8.

And there lay the steed with his nostrils all wide,

9.

10.

But through them there rolled not the breath of his pride,
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray on the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider, distorted and pale,

With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;"
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord.

DE-PICT'-ED, described; represented in
words.

BYRON.

casionally in Arabia and Syria, and the neighboring countries.

2 SEN-NACH-E-RIB (sen-nak'-e-rib). Also 4 Co-HORT, a band or body of warriors. pronounced Sen-na-ke'-rib.

5 SHEEN, brightness; splendor.

3 SI-мOOM', a hot, dry wind, that blows oc-6 WAXED, became.

7 MAIL, armor; coat of steel net-work.

LESSON IX.

ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH.

1. PASSING Over a period of nearly seven hundred years from the time of the Prophet Isaiah, the inspired writer who most clearly foretells the advent1 of Christ, we come down to that remarkable period in Roman history when Augustus Cæsar ruled over all the then civilized world, and the heathen temple of Janus, always open in time of war, was closed for the third time since the foundation of Rome. It was at this auspicious2 period that Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, was born at Bethlehem in Judæa, then a Roman province; and thus, literally, was his advent the herald3 of "peace on earth, and good-will toward men."

2. The wonderful event of the nativity was not proclaim. ed to the nations like the coming of a temporal prince, but was first announced to a company of shepherds in Judæa as they watched their flocks by night. The manner of the announcement is thus related in the second chapter of Luke:

3. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of

the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.

4. "And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddlingclothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men."

5

5. The beautiful hymn beginning,

"While shepherds watched their flocks by night,"

is descriptive of the same event; but as it is doubtless already familiar to our readers, we introduce one not so generally known, but scarcely less beautiful.

THE NATIVITY.

6.

7.

"Judæa's plains in silence sleep

Beneath the cloudless midnight sky,
And o'er their flocks the shepherds keep
Kind watch, to David's city nigh:
That royal city!-nobler Guest
Is she a while to entertain
Than proudest monarch, whose behest

It is o'er earthly realms to reign.
By Him salvation is to mortals given,

On earth is shed the peerless' noon of heaven.

"For see! along the deep blue arch

A glory breaks; and now a throng

From where the sparkling planets march

Comes trooping down with shout and song;
And o'er those pastures, bathed in light,

The sacred legions stay their wing,

While on the wakeful ear of night

Steals the rich hymn that seraphs sing.

And sweetly thus the mellow accents ran,

'Glory to God, Good-will and Peace to Man!" TAPPAN.

AD-VENT, a coming; the coming of the 5 SWAD'-DLING - CLOTHES, bands wrapped Savior.

around an infant.

6 BE-HEST', authorized right; command.

7 PEER-LESS, unequaled.

8 TROOP'-ING, moving in a crowd.

LESSON X.

THE MIRACLES OF THE SAVIOR.

1. Or the many miracles wrought by the Savior during his ministry, as he "went about doing good," there are some that especially call forth our feelings of sympathy for the-afflicted, while they at the same time direct our thoughts to Christ as the Great Physician, who was sent for the healing of the nations. Some of the finest poems in our language are descriptive of these miracles; and nowhere can be found better reading-lessons for the young than are presented in extracts from them.

2. Of the Cleansing of the Leper, we find, in the Evangelist Mark,* the following brief account:

"And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed."

3. From Willis's poem, "The Leper," we extract the fol lowing:

4.

I. THE LEPER.

It was noon;

And Helon knelt beside a stagnant pool
In the lone wilderness, and bathed his brow,
Hot with the burning leprosy, and touched
The loathsome water to his fevered lips,
Praying that he might be so bless'd-to die!
Footsteps approached, and with no strength to flee,
He drew the covering closer on his lip,
Crying, "Unclean! unclean!" and in the folds
Of the coarse sackcloth shrouding up his face,
He fell upon the earth till they should pass.

Nearer the stranger came, and bending o'er
The leper's prostrate form, pronounced his name―
"Helon'!" The voice was like the master-tone

* Mark, i., 40-42; also Matt., viii., 2-4; and Luke, v., 12-16.

He took a little water in His hand

And laid it on his brow, and said, "Be clean'."
And lo! the scales fell from him, and his blood
Coursed with delicious coolness through his veins,
And his dry palms grew moist, and on his brow
The dewy softness of an infant stole.

His leprosy was cleansed; and he fell down
Prostrate at Jesus' feet, and worship'd Him.

8. The following is too beautiful to be omitted:

WILLIS.

Anonymous.

II. THE WIDOW OF NAIN.

1. And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her.

2. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier, and they that bare him stood still. And he said,