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[Napoleon Bonaparte died in the island of St. Helena, May 5, 1821. A violent storm of wind and rain was raging at the time, and his last words showed that he supposed himself to be at the head of an army. In the ninth stanza, St. Helena is called the " rocky fand," that being the character of its scenery. There are allusions in this piece to military campaigns in Austria, Prussia, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Egypt. The battle of Marengo, in which he was victorious over the Austrians, was fought June 14, 1800. The battle of Jena (pronounced yā'na), in which he defeated the Prussians, was fought October 14, 1806.]

triumphed triumft) scoürged (skürje

boşʼom (bûz'um)

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1. WILD was the night; yet a wilder night Hung round the soldier's pillow;

In his bosom there raged a fiercer fight

Than the fight on the wrathful billow.'

2. A few fond mourners were kneeling by,

The few that his stern heart cherished"; They knew, by his glazed' and unearthly eye, That life had nearly perished.*

3 They knew by his awful and kingly look,

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That he dreamed of days when the nations shook,

And the nations' hosts were broken.

1. He dreamed that the Frenchman's sword still slew

And triumphed the Frenchman's "eagle;

And the struggling Austrian fed anew,

Like the hare before the beagle.*

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5. The bearded Russian he scourged again,
The Prussian's camp was routed';
And again, on the hills of haughty Spain,
His mighty armies shouted.

6. Over Egypt's sands, over Alpine snows,
At the Pyramids, at the mountain,
Where the wave of the lordly Danube flows,
And by the Italian fountain, —

7. On the snowy cliffs, where mountain streams
Dash by the Switzer's* dwelling,

He led again, in his dying dreams,
His hosts, the broad earth quelling.

8. Again Marengo's field was won, And Jena's bloody battle;

Again the world was overrun,

Made pale at his cannon's rattle.

9. He died at the close of that darksome 10 day, A day that shall live in story:

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In the rocky land they placed his clay,
"And left him alone with his glory.""

1 BILLOW. A great wave of the sea.

? CHERISHED. Held dear.

& GLAZED. Glassy, shiny.

4 PERISHED. Died, wasted away.

5 BEAGLE. A small hound for hunting hares.

SCOURGED. Whipped or punished severely, lashed.

ROUTED. Put to flight in disorder 8 PYRAMID. A solid body having a base of three or more sides, and tapering to a point at the top.

9 QUELLING. Subduing, -quieting.
10 DARKSOME. Dark, gloomy.
11 STORY. History, a narrative.
12 GLORY. Renown, fame.

* SWITZER. An inhabitant of Switzerland, a Swiss.

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1. In the mountainous parts of Switzerland there are found birds of prey, of the vulture species, which grow to great size, and are very strong and fierce. They are able to take up in their claws and carry off a well-grown lamb or kid.

2 A vulture of this species once snatched up a butcher's dog, conveyed it to a lofty rock, and there quietly devoured it. As a peasant was once driving his beasts to water, one of these birds pounced' suddenly upon a goat. The man seized a cudgel, and attacked the robber, endeavoring to rescue his prey from him. A single combat ensued, in which the bird, turning sharply round, beat his antagonist' so severely with his wings, that he was obliged to run away, and the victorious vulture bore off his trembling victim.

3. The vulture is not always successful in securing his prey; and one of them was once vanquished' in his own element. He seized upon a fox, and carried him off into the air. The fox, however, stretching out his head, succeeded in seizing his captor by the throat, and biting it through.

4. The vulture fell dead to the earth; and Master Renard* went home, well satisfied with his exploit, and no doubt remembered for the rest of his life, his journey through the air. If he could have told his story to his brother foxes, what a hero he would have been!

5. These ferocious birds have occasionally seized upon children. Once, a child three years old had been taken by her parents to a hay-making in the mountain, and set down on the ground, close to a shed. The child soon fell asleep, and, covering her face with a large straw hat, the father went to his work.

6. When he shortly afterwards returned with a bundle of hay, the little girl was nowhere to be found. Long and vainly he searched for her: meanwhile

* Renard is the name given to a fox in fables.

a peasant was proceeding by a lonely path on the mountain, when suddenly he heard the cry of a child. Following the direction of the sound, he perceived a vulture take flight from a neighboring eminence,* and hang for some time over the abyss.

7. He hastened to the spot, and found the child on the extreme edge of the precipice. Only her left arm and hand, by which she had been seized, were injured; but she had lost cap, shoes, and stockings in her passage through the air. She lived to an advanced age; and her story is recorded in the church register of the village where she lived.

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8. A peasant boy, only eight years of age, was once engaged in looking after some cattle in a pasture among the mountains. He lived in a solitary hut, and was the only person in it, as the Swiss train their children very early to this occupation. He perceived two young vultures, at no great distance, on the ledge of a low rock. Tempted by the prize, he drew silently close behind the rock, and suddenly grasping them in his arms, took possession of both birds, in spite of the most determined resistance.

9. He was yet struggling with his prey, when, hearing a great noise, he saw, to his no little terror, the two old birds flying rapidly towards him. He ran with all his speed to the hut, and closed the door just in time to shut out his pursuers. The boy afterwards spoke of the terror he suffered during the whole day, in his louely dwelling, lest the old vultures should force an entrance; as, being powerful birds, they would in their' fury have ended his life.

10. They kept up the most frightful cries, and strove with all their might to break down the barriers of the

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