4. Men of genuine ambition never wait for uncertain events. They commence, as all men have to commence, with the very first steps of the foundation; and while others, of perhaps better abilities and more fortunate condition, are nursing their morbid hopes and fading expectations, they build up the basis of a fortune and reputation, to which the less energetic and useful may aspire in vain. True men create circumstances, which, in turn, aid them.

5. Frankness, candor, and sincerity, will always win respect and friendship, and will always retain them; and the consciousness of having such a treasure, and of being worthy of it, is more than wealth and honors. A man quickly finds when he is unworthy of public respect or private friendship; and the leaden weight he carries ever in his callous heart, can not be lightened by any success or But the man of upright

any gratification he can secure. character, and proper self-respect, can never meet with adversities which can deprive him of that higher happiness which rests in his own breast, and which no disasters of business, or calamities of occupation, or loss of wealth, can ever reach or disturb.

6. Education is not confined to books alone. The world with its thousand interests and occupations is a great school. But the recorded experience and wisdom of others may be of the greatest aid and benefit to us. We can look about us to-day, and see many who have brought the light of that intelligence which has been the guiding-star of others to bear upon their own paths, and by its aid have achieved an enviable position among men. Honor lies in doing well whatever we find to do; and the world estimates a man's abilities in accordance with his success in whatever business or profession he may engage.

7. In this great land of ours, what opportunities invite

the attention and stimulate the ambition of the American citizen! Spreading out her area of civilization and of commerce over the imperial dominions of this vast continent, what fields of enterprise are constantly opening, and what opportunities for wealth, or honor, or fame, are continually developing before him! What cities and ports and avenues are to be built, what new Lowells and Saratogas are to arise, what Bostons and New Yorks are to spring from the commerce of that western shore! Who are to be the architects of this imperial undertaking? Whose minds are to conceive, and whose hands are to construct, these magnificent fabrics of national and individual prosperity and power?

8. Surely the generation which is now coming upon the theater of action, has this great mission to perform. To them is held out a prize such as the world has never before offered to stimulate the pride, patriotism, and ambition of any people. And they will profit by the opportunity. To those who have prepared themselves for the duties and the labors of this eminent undertaking, will fall the honors and rewards of the enterprise. And to their charge will be intrusted the honor and integrity of that flag, which first waved along a narrow strip of the wild Atlantic coast, but which, if we are true to our own interests, will be hailed in every land and upon every sea as the emblem of earth's noblest nation.

LESSON LIX.

"AND THEN?"

An excellent effect will be produced by having one member of the class ask the question, "AND THEN?" at the close of each stanza, and the same member read the closing stanza in a very emphatic manner. Or it may be read by the whole class in concert.

1.

A

YOUTH told proudly his hopes and plans,

- With his own strong hand all his future drew, To the calm old man, earth-tired, Heaven-bound, Who answered, from all that his great heart knew, Only these words, "And Then'?” —

2. With a steady foot and a willing hand,
I will climb to Earth's treasure-hold,

And claim my share of the wealth she hoards.
For her favored, the brave and the bold.

"And Then'?"

3. And then, with this wand in my happy hand,
I'll gather her gems at will;

I'll summon each draught of her pleasure-fount
Till it fail, or my goblet I fill.

"And Then'?"

4. Oh! then I'll try Fame, and I'll coax till I win
From the noble old laurel a wreath ;

This I'll cherish and keep, 'tis Earth's choicest gift,
And its life-dew her balmiest breath.

5. I'll be kindly, and share of my wealth and my joy; So I'll bind many souls to my own:

For I'd sooner be prince of a dozen warm hearts
Than a monarch of many a throne.
"And then'?"

6. Why, then I'll be getting to staid middle age,
And the world will be Eden no more;

But I'll choose me an Eve, and build me a home,
And be found at my own open door,

7. Then' then I'll grow old of a quaint old age, In the midst of my pleasure and peace;

So muffled in treasure, and comfort, and love, That to my ear Earth's discord shall cease. "And Then'?"

8. I'll grow older and older; and then, I suppose,
Life and I will grow weary-and-why-
As my fathers have done, as my children must do,
So I, in my ripeness, shall DIE!

"And Then'?"

9. Oh! then will the vail of Death's portal be rent,
And unto each soul shall be given.

The awards of this life, howe'er it was spent,—
Undying regrets, or the joys of Heaven;
Then, and FOREVER THEN!

1. N Eagle flew up in his heavenward flight, AN

Far out of the reach of human sight,

And gazed on the earth from the lordly hight
Of his sweeping and lone career:

"And this is Life!" he exultingly screams,

"To soar without fear where the lightning gleams, And look unblenched on the sun's dazzling beams, As they blaze through the upper sphere.'

2. A Lion sprang forth from his bloody bed,

And roared till it seemed he would wake the dead; And man and beast from him wildly fled,

As though there were death in the tone: "And this is Life!" he triumphantly cried, "To hold my domain in the forest wide, Imprisoned by naught but the ocean's tide, And the ice of the frozen zone."

3. "It is Life," said a Whale, "to swim the deep;
O'er hills submerged and abysses to sweep,
Where the gods of ocean their vigils keep,
In the fathomless gulfs below;

To bask on the bosom of tropical seas,
And inhale the fragrance of Ceylon's breeze,
Or sport where the turbulent waters freeze,
In the climes of eternal snow."

4. "It is Life," says a tireless Albatross,

"To skim through the air when the dark waves toss In the storm that has swept the earth across,

And never to wish for rest;

To sleep on the breeze as it softly flies,
My perch in the air, my shelter the skies,
And build my nest on the billows that rise
And break with a pearly crest."

5. "It is Life," says a wild Gazelle, "to leap

From crag to crag of the mountainous steep,
Where the cloud's icy tears in purity sleep,

Like the marble brow of death;

To stand unmoved on the outermost verge
Of the perilous hight, and watch the surge
Of the waters beneath, that onward urge,

As if sent by a demon's breath."