Are lifted to the glowing skies,
Like a stray babe of Paradise,
Just lighted on that flow'ry plain,
And seeking for its home again.

Oh! 'twas a sight-that Heav'n-that child—
A scene which might have well beguiled

Ev'n haughty Eblis of a sigh

For glories lost and peace gone by!

And how felt he, the wretched man
Reclining there, while memory ran
O'er many a year of guilt and strife,
Flew o'er the dark flood of his life,
Nor found one sunny resting-place,
Nor brought him back one branch of grace.
"There was a time," he said, in mild,
Heart-humbled tones--" thou blessed child!
When young and haply pure as thou,
I look'd and pray'd like thee-but now
He hung his head-each nobler aim,

And hope, and feeling, which had slept
From boyhood's hour, that instant came
Fresh o'er him, and he wept-he wept!
Blest tears of soul-felt penitence!
In whose benign, redeeming flow
Is felt the first, the only sense
Of guiltless joy that guilt can know.

Eblis: ruler of evil spirits; an angel condemned for refusing to worship Adam.

"There's a drop," said the Peri, "that down

from the moon

Falls through the withering airs of June

Upon Egypt's land, of so healing a pow'r,
So balmy a virtue, that ev'n in the hour
That drop descends, contagion dies,
And health reanimates earth and skies!-
Oh, is it not thus, thou man of sin,

The precious tears of repentance fall?
Though foul thy fiery plagues within,

One heavenly drop hath dispell'd them all! "

And now-behold him kneeling there
By the child's side in humble pray'r,
While the same sunbeam shines upon
The guilty and the guiltless one,

And hymns of joy proclaim through Heav'n
The triumph of a Soul Forgiv'n!

'Twas when the golden orb had set,
While on their knees they linger'd yet,
There fell a light more lovely far
Than ever came from sun to star,
Upon the tear, that warm and meek,
Dew'd that repentant sinner's cheek.
To mortal eye this light might seem
A northern flash or meteor beam-
But well th' enraptured Peri knew

Upon Egypt's land: The Nucta, or Miraculous drop, which falls in Egypt precisely on St. John's day, in June, and is supposed to have the effect of stopping the plague.

"Twas a bright smile the Angel threw
From Heav'n's gate, to hail that tear
Her harbinger of glory near!

66

Joy, joy forever! my task is done-
The gates are pass'd, and Heav'n is won!
Oh! am I not happy? I am, I am-

To thee, sweet Eden! how dark and sad
Are the diamond turrets of Shadukiam,

And the fragrant bowers of Amberabad!
Farewell, ye odors of Earth, that die,
Passing away like a lover's sigh;-
My feast is now of the Tooba Tree,
Whose scent is the breath of Eternity!

"Farewell, ye vanishing flowers, that shone

In my fairy wreath, so bright and brief;-
Oh! what are the brightest that e'er have blown,
To the lote-tree, springing by Allah's throne,

Whose flowers have a soul in every leaf.

Joy, joy forever!-my task is done

The Gates are pass'd, and Heav'n is won!"

Shadukiam: The Country of Delight—the name of a province in the kingdom of Jinnistan, or Fairy Land, the capital of which is called the City of Jewels.

Amberabad: another of the cities of Jinnistan.

Tooba Tree: The tree Tooba, that stands in Paradise, in the palace of Mohammed. Tooba, says D'Herbelot, signifies beatitude or eternal happi

ness.

lote-tree, etc.: Mohammed is described as having seen the angel Gabriel, "by the lote-tree, beyond which there is no passing; near it is the Garden of Eternal Abode." This tree, say the commentators, stands in the seventh Heaven, on the right hand of the Throne of God.

XIX

AMONG THE SHOALS

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER

PART I

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER (1789-1851) lived on the shores of Otsego Lake amidst the exciting scenes of frontier life. At the age of thirteen he entered Yale College, and later served in the navy for six years. His books are stories full of action and excitement. They treat of the life he knew, that of the frontier and the sea. The "Leatherstocking Series" comprises four stories recounting the life and adventures of a frontiersman

from youth to old age. "The Spy" is a story of the Revolutionary War, as is also his excellent sea tale from which our selection is taken, "The Pilot." The vessel, whose struggles are here described, was one of those sent by the American Congress to harass the English. This vessel had just entered a dangerous bay on the English coast and taken off a pilot, known to the crew as Mr. Gray. Only the captain knew his real name, John Paul Jones.

The last rope was coiled and deposited in its proper place by the seamen, and for several minutes the stillness of death pervaded the crowded decks. It was evident to every one that the ship was dashing at a prodigious rate through the waves; and as she was

approaching with this velocity the quarter of the bay where the shoals and dangers were known to be situated, nothing but the habit of the most exact discipline could suppress the uneasiness of the officers and men. At length the voice of Captain Munson was heard calling the Pilot.

"Shall I send a hand into the chains, Mr. Gray," he said, "to try our water?"

"Tack your ship, sir; tack your ship; I would see how she works before we reach the points where she must behave well, or we perish."

Griffith gazed after him in wonder, while the pilot slowly paced the quarter-deck, and then, rousing from his trance, gave forth the cheering order that called every man to his station to perform the desired evolution. The confident assurance which the young officer had given to the pilot respecting the quality of his vessel, and his own ability to manage her, were fully realized by the result.

The helm was no sooner put a-lee, than the huge ship bore up gallantly against the wind, and, dashing directly through the waves, threw the foam high into the air as she looked boldly into the very eye of the wind, and then, yielding gracefully to its power, she fell off on the other tack with her head pointed from those dangerous shoals that she had so recently approached with such terrifying velocity.

The heavy yards swung round as if they had been vanes to indicate the currents of the air, and in a few moments, the frigate again moved with stately progress through the water, leaving the rocks and