13. Flowers were strewed along his pathway; his carriage detached from the horses, and dragged by the enthusiastic crowd, along ranks of grateful freemen, who rent the heavens with their acclamations. From the heads of government, down to the lowest menial, all had united in pouring blessings on his venerable head. Melted to tears by these demon strations of love, he had moved like a father amid his children, scattering blessings wherever he went.

14. One of his last acts in this country was to lay the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill monument. He had placed the stone over Baron De Kalb's grave, in South Carolina, and now it was fit that he, the last survivor of the majorgenerals of the American Revolution, should consecrate the first block in that grand structure. Amid the silent attention of fifty thousand spectators, this aged veteran and friend of Washington, with uncovered head, performed the imposing ceremonies, and "Long live Lafayette," swelled up from the top of Bunker Hill.

15. At length, after having passed through almost the entire Union in the space of a few months, he embarked, the eighth of September, for his native land. The Brandywine was sent out by government to convey him home; and when、 it reached Havre, the officers, wishing to express their admiration of him, deputed their first lieutenant, Gregory, to convey their sentiments.

16. The young officer, overcome by his feelings, was unable to utter a word; but in the spirit of true heroism, ran to the stern of the vessel, and satching the flag that waved there, handed it to him, saying, "We cannot confide it to more glorious keeping." He then made a short address, to which Lafayette replied, saying: "I hope, that displayed from the most prominent part of my house, at La Grange, it will always testify to all who may see it, the kindness of the

• Baro De Kalb; a major-general in the American army. He was born in Germany about the year 1717. In 1777, he came to this country, and took part in the war of the Revolution.

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American nation toward its adopted and devoted son. The people thronged around him as he traveled through France and he was everywhere hailed “The people's friend!”

LESSON CXX.

LAMENT FOR LAFAYETTE.

1. ALL lonely and cold, in the sepulcher slumbers
The giant of freedom," the chosen of fame'
Too high is the theme for my harp's lowly numbers;
Yet fain would I twine me a wreath for that name
Which proudly shines forth in the tablet of glory,
Unsullied by faction, untarnished by guile;
The loftiest theme for the bard's raptured story;

The name by which freemen met death with a smile

2. Then arise, ye proud bards! give our hearts' mighty sad
A voice not unworthy a theme so sublime, [ness,
For him, the bright day-star of freedom and gladness
Whose memory will glow through the far flight of time
He is gone, and forever! the pride of our nation,
That bright sun of freedom in glory hath set;
The heroes who bled for our country's salvation,
Now joy in thy presence, O brave Lafayette!

3. Thou camest to our shore when the day-star of freedom
Was proudly dispelling dark tyranny's night,
When millions awoke to the rank she decreed them,
And the millions of despots were scattered in flight;
When the star-spangled banner waves sheen' in the morn
The heart of the freeman will bound at thy name; [ing
Thou champion of freedom! fell tyranny scorning,
One world was too small for the blaze of thy fame!

a "Giant of freedom;" Lafayette. b Sheen; bright, shining.

1. Bright, bright is the path thou hast left of thy glory, Amid the world's darkness, which ne'er shall decline, For the light of thy fame on the ages before thee,

With splendor unsullied, forever will shine;
When freedom's bright fabric lay blackened in ruin,
While bloodthirsty tyrants usurped the dread sway,
At the roots of the proud tree of liberty hewing,
All hopes for the land of thy love died away.

5. Thou art gone! thy pure soul on its voyage hath started; From its ashes the phoenixa of freedom hath flown,

To join the bright phalanx of heroes departed,
Who dwell in the light of a fame like thine own.
Farewell, thou last star of that bright constellation
Of heroes whose glory can never depart;
Thy fame hath no limit of kindred or nation;
Thy name is enshrined in each patriot's heart.

6. With Washington's blended, for ever thy glory

Shall form the proud theme of our bard's burning lays While the banner of freedom shall proudly wave o'er thee, Thou mighty departed! thou light of our days; But still! my wild harp, all in vain we lament him; His praise must be sung by some loftier lyre;

Let the soul-raptured bard use the gift heaven hath lent And weave for our hero a requiem of fire!

[him,

LESSON CXXI,

ELOQUENCE.

1. THAT I may not stand alone in my views on the subject. of genuine eloquence, I will give the language of those able statesmen of our country, John Adams and Daniel Webster.

a Phoenix; a fabled bird, which the ancients supposed to live for a long period, and finally to burn itself, and rise again from its own ashes. b The departed heroes of the American Revolution.

2. Mr. Adams remarked, "Oratory, as it consists in the expression of the countenance, graces of attitude and motion, and intonation of voice, although it is altogether superficial. and ornamental, will always command admiration, yet it deserves little veneration.

3. "Flashes of wit, coruscations of imagination, and gay pictures; what are they? Strict truth, rapid reason, and pure integrity, are the only essential ingredients in oratory. I flatter myself that Demosthenes, by his action, action, action,' meant to express the same opinion."

4. Mr. Webster observes, "When public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, when great interests are at stake, and strong passions excited, nothing is valuable in speech further than it is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments. Clearness, force, and earnestness, are qualities that produce conviction.

5. "True eloquence, indeed, does not consist in speech. It cannot be brought from far. Labor and learning may toil for it; but they toil in vain. Words and phrases may be marshaled in every way; but they cannot compass it. It must exist in the man, in the subject, and in the occasion. Affected passion, intense expression, the pomp of declamation, all may aspire after it, but they cannot reach it. It comes, if it comes at all, like the outbreaking of a fountain from the earth, or the bursting forth of volcanic fires, with spontaneous, original, native force.

6. "The graces taught in schocls, the courtly ornaments and studied contrivances of speech, shock and disgust men, when their own lives, and the lives of their wives and children, and their country, hang on the decision of an hour. Then words have lost their power, rhetoric is vain, and all elaborate oratory contemptible. Then, even genius feels rebuked and subdued, as if in the presence of higher qualities. Then patriotism is eloquent, then self-devotion is eloquent.

7. "The clear conception, outrunning the deductions of logic; the high purpose, the firm resolve, the dauntless spirit speaking on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing

every feature, and urging the whole man onward, right onward to his object; this, this is eloquence, or rather, it is something greater than eloquence; it is action noble, sublime, and god-like action."

8. Rhetoric, as taught in our seminaries, and by itinerant elocutionists, is one thing; genuine, heart-thrilling, soulstirring eloquence, is a very different thing. The one is like the rose in wax, without odor; the other like the rose on its native bush, perfuming the atmosphere with the rich odors, distilled from the dew of heaven.

9. The one is the finely finished statue of a Cicero or Demosthenes, more perfect in its lineaments than the original; pleasing the eye and enrapturing the imagination; the other is the living man, animated by intellectual power, rousing the deepest feelings of every heart, and electrifying every soul, as with vivid lightning. The one is a picture of the passions all on fire; the other is the real conflagration; pouring out a volume of words that burn, like liquid flames bursting from the crater of a volcano.

10. The one attracts the admiring gaze, and tickles the fancy of an audience; the other sounds an alarm, that vibrates through the tingling ears to the soul, and drives back the rushing blood upon the aching heart. The one falls upon the multitude like April showers, glittering in the sunbeams, animating and bringing nature into mellow life; the other rouses the same mass to deeds of noble daring, and imparts to it the terrific force of an avalanche.

11. The one moves the cerebral foliage in waves of recumbent beauty, like a gentle wind passing over a prairie of tall grass and flowers; the other strikes a blow, that resounds through the wilderness of mind, like rolling thunder through a forest of oaks. The one fails when strong commotions and angry elements agitate the public peace; the other can ride upon the whirlwind, direct the tornado, and rule the storm. 30*

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