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Articulate distinctly the consonant combinations in streamlet, banks, spread, around, morning, resplendent, sings, sparkles, clothed.

FEMALE KINDNESS.

1. As the quiet streamlet, that runs along the valley, nourishes a luxuriant vegetation, causing flowers to bloom and birds to sing along its banks, so do a kind look and happy countenance spread peace and joy around.

2. Kindness is an ennobling sentiment. It sits upon the heart as dew upon the flowers. It is as a morning prayer, an evening hymn,— a dream of heaven. We look upon this sentiment in a child as we look upon an orchard resplendent with early blossoms; nor do the happy songs and rich odors of the one steal more gratefully over our senses, than do the hopes and promises of the other.

3. In the day-dawn of life, joy sparkles in the young soul like the dew-drops of the morning. The earth is then belted. with the rainbow of promise; and all things are clothed in the bright and illusive colors of a young and luxuriant imagination. It is refreshing at such a time to watch the buddings of a generous spirit; and we long to behold the maturity of such a flower;

"Fresh roses drip with sweetness there;

And May-day smiles around."

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4. Kindness is the ornament of man; it is the chief glory of woman. It is, indeed, woman's true prerogative, her scepter, and her crown. It is the sword with which she conquers, and the charm with which she captivates. What a

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bright halo of honor does history throw around woman in her recorded deeds of kindness!

5. In the early history of Virginia,* how like a fountain in the wilderness is the story of Pocahontas † saving the life of Captain Smith! In reading the travels of Park § and Ledyard, how grateful to listen to the high tribute which they pay to the gentle goodness and tender sympathy of woman, whether in savage or civilized life!

6. If history tells of her having been in the rude camp, or on the gory battle-field, her mission there has chiefly been to bind up the gashed bosom, or stanch the bleeding wound; to alleviate the suffering or quench the thirst of the dying soldier.

7. But it was left to the Christian religion to give the beatitude to woman's character. The highest tribute to her sympathy and love, as well as the brightest examples of her overflowing goodness of heart, is found on the sacred pages.

8. She washed the feet of the Redeemer with her tears, and wiped them with her hair; she was the last to linger around his cross when he was crucified, and the first at his tomb after he arose from the dead; and she was the deepest mourner at his death, and the most assiduous watcher at his grave.

9. Young lady, would you be admired and beloved, would you be an ornament to your sex and a blessing to your race, then cultivate this heavenly virtue.

* Vir-gin'ia, the oldest of the thirteen original States of the North American con federacy. It was settled in 1607.

↑ Po-ca-hon'tas, the daughter of Powhatan, a celebrated Indian warrior in Virginia, was born about the year 1595. She twice saved the life of Captain Smith, the leader of the first settlers of Virginia, and was afterward married to Mr. Thomas Rolfe, an Englishman.

Cap'tain Smith, who has been styled the father of Virginia, was born in Willoughby, in Lincolnshire, England, in 1579. He was a bold adventurer; and after making several voyages to America, and experiencing various vicissitudes of fortune, and several escapes from a sudden and violent death, he died in London in 1631.

§ Park, (Mun'go,) an enterprising traveler, was born in Scotland, in 1771. He was killed by the natives, while fleeing from their hostile pursuit, when on his second exploring expedition in the interior of Africa, in 1806.

|| Led'yard, (John,) a celebrated traveler, was born in Groton, Ct., in 1751. He ac companied Captain Cook in his last voyage around the world, an account of which he published He died in Cairo, in Egypt, in 1788.

10. Wealth may surround you with its blandishments; and beauty, learning, or talents may give you admirers; but love and kindness alone can captivate the heart. Whether you live in a cottage or a palace, these graces can surround you with perpetual sunshine, making you and all around you happy.

QUESTIONS.-1. What comparison dees this paragraph contain? 2. What is said of kindness? 2. With what is it compared? 3. What is meant by the day-dawn of life"? 3. How do things then appear to the young? 4. What is said of kindness as it respects man? 4. What, as it respects woman? 4. What does she do with it? 5. What examples of kindness are here referred to? What is said of Virginia? Of Pocahontas? Of Captain Smith? Of Mungo Park? Of John Ledyard? 6-8. What further is said of female kindness? 9. What advice is here given? 9, 10. Why should love and kindness be cultivated? — Point out the substitutes in the first paragraph, and give the elements which they represent. Point out those in the second paragraph, &c.

LESSON XXX.20

1. O-RIG'I-NA-TED, was produced, arose. 1. DE-ROG'A-TO-RY, degrading.

1. SNEER'ING-LY, with a look of contempt. 2. PRINCESS-Es, ladies of rank next to that

of a queen.

ERRORS.

2. FA'MOUS, distinguished, renowned.
2. SIEGE, the act of besetting with an army.

5. AC-COMPLISH-MENTS, ornaments of mind

or manners.

5. VERS'ED, well skilled.

Ort for ought; hus'bund for husband; for'tin for fort'une; liv'in for living; dis'tunt for dis'tant; in-de-pend' unt for inde-pend'ent.

DIGNITY OF LABOR.

1. WHENCE originated the idea, that it is derogatory to a lady's dignity, or a blot upon the female character, to labor? and who was the first to say, sneeringly, "O, she works for a living"? Surely such ideas and expressions ought not to The time has been when ladies of grow on republican soil. the first rank were accustomed to busy themselves in domestic employment.

2. Homer* tells us of princesses who used to draw water from the springs, and wash, with their own hands, the coarsest

* Hoʻmer, one of the most eminent of the Greek poets, lived about 900 years before Christ.

linen of their respective families. The famous Lucretia* used to spin in the midst of her attendants; and the wife of Ulysses, † after the seige of Troy,‡ employed herself in weaving until her husband returned to Ithaca.§

3. In later times, the wife of George the Third || of England has been represented as spending an evening in hemming pocket-handkerchiefs, while her daughter Mary sat in the corner darning stockings.

4. Few American fortunes will support a woman who is above the calls of her family; and a man of sense, in choosing a companion to journey with him through all the ills of life, would sooner choose one who had to work for a living, than one who thought it beneath her to soil her pretty hands with manual labor, although she might possess her thousands.

5. To be able to earn her living by laboring with her own hands, should be reckoned among the most important of female accomplishments; and it is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when no woman of independent America will be ashamed to have it known, that she is better versed in usefulness, than she is in ornamental accomplishments.

What

QUESTIONS.-1. How did ladies of the first rank busy themselves formerly? is said of Homer? 2. What were princesses accustomed to do in the time of Homer? What is said of Lucretia? What, of Ulysses? What, of Troy? What, of Ithaca ? 3. What, of the wife and daughter of George the Third? 4. What is said of American fortunes? 4. Whom would a man of sense choose for a companion? 5. What should be reckoned as the most important of female accomplishments? - What is the kind of composition of this lesson? How should it be read?

* Lu-cre'tia, a Roman lady of distinguished virtue, and the wife of Collatinus, a near relation of Tarquin the Proud, king of Rome. She lived about 500 years before Christ.

↑ U-lys'ses, one of the principal Greek heroes in the Trojan war, who lived before Homer. His wife's name was Penelope, the daughter of Icarius.

Troy, an ancient city of Asia Minor, which was destroyed by the confederated Greeks, after a ten years' siege, when Priam was king, about 1184 years before Christ. Ith'a-ca, a small island, now called Thiaki, in the Ionian Sea, celebrated as the birthplace of Ulysses.

George the Third, born 1738, became king of England 1760; he died 1820.

8

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1. SETTLE-MENT, the act of planting a colony. 7. BOUN'TI-FUL, large in quantity, abund 2. COL'O-NISTS, members of a colony.

2. YIELD'ED, produced.

2. FowLs, feathered and winged animals.

3. FES'TI-VAL, an anniversary feast.

4. FAM'INE, Scarcity of food, dearth.
5. AN-TIC'I-PA-TED, expected, foreseen.

ant, generous.

10. REM-I-NIS CEN-CES, recollections.
10. EX'QUI-SITE, nice, exact, complete.
11. SANC TI-FY-ING, rendering productive

of good, making more holy.
11. EN-HANC'ING, increasing, augmenting.

ERRORS. -Ear'list for ear'li-est; a-pät for a-pärt; cawn for corn; tol'ra-bly for tol'er-a-bly; In'juns for In'dians (ind'yans); fes'ti-vul for fes'ti-val; con-tin'ers for con-tin'ues.

ORIGIN OF THE NEW ENGLAND THANKSGIVING.*

1. THIS time-honored custom began with the earliest settlement of New England. The Pilgrim Fathers,† ever mindful of the blessings they received from the Giver of all good, among their first acts, set apart a day for thanksgiving and prayer to God for his watchful care over them in preserving their lives through the year, and in giving them an abundant harvest.

2. "In the fall of 1621, the first harvest of the colonists was gathered. The corn yielded well, the barley was tolerably good, but the pease were a failure, owing to drought and late sowing. Satisfied, however, with the abundance of their fruits, four huntsmen were sent out for fowls; and at their return, having been successful, the Pilgrims rejoiced together 'after a special manner.'

3. "Massasoit, the chief of one of the neighboring tribes of Indians, and ninety of his men, were present on the occasion, and participated in the festivities. Thus the festival of 'Thanksgiving' was instituted in New England."

*The facts embodied in this piece are taken principally from "The History of Massachusetts" by J. S. Barry, and from C. A. Goodrich's "History of the United States"; they may therefore be regarded as authentic.

↑ Pil'grim Fa'thers, those English fathers who made the first permanent settlement in New England, at Plymouth (then Patuxet), Massachusetts, Dec. 21, 1620. They were principally from the counties of Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire, in the central and northern parts of England.

In'dians (ind'yans), the native inhabitants found in America when it was discov ered by Columbus.

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