66 keys of the city. "Oh, king!" then said Boabdil, "accept the keys of the last hold which has resisted the arms of Spain! The empire of the Moslem is no more. Thine are the city and the people of Grenada; yielding to thy prowess, they yet confide in thy mercy." 'They do well," said the king; "our promises shall not be broken. But since we know the gallantry of Moorish cavaliers, not to us but to gentler hands shall the keys of Grenada be surrendered." 8. Thus saying, Ferdinand gave the keys to Isabel, who would have addressed some soothing flatteries to Boabdil, but the emotion and excitement were too much for her compassionate heart, heroine and queen though she was; and when she lifted her eyes upon the calm and pale features of the fallen monarch, the tears gushed from them irresistibly, and her voice died in murmurs. A faint flush overspread the features of Boabdil, and there was a momentary pause of embarrassment, which the Moor was the first to break. 9. "Fair queen," said he, with mournful and pathetic dignity, "thou canst read the heart that thy generous sympathy touches and subdues; this is my last, but not least glorious conquest. But I detain ye; let not my aspect cloud your triumph. Suffer me to say farewell." "Farewell, my brother," replied Ferdinand," and may fair fortune go with you! Forget the past!" Boabdil smiled bitterly, saluted the royal pair with profound respect and silent reverence, and rode slowly on, leaving the army below, as he ascended the path that led to his new principality beyond the Alpuxarras. As the trees snatched the Moorish cavalcade from the view of the king, Ferdinand ordered the army to recommence its march, and trumpet and cymbal presently sent their music to the ear of the Moslem. 10. Boabdil spurred on, at full speed, till his panting charger halted at the little village where his mother, his slaves, and his faithful wife, Armine (sent on before), awaited him. Joining these, he proceeded without delay upon his melancholy path. They ascended that eminence, which is the pass into the Alpuxarras. From its height, the vale, the rivers, the spires, and the towers of Grenada broke gloriously upon the view of the little band. They halted mechanically and abruptly; every eye was turned to the beloved scene. The proud shame of baffled warriors, the tender memories of home, of childhood, of fatherland, swelled every heart and gushed from every eye. 11. Suddenly, the distant boom of artillery broke from the citadel, and rolled along the sunlighted valley and crystal river. An universal wail burst from the exiles; it smote, it overpowered the heart of the ill-starred king, in vain seeking to wrap himself in the Eastern pride, or stoical philosophy. The tears gushed from his eyes, and he covered his face with his hands. The band wound slowly on through the solitary defiles; and that place, where the king wept at the last view of his lost empire, is still called THE LAST SIGH OF THE MOOR.-Bulwer. LE LESSON 129. OUR COUNTRY. ET the sacred obligations which have devolved on this generation, and on us, sink deep into our hearts. Those are daily dropping from among us who established our liberty and our government. The great trust now descends to new hands. Let us apply ourselves to that which is presented to us, as our appropriate object. We can win no laurels in a war for independence. Earlier and worthier hands have gathered them all. Nor are there places for us by the side of Solon, and Alfred, and other founders of states. Our fathers have filled them. 2. But there remains to us a great duty of defence and preservation; and there is opened to us, also, a noble pursuit, to which the spirit of the times strongly invites us. Our proper business is improvement. Let our age be the age of improvement. In a day of peace, let us advance the arts of peace, and the works of peace. Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we, also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered. 3. Let us cultivate a true spirit of union and harmony. In pursuing the great objects which our condition points out to us, let us act under a settled conviction, and an habitual feeling, that these twenty-four states are one country. Let our conceptions be enlarged to the circle of our duties. Let us extend our ideas over the whole of the vast field in which we are called to act. Let our object be, our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country. And, by the blessing of God, may that country itself become a vast and splendid monument, not of oppression and terror, but of wisdom, of peace, and of liberty, upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever. Daniel Webster. LESSON 130. THE OLD YEAR AND THE NEW. ING out, wild bells, to the wild sky, RING The flying cloud, the frosty light; 2. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow; 3. Ring out the grief that saps the mind Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 4. Ring out a slowly dying cause, 5. Ring out false pride in place and blood, Ring in the love of truth and right, 6. Ring in the valiant and the free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; A LESSON 131. SONG OF THE LIGHTNING. "Puck.- I'll put a girdle round about the earth WAY! away! through the sightless air For I would not dim my sandals fair With the dust ye tamely tread! Ay, rear it up on its million piers, Let it circle the world around, And the journey ye make in a hundred years I'll clear at a single bound. 2. Though I cannot toil, like the groaning slave Ye have fettered with iron skill To ferry you over the boundless wave, Let him sing his giant strength and speed! Would give that monster a flight indeed- 3. No! no! I'm the spirit of Light and Love! To my unseen hand 'tis given To pencil the ambient clouds above And polish the stars of heaven; I scatter the golden rays of fire And deck the sky where storms expire 4. With a glance I cleave the sky in twain; When fall the boding drops of rain 5. From the Alps' or the Andes' highest crag, From the peaks of eternal snow, The blazing folds of my fiery flag The earthquake heralds my coming power, |