[THE following lesson requires variety of tone.] 1. MEANWHILE the adversary of God and man', Satan', with thoughts inflam'd of highest design, Puts on swift wings, and toward the gates of hell, Explores his solitary flight: sometimes 2. 3. He scours the right ́ hand coast, sometimes the left; At last, appear Hell bounds, high reaching to the horrid roof, And thrice three-fold the gates; three folds were brass`, Three iron, three of adamantine rock Impenetrable, impal'd with circling fire, Yet unconsum'd. Before the gates there sat, The one seemed woman to the waist, and fair; The other shape, If shape it might be call'd, that shape had none, And shook a dreadful dart`: what seem'd his head, ་ 4. Satan was now at hand, and from his seat 5. (h) "Whence and what art thou, execrable shape? Thy miscreated front athwart my way To yonder gates? Through them I mean to pass`, That be assur'd, without leave ask'd of thee: Retire, or taste thy folly; and learn by proof, Hell-born, not to contend with spirits of heaven." 6. To whom the goblin, full of wrath, repli'd: (h) "Art thou that traitor-angel, art thou he Who first broke peace in heaven", and faith, till then Unbroken; and in proud rebellious arms Drew after him the third part of heaven's sons, Conjur'd against the highest, for which, both thou And they, out-cast from God, are here condemn'd To waste eternal days in woe and pain ́? And reckonest thou thyself with spirits of heaven ́, Hell doom'd! and breath'st defiance here and scorn, Where I reign king; and to engage thee more, Thy` king and lord? Back to thy punishment`, False fugitive! and to thy speed add wings; Lest with a whip of scorpions, I pursue Thy lingering, or, with one stroke of this dart, Strange horrors seize thee, and pangs unfelt before.” 7. So spake the grizzly terror, and in shape So speaking and so threatening, grew ten-fold 8. So frown'd the mighty combatants, that hell To meet so great a foe. And now great deeds LII. GOD IS EVERYWHERE. 1. OH! show me where is He, To whom thou bend'st the knee, And lo! no form is near: Oh! teach me who is God, and where his glories shine, That I may kneel and pray, and call thy Father mine. 2. "Gaze on that arch above`: The glittering vault admire. In strength and beauty rise? There view immensity! behold! my God is there: 3. "See where the mountains rise; His footsteps I pursue: He rear'd those giant cliffs, supplies that dashing stream, Provides the daily food which stills the wild bird's scream. 4. "Look on that world of waves, Where finny nations glide; Where sport the scaly swarm: Tempests and calms obey the same almighty voice, Which rules the earth and skies`, and bids far worlds rejoice. 5. "No human thoughts can soar The viewless spirit, He`-immortal ́, holy, blest` 1. DEBT is of the very highest antiquity. The first debt in the history of man is the debt of nature, and the first instinct is to put off the payment of it to the last moment. Many persons, it will be observed, following the natural procedure, would die before they would pay their debts. 2. Society is composed of two classes, debtors and creditors`. The creditor class has been erroneously supposed the more enviable. Never was there a greater misconception`; and the hold it yet maintains upon opinion, is a remarkable example of the obstinacy of error, notwithstanding the plainest lessons of experience. The debtor has the sympathies of mankind. He is seldom spoken of but with expressions of tenderness and compassion-"the poor debtor!"”—and “the unfortunate debtor!" On the other hand, "harsh" and "hard-hearted" are the epithets allotted to the creditor. Who ever heard the "poor creditor," the "unfortunate creditor" spoken of? No, the creditor never becomes the object of pity, unless he passes into the debtor class. A creditor may be ruined by the poor debtor, but it is not until he becomes unable to pay his own debts, that he begins to be compassionated. 3. A debtor is a man of mark. Many eyes are fixed upon him; many have interest in his well-being: his movements are of concern: he can not disappear unheeded; his name is in many mouths`; his name is upon many books`; he is a man of note—of promissory note; he fills the speculation of many minds`; men conjecture about him, wonder about him, wonder and conjecture whether he will pay. He is a man of consequence`, for many are running after him. His door is thronged with duns. He is inquired after every hour of the day. Judges hear of him and know him. Every meal he swallows, every coat he puts upon his back`, every dollar he borrows, appears before the country in some formal document. Compare his notoriety with the obscure lot of the creditor, of the man who has nothing but claims on the world; a landlord, or fund-holder, or some such disagreeable, hard character. 4. The man who pays his way is unknown in his neighborhood. You ask the milk-man at his door, and he can not tell his name. You ask the butcher where Mr. Payall lives, and he tells you he knows no such name, for it is not in his books. You shall ask the baker, and he will tell you there is no such person in the neighborhood. People that have his money fast in their pockets, have no thought of his person or appellation. His house only is known. No. 31 is good pay. No. 31 is ready money. Not a scrap of paper is ever made out for No. 31. It is an anonymous house; its owner pays his way to obscurity. No one knows anything about him, or heeds his movements. If a carriage be seen at his door, the neighborhood is not full of concern lest he be going to run away. If a package be moved from his house, a score of boys are not employed to watch whether it be carried to the pawnbroker. Mr. Payall fills no place in the public mind; no one has any hopes or fears about him. 5. The creditor always figures in the fancy as a sour, single man, with grizzled hair, a scowling countenance, and a peremptory air, who lives in a dark apartment, with musty deeds about him, and an iron safe, as impenetrable as his heart, grabbing together what he does not enjoy, and what there is no one about him to enjoy. The debtor, on the other hand, is always pictured with a wife and six fair-haired daughters, bound together in affection and misery, full of sensibility, and suffering without a fault. The creditor, it is never doubted, thrives without a merit. He has no wife and children to pity. No one ever thinks it desirable that he should have the means of living. He is a |