And yet with charity:-He was a man His promises were, as he then was, mighty; Grif. Noble madam, And though he were unsatisfied in getting Whom I most hated living, thou hast made me, BIOGRAPHY to be consulted as a Mirror. My advice is to consult the lives of other men, as he would a looking-glass, and from thence fetch examples for his own imitation. Terence. BIOGRAPHY-to be Minutely Written. Birds, the free tenants of earth, air, and ocean, They bear their owners with such sweet BIRDS-Dialects of. I believe there is a dialect in the song of birds. The song, for example, of a thrush near London, or in any of the home counties, has little resemblance, except in tone and specific character, to that of the same bird in Devonshire, or near Exeter. The same notes, I suppose, will all of them be detected; but they are arranged, for the most part, in a different tune, and are not sung in the same way. They are given with different values, and the singing is pitched in a different key. One great distinction between the two cases is the number of guttural notes of which the song of a Devonshire thrush is often made up, but which near London are heard only at the end of a bar, or even much less frequently; while those chief notes which mainly constitute the song of the other bird, and make it so impressive, are rarely pronounced by the Devonshire thrush. Jesse. BIRDS-Habits of. Meanwhile the tepid caves, and fens, and shores, Their brood as numerous hatch, from the egg that soon Bursting with kindly rapture forth disclosed Their callow young; but feather'd soon and fledge They summ'd their pens; and, soaring the air sublime, With clang despised the ground, under a cloud Solaced the woods, and spread their painted Whatever be your birth, you're sure to be wings Till even; nor then the solemn nightingale Ceased warbling, but all night tuned her soft lays: Others, on silver lakes and rivers, bathed Their downy breast; the swan with archèd neck, Between her white wings mantling proudly, A peer of the first quality to me. BIRTH-Regal. I was born so high, Juvenal. Our acrie buildeth in the cedar's top, Why should my birth keep down my mounting Are not all creatures subject unto time? And from the dunghill minions do advance BIRTHDAY-Thoughts on a. My birthday!-what a different sound Moore. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of Hark! how the cheerful birds do chant their filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not lays, And carol of Love's praise. The merry lark her matins sings aloft; covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. Spenser. Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. St. Paul. BLACKSMITH-The Village. The sagest knot (in a village) is generally at the blacksmith's, to whom the passing of the coach is an event fruitful of much speculation. The smith, with his horse's heel in his lap, pauses as the vehicle whirls by; the Cyclops round the anvil suspend their ringing hammers, and suffer the iron to grow cool; and the sooty spectre in brown paper cap, labouring at the bellows, leans on the handle for a moment, and permits the asthmatic engine to heave a long-drawn sigh, while he glares through the husky smoke and sulphureous gleams of the smithy. BLAME-Reception of. Washington Irving. A man takes contradiction and advice much more easily than people think, only he will not bear it when violently given, even though it be well-founded. Hearts are flowers; they remain open to the softly-falling dew, but shut up in the violent downpour of rain. Richter. BLESSEDNESS-Antiquity of. Blessedness is a whole eternity, older than damnation. Ibid. BLESSEDNESS-True. True blessedness consisteth in a good life and a happy death. Solon. BLESSING on the Devout. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great. David. BLESSING of the Lord. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it. Solomon. BLESSING-of the Spanish Peasantry. As we journeyed on, a trifling incident occurred which very favourably disposed us towards the peasantry of Spain. A large party of field-labourers, attired in scarlet jackets and sashes, were returning to their homes after the toils of the day, and were singing in unison a lively song, in token of the happiness within their hearts. The sun was now sinking behind the hills, and the stars of evening were beginning to gem the vast canopy of heaven. A soft and rich twilight gave a sweet mellowness to the features of the surrounding landscape, infusing thoughts of romance and poetry into our minds, and making everything appear to us like the scenery of a picture or a dream. As we reached the body of peasantry, they immediately separated to each side of the road, and, as we passed between them, they saluted us with the beautiful expression, "Vaga V. con Dios" (Go you with God!) A thrill of pleasure ran through my veins as I heard this national benediction, pronounced with such deep solemnity, and issuing like a full and majestic chorus from the lips of these humble tillers of the soil. Warren. BLESSINGS-transformed into Curses. Even the best things, ill used, become evils, and contrarily, the worst things, used well, good tongue used to deceit; prove good. a good wit, used to defend error; a strong arm to murder; authority to oppress; a good profession to dissemble; are all evil. Even God's own word is the sword of the Spirit, which, if it kill not our vices, kills our souls. Contrariwise (as poisons are used to wholesome medicine), afflictions and sins, by a good use, prove so gainful as nothing more. Words are as they are taken, and things are as they are used. There are even cursed blessings. Bishop Hall. BLESSINGS-compared to Dew. The dews of heaven fall thick in blessings on her. Shakspeare. BLESSINGS-of the Faithful. A faithful man shall abound with blessings. BLESSINGS-Invocations for. Hear me, bounteous Heaven! Pour down your blessings on this beauteous head, Where everlasting sweets are always springing, Harmless as her own thoughts; and prop her virtue. Ibid. Oh! gracious Heaven, Thou hast endless blessings still in store For virtue and for filial piety: Let grief, disgrace, and want, be far away; But multiply Thy mercies on his head: Let honour, greatness, goodness, still be with him, Rowe. And peace in all his ways. The God of Heaven both now and ever bless her. Shakspeare. O ye immortal powers, that guard the just, BLESSINGS-Requisites for. Nothing raises the price of a blessing like its removal; whereas it was its continuance which should have taught us its value. There are three requisitions to the proper enjoyment of earthly blessings :-a thankful reflection on the goodness of the Giver; a deep sense of our unworthiness; a recollection of the uncertainty of long possessing them. The first would make us grateful; the second humble; and the third moderate. BLESSINGS-Slighted. Hannah More. BLINDNESS. They who can calmly linger at the last, BLIND-Touch of the. No floweret blooms Throughout the range of these rough hills, Nor in the woods, that could from him conceal Its birthplace. None whose figure did not live Upon his touch. Wordsworth. BLINDNESS-Compensation for. This fellow must have a rare understanding; Thus indisposed, there's treasure in the intellect. Shirley. BLINDNESS-Desolation of. All dark and comfortless! Where are those various objects that but now Employ'd my busy eyes? Where are those eyes? Dead are their piercing rays, that lately shot Shut from the living while amongst the living; No more to view the beauty of the spring, Seasons return, but not to me returns Whose smiles are pleasant, and whose words Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men are peace: They who have lived as harmless as the dove, man: Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair Of nature's works, to me expunged and rased, Irradiate; there plant eyes, all mist from Milton. O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Inferior to the vilest now become Of man or worm; the vilest here excel me: O dark, dark, dark, amidst the blaze of noon, Without all hope of day! O first-created beam, and Thou great Word, Let there be light, and light was over all;" Why am I thus bereaved Thy prime decree? And silent as the moon Hid in her vacant interlunar cave. She all in every part; why was this sight pore ! Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. St. Paul. BLISS-bestowed by Heaven. See the sole bliss Heaven could on all bestow! Which, who but feels, can taste, but thinks can know ! Yet poor with fortune, and with learning blind, The bad must miss, the good untaught will find; Slave to no sect, who takes no private road, But looks through nature up to nature's God; Joins heaven and earth, and mortal and divine; A bee is not a busier animal than a blockhead. BLOCKHEAD-Want of Politeness in a. A blockhead cannot come in, nor go away, nor sit, nor rise, nor stand, like a man of La Bruyère. sense. BLOSSOMS-Evanescence of. Fair pledges of a fruitful tree, But you may stay yet here awhile, What, were ye born to be An hour or half's delight, But you are lovely leaves, where we Pursues that chain which links the immense That blood which flushes guilty in your face! design, Dryden. |