defend; maintain; vindicate; excuse; exculpate; absolve. sacred-holy; divine; hallowed; consecrated; dedicated; devoted; religious; venerable; reverend. relax-slacken; loosen ; loose; remit; abate; mitigate; ease; unbend; divert.

LESSON CXXIV.

hĕr'ald ry,
the office of a herald.
sèm'blançe, seeming; appear-

ance.

sçěp'ter, a staff borne by kings on solemn occasions.

mute, silent; dumb.

bier, a wood frame for carrying the dead.

rē'qui ems, a hymn or mass sung for the dead.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

Tread lightly here! this spot is holy ground,
And every footfall wakes the voice of ages:
These are the mighty dead that hem thee round,—
Names that shall cast a halo o'er our pages:
Listen! 'tis Fame's loud voice that now complains,-
Here sleeps more sacred dust than all the world
contains."

66

Thou mayst bend o'er each marble semblance now:
That was a monarch,-see how mute he lies!
There was a day when, on his crumbling brow,
The golden crown flashed awe on vulgar eyes;
That broken hand did then a scepter sway,
And thousands round him kneeled, his mandates
to obey.

Turn to the time when he thus low was laid
Within this narrow house, in proud array:

Dirges were sung, and solemn masses said,

And high-plumed helms bent o'er him as he lay; Princes and peers were congregated here,

And all the pomp of Death assembled round his bier.

Then did the midnight torches flaming wave,

And redly flashed athwart the vaulted gloom; And white-robed boys sang requiems o'er his grave ·

And muttering monks kneeled lowly round his

tomb;

And lovely women did his loss deplore,

And with their gushing tears bathed the cold marble floor.

See! at his head a rude-carved lion stands,

In the dark niche where never sunbeams beat; And still he folds his supplicating hands:

A watchful dragon crouches at his feet,How oddly blended!-he all humble lies,

While they defiance cast from their fierce, stony eyes.

Here sleeps another, clothed in scaly mail;

Battle's red field was where he loved to be; Oft has his banner rustled in the gale,

In all the pomp of blazing heraldry!

Where are his bowmen now, his shield and spear, His steed and battle-axe, and all he once held dear?

His banner wasted on the castle wall;

His lofty turrets sunk by slow decay; His bowmen in the beaten field did fall;

His plated armor rust hath swept away;

His plumes are scattered, and his helmet cleft, And this slow-crumbling tomb is all he now hath left.

And this is fame! For this he fought and bled!

See his reward!-No matter; let him rest;

Vacant and dark is now his ancient bed,

The dust of ages dims his marble breast;

And in that tomb what thinkest thou remains? Dust!-'tis the only glory that on earth man gains.

And kings and queens here slumber side by side, Their quarrels hushed in the embrace of Death; All feelings calmed of jealousy or pride,

Once fanned to flame by Slander's burning breath ;

Even the crowns they wore from cares are free,
As those on children's heads who play at royalty.

And awful Silence here does ever linger;

Her dwelling is this many-pillared dome: On her wan lip she plants her stony finger,

And, breath-hushed, gazes on her voiceless home: Listening, she stands with half averted head, For echoes never heard among the mute-tongued dead.

THOMAS MILLER.

Spell and pronounce:- dirges, vaulted, supplicate, pillared, monarch, niche, defiance, averted, torches, dragon, ancient, jealousy, athwart, crouches, royalty, and crumbling.

Synonyms. mandates - commands; orders; injunctions; precepts. oddly-singularly; strangely; uncouthly; peculiarly. slander-asperse; defame; calumniate; vilify; scandalize; reproach. supplicate—beseech; entreat; beg; petition; implore; importune; solicit; crave. ancient-old; primitive; pristine; antique; antiquated; old-fashioned; obsolete.

OUTLINE FOR COMPOSITION.

Subject: BURIAL PLACES.

1. Name and describe some ancient burial places; of Egypt; India; Rome; Paris; or the Mound Buildings of America.

2. How did Pagan Rome dispose of her dead?

3. What were the modes and place of Christian burial? (Within, or near churches.)

4. Name some beautiful modern cemeteries.

5. Which is the most beautiful burial place in your vicinity? Describe its situation.

6. Name the burial places of some great men; of Washington; Grant; Lincoln; Napoleon; Bryant; Longfellow; etc.

LESSON CXXV.

hōard, savings, money, or anything of value which has been accumulated or laid up secretly.

eo quět'ry, attempts to attract love with the intention of deceiving; trifling in love.

BINGEN ON THE RHINE.

A soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers :

There was lack of woman's nursing, there was dearth of

woman's tears;

But a comrade stood beside him, while his life-blood ebbed away, And bent, with pitying glances, to hear what he might say. The dying soldier faltered, as he took that comrade's hand; And he said, "I never more shall see my own, my native land. Take a message and a token to some distant friends of mine, For I was born at Bingen,-at Bingen on the Rhine.

"Tell my brothers and companions, when they meet and crowd around

To hear my mournful story, in the pleasant vineyard ground, That we fought the battle bravely; and when the day was done, Full many a corpse lay ghastly pale beneath the setting sun. And midst the dead and dying were some grown old in wars,The death-wound on their gallant breasts, the last of many

scars;

But some were young, and suddenly beheld life's morn decline; And one had come from Bingen,-fair Bingen on the Rhine.

"Tell my mother that her other sons shall comfort her old age, And I was aye a truant bird, that thought his home a cage; For my father was a soldier, and, even as a child,

My heart leaped forth to hear him tell of struggles fierce and wild.

And when he died, and left us to divide his scanty hoard,

I let them take whate'er they would, but kept my father's

sword;

And with boyish love I hung it where the bright light used to shine

On the cottage-wall at Bingen,-calm Bingen on the Rhine.