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LESSON CXIX.

AG'O-NY, the pangs of death.
BEE'TLING, jutting out, hanging over.
CORSE, a dead body; a poetical word for
corpse.

GAM BOL, a skipping about in frolic,
sport.

Hov'ER, to hang fluttering in the air overhead.

PAL LID, pale, wan.

RIV'EN, split, divided by violence.
SEV'ER, to divide, to part, to force asun-

der.

SURGE, a swelling sea, a rising billow.
WHIRL, a turning with rapidity, any
thing that turns rapidly.
WIL'DERED, lost, bewildered.

PRONUNCIATION.- Quiv'er-ing 3b, storm 9, list'ened 21, catch 33, fore'head 33, re-veal' 1, con-ceal' 1g, and 29, fear'ful 22, riv'en 4d, hov'er 33.

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1. FAR, far o'er the deep is my island-throne,
Where the sea-gull roams and reigns alone;
Where naught is seen but the beetling rock,
And naught is heard but the ocean-shock,
And the scream of birds when the storm is nigh,
And the crash of the wreck, and the fearful cry
Of drowning men in their agony.

2. I love to sit, when the waters sleep,

And ponder the depths of the glassy deep,
Till I dream that I float on a corse at sea,
And sing of the feast that is made for me.
I love on the rush of the storm to sail,
And mingle my scream with the hoarser gale.

3. I saw a storm as it gathered fast;
I heard the roar of the coming blast;
I marked the ship in her fearful strife,
As she flew on the tide like a thing of life.

4. But the whirlwind came, and her masts were wrung Away, and away on the waters flung.

On the hidden rocks like a hawk she rushed,
And the sea through her riven timbers gushed;
O'er the whirling surge the wreck was flung,
And loud on the gale wild voices rung.

5. I gazed on the scene. I saw despair
On the pallid brows of a youthful pair.
The maiden drooped like a gentle flower
That is lashed by the gale in its quivering bower;
Her arms round her lover she wildly twined,
And gazed on the sea with a wildered mind.

6. He bent o'er the trembler, and sheltered her form From the splash of the sea and the sweep of the storm. They sink in the tide,- but it cannot sever

The fond ones who sleep in its depths forever!

7. Wild, wild was the storm, and loud was its roar, And strange were the sights that I hovered o'er. I saw the babe with its mother die;

I listened to catch its parting sigh;

And I screamed to see the black billows play
With the sleeping child in their gambols gay.

8. I saw a girl whose arms were white

As the foam that flashed on the billow's hight;
And the ripples played with her glossy curls,
And her cheek was kissed by the dancing whirls;
But her bosom was dead to hope and fear,
For she shuddered not as the shark came near.

9. I poised my foot on the forehead fair
Of a lovely boy that floated there;

I looked in the eyes of the drowning brave,
As upward they gazed through the glassy wave;
I screamed o'er the bubbles that told of death,
And stooped as the last gave up his breath.

10. I flapped my wing, for the work was done;
The storm was hushed, and the laughing sun
Sent his gushing light o'er the sullen seas.
And I tell my tale to the fainting breeze,
Of the hidden things which the waves conceal,
And the sea-bird's song alone can reveal.

LESSON CXX.

AC-CLA-MA'TION, (Latin acclamo, to cry out,) a shout of applause uttered by a multitude.

A'ER-O-NAUT, (from two Greek words meaning air and sailor,) one who sails or floats in the air.

CIR-CUM FER-ENCE, (Latin circum, around, and fero, to carry,) the line that goes round a circle.

EN-THU SI-ASM, (from a Greek word meaning to infuse a divine spirit,) heat of imagination, ardent feelings.

IN-FLATE', (Latin inflatus, from inflo, to blow into,) to swell with air or breath. PAR'A-CHUTE, par'a shute, (from Greek para, against, and French chute, a fall,) an instrument to prevent the rapidity of descent.

SPEC TA-CLE, (Latin specto, to behold,) a show, a sight.

UN-DER-STAND', to comprehend ; literally, to stand under, so as to support or hold up in the mind.

PRONUNCIATION.- A'er o-naut 26e, ro-mance' 26a, wit'ness le, his'to-ry 3d, inʼterest-ing 36, chil'dren 11, grad u al-ly 3a, fast'ened 21, were 33, be-neath' 15, dis-ap-peared' 22, ad-ven'tu rous 18.

THE THREE SISTERS.

1. THREE sisters went to see the ascent of a balloon. A multitude of people were present to witness the spectacle. When all was prepared the aeronaut entered the little car beneath the immense bag of silk, which was now inflated with gas.

2. He held in his lap a cat fastened in a cage, attached to which was an instrument like an umbrella, called a parachute. In a few moments he called out, “All right!”

3. The attendants let go the net-work, and up went the balloon, and up went the adventurous voyager in the little car swinging beneath. It was an exciting scene, and the people were so delighted that the air rang with acclamations.

4. The three sisters, Jane, Anne, and Lucy,-whom we shall, on the present occasion, call History, Poetry, and Romance,—were as much pleased as the rest, and shouted with their young voices as loud as they could.

5. What rendered it all the more interesting was, that the people could see the aëronaut, who waved a little flag as he ascended; and though it was fearful to see a man so high in the air, yet he appeared quite at his ease, and very much gratified to be the cause of so much enthusiasm.

6. When the balloon had risen to a great hight, so as to look no larger than a melon, the aëronaut let the cat and cage fall; but they were attached to the parachute, which kept them from coming down very swiftly.

7. It was a beautiful sight. At first the cage and parachute were hardly visible; but they grew more and more distinct, and at last they came nearer and nearer, till they finally dropped upon a distant hill. Some boys ran to the place, and behold! puss was in

the cage, a good deal frightened, but as safe as ever. very few of her race which have had such a ride as this!

There are

8. At last the balloon looked no larger than a fly; then it entered a cloud, and was seen no more. The company separated, and went to their homes, all talking of the balloon and the aëronaut and puss and the parachute.

9. Our three little girls also returned to their home, and, rushing up to their mother, they were each so eager to tell the story that neither could be understood.

10. At length their mother said to them, "My dear children, I must hear you one at a time, Let us all sit down, and History, who is the eldest, shall tell the story first; then Poetry shall take her turn, and Romance shall come next.

11. To this they all agreed, and History began as follows: "We reached the place about four o'clock in the afternoon. There were already many people present; but, as the time advanced, others came, and soon about two thousand people were there.

12. "The balloon was a large bag of silk, about forty feet long and eighty feet in circumference. When full of gas it was shaped like a pear, the stem downward. The silk was oiled, so as to retain the gas, which is lighter than the air, and floats upward in it, as a piece of wood does in water.

13. "The balloon was enclosed in a network, and beneath was attached a little car or boat, in which the aëronaut sat when he ascended.

14. "As the gas was conducted to the balloon the latter gradually swelled out; and when it was full the men, who held it down, let go, and it ascended, with the man, into the air.

15. "He was cheered by the voices of the people, and he waved a little flag back and forth in return. It was a pleasing scene, in which fear for the airy sailor was mingled with admiration for his skill and courage.

16. "The man had taken up with him a cat enclosed in a cage, and to this cage a parachute was attached. When he had risen to the hight of about a thousand feet, he let go the cage, which came gently down like a snow-flake, falling at last on a distant hill. The cat was taken up unhurt.

17. "The balloon gradually grew less and less to the eye; finally it disappeared in a thick cloud, upon which the rays of the evening sun were now falling."

18. Such was the account given of the scene by History. And now Poetry began:

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I felt that it must be a thing of life,
So gently and so gracefully it sailed.

20. "And the bold sailor looked so happy, too;
A fear crept o'er me as I saw him rise,
And yet I wished that I was sailing too.
How beautiful to mount the liquid air,
To see below you the admiring crowd,
With eyes intently gazing at your flight,
And hearts all beating as they see you rise.
Oh, beautiful, indeed!

21.

"And then, dear mother,
As the balloon ascended high and higher,
So softly did it glide away, it seemed
A sweet dream fading from the memory.

22. "It rose, till now no larger than an insect,
It stole into a cloud, and hid itself.

A saddened feeling then came o'er my soul-
Why was it, mother? Can you tell me why?

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23. Here there was a pause, and the blue-eyed girl stood waiting a moment, as if expecting an answer. But Romance was impatient to begin; and her dark eye, shaded by long black lashes, seemed to grow larger and brighter as she spoke thus:

24. "History has told you, mother, all the events that occurred, and she has accurately described them. Poetry has painted the scene, and made it bright and clear by comparisons.

25. "But I must tell you of the thoughts and feelings it awakened in my mind, and of the fairy world in which I seemed to be while I looked on the balloon.

26. "When the balloon ascended I seemed to go with it into a new scene. I think I have dreamed something like it in my sleep, when my thoughts were like wings, and all around was fair and heavenly. As the balloon went up I seemed to ascend also.

27. "I did not at the moment think how strange it was; but I went on fancying myself with the balloon, and riding upon the air in that little boat. And I thought of the vast blue space around, and the earth beneath, and the heaven above, and I seemed endowed, like an angel, with the power of rising upward, and seeing earth and sky and heaven in a more glorious light. I felt a sort of happiness I cannot express.

28. "As the balloon sailed farther and farther upon the airy sea, and as it grew less and less to the sight, like a ship that glides away upon the ocean, I began to think of the realms to which it seemed hastening.

29. "And at last, when it flew into the cloud, I did not perceive that it had disappeared. My eye was still bent upon the spot,

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