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13. "Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn, Muttering his wayward fancies, he would rove; Now drooping, woful, wan, like one forlorn,

Or crazed with care, or crossed in hopeless love.

14. "One morn I missed him on the 'customed hill, Along the heath, and near his favorite tree; Another came,-nor yet beside the rill,

Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he;

15. "The next, with dirges due, in sad array,

Slow through the church-way path we saw him
borne ;-

Approach and read-for thou canst read-the lay
Graved on the stone beneath yon aged thorn."

THE EPITAPH.

16. Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth,

A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown;
Fair Science frowned not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy marked him for her own.

17. Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere ;
Heaven did a recompense as largely send:
He gave to Misery,—all he had—a tear;

He gained from Heaven,-'twas all he wished-a friend.

18. No further seek his merits to disclose,

Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,

There they alike in trembling hope repose—
The bosom of his Father and his God.

THOMAS GRAY.

Thomas Gray was born at Cornhill, London, in 1716. utation as a poet rests, almost exclusively, on his "

His rep

Elegy Written in a

Country Churchyard." It has been called "the corner-stone of his glory"; its keen descriptions of nature, its consummate taste, its exquisite beauty and finish, and the charming, easy flow of the verse make this a masterpiece of elegiac composition.

When Charles I. determined to govern England by his own will and contrary to the law of the land, John Hampden (1), born about 1594, refused to pay an illegal tax which the king tried to impose. He also opposed the king in many other ways, and became famous as one of the leaders of the Puritan party. He died in 1643 from a wound received at the battle of Chalgrove Field.

Oliver Cromwell (1), born in 1599, was the leader of the rebellion which drove Charles I. from the throne to the block. Cromwell became "Lord Protector" of England, and ruled the country with an iron hand until his death in 1658.

LESSON XCI.

1. măn or; n.land belonging to | 3. Ăn′ tri cả çỹ ; n. perplexity. a lord or nobleman. 6. seōpe; n. intention.

the execution; delay.

1. rěs' pĭtè; n. the putting off of 7. frùs' trāt ĕd; v. defeated. 8. laud'ȧ ble; a. worthy of praise, 8. măx'ĭm; n. saying.

2. rig'or qus; a. severe.

3. ǎe quit' těd; v. pardoned.

8. păt; adv. fitly.

Sancho Panza's Government.

Sancho Panza is the squire or attendant of Don Quixote in the celebrated Spanish story of that name by Cervantes. The squire is represented as a middle-aged peasant, ignorant and credulous to excess, but of great good-nature; selfish and vulgar, yet attached to his master; occasionally shrewd, always amusing. Among other adventures he is appointed governor of the island of Barataria, and it is from the chapter which details his doings while in that office that this Lesson is taken.

1. The first case that occurred was a question put by a stranger, in presence of the steward and the rest of the assistants. "My lord," said he, "a certain manor is divided by a large river- I beg your honor will be attentive, for the case is of great consequence and some difficulty. I say, then, upon this river is a bridge, and at one

6

end of it a gibbet, together with a sort of court-hall, in which four judges usually sit, to execute the law enacted by the lord of the river, bridge, and manor, which runs to this effect: Whosoever shall pass over this bridge must first swear whence he comes and whither he goes; if he swear the truth, he shall be allowed to pass; but if he forswear himself, he shall die upon the gallows, without mercy or respite.'

2. "This law, together with the rigorous penalty, being known, numbers passed, and, as it appeared they swore nothing but the truth, the judges permitted them to pass freely and without control. It happened, however, that one man's oath being taken, he affirmed, and swore by his deposition, that he was going to be hanged on that gibbet, and had no other errand or intention.

3. "The judges, having considered this oath, observed: 'If we allow the man to pass freely, he swore to a lie, and, therefore, ought to be hanged according to law; and if we order him to be hanged, after he hath sworn he was going to be suspended on that gibbet, he will have sworn the truth, and, by the same law, ought to be acquitted.' I beg, therefore, to know of your honor, my lord governor, what the judges must do with this man, for hitherto they are doubtful and in suspense; and, having heard of your lordship's acute and elevated understanding, they have sent me to entreat your honor, in their names, to favor them with your opinion in a case of such doubt and intricacy."

4. To this address Sancho replied: "Assuredly, those judges who sent you to me might have spared themselves the trouble; for I am a man that may be said to be rather blunt than acute; nevertheless, repeat the business so that I may understand it fully, and who knows but I may chance to hit the nail on the head?'

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5. The interrogator having repeated his story again and again, Sancho said: "I think I can now explain the case in the twinkling of an eye; and this it is: A man swears he is going to be hanged on such a gibbet; if he actually suffers upon that gibbet, he swore the truth, and, by the enacted law, ought to be allowed freely to pass the bridge; but if he is not hanged, he swore false, and for that reason he ought to suffer upon the gibbet."

6. "The case is exactly as my lord governor conceives it," said the messenger; "and, with respect to the scope and understanding of the matter, there is no further room for doubt or interrogation." "I say, then," replied Sancho, "that part of the man which swore truth ought to be allowed to pass; and that which told a lie ought to be hanged; and, in this manner, the terms or conditions of passing will be literally fulfilled.”

7. "But, my lord governor," replied the questioner, "in that case it will be necessary to divide the man into two parts, namely, the false and the true; and if he is so divided, he must certainly die; therefore, the intent of the law will be frustrated, whereas there is an express necessity for its being accomplished."

8. "Come hither, honest friend," said Sancho; "either I am a blockhead, or this passenger you mention has an equal title to be hanged and to live and pass over the bridge; for, if the truth saves him on one side, his falsehood condemns him equally on the other. Now, this being the case, as it certainly is, I think you must tell the gentlemen who sent you hither that, as the reasons for condemning and for acquitting the culprit are equally balanced, they shall let him freely pass; for it is always more laudable to do good than harm; and to this opinion I would subscribe, if I could write my name. Nor, indeed,

have I spoken my own sentiment on this occasion; but I have recollected one among the many precepts I received from my master, Don Quixote, the night before I set out for the government of this island: he said that, when justice was doubtful, I should choose and lean toward mercy; and it pleased God that I should now remember this maxim, which falls so pat to the present purpose."

CERVANTES.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, one of the greatest imaginative writers of Spain, was born in 1547. Although he wrote many works, Cervantes is remembered best as the author of "Don Quixote.” This book, which has been translated into many languages, was intended to put an end to the absurd and affected romances which it was then the fashion to read. The work is regarded by the majority of readers as a burlesque, but the real aim of the author is to show that the disinterested, generous, kind-hearted, charitable man always commands our affections and esteem. Despite the fact that the works of Cervantes have had great circulation, he lived, the most of his life, in poverty.

LESSON XCII.

3. In viş' I ble; a. incapable of
being seen.

4. strănd; n. shore or beach.
5. ăb’à tìs; n. large sharp-pointed
branches of trees, used to pre-
vent the approach of an enemy
to a fortification.

5. plå teau'(plà tō'); n. a plain. 7. Imʼminent; a. threatening. 7. ǎl tẽr' nå tĭve; n. choice between two things.

9. per fōrçè; adv. of necessity. 10. în' tēr vēned; v. came between.

Storming the Heights of Abraham. Part I.

During the reign of George II. of England the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was waged between England and Prussia on the one side and France and Austria on the other. Between England and, France the war became a struggle for colonial supremacy in America as well as India. The French had early colonized Canada, and threatened to check the spread of British dominion in that part of the world. The capture of Quebec, the capital, and the consequent

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