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4. When Stephen of Colonna fell into the hands of base assailants, and they asked him in derision; "Where is now your fortress?" "Here!" was his bold reply, placing his hand upon his heart. It is in misfortune that the character of the upright man shines with the greatest luster; and, when all else fails, he takes his stand upon his integrity and his courage.

5. Every one is bound to aim at the possession of a good character as one of the highest objects of life. The true man acts rightly, whether in secret or in the sight of others. That boy was well trained who, when asked why he did not pocket some pears, for nobody was there to see, replied, "Yes, there was; I was there to see myself; and I don't intend ever to see myself do a dishonest thing."

6. Francis Horner, of England, was a man of whom Sydney Smith said that the Ten Commandments were stamped upon his countenance. The valuable and peculiar light in which Horner's history is calculated to inspire every right-minded youth, is this: He died at the age of thirty-eight, possessed of greater influence than any other private man; and admired, beloved, trusted and deplored, by all, except the heartless and the base.

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7. No greater homage was ever paid in Parliament to any deceased member. Now let every young man how was this attained? By rank? He was the son of an Edinburgh merchant. By wealth? Neither he, nor any of his relations, ever had a superfluous sixpence. By office? He held but one, and that only for a few years,—of no influence, and with very little

pay.

8. By talents? His were not splendid, and he had no genius. Cautious and slow, his only ambition was to be right. By eloquence? He spoke in calm good taste, without any of the oratory that either terrifies

or seduces. By any fascination of manner? His was only correct and agreeable.

9. By what was it, then? Merely by sense, industry, good principles, and a good heart-qualities which no well-constituted mind need ever despair of attaining. It was the force of his character that raised him; and this character not impressed on him by nature, but formed, out of no peculiarly fine elements, by himself.

10. There were many in the House of Commons of far greater ability and eloquence. But no one surpassed him in the combination of an adequate portion of these with moral worth. Horner was born to show what moderate powers, unaided by any thing whatever except culture and goodness, may achieve, even when these powers are displayed amidst the competitions and jealousies of public life.

VIII. CATILINE DENOUNCED BY CICERO.

DAUNTED, pp., frightened.
BAFFLE, v. t., to frustrate.
COUNCIL, n.,

an assembly for consulta

tion.
SLAUGHTER, n., butchery.
ARCH'IVES (ark'īvz), n., records.
SCABBARD, n., a sheath for a sword.
FOR FEIT, n., fine for an offense.
STATUTE, n., a law.

| CON-VOKED', pp., called together.
CON-FRONT', v. t., to stand face to
face.

DE-FERRED', pp., put off.
POST-PONE', v. t., to defer.
CON-SPIRE', v. i., to plot.

DE-VISE' (de-vize'), v. t., to contrive.
PA-LA'TI-UM, n., the imperial palace
of Rome.

TREA'SON, n., the crime of plotting Ex'E-CRA-BLE, a., very hateful.

against government.

VIG'I-LANT, a., watchful.

Pronounce Cicero, Sis'e-ro; Catiline, Cat'i-line; the au in daunt'ed like a in father; sword, sōrd; heard, herd; are, r; noth'ing, nŭth'ing; dost, dust. Give the y sound to u in du'ty, stat'ute, &c. Mind the aspirate in while. Sound short i in coun'cil.

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Cicero, the greatest of Roman orators, was born at Ar-pi'num, in Italy, 106 B. C., and was murdered by soldiers in his sixty-fourth year. One of his most celebrated speeches is that against Catiline, a high-born but profligate conspirator against the government.

1. How far, O! Catiline, wilt thou abuse our pa tience? How long shalt thou baffle justice in thy mad

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career? To what extreme wilt thou carry thy audacity? Art thou nothing daunted by the nightly watch,. posted to secure the Palatium? Nothing, by the city guards? Nothing, by the rally of all good citizens? Nothing, by the assembling of the Senate in this fortified place? Nothing, by the averted looks of all here present?

2. Seest thou not that all thy plots are exposed?that thy wretched conspiracy is laid bare to the knowledge of every man, here in the Senate?— that we are well aware of thy proceedings of last night; of the night before; the place of meeting, the company convoked, the measures concert'ed?

3. O, the times! O, the morals of the times! The Senate understand all this. The Consul sees it. And yet the traitor lives! Lives? Ay, truly, and confronts us here in council, presumes to take part in our deliberations, -- and, with his calculating eye, marks out each man of us for slaughter! And we, the while, think we have amply discharged our duty to the State, if we do but succeed in warding off this madman's sword and fury!

4. Long since, O Catiline! ought the Consul to have ordered thee to execution, and brought upon thy own head the destruction thou hast been plotting against others! There was in Rome that virtue once, that a wicked citizen was held more execrable than the deadliest foe. For thee, Catiline, we have still a law. Think not, because we are forbearing, that we are powerless. 5. We have a statute, though it rests among our archives like a sword in its scabbard, a statute which makes thy life the forfeit of thy crimes. And, should I order thee to be instantly seized and put to death, I do not doubt that all good men would say that the punishment, instead of being too cruel, was only too long deferred.

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6. But, for sufficient reasons, I will a while postpone the blow. Then will I doom thee, when no man is to be found, so lost to reason, so depraved, so like thy self, that he will not admit the sentence was deserved. While there is one man who ventures to defend thee, live!

7. But thou shalt live so beset, so hemmed in, so watched, by the vigilant guards I have placed around thee, that thou shalt not stir a foot against the Repub lic without my knowledge. There shall be eyes to detect thy slightest movement, and ears to catch thy wariest whisper. Thou shalt be seen and heard when thou dost not dream of a witness near. The darkness of night shall not cover thy treason; the walls of privacy shall not stifle its voice.

8. Baffled on all sides, thy most secret projects clear as noonday, what canst thou now devise? Proceed, plot, conspire, as thou wilt; there is nothing thou canst contrive, propose, attempt, which I shall not promptly be made aware of. Thou shalt soon be convinced that I am even more active in providing for the preservation of the State, than thou in plotting its destruction!

IX.-TURNING AWAY WRATH.

HOME'STEAD, n., an old family place. | AD'VO-CATE, n., one who maintains a NEIGHBOR, n., one living near. cause by argument. SPANIEL (span'yel), n., a dog used in PAR-TI'TION, n., that which separates. field sports. AD-JOINING, a., lying near.

PASTURE, n., ground covered with LIT'ER-AL-LY, ad., according to the grass for cattle.

TRES PASSED, v. i., transgressed.

A-VAIL', n., advantage.

letter.

GAUNT, a., lean; meager.
AN'SWERED, v., replied.

Pronounce the au in gaunt like a in father; pretty, prit'ty; were, wer; heard, herd; again, a-gĕn'. Do not say adjine for ad-join'; destri for de-stroy'; aout for out; airnest for ear'nest (the ea like e in her).

1. "I ONCE had," said William Ladd, the advocate of peace, "a fine field of grain growing upon an out-farm,

Whenever I

at some distance from the homestead. rode by I saw my neighbor Pulcifer's sheep in the lot, destroying my hopes of a harvest.

2. "These sheep were of the gaunt, long-legged kind, active as spaniels; they would spring over the highest fence, and no partition wall could keep them out. I complained to neighbor Pulcifer about them, and sent him frequent messages, but all without avail.

3. "Perhaps they would be kept out for a day or two; but the legs of the sheep were long, and my grain more tempting than the adjoining pasture. I rode by again: the sheep were still there. I became angry, and told my men to set the dogs on them; and, if that would not do, I would pay them if they would shoot the sheep.

4. "I rode away much agitated; for I was not so much of a peace man then as I am now, and I felt literally full of fight. All at once a light flashed in on me. I asked myself, 'Would it not be well for you to try in your own conduct the peace principle you are teaching to others?'

5. "I thought it all over, and settled down in my mind as to the best course to be pursued. The next day I rode over to see neighbor Pulcifer. I found him chopping wood at his door. 'Good morning, neighbor!' said I. No answer. 'Good morning!' I repeated. He gave a kind of grunt, without looking up.

6. "I came,' continued I, 'to see about the sheep.' At this he threw down his ax, and exclaimed, in an angry manner, 'Now are n't you a pretty neighbor, to tell your men to kill my sheep? I heard of it; a rich man, like you, to shoot a poor man's sheep!'

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7. "I was wrong, neighbor,' said I; 'but it won't do to let your sheep eat up all that grain; so I came over to say that I would take your sheep to my home

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