O sweet is the new violet, that comes beneath the skies,
And sweeter is the young lamb's voice to me that cannot rise;
And sweet is all the land about, and all the flowers that blow,
And sweeter far is death than life, to me that long to go.

It seem'd so hard at first, mother, to leave the blessed sun,
And now it seems as hard to stay, and yet His will be done!
But still I think it can't be long before I find release;

And that good man, the clergyman, has told me words of peace.

O blessings on his kindly voice, and on his silver hair!
And blessings on his whole life long, until he meet me there!
O blessings on his kindly heart, and on his silver head!
A thousand times I blest him as he knelt beside my bed.

He taught me all the mercy, for he show'd me all the sin;
How, tho' my lamp was lighted late, there's One will let me in;
Nor would I now be well, mother, again if that could be,
For my desire is but to pass to Him that died for me.

I did not hear the dog howl, mother, or the death-watch beat-
There came a sweeter token when the night and morning meet :
But sit beside my bed, mother, and put your hand in mine,
And Effie on the other side, and I will tell the sign.

All in the wild March morning, I heard the angels call;
It was when the moon was setting, and the dark was over all;
The trees began to whisper, and the wind began to roll,
And in the wild March morning I heard them call my soul,
For, lying broad awake, I thought of you and Effie, dear;
I saw you sitting in the house, and I no longer here;
With all my strength I pray'd for both, and so I felt resign'd,
And up the valley came a swell of music on the wind.

I thought that it was fancy, and I listen'd in my bed,

And then did something speak to me. I know not what was said;

For great delight and shuddering took hold of all my mind,
And up the valley came again the music on the wind.

But you were sleeping; and I said, "It's not for them-it's mine."

And if it comes three times, I thought, I take it for a sign.
And once again it came, and close beside the window-bars,
Then seem'd to go right up to Heaven and die among the stars.

So now I think my time is near; I trust it is: I know
The blessed music went that way my soul will have to go.
And for myself, indeed, I care not if I go to-day,
But, Effie, you must comfort her when I am past away.

And say to Robin a kind word, and tell him not to fret;
There's many worthier than I would make him happy yet.
If I had lived-I cannot tell-I might have been his wife;
But all these things have ceased to be, with my desire for life.

O look, the sun begins to rise, the heavens are in a glow,
He shines upon a hundred fields, and all of them I know.
And there I move no longer now, and there his light may shine-
Wild flowers in the valley for other hands than mine.

O sweet and strange it seems to me, that ere this day is done,
The voice, that now is speaking, may be beyond the sun-

For ever and for ever with those just souls and true

And what is life, that we should moan? why make so much ado?

For ever and for ever, all in a blessed home

And there to wait a little while till you and Effie come-
To be within the light of God, as I lie upon your breast—

And the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.

ALFRED TENNYSON (Poet Laureate).

Life of Columbus.

(ABRIDGED FROM IRVING'S LIFE.)

CHAPTER X.

HE journey of Columbus to Barcelona was like the progress of a sovereign. Wherever he passed the surrounding country poured forth its inhabitants, who lined the road and thronged the villages, rending the air with acclamations. In the large towns the streets, windows, and balconies were lined with

spectators, eager to gain a sight of him and of the Indians whom he carried with him, who were regarded with as much astonishment as if they had been natives of another planet.

It was about the middle of April that he arrived at Barcelona. His entrance into this noble city has been compared to one of those triumphs which the Romans were accustomed to decree to conquerors. First were paraded the six Indians, painted according to their savage fashion, and decorated with their ornaments

of gold. After these were some various kinds of live parrots, together with stuffed birds and animals of unknown species, and rare plants, supposed to be of precious qualities; while especial care was taken to display the Indian coronets, bracelets, and other decorations of gold which might give an idea of the wealth of the newly-discovered regions. After this followed Columbus, on horseback, surrounded by a brilliant cavalcade of Spanish chivalry. The streets were almost impassable from the multitude; the houses, even to the very roofs, were crowded with spectators; it seemed as if the public eye could not be sated with gazing at these trophies of an unknown world, or on the remarkable man by whom it had been discovered. There was a sublimity in this event that mingled a solemn feeling with the public joy. It was considered a signal dispensation of Providence in reward for the piety of the sovereigns; and the majestic and venerable appearance of the discoverer, so different from the youth and buoyancy that generally accompany roving enterprise, seemed in harmony with the grandeur and dignity of the achievement.

To receive him with suitable distinction, the sovereigns had ordered their throne to be placed in public, uuder a rich canopy of brocade of gold, where they awaited his arrival, seated in state, with Prince Juan beside them, and surrounded by their principal nobility. Columbus approached them, accompanied by a brilliant crowd of cavaliers, amongst whom, we are told, he was conspicuous for his stately and commanding person, which, with his venerable grey hairs, gave him the august appearance of a senator of Rome. A modest smile lighted up his countenance, showing that he enjoyed the state and glory in which he came; and certainly nothing could be more deeply moving to a mind inflamed by noble ambition than these testimonies of the admiration and gratitude of a nation, or rather of a world. On his approach the sovereigns rose, as if receiving a person of the highest rank. Bending on his knees he would have kissed their hands in token of vassalage, but they raised him in the most gracious manner, and ordered him to seat himself in their presence-a rare honour in this proud and punctilious court.

He now gave an account of the most striking events of his voyage, and displayed the various productions and the native inhabitants which he had brought from the New World. He

assured their majesties that all these were but harbingers of greater discoveries that he had yet to make, which would add realms of immense wealth to their dominions and whole nations of converts to the true faith.

When Columbus had finished, the king and queen sank on their knees, raised their hands to heaven, and, with eyes filled with tears of joy and gratitude, poured forth their thanks and praises to God. All present followed their example; a deep and solemn enthusiasm pervaded that solemn assembly and prevented all common acclamations of triumph. The anthem of Te Deum Laudamus, chanted by the choir of the royal chapel, with the melodious accompaniment of instruments, rose up from the midst in a full body of harmony, bearing up, as it were, the feelings and thoughts of the auditors to heaven. Such was the solemn and pious manner in which the brilliant court of Spain celebrated this sublime event, offering up a grateful tribute of melody and praise, and giving glory to God for the discovery of another world.

During his sojourn at Barcelona the sovereigns took every occasion to bestow on Columbus the highest marks of personal consideration. He was admitted at all times to the royal presence; appeared occasionally with the king on horseback, riding on one side of him, while Prince Juan rode on the other side; and the queen delighted to converse familiarly with him on the subject of his voyage. To perpetuate in his family the glory of his achievement, a coat of arms was given him, in which he was allowed to quarter the royal arms-the castle and lion-with those more peculiarly assigned him, which were a group of islands surrounded by waves. To these arms were afterwards annexed

the motto

To Castile and Leon
Columbus gave a new world.

The pension of thirty crowns which had been decreed by the sovereigns to whomsoever should first discover land was adjudged to Columbus for having first seen the light on the shore. It is said that the seaman who first descried the land was so incensed at being disappointed of what he deemed his merited reward, that he renounced his country and his faith, and, crossing into Africa, turned Mussulman-an anecdote, however, which rests on rather questionable authority.

The favour shown Columbus by the sovereigns insured him, for a time, the caresses of the nobility, for in a court everyone is eager to lavish attentions upon the man whom the king delighteth to honour. At one of the banquets which were given him occurred the well-known circumstance of the egg. A shallow courtier present, impatient of the honours paid to Columbus, and meanly jealous of him as a foreigner, abruptly asked him whether he thought that, in case he had not discovered the Indies, there would have been wanting men in Spain capable of the enterprise. To this Columbus made no direct reply, but, taking an egg, invited the company to make it stand upon one end. Everyone attempted it, but in vain. Thereupon he struck it upon the table, broke one end, and left it standing on the broken part; illustrating in this simple manner that when he had once shown the way to the New World nothing was easier than to follow it.

The joy occasioned by this great discovery was not confined to Spain; the whole civilised world was filled with wonder and delight; everyone rejoiced in it as an event in which he was more or less interested, and which opened a new and unbounded field for inquiry and enterprise; men of learning and science shed tears of joy, and those of ardent imagination indulged in the most extravagant and delightful dreams. Notwithstanding, however, no one had an idea of the real importance of the discovery. The opinion of Columbus was universally adopted, that Cuba was the end of the Asiatic continent, and that the adjacent islands were in the Indian seas. They were called, therefore, the West Indies, and, as the region discovered appeared to be of a vast and indefinite extent, it received the name of "The New World."

An idler is like a watch that wants both hands,
As useless when he goes as when he stands.-Cowper.

How poor, how rich, how abject, how august,
How complicate, how wonderful, is man!-Young.

No bandit fierce, no tyrant mad with pride,
No cavern'd hermit rests self-satisfied.-Pope.