13.-A Christian's Day. LORD, let my thoughts on angel wings, At waking, rise to Thee, Ev'n ere the lark at "Heaven's gate sings" Her hymn of ecstasy! And, as the light, through night's dark stole, May brighter ardours in my soul While drinking in the healthful air, While gazing round on earth and sky; As oft I break my daily bread, Oh! may I ne'er forget to spread The board of humbler want! And, as my temperate cup I take May that glad act the memory wake Of Christ's atoning blood! When slumbers, soft as noiseless snow, Descend upon mine eyes, Lord, let me sink to rest, as though I never more should rise! Let thy blest Spirit, from my breast, Miss A. M. Porter. Cot'ta-ges, small houses; peas'an-try, country people; integ'ri-ty, honesty; bra'ver-y, courage; sur-pass'es, excels; cel'e-bra-ted, famous. ENGLAND is the largest, the most populous and fertile portion of the British Isles. Its surface is generally level or waving, with a fertile soil, and watered by numerous streams. A ridge of mountains of moderate height, passes from Cumberland through the Northern counties to the Southern part of Wales, and renders these parts of the kingdom rough or mountainous. There are also some barren moors and heaths of considerable extent, in other parts of the kingdom. The climate is mild and moist, and produces a beautiful deep verdure, which is scarcely seen in other countries; but it is less favourable for the ripening of grain and fruits. The land is highly cultivated in general; divided by green hedges; and adorned with neat cottages, and elegant country seats, which render it one of the most beautiful countries of Europe. England is watered by numerous streams, and these are connected by a great number of canals, some of them passing through mountains and over rivers, which give it a very extensive inland navigation. It is also remarkable for the excellence of its roads and bridges, and for the convenience and expedition of travelling. England is very thickly settled, and the peasantry are, generally, honest and industrious. The merchants of England are distinguished for integrity and wealth, the mechanics for their skill, and the sailors and soldiers for their bravery. The Welsh peasantry are remarkable for their industry, intelligence, and honesty. England surpasses the other portions of the United Kingdom in commerce, improvements, and wealth. It contains the two most celebrated Universities, Cambridge and Oxford, and several public schools of great antiquity and reputation. England is divided into forty counties, and Wales into twelve. In many of the counties there are peculiar dialects, which a stranger cannot under stand, and in Wales, the Welsh language is spoken almost exclusively. London is the capital of England, and is remarkably well situated for commerce, and is the richest, most populous, and most commercial city of the civilized world. Woodbridge's Geography. Av-ar-i'cious, greedy; in'ti-mate, familiar; fru-gal 'i-ty, thriftiness; in'ter-vals, from time to time; cus'tom-ers, employers; un-der-mine', dig under; mat'tock, pickaxe; o'men, sign; im-a'gined, conjectured. WHANG, the miller, was naturally avaricious; nobody loved money better than he, or more respected those that had it. When people would talk of a rich man in company, Whang would say, I know him very well; he and I have been very long acquainted; he and I are intimate. But if ever a poor man was mentioned, he had not the least knowledge of the man: he might be very well, for aught he knew, but he was not fond of making many acquaintances, and loved to choose his company. Whang, however, with all his eagerness for riches, was poor. He had nothing but the profits of his mill to support him; but though these were small, they were certain: while it stood and went, he was sure of eating: and his frugality was such, that he every day laid some money by, which he would at intervals count and contemplate, with much satisfaction. Yet still his acquisitions were not equal to his desires; he only found himself above want, whereas he desired to be possessed of affluence. One day, as he was indulging these wishes, he was informed that a neighbour of his had found a pan of money under ground, having dreamed of it three nights running before. These tidings were daggers to the heart of poor Whang. "Here am I," says he, "toiling and moiling from morning to night for a few paltry farthings, while neighbour Thanks only goes quietly to bed, and dreams himself into thousands before morning. O that I could dream like him! With what pleasure would I dig round the pan! how slily would I carry it home! not even my wife should see me: and then, O the pleasure of thrusting one's hand into a heap of gold up to the elbow!" Such reflections only served to make the miller unhappy: he discontinued his former assiduity; he was quite disgusted with small gains, and his customers began to forsake him. Every day he repeated the wish, and every night laid himself down in order to dream. Fortune, that was for a long time unkind, at last, however, seemed to smile upon his distress, and indulged him with the wished-for vision. He dreamed that under a part of the foundation of his mill, there was concealed a monstrous pan of gold and diamonds, buried deep in the ground, and covered with a large flat stone. He concealed his good luck from every person, as is usual in moneydreams, in order to have the vision repeated the two succeeding nights, by which he should be certain of its truth. His wishes in this also were answered; he still dreamed of the same pan of money, in the very same place. Now, therefore, it was past a doubt; so getting up early the third morning, he repaired alone with a mattock in his hand, to the mill, and began to undermine that part of the wall, to which the vision directed. The first omen of success that he met with, was a broken ring; digging still deeper, he turned up a house tile, quite new and entire. At last, after much digging, he came to a broad flat stone, but so large, that it was beyond man's strength to remove it. "There," cried he in raptures, to himself, "there it is; under this stone, there is room for a very large pan of diamonds indeed. I must e'en go home to my wife, and tell her the whole affair, and get her to assist me in turning it up." Away, therefore, he goes, and acquaints his wife with every circumstance of their good fortune. Her raptures, on this occasion, may easily be imagined; she flew round his neck, and embraced him in an agony of joy; but these transports, however, did not allay their eagerness to know the exact sum; returning, therefore, to the place where Whang had been digging, there they found-not, indeed, the expected treasure; but the mill, their only support, undermined and fallen! Goldsmith. |