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"lord of the land"-the oak tree. ""sinuous southward"- irregular

line connecting wood and marsh. "fastens the fringe of the marsh to the folds of the land"-the line which marks the coming together of the marsh and the land

"the shimmering band." 66 'gray looping of light''-the light reflected or thrown back from the woods in the dim distance. "terminal blue of the main"-the sea coast, the coast line. "weighing of fate" thoughts of the future. "publish yourselves'"-to show or to expose.

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"lay me a-hold on the greatness of God"-to lay hold of this Heavenly beauty and goodness and greatness.

"liberal marshes''-great, broad. Thro' these he learned the beauty of greatness and of broad-mindedness in man, and from that to the greatness of God was but a natural step. "sea lends large". - sends its waters out in tides over the marsh country twice a day. "grace of the sea"-the generous waters of the sea.

"rosy and silvery essences -relates to the color of the water in the channel, as determined by the setting sun's rays.

"passeth a hurrying sound of wings" -a sound of wings hurrying past.

"is in his ecstasy"-the tide has reached its highest point-it is the moment of accomplishment; the task is finished.

"Vast of the Lord"-The influence of God upon men is compared to that of the tides of the sea upon the marshes. "waking ken"-Who can tell us the meaning of our dreams?

PART III

ORATIONS AND PATRIOTIC SELECTIONS

"Stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave men and worthy patriots, dear to God and famous to all ages."

JOHN MILTON.

25

But if he cannot live, he can at least die, for his country. Do not deny him this supreme consolation. Consider! Every indignity, every torture which Carthage shall heap on his dying hours, will be better than a trumpet's call to your armies. They will remember only Regulus, their fellow-soldier and their leader. 30 They will forget his defeats. They will regard only his services to the Republic. Tunis, Sicily, Sardinia, every well-fought field, won by his blood and theirs, will flash on their remembrance and kindle their avenging wrath!

And so shall Regulus, though dead, fight as he never fought 35 before against the foe.

Conscript Fathers, there is another theme, my family. Forgive the thought. To you and to Rome, I commit them. I leave no legacy but my name, no testament but my example.

And you, ambassadors of Carthage, now in this august presence, 40 I have spoken, not as you expected. I am your captive. Lead me back to whatever fate may await me. Doubt not that you shall find that to Roman hearts country is dearer than life, and integrity more precious than freedom.

Epes Sargent, 1812-1880, was an American author and journalist. For a number of years he was editor of the "Boston Evening Transcript."

Historical: Regulus was a celebrated Roman general. As consul he led the Roman forces against the Carthaginians and defeated them in a number of engagements, but finally was himself defeated and taken prisoner by the Carthaginians. After five years of captivity he was sent to Rome to negotiate for peace and an exchange of prisoners. Though he had been promised his liberty, if the Romans should accept the treaty, yet when he appeared before the Roman senate, he denounced the terms most emphatically. Accordingly he returned to Carthage, where he suffered a cruel death.

THE RETURN OF REGULUS

ELIJAH KELLOGG

The beams of the rising sun had gilded the lofty domes of Carthage, and given, with its rich and mellow light, a tinge of beauty even to the frowning ramparts of the outer harbor. Sheltered by the verdant shores, a hundred triremes were riding 5 proudly at their anchors, their brazen beaks glittering in the sun, their streamers dancing in the morning breeze, while many a shattered plank and timber gave evidence of desperate conflict with the fleets of Rome.

No murmur of business or of revelry arose from the city. The 10 artisan had forsaken his shop, the judge his tribunal, the priest the sanctuary, and even the stern stoic had come forth from his retirement to mingle with the crowd that, anxious and agitated, were rushing toward the senate-house, startled by the report that Regulus had returned to Carthage.

15 Onward, still onward, trampling each other under foot, they rushed, furious with anger, and eager for revenge. Fathers were there, whose sons were groaning in fetters; maidens, whose lovers, weak and wounded, were dying in the dungeons of Rome, and gray-haired men and matrons, whom the Roman sword had left 20 childless.

But when the stern features of Regulus were seen, and his colossal form towering above the ambassadors who had returned with him from Rome; when the news passed from lip to lip that the dreaded warrior, so far from advising the Roman senate to 25 consent to an exchange of prisoners, had urged them to pursue, with exterminating vengeance, Carthage and Carthaginians,-the multitude swayed to and fro like a forest beneath a tempest, and the rage and hate of that tumultuous throng vented itself in groans, and curses, and yells of vengeance.

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But calm, cold, and immovable as the marble walls around him, stood the Roman; and he stretched out his hand over that

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