XXVII. The Homestead. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: If God will be with me and will keep me in His way that I go, and will give me bread to it, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house again in peace, then shall the Lord be my God, and this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house. -Genesis xxviii. 20, 21. How our hearts have thrilled, and always will thrill, as we contemplate that scene, -the wandering of the famous ten thousand Greeks under the leadership of Xenophon; how, after their wanderings and battles in foreign lands, struggling to get home once more, they climb at last the hill-tops, and shout with a voice that has echoed in the romantic imagination of the world's literature ever since, and that finds its response still in our hearts: "Thalassa! thalassa!"-"The sea! the sea!"--because beyond the sea was home; these were waters with which they were familiar. And so their hearts rejoiced, and their voices shouted that joy on the air. However trite it may be, however much worn to our thought or feeling, there is still a tender place in every heart for the familiar song of John Howard Payne:— "Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere. "An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain. Give me them,—and the peace of mind dearer than all!” It is because these simple words touch the heart of humanity that America was not content until he who wrote them had been brought from over the sea, from his grave in a foreign country, that he might at least. find final rest in the home of which he had sung so well. So the whole country rose up to welcome his unconscious remains, as they came to sleep in his native soil. MINOT J. SAVAGE. XXVIII. The Home-Land. Happy art thou, O Israel, Who is like unto thee, a people saved by the Lord, Thy excellency is thy sword, Thy enemies shall submit themselves to thee, And thou shalt tread upon their high places. -Deuteronomy xxxiii. 29. HE last words spoken by Moses, the man of God! Altho' coming from dying lips, they are not sad nor regretful; they are joyous, triumphant. If we compare our nation to Israel, we simply follow the example of the Pilgrim Fathers; and so we may say: Happy art thou, O America! who is like unto thee, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help! "We are a happy people," contented to live under the protection of our fundamental law. Too often men learn to value a blessing only after they have lost it; but we need not the shock of reverses to have our eyes opened to our favored condition. If anything, we incline to an over-confidence that our good fortune will last for ever, that we need fear no hostility. Without doubt, the sum of human happiness is greater among the seventy millions gathered under the Stars and Stripes than among an equal number in any part of the globe. Even the malcontents, even those who make a trade or a creed of their dissatisfaction, would rather hug their ill-temper here than elsewhere. This is not due to what is ironically called a paternal government. Any attempt at such would be at once resisted. The principal protection an American citizen needs is that his elbow room be not unduly restricted. For the rest, he prefers to be his own President, and is most pleased when he sees the chosen head of the nation attend strictly to the duties of his office, as defined by our constitution. The vision of the seer stands before us a reality and it is one in which all lovers of liberty and justice have reason to rejoice. G. G. ND thus to Heaven our pleading accents call, May wrong and strife among us disappear; XXIX. Levity, a Foe to Cheerfulness. A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken – Proverbs xv. 13. BETWEEN Levity and Cheerfulness there is a wide distinction; and the mind which is most open to levity is frequently a stranger to cheerfulness. It has been remarked that transports of intemperate mirth are often no more than flashes from the dark cloud; and that in proportion to the violence of the effulgence is the succeeding gloom, Levity may be the forced production of folly or vice; cheerfulness is the natural offspring of wisdom and virtue alone. The one is an occa sional agitation, the other a permanent habit. The one degrades the character; the other is perfectly consistent with the dignity of reason and the steady and manly spirit of religion. To aim at a constant succession of high and vivid sensations of pleasure is an idea of happiness perfectly chimerical. Calm and temperate enjoyment is the utmost that is allowed to man. Beyond this we struggle in vain to raise our state; and, in fact, depress our joys by endeavoring to heighten them. HUGH BLAIR. Partake only of such joys as may have a joyful remembrance. BERTHOLD AUERBACH. WHY thus longing, thus for ever sighing For the far-off, unattained, and dim; XXX. Goodness of Heart, the Beautifier. He that diligently seeketh good procureth favor; but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come upon him. -Proverbs xi. 27. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop; but a good word maketh it glad.—Proverbs xii. 25. HE power of manners is incessant-an element as There are certain unconcealable as fire. manners which are learned in good society, of that force that, if a person have them, he or she must be considered, and is everywhere welcome, though without beauty, wealth, or genius. They must always show self-control; you shall not be facile, apologetic, or leaky, but king over your word; and every gesture and action. shall indicate power at rest. Then they must be inspired by the good heart. There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be |