Sanders' Union Fourth Reader Part 54

LESSON LXXIII.

SPLEN' DOR, brightness; glory.

E TER' NAL LY, everlastingly.

WAY'-WEA RY, tired; fatigued.

GAZE, eager look.

EV' ER GREEN, always green.

LONG' ED, earnestly desired.

RE POSE, rest; quietude.

RAN' SOM ED, redeemed.

PAL' ACE, mansion; abode.

UN CEAS' ING LY, constantly.

THE MOUNTAINS OF LIFE.

JAMES G. CLARK.

1. There's a land far away, 'mid the stars, we are told, Where they know not the sorrows of time,-- Where the pure waters wander through valleys of gold, And life is a treasure sublime; 'Tis the land of our G.o.d, 'tis the home of the soul, Where the ages of splendor eternally roll,-- Where the way-weary traveler reaches his goal, On the evergreen Mountains of Life.

2. Our gaze can not soar to that beautiful land, But our visions have told of its bliss; And our souls by the gale from its gardens are fanned, When we faint in the desert of this; And we sometimes have longed for its holy repose, When our spirits were torn with temptations and woes, And we've drank from the tide of the river that flows From the evergreen Mountains of Life.

3. Oh! the stars never tread the blue heavens at night, But we think where the ransomed have trod; And the day never smiles from his palace of light, But we feel the bright smile of our G.o.d.

We are traveling homeward, through changes and gloom, To a kingdom where pleasures unceasingly bloom, And our guide is the glory that shines through the tomb, From the evergreen Mountains of Life.

QUESTIONS.--1. What is said of that land far away? 2. How do we know there is such a land? 3. Of what do the stars remind us?

LESSON LXXIV.

IM AG' IN A RY, not real.

AN TIC' I PATE, take beforehand.

PRE FER' RED, chosen.

OC CUR' RED, happened.

SUS TAIN', support; uphold.

PER MIT', allow.

IN VIS' I BLE, unseen.

EN CHAIN', bind; fasten.

FORE BOD' ING, dread of evil.

IN VEN' TION, contrivance.

CON FER' RED, bestowed.

AP PRE HEN' SION, dread; fear.

IMAGINARY EVILS.

CHARLES SWAIN.

1. Let to-morrow take care of to-morrow; Leave things of the future to fate; What's the use to antic.i.p.ate sorrow?

Life's troubles come never too late.

If to hope overmuch be an error, 'Tis one that the wise have preferred; And how often have hearts been in terror Of evils that never occurred.

2. Have faith, and thy faith shall sustain thee; Permit not suspicion and care With invisible bonds to enchain thee, But bear what G.o.d gives thee to bear.

By His Spirit supported and gladdened, Be ne'er by forebodings deterred; But think how oft hearts have been saddened By fears of what never occurred!

3. Let to-morrow take care of to-morrow; Short and dark as our life may appear, We may make it still darker by sorrow, Still shorter by folly and fear; Half our troubles are half our invention, And often from blessings conferred, Have we shrunk in the wild apprehension Of evils that never occurred!

QUESTIONS.--1. What is said of imaginary evils? 2. How may we be supported under trials? 3. What tends to shorten life? 4. Whence proceed half our troubles? 5. What rule for doubling the _r_ and _d_ in such words as _occurred_, _saddened_, &c.? See SANDERS' NEW SPELLER, page 168, Rule II.

LESSON LXXV.

WASTE, desolate region.

PRO CEED', come forth.

CHASM, gap; opening.

COILS, folds; convolutions.

MAN I FEST, plain; evident.

PRE SERV' ER, protector.

AL LE' GI ANCE, duty; loyalty.

RAY, make bright; adorn.

EX PAND, swell; dilate.

FA' THER LAND, native land.

GUER DON, reward; recompense.

PROF' FER, offer; tender.

PIT' E OUS, mournful; sorrowful.

IM PET' U OUS LY, furiously.

AT TRACT', (AT, _to_; TRACT, _draw_;) draw to; allure.

IN VEST', (IN, _to_; VEST, _clothe_;) clothe in or with; inclose; surround.

PRO TEST, (PRO, _before_; TEST, _witness_;) witness before; openly declare.

[Headnote 1: PY THON is the name of a large serpent, fabled to have been slain by the G.o.d Apollo.]

SIR WALTER AND THE LION.

A. WALCHNER.

1. Sir Walter of Thurn, over the Syrian waste, Rides away with a flowing rein; But he hears a groan that checks his haste, As if death were in the strain.

He spurs his steed Whence the sounds proceed; And there, from a rocky chasm, arise Fierce cries of pain, that a.s.sail the skies; And his horse uprears In excess of fears, As the glance of a lion attracts his eyes.

2. Fierce struggling there in the monster folds Of a serpent that round him twines; Sir Walter a moment the scene beholds, Then to save the beast inclines.

His good sword stout From its sheath leaps out, When down it falls on the Python's [Headnote 1] crest, And cleaves the coils that the lion invest; And the n.o.ble beast, From its thrall released, Shows grateful joy most manifest.

3. He shakes his mane, and bends his form, And licks his preserver's hand, As if he yields allegiance warm To his supreme command.

Like the faithful hound To be constant found, And follow his steps for evermore; And thus he follows, on sea and sh.o.r.e, In the battle's tide, He stands by his side, Or with him rests when the strife is o'er.