Let it be thy best endeavor

But to pen what good men think.
Thus thy words and thoughts, securing
Honest praise from wisdom's tongue,
May in time be as enduring

As the strains which Homer sung.

J. E. Carpenter.

LESSON CXXV.

TAMERLANE AND THE DERVIS.

A DIALOGUE.

Tamerlane. Thou bring'st me thy credentials from the Highest,

From Allah, and our Prophet. Speak thy message.

It must import the best and noblest ends.

Dervis. Thus speaks our holy Mahomet, who has given thee To reign and conquer: Ill dost thou repay

The bounties of his hand, unmindful of

The fountain whence thy streams of greatness flow.
Thou hast forgot high Heaven, hast beaten down

And trampled on religion's sanctity.

Tam. Now, as I am a soldier and a king, –
The greatest names of honor, only show
Thy imputations true, and Tamerlane
Shall do thee ample justice on himself.

So much the sacred name of Heaven awes me,
Could I suspect my soul of harboring aught
To its dishonor, I would search it strictly,
And drive the offending thought with fury forth.

Der. Yes, thou hast hurt our holy prophet's honor,
By fostering the pernicious Christian sect;

Those whom his sword pursued with fell destruction
Thou tak'st into thy bosom, to thy councils;
They are thy only friends. The true believers
Mourn to behold thee favor this Axalla.

Tam. I fear me, thou exceed'st the prophet's order,
And bring'st his venerable name to shelter

A rudeness ill-becoming thee to use,

O: me to suffer. When thou nam'st my friend,
Thou nam'st a man, beyond the least suspicion,
Virtuous and great, a warrior and a prince.

Der. He is a Christian; and our law condemns him,
Though he were even all thou speak'st, and more.

Tam. 'Tis false; no law divine condemns the virtuous,
For differing from the rules your schools devise.
Look round, how Providence bestows alike
Sunshine and rain, to bless the fruitful year,

On different nations, all of different faiths;
And, though by several names and titles worshiped,
Heaven takes the various tribute of their praise;
Since all agree to own, at least to mean,

One best, one greatest, only Lord of all.

Thus, when He viewed the many forms of nature,

He found that all was good, and blessed the fair variety.
Der. Most impious and profane! Nay, frown not, prince.
Full of the prophet, I despise the danger

Thy angry power may threaten. I command thee
To hear and to obey; since thus says Mahomet :
Why have I made thee dreadful to the nations?
Why have I given thee conquest, but to spread
My sacred law even to the utmost earth,
And make my holy Mecca the world's worship?
Go on, and wheresoe'er thy arms shall prosper,
Plant there the prophet's name; with sword and fire.
Drive out all other faiths, and let the world
Confess him only.

Tam.

Had he but commanded

My sword to conquer all, to make the world
Know but one lord, the task were not so hard.
'T were but to do what has been done already;
For Philip's son* and Cæsar did as much.
But to subdue the unconquerable mind,
To make one reason have the same effect
Upon all apprehensions, to force this

Or that man to think alike, and just as thou and I,-
Impossible! Unless their souls were like;

But human faces are not more unlike than these.

Der. Well might the holy cause be carried on, If Mussulman† did not make war on Mussulman. Why hold'st thou captive a believing monarch? Now, as thou hop'st to escape the prophet's curse, Release the royal Baj‍a zet,‡ and join,

With force united, to destroy the Christians.

Tam. 'Tis well: I've found the cause that moved thy zeal.

What shallow politician set thee on,

In hopes to fright me this way to compliance?

Der. Our prophet only —

Tam.

No, thou dost belie him,

Thou maker of new faiths, that darest to build

* That is, Alexander the Great, the son of Philip, King of Macedon. + Mus'sul man, a follower of Mahomet; sometimes called a Moslem, which, in the Arabic language, means a true believer, or one who submits himself wholly to the divine will.

Baj'a zet, Sultan of the Turks, succeeded to the throne in 1389, and soon spread great alarm among the Christian nations of Western Europe by the rapidity and extent of his conquests. He was, however, entirely defeated by Tamerlane in a great battle, fought in 1401, in Asia Minor, and was taken prisoner. While some historians have stated that he was cruelly kept for some time in an iron cage; by others, and with more probability, he is said to have been treated by his conqueror with great generosity.

Thy fond inventions on Religion's name!
Religion's luster is, by native innocence,
Divinely pure, and free from every art.

You falsify her. Hence, hypocrite! Thou 'rt unmasked.
Der. I have but one resort. Now aid me, prophet! (aside.)
Yet have I somewhat further to unfold:

Our prophet speaks to thee in thunder thus

The DERVIS draws a concealed dagger, and attempts to stab TAMERLANE. Tam. No, villain! Heaven is watchful o'er her worshipers, (wresting the dagger from him.)

And blasts the murderer's purpose. Think, thou wretch !
Think on the pains that wait thy crime, and tremble
When I shall doom thee

Der.

"T is but death at last;

And I will suffer greatly for the cause
That urged me first to the bold deed.

Tam.

Q, impious!
(Pausing.)

Enthusiasm thus makes villains martyrs.
It shall be so. To die! 't were a reward.
Now learn the difference 'twixt thy faith and mine:
Thine bids thee lift thy dagger to my throat;
Mine can forgive the wrong, and bid thee live.
Keep thy own wicked secret, and be safe!
If thou repent'st, I have gained one to virtue,
And am, in that, rewarded for my mercy;
If thou continuest still to be the same,
'Tis punishment enough to be a villain.

Hence from my sight! It shocks my soul to think
That there is such a monster in my kind.

Whither will man's impiety extend?

O gracious Heaven! dost thou withhold thy thunder,
When bold assassins use thy sacred name,

And swear they are the champions of thy cause?

Rowe.

LESSON CXXVI.

THERE IS NO DEATH.

1. There is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some fairer shore;
And bright, in heaven's jeweled crown,
They shine for evermore..

2. There is no death! The dust we tread
Shall change beneath the summer showers
To golden grain, or mellow fruit,

Or rainbow-tinted flowers.

3. The granite rocks disorganize,

And feed the hungry moss they bear;
The forest leaves drink daily life

From out the viewless air.

4. There is no death! The leaves may fall,
And flowers may fade and pass away;
They only wait through wint'ry hours
The coming of May-day.

5. There is no death! An angel form
Walks o'er the earth with silent tread,
And bears our best-loved things away,
And then we call them "dead."

6. He leaves our hearts all desolate,
He plucks our fairest, sweetest flowers;
Transplanted into bliss, they now
Adorn immortal bowers.

7. The bird-like voice, whose joyous tones Made glad these scenes of sin and strife,