blush on the cheek of night. The colors come and go; and change from crimson to gold, from gold to crimson. 4. The snow is stained with rosy light. Twofold from the zenith, east and west, flames a fiery sword; and a broad band passes athwart the heavens, like a summer sunset. Soft purple clouds come sailing over the sky, and through their vapory folds the winking stars shine white as silver. 5. With such pomp as this is merry Christmas ushered in, though only a single star" heralded the first Christmas. And in memory of that day the Swedish peasants dance on straw; and the peasant girls throw straws at the timbered roof of the hall, and for every one that sticks in a crack shall a groomsman come to their wedding. Merry Christmas indeed! 6. And now the glad, leafy mid-summer, full of blossoms, and the song of the nightingales, is come! In every village there is a May-pole fifty feet high, with wreaths and roses and ribbons streaming in the wind, and a noiseless weathercock on the top, to tell the village whence the wind cometh and whither it goeth. The sun does not set till ten o'clock at night; and the children are at play in the streets an hour later. The windows and doors are all open, and you may sit and read till midnight without a candle. 7. O how beautiful is the summer night, which is not night, but a sunless yet unclouded day, descending upon earth with dews, and shadows, and refreshing coolness! How beautiful the long, mild twilight, which like a silver clasp unites to-day with yesterday! How beautiful the silent hour, when morning and evening thus sit together, hand in hand, beneath the starless sky of midnight! 8. From the church tower in the public square the bell tolls the hour, with a soft, musical chime; and the watchman, whose watch-tower is the belfry, blows a blast on his horn, for each stroke of the hammer, four times, to the four corners of the heavens. a The star which conducted the wise men to the birth place of Christ. Ho! watchman, ho! And hostile hand! Twelve is the clock! 9. From his swallow's nest in the belfry he can see the sun all night long; and farther north, the priest stands at his door in the warm midnight, and lights his pipe with a common burning glass." TO SENECA LAKE. 1. On thy fair bosom, silver lake, The wild swan spreads his snowy sail, 2. On thy fair bosom, waveless stream, 3. The waves, along thy pebbly shore, As blows the north wind, heave their foam, And curl around the dashing oar, As late the boatman hies him home. 4. How sweet, at set of sun, to view Thy golden mirror spreading wide, And see the mist of mantling blue b Seneca a Burning glass; a double convex lens, used to collect the rays of the sun. lake; a beautiful lake in New York. c Swan; an aquatic bird, generally of a beautiful white color, but sometimes black. 11* 5. At midnight hour, as shines the moon, And swift she cuts, at highest noon, Light clouds, like wreaths of purest sno v. 1. THE man or woman who despises the laborer, shows a want of common sense, and forgets that every article that is used is the production of more or less labor. The time was, when kings and queens stimulated their subjects to labor, by example. Queen Mary had her regular hours of work, and had one of her maids of honor read to her, while she plied the needle. Washington and his lady were examples of industry, plainness, frugality, and economy. 2. The necessity imposed on man to labor is unquestionably a great blessing. In those countries, and districts of country, where the greatest amount of labor is requisite to obtain the necessaries of life, we find the most vigorous, healthy, and athletic inhabitants. Where nature has done most for man, in providing for his bodily wants, we find him most destitute of the solid comforts of life. 3. Labor in the open air is most conducive to health, and agriculture affords the largest share of happiness, because the most independent of all professions. To raise, gather, and enjoy the fruits of the earth, and attend to flocks and herds, Queen Mary, probably Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. were the employments first assigned to man by our great Creator. Now, the variety is so great, that all who will may labor in a manner to suit the most fastidious fancy. Immense tracts of land are yet uncultivated, our workshops are numerous and rapidly increasing, our commerce is courting the markets of every climate. 4. Here, mental labor has an opportunity to expand and spread; and genius here finds a field as broad, more free and congenial, than in any other part of the world. All the powers of body and mind, physical and intellectual, here, more than any where, are put in the juxtaposition of mutual dependence upon each other, and are mutually useful, to each other. 5. Manual labor, on the one hand, produces food and raiment for the body, the increase of wealth, and develops the treasures on and in the earth and water. Intellectual labor, on the other, discovers the best means, implements and plans, for producing these, and makes laws, rules and regulations, for the protection of person and property, the advancement of the moral condition of man, and the peace and prosperity of each individual, and the aggregate community. 6. But few are so ignorant, as not to feel their dependence on those around, above, and below them. This feeling of mutual dependence produces harmony, increases happiness, and promotes social order. All who study their physical organization, must soon discover how helpless man would be without a hand; the same reasoning wil lead them to appreciate the small, as well as the great, in our body politic, one of the fundamental principles of a republican government. 7. Labor also induces men to be better citizens. Idleness leads to vice and crime. Indolence is no part of ethics or theology, nor is it recommended by pagan or Christian philosophy, by experience or common sense. Man was made for action, "noble, sublime, and god-like action." Let him sec & Juxtaposi'tion; nearness in place. b Man'ual; performed by the hand. e Phys/ical pertaining to the body, not mental. well to it, that he does not thwart the design of his creation and plunge headlong into the abyss of misery and woe. LESSON XXVI. 2 G MENTAL DISCIPLINE. TODD. 1. THE human mind is the brightest display of the power and skill of the Infinite Mind with which we are acquainted. It is created and placed in this world to be educated for a higher state of existence. Here its faculties begin to unfold, and those mighty energies, which are to bear it forward to unending ages, begin to discover themselves. 2. The object of training such a mind should be, to enable the soul to fulfil her duties well here, and to stand on high vantage ground, when she leaves this cradle of her being for an eternal existence beyond the grave. There is now and then a youth, who, like Ferguson," can tend sheep in the field, and there accurately mark the position of the stars, with a thread and beads, and with his knife construct a watch from wood; but such instances are rare. Most need encouragement to sustain, instruction to aid, and directions to guide them. 3. The mighty minds which have gone before us, have left treasures for our inheritance, and the choicest gold is to be had for the digging. How great the dissimilarity between a naked Indian, dancing with joy over a new feather for his head-dress, and such a mind as that of Newton or of Boyle! And what makes the difference? 4. There is mind enough in the savage; he can almost outdo the instincts of the prey which he hunts; but his soul is like the marble pillar. There is a beautiful statue in it, but the hand of the sculptor has never laid the chisel upon it. That a Ferguson; an eminent experimental philosopher and astronomer of Scotland b Boyle; a celebrated natural philosopher, born in Ireland. |