this vast and inconceivably magnificent and august apparatus is attached, and around which it is continually revolving. Oh! what a spectacle for the cherubim and seraphim, and the spirits of the just made perfect, who dwell on the right hand of that throne, if, as may be, and probably is, the case, their eyes are permitted to pierce through the whole, and take in, at one glance, all its order, beauty, sublimity and glory, and their ears to distinguish that celestial harmony, unheard by us, in which those vast globes, as they roll on in their respective orbits, continually hymn their great Creator's praise!" LESSON LVI. URSA MAJOR. WITH what a stately and majestic step Slumber and wake, thy ceaseless march proceeds. Thy long-appointed watch; but, sleepless still, Ages have rolled their course, and time grown gray; The earth has gathered to her womb again, And yet again, the myriads that were born The seas have changed their beds; the eternal hills Have left their banks; and man's imperial works- I wonder as I gaze. That stream of light, Exhaustless flood! forever spent, renewed The flight of thought, were on their way, the earth So vast the void through which their beams descend! And these are suns !— vast, central, living fires, And flourish in their smile. Awake, my soul, And meditate the wonder! Countless suns Blaze round thee, leading forth their countless worlds! And drink the bliss of being from the fount Tell me, ye splendid orbs, as, from your throne, Ye mark the rolling provinces that own Your sway-What beings fill those bright abodes? Open your lips, ye wonderful and fair! Speak! speak! the mysteries of those living worlds Unfold! LESSON LVII. THE TWENTY-SECOND OF DECEMBER. WILD was the day; the wintry sea Moaned sadly o New-England's strand, When first, the thoughtful and the free, Our fathers, irod the desert land. They little thought how pure a light, With years, should gather round that day; How love should keep their memories bright, How wide a realm their sons should sway. Green are their bays; but greener still Shall round their spreading fame be wreathed, And regions, now untrod, shall thrill With reverence when their names are breathed. Till where the sun, with softer fires, LESSON LVIII. FEMALE EDUCATION. IF Christianity may be said to have given a permanent elevation to woman, as an intellectual and moral being, it is as true that the present age, above all others, has given play to her genius, and taught us to reverence its influence. It was the fashion of other times to treat the literary acquirements of the sex as starched pedantry, or vain pretension; to stigmatize them as inconsistent with those domestic affections and virtues which constitute the charm of society. We had abundant homilies read upon their amiable weaknesses and sentimental delicacy, upon their timid gentleness and submissive dependence; as if to taste the fruit of knowledge were a deadly sin, and ignorance were the sole guardian of innocence. "Most women had no character at all, beyond that of purity and devotion to their families. Admirable as are these qualities, it seemed an abuse of the gifts of Providence to deny to mothers the power of instructing their children, to wives the privilege of sharing the intellectual pursuits of their husbands, to sisters and daughters the delight of ministering knowledge in the fireside circle, to youth and beauty the charm of refined sense, to age and infirmity the consolation of studies, which elevate the soul, and gladden the listless hours of despondency. These things have, in a great measure, passed away The prejudices which dishonored the sex, have yielded |