hear ye yon lion roaring in his den? "Tis three days since he tasted flesh; but to-morrow he shall break his fast upon yours, and a dainty meal for him ye will be! 7. If ye are beasts, then stand here like fat oxen, waiting for the butcher's knife! If ye are men-follow me! Strike down yon guard, gain the mountain passes, and there do bloody work, as did your sires at old Thermopyla! Is Sparta dead? Is the old Grecian spirit frozen in your veins, that you do crouch and cower like a belabored hound beneath his master's lash? comrades! warriors! Thracians! if we must fight, let us fight for ourselves! If we must slaughter, let us slaughter our oppressors! If we must die, let it be under the clear sky, by the bright waters,—in noble, honorable battle! KELLOGG. 54. FOR A' THAT, AND A' THAT. 1. Is there for honest poverty, That hangs his head, and a' that? For a' that, and a' that, Our toils obscure, and a' that; 2. What though on hamely fare we dine, Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine, For a' that, and a' that, Their tinsel show, and a' that: The honest man, though e'er sae poor, 3. Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord, Wha struts, and stares, and a' that; His riband, star, and a' that; He looks and laughs at a' that. 4. A prince can make a belted knight, Their dignities, and a' that; The pith o' sense and pride o' worth 5. Then let us pray, that come it may,- That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, For a' that, and a' that, It's coming yet, for a' that; When man to man, the warld o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that! ROBERT BURNS. NOTE. This fine sentence, by Prof. Wilson, characterizes the genius of the preceding piece. "The poor man," he says, "as he speaks of Robert Burns, always holds up his head and regards you with an elated look." 55. TRIBUTE TO ROBERT BURNS. [ABRIDGED.] 1. Wild heather-bells and Robert Bùrns! 2. I call to mind the summer' dày, The sky with sun and cloud at pláy, 3. How oft that day, with fond delay, And sang with Burns the hours away, 4. Not his the song whose thunderous chime The mournful Tuscan's haunted rhyme, 5. But who his human heart has laid Who sweetened toil like him, or paid 6. Through all his tuneful art how strong The human feeling gushes! The very moonlight of his song Is warm with smiles and blùshes! 7. Give lettered pomp to teeth of Tíme, JOHN G. WHITTIER. 1. James Russell Lowell was born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1819. His mother was a woman of remarkable mind, possessing in an eminent degree the power of acquiring languages. He graduated at Harvard College, studied law, was admitted to the bar, but never practiced. 2. In 1855, upon the resignation of the poet Longfellow, he was appointed Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard. In 1877, he was sent as Minister to Spain, and afterwards represented the United States in Great Britain. 3. He has published several volumes of poetry and prose. His essays upon the British Poets gained him a high place among critics. His "Biglow Papers" display rich humor, incisive wit, and shrewd common sense,— and there are in them jets of song indicative of the highest poetical quality. 4. Nature has been most liberal of gifts to Lowell. He combines wit, humor, tenderness, pathos, vigor, fire, love of nature, and rich powers of imagination. He is always truthful, hearty, and manly, and his wonderfully versatile powers have been used in the cause of truth and humanity. 5. Read "The Wind Harp," "Father Ambrose," "The Fatherland," "The Vision of Sir Launfal," "The Commemoration Ode." 57. THE FIRST SNOW-FALL. 1. The snow had begun in the gloaming, Had been heaping field and highway 2. Every pine, and fir, and hemlock, Wore ermine too dear for an earl, 3. From sheds new-roofed with Carrara The stiff rails were softened to swan's-down, 4. I stood and watched by the window And the sudden flurries of snow-birds, |