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LESSON XXXI.

The Cottage of the Hills.-ANON.

How sweetly 'neath the pale moonlight,
That slumbers on the woodland height,
Yon little cot appears;-just seen
Amid the twining evergreen,

That fondly clings around its form.
Poor trembler, I have seen like thee,
Fond woman in her constancy,

E'en when the stormiest hour came on,
Cling closer to the much loved one,
Nor dream, till every tie was parted,
That all within was hollow-hearted.
Yon little cot looks wondrous fair,
And yet no taper-light is there!
Say, whither are its dwellers gone?
Bird of the mountain, thou alone
Saw by the lightning from on high,
The mountain-torrent rushing by ;
Beheld, upon its wild wave borne,
The tall pine from the hill top torn.
Amid its roar, thine ear alone

Heard the wild shriek—the dying groan,-
The prayer that struggled to be free-
Breathed forth in life's last agony !
In vain-no angel form was there,

The wild wave drowned the sufferer's prayer.
As down the rocky glen they sped,

The mountain spirits shriek'd and fled!

"Twas morning;-and the glorious sun
Shone on the work, which death had done-
On shattered cliff, and broken branch,
The ruin of the Avalanche !

And there lay one, upon whose brow,
Age had not shed its wintry snow;

The fragment in whose clenched hand, told
How firm on life had been his hold,
While the curled lip-the upturned eye,

Told of a father's agony !

And there beside the torrent's path,

'Neath, poetically, for beneath.

Slumbers. How is moon-light here represented?
Woodland, land covered with woods.

Cot, poetically for cottage.

Twining, uniting, twisting together.

Trembler. What figure is here used?

Constancy, perpetuity, unalterable continuance.
Stormiest, most stormy and tempestuous, from storm.
Loved one. Who is meant by this expression?
-Tie, bond of union, knot, affection.
Hollow-hearted, false, deceitful, hypocritical.
-Looks, seems, appears, sees, aspect, countenance.
Taper, candle, lamp, feeble light.

Say. To whom is this address?
Bird. Why speak to this bird?

By the lightning. How did this assist in seeing?
Mountain-torrent, torrent raging down the moun-

tain.

Wild wave, boisterous wave.

Torn, pulled up, rent away.

.Shrill, clear, piercing sound.

.Shriek, cry of sudden danger, wail.
Last agony, last struggle before death.
In vain. What was in vain ?

Angel form, deliverance, poetical figure.

Drowned, overpowered, prevented its being heard.
Glen, valley, dale.

Mountain spirits, poetic personages having no real existence. The expression is of pagan origin. Glorious. What does this denote when applied to the sun?

Work. How is death here represented?

Shattered cliff, broken rocks.

Ruin, destruction, remains, fragments, destroy.
Age. How made to appear?

Wintry snow. What can this mean applied to a per

son ?

Clenched, fastened, united, closed.

Fragment. How did this indicate strong health?

Curled, twisted, withered.

Upturned eye, a look of agony.

Torrent's path. Does this personify the torrent ?

Too pure, too sacred for its wrath,
Lay one, whose arms still closely pressed
An infant to her frozen breast.

The kiss, upon its pale cheek sealed,
A mother's quenchless love revealed.
Sire, mother, offspring-all were there,
Not one had 'scaped the conqueror's snare,
Not one was left to weep alone ;

The "dwellers of the hill" were gone!
The wild bird soaring far on high,
Beheld them with averted eyc,
The forest prowler, as he pass'd,
Looked down upon the rich repast,
But dared not banquet. 'Twas a spell,
Which bound them in that lonely dell,
And there they slept so peacefully,
That the lone pilgrim passing by,
Had deemed them of a brighter sphere,
Condemned awhile to linger here,
Whose pure eyes sickening at the sight
Of sin and sorrow's withering blight,
Had sought in tears that silent glen,
And slumbered-ne'er to wake again.
And there they found them-stronger hands
Bore them to where yon cottage stands,
And there one summer evening's close,
They left them to their last repose.
Such the brief page thy story fills,
Thou lonely" cottage of the hills."
E'en while I gaze, night's gloomy shade,
Is gathering, as the moon-beams fade.
Around thy walk they faintly play,-
They tremble-gleam-then flit away :-
They fade-they vanish down the dell,
Lone "cottage of the hills"-farewell!

LESSON XXXII.

Anger inconsistent with a Spirit of Prayer.-TAYLOR. Prayer is an action, and state of intercourse, and desire exactly contrary to the character of anger. Prayer

Wrath, vengeance, anger.

Sacred, consecrated, inviolable.

Frozen. What does the word intend?

Sealed, imprinted, enclosed, fixed.

Quenchless, lasting, ever-burning. From what derived?

Sire, father, progenitor.

.Conqueror's. Who was the conqueror ?

'Scaped. What is the use of the apostrophe here? Why is the word contracted?

Dwellers of the hill. Who were these?

Averted, turned away. Why was the eye averted ? .Prowler, beast roving about for prey.

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Repast, refreshment, dinner. Repast" does not

make good rhyme with "passed:" why not?

Banquet, make a feast, eat.

Dared not. Why did he not dare to do it?
Spell, chain, magical influence, invisible power.

Dell, valley, pit, poetical word.

.Sphere, orb; world, planet.

Condemned, sentenced, doomed.

Blight, mildew, any thing blasting.

.Withering, causing to wither, deadening.

Slumbered. What is often called sleep, or slumber? Ne'er, never, contracted in poetry. Why contracted? Stranger hands, hands of strangers.

-Bore, conveyed, carried, endured.

-Close, conclusion, end.

Last repose. What is this?

Brief, short, transient.

Cottage. Explain the figure here used, and tell me

in what writing it is most frequent.

Gathering, collecting, thickening.

Faintly, feebly, dimly, from faint.
Gleam, shine for a moment.

Flit, fly away.

What time of the day is represented in this piece?

What is anger? Give an example.

Intercourse, fellowship, communion, acquaintance. Desire, longing, earnest expectation.

is an action of likeness to the Holy Ghost, the spirit of gentleness, and dove-like simplicity. Prayer is an imitation of the holy Jesus, whose spirit is meek up to the greatness of the most eminent example; and a conformity to God, whose anger is always just and marches slowly, and is without transportation, and often hindered, and never hasty, and is full of mercy. Prayer is the peace of our spirit, the stillness of our thoughts, the seat of meditation, the rest of our cares, and the calm of our tempest. Prayer is the issue of a quiet mind, of untroubled thoughts, it is the daughter of charity, and the sister of meekness; and he that prays to God with an angry spirit, that is with a troubled and discomposed spirit, is like him, that retires into a battle to meditate, and sets up his closet in the out-quarters of an army, and chooses a frontier garrison to be wise in. Anger is a perfect alienation of the mind from prayer, and therefore is contrary to that attention, which presents our prayer in a right time to God. For so have I seen a lark rising from his bed of grass, and soaring upwards, singing as he rises, and hopes to get to heaven and climb above the clouds; but the poor bird was beaten back with the loud sighings of an eastern wind, and his motion made irregular and inconstant, descending more at every breath of the tempest, than it could recover by the libration and frequent weighing of his wings; till the little creature was forced to sit down and pant, and stay till the storm was over, and then it made a prosperous flight, and did rise and sing, as if it had learned music, and motion from an angel, as he passed sometimes through the air in his ministeries here below. So was the prayer of a good man, when his duty met with the infirmities of a sinful being, and anger was its instrument, and the instrument became stronger than the prime agent and raised a tempest and overruled the man; and then his prayer was broken, and his thoughts were troubled, and his words went up towards a cloud, and his thoughts pulled them back again, and made them without intention; and the good man sighs for his infirmity, but must be content to lose the prayer, and he must recover it when his anger is removed, and his spirit is becalmed, made even like the brow of Jesus,

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