5. The dying cry of the dog aroused the infant, and Lewellyn, hearing a noise, upon examining the bed-clothes which were lying near in a heap, he there found his son, who had just wakened from sleep, entirely safe and unhurt, while close by him lay the dead body of a hideous wolf, who had been killed by the faithful Gelert, while in the act of attempting to destroy the life of the child. 6. Lewellyn was struck with horror at the spectacle before him-after giving vent to his grief for the rash act of destroying the preserver of his son, he raised a splendid tomb over Gelert. The place still goes by the name of " Beth Gelert," or Gelert's Grave. Beth Gelert, or the Grave of the Greyhound.-W. SPENCER. 1. THE spearman heard the bugle sound, And many a dog and many a hound 2. And still he blew a louder blast, And gave a lustier cheer, "Come Gelert, thou wert ne'er the last 3. "Oh, where does faithful Gelert roam, "So true, so brave, a lamb at home, 4. 'Twas only at Lewellyn's board The faithful Gelert fed; He watch'd, he serv d, he cheer'd his lord, 5. In sooth he was a peerless hound, But now, no Gelert could be found, 6. And now, as o'er the rocks and dells, All Snowdon's craggy chaos yells * John, king of England, A. D. 1199. 7. That day Lewellyn little loved And scant and small the booty proved- 8. Unpleased Lewellyn homeward hied; 9. But when he gained his castle door, The hound all o'er was smeared with gore, 10. Lewellyn gazed with fierce surprise; His favorite checked his joyful guise, 11. Onward in haste Lewellyn past, And still where'er his eyes he cast, 12. O'erturned his infant's bed he found 13. He called his child-no voice replied; Blood, blood he found on every side, 14. "Vile brute! my child by thee's devoured.' The frantic father cried, And to the hilt his vengeful sword He plunged in Gelert's side. 15. His suppliant looks, as prone he fell, No pity could impart, But still his Gelert's dying yell Passed heavy o'er his heart. 16. Aroused by Gelert's dying yell, Some slumberer wakened nigh, What words the parent's joy could tell, 17. Conceal'd beneath a tumbled heap,' All glowing from his rosy sleep, 18. No wound had he, nor harm, nor dread; Lay a gaunt wolf, all torn and dead, 19. Ah, what was then Lewellyn's pain? His gallant hound the wolf had slain, 20. Vain, vain was all Lewellyn's wo: The frantic blow that laid thee low, 21. And now a gallant tomb they raise, And marble, storied with his praise, 22. There, never could the spearman pass, There, oft the tear-besprinkled grass 23. And there he hung his horn and spear, In fancy's ear, he oft would hear, 24. And 'till great Snowdon's rocks grow old, And cease the storm to brave, The consecrated spot shall hold LESSON XXIV. Mortality.-BArbauld. 1. CHILD of mortality, whence comest thou? why is thy countenance sad, and why are thine eyes red with weeping? I have seen the rose in its beauty; it spread its leaves to the morning sun. I returned: it was dying upon its stalk; the grace of the form of it was gone: its loveliness was vanished away; its leaves were scattered on the ground, and no one gathered them again. 2. A stately tree grew on the plain; its branches were covered with verdure; its boughs spread wide, and made a goodly shadow; the trunk was like a strong pillar; the roots were like crooked fangs. I returned: the verdure was nipt by the east wind, the branches were lopt away by the ax; the worm had made its way into the trunk, and the heart thereof was decayed; it mouldered away and fell to the ground. 3. I have seen the insects sporting in the sunshine, and darting along the streams; their wings glittered with gold and purple; their bodies shone like the green emerald; they were more numerous than I could count; their motions were quicker than my eye could glance. I returned: they were brushed into the pool; they were perishing with the evening breeze; the swallow had devoured them; the pike had seized them; there were none found of so great a multitude. 4. I have seen a man in the pride of his strength; his cheeks glowed with beauty; his limbs were full of activity; he leaped; he walked; he ran; he rejoiced in that he was more excellent than those. I returned: he lay stiff and cold on the bare ground; his feet could no longer move, nor his hands stretch themselves out; his life was departed from him; and the breath out of his nostrils. Therefore do I weep because DEATH is in the world; the spoiler is among the works of God; all that is made must be destroyed; all that is born must die. LESSON XXV. 1. I HAVE seen the flower withering on the stalk, and its bright leaves spread on the ground.—I looked again; it sprung forth afresh; its stem was crowned with new buds, and its sweetness filled the air. 2. I have seen the sun set in the west, and the shades of night shut in the wide horizon: there was no color, nor shape, nor beauty, nor music; gloom and darkness brooded around.I looked the sun broke forth again upon the east, and gilded the mountain tops; the lark rose to meet him from her low nest, and the shades of darkness fled away. 3. I have seen the insect, being come to its full size, languish, and refuse to eat: it spun itself a tomb, and was shrouded in the silken cone; it lay without feet, or shape, or power to move. I looked again: it had burst its tomb; it was full of life, and sailed on colored wings through the soft air; it rejoic ed in its new being. 4. Thus shall it be with thee, O man! and so shall thy life be renewed. Beauty shall spring up out of ashes, and life out of the dust. A little while shalt thou lie in the ground, as the seed lies in the bosom of the earth: but thou shalt be raised again; and thou shalt never die any more. 5. Who is he that comes to burst open the prison doors of the tomb; to bid the dead awake; and to gather his redeemed from the four winds of heaven? He descends on a fiery cloud; the sound of a trumpet goes before him; thousands of angels are on his right hand. It is Jesus, the Son of God; the Saviour of men; the friend of the good. He comes in the glory of his Father; he has received power from on high. 6. Mourn not, therefore, child of immortality! for the spoiler, the cruel spoiler, that laid waste the works of God, is subdued. Jesus has conquered death: child of immortality! mourn no longer. LESSON XXVI. The End of Perfection.-MRS. SIGOURNEY. 1. I HAVE seen a man in the glory of his days and the pride of his strength. He was built like the tall cedar that lifts its head above the forest trees; like the strong oak that strikes its root deeply into the earth. He feared no danger--he felt no sickness-he wondered that any should groan or sigh at pain. 2. His mind was vigorous like his body; he was perplexed at no intricacy; he was daunted at no difficulty; into hidden things he searched, and what was crooked he made plain. 3. He went forth fearless upon the mighty deep; he surveyed the nations of the earth; he measured the distances of the stars, and called them by their names; he gloried in the extent of his knowledge, in the vigor of his understanding, and strove lo search even into what the Almighty had concealed. 4. And when I looked on him, I said, "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in forin and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a God!" |