Part 5

9. “Yes, do, mother, do tell me something that will comfort me too; for, oh, how sad, how stricken I feel!” His large eyes looked haggard and wild. The little boy on the bench moved nearer, and, bending over with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his tiny palms, fixed his blue eyes wonderingly upon her, listening intently to what she was about to say. Newly threading her needle, she commenced;

“Alfred, a martyr suffers death through love of God, and rather than consent to an act displeasing to Him; in other words, rather than do any thing that would offend Him.”

“Yes, mother, but—”

“Wait, my child, wait. If now, through the same love of God, and through fear of offending Him, we suffer our trials and afflictions with patience and resignation, is it not the same spirit which leads one to martyrdom? is it not, my child, the same?”

10. He paused a moment before replying, and then slowly said: “In the way in which you present it to my view, it really does seem so, mother; but—” placing his hand upon his heart, “I wish I could make it seem so here.” He raised himself on his elbow and gazed round the desolate room; a wintry smile lit up his wan countenance.

“Oh, mother,” he bitterly exclaimed, “to talk of glorious martyrdom and joyous heaven in this wretched, wretched home of poverty!”

11. “Why not, my child?” she asked, in her kindest and most soothing tones. “Is it not the very place to talk of them? Has Alfred forgotten the cold little stable of Bethlehem, and the poor, comfortless home of Egypt? No, no, Alfred, poverty itself can never exclude[39] us from heaven. One single sin may forever close its gates, but, let us be ever so poor and wretched, we still have just as great a claim to heaven as the richest; perhaps even greater; remember Lazarus.”

11. Clasping her thin hands, while a smile played over her worn features, she continued:

“It may come upon us—poverty may—with such crushing force that we will have to lie down and die; but then it will be _our_ path to heaven, _our_ road home. Home! Oh, Alfred, what comfort in that word! There we will meet father, mother, sisters, brothers, and all will be joy and happiness. Every tear will be wiped away, and all the sorrow and wretchedness of the way-side forgotten. Yes, Alfred, from this very room, so poor and cold, we may go to a home all beautiful and bright.” With a hurried hand she resumed her sewing. Alfred was silent, but the cloud had passed from his brow.

[32] DI-LAPˊ-I-DATED, gone to ruin, decayed.

[33] PROX-IMˊ-ITY, nearness.

[34] DIS-EN-GAGE, to free, to release.

[35] VIˊ-TAL, necessary to life.

[36] TU-MULTˊ-UOUS, with wild commotion.

[37] MURˊ-MUR, to grumble, to complain.

[38] PRE-SUMPTˊ-U-OUS, rashly bold, over confident.

[39] EX-CLUDEˊ, to shut out, to debar.

V.—WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE.

MORRIS.

George P. Morris, an American writer, was born October 10, 1802, and died July 6, 1864. He was the author of many popular songs.

1. Woodman, spare that tree; Touch not a single bough; In youth it sheltered me, And I’ll protect it now. ’Twas my forefather’s[40] hand That placed it near his cot; Then, woodman, let it stand; Thy axe shall harm it not.

2. That old, familiar[41] tree, Whose glory and renown[42] Are spread o’er land and sea, And wouldst thou hew it down? Woodman, forbear thy stroke: Cut not its earth-bound ties; O, spare that aged oak, Now towering[43] to the skies.

3. When but an idle boy, I sought its grateful shade; In all their gushing[44] joy. Here, too, my sisters played. My mother kissed me here; My father pressed my hand: Forgive this foolish tear, But let that old oak stand.

4. My heartstrings round thee cling, Close as thy bark, old friend! Here shall the wild bird sing, And still thy branches bend. Old tree, the storm still brave! And, woodman, leave the spot; While I’ve a hand to save, Thy axe shall harm it not.

[40] FOREˊFA-THER, an ancestor, as a grandfather, or great-grandfather.

[41] FA-MILˊIAR, well-known.

[42] RE-NOWNˊ, fame, high honor.

[43] TOWˊER-ING, rising aloft.

[44] GUSHˊ-ING, flowing, exuberant, impulsive.

VI.—THE TWO ROADS.

1. It was New Year’s night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating, like white lilies, on the surface of a clear, calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless beings than himself now moved towards their certain goal[45]—the tomb.

2. Already he had passed sixty of the stages[46] which lead to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. His health was destroyed, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age devoid of comfort.

3. The days of his youth rose up in a vision[47] before him, and he recalled the solemn moment when his father had placed him at the entrance of two roads—_one_ leading into a peaceful, sunny land, covered with a fertile harvest, and resounding with soft, sweet songs; the _other_ leading the wanderer into a deep, dark cave, whence there was no issue[48], where poison flowed instead of water, and where serpents hissed and crawled.

4. He looked towards the sky, and cried out in his agony, “O youth, return! O my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, that I may choose the better way!” But his father and the days of his youth had both passed away.

5. He saw wondering lights floating away over dark marshes, and then disappear. _These_ were the days of his wasted life. He saw a star fall from heaven, and vanish in darkness. This was an emblem[49] of himself, and the sharp arrows of unavailing remorse[50] struck home to his heart. Then he remembered his early companions, who entered on life with him, but who, having trod the paths of virtue and of labor, were now honored and happy on this New Year’s night.

6. The clock, in the high church tower, struck, and the sound, falling on his ear, recalled his parents’ early love for him, their erring son; the lessons they had taught him; the prayers they had offered up in his behalf. Overwhelmed with shame and grief, he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father dwelt; his darkened eyes dropped tears, and with one despairing effort, he cried aloud, “Come back, my early days! come back!”

7. And his youth _did_ return; for all this was but a dream which visited his slumbers on New Year’s night. He was still young; his faults alone were real. He thanked God fervently that time was still his own; that he had not yet entered the deep, dark cavern, but that he was free to tread the road leading to the peaceful land where sunny harvests wave.

8. Ye who still linger on the threshold[51] of life, doubting which path to choose, remember that, when years are passed, and your feet stumble on the dark mountain, you will cry bitterly[52], but cry in vain, “O youth, return! O, give me back my early days!”

[45] GOAL, a post or mark set to bound a race, end.

[46] STAGˊES, steps or degrees of advance or progress.

[47] VIˊSION, an imaginary appearance, as seen in a dream or in sleep.

[48] ISˊSUE (Ishˊshu), egress, passage out.

[49] EMˊBLEM, a picture or object representing one thing to the eye and another to the understanding.

[50] RE-MORSEˊ, reproach of conscience.

[51] THRESHˊOLD, a door-sill; beginning; entrance.

[52] BITˊTER-LY, sorrowfully.

VII.—THE LABORERS.

1. You can not pay with money The million sons of toil— The sailor on the ocean, The peasant on the soil, The laborer in the quarry, The hewer of the coal; Your money pays the _hand_, But it can not pay the _soul_.

2. You gaze on the cathedral[53] Whose turrets[54] meet the sky: Remember the foundations That in earth and darkness lie: For, were not those foundations So darkly resting there, Yon towers up could never soar So proudly in the air.

3. The workshop must be crowded, That the palace may be bright; If the plowman did not plow, Then the poet could not write. Then let every toil be hallowed[55] That man performs for man, And have its share of honor As part of one great plan.

4. See, light darts down from heaven, And enters where it may; The eyes of all earth’s people Are cheered with one bright day. And let the _mind’s_ true sunshine Be spread o’er earth _as_ free, And fill the souls of men, As the waters fill the sea.

5. The man who turns the soil Need not have an earthly mind; The digger ’mid the coal Need not be in spirit blind: The mind can shed a light On each worthy labor done, As lowliest things are bright In the radiance[56] of the sun.

6. What cheers the musing[57] student? The poet, the divine? The thought that, for his followers, A brighter day will shine. Let every human laborer Enjoy the vision bright— Let the thought that comes from heaven. Be spread like heaven’s own light!

7. Ye men who hold the pen, Rise like a band inspired;[58] And, poets, let your lyrics[59] With hope for man be fired;[60] Till the earth becomes a temple, And every human heart Shall join in one great service, Each happy in his part.

[53] CA-THEˊ-DRAL, a church edifice.

[54] TURˊ-RETS, spires, or little towers.

[55] HALˊ-LOW-ED, treated as sacred.

[56] RAˊ-DI-ANCE, vivid brightness.

[57] MUSˊ-ING, meditating.

[58] IN-SPIRˊED, divinely influenced.

[59] LYRˊ-ICS, songs; hymns.

[60] FIRˊED, animated.

VIII.—THE BOY.

WILLIS.

1. There’s something in a noble boy, A brave, free-hearted, careless one, With his unchecked, unbidden joy, His dread of books and love of fun, And in his clear and ready smile, Unshaded by a thought of guile, And unrepressed[61] by sadness,— Which brings me to my childhood back, As if I trod its very track, And felt its very gladness.

2. And yet, it is not in his play, When every trace of thought is lost, And not when you would call him gay, That his bright presence thrills me most: His shout may ring upon the hill, His voice be echoed in the hall, His merry laugh like music trill, And I in sadness hear it all,— For, like the wrinkles on my brow, I scarcely notice such things now,—

3. But when, amid the earnest game, He stops, as if he music heard, And, heedless of his shouted name As of the carol[62] of a bird, Stands gazing on the empty air, As if some dream were passing there;— ’Tis then that on his face I look— His beautiful but thoughtful face— And like a long-forgotten book, Its sweet familiar meanings trace,—

4. Remembering a thousand things Which passed me on those golden wings, Which time has fettered now; Things that came o’er me with a thrill, And left me silent, sad, and still, And threw upon my brow A holier and a gentler cast, That was too innocent to last.

5. ’Tis strange how thoughts upon a child Will, like a presence, sometimes press, And when his pulse is beating wild, And life itself is in excess[63]— When foot and hand, and ear and eye, Are all with ardor[64] straining high— How in his heart will spring A feeling whose mysterious[65] thrall[66] Is stronger, sweeter far than all! And on its silent wing, How, with the clouds, he’ll float away, As wandering and as lost as they!

[61] UN-RE-PRESSED, not subdued or mastered.

[62] CARˊ-OL, a song of great joy.

[63] EX-CESSˊ, that which exceeds or surpasses what is usual or necessary.

[64] ARˊ-DOR, warmth or heat of passion or affection; eagerness.

[65] MYS-TEˊ-RI-OUS, secret; not easily understood.

[66] THRALL, bondage; slavery.

IX.—THE YOUNG SHEPHERD.

FENELON.

The illustrious Fenelon, archbishop of Cambray, in France, was born in 1651 and died, at Cambray, in 1715. He was as remarkable for sanctity as for genius. His purity, meekness and amiability, won the hearts of all—even of his enemies, if it can be said that he had any.

1. Sha-Abbas, king of Persia, being on his travels, withdrew from his retinue,[67] in order to visit the country, and there, without being known, to behold mankind in all their native freedom. He took with him only one of his officers, as an attendant.

2. “I am weary,” said he, “of living among sycophants,[68] who take all occasions to over-reach, while they flatter me. I am determined to visit husbandmen and shepherds, who know nothing of me.”

3. He traveled, with his confidant, through several villages where the peasants were dancing, and was overjoyed to see that his subjects, though at such a distance from court, had their diversions, and those so innocent and unexpensive.

4. After refreshing himself in a cottage, he crossed a meadow, enameled[69] with flowers, which decked the borders of a limpid[70] stream. Here he spied a young shepherd, playing on his pipe beneath a shady elm, while his flocks were grazing around him.

5. The king accosts him, surveys him closely, finds his aspect agreeable, and his air, though easy and natural, yet graceful and majestic. The simple habit[71] in which the shepherd was clad, did not in the least diminish the agreeableness of his person. The king supposed him at first to be a youth of illustrious birth, who had disguised himself; but he learned from the shepherd that his parents dwelt in an adjacent[72] village, and that his name was Alibeg.

6. The more questions the king put to him, the more he admired the strength and solidity of his genius. His eyes were lively, and beaming[73] with intelligence; his voice was sweet and melodious; his features were not rude, neither were they soft and effeminate.[74] The shepherd, though sixteen years of age, did not seem conscious of those perfections which were conspicuous to others. He imagined that his thoughts, his conversation, and his person, were not unlike those of his neighbors.

7. The king frequently smiled at the innocent freedom of the youth, who gave him much information about the state of the people. He gave the officer who accompanied him a private signal not to discover that he was the king, for fear that Alibeg, if he once knew with whom he conversed, would lose in an instant, his wonted[75] freedom, and all his native graces.

8. “I am now convinced,” said the prince to his attendant, “that nature is as beautiful in the lowest state as in the highest. No monarch’s son was ever born with nobler faculties than this young shepherd. I should think myself infinitely happy, had I a son equally handsome, intelligent, and ingenuous.[76] I will have him educated at my own court.”

9. The king accordingly took Alibeg away with him; and the youthful shepherd was much surprised to find that a prince should be so pleased with his conversation. Taken to court, he was instructed by proper tutors in all the graces which add to manly beauty, and in all the arts and sciences which adorn the mind.

10. The grandeur of the court, and a sudden change of fortune, in some measure influenced the temper of Alibeg. His crook, his pipe, and shepherd’s dress, were now forsaken; and, instead of them, he appeared in a purple robe embroidered with gold, and a turban enriched with jewels. Alibeg was handsomer than any other man at court. He was qualified to transact the most important affairs, and his master, placing the utmost confidence in his integrity,[77] soon conferred on him the post of jewel-keeper and treasurer of his household.

11. During the whole reign of the great Sha-Abbas, Alibeg’s reputation daily increased. But, as he advanced in years, he frequently recalled to mind his former state of life, and always with regret. “Oh, happy days!” would he whisper to himself; “oh, innocent days! days, wherein I tasted true joys without danger; days, since which I never saw one so pleasant, shall I not see you any more? He who has deprived me of you, by making me thus great, has utterly undone me.”

[67] RETˊ-I-NUE, a train of attendants.

[68] SYCˊ-O-PHANTS, mean flatterers.

[69] EN-AMˊ-ELED, covered; filled.

[70] LIMˊ-PID, clear; pure.

[71] HABˊ-IT, dress; garb.

[72] AD-JAˊ-CENT, near by; adjoining.

[73] BEAMˊ-ING, glowing; shining.

[74] EF-FEMˊ-I-NATE, feminine; delicate.

[75] WONTˊ-ED, accustomed; usual.

[76] IN-GENˊ-U-OUS, open; frank; candid.

[77] IN-TEGˊ-RI-TY, honesty; uprightness.

X. THE YOUNG SHEPHERD—CONTINUED.

1. Alibeg, after a long absence, revisited his native village. Here he gazed with fondness on those places where he had formerly danced, sung, and tuned his pipe with his fellow-swains.[78] He made presents to all his friends and relations; but advised them, as they valued their peace of mind, never to resign their rural pleasures, never to expose themselves to the anxieties and misfortunes of a court. Alibeg felt the weight of those misfortunes, soon after the death of his good master Sha-Abbas.

2. Sha-Sephi succeeded his father. Some envious, artful courtiers[79] found means to prejudice the young prince against him. “He has,” said they, “betrayed the trust reposed in him by the late king. He has hoarded up immense treasures, and embezzled[80] valuable effects.”

3. Sha-Sephi was young, and a monarch; which was more than sufficient to make him credulous[81] and inconsiderate. He had, besides, the vanity to think himself qualified to reform his fathers acts, and to judge of things better than the latter had done. To have some plea for removing Alibeg from his post, he commanded him to produce the cimeter,[82] set with diamonds of an immense value, which his royal grandsire used to wear in battle. Sha-Abbas had formerly ordered these to be taken off; and Alibeg brought witnesses to prove that they were so removed long before his promotion.

4. When Alibeg’s enemies found this scheme too weak to effect his ruin, they prevailed on Sha-Sephi to give him strict orders to produce an exact inventory[83] of all the rich furniture intrusted to his care. Alibeg opened the doors, and showed every thing committed to his charge. No one article was missing: each was in its proper place, and preserved with great care.

5. The king, surprised to see such order every where observed, began to entertain a favorable opinion of Alibeg, till he espied, at the end of a long gallery, an iron door, with three strong locks. “There it is,” whispered the envious courtiers in his ear, “that Alibeg has concealed all the valuable effects which he has purloined.”[84] The king now angrily exclaimed, “I will see what is in that room. What have you concealed there? Show it me.” Alibeg fell prostrate at his feet, beseeching him not to take from him all that he now held valuable upon earth.

6. Sha-Sephi now took it for granted that Alibeg’s ill-gotten treasure lay concealed within. He commanded the door to be opened. Alibeg, who had the keys in his pocket, unlocked the door. Nothing, however, was found there, but his crook, his pipe, and the shepherd’s dress which he wore in his youth.

7. “Behold great sir,” said he, “the remains of my former felicity,[85] which neither fortune nor your majesty have taken from me. Behold my treasure, which I reserve to make me rich, when you shall think proper to make me poor. Take back every thing besides; but leave me these dear pledges of my rural[86] station. These are my substantial riches which will never fail me.

8. “These, O king! are the precious, yet innocent possessions of those who can live contented with the necessaries of life, without tormenting themselves about superfluous[87] enjoyments. These are riches which are possessed with liberty and safety; riches which never give me one moment’s disquiet. Oh, ye dear implements of a plain, but happy life! I value none but you; with you I will live, and with you die. I here resign, great sir, the many favors which your royal bounty[88] has bestowed upon me.”

9. The king, convinced of Alibeg’s innocence, instantly banished his accusers from court. Alibeg became his prime minister, and was intrusted with the most important secrets. He visited, however, every day, his crook, his pipe, and rural habit, that he might remember them, should fickle fortune deprive him of a monarchˊs favor. He died in a good old age, without wishing to have his enemies punished, or to increase his possessions; and left his relations no more than what would maintain them in the station of shepherds, which he always thought the safest and most happy.

[78] SWAINS, peasants; shepherds.

[79] COURTˊ-IERS, those who frequent courts.

[80] EM-BEZˊ-ZLED, purloined; robbed; stolen.

[81] CREDˊ-U-LOUS, easy of belief; unsuspecting.

[82] CIMˊ-E-TER, a short Turkish sword.

[83] INˊ-VEN-TO-RY, catalogue; account.

[84] PUR-LOINˊ-ED, stolen.

[85] FE-LICˊ-I-TY, happiness.

[86] RUˊ-RAL, pertaining to the country.

[87] SU-PERˊ-FLU-OUS, more than is necessary.

[88] BOUNˊ-TY, generosity; liberality.

XI.—OLD TIMES.

GERALD GRIFFIN.

Gerald Griffin was born in Ireland in 1803. He was a distinguished novelist and dramatist. He has also written some short poems remarkable for their tenderness of feeling and beauty of expression.

While still a young man he withdrew from the pursuits of literature and joined the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He died in 1840 at the early age of thirty-seven.

1. Old times! old times! the gay old times! When I was young and free, And heard the merry Easter chimes, Under the sally tree; My Sunday palm beside me placed, My cross upon my hand, A heart at rest within my breast, And sunshine on the land! Old times! old times!

2. It is not that my fortunes flee, Nor that my cheek is pale, I mourn whene’er I think of thee, My darling native vale! A wiser head I have, I know, Than when I loitered there; But in my wisdom there is woe, And in my knowledge care, Old times! old times!

3. I’ve lived to know my share of joy, To feel my share of pain, To learn that friendship’s self can cloy, To love and love in vain— To feel a pang and wear a smile, To tire of other climes, To like my own unhappy isle, And sing the gay old times! Old times! old times!

4. And sure the land is nothing changed, The birds are singing still; The flowers are springing where we ranged, There’s sunshine on the hill; The sally waving o’er my head, Still sweetly shades my frame, But ah, those happy days are fled, And I am not the same! Old times! old times!

5. Oh, come again, ye merry times! Sweet, sunny, fresh, and calm; And let me hear those Easter chimes, And wear my Sunday palm. If I could cry away mine eyes, My tears would flow in vain; If I could waste my heart in sighs, They’ll never come again! Old times! old times!

XII.—THE BROKEN HEART.

IRVING.

Washington Irving was born in the City of New York, in 1783 and died in 1859. His writings are deservedly popular. His “Sketch Book,” “Life of Goldsmith,” “Life of Columbus,” “Conquest of Granada,” and other works, have made him as well known to European as to American readers.