LESSON V.—THANATOPSIS. THANATOPSIS is a compound Greek word meaning a View of Death; or it may be translated "Reflections on Death." [The air of pensive contemplation that pervades this piece requires the inflections, in the reading of it, to be slight and gentle, and the tone throughout to be one of tender sadness and Christian resignation.] 1. To him who in the love of nature holds 2. 3. Communion with her visible forms, she speaks Of the stern agony', and shroud', and pall', To Nature's' teaching, while from all around', "Yet a few days, and thee, The all-beholding sun shall see no more In all his course'; nor yet, in the cold ground, Thy image. Earth, that nourish'd thee, shall claim To mix forever with the elements', To be a brother to th' insensible rock And to the sluggish clod', which the rude swain The oak Shall send his roots abroad', and pierce thy mould'. 4. "Yet not to thy eternal resting-place 5. Shalt thou retire alone, nor could'st thou wish "The hills, 6. In majesty, and the complaining brooks That make the meadows green'; and, pour'd round all', Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun', All that tread The flight of years began', have laid them down Take note of thy departure'? All that breathe The youth in life's green spring', and he who goes To the pale realms of shade', where each shall take Thou go not like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged' to his dungeon'; but, sustain'd and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him', and lies down to pleasant dreams'.-BRYANT. LESSON VI.-THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH. 1. UNDER a spreading chestnut-tree The smith, a mighty man is he, LONGFELLOW. And the muscles of his brawny arms 2. His hair is crisp, and black, and long; His brow is wet with honest sweat; He earns whate'er he can, And looks the whole world in the face, 3. Week in, week out, from morn till night, You can hear his bellows blow; You can hear him swing his heavy sledge 4. And children coming home from school Look in at the open door; They love to see the flaming forge, And catch the burning sparks that fly 5. He goes, on Sunday, to the church, He hears the parson pray and preach, And it makes his heart rejoice. 6. It sounds to him like her mother's voice, Singing in Paradise! He needs must think of her once more, And with his hard, rough hand he wipes 7. Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing, Onward through life he goes; Each morning sees some task begun, 8. Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, For the lesson thou hast taught! Thus, at the flaming forge of life, 1. "WELCOME to the hills and dales of Glenwild," said Mr. Maynard, as he met for the first time, after a short vacation, the Volunteer Philosophy Class, composed of Masters George, John, and Frank, and Misses Ida and Ella. "Welcome to the pleasant shade of the spreading oak, to the lawn, the grove, the meadow, 'The River;' but especially to the LIBRARY and recitation-room, endeared by the memories of the past, and where we hope to talk over the remaining topics of philosophy. But tell me first how you have spent the vacation." 2. After a short pause, John, who was the eldest of the class, replied that he had passed the brief month about his father's mill, where he had felt the advantage of the scientific knowledge he had gained, and his need of more. 3. George had contrived a new arrangement of levers to remove stumps of trees from his father's farm, and had also made a whippletree in such a way that a weak horse could plow with a strong and able one without having to pull more than one third as much as the other. 4. Frank had passed his vacation in the city, but not unmindful of the lessons he had learned at Glenwild. His philosophical experiments had been principally confined to rowing and sailing; and the best possible rig for his boat was the subject to which his thoughts had been chiefly directed. 5. Ida and Ella had accompanied Mr. Maynard and his family in their vacation tour to Niagara, the Lakes, the White Mountains, and the sea-side. They had seen many practical illustrations of those laws of philosophy which they had already learned; and while they were not less delighted and enraptured with the sublime and picturesque objects of their visit than the most poetical tourists, they still had many questions to ask about rainbows, clouds, waves, and winds-phenomena which Mr. M. promised to explain more fully on their return to Glenwild. 6. Mr. Maynard told them that he well remembered his promise, and that the remaining departments of Natural Philosophy related to water, winds, clouds, rainbows, thunder and lightning, and other similar phenomena. It would not, however, be possible to give them all the instruction they would need on so many and important subjects in the time devoted to philosophy; but he had made arrangements to explain many things about them in a course of lessons on Physical Geography. 7. "We have to study matter," remarked Mr. Maynard, "in its three forms or conditions. All material substances are either solids, liquids, or gases. Many substances-perhaps all—may exist in all three of these forms, under proper conditions of temperature and pressure; as steam, which may be condensed into water or frozen into ice. Even metals may be melted, and then converted into vapor. 8. "There are two conditions or aspects in which all these forms of matter should be considered, viz., in a state of rest and in motion; the former of which is treated under the head of statics, and the latter under that of dynamics. The Lessons on Philosophy in the Fourth Reader were on the statics and dynamics of solids; and our present course will treat of the corresponding laws of liquids and gases." .9. "I would like to ask," said Frank, "if the allotment of the empire of the world, in ancient mythology, to the three brothers, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, had any reference to |