Sanders' Union Fourth Reader Part 37

2. Herman was as fond of amus.e.m.e.nt as Horace; but the _mode_ he adopted for the gratification of his wishes, was quite different. In the first place, he made out a scheme of his travels: he procured maps, read books, and, after mature deliberation, adopted a certain route, as most likely to afford him pleasure as well as instruction.

3. In the formation of this plan, he spent several weeks; and, in this occupation, he found quite as much satisfaction as he afterwards did in traveling. Thus he obtained one great advantage over his idle and luxurious friend, who foolishly thought that the essence of enjoyment lay in freedom from thought, restraint, and toil. Even before they set out on their journey, Herman had actually found nearly as _much_ pleasure as Horace received in the whole course of his expedition.

4. The two young men started together; and, as there were then no ca.n.a.ls or railroads, they both set out on foot. They had not proceeded far before they separated,--Horace taking one road and Herman another.

5. After the lapse of three years, they both returned; but what a difference between them! Horace was morose and dissatisfied; he had seen a good deal of the world, but, as he had traveled with no other design than to _gratify himself_ from hour to hour, he had soon exhausted the cup of pleasure, and found nothing at the bottom but the bitter dregs of discontent.

6. He pursued pleasure, till, at last, he found the pursuit to be distasteful and revolting. He grew tired even of amus.e.m.e.nt. He indulged his tastes, humors, and pa.s.sions, until indulgence itself was disgusting. When he returned to his friends, he had laid up nothing in his memory, by the relation of which he could amuse them; he had kept no record of things he had seen; he brought back no store of pleasing and useful recollections for himself, or others. Such was the result of three years' travel for pleasure.

7. It was quite otherwise with Herman. Adhering to his plans, he visited a great many places, and, each day, he recorded in his journal what he had seen. Whenever he met with an interesting object, he stopped to contemplate it. If it was some aged relic, famous in history, he took pains to investigate its story, and to write it down. If it was an object of interest to the eye, he made a sketch of it in a book which he kept for that purpose.

8. In this way, Herman accomplished three good objects. In the first place, by taking pleasure in a moderate way, and mixing with it a little toil and industry, he prevented that cloying surfeit which, at last, sickened and disgusted Horace.

9. In the second place, he greatly increased his enjoyments by the plan he adopted. Merely executing a plan is agreeable, and a source of great pleasure. It is natural to derive happiness from following out a design,--from seeing, hour by hour, day by day, how results come about, in conformity to our intentions.

10. But _this_ was not the _only_ advantage which Herman received from his system. The very toil he bestowed; the investigations he made; the pleasant thoughts and curious knowledge that were unfolded to his mind; the excitement he found in his exertions; the pleasure he took in drawing picturesque scenes; _all_ const.i.tuted a rich harvest of pleasure, which was wholly denied to Horace.

11. Thus it was that labor and industry, exerted in carrying out a plan, afforded the young traveler a vast deal of gratification. The very things that Horace looked upon as hateful, were, in fact, the sources of his friend's most permanent enjoyment.

12. In the third place, Herman had come back laden with rich stores of knowledge, observation, and experience. Not only was his journal rich in tales, legends, scenes, incidents, and historical records, but in putting these things down on paper, his memory had been improved, and he had acquired the habit of observing and remembering. His mind was full of pleasant things, and nothing could be more interesting than to hear him tell of his travels, and of what he had seen.

13. While Horace was dull, silent, and sour, Herman was full of conversation, life, and interest. The one was happy', the other unhappy'; one was agreeable', the other disagreeable'; one had exhausted the cup of pleasure', the other seemed always to have the cup full and sparkling before him'. It was agreed on all hands that Horace was a disagreeable person, and everybody shunned him; while Herman was considered by all a most agreeable companion, and everybody sought his society.

14. So much for the two travelers; _one_, a luxurious lover of pleasure, who thought only of the pa.s.sing moment, and, in his folly, abused and threw away his powers of enjoyment; the _other_, a lover of pleasure also; but who pursued it moderately, with a wise regard to the future, and careful attention, every day, to the rules of duty; and who thus secured his true happiness.

QUESTIONS.--1. What plan had Horace determined to pursue while traveling? 2. What was Herman's plan? 3. What is said of Horace, after his return? 4. How was it with Herman? 5. What is said of the two in contrast? 6. What effect has the emphasis on the place of the accent in the words _unhappy_ and _disagreeable_, 13th paragraph? See page 22, note V.

LESSON XLIII.

IM' PORT, meaning.

GROV' EL ING, mean; creeping.

A CHIEVE' MENT, performance.

AS PI RA' TION, wish; ardent desire.

SAN' GUINE, ardent; hopeful.

RE' AL IZ ED, attained.

IN SPI RA' TION, natural impulse.

STATE' LI NESS, dignity: majesty.

AD VENT' TUR OUS, daring; enterprising.

EX UL TA' TION, (_x_ like _gz_,) triumph.

RI' VALS, compet.i.tors.

DIG' NI TY, elevation; majesty.

OR' A CLES, wise words or sentences.

A' PEX, hight; summit.

TEN' E MENT, dwelling; _here means_, the body.

AD MON' ISH. warn.

RAPT' UR OUS, joyous; ecstatic.

AN TIC I PA' TION, foretaste.

PHI LOS' O PHY, (PHILO, _love_; SOPHY, _wisdom_,) love of wisdom; reason of things. See SANDERS & McELLIGOTT'S a.n.a.lYSIS, page 236, Ex. 334

HIGHER!

1. HIGHER! It is a word of n.o.ble import. It lifts the soul of man from low and groveling pursuits, to the achievement of great and n.o.ble deeds, and ever keeps the object of his aspiration in view, till his most sanguine expectations are fully realized.

2. HIGHER! lisps the infant that clasps its parent's knee, and makes its feeble effort to rise from the floor. It is the first inspiration of childhood to burst the narrow confines of the cradle, and to exercise those feeble, tottering limbs, which are to walk forth in the stateliness of manhood.

3. HIGHER! echoes the proud school-boy in his swing; or, as he climbs the tallest tree of the forest, that he may look down upon his less adventurous comrades with a flush of exultation,--and abroad over the fields, the meadows, and his native village.

4. HIGHER! earnestly breathes the student of philosophy and nature. He has a host of rivals; but he must excel them all. The midnight oil burns dim; but he finds light and knowledge in the lamps of heaven, and his soul is never weary, when the last of them is hid by the splendors of the morning.

5. And HIGHER! his voice thunders forth, when the dignity of manhood has mantled his form, and the mult.i.tude is listening with delight to his oracles, burning with eloquence, and ringing like true steel in the cause of _Freedom_ and _Right_. And when time has changed his locks to silver,--when the young and the old unite to do him honor, he still breathes forth from his generous heart fond wishes for their welfare.

6. HIGHER YET! He has reached the apex of earthly honor; yet his spirit burns as warm as in youth, though with a steadier and purer light. And even now, while his frail tenement begins to admonish him, that "the time of his departure is at hand," he looks forward, with rapturous antic.i.p.ation, to the never-fading glory, attainable only in the presence of the Most High.

QUESTIONS.--1. What is said of the word _Higher_, first paragraph? 2.

When does the school-boy say Higher? 3. What is said of the student? 4.

What, when he arrives at manhood? 5. What, when he becomes old? 6. Where is the pa.s.sage within the quotation to be found? Ans. 2 Timothy, 4th chapter, 6th verse.

LESSON XLIV.

IN TENS' ER, more fervent.

STUB' BORN, unyielding; rugged.

DEEM, think; imagine.

OLD' EN, old; ancient.

CLINGS, sticks; adheres closely.

GAL' LANT, fine; n.o.ble.

YAWN' ING, wide-opening.

FU' RY, rage; madness.

RAVE, rage; become furious.

HEC' TIC, habitual; continuous.

MEN' TAL, intellectual.

WIELD, sway; exert.

PRIV' I LEGE, right; opportunity.

DOW' ER, gift; portion.

LABOR.

[Footnote: These lines were suggested by the simple incident of an industrious wood-sawyer's reply to a man who told him that _his was a hard work_. "Yes, it is hard, to be sure; but _it is harder to do nothing_," was his answer.]

CAROLINE F. ORNE.

1. Ho, ye who at the anvil toil, And strike the sounding blow, Where, from the burning iron's breast, The sparks fly to and fro, While answering to the hammer's ring, And fire's intenser glow!--Oh, while ye feel 'tis hard to toil And sweat the long day through, Remember, it is harder still _To have no work to do!_