were tenfold the enemies of our person and our throne, we can feel nothing on our part save respect and affection for you. You have been sufficiently tested. We loose your chains; we snatch you from the scaffold; and we thank you for that lesson of humiliation which you teach us, when you show us that excellence is not of blood, of title, or of station; that virtue gives a dignity superior to that of kings; and that those whom the Almighty informs with sentiments like yours, are justly and eminently raised above all human distinctions.

18. "You are now free to depart to your kinsfolk, your countrymen, to all those whose lives and liberties you have so nobly redeemed, provided you refuse not the tokens of our esteem. Yet we would rather bind you to ourselves by every endearing obligation; and, for this purpose, we offer to you your choice of the gifts and honors that Edward has to bestow. Rivals for fame, but always friends to virtue, we wish that England were entitled to call you her sons.'

"Ah, my country!" exclaimed Pierre, "it is now that I tremble for you! Edward only wins our cities; but Philippa conquers our hearts!"

1.

A

LESSON LXVIII. `

THE TRUE LEGION OF HONOR.

ANON.

GOLDEN banner, bright and beaming,
Waves upon a lofty tower;

Far and wide its rays are streaming,
Gathering brightness every hour;

And upon it there is written,

As in words of flaming fire,(<)"Onward, onward, ever onward! Higher, higher still aspire!"

2. And around that glorious standard
Gathers many a noble knight,

Men of every clime and color,
To do battle for the Right.
But they need no sword or buckler,
Helmet, lance, or bayonet keen:
No; they wield far mightier weapons, —
Weapons mightier, though unseen.

3. Yes; they are a band of heroes, High in hope, of valor true,

Warring 'gainst the world's sad evils,

Nobler field than Waterloo.

Though no glitter marks their conquests,
Though no trumpet sounds their praise,
Worthy they of highest honors,
Worthy of immortal lays.

4. Conquerors are they, though no cities
Are by them in ruins laid ;
Though no wailings mark their progress,
Smoking piles and heaps of dead.
Theirs it is to war with Error,

Falsehood's mask aside to tear;
And, where Superstition triumphs,
Plant the flag of knowledge there.

5. Hearts have they of highest daring,
Fearless, dauntless, true as steel;
Yet they melt at human sorrow,
And the woes of others feel.
The poor, the needy, and the outcast
Brothers still, though fallen low-
Find in them a guardian angel;
Tyranny, a mortal foe.

6. Knowledge, Freedom, are their war-cries;
Hope for man, their watchword still;
And their arm is ever active,

Smiting down each crying ill.

And that banner waves above them
Rich bequest from sire to son
Beacon that will ever brighten,
Till the final conquest's won.

1.

LESSON LXIX.

CONSCIENCE.

JAMES LINEN.

"Whatever creed be taught, or land be trod,
Man's conscience is the oracle of God." ― BYRON.

JELL me, O Conscience! what thou art,

TELL

That fires the brain and wrings the heart;
That haunts the guilty mind with fears,

And fills the eyes with bitter tears ;
That keeps the memory on the rack

By bringing recollections back;

That plays with feelings at thy will,
And tortures with consummate skill;
Whose task it is, by smile or frown,
To lift man up, or drag him down ;
Whose sting is keener far than steel
Which felons in dark dungeons feel.
The prince may golden favors shower,
Yet he is subject to thy power.

2. The hero Honor's path may tread,

And his great name world-wide be spread;
But glory brings not peace of mind,
That jewel rare, so hard to find.
From thy dominion none can flee,
For mortals all must bow to thee!
Tell me, O Conscience! what thou art,
Weird Watchman of the human heart!

3. Art thou the child of wretched Care,
That murders Sleep and mocks Despair
That fills with pangs the human breast,
And robs the guilty head of rest—
That mutely weeps o'er crime untold,
Where Vice buys Virtue with her gold
Whose records by some mystic hand
Are written in a fadeless land?
Tell me, O Conscience! what thou art,
Weird Watchman of the human heart.

4. The soul that claims celestial birth, Finds naught but tainted joys on earth; Imprisoned in a cell of clay,

That yields to laws of swift decay, —

The spirit tenant of the heart
Is ever yearning to depart;
Like some caged warbler to be free,
That it may soar, O God! to thee.

5. O Conscience! mute, mysterious guest.
Man fain would pluck thee from his breast,
As if thou wert his deadly foe,

The only cause of human woe;
Could he but snatch thy golden crown,
And madly pull thy temple down,
Dark Vice would rear her bloody shrines
Where perish hopes and Virtue pines ;
Strike but the brave heart-monarch dumb,
And earth a desert would become.

6. When man can feel a conscience clear,
What wrongs and dangers need he fear?
Calmly at his departing breath,

It takes away the stings of death;
It nobly braves the coward world,
Till Reason from her throne be hurled;
With all the feelings of the heart
It gently plays a leading part,
In concert acting with the soul
When passions wild brook no control;
Close by life's purple fountain found,
It guards the spot as holy ground.
Tell me, O Conscience! what thou art,
Weird Watchman of the human heart!

QUESTION. Why do Care, Sleep, Despair, Vice, Virtue, Conscience, and Watchman, 3d stanza, begin with capitals? ANSWER. Because they are personified.