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seeing Nell. "I am afraid to kiss her, lest I should make her ill. Ask her to shake hands with me."

12. The sobbing child came closer up, and took the little languid hand in hers. Releasing his again after a time, the sick boy laid him gently down.

13. "You remember the garden, Harry," whispered the schoolmaster, anxious to rouse him, for a dulness seemed gathering upon the child, "and how pleasant it used to be in the evening? You must make haste to visit it again, for I think the very flowers have missed you, and are less gay than they used to be. You will come soon, my dear, very soon now, won't you?"

14. The boy smiled faintly, so very, very faintly,and put his hand upon his friend's gray head. He moved his lips, too, but no voice came from them, no, not a sound. In the silence that ensued, the hum of distant voices, borne upon the evening air, came floating through the open window.

15. "What's that?" said the sick child, opening his eyes. "The boys at play upon the green." He took a handkerchief from his pillow, and tried to wave it above his head. But the feeble arm dropped powerless down. "Shall I do it?" said the schoolmaster.

16. "Please wave it at the window," was the faint reply. "Tie it to the lattice. Some of them may see it there. Perhaps they'll think of me, and look this way."

17. He raised his head, and glanced from the fluttering signal to his idle bat, that lay, with slate and book, and other boyish property, upon a table in the room. And then he laid him down softly once more, and asked if the little girl were there, for he could not see her.

18. She stepped forward and pressed the passive hand that lay upon the coverlet. The two old friends and companions for such they were, though they were man and child-held each other in a long embrace, and then the

little scholar turned his face towards the wall, and fell asleep.

19. The poor schoolmaster sat in the same place, holding the small, cold hand in his, and chafing it. It was but the hand of a dead child. He felt that; and yet he chafed it still, and could not lay it down.

1 A-CHIEVED'.

pleted; done.

Performed; com- 4 LATTICE. A window blind or

CLEV'ER. Skilful; dexterous; able.

3 CON-TEMPLATE. Consider closely.

screen made by strips and bars crossing each other and forming open spaces like net-work.

LXXIX.-BREAK, BREAK, BREAK.

TENNYSON.

[Alfred Tennyson, a living poet of England, was born in 1810. He is a man of fine genius, whose poetry is addressed to refined and cultivated minds. The music of his verse, and his skill in the use of language, are alike excellent. He has an uncommon power of presenting pictures to the eye, and often in a very few words.]

1. BREAK, break, break,

On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.

2. O, well for the fisherman's boy,

That he shouts with his sister at play!

O, well for the sailor lad,

That he sings in his boat on the bay!

3. And the stately ships go on

To their haven under the hill;

But, O, for the touch of the vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!

4. Break, break, break,

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.

LXXX. THE CHARACTER OF GREENE.

HEADLEY.

1. NEXT to Washington, Greene was the ablest com mander in the revolutionary army. In person he was above the middle height, and strongly made. He had a fine face, a florid' complexion, and brilliant blue eyes. His natural expression was frank and benevolent. In battle it assumed a sternness that showed, beneath his easy and gentle manners, a strength of purpose not easily overcome. When highly excited, or absorbed in intense thought, he had a habit of rubbing violently his upper lip with his forefinger.

2. Inured to exposure and toil, his frame possessed a wonderful power of endurance, rendered still greater by an indomitable' will. He rose from the ranks, and became a major-general solely by his own genius and force. Ignorant of military tactics3, he applied himself with such diligence to the subject, that he mastered the science in less time than many employ on the rudiments.

3. He had an almost intuitive perception of character. Like Washington, he seemed to take the exact measure of every man who approached him. Many of his actions. in the field were based upon this knowledge of his adversaries.

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4. In the southern campaign against Cornwallis, his movements were sometimes considered rash by those who

judged of them merely from the relative position and strength of the armies. But to him, who could judge more correctly from his knowledge of men's views and character than from their transient movements, what course they would take, his plans appeared the wisest he could adopt.

5. A more fearless man never led an army; and his courage was not the result of sudden enthusiasm or excitement, but of a well-balanced and strong character. He was never known to be thrown from his perfect self-possession by any danger, however sudden; he was as calm and collected when his shattered army tossed in a perfect wreck around him, as in his tent at night. The roar of artillery and the tumult of a fierce battle could not disturb the natural action of his mind; his thoughts were as clear, and his judgment as correct, in the midst of a sudden and unexpected overthrow, as in planning a campaign.

6. This was the secret of his power, and explains why, when beaten, he was never utterly routed. No matter how superior his antagonist, or how unexpected the panic of his troops, he was never, like Gates, driven a fugitive from the field. He possessed qualities seldom found united, - great caution and great rapidity. Nothing escaped his glance; he seemed to forecast all the contingencies that did or could happen. His fortitude was wonderful. All exposures, all privations, all embarrassments, toils, and suf ferings, he bore with a patience that filled his soldiers with astonishment and admiration.

7. The southern army, when he took command, consisted of a mere handful of destitute, undisciplined, and ragged troops. With these he entered the field against one of the best generals of the age, supported by an army of veteran soldiers. With his raw recruits, he immediately began the offensive, and, before his powerful enemy

penetrated his plans, smote him a terrible blow at Cowpens.*

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8. Compelled to retreat, he completely foiled, by a series of skilful manœuvres and forced marches, every attempt to reach him. Unable to cope with his adversary in the open field, he retired, like the lion, slowly and resolutely. His pursuer was ever kept in view, and could not make a mistake without receiving a blow.

9. He thus led his enemy through the entire State of North Carolina; and the moment he turned, followed him, and dealt him such a staggering blow at Guilford, that he was compelled to a precipitate flight. No sooner was Cornwallis beyond his reach, than he turned upon the enemy's posts in South Carolina, and carrying them one after another, brought the war to Charleston itself. His combinations were admirable, and succeeded beyond the most sanguine expectations.

10. The resources of his mind were inexhaustible": there was no plan too hopeless for him to attempt. Without a dollar from government, and penniless himself, he managed to keep an army in the field, and to conquer with it.

11. His soldiers loved him with devotion, and having seen him extricate himself so often from apparently inevitable ruin, they came, at length, to regard him as invincible. Sharing all their toils and dangers, and partaking of all their sufferings, he so won their affections that they would go wherever he commanded.

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12. His patriotism was of the purest kind. His own reputation and life he regarded as nothing in the cause of freedom. Next to his country he loved Washington; and no mean ambition, or envy of his great leader, ever sullied his noble character.

13. That affection was returned, and the two heroes

* CÖW'PENŞ. A post village in South Carolina.

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