2. And they were few at Lexington,
To battle, or to die,-

That lightning-flash, that thunder-peal,
Told that the storm was nigh.

3. And they were few, who dauntless stood,
Upon old Bunker's hight,

And waged with Britain's strength and pride
The fierce, unequal fight.

4. And they were few, who, all unawed
By kingly "rights divine,"
The Declaration, rebel scroll;*
Untrembling dared to sign.

5. Yes, ye are few; for one proud glance
Can take in all your band,
As now against a countless host,
Firm, true, and calm, ye stand.

6. Unmoved by Folly's idiot laugh,
Hate's curse, or Envy's frown,-
Wearing your rights as royal robes,
Your manhood as a crown,-

7. With eyes whose gaze, unvailed by mists,
Still rises, clearer, higher,-

With stainless hands, and lips that Truth
Hath touched with living fire,-

* The reference is to the Declaration of Independence, made July 4th,

8. With one high hope, that ever shines Before you as a star,

One prayer of faith, one fount of strength,

10. See yon bold eagle toward the sun
Now rising free and strong,
And see yon mighty river roll
Its sounding tide along!

11. Ah! yet near earth the eagle tires,
Lost in the sea, the river;

But naught can stay the human mind,—
Tis upward, onward, ever!

12. It yet shall tread the starlit paths,
By highest angels trod,

And pause but at the farthest world
In the universe of God.

13. 'Tis said that Persia's baffled king,
In mad, tyrannic pride,
Cast fetters on the Hellespont,'
To curb its swelling tide:

14. But freedom's own true spirit heaves
The bosom of the main;

It tossed those fetters to the skies,
And bounded on again!

15. The scorn of each succeeding age
On Xerxes' head was hurled,

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And o'er that foolish deed has pealed
The long laugh of a world.

16. Thus, thus, defeat, and scorn, and shame,
Is his, who strives to bind

The restless, leaping waves of thought,
The free tide of the mind.

QUESTIONS.-1. Who raised the anthem of the free on Plymouth Rock? 2. What is said of the few on Bunker's Hight? 3. How many signed the Declaration of Independence? Ans. 56. 4. What is said of the eagle? 5. Of the human mind? 6. Of Freedom? 7. Where is the Hellespont?

LESSON LXXXIX.

FRESH' EN ED, grew brisk or strong.
FIT FUL LY, at intervals.
IN DI CA'TION, sign; token.
EN THU' $I A$M, strong feeling.
AP PRE HEND' ING, fearing.
A BAN' DON, give up; forsake.
HAW' SERS, cables; large ropes.
VOL UN TEER' ED, offered willingly.
IN' TER VAL, intervening time.

DE VOTED, doomed; ill-fated.
THWARTS, seats placed across a boat.
GUARAN TY, warrant.

IN EV' I TA BLY, certainly; surely.
AC CU MU LA TED, collected; heaped.
STAN' CHION, (stan' shun,) small post.
VI ED, strove; contended.

DIS' LO CA TED, out of joint; disjointed
AM'PU TA TED, cut off.

THE LAST CRUISE OF THE MONITOR.

GRENVILLE M. WEEKS.

1. ON the afternoon of December 29th, 1862, she put on steam, and, in tow of the "Rhode Island," passed Fortress Monroe, and out to sea. As we gradually passed out, the wind freshened somewhat; but the sun went down in glorious clouds of purple and crimson, and the night was fair

and calm above us, though, in the interior of our little vessel, the air had already begun to lose its freshness. We suffered more or less from its closeness through the night, and woke in the morning to find it heavy with impurity, from the breaths of some sixty persons, composing the officers and

crew.

2. Sunshine found us on deck, enjoying pure air, and watching the east. During the night we had passed Cape Henry, and now, at dawn, found ourselves on the ocean,the land only a blue line in the distance. A few more hours, and that had vanished. No sails were visible; and the Passaic, which we had noticed the evening before, was now out of sight. The morning and afternoon passed quietly; we spent most of our time on deck, on account of the confined air below, and, being on a level with the sea, with the spray dashing over us occasionally, amused ourselves with noting its shifting hues and forms, from the deep green of the first long roll, to the foam-crest and prismatic tints of the falling

wave.

3. As the afternoon advanced, the freshening wind, the thickening clouds, and the increasing roll of the sea, gave those most accustomed to ordinary ship-life, some new experiences. The little vessel plunged through the rising waves, instead of riding them, and, as they increased in violence, lay, as it were, under their crests, which washed over her continually; so that, even when we considered ourselves safe, the appearance was that of a vessel sinking.

4. "I'd rather go to sea in a diving-bell!" said one, as the waves dashed over the pilot-house, and the little craft seemed buried in water. "Give me an oyster-scow !" cried' another," any thing! only let it be wood, and something that will float over, instead of under the water!" Still she plunged on; and about 6. 30 P.M., we made Cape

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Hatteras; in half an hour we had rounded the point. general hurrah went up,-"Hurrah for the first iron-clad that ever rounded Cape Hatteras! Hurrah for the little boat that is first in every thing!"

5. At half-past seven, a heavy shower fell, lasting about twenty minutes. At this time the gale increased; black, heavy clouds covered the sky, through which the moon glittered fitfully, allowing us to see in the distance a long line of white, plunging foam rushing toward us,―sure indication, to a sailor's eye, of a stormy time. A gloom overhung every thing; the banks of cloud seemed to settle around us; the moan of the ocean grew louder and more fearful. Still our little boat pushed doggedly on: victorious through all, we thought that here, too, she would conquer, though the beating waves sent shudders through her whole frame.

6. An hour passed; the air below, which had all day been increasing in closeness, was now almost stifling; but our men lost no courage. Some sang as they worked; and the cadence of their voices, mingling with the roar of waters, sounded like a defiance to Ocean. Some stationed themselves on top of the turret, and a general enthusiasm filled all breasts, as huge waves, twenty feet high, rose up on all sides, hung suspended for a moment like jaws open to devour, and then, breaking, gnashed over in foam from side to side.

7. Those of us new to the sea, and not apprehending our peril, hurrahed for the largest wave; but the captain and one or two others, old sailors, knowing its power, grew momentarily more and more anxious, feeling, with a dread instinctive to the sailor, that, in case of extremity, no wreck yet known to ocean, could be so hopeless as this. Solid iron from keelson to turret-top, clinging to any thing for safety, if the "Monitor" should go down, would only insure a share