2. The summer flowers, the fair, the sweet,
Upspringing freely from the sod,

In whose soft looks we seem to meet,
At every step, Thy smiles, O God!
The humblest soul their sweetness shares;
They bloom in palace-hall, or cot:
Give me, O Lord! a heart like theirs,
Contented with my lowly lot.
Within their pure ambrosial bells,
In odors sweet, Thy Spirit dwells:
Their breath may seem to scent the air;
'Tis Thine, O God! for Thou art there.

3. The birds among the summer-blooms

Pour forth to Thee their strains of love,
When, trembling on uplifted plumes,

They leave the earth and soar above.
We hear their sweet familiar airs
Where'er a sunny spot is found:

How lovely is a life like theirs,

Diffusing sweetness all around!
From clime to clime, from pole to pole,
Their sweetest anthems softly roll,

Till, melting on the realms of air,

Thy still small voice seems whispering there.

4. The stars, those floating isles of light,

Round which the clouds unfurl their sails,
Pure as a woman's robe of white

That trembles round the form it vails, -
They touch the heart as with a spell;
Yet, set the soaring fancy free,

And oh, how sweet the tales they tell!
They tell of peace, of love, and Thee!
Each raging storm that wildly blows,
Each balmy gale that lifts the rose,
Sublimely grand, or softly fair,

They speak of Thee, for Thou art there.

5. The spirit oft oppressed with doubt,

May strive to cast Thee from its thought;
But who can shut Thy presence out,
Thou mighty Guest, that com'st unsought?
In spite of all our cold resolves,

Whate'er our thoughts, where'er we be,
Still magnet-like the heart revolves,

And points, all trembling, up to Thee.
We can not shield a troubled breast
Beneath the confines of the blest,
Above, below, on earth, in air;
For Thou, the living God, art there.

6. Yet, far beyond the clouds outspread,

Where soaring fancy oft hath been,
There is a land where Thou hast said
The pure of heart shall enter in.
In those fair realms so calmly bright,
How many a loved and gentle one
Bathes its soft plumes in living light

That sparkles from Thy radiant throne!
There souls once soft and sad as ours,
Look up and sing 'mid fadeless flowers:
They dream no more of grief and care;
For Thou, the God of peace, art there.

LESSON XXXVL

INTEGRITY.

D. S. DICKINSON.

HERE is yet another rule for the guidance of the young

is business-men, more important than any to which I have adverted, and without which the subtle deductions of polit ical economy and the ornate science of commercial law would be useless. It is not defined by the chapters of statutes, nor divided into sections; nor has it grown up with the progress of civilization, to suit the demands of society, or answer the exigencies of trade; but it is coëval with human existence, and is written upon the tablet of every heart.

2. It comprises a code of exquisite completeness for man's moral government, and points the pathway for his footsteps, which, carefully pursued, will place length of days in his right hand; and in his left, riches and honor: and it admonishes with startling significance of the terrible penalties which await those who disobey or seek to evade its mandates. This law is as unalterable as the renowned Medes and Persians* fancied were their far-famed edicts.

"It lives through all time,
Extends through all extent,
Spreads undivided,

Operates unspent."

3. It is not taught in the schools, nor is study requisite to its possession; but the young and the old, the ignorant and the learned, the rich and the poor, the lofty and the low,

*Daniel, vi. chap. 8 verse.

understand it alike, by that spark of divinity which electrifies the soul, and gives the conscience intuition. It is INTEGRITY, — integrity, including all the cardinal and social virtues which form a code for the moral government of man.

It

is a capital which never depreciates with fluctuations, is never at a discount, but is a sure reliance in every vicissitude and trial. It points to honorable success in life's pilgrimage with unerring certainty; and is both sword and shield to him who would wage, with the true heart of manhood, the great battle of life.

4. What though the tempests howl, the storms beat, the lightnings flash, the thunders roar, and the angry ocean cast up its mire and dirt: he who holds fast to his integrity will outride the danger, and may laugh at the fury of the elements. His bow of promise will arch itself up again in the heavens, more beautiful than ever, as a living witness that truth can never die. The slaves of vice, and the votaries of indolence and fraud, may flourish for a season; but they perish by a law of being as fixed and certain as the power of gravitation; and, when they have closed their ignoble existence, the devotees of truth will rise above their ruin, like the flowers of spring upon the bleak desolations of winter.

5. Go forth, then, young man, into this broad field of labor, and hope, and reward, and peril! Be temperate, industrious, frugal, and self-reliant; and whenever temptations shall cross your pathway and seek to allure you, pause and reflect, remember this time and occasion, your associates and him who addresses you; and remember, too, and repeat this one word which I give you, as a talisman or charm to shield and protect you from all evil, and bear you through life's journey in safety; and that word isINTEGRITY!

LESSON XXXVII.

1 TRANS FIGURE (from TRANS, implying change, and FIGURE, a form or shape) is to change the form or figure; to transform.

2 THE SOUTHERN CROSS is a brilliant little constellation, consisting of four principal stars; too far south, however, to be seen by us in these northern regions.

THE POLAR STAR is a star of the second magnitude, forming the extremity of Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear.

THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE.

EPHRAIM PEABODY.

ERE is a whaling vessel in the harbor, her anchors

HERE

up, and her sails unfurled. The last boat has left her, and she is now departing on a voyage of three, and perhaps four years in length. All that the eye sees is that she is a fine ship, and that it has cost much labor to fit her out. Those on board will spend years of toil, and will then return, while the profits of the voyage will be distributed, as the case may be, to be squandered, or to be added to already existing hoards. So much appears. But there is an unpublished history, which, could it be revealed, and brought vividly before the mind, would transfigure1 her, and enshrine her in an almost awful light.

2. There is not a stick of timber in her whole frame, not a plank or a rope, which is not, in some mysterious way, enveloped with human interests and sympathies. Let us trace this part of her history, while she circles the globe, and returns to the harbor from which she sailed. At the outset, the labor of the merchant, the carpenter, and of all employed on her, has not been mere sordid labor. The thought of their homes, of their children, and of what this labor may secure for them, has been in their hearts.

3. And they who sail in her, leave behind homes, wives,