Chapter 24

6. After nearly fifty years, that _one_ has come again. Can mortal tongue tell? can mortal heart feel, the sublimity of that coming? Exulting millions rejoice in it; and their loud, long, transporting shout, like the mingling of many winds, rolls on, undying, to Freedom's farthest mountains. A congregated nation comes around him. Old men bless him, and children reverence him. The lovely come out to look upon him; the learned deck their halls to greet him; the rulers of the land rise up to do him homage.

7. How his full heart labors! He views the rusting trophies of departed days; he treads the high places where his brethren molder; he bends before the tomb of his "father;" [Footnote: Washington] his words are tears,--the speech of sad remembrance. But he looks round upon a ransomed land and a joyous race; he beholds the blessings these trophies secured, for which these brethren died, for which that "father" lived; and again his words are tears,--the eloquence of gratitude and joy.

8. Spread forth creation like a map; bid earth's dead multitudes revive; and of all the pageant splendors that ever glittered to the sun, when looked his burning eye on a sight like this? Of all the myriads that have come and gone, what cherished minion ever ruled an hour like this? Many have struck the redeeming blow for their own freedom; but who, like this man, has bared his bosom in the cause of strangers?

9. Others have lived in the love of their own people; but who, like this man, has drank his sweetest cup of welcome with another? Matchless chief! of glory's immortal tablets there is one for him, for _him_ alone! Oblivion shall never shroud its splendor; the everlasting flame of Liberty shall guard it, that the generations of men may repeat the name recorded there, the beloved name of LA FAYETTE.

QUESTIONS.--1. Of what country was La Fayette a native? 2. What was his position at home? 3. In what condition was this country when he came to join our army? 4. How many years after, before he revisited this country? 5. What demonstrations were manifested by the people? 6. What is said of his fame?

* * * * *

LESSON C.

PRO FU' SION, abundance; variety. CON FU' SION, intricacy; indistinct movement. COM MO TION, agitation; shaking. RE SULT', effect. DI MIN' ISH, lessen. MYS' TER Y, maze; secrecy. HIS' TO RY, plain matter of fact. PA' GES, boy-servants; attendants. SPAR' RING, boxing; disputing. PUP' PETS, dolls; small figures of persons. FIN ISH, completion. GLO' RI OUS, grand; splendid. RE JECT, refuse; deny. RE FLECT' ED, turned back; borrowed.

THE MYSTIC WEAVER.

REV. DR. HARBAUGH.

1. Weaver at his loom is sitting, Throws his shuttle to and fro; Foot and treadle, Hand and pedal, Upward, downward, Hither, thither, How the weaver makes them go! As the weaver _wills_ they go. Up and down the web is plying, And across the woof is flying; What a rattling! What a battling! What a shuffling! What a scuffling! As the weaver makes his shuttle, Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

2. Threads in single, Threads in double; How they mingle! What a trouble, Every color! What profusion! Every motion-- What confusion! While the web and woof are mingling, Signal bells above are jingling, Telling how each figure ranges, Telling when the color changes, As the weaver makes his shuttle, Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

3. Weaver at his loom is sitting, Throws his shuttle to and fro; 'Mid the noise and wild confusion, Well the weaver seems to know, As he makes his shuttle go, What each motion, And commotion, What each fusion, And confusion, In the _grand result_ will show: Weaving daily, Singing gayly, As he makes his busy shuttle, Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

4. Weaver at his loom is sitting, Throws his shuttle to and fro; See you not how shape and order From the wild confusion grow, As he makes his shuttle go'? As the web and woof diminish, Grows beyond the beauteous finish: Tufted plaidings, Shapes and shadings, All the mystery Now is history: And we see the reason subtle, Why the weaver makes his shuttle, Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

5. See the Mystic Weaver sitting, High in Heaven--His loom below. Up and down the treadles go: Takes for web the world's long ages, Takes for woof its kings and sages, Takes the nobles and their pages, Takes all stations and all stages. Thrones are bobbins in His shuttle; Armies make them scud and scuttle.

6. Web into the woof must flow, Up and down the nations go, As the Weaver _wills_ they go. Men are sparring, Powers are jarring, Upward, downward, Hither, thither, See how strange the nations go, Just like puppets in a show. Up and down the web is plying And across the woof is flying. What a rattling! What a battling! What a shuffling! What a scuffling! As the Weaver makes His shuttle Hither, thither, scud and scuttle.

7. Calmly see the Mystic Weaver, Throw His shuttle to and fro; 'Mid the noise and wild confusion, Well the Weaver seems to know What each motion And commotion, What each fusion And confusion, In the grand result will show, As the nations, Kings and stations, Upward, downward, Hither, thither, As in mystic dances, go.

8. In the Present all is mystery, In the Past 'tis beauteous History. O'er the mixing and the mingling, How the signal bells are jingling! See you not the Weaver leaving Finished work behind in weaving'? See you not the reason subtle, As the web and woof diminish, Changing into beauteous finish, Why the Weaver makes His shuttle, Hither, thither, scud and scuttle'?

9. _Glorious wonder_! What a weaving! To the dull beyond believing! Such no fabled ages know. Only Faith can see the mystery How, along the aisle of History Where the feet of sages go, Loveliest to the purest eyes, Grand the mystic tapet lies! Soft and smooth and even-spreading As if made for angels' treading; Tufted circles touching ever, Inwrought figures fading never; Every figure has its plaidings, Brighter form and softer shadings; Each illuminated,--what a riddle!-- From a Cross that gems the middle.

10. 'Tis a saying--some reject it,-- That its light is all reflected: That the tapet's hues are given By a Sun that shines in Heaven! 'Tis believed, by all believing That great God Himself is weaving! Bringing out the world's dark mystery In the light of Faith and History; And, as web and woof diminish, Comes the grand and glorious finish: When begin the golden ages, Long foretold by seers and sages.

QUESTIONS.--1. Describe the process of weaving. 2. Who are weaving the web of history?

* * * * *

LESSON CI.

CON FOUND', perplex; confuse. WOOF, cloth; texture. RAR' ER, scarcer; more excellent. PRAI' RIES, large tracts of land, with few trees, and covered with grass. SAV' AGE, wild; uncultivated. SAVAN'NA, open meadow or plain. PI O NEERS', persons that go before to prepare the way for others. SCOUTS, spies. HEART' EN, encourage. SCAN' NED, closely examined. CLEAV' ING, parting; separating. HOL' I DAY, day of rest or joy.

WORK AWAY.

HARPERS' MAGAZINE.

1. Work away! For the Master's eye is on us, Never off us, still upon us, Night and day! Work away! Keep the busy fingers plying, Keep the ceaseless shuttles flying, See that never thread lie wrong; Let not clash or clatter round us, Sound of whirring wheels, confound us; Steady hand! let woof be strong And firm, that has to last so long? Work away!

2. Keep upon the anvil ringing Stroke of hammer; on the gloom Set 'twixt cradle and the tomb, Showers of fiery sparkles flinging; Keep the mighty furnace glowing; Keep the red ore hissing, flowing Swift within the ready mold; See that each one than the old Still be fitter, still be fairer For the servant's use, and rarer For the Master to behold: Work away!

3. Work away! For the Leader's eye is on us, Never off us, still upon us, Night and day! Wide the trackless prairies round us, Dark and unsunned woods surround us, Steep and savage mountains bound us; Far away Smile the soft savannas green, Rivers sweep and roll between: Work away!

4. Bring your axes, woodmen true; Smite the forest till the blue Of heaven's sunny eye looks through Every wild and tangled glade; Jungled swamp and thicket shade Give to day!

5. O'er the torrents fling your bridges, Pioneers! Upon the ridges Widen, smooth the rocky stair,-- They that follow far behind Coming after us, will find Surer, easier footing there; Heart to heart, and hand with hand, From the dawn to dusk of day, Work away! Scouts upon the mountain's peak,-- Ye that see the Promised Land, Hearten us! for ye can speak Of the Country ye have scanned, Far away!

6. Work away! For the Father's eye is on us, Never off us, still upon us, Night and day! WORK AND PRAY! Pray! and Work will be completer; Work! and Prayer will be the sweeter; Love! and Prayer and Work the fleeter Will ascend upon their way!

7. Fear not lest the busy finger Weave a net the soul to stay; Give her wings,--she will not linger, Soaring to the source of day; Clearing clouds that still divide us From the azure depths of rest, She will come again! beside us, With the sunshine on her breast, Sit, and sing to us, while quickest On their task the fingers move, While the outward din wars thickest, Songs that she hath learned above.

8. Live in Future as in Present; Work for both while yet the day Is our own! for lord and peasant, Long and bright as summer's day, Cometh, yet more sure, more pleasant, Cometh soon our Holiday; Work away!

* * * * *

LESSON CII.

PROP O SI' TION, proposal. AD HE' SION, attraction. AB SURD I TY, folly; nonsense. VIS' ION ARY, fanciful; imaginary. DIS CUS' SION, debate; controversy. THE' O RY, idea; scheme of doctrine. AM BAS' SA DOR, messenger; deputy. NAV' I GA TORS, voyagers; seamen. SPEC U LA' TION, theory; mental view. EN' TER PRISE, attempt; undertaking. FRI VOL' I TY, levity; triflingness. PRE SENT' I MENT, previous notice.

AN TIP' O DES, (ANTI, _opposite_; PODES, _the feet_;) having their feet opposite to ours; that is, living on the other side of the earth.

[Headnote 1: GEN O ESE', a native of Genoa,--a famous fortified seaport city in Northern Italy.]

[Headnote 2: LAC TAN' TIUS, one of the fathers of the Latin church, born about the year A.D. 250. He was celebrated as a teacher of eloquence, and before his conversion to Christianity, had so successfully studied the great Roman orator that he afterwards received the appellation of the "Christian Cicero."]

QUEEN ISABELLA'S RESOLVE.

FROM VINET.

QUEEN ISABELLA OF SPAIN, DON GOMEZ, AND COLUMBUS.

_Isabella._ And so, Don Gomez, it is your conclusion that we ought to dismiss the proposition of this worthy Genoese.[Headnote 1]

_Don Gomez._ His scheme, your majesty, seems to me fanciful in the extreme; but I am a plain matter-of-fact man, and do not see visions and dreams, like some.

_Isa._ And yet Columbus has given us cogent reasons for believing that it is practicable to reach the eastern coast of India by sailing in a westerly direction.

_Don G._ Admitting that his theory is correct, namely, that the earth is a sphere, how would it be possible for him to return, if he once descended that sphere in the direction he proposes`? Would not the coming back be all up-hill'? Could a ship accomplish it with even the most favorable wind'?

_Columbus._ Will your majesty allow me to suggest that, if the earth is a sphere, the same laws of adhesion and motion must operate at every point on its surface; and the objection of Don Gomez would be quite as valid against our being able to return from crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.

_Don G._ This gentleman, then, would have us believe the monstrous absurdity, that there are people on the earth who are our antipodes,--who walk with their heads down, like flies on the ceiling.

_Col._ But, your majesty, if there is a law of attraction which makes matter gravitate to the earth, and prevents its flying off into space, may not this law operate at every point on the round earth's surface'?

_Isa._ Truly, it so seems to me; and I perceive nothing absurd in the notion that this earth is a globe floating or revolving in space.

_Don G._ May it please your majesty, the ladies are privileged to give credence to many wild tales which we plain matter-of-fact men can not admit. Every step I take, confutes this visionary idea of the earth's rotundity. Would not the blood run into my head, if I were standing upside down! Were I not fearful of offending your majesty, I would quote what the great Lactantius [Headnote 2] says.

_Isa_. We are not vain of our science, Don Gomez; so let us have the quotation.

_Don G_. "Is there any one so foolish," he asks, "as to believe that there are antipodes with their feet opposite to ours,--that there is a part of the world in which all things are topsy-turvy, where the trees grow with their branches downward, and where it rains, hails, and snows, upward'?"

_Col_. I have already answered this objection. If there are people on the earth who are our antipodes, it should be remembered that we are theirs also.

_Don G_. Really, that is the very point wherein we matter-of-fact men abide by the assurance of our own senses. We know that we are not walking with our heads downward.

_Isa_. To cut short the discussion, you think that the enterprise which the Genoese proposes, is one unworthy of our serious consideration; and that his theory of an unknown shore to the westward of us is a fallacy.

_Don G_. As a plain matter-of-fact man, I must confess that I so regard it. Has your majesty ever seen an ambassador from this unknown coast?

_Isa_. Don Gomez, do you believe in the existence of a world of spirits? Have you ever seen an ambassador from that unknown world?

_Don G_. Certainly not. By faith we look forward to it.

_Isa_. Even so by faith does the Genoese look forward, far over misty ocean, to an undiscovered shore.

_Col._ Your majesty is right; but let it be added that I have reasons, oh! most potent and resistless reasons, for the faith that is in me: the testimony of many navigators who have picked up articles that must have drifted from this distant coast: the nature of things, admitting that the earth is round: the reports current among the people of one of the northern nations, that many years ago their mariners had sailed many leagues westward till they reached a shore where the grape grew abundantly; these and other considerations have made it the fixed persuasion of my mind, that there is a great discovery reserved for the man who will sail patiently westward, trusting in God's good providence, and turning not back till he has achieved his purpose.

_Don G._ Then truly we should never hear of him again. Speculation! mere speculation, your majesty! When this gentleman can bring forward some solid facts that will induce us plain matter-of-fact men to risk money in forwarding his enterprise, it will then be time enough for royalty to give it heed. Why, your majesty, the very boys in the streets point at their foreheads as he passes along.

_Isa._ And so you bring forward the frivolity of boys jeering at what they do not comprehend, as an argument why Isabella should not give heed to this great and glorious scheme? Ay, sir, though it should fail, still, it has been urged in language so intelligent and convincing, by this grave and earnest man, whom you think to undervalue by calling him an adventurer, that I am resolved to test the "absurdity," as you style it, and that forthwith.

_Don G._ Your majesty will excuse me if I remark, that I have from your royal consort himself the assurance that the finances are so exhausted by the late wars, that he can not consent to advance the necessary funds for fitting out an expedition of the kind proposed.

_Isa._ Be _mine_, then, the privilege! I have jewels, by the pledging of which I can raise the amount required; and I have resolved that they shall be pledged to this enterprise, without any more delay.

_Col._ Your majesty shall not repent your heroic resolve. I will return, your majesty; be sure I will return, and lay at your feet such a jewel as never queen wore yet, an imperishable fame,--a fame that shall couple with your memory the benedictions of millions yet unborn, in climes yet unknown to civilized man. There is an uplifting presentiment in my mind, a conviction that your majesty will live to bless the hour you came to this decision.

_Don G._ A presentiment? A plain matter-of-fact man, like myself, must take leave of your majesty, if his practical common-sense is to be met and superseded by presentiments! An ounce of fact, your majesty, is worth a ton of presentiment.

_Isa._ That depends altogether upon the source of the presentiment, Don Gomez. If it come from the Fountain of all truth, shall it not be good?

_Don G._ I humbly take my leave of your majesty.

QUESTIONS.--1. What reasons did Don Gomez advance in proof that the earth is not a sphere? 2. What argument did Columbus present in proof that it was? 3. What did Queen Isabella resolve to do?

* * * * *

LESSON CIII.

CON FIRM' ING, corroborating. AS SUR AN CES, assertions. MU TI NEER', one who resists orders. IN FER' RED, concluded. CRAV' ED, begged. AS SO' CIA TING, joining; connecting. EX PEC TA' TION, hope; a looking for. VER' I FIED, made true; realized. PHOS PHO RES' CENCE, faint light. HES I TA' TION, doubt. EN JOIN' ING, commanding; ordering. AM PHI THE' A TER, circular theater. CON TR AST' ED, set in opposition. DE MEAN' OR, behavior. DE FAULT', defect; absence. IN SIG' NIA, marks; signs. IN I' TIALS, first letters. DEV AS TA TION, a laying waste.

DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD.

LAMARTINE.

1. At sunrise, on the second day, some rashes recently torn up, were seen near the vessels. A plank, evidently hewn by an ax, a stick skillfully carved by some cutting instrument, a bough of hawthorn in blossom,--and lastly, a bird's nest built on a branch which the wind had broken, and full of eggs, on which the parent bird was sitting amid the gently-rolling waves,--were seen floating past on the waters. The sailors brought on board these living and inanimate witnesses of their approach to land. They were a voice from the shore, confirming the assurances of Columbus. Before the land actually appeared in sight, its neighborhood was inferred from these marks of life.

2. The mutineers fell on their knees before the Admiral, whom they had insulted but the day before, craved pardon for their mistrust, and struck up a hymn of thanksgiving to God for associating them with this triumph. Night fell on these songs welcoming a new world. The Admiral gave orders that the sails should be close-reefed, and the lead kept going; and that they should sail slowly, being afraid of breakers and shoals, and feeling certain that the first gleam of daybreak would discover land under their bows.

3. On the last anxious night none slept. Impatient expectation had removed all heaviness from their eyes; the pilots and the seamen, clinging about the masts, yards, and shrouds, each tried to keep the best place and the closest watch to get the earliest sight of the new hemisphere. The Admiral had offered a reward to the first who should cry _Land_, provided his announcement was verified by its actual discovery.

4. Providence, however, reserved to Columbus himself this first glimpse, which he had purchased at the expense of twenty years of his life, and of untiring perseverance. While walking the quarter-deck alone, at midnight, and sweeping the dark horizon with his keen eye, a gleam of fire passed and disappeared, and again showed itself on the level of the waves. Fearful of being deceived by the phosphorescence of the sea, he quietly called a Spanish gentleman of Isabella's court, in whom he had more confidence than in the pilots, pointed out the direction in which he had seen the light, and asked him whether he could discern any thing there.

5. He replied that he did, indeed, see a flickering light in that quarter. To make the fact still more sure, Columbus called another in whom he had confidence to look in the same direction. He said he had no hesitation in pronouncing that there was a light on the horizon. But the blaze was hardly seen before it again disappeared in the ocean, to show itself anew the next moment. Whether it was the light of a fire on a low shore, alternately appearing and disappearing beyond the broken horizon, or whether it was the floating beacon of a fisherman's boat now rising on the waves, and now sinking in the trough of the sea, they could not determine.

6. Thus both land and safety appeared together in the shape of fire to Columbus and his two friends, on the night between the 11th and 12th of October, 1492. The Admiral, enjoining silence, kept his observation to himself, for fear of again raising false hopes, and giving a bitter disappointment to his ships' companies. He lost sight of the light, and remained on deck until two in the morning,--praying, hoping, and despairing alone, awaiting the _triumph or the return_ on which the morrow was to decide.

7. He was seized with that anguish which precedes the great discoveries of truth, when, suddenly, a cannon-shot, sounding over the sea, a few hundred yards in advance of him, burst upon his ear the announcement of a _new-born world_, which made him tremble, and fall upon his knees. It was the signal of land in sight! made by firing a shot, as had been arranged with the _Pinta_, which was sailing in advance of the squadron, to guide their course and take soundings.

8. At this signal a general shout of _"Land ho!"_ arose from all the yards and riggings of the ships. The sails were furled, and daybreak was anxiously awaited. The mystery of the ocean had breathed its first whisper in the bosom of night. Daybreak would clear it up openly to every eye. Delicious and unknown perfumes reached the vessels from the outline of the shore, with the roar of the waves upon the reefs and the soft land breeze.

9. The fire seen by Columbus indicated the presence of man, and of the first element of civilization. Never did the night appear so long in clearing away from the horizon; for this horizon was to Columbus and his companions a second creation of God. The dawn, as it spread over the sky, gradually raised the shores of an island from the waves. Its distant extremities were lost in the morning mist. It ascended gradually, like an amphitheater, from the low beach to the summit of the hills, whose dark-green covering contrasted strongly with the blue heavens.