it descends, in a great measure, the character of a fluid, being divided into pyramidal-shaped fragments, the bases of which are turned upward. 9. The surface of the gulf, below the cataract, presents a very singular aspect; seeming, as it were, filled with an immense quantity of hoar frost, which is agitated by small and rapid undulation. The particles of water are dazzlingly white, and do not apparently unite together, as might be supposed, but seem to continue for a time in a state of distinct comminution, and to repel each other with a thrilling and shivering motion, which can not easily be described. 10. The road to the bottom of the Fall presents many more difficulties than that which leads to the Table Rock. After leav ing the Table Rock, the traveler must proceed down the river nearly half a mile, where he will come to a small chasm in the bank, in which there is a spiral staircase inclosed in a wooden building. By descending the stair, which is seventy or eighty feet in perpendicular hight, he will find himself under the precipice, on the top of which he formerly walked. A high but sloping bank extends from its base to the edge of the river; and, on the summit of this, there is a narrow slippery path, covered with angular fragments of rock, which leads to the Great Fall. 11. The impending cliffs, hung with a profusion of trees and brushwood, overarch this road, and seem to vibrate with the thunders of the cataract. In some places, they rise abruptly to the hight of one hundred feet, and display, upon their surfaces, fossil shells, and the organic remains of a former world; thus sublimely leading the mind to contemplate the convulsions which nature has undergone since the creation. 12. As the traveler advances, he is frightfully stunned by the appalling noise; clouds of spray sometimes envelop him, and suddenly check his faltering steps; rattlesnakes start from the cavities of the rocks; and the scream of eagles, soaring among the whirlwinds of eddying vapor, which obscure the gulf of the cataract, at intervals announce that the raging waters have hurled some bewildered animal over the precipice. After scrambling among piles of huge rocks that obscure his way, the traveler gains the bottom of the Fall, where the soul can be susceptible only of one emotion, that of uncontrollable terror. 13. It was not until I had, by frequent excursions to the Falls, in some measure familiarized my mind with their sublimities, that I ventured to explore the recesses of the Great Cataract. The precipice over which it rolls, is very much arched underneath, while the impetus whieh the water receives in its descent, projects it far beyond the cliff, and thus an immense Gothic arch is formed by the rock and the torrent. Twice I entered this cavern, and twice I was obliged to retrace my steps, lest I should be suffocated. by the blast of the dense spray that whirled around me; however, the third time, I succeeded in advancing about twenty-five yards. + 14. Here darkness began to encircle me. On one side, the black cliff stretched itself into a gigantic arch far above my head, and on the other, the dense and hissing torrent formed an impenetrable sheet of foam, with which I was drenched in a moment. The rocks were so slippery, that I could hardly keep my feet, or hold securely by them; while the horrid din made me think the precipices above were tumbling down in colossal fragments upon my head. 15. A little way below the Great Fall, the river is, compara tively speaking, so tranquil, that a ferry boat plies between the Canadian and American shores, for the convenience of travelers. When I first crossed, the heaving flood tossed about the skiff with a violence that seemed very alarming; but, as soon as we gained the middle of the river, my attention was altogether engaged by the surpassing grandeur of the scene before me. + 16. I was now in the area of a semicircle of cataracts, more than three thousand feet in extent, and floated on the surface of a gulf, raging, fathomless, and interminable. Majestic cliffs, splendid rainbows, lofty trees, and columns of spray, were the gorgeous decorations of this theater of wonders; while a dazzling sun shed refulgent glories upon every part of the scene. 17. Surrounded with clouds of vapor, and stunned into a state of confusion and terror by the hideous noise, I looked upward to the hight of one hundred and fifty feet, and saw vast floods, dense, awful, and stupendous, vehemently bursting over the precipice, and rolling down as if the windows of heaven were opened to pour another deluge upon the earth. 18. Loud sounds, resembling discharges of artillery or volcanic explosions, were now distinguishable amid the watery tumult, and added terrors to the abyss from which they issued. The sun, looking majestically through the ascending spray, was encircled by a radiant halo, while fragments of rainbows floated on every side, and momentarily vanished, only to give place to a succession of others more brilliant. 19. Looking backward, I saw the Niagara River, again becoming calm and tranquil, rolling magnificently between the towering cliffs, that rose on either side. A gentle breeze ruffled the waters, and beautiful birds fluttered around, as if to welcome its egress from those clouds, and thunders, and rainbows, which were the heralds of its precipitation into the abyss of the cataract. HOWISON. QUESTIONS. What is the form and hight of Niagara Falls? Is there more than one Fall? What divides it? From what place may the Falls be seen in all their grandeur? Where is Table Rock, and why is it so named? Is there much water? How does it appear below the Fall? What effect is produced upon the mind by the union of all these sights and sounds? LESSON XLIV. REMARK.-In reading poetry that does not rhyme, where there is an intimate connection, both in sense and construction, between the end of one line and the beginning of the next, there should be no pause. ARTICULATE distinctly.-In-stant, not in-stan: cast, not cass : el-e-ments, not el-e-mence: mist, not miss: for-est, not for-ess: dost (pro. dust), not duss: past, not pass: la-test, not la-tes. 3. Wide-in-volv'-ing, a, extending to a 35. Pyr'-a-mid, n. a solid body with great distance. 24. Verge, n. the brink, the edge. an angular base terminating in a 59. Girt, v. surrounded, encircled. 1. NIAGARA FALLS. + TREMENDOUS torrent! for an instant, hush 5. I am not all unworthy of thy sight; 10. At the near bursting of the thunderbolt, I have been touched with joy; and, when the sea, Lashed by the wind, hath rocked my bark, and showed 15. But never yet the madness of the sea Hath moved me, as thy grandeur moves me now. Thou flowest on in quiet, till thy waves The hoarse and rapid whirlpools there! My brain They reach, they leap the barrier: the abyss 30. Swallows, insatiable, the sinking waves. A thousand rainbows arch them, and the woods God of all truth! in other lands I've seen + 40. Questioners of thy mysteries, that draw And therefore doth my spirit seek thy face 45. In this immensity of loneliness I feel thy hand upon me. To my ear Dread torrent! that with wonder and with fear Whence hast thou thy beginning? Who supplies, Age after age, thy unexhausted springs? What power hath ordered, that, when all thy weight 55. Descends into the deep, the swollen waves Rise not, and roll to overwhelm the earth? The lord hath opened his omnipotent hand, Covered thy face with clouds, and given his voice And I bethink me how the tide of time Sweeps to eternity. So pass, of man, Pass, like a noonday dream,-the blossoming days, 65. And he awakes to sorrow. * * Hear, dread Niagara! my latest voice. Yet a few years, and the cold earth shall close Might raise my radiant forehead in the clouds U. S. REVIEW. QUESTIONS.-What is the difference between this lesson and the last? What is the difference between prose and poetry? Do the lines in poetry always rhyme? What is that poetry called which does not? What kind of poetry is this lesson? What is meant by feet in poetic composition? Answer the questions proposed in lines 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56. How are Niagara Falls like time? Parse "days," in the 64th line. (It is nominative to "pass.") Parse "to listen," in the last line. In what mode and tense is "might raise," in the 72d line? N. B. The notation of inflections, it is believed, has been sufficiently extensive to be useful to the pupil. It is desirable that he should be led along, until he can safely trust to his own judgment. Having become acquainted with the general principles, and having received such assistance as may be necessary in the early stage of this study, he will thenceforth learn more by practicing in simple reliance upon his own judgment and taste, with such assistance and correction as his teacher may, from time to time, deem appropriate, than he would from any number of lessons already marked with proper emphasis and inflections. Persevering attention to this subject, however, both on the part of the pupil and the teacher, is necessary, in order to secure the desired result. |