of the Delaware, banqueting on their seeds; grows corpulent' with good feeding, and soon acquires the unlucky renown of the or'tolan. Wherever he goes, pop! pop! pop! the rusty firelocks of the country are cracking on every side; he sees his companions falling by thousands around him; he is the reedbird, the much sought for tid-bit3 of the Pennsylvanian epicure."

12. Does he take warning, and reform? Not he! He wings his flight still further south, in search of other luxuries. We hear of him gorging himself in the rice-swamps; filling himsel with rice almost to bursting; he can hardly fly for corpulency. Last stage of his career, we hear of him spitted by dozens, and served up on the table of the gormand, the most vaunted' of southern dainties, the rice-bird of the Carolinas.

13. Such is the story of the once musical and admired, but finally sensual and persecuted Boblink. It contains a mõral worthy the attention of all little birds and little boys; warning them to keep to those refined and intellectual pursuits, which raised him to so high a pitch of popularity, during the earl part of his career; but to eschew' all tendency to that grōs and dissipated indulgence, which brought this mistaken litt bird to an untimely end.

W. IRVING.

1.

4. THE NOTES OF THE BIRDS.

WELL do I love those various harmonies

That ring so gayly in Spring's budding woods.
And in the thickets, and green, quiet haunts,

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And lonely copses, of the Summer-time,

And in red Autumn's ancient solitudes.

2. If thou art pained with the world's noisy stir,

Or crazed with its mad tumults, and weigh'd down

'Cor' pu lent, fat; large.-2 Or' to lan, a small bird found in the southern part of Europe, and particularly in the Island of Cyprus, es teemed as a great delicacy as food.-3 Tid-bit, a delicate morsel.-' Ep' i cùre, one given to luxury and pleasure.—3 Våunt' ed, boasted.—® In tel lect' u al, relating to the mind. Es chew', avoid. Hår' mo nies, musical strains, or sounds, differing in pitch and quality, so blended as to produce concord Cops' es, woods of small growth.

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THE NOTES OF THE BIRDS.

With any of the ills of human life;

If thou art sick and weak, or mourn'st the loss

Of brethren gone to that far distant land
To which we all do pass, gentle and poor,
The gayest and the gravest, all alike;
Then turn into the peaceful woods and hear
The thrilling music of the forest-birds.

3. How rich the varied choir!' The unquiet finch
Calls from the distant hōllōws, and the wren
Uttereth her sweet and mellow plaint at times,
And the thrush mourneth where the kalmia' hangs
Its crimson-spotted cups, or chirps half-hid
Amid the lowly dogwood's snowy flowers;
And the blue jay flits by, from tree to tree,
And, spreading its rich pinions, fills the ear
With its shrill sounding and unsteady cry.

4. With the sweet airs of Spring the robin comes;
And in her simple song there seems to gush
A strain of sorrōw when she visiteth

Her last year's wither'd nest. But when the gloom
Of the deep twilight falls, she takes her perch
Upon the red-stemm'd hazel's slender twig,
That overhangs the brook, and suits her song
To the slow rivulet's inconstant chime.

5. In the last days of Autumn, when the corn
Lies sweet and yellōw in the harvest-field,
And the gay company
of reapers bind

6.

The bearded wheat in sheaves, then peals abroad
The blackbird's mĕrry chant. I love to hear,
Bold plunderer! thy mellow burst of song
Float from thy watch-place on the mossy tree,
Close at the corn-field edge.

Lone whip-poor-will,3
There is much sweetness in thy fitful hymn,

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1Choir (kwir), a company of singers.—2 Kål' mi a, a kind of evergree: shrub, having beautiful white or pink flowers; sometimes incorrectly called laurel, and also ivy-bush.— Whip-poor-will, a bird like the nighthawk.

Heard in the drowsy watches of the night.
Ofttimes, when all the village lights are out,
And the wide air is still, I hear thee chant
Thy hollow dirge,' like some recluse' who takes
His lodging in the wilderness of woods,

And lifts his anthem3 when the world is still:
And the dim, solemn night, that brings to man
And to the herds deep slumbers, and sweet dews
To the red roses and the herbs, doth find
No eye, save thine, a watcher in her halls.

I hear thee oft at midnight, when the thrush
And the green roving linnet are at rest,

And the blithe,' twittering swallows have long ceased
Their noisy note, and folded up their wings.

7. Far up some brook's still course, whose current streams
The forest's blacken'd roots, and whose green marges
Is seldom visited by human foot,

The lonely heron sits, and harshly breaks
The Sabbath-silence of the wilderness;
And you may find her by some reedy pool,
Or brooding gloomily on the time-stain'd rock,
Beside some misty and far-reaching lake.

8. Most awful is thy deep and heavy boom,'
Gray watcher of the waters!
Thou art king
Of the blue lake; and all the wingèd kind
Do fear the echo of thine angry cry.

How bright thy savage eye! Thou lookèst down,
And seest the shining fishes as they glide;
And, poising thy gray wing, thy glossy beak
Swift as an arrow strikes its roving prey.
Ofttimes I see thee, through the curling mist,
Dart, like a specter of the night, and hear

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'Dirge, a mournful song.-' Re clùse', a person who lives in retirement, or apart from others.-An' them, a sacred song.- Blithe, joyful; gay ; sprightly. Mårge, edge.— Her' on, a long legged and necked fowl that lives on fish.--' Boom, a peculiar noise made by the eagle.-- Pois ing, balancing. Spec' ter, a ghost; the appearance of a person who is dead

DANIEL WEBSTER AT SCHOOL.

Thy strange, bewildering call, like the wild scream
Of one whose life is perishing in the sea.

9. And now, wouldst thou, O man! delight the ear
With earth's delicious sounds, or charm the eye
With beautiful creations? Then pass fōrth,
And find them midst those many-colored birds
That fill the glowing woods. The richest hues
Lie in their splendid plūmage, and their tones
Are sweeter than the mūsic of the lūte,1
Or the harp's melody, or the notes that gush
So thrillingly from Beauty's ruby lip.

ISAAC MCLELLAN, Jr.

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WHE

5. DANIEL WEBSTER AT SCHOOL.

HEN Webster first entered Phillips Academy, at Exeter, he was made, in consequence of his unpolished, country-like appearance, and because he was placed at the foot of the class, the butt of ridicule1 by some of the scholars. This treatment touched his keen sensibility, and he spoke of it with regret to his friends where he boarded. They informed him that the place assigned him in the class was according to the standing regulations of the school, and that by diligence he might rise. above it. They also advised him to take no notice of the laugh ter of the city boys, for after awhile they would become weary of it, and would cease.

2. The assistant tutor, Mr. Emery, was informed of the treatment which Webster received. He, therefore, treated him with special consideration, told him to care for nothing but his books, and predicted that all would end well. This kindness had the desired effect. Webster applied himself with increased diligence, and with signal success. He soon met with his reward, which made those who had laughed at him hang their heads with shame.

'Lute, a musical instrument with strings.- Un pol' ished, rude; not refined in manners.- Bått, the object at which a thing is directed.— 'Rid' i cùle, wit that exposes the object of it to laughter and contempt Sen si bil' i ty, quickness of feeling. Pre dict' ed, foretold.

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3. At the end of the first quarter, the assistant tutor called up the class in their usual order. He then walked to the foot of the class, took Webster by the arm, and marched him, in front of the class, to the head, where, as he placed him, he said, "There, sir, that is your proper place." This practical rebuke' made those who had delighted to ridicule the country boy feel mortified and chagrined. He had outstripped them.

4. This incident greatly stimulated3 the successful student He applied himself with his accustomed in'dustry, and looked forward with some degree of solicitude1 to the end of the second term, to see whether he would be able to retain his relative rank in the class. Weeks slowly passed away; the end of the term arrived, and the class was again summoned to be newly arranged, according to their scholarship and deportment, as evinced during the preceding term! While they were all standing in silence and suspense, Mr. Emery, their teacher, said, fixing his eye at the same time upon the country boy: "Daniel Webster, gather up your books and take down your cap." Not understanding the design of such an order, Daniel complied with troubled feelings. He knew not but he was about to be expelled from school for his dullness.

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5. His teacher perceived the expression of sadness upon his countenance, but soon dispelled it by saying: "Now, sir, you will please pass into another room, and join a higher class; and you, young gentlemen," addressing the other scholars, "will take an affectionate leave of your classmate, for you will never see him again!" As if he had said. "This rustic lad, whom you have made the butt of ridicule, has already so far outstripped you in his studies, that, from your stand-point, he is dwarfed in the distance, and will soon be out of sight entirely. He has developed" a capacity for study which will prevent you from ever overtaking him. As a classmate, you will never see him again."

'Re buke', reproof for faults; check or restraint.- Chagrined (shagrined'), put to shame; vexed.-'Stim' u låt ed, excited, or roused to action. So lic' i tude, anxious care. Rel' a tive, considered by comparing with others.- E vinced', shown; proved.-' Pre cèd' ing, going before; previous. Sus pênse', state of uncertainty; doubt.— Dispelled', drove away.-"Dwarfed, made small." De vel' oped, shown' unfolded.