green and pleasant island, where the verdant and blossoming forest-boughs wave in the spicy gale; where the living waters leap from the rocks, and millions of new and resplendent flowers brighten the fresh sward, what then is the joy of his heart! To Omnipotence creation costs not an effort, but to the desolate and the weary, how immense is the happiness thus prepared in the wilderness! Who does not recollect the exultation of Vaillant over a flower in the torrid wastes of Africa? A magnificent lily, which, growing on the banks of a river, filled the air far around with its delicious fragrance, and, as he observes, had been respected by all the animals of the district, and seemed defended even by its beauty. LESSON VII. Bring Flowers.-MRS. HEMANS. BRING flowers, young flowers, for the festal board, Bring flowers to strew in the conqueror's path— Bring flowers to the captive's lonely cell, And a dream of his youth-bring him flowers, wild flowers! Her place is now by another's side Bring flowers for the locks of the fair young bride! Bring flowers, pale flowers, o'er the bier to shed, For this through its leaves hath the white-rose burst, Though they smile in vain for what once was ours, Bring flowers to the shrine where we kneel in prayer, With a voice of promise they come and part, They sleep in dust through the wintry hours, They break forth in glory-bring flowers, bright flowers! LESSON VIII. The Burial Place.-BRYANT. EREWHILE, on England's pleasant shores, our sires The willow, a perpetual mourner, drooped; Nestled the lowly primrose. Childless dames, Brought not these simple customs of the heart And rarely in our borders may you meet Are seen instead, where the coarse grass, between, Yet here, That clothes the fresher grave, the strawberry vine LESSON IX. The Elevated Character of Woman.—Carter. THE influence of the female character is now felt and acknowledged in all the relations of life. I speak not now of those distinguished women, who instruct their age through the public press. Nor of those whose devout strains we take upon our lips when we worship. But of a much larger class; of those whose influence is felt in the relations of neighbor, friend, daughter, wife, mother. Who waits at the couch of the sick to administer tender charities while life lingers, or to perform the last acts of kindness when death comes? Where shall we look for those examples of friendship, that most adorn our nature; those abiding friendships, which trust even when betrayed, and survive all changes of fortune? Where shall we find the brightest illustrations of filial piety? Have you ever seen a daughter, herself, perhaps, timid and helpless, watching the decline of an aged parent, and holding out with heroic fortitude to anticipate his wishes, to administer to his wants, and to sustain his tottering steps to the very borders of the grave? But in no relation does woman exercise so deep an influence, both immediately and prospectively, as in that of mother. To her is committed the immortal treasure of the infant mind. Upon her devolves the care of the first stages of that course of discipline, which is to form of a being, perhaps, the most frail and helpless in the world, the fearless ruler of animated creation, and the devout adorer of its great Creator. Her smiles call into exercise the first affections, that spring up in our hearts. She cherishes and expands the earliest germs of our intellects. She breathes over us her deepest devotions. She lifts our little hands, and teaches our little tongues to lisp in prayer. She watches over us, like a guardian angel, and protects us through all our helpless years when we know not of her cares and her anxieties on our account. She follows us into the world of men, and lives in us and blesses us, when she lives not otherwise upon the earth. What constitutes the centre of every home? Whither do our thoughts turn, when our feet are weary with wandering, and our hearts sick with disappointments? Where shall the truant and forgetful husband go for sympathy unalloyed and without design, but to the bosom of her, who is ever ready and waiting to share in his adversity or his prosperity. And if there be a tribunal, where the sins and the follies of a froward child may hope for pardon and forgiveness, this side heaven, that tribunal is the heart of a fond and devoted mother. Finally, her influence is felt deeply in religion. "If christianity should be compelled to flee from the mansions of the great, the academies of philosophers, the halls of legislators, or the throng of busy men, we should find her last and purest retreat with woman at the fireside; her last altar would be the female heart; her last audience would be the children gathered round the knees of the mother; her last sacrifice, the secret prayer escaping in silence from her lips, and heard, perhaps, only at the throne of God." LESSON X. The Incarnation. -MILMAN. For thou wast born of woman, thou didst come, And not by thunders strewed Was thy tempestuous road; Nor indignation burnt before thee on thy way: Thy mother, undefiled, In the rude manger laid to rest From off her virgin breast. The heavens were not commanded to prepare Nor stooped their lamps th' enthroned fires on high; Came wand'ring from afar, Gliding unchecked and calm along the liquid sky; As at a kingly throne To lay their gold and odors sweet Before thy infant feet. The earth and ocean were not hushed to hear And seraph's burning lyres Poured through the host of heaven the charmed clouds along, One angel troop the strain began, |