And though it throb at gentlest touch,
Or Sorrow's faintest call,

'T were better it should ache too much,
Than never ache at all.

The heart, the heart that's truly blest
Is never all its own;

No ray of glory lights the breast

That beats for self alone.

Eliza Cook.

8. HOPE.

Eternal Hope! when yonder spheres sublime
Pealed their first notes to sound the march of Time,
Thy joyous youth began,- but not to fade.
When all the sister planets have decayed;
When wrapt in fire the realms of ether glow,

And Heaven's last thunder shakes the world below, -
Thou, undismayed, shalt o'er the ruins smile,
And light thy torch at Nature's funeral-pile.

Campbell.

LESSON XXXV.

A PARABLE AGAINST PERSECUTION.

1. And it came to pass, after these things, that Abraham sat in the door of his tent about the going-down of the sun.

2. And, behold, a man bowed with age came from the way of the wilderness, leaning on a staff.

3. And Abraham arose and met him, and said unto him "Turn in, I pray thee, and wash thy feet, and tarry all night; and thou shalt arise early on the morrow, and go on thy way."

4. But the man said, "Nay; for I will abide under this tree."

5. And Abraham pressed him greatly; so he turned, and they went into the tent. And Abraham baked unleavened

bread; and they did eat.

6. And when Abraham saw that the man blessed not God, he said unto him, " Wherefore dost thou not worship the most high God, Creator of heaven and earth?"

7. And the man answered and said, "I do not worship the God thou speakest of, neither do I call upon His name; for I have made to myself a god which abideth always in my house, and provideth me with all things."

8. And Abraham's zeal was kindled against the man; and he arose, and fell upon him, and drove him forth with blows into the wilderness.

9. And at midnight, God called unto Abraham, saying, Abraham, where is the stranger?"

10. And Abraham answered, and said, "Lord, he would not worship Thee, neither would he call upon Thy name; therefore have I driven him out from before my face into the wilderness."

11. And God said, "Have I borne with him these hundred ninety and eight years, and nourished him, and clothed him, notwithstanding his rebellion against me, and couldst not thou, that art thyself a sinner, bear with him one night?"

12. And Abraham said, Let not the anger of the Lord wax hot against His servant. Lo, I have sinned; lo, I have sinned! Forgive me, I pray Thee."

13. And Abraham arose, and went forth into the wilderness, and sought diligently for the man, and found him, and returned with him to the tent; and when he had entreated him kindly, he sent him away on the morrow with gifts.

14. And God spake again unto Abraham, saying, "For this thy sin, shall thy seed be afflicted four hundred years in a strange land:

15. "But for thy repentance will I deliver them; and they shall come forth with power, and with gladness of heart, and with much substance."

Dr. Franklin.

LESSON XXXVI.

A CASE OF SUSPICION.

1. One day a large number of guests sat at the dinner-table of the principal hotel in Dresden, the beautiful capital of Saxony. Foreigners and native Germans sat side by side, eating, talking, and apparently enjoying themselves very much. Suddenly a young merchant, who had traveled through India, attracted the attention of everybody by holding up a piece of gold money, which he had brought with him from that country. The coin was eight-cornered, and had very strange figures on both sides of it. The people around the table were greatly surprised to see such a beautiful and curious piece of money, and it is no wonder that they admired it.

2. The gentleman to whom it belonged let it pass around the table, and many remarks were made concerning it. Finally, it reached the hands of a gentleman sitting at the end of the table, who was apparently an officer of high rank, and who had been so intent upon conversation with his neighbor that he was really the only one in the company who had not paid much attention to the curious coin. He looked at it a moment, noticed the figures with some indifference, and then laid it down on the table, saying, “O, I know that piece of money already! I have seen one like it before;" and continued his conversation.

3. Shortly afterwards, the people began to talk about other things, and the piece of money was apparently forgotten. As

the dinner, which lasted a good while, drew to a close, the young merchant who owned the money looked around upon the guests, and said, "Will the gentleman to whom my piece of money was handed last be kind enough to give it to me again? for I have not yet received it."

4. The company were greatly astonished at this remark, and wondered that he had not received the money again. Every one declared that he had passed it on to the one sitting next to him, but nobody seemed able to tell what had become of it. The company were in great surprise at the thought that a thief could possibly be in their number, and yet it did seem that somebody had taken the gold coin.

5. Finally, when the money could not be found, an old gentleman arose, and said, in a loud voice, "Gentlemen, since every one of you says he has not the piece of money, and since all of us present in this dining-room are responsible for it, I propose that each one have his pockets searched by the landlord; and I am willing that mine should be searched first. The landlord and I will take our position at the door; and I propose that nobody leave the hall until the landlord has examined his pockets. In fact, there is nothing else that we can do, if we wish to save ourselves from the supposition that some one of us is a thief."

6. It appeared that everybody agreed to this proposition, and one after another had his pockets searched by the landlord. Finally, the officer who had given but little attention to the piece when it was handed to him, said, “Gentlemen, I do not agree to have my pockets searched, though I give you my honor as a soldier that I have not in my possession the piece of money. Here is my name, and that is all I can

submit to."

7. All eyes were now directed to this officer, and immediately every one else seemed to have a suspicion that he was the one who had the money in his pocket.

Several of the

company said to him that, as they had been searched, it was nothing more than right that he should be also. But he protested against it, and said that he would submit to it under no condition whatever.

8. "Then," said they, "we shall have to consider that you are the thief, unless you agree to have your pockets searched." "I am no thief, gentlemen; and yet I will not consent to have my pockets searched."

9. Just in the midst of the excitement, a rap was heard at the door. The landlord opened it, and, seeing the chief waiter of the hotel before him, asked him what he desired.

"I wish to tell you, sir," said he, "that in one of the napkins which has just been brought from the table there was found this gold piece, which fell out when the napkin was thrown into the pile of soiled ones. I have come to give it to you, that you may return it to the owner."

10. The whole company were greatly surprised, and there was a universal feeling of satisfaction; and those people who had accused the officer of being a thief felt very much ashamed of themselves, and would have been glad to apologize. The officer, now seeing that they could no more call him a thief, stood up before the company and said,—

11. Gentlemen, I think you will now allow me the privilege of saying a word. The reason why I did not allow my pockets to be searched was, that I had in my porte-monnaie a piece of gold just like the one which the waiter has returned to the owner. If it had been found in my pocket, and the other piece had never been found, I should have been called, and with some reason perhaps, a thief. There are strange things in this world, and we can never be too sure we are right. See, here is my piece of money!" And with that, the officer took out a piece of gold which was in every respect like that owned by the merchant.