LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHTH. Royal Magnanimity. Long after the subversion of the western empire, the monarch of the East, it is known, retained sufficient power, if not to hold their barbarous enemies in awe, yet, for a long time, to repel their invasions. These were more frequent and more formidable at each succeeding effort, till, at last, they resulted in the establishment of the Ottoman empire in Europe In the reign of Melek Shah, king of Persia, a singular instance of generosity occurred, which proves that, at the period when the Christian and infidel powers were struggling for the yet undetermined ascendency, the title by desert was not so clear as historians would have us imagine, nor the epithet "barbarian," in all things, justly bestowed upon the enemies of Christendom. That prince, when young, having ascended the throne, resolved to secure the admiration of his subjects by some extraordinary act of military prowess The usual resort, on such occasions, for the Mahom edan sovereigns, was ever the decaying power of Greece; and, accordingly, in the name of the mighty king, Melek Shah, of Persia, an exterminating war was denounced against the emperor of Constantinople, his tributaries, friends, and allies, which he was not slow in requiting with the preparations of a mighty force, that almost immediately appeared on the Persian frontiers. Several actions were fought, under the conduct of the most trusted commanders; and in these, though the issue was never decisive, the advantage remained always with the troops of the emperor. But, at length, the day approached on which the two nations were to make trial of their strength; and the respective armies, headed by the sovereigns in person, appeared on opposite sides of a broad river, which, rolling its mighty waters between, offered a secure barrier, to either army, from a sudden attack, and gave to both sufficient time for preparation against a regular assault,—in which, as neither party could cross so unexpectedly as to take his enemy by surprise, the defenders would have all the advantage of time and place, of retreat and pursuit. Trusting to this natural defence, with the additional security of doubled guards, the young Shah resolved to indulge, perhaps from a boyish feeling of bravado, in his favorite exercise, the chase; and, confiding to his well tried vizier the charge of the army, accompanied by a few chosen attendants, he prepared, in simple huntsman's apparel, for his amusement. Engaged in the pursuit, he did not perceive that he had proceeded far beyond the limits enclosed by his army and guarded by his sentinels, till he found himself surrounded by a party of soldiers, whom he instantly discovered to be scouts of the enemy. Without revealing his rank, he enjoined secrecy to his followers, and prudently suffered himself to be conducted as a prisoner, since he had no force with which to resist a score of well armed opponents. When the disastrous tidings were brought to the vizier, he published through the camp that the Shah was seriously ill, commanded the guard to be strengthened round the royal pavilion, and, thus completing the delusion of his own soldiers, prepared to put in execution a deeper scheme for the delusion of the Greek sovereign. He demanded a parley, crossed the river, and, being admitted into the presence of the imperial soldier, proposed, in the name of his master and lord, the mighty Shah, the light of the earth, and first born of the sun, peace with the emperor of Greece. To this proposal he added such terms as the emperor could not decline; and, they being accepted, the vizier prepared to depart for the final rati fication of his prince. "Hold!" cried the emperor; "to our brother of Persia say, that, yesterday, our foragers returned and bore with them the persons of six officers, captured while distant from the camp. Say to him more: these we present our brother, as the first pledge of peace." At The vizier bowed and replied, "What comes from your most gracious majesty, is hallowed by the giver. I take them, and, from you, I know my lord will value them; yet hardly can I hold them of great rank, since, even till now, their loss was unknown to me." these words, the captive monarch and his train were led in and delivered to the vizier; who, with a frowning aspect, turned and rebuked them for their temerity in wandering from the camp. "Return," said he, "and know the duty better which, at such cost, you have learned." Returned triumphant in his scheme, the grand vizier was commanded to annul the truce by his ingenuity first obtained, and the Greek was left as best he could to recover from the mortification of his slighted friendship. Stung by this apparent contempt, the emperor, under all the disadvantages of crossing the river, resolved to venture a battle; and, accordingly, putting into motion his immense host, no sooner was the vanguard on the Persian side, than a most furious action commenced, in which the Greeks were partially routed, and the emperor, who had fought in the first rank, led captive into the tent of the victorious Shah. If the Persian started at beholding now in his possession, one who, but two days before, had been his arbiter of life and death, what was the Greek's astonishment to behold in his conqueror-to see surrounded by power, and splendor, and pomp, his slave, as it were, of yesterday. But, resolving to be, "Even in fate's despite, a king," and, feeling how much more his dignity required in his fallen state than when in power, a despot, he raised his brow severely, and addressed the conqueror. "King of Persia, I know not to disguise my rank, and shame to hide my title; I am the emperor of the Greeks. Art thou indeed a monarch? I ask of thee deliverance from these bonds! Art thou a merchant? then say the price you will, and sell a king. Art thou a butcher? lead me to the slaughter!" A slight frown once crossed the dark brow of Melek, but it passed. If," said he, "the king of Persia has not yet been a monarch in thine eyes, this day shall crown him one;-go, my brother king, thy soldiers wait thee, enough, even yet, if fortune be with thee, to shake this throne; go to thy camp-there will we treat of peace." 66 The Autumn Evening. Behold the western evening light! It melts in evening gloom; The winds breathe low; the withering leaf How beautiful on all the hills gives How mildly on the wandering cloud "T is like the memory left behind And above the dews of night So faith springs in the hearts of those But soon the morning's happier light And eyelids that are sealed in death wwwwww.. LESSON ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH. Public Duty and Private Friendship. When Cleon came into the administration of public affairs at Athens, he assembled all his friends, and declared to them, that, from that moment, he renounced their friendship, lest it should prove an obstacle to him in the discharge of his duty, and induce him to act with partiality and injustice. As Plutarch, however, very fairly observes, it was not his friends, but his passions, which he ought to have renounced. An anecdote is told of a patriot of modern times, the great Washington, which exhibits, in a much finer light, the distinction between public duty and private friendship. During his administration as president of the United States, a gentleman, the friend and companion of the general throughout the whole course of the revolutionary war, applied for a lucrative and very responsible office. The gentleman was at all times welcome to Washington's table; he had been to a certain degree, necessary to the domestic repose of a man who had for seven years fought the battles of his country, and who had now undertaken the task of wielding |