5. The sound of anthems,-in the darkling wood, And supplication. For his simple heart Might not resist the sacred influences, 10. That, from the stilly twilight of the place, And from the gray old trunks, that high in heaven Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect Only among the crowd, and under roofs 20. That + our frail hands have raised! Let me, at least Here, in the shadow of this aged wood, Offer one hymn; thrice happy, if it find Father, thy hand Hath reared these venerable columns. Thou 25. Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down Upon the naked earth, and, forthwith, rose All these fair ranks of trees. They, in thy sun Budded, and shook their green leaves in thy breeze, And shot toward heaven. The century-living crow, 30. Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died Among their branches; till, at last, they stood, As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark, Fit shrine for humble worshiper to hold Communion with his Maker. Here are seen 35. No traces of man's pomp, or pride; no silks Rustle, no jewels shine, nor envious eyes +Encounter; no fantastic carvings show The boast of our vain race to change the form Of thy fair works. But thou art here; thou fill'st 40. The solitude. Thou art in the soft winds, That run along the summits of these trees In music; thou art in the cooler breath, That, from the inmost darkness of the place, Comes, scarcely felt; the barky trunks, the ground, 45. The fresh, moist ground, are all instinct with thee. Here is continual worship; nature, here, In the tranquillity that thou dost love, Enjoys thy presence. Noiselessly, around, From perch to perch, the solitary bird 50. Passes; and yon clear spring, that, 'mid its herbs, Wells softly forth, and visits the strong roots Of half the mighty forest, tells no tale Of all the good it does. Thou hast not left Thyself without a witness, in these shades, 55. Of thy perfections. Grandeur, strength, and grace, Are here to speak of thee. This mighty oak, By whose immovable stem I stand, and seem Almost annihilated, not a prince, In all the proud old world beyond the deep, 60. E'er wore his crown as loftily as he Wears the green coronal of leaves, with which Of the broad sun. That delicate forest flower, Lo! all grow old and die: but see, again, The freshness of her far beginning lies, Makes his own nourishment. For he came forth 90. From thine own bosom, and shall have no end. There have been holy men, who hid themselves Deep in the woody wilderness, and gave Their lives to thought and prayer, till they outlived 95. Less aged than the hoary trees and rocks Who deemed it were not well to pass life thus. The passions, at thy plainer footsteps, shrink, 110. Its cities; who forgets not, at the sight In these calm shades, thy milder majesty, W. C. BRYANT. QUESTIONS.-What are the most ancient temples of worship? What meditations become the forest scenes? How are the forests a witness for God? (See line 55 and onward.) What is the poetic measure of this piece? Parse "stole," in the 14th line. "Shrine," in the 33d line. "Encounter," in the 37th. "Oak," in the 56th. Parse "be," the first word of the last sentence in the lesson. Parse "majesty," in the same sentence. Which are the adjectives in this sentence? Which are the prepositions? What is a preposition? Why are they so called? ARTICULATION. Struggl'd, strict, strode, stroll'd, clock, strikes. They struggl'd through all difficulties. The rules are unnecessarily strict. He strode proudly on. They stroll'd through thickets, and briars, and brambles, and thorns, till they reached the road. The clock strikes twelve. LESSON XLIII. PRONOUNCE Correctly, and ARTICULATE distinctly.-Ir-reg-u-lar, (pro. ir-reg-yu-lar), not ir-reg-gy-lar, nor ir-reg-ew-lar: sem-i-cir-cle, not sim-i-cir-cle: per-pen-dic-u-lar, not per-pen-dic-ky-lar, nor per-pen-dic'lar; which, not wich: cat-a-racts, not cat-rac's: ex-act, not ex-ac: be-yond, not be-yend: ap-pâll-ing, not ap-pål-ing: dis-cov-er-a-ble, not dis-cov er'ble. 1, Cat'-a-ract, n. a great fall of water | 10. Spi'-ral, a. winding like a screw. over a precipice. Cas-cades', n, waterfalls. 3. Am-phi-the'-a-ter, n. a circular build- [back. An'-gu-lar, a. having corners. 11. Fos'-sil, a. dug out of the earth. Or-gan'-ic, a. having organs for growth and nourishment. Organic remains are the remains of living bodies changed into stone. 12. En-vel'-op, v. to inclose, to surround 13. Im'-pe-tus,n.force of motion, impulse. Dec-o-ra'-tions, n. ornaments. 19. E'-gress, n. the act of going out. Her'-alds, n. fore-runners. NIAGARA FALLS. + 1. THE form of the Niagara Falls is that of an irregular semicircle, about three quarters of a mile in extent. This is divided into two distinct cascades by the intervention of Goat Island, the extremity of which is perpendicular, and in a line with the precipice, over which the water is projected. The cataract on the Canada side of the river, is called the Horse-shoe, or Great Fall, from its peculiar form; and that next the United States, the American Fall. 2. The Table Rock, from which the Falls of the Niagara may be contemplated in all their grandeur, lies on an exact level with the edge of the cataract on the Canada side, and, indeed, forms a part of the precipice, over which the water rushes. It derives its name from the circumstance of its projecting beyond the cliffs that support it, like the leaf of a table. To gain this position, it is necessary to descend a steep bank, and to follow a path that winds among shrubbery and trees, which entirely conceal from the eye the scene that awaits him who traverses it. 3. When near the termination of this road, a few steps carried me beyond all these obstructions, and a magnificent amphitheater of cataracts burst upon my view with appalling suddenness and majesty. However, in a moment, the scene was concealed from my eyes by a dense cloud of spray, which involved me so completely, that I did not dare to extricate myself. 4. A mingled and thunder-like rushing filled my ears. I could see nothing, except when the wind made a chasm in the spray, and then tremendous cataracts seemed to encompass me on every side; while, below, a raging and foaming gulf, of undiscoverable extent, lashed the rocks with its hissing waves, and swallowed, under a horrible obscurity, the smoking floods that were precipitated into its bosom. + 5. At first, the sky was obscured by clouds, but, after a few minutes, the sun burst forth, and the breeze, subsiding at the same time, permitted the spray to ascend perpendicularly. A host of pyramidal clouds rose majestically, one after another, from the abyss at the bottom of the Fall; and each, when it had ascended a little above the edge of the cataract, displayed a beautiful rainbow, which, in a few moments, was gradually transferred into the bosom of the cloud that immediately succeeded. 6. The spray of the Great Fall had extended itself through a wide space directly over me, and, receiving the full influence of the sun, exhibited a luminous and magnificent rainbow, which continued to overarch and irradiate the spot on which I stood, while I enthusiastically contemplated the indescribable scene. The 7. Any person who has nerve enough, may plunge his hand into the water of the Great Fall, after it is projected over the precipice, merely by lying down flat, with his face beyond the edge of the Table Rock, and stretching out his arm to its utmost extent. +experiment is truly a horrible one, and such as I would not wish to repeat; for, even to this day, I feel a shuddering and recoiling sensation when I recollect having been in the posture above described. 8. The body of water, which composes the middle part of the Great Fall, is so immense, that it descends nearly two thirds of the space without being ruffled or broken; and the solemn calmness, with which it rolls over the edge of the precipice, is finely contrasted with the perturbed appearance it assumes after having reached the gulf below. But the water, toward each side of the Fall, is shattered the moment it drops over the rock, and loses as |