McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader. William Holmes McGuffey

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СКАЧАТЬ gracious promise he was so good as to make, in favor of his son-in-law, at the last election."

      Vexed at so untimely a disturbance, and disappointed of news from Spain, the Duke frowned for a moment; but chagrin soon gave way to mirth, at so singular and ridiculous a combination of circumstances, and, yielding to the impulse, he sunk upon the bed in a violent fit of laughter, which was communicated in a moment to the attendants.

      The relater of this little narrative, concludes, with observing, "Although the Duke of Newcastle could not place the relative of his old acquaintance on the throne of His Catholic Majesty, he advanced him to a post not less honorable—he made him an exciseman."—Blackwood's Magazine.

      [Illustration: Bedroom: The Duke is startled awake, sitting up in bed with distressed look on his face. A servant is holding a candlestick. A third man is slightly bowed and holding his hat in his hands. The duke's sword rests against a chair at the foot of the bed.]

      Notes.—Duke of Newcastle.—Thomas Holles Pelham (b. 1693, d. 1768), one of the chief ministers of state in the reign of George II. of England.

      Cornwall.—A county forming the extreme southwestern part of England.

      King of Spain.—Ferdinand VI. was then the king of Spain. He died in 1759.

      His Catholic Majesty, a title applied to the kings of Spain; first given to Alfonso I. by Pope Gregory III. in 739.

II. THE NEEDLE. (67)

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      The gay belles of fashion may boast of excelling

       In waltz or cotillon, at whist or quadrille;

       And seek admiration by vauntingly telling

       Of drawing, and painting, and musical skill:

       But give me the fair one, in country or city,

       Whose home and its duties are dear to her heart,

       Who cheerfully warbles some rustical ditty,

       While plying the needle with exquisite art:

       The bright little needle, the swift-flying needle,

       The needle directed by beauty and art.

      If Love have a potent, a magical token,

       A talisman, ever resistless and true,

       A charm that is never evaded or broken,

       A witchery certain the heart to subdue,

       'T is this; and his armory never has furnished

       So keen and unerring, or polished a dart;

       Let beauty direct it, so polished and burnished,

       And oh! it is certain of touching the heart:

       The bright little needle, the swift-flying needle,

       The needle directed by beauty and art.

      Be wise, then, ye maidens, nor seek admiration,

       By dressing for conquest, and flirting with all;

       You never, whate'er be your fortune or station,

       Appear half so lovely at rout or at ball,

       As gayly convened at the work-covered table,

       Each cheerfully active, playing her part,

       Beguiling the task with a song or a fable,

       And plying the needle with exquisite art:

       The bright little needle, the swift-flying needle,

       The needle directed by beauty and art.

      —Samuel Woodworth.

III. DAWN. (68)

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      Edward Everett, 1794–1865. He was born at Dorchester, Mass., now a part of Boston, and graduated from Harvard College with the highest honors of his class, at the age of seventeen. While yet in college, he had quite a reputation as a brilliant writer. Before he was twenty years of age, he was settled as pastor over the Brattle Street Church, in Boston, and at once became famous as an eloquent preacher. In 1814, he was elected Professor of Greek Literature in his Alma Mater; and, in order to prepare himself for the duties of his office, he entered on an extended course of travel in Europe. He edited the "North American Review," in addition to the labors of his professorship, after he returned to America.

      In 1825, Mr. Everett was elected to Congress, and held his seat in the House for ten years. He was Governor of his native state from 1835 to 1839. In 1841, he was appointed Minister to England. On his return, in 1846, he was chosen President of Harvard University, and held the office for three years. In 1852, he was appointed Secretary of State. February 22, 1856, he delivered, in Boston, his celebrated lecture on Washington. This lecture was afterwards delivered in most of the principal cities and towns in the United States. The proceeds were devoted to the purchase of Mt. Vernon. In 1860, he was a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States, He is celebrated as an elegant and forcible writer, and a chaste orator.

      This extract, a wonderful piece of word painting, is a portion of an address on the "Uses of Astronomy," delivered at the inauguration of the Dudley Observatory, at Albany, N, Y, Note the careful use of words, and the strong figures in the third and fourth paragraphs. ###

      I had occasion, a few weeks since, to take the early train from Providence to Boston; and for this purpose rose at two o'clock in the morning. Everything around was wrapped in darkness and hushed in silence, broken only by what seemed at that hour the unearthly clank and rush of the train. It was a mild, serene, midsummer's night—the sky was without a cloud, the winds were whist. The moon, then in the last quarter, had just risen, and the stars shone with a spectral luster but little affected by her presence.

      Jupiter, two hours high, was the herald of the day; the Pleiades, just above the horizon, shed their sweet influence in the east; Lyra sparkled near the zenith; Andromeda veiled her newly-discovered glories from the naked eye in the south; the steady Pointers, far beneath the pole, looked meekly up from the depths of the north to their sovereign.

      Such was the glorious spectacle as I entered the train. As we proceeded, the timid approach of twilight became more perceptible; the intense blue of the sky began to soften; the smaller stars, like little children, went first to rest; the sister beams of the Pleiades soon melted together; but the bright constellations of the west and north remained unchanged. Steadily the wondrous transfiguration went on. Hands of angels, hidden from mortal eyes, shifted the scenery of the heavens; the glories of night dissolved into the glories of the dawn.

      The blue sky now turned more softly gray; the great watch stars shut up their holy eyes; the east began to kindle. Faint streaks of purple soon blushed along the sky; the whole celestial concave was filled with the inflowing tides of the morning light, which came pouring down from above in one great ocean СКАЧАТЬ