ALPS.

The

our road, the whole unearthly vision stood revealed in sublime perspective! language of the Revelation came rushing through my soul. This is, as it were, a door opened in heaven. Here are some of those everlasting mountain ranges whose light is not of the sun, nor of the moon, but of the Lord God and of the Lamb! Here is, as it were, "a great white throne," on which One might sit before whose face heaven and earth might flee; and here "a sea of glass mingled with fire!" Nay, rather, here are some faint shadows, some dim and veiled resemblances, which bring our earthimprisoned spirits to conceive remotely what the disencumbered eye of the ecstatic

Apostle gazed upon! *** I do not won

der that the eternal home of the glorified should be symbolized by a Mount Zion: I do not wonder that the Psalmist should say -"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills whence cometh my help!" For surely earth cannot present, nor unassisted fancy conceive, an object more profoundly signi ficant of divine majesty than these mountains in their linen vesture of everlasting snow!-C. STOWE.

ALPS.-The Foundation of the

The great mountains lift the lowlands on their sides. Let the reader imagine, first, the appearance of the most varied plain of some richly cultivated country; let him imagine it dark with graceful woods, and soft with deepest pastures; let him fill the space of it, to the utmost horizon, with innumerable and changeful incidents of scenery and life; leading pleasant streamlets through its meadows, strewing clusters of cottages beside their banks, tracing sweet footpaths through its avenues, and animating its fields with happy flocks, and slow wandering spots of cattle; and when he has wearied himself with endless imagining, and left no space without some loveliness of its own, let him conceive all this great plain, with its infinite treasures of natural beauty and happy human life, gathered up in God's hands from one end of the horizon to the other, like a woven garment; and shaken into deep falling folds, as the robes droop from a king's shoulders all its bright rivers leaping into cataracts along the hollows of its fall, and all its forests rearing themselves aslant against its slopes, as a rider rears himself back when his horse plunges; and all its villages nestling themselves into the new windings of its glens; and all its pastures thrown into steep waves of greensward, dashed with dew along the edges of their folds, and sweeping down into endless slopes, with a cloud here and there lying quietly, half on the grass, half in the air; and he will have

;

AMBASSADOR.

as yet, in all this lifted world, only the foundation of one of the great Alps. And whatever is lovely in the lowland scenery becomes lovelier in this change: the trees which grew heavily and stiffly from the level line of plain assume strange curves of strength and grace as they bend themselves against the mountain side; they breathe more freely, and toss their branches more carelessly as each climbs higher, looking to the clear light above the topmost leaves of its brother tree: the flowers which on the arable plain fell before the plough, now find out for themselves unapproachable places, where year by year they gather into happier fellowship, and fear no evil and the streams which in the level land crept in dark eddies by unwholesome banks, now move in showers of silver, and are clothed with rainbows, and bring health and life wherever the glance of their waves can reach. RUSKIN.

ALPS.-Nearing the

Who first beholds those everlasting clouds, Seed time and harvest, morning, noon, and night,

Still where they were, steadfast, immoveable;

Those mighty hills, so shadowy, so sublime
As rather to belong to heaven than earth,-
But instantly receives into his soul
A sense, a feeling that he loses not,
A something that informs him 'tis an hour
That he may date henceforward and for ever.
To me they seemed the barriers of a world,
Saying—“ Thus far, no farther." And as

o'er

AMBASSADOR.- The Deportment of an

An ambassador, invested with authority to transact the business of his principal, carries with him, in his whole behaviour, a deportment agreeable to the instructions of

AMBASSADORS.

his superior: he speaks in the language, and adopts the general character of the power whom he is commissioned to represent.-BP. SUMNER.

AMBASSADORS.-The Office of

Ambassadors are the eye and ear of states.-GUICCIARDINI.

AMBITION.-A Check to

Philip, King of Macedon, as he was wrestling at the Olympic games, fell down in the sand; and when he rose again, observing the print of his body in the sand, cried out-"Oh, how little a parcel of earth will hold us when we are dead, who are ambitiously seeking after the whole world whilst we are living!"-ARVINE.

AMBITION.-The Evils of

Ambition is a gilded misery, a secret poison, a hidden plague, the engineer of deceit, the mother of hypocrisy, the parent of envy, the original of vices, the moth of holiness, the blinder of hearts, turning medicines into maladies and remedies into diseases. High seats are never but uneasy, and crowns are always stuffed with thorns. -T. BROOKS.

AMBITION.-The Fever of

But quiet to quick bosoms is a hell,
And there hath been thy bane; there is a
fire

And motion of the soul which will not
dwell

In its own narrow being, but aspire
Beyond the fitting medium of desire;
And but once kindled, quenchless ever-
more,

Preys upon high adventure, nor can tire Of aught but rest; a fever at the core, Fatal to him who bears, to all who ever bore.-BYRON.

AMBITION.-Great

Great ambition is the passion of a great character. He who is endowed with it may perform very great or very bad actions; all depends upon the principles which direct him.-NAPOLEON I.

AMBITION.-The Misery of

When Napoleon returned to his palace, immediately after his defeat at Waterloo, he continued many hours without taking any refreshment. One of the grooms of the chamber ventured to serve up some coffee, in his cabinet, by the hands of a child whom Napoleon had occasionally distinguished by his notice. The emperor sat motionless, with his hands spread over his eyes. The page stood patiently before him, gazing with infantine curiosity

AMBITION.

on an image which presented so strong a contrast to his own figure of simplicity and peace; at last the little attendant presented his tray, exclaiming, in the familiarity of an age which knows so little distinctions-"Eat, stre; it will do you good." The emperor looked at him, and asked"Do you not belong to Gonesse ?" (a village near Paris.)-"No, sire, I come from Pierrefite." "Where your parents have a cottage and some acres of land?" "Yes, sire." "There is happiness," replied the man who was still the emperor of France and king of Italy.-ARVINE.

AMBITION-the Mark of Noblest Minds. Ambition is the stamp impress'd by Heaven

To mark the noblest minds; with active heat Inform'd, they mount the precipice of

power,

Grasp at command, and tower in quest of empire;

While vulgar souls compassionate their cares, Gaze at their height and tremble at their danger.

Thus meaner spirits with amazement mark The varying seasons and revolving skies, And ask, what guilty power's rebellious hand Rolls with eternal toil the pond'rous orbs? While some archangel, nearer to perfection, In easy state presides o'er all their motions, Directs the planets with a careless nod, Conducts the sun, and regulates the spheres. DR. JOHNSON.

AMBITION.-The Reward of

He who ascends to mountain-tops, shall find

The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds

AMBITION.

66

expedition into Italy, Cineas, the philosopher, took a favourable opportunity of addressing him thus:-"The Romans, sir, are reported to be a warlike and victorious people; but if God permit us to overcome them, what use shall we make of the victory?" "Thou askest," said Pyrrhus, "a thing that is self-evident. The Romans once conquered, no city will resist us; we shall then be masters of all Italy." Cineas added-" And having subdued Italy, what shall we do next?" Pyrrhus, not yet aware of his intentions, replied "Sicily next stretches out her arms to receive us. "That is very probable," said Cineas, "but will the possession of Sicily put an end to the war?" God grant us success in that," answered Pyrrhus, "and we shall make these only the forerunners of greater things, for then Lybia and Carthage will soon be ours; and these things being completed, none of our enemies can offer any farther resistance." "Very true,' added Cineas, "for then we may easily regain Macedon, and make an absolute conquest of Greece; and, when all these are in our possession, what shall we do then ?" Pyrrhus, smiling, answered"Why then, my dear friend, we will live at our ease, drink all day long, and amuse ourselves with cheerful conversation." "Well sir," said Cineas, "and why may we not do all this now, and without the labour and hazard of an enterprise so laborious and uncertain?" Pyrrhus, however, unwilling to take the advice of the philosopher, ardently engaged in these ambitious pursuits, and at last perished in them.-ARVINE.

AMBITION.-Vaulting

I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, And falls on the other.-SHAKSPEARE.

AMBITIOUS.-The Time to be

If there is ever a time to be ambitious, it is not when ambition is easy, but when it is hard. Fight in darkness; fight when you are down; die hard, and you wont die at all.-H. W. BEECHER.

AMERICA.

Child of the earth's old age.-LANDON.

AMERICA.-The Discovery of

About two hours before midnight, Columbus, standing on the forecastle, observed light at a distance, and privately pointed it out to Pedro Guttierez, a page of the queen's wardrobe. Guttierez perceived it, and calling to Salcedo, comptroller of the

AMERICA.

fleet, all three saw it in motion, as if it were carried from place to place. A little after midnight the joyful sound of “land! land!" was heard from the Pinta, which kept always ahead of the other ships. But, having been so often deceived by fallacious appearances, every man was now become slow of belief, and waited in all the anguish of uncertainty and impatience for the return of day. As soon as morning dawned, all doubts and fears were dispelled. From every ship an island was seen, about two leagues to the north, whose flat and verdant fields, well stored with wood, and watered with many rivulets, presented the aspect of a delightful country. The crew of the Pinta instantly began the Te Deum, as a hymn of thanksgiving to God, and were joined by those of the other ships, with tears of joy and transports of congratulation. This office of gratitude to Heaven was followed by an act of justice to their commander. They threw themselves at the feet of Columbus, with feelings of selfcondemnation mingled with reverence. They implored him to pardon their ignorance, incredulity, and insolence, which had created him so much unnecessary disquiet, and had so often obstructed the prosecution of his well-concerted plan; and passing, in the warmth of their admiration, from one extreme to another, they now pronounced the man whom they had so lately reviled and threatened, to be a person inspired by Heaven with sagacity and fortitude more than human, in order to accomplish a design so far beyond the ideas and conceptions of all former ages.

As soon as the sun arose, all their boats were manned and armed. They rowed towards the island with their colours displayed, with warlike music, and other martial pomp. As they approached the coast, they saw it covered with a multitude of people, whom the novelty of the spectacle had drawn together, whose attitudes and gestures expressed wonder and astonishment at the strange objects which presented themselves to their view. Columbus was the first European who set foot on the new world which he had discovered. He landed in a rich dress, and with a naked sword in his hand. His men followed, and, kneeling down, they all kissed the ground which they had so long desired to see. They next erected a crucifix, and, prostrating themselves before it, returned thanks to God for conducting their voyage to such a happy issue. They then took solemn possession of the country for the crown of Castile and Leon, with all the formalities which the Portuguese were accustomed to observe in acts of this kind in their new discoveries.-DR. ROBERTSON.

AMERICA.

AMERICA.-The Future of

Agassiz says the American Continent was the first created; it will be the last in the fulfilment of the designs of the Creator. A cosmopolitan land-cosmopolitan in the intentions of its founders, in the bloody struggle of its defenders-God has in store for you who people it the accomplishment of admirable results. Northward are the Esquimaux; southward is Africa. You summon from walled China the unmoving people to dwell amid the moving nation, the stationary to mingle with the progressive; all impelled by the breath of you, the great humanitarian people. The foundation of your people is the Bible, the book that speaks of God, the living word of Jesus Christ. In an admirable manifesto from your President there shines through his words the Christian faith. A belief in Jesus is at the root of this nation and when I return I shall tell Europe that I have found here liberty associated with Christianity, and have been among a people who do not think that to be free they must be parted from God.--HYACINTHE.

Is the last I shall tread of American land. Well-peace to the land! may her sons know, at length,

That in high-minded honour lies liberty's strength,

That though man be as free as the fetterless wind,

As the wantonest air that the north can unbind,

Yet, if health do not temper and sweeten the blast,

If no harvest of mind ever sprung where it pass'd,

Then unblest is such freedom, and baleful its might,

Free only to ruin, and strong but to blight!

Farewell to the few I have left with regret :

May they sometimes recall, what I cannot forget,

The delight of those evenings,-too brief a delight!

When in converse and song we have stol'n on the night;

AMERICAN.-The Name

The name-American, must always exalt the pride of patriotism.- WASHINGTON. AMULET.-The Name and Use of an

A piece of stone, metal, or other substance, marked with certain characters, which people wear about them as a protection against diseases and enchantments. The name, as well as the thing itself, is derived from the East, coming from the Arabic hamail, a locket, or anything hung round the neck. -BUCK.

AMULETS.-The Wearing of

Amulets were much worn by the Jews, who attached the most superstitious notions to them. Many of the Christians of the first century wore them, marked with a fish, as a symbol of the Redeemer.-BUCK.

AMUSEMENT.

AMUSEMENT.-The Effect of

Whatever amuses serves to kill time, to lull the faculties, and to banish reflection. -CRABBE.

AMUSEMENTS.-Innocent

Innocent amusements are such as excite moderately, and such as produce a cheerful frame of mind, not boisterous mirth; such as refresh, instead of exhausting, the system; such as recur frequently, rather than continue long; such as send us back to our daily duties invigorated in body and spirit; such as we can partake of in the presence and society of respectable friends; such as consist with and are favourable to a grateful piety; such as are chastened by selfrespect, and are accompanied with the consciousness that life has a higher end than to be amused.-DR. CHANNING. AMUSEMENTS-in Relation to Religion.

They are to religion like breezes of air to the flame-gentle ones will fan it, but strong ones will put it out.-DR. THOMAS.

ANALOGY.-Reasoning from

We reason from analogy when we suppose that the stars, like the sun, are surrounded with planets, which derive from them light and heat. The same Divine Wisdom which is seen to have made this admirable arrangement in one instance, is presumed to have made it also in others. When we see that every part of the earth's surface, and every drop of water, is crowded with animated beings, we reason from analogy in supposing that the Divine Benevolence, which has filled one spot of His universe with life, has done the same in other places of His dominion.-I. TAYLOR.

ANARCHY-Described.

The choking, sweltering, deadly, and killing rule of no rule; the consecration of cupidity and braying of folly, and dim stupidity and baseness in most of the affairs of men. Slop-shirts attainable three-halfpence cheaper by the ruin of living bodies and immortal souls.-CARLYLE.

ANARCHY.-The Evil Result of

Where there is lack of government, or a state of society where there is no law, or where the law is inefficient, there anarchy will ultimately become general, and prove the sad cause of political confusion and national distress.-DR. Davies.

ANARCHY.-Wild

Than wild anarchy There is no greater ill; beneath its rage Cities are sunk, and houses are o'erturn'd; And, in the contest of the spear, it breaks The battle's bleeding ranks.-Sophocles.

ANCHOR.

ANATHEMA.-Definitions of an

An offering or present made to some deity, and hung up in a temple. -DR. W. SMITH.

A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, and accompanied by excommunication.-DR. WEBSTER.

ANATHEMA.-The Form of an

Let no church of God be open to Andronicus and his accomplices; but let every sacred temple and sanctuary be shut against them. I admonish both private men and magistrates, neither to receive them under their roof, nor to their table; and priests more especially, that they neither converse with them living, nor attend their funerals when dead. SYNESIUS.

ANATOMIST.-The Science of the

The anatomist presents to the eye the most hideous and disagreeable objects, but his science is useful to the painter in delineating even a Venus or a Helen.-HUME. ANATOMY.—A Rarity in

The anatomy of a little child, representing all parts thereof, is accounted a greater rarity than the skeleton of a man in full stature. -DR. FULLER.

ANCESTORS.-The Boast of

The man who has nothing to boast of but his illustrious ancestors, is like a potato -the only good belonging to him is under ground.-OVERBURY.

ANCESTORS.-The Deeds of

The deeds of long-descended ancestors
Are but by grace of imputation ours,
Theirs in effect.-OVID.

ANCESTORS.—”
-The Glory of

The glory of ancestors sheds a light around posterity; it allows neither their good nor bad qualities to remain in obscurity.-SALLUST.

ANCESTRY.-The Humble Source of

How high soe'er thy pride may trace
The long-forgotten founders of thy race,
Still must the search with that asylum end
From whose polluted source we all descend.
JUVENAL.

ANCHOR.-Forging the

The windlass strains the tackle chains, the black mound heaves below,

And red and deep a hundred veins burst out at every throe;