'Twas an hour of fearful issues,
When the bold three hundred stood,
For their love of holy freedom,
By that old Thessalian flood;
When, lifting high each sword of flame,
They called on every sacred name,
And swore, beside those dashing waves,
They never, never would be slaves!

And oh that oath was nobly kept:
From morn to setting sun,
Did desperation urge the fight
Which valor had begun;

Till, torrent-like, the stream of blood
Ran down and mingled with the flood,
And all, from mountain cliff to wave,
Was Freedom's, Valor's, Glory's grave.

Oh! yes, that oath was nobly kept,
Which nobly had been sworn,
And proudly did each gallant heart
The foeman's fetters spurn;
And firmly was the fight maintained,
And amply was the triumph gained;
They fought, fair Liberty, for thee:
They fell-TO DIE IS TO BE FREE!

See RULE FOR POETIC DECLAMATION, following Exer cise XCI.

Water is the natural and proper drink of man. Indeed, it is the grand beverage of organized nature. It enters largely into the composition of the blood, and juices of animals and plants, forms an important ingredient in their organized structures, and bears a fixed and unalterable relation to their whole vital economy. It was the only beverage of the human family in their primeval state.

In that garden, where grew 'every tree pleasant to the sight and good for food,' producing all the richness and variety of 'fruit and flower,' which an omnipotent and all-bountiful Creator could adapt to the relish of his senses, and the exigencies of his entire organization, it cannot for a moment be doubted that man was in a condition best suited to secure to him the uninterrupted, as well as the highest and best exercise and enjoyment of his physical, mental, and moral powers. His drink was water. A river flowed from Paradise. From the moment that river began to 'water the garden,' till the present, no human invention has equalled this simple beverage; and all the attempts to improve it, by the admixture of other substances, whether alcoholic, narcotic, or aromatic, have not only failed, but have served to deteriorate or poison it, and render it less healthful and safe.

Water is as well adapted to man's natural appetite, as to the physical wants of his organs. A natural thirst, and the pleasure derived from its gratification, were given us to secure to the vital machinery the supply of liquid necessary to its healthy movements. When this natural thirst occurs, no drink tastes so good, and in truth none is so good as water; none possesses adaptations so exact to the vital necessities of the organs. So long as a fresh supply of liquid is not needed, so long there is not the least relish for water: it offers no temptation while its addition to the circulating fluids would be useless, or hurtful.

EXERCISE CXLI.

YANKEE SHIPS.-J. T. Fields.

Our Yankee ships! in fleet career,
They linger not behind,

Where gallant sails from other lands
Court favoring tide and wind.
With banners on the breeze, they leap
As gaily o'er the foam

As stately barks from prouder seas,
That long have learned to roam.

The Indian wave, with luring smiles,
Swept round them bright to-day;
And havens of Atlantic isles
Are opening on their way:
Ere yet these evening shadows close,
Or this frail song is o'er,

Full many a straining mast will rise
To greet a foreign shore.

High up the lashing northern deep,
Where glimmering watch-lights beam,
Away in beauty where the stars

In tropic brightness gleam;
Where'er the sea-bird wets her beak,
Or blows the stormy gale;

On to the water's farthest verge
Our ships majestic sail.

They dip their keels in every stream
That swells beneath the sky;

And where old ocean's billows roll,

Their lofty pennants fly:

They furl their sheets in threatening clouds

That float across the main,

To link with love earth's distant bays
In many a golden chain.

EXERCISE CXLII.

EXAMPLE OF DR. BOWDITCH -Alexander Young

Dr Bowditch has left an example full of instruction to the young, and especially to those among them who are struggling with poverty and difficulties. He has shown them that poverty is no dishonor, and needs be no hindrance; that the greatest obstacles may be surmounted by persevering industry and an indomitable will. He has shown them to what heights of greatness and glory they may ascend by truth, temperance, and toil. He has proved to them that fame needs not be sought for solely in political life; although that is a worthy field, and the country must be served, and served, too, not by the worst, but by the best men, - not by the factious, the ignorant, the scheming, but by the wisest, the most enlightened, the best accomplished that we have among us; by men who dare to tell the people of their duties as well as of their rights; and who, instead of meanly flattering them for their votes, will boldly speak to them the words of truth and soberness, and point out to them their errors and faults.

Above all, Dr. Bowditch has left us a most glorious and precious legacy in his example of integrity, love of truth, moral courage, and independence. He has taught the young men here, and the world over, that there is nothing so grand and beautiful as moral principle, nothing so sublime as adherence to truth, and right, and duty, through good report and through evil report. He has, indeed, blessed the world greatly by his science and his practical wisdom; but quite as much, nay, far more, I think, by his upright and manly character. He has taught mankind, that reverence for duty, and trust in Providence, and submission to His will, and faith in the rectitude of His appointments, and a filial reliance upon His love, are sentiments not unworthy nor unbecoming the greatest philosopher. For this we honor and eulogize him; not for wealth, title, fortune, those miserable outsides and trappings of humanity, but for the qualities of the inner man, which still live, and will live forever.

EXERCISE CXLIII.

SACRED MELODY.— William B. Tappan

There is an hour of peaceful rest,
To mourning wanderers given;
There is a joy for souls distressed,
A balm for every wounded breast,
'Tis found above, in heaven.

There is a soft, a downy bed,

Far from these shades of even;
A couch for weary mortals spread,
Where they may rest the acling head,
And find repose in heaven.

There is a home for weary souls,
By sin and sorrow driven;

When tossed on life's tempestuous shoals,
Where storms arise and ocean rolls,
And all is drear: 't is heaven.

There Faith lifts up her cheerful eye,
To brighter prospects given,-
And views the tempest passing by,
The evening shadows quickly fly,
And all serene in heaven.

There fragrant flowers, immortal, bloom,
And joys supreme are given;

There rays divine disperse the gloom:

Beyond the confines of the tomb

Appears the dawn of heaven!

RULE FOR THE READING OF DEVOTIONAL LYRICS.

Devotional pieces, in LYRIC verse, require a LOWER and SLOWE utterance, with LONGER FAUSES, than occur in other lyric compo sitions.