His fidelity at length won upon the porter, and he was one day allowed to enter. The dog saw his master, and clung to him. It was difficult to separate them, but the gaoler forced him away, and the dog returned to his retreat. He came back the next morning, and every day; once each day he was admitted. He licked the hand of his friend, looked him in the face, again licked his hand, and went away of himself.

When the day of sentence arrived, notwithstanding the crowd, notwithstanding the guard, the dog penetrated into the hall, and crouched himself between the legs of the unhappy man, whom he was about to lose forever. The judges condemned him; he was reconducted to the prison, and the dog from that time did not quit the door. The fatal hour arrives; the prison opens; the unfortunate man passes out; it is his dog that receives him at the threshold. He clings upon his hand, that hand which so soon must cease to pat his caressing head. He follows him; the axe falls; the master dies; but the tenderness of the dog cannot cease. The body is carried away; the dog walks at its side; the earth receives it; he lays himself upon the grave.

There he passed the first night, the next day, and the second night. The neighbor in the meantime, unhappy at not seeing him, risks himself in searching for the dog; guesses, from the extent of his fidelity, the asylum he had chosen; finds him, caresses him, and makes him eat. An hour afterwards the dog escaped, and regained his favorite place. Three months passed away, each morning of which he came to seek his food, and then returned to the grave of his master; but each day he was more sad, more meagre, more languishing, and it was evident that he was gradually reaching his end,

An endeavor was made, by chaining him up, to wean him, but nature will triumph. He broke his

fetters, escaped, returned to the grave, and never quitted it more. It was in vain that they tried to bring him back. They carried him food, but he eat no longer. For four and twenty hours he was seen employing his weakened limbs in digging up the earth that separated him from the remains of the being he had so much loved. Passion gave him strength, and he gradually approached the body; his labors of affection vehemently increased; his efforts became convulsive; he shrieked in his struggles; his faithful heart gave way, and he breathed out his last gasp, as if he knew that he had found his master.

LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-THIRD.

Evening.

The sun is set, the evening gray,
Slowly resumes her dusky sway,
The stars are feebly shining;
The night wind scarcely has the power
To waft the fragrance from the flower,
On every leaf reclining.

And, save the murmur of yon stream,
Reflecting back bright Luna's beam
In silver radiance glancing,
No sound assails the list'ning ear,
But solemn silence, deep and clear,
Seems o'er the world advancing.

At this mild hour of eve, the mind
From every base alloy refined,
Its grosser thoughts is losing;
While calmer reason bears the sway,
And pride and passion, both give way,
Mild nature's page perusing.

LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOURTH.

Chinese Mandarins.

In China, the mandarins, by a fundamental law of the empire, are allowed to tell their monarch, in respectful but plain terms, whatever they think is wrong in his conduct; and there are many instances of their having executed this privilege at the hazard of their lives. One remarkable case of this sort occurred during the reign of one of the Emperors of China, who was very obstinate and imperious, and whose conduct was directly opposed to the precepts of the great Confucius.

This had long been observed and regretted by the mandarins, when one of the wisest and most learned of that body demanded an audience; and having told his prince boldly, what he conceived was wrong in his conduct, pointed out to him the bad effect it had on the public mind, and the fatal consequences likely to arise from its continuance. The Emperor fancying he possessed "the right divine to govern wrong, instead of listening to the sage advice of the mandarin, ordered him to be put to death, for what he termed his insolent deportment.

The next day, another mandarin demanded an audience, made the same remonstrance as the first, and met with the same fate. The day after, a third mandarin, not intimidated by the fate of those who had preceded him, went and remonstrated with the emperor, not on these acts of cruelty of which he had been guilty, in condemning to death his bold and faithful advisers, but in neglecting to reform those abuses of which they had complained. To show that he was prepared for the fate that awaited him, he ordered a funeral palanquin to follow him, and wait at the gate of the palace.

In his audience with the emperor, he entreated

him, as he valued his crown, that he would not drive his subjects to open rebellion, by his continued acts of injustice, and that his reign would be the most disgraceful of any recorded in the chronicles of China. The emperor incensed at such bold language, ordered the mandarin to be executed immediately, with all the torture that ingenuity could suggest.

The mandarins now assembled in a body, and having deliberated on the course they should pursue, came to the resolution, that let the consequences be ever so fatal, they would not see their prince persist in a line of conduct, which would terminate in the most indelible disgrace to himself, and render the fundamental principles of the government utterly useless and ineffectual. They determined, therefore, by lot, what member of their body should next go and wait upon the emperor. Each man appointed went and did his duty; several fell victims to the tyranny of the emperor; until at length, his eyes were opened to the invincible loyalty and fidelity of the mandarins.

Conscious of his error, he not only made a thorough reformation, but ordered most magnificent monuments to be built at his own expense, over the bodies of those honest and intrepid mandarins, who had fallen a sacrifice to his resentment; lamenting at the same time, that all the power he was possessed of, could make no adequate compensation for the loss of so many faithful subjects, who had gloriously preferred his honor, and the welfare of their country, to every other consideration.

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