Toil only gives the soul to shine,
And makes rest fragrant and benign;
A heritage, it seems to me,

Worth being poor to hold in fee.

9. Both, heirs to some six feet of sod,
Are equal in the earth at last;
Both, children of the same dear God,
Prove title to your heirship vast

By record of a well-filled past;
A heritage, it seems to me,

Well worth a life to hold in fee.

DEFINITIONS.—1. Hĕr'it-aġe, that which is inherited, or taken by descent, from an ancestor. 3. Sat'ed, surfeited, glutted. Hinds, peasants, countrymen. 5. Ad-jůdġed', decided, determined. 8. Benign' (pro. be-nin'), having healthful qualities, wholesome.

NOTES.-1. To hold in fee, means to have as an inheritance. 9. Prove title. That is to prove the right of ownership.

LXXI. NO EXCELLENCE WITHOUT LABOR.

William Wirt (b. 1772, d. 1834) was born in Bladensburg, Maryland. He was admitted to the bar in 1799, and afterwards practiced law, with eminent success, at Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia. He was one of the counsel for the prosecution in the trial of Aaron Burr for treason. From 1817 to 1829 he was Attorney-general for the United States. In 1803 he published the "Letters of a British Spy," a work which attracted much attention, and in 1817 a "Life of Patrick Henry."

1. THE education, moral and intellectual, of every individual, must be chiefly his own work. Rely upon it that the ancients were right; both in morals and intellect we give the final shape to our characters, and thus become, emphatically, the architects of our own fortune. How else

could it happen that young men, who have had precisely the same opportunities, should be continually presenting us with such different results, and rushing to such opposite destinies ?

2. Difference of talent will not solve it, because that difference is very often in favor of the disappointed candidate. You will see issuing from the walls of the same college, nay, sometimes from the bosom of the same family, two young men, of whom one will be admitted to be a genius of high order, the other scarcely above the point of mediocrity; yet you will see the genius sinking and perishing in poverty, obscurity, and wretchedness; while, on the other hand, you will observe the mediocre plodding his slow but sure way up the hill of life, gaining steadfast footing at every step, and mounting, at length, to eminence and distinction, an ornament to his family, a blessing to his country.

Manifestly their own.

3. Now, whose work is this? They are the architects of their respective fortunes. The best seminary of learning that can open its portals to you can do no more than to afford you the opportunity of instruction but it must depend, at last, on yourselves, whether you will be instructed or not, or to what point you will push your instruction.

4. And of this be assured, I speak from observation a certain truth: THERE IS NO EXCELLENCE WITHOUT GREAT LABOR. It is the fiat of fate, from which no power of genius can absolve you.

5. Genius, unexerted, is like the poor moth that flutters around a candle till it scorches itself to death. If genius be desirable at all, it is only of that great and magnanimous kind, which, like the condor of South America, pitches from the summit of Chimborazo, above the clouds, and sustains itself at pleasure in that empyreal region with an energy rather invigorated than weakened by the effort.

6. It is this capacity for high and long-continued exertion, this vigorous power of profound and searching investigation, this careering and wide-spreading comprehension of mind, and these long reaches of thought, that,

"Pluck bright honor from the pale-faced moon,

Or dive into the bottom of the deep,

And pluck up drowned honor by the locks;"

this is the prowess, and these the hardy achievements, which are to enroll your names among the great men of the earth.

DEFINITIONS.-1. Mor'al, relating to duty or obligation. Ar ehi-tčets, builders, makers. Děs'ti-ny, ultimate fate, appointed condition. 2. Căn'di-date, one who seeks after some honor or office. Gēn'ius (pro. jēn’yus), a man of superior intellectual powers. Mēdi-Ŏe'ri-ty. a middle state or degree of talents. Mē'di-ō-ere (pro. mē ́di-ō-kr), a man of moderate talents. 3. Re-spěet ́ive, particular, own. 4. Ab-sõlve', set free, release from. Fiat, a decree. 5. Con'dor, a large bird of the vulture family. Em-pуr'e-al, relating to the highest and purest region of the heavens. 6. Ca-reer'ing, moving rapidly. Prowess (pro. prou ́es), bravery, boldness.

NOTES.-5. Chimborazo (pro. chim-bo-rä ́zo), is an extinct volcano in Ecuador, whose height is 20,517 feet above the sea.

6. The quotation is from Shakespeare's "King Henry IV," Part I, Act I, Scene 3.

LXXII. THE OLD HOUSE-CLOCK.

1. OH! the old, old clock of the household stock,
Was the brightest thing, and neatest;

Its hands, though old, had a touch of gold,
And its chimes rang still the sweetest;

'Twas a monitor, too, though its words were few, Yet they lived, though nations altered; And its voice, still strong, warned old and young, When the voice of friendship faltered: "Tick! tick!" it said, "quick, quick, to bed: For ten I've given warning!

Up! up! and go, or else you know,

You'll never rise soon in the morning!"

2. A friendly voice was that old, old clock,
As it stood in the corner smiling,

And blessed the time with a merry chime,
The wintry hours beguiling;

But a cross old voice was that tiresome clock,
As it called at day-break boldly;

When the dawn looked gray o'er the misty way,
And the early air looked coldly:

"Tick! tick!" it said, “quick out of bed:

For five I've given warning;

You'll never have health, you'll never have wealth Unless you're up soon in the morning!"

3. Still hourly the sound goes round and round,
With a tone that ceases never:

While tears are shed for bright days fled,
And the old friends lost forever!

Its heart beats on, though hearts are gone,
That beat like ours, though stronger;
Its hands still move, though hands we love
Are clasped on earth no longer!

"Tick! tick!" it said, "to the churchyard bed,
The grave hath given warning;

Up! up! and rise, and look at the skies,

And prepare for a heavenly morning!"

LXXIII. THE EXAMINATION.

Daniel Pierce Thompson (b. 1795, d. 1868) was born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, but soon removed with his father to Vermont, where he lived until twenty years of age, on a farm. His means of schooling were most limited, but he was very ambitious and seized every opportunity. By his own efforts he earned enough money to carry him through Middlebury College, where he graduated in 1820. He then went to Virginia as private tutor, and while there was entered at the bar. He shortly returned to Vermont, and opened a law office in Montpelier. In time he was elected a Judge, and later Secretary of State. From his college days Mr. Thompson was a writer for the various magazines. Among his novels may be mentioned "Locke Amsden, the Schoolmaster," "May Martin, or the Money Diggers," "The Green Mountain Boys," and "The Rangers, or the Tory's Daughter."

1. "HAVE you any questions to ask me in the other branches, sir?" asked Locke.

"Not many," replied Bunker. "There is reading, writing, grammar, etc., which I know nothing about; and as to them, I must, of course, take you by guess, which will not be much of a guess, after all, if I find you have thought well on all other matters. Do you understand philosophy?"

2. "To what branch of philosophy do you allude, sir?" "To the only branch there is."

"But you are aware that philosophy is divided into dif ferent kinds; as, natural, moral, and intellectual."

"Nonsense! philosophy is philosophy, and means the study of the reasons and causes of the things which we see, whether it be applied to a crazy man's dreams, or the roasting of potatoes. Have you attended to it?"

"Yes, to a considerable extent, sir."

3. "I will put a question or two, then, if you please. What is the reason of the fact, for it is a fact, that the damp breath of a person blown on a good knife, and on a bad one, will soonest disappear from the well-tempered blade?"