Sanders' Union Fourth Reader Part 81

QUESTIONS.--1. What trick did the three rogues play off on the Brahmin?

2. In what way did they do this? 3. What moral is taught in this fable?

LESSON CXVII.

E LAS TIC' I TY, returning vigor.

MIN' I FIES, lessens; makes small.

DEG RA DA' TION, abas.e.m.e.nt.

ES TRANGED, alienates.

UN ALMS' ED, not having received alms.

HA BIT' U AL, accustomed.

EX TRAV' A GANCE, superfluous expense.

IM PER' TI NENCE, that which is not pertinent.

SUS PI' CIOUS, distrustful.

E CON' O MY, frugality.

TRAN' QUIL, calm; undisturbed.

BE NUMB' ING, dull; stupefying.

IM PROV' I DENCE, wastefulness.

LIVING WITHIN OUR MEANS.

S.W. PARTRIDGE.

1. _Oh, beware of debt_!

It crushes out the manhood of a man, Robs his bright eye of boldness, cheats his limbs Of elasticity, unnerves his hand, Beclouds his judgment, dulls his intellect, Perils his uprightness, and stains his name, And minifies him to his fellow-men; Yea, far worse degradation, to himself.

2. Who hath the hurried step, the anxious eye, Avoids the public haunt and open street, And anxious waits for evening? Restlessly Tosses upon his bed, and dreads the approach Of the tell-tale morning sunlight? Who, unmanned, Starts at the sudden knock, and shrinks with dread E'en at his own shadow; shuns with care The stranger's look, skulks from his fellow's glance, And sees in every man a creditor?

3. The _debtor_;--he is only half a man; He saddens and estranges his chief friends, Burdens his dearest relatives; he hears In vain the stranger's tale, the widow's prayer, And sends away the orphan all unalmsed.

None dare to place him in a post of trust, And business men regard him with a shrug.

4. "Owe no man aught." Stand in the world erect, And lean alone upon thyself and G.o.d.

The habitual borrower will be ever found Wicked, or weak, or both. Sweat, study, stint, Yea, rather _any thing_ than meanly owe.

Let thine own honest hands feed thee and thine, And, if not thy friend's purse, at least, respect Thine own sweet independence.

5. Have fewest wants: the book, however good, Thou shouldst not purchase, let it go unbought; And fashion's vests by thee be all unworn.

Soon luxuries become necessities, But self-denying thrift more joy affords Than all the pleasures of extravagance.

A cottage, free from clamorous creditors, Is better than a mansion dunned; a coat, However darned, if paid for, hath an ease, And a respectability beside: Gay, ill-afforded vests can never boast.

6. However cheap, Whatever thou want'st not, buy not. That is dear, A mere extravagant impertinence, For which thou hast no need. Feel first the want Ere it be satisfied; bargains full oft Are money-wasting things, that prudent men Will keep afar from with suspicious eye; Perchance to any but of little use, And to themselves, most likely, none at all.

7. The habit of economy once formed, 'Tis easy to attain to prosperous things.

Thou then shalt lend, not borrow: shalt not want A helping trifle when thy friend hath need, Or means to seize an opportunity,-- Seed-coin, to ensure a harvest. Thou shalt then Want not an alms for pinching poverty; And, though a sudden sickness dam the stream, And cut off thy supplies, thou shalt lie down And view thy morrows with a tranquil eye; Even benumbing age shall scare thee not, But find thee unindebted, and secure From all the penury and wretchedness That dog the footsteps of improvidence.

LESSON CXVIII.

OM NIP' O TENT, all-powerful.

IN TER' MI NA BLE, endless.

MILK Y-WAY, galaxy; luminous circle in the heavens.

AS' TRAL, starry.

IN FIN' I TUDE, unlimited extent.

IM PET' U OUS, rushing.

AS TRON O MER, one skilled in the science of the stars.

AP PROX' I MATE LY, nearly.

OM NIS' CIENCE, knowledge of all things.

PER TUR BA' TIONS, irregularities of motion.

AB' SO LUTE, entire.

PRE CIS' ION, exactness.

AD JUST' MENTS, arrangements.

RET' I NUE, company.

SAT' EL LITES, small planets revolving round others.

GRANDEUR OF THE UNIVERSE.

O.M. MITCHEL.

1. If you would know the _glory_ of the Omnipotent Ruler of the universe, examine the interminable range of suns and systems which crowd the Milky-Way. Multiply the hundred millions of stars which belong to our own "island universe" by the thousands of these astral systems that exist in s.p.a.ce, within the range of human vision, and _then_ you may form some idea of the _infinitude_ of His kingdom; for lo! these are but a part of His ways.

2. Examine the scale on which the universe is built. Comprehend, if you can, the vast dimensions of our sun. Stretch outward through his system, from planet to planet, and circ.u.mscribe the whole within the immense circ.u.mference of Neptune's...o...b..t. This is but a single unit out of the myriads of similar systems.

3. Take the wings of light, and flash with impetuous speed, day and night, and month, and year, till youth shall wear away, and middle age is gone, and the extremest limit of human life has been attained;--count every pulse, and, at each, speed on your way a hundred thousand miles; and when a hundred years have rolled by, look out, and behold! the thronging millions of blazing suns are still around you, each separated from the other by such a distance, that, in this journey of a century, you have only left half a score behind you.

4. Would you gather some idea of the _eternity_ past of G.o.d's existence,--go to the astronomer, and bid him lead you in one of his walks through s.p.a.ce; and, as he sweeps outward from object to object, from universe to universe, remember that the light from those filmy stains on the deep pure blue of heaven, now falling on your eye, has been traversing s.p.a.ce for a million of years.

5. Would you gather some knowledge of the _omnipotence_ of G.o.d,--weigh the earth on which we dwell, then count the millions of its inhabitants that have come and gone for the last six thousand years. Unite their strength into one arm, and test its power in an effort to move this earth. It could not stir it a single foot in a thousand years; and yet under the omnipotent hand of G.o.d, not a minute pa.s.ses that it does not fly more than a thousand miles.

6. But this is a mere atom,--the most insignificant point among his innumerable worlds. At his bidding, every planet, and satellite, and comet, and the sun himself, fly onward in their appointed courses. His single arm guides the millions of sweeping suns, and around His throne circles the great constellation of unnumbered universes.

7. Would you comprehend the idea of the _omniscience_ of G.o.d,--remember that the highest pinnacle of knowledge reached by the whole human race, by the combined efforts of its brightest intellects, has enabled the astronomer to compute approximately the perturbations of the planetary worlds. He has predicted roughly the return of half a score of comets.

But G.o.d has computed the mutual perturbations of millions of suns, and planets, and comets, and worlds, without number, through the ages that are pa.s.sed, and throughout the ages which are yet to come, not approximately, but with perfect and absolute precision.

8. The universe is in motion,--system rising above system, cl.u.s.ter above cl.u.s.ter, nebula above nebula,--all majestically sweeping around under the providence of G.o.d, who alone knows the end from the beginning, and before whose glory and power all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth, should bow with humility and awe.

9. Would you gain some idea of the _wisdom_ of G.o.d,--look to the admirable adjustments of the magnificent retinue of planets and satellites which sweep around the sun. Every globe has been weighed and poised, every orbit has been measured and bent to its beautiful form.

10. All is changing; but the laws fixed by the wisdom of G.o.d, though they permit the rocking to and fro of the system, never introduce disorder, or lead to destruction. All is perfect and harmonious, and the music of the spheres that burn and roll around our sun, is echoed by that of ten millions of moving worlds, that sing and shine around the bright suns that reign above.

11. If, overwhelmed with the grandeur and majesty of the universe of G.o.d, we are led to exclaim with the Hebrew poet-king,--"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?"--If fearful that the eye of G.o.d may overlook us in the immensity of His kingdom, we have only to call to mind that other pa.s.sage, "Yet Thou hast made him but a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over all the works of Thy hand; Thou hast put all things under his feet." Such are the teachings of the word, and such are the lessons of the works of G.o.d.

LESSON CXIX.