And, Douglas, more I tell thee here, 4. On the earl's cheek the flush of rage O'ercame the ashen hue of age; Fierce he broke forth: "And darest thou then To beard the lion in his den, The Douglas in his hall? And hopest thou hence unscathed to go?— 5. Lord Marmion turned-well was his need- He halts and turns with clenchéd hand, And shout of loud defiance pours, And shook his gauntlet at the towers. 6. "Horse! horse!" the Douglas cried, "and chase!" But soon he reined his fury's pace: "A royal messenger he came, Though most unworthy of the name. Saint Mary mend my fiery mood! Old age ne'er cools the Douglas blood. I thought to slay him where he stood. 'Tis pity of him, too," he cried; “Bold can he speak, and fairly ride— I warrant him a warrior tried." With this his mandate he recalls, And slowly seeks his castle halls. Scott. LXXIII.--HENRY OF NAVARRE. the throne of After a nine He was in his Henry of Navarre was heir presumptive to France, on the death of Henry III. in 1589. years' struggle, he was recognized as Henry IV. fifty-seventh year when assassinated by Ravaillac (rä-väl-yäk). THERE is an ancient street in Paris where a great thoroughfare contracts to a narrow pass. Tall buildings overshadow it, packed from pavement to tiles with human life; and from the dingy front of one of them the sculptured head of a man looks down on the throng that ceaselessly defiles beneath. 2. On the 14th of May, 1610, a ponderous coach, studded with fleurs-de-lis and rich with gilding, rolled along this street. In it was a small man, well advanced in life, whose profile once seen could not be forgotten a hooked nose; a protruding chin; a brow full of wrinkles; grizzled hair; a short, grizzled beard; and stiff, gray moustaches, bristling like a cat's. 3. One would have thought him some whiskered satyr, grim from the rack of tumultuous years; but his alert, upright port bespoke unshaken vigor, and his clear eye was full of buoyant life. Following on the foot-way strode a tall, strong, and somewhat corpulent man, with sinister, deep-set eyes, and a red beard, his arm and shoulder covered with his cloak. 4. In the throat of the thoroughfare, where the sculptured image of Henry the Fourth still guards the spot, a collision of two carts stopped the coach. Ravaillac quickened his pace. In an instant he was at the door; his cloak was dropped; a long knife was in his hand; his foot upon a guard-stone, he thrust his head and shoulders into the coach, and with frantic force stabbed thrice at the king's heart. 5. A broken exclamation, a gasping convulsion; then the grim visage drooped on the bleeding breast. Henry breathed his last, and the hope of Europe Idied with him. 6. To few has human liberty owed so deep a gratitude or so deep a grudge. Little did he care for creeds or systems. Impressible, quick in sympathy, his grim lip lighted often with a smile, and his warworn cheek was no stranger to a tear. 7. He forgave his enemies and forgot his friends. Many loved him; none but fools trusted him. Mingled of mortal good and ill, frailty and force, of all the kings who for two centuries and more sat on the throne of France, Henry the Fourth alone was a Adapted from Francis Parkman. man. LXXIV. THE SHEPHERD AND PHILOSOPHER. EMOTE from cities lived a swain, His wisdom and his honest fame 2. A deep philosopher, whose rules Of moral life were drawn from schools, And hast thou fathomed Tully's mind? 3. The shepherd modestly replied :- Who by that search shall wiser grow, 4. "The daily labors of the bee 5. "From nature, too, I take my rule, I never with important air, Can grave and formal pass for wise, |