Thou from primeval nothingness didst call Sprung forth from Thee:-of light, joy, harmony, Thy word created all, and doth create; Thy splendor fills all space with rays divine. Thy chains the unmeasured universe surround, As sparks mount upwards from the fiery blaze, Shine round the silver snow, the pageantry Of heaven's bright army glitters in Thy praise. A million torches lighted by Thy hand, - What shall we call them? Piles of crystal light,- Yes! as a drop of water in the sea, All this magnificence in Thee is lost : 30 35 40 What are ten thousand worlds compared to Thee? In all the glory of sublimest thought, Is but an atom in the balance, weighed Against infinity! Oh! what am I then? Nought! Nought! yet the effluence of Thy light divine, Nought! yet I live, and on hope's pinions fly I am, O God! and surely Thou must be ! Thou art! directing, guiding all, Thou art! Close to the realms where angels have their birth, The chain of being is complete in me: I can command the lightning, and am dust! For from itself alone it could not be ! Creator, yes! Thy wisdom and Thy word Oh! thoughts ineffable! Oh! visions blest! God! thus alone my lonely thoughts can soar; 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 LESSON XLVIII.-NIAGARA.-MRS. SIGOURNEY. [The following piece is designed for practice in the 'slow' utterance which characterizes the tones of sublimity and awe. The 'rate' of voice is not altogether so slow as in the preceding lesson; yet it retains much of that effect which cannot be given without slowness of movement and full pauses. The note, in the style of this lesson, continues low, although not so remarkably deep as in the preceding. The principal object of practice, in this instance, is to secure that degree of 'slowness' which marks the tones of wonder and aston ishment.] [] Flow on forever, in thy glorious robe Of terror and of beauty! Yea, flow on Unfathomed and resistless! God hath set Ah! who can dare Dost rest not, night or day. The morning stars, Every leaf, 5 10 15 Or listen at the echoing gate of heaven, Thy glorious features with our pencil's point, Were profanation. Thou dost make the soul To pierce thy vestibule, dost chain its step, As if to answer to its God through thee. LESSON XLIX.-THE UNITED STATES.-BANCROFT. [The extract which follows, exemplifies the deliberate, or 'moderately slow' utterance, which belongs to the style of serious reading or speaking, with reference to the purposes of public or general communication. Such passages exemplify, also, the 'moderate' force, and the 'middle' pitch. To avoid hurry, on the one hand. and drawling, on the other, is the object in view, in the practice of such exercises. A grave and dignified style forbids any approach to haste; but it does not imply a lagging slowness.] [] The United States of America constitute an essential portion of the great political system, embracing all the civilized nations of the earth. At a period when the force of moral opinion is rapidly increasing, they have the prece5 dence, in the practice and the defence of the equal rights of man. The sovereignty of the people, is here a conceded axiom; and the laws, established upon that basis, are cherished with faithful patriotism. While the nations of Europe 10 aspire after change, our constitution engages the fond admiration of the people, by whom it has been established. Prosperity follows the execution of even justice; invention is quickened by the freedom of competition; and labor rewarded with sure and unexampled returns. 15 Domestic peace is maintained without the aid of a military establishment; public sentiment permits the existence of but few standing troops, and those only along the seaboard and on the frontiers. A gallant navy protects our commerce, which spreads its banners on every sea, and extends its enterprise to every clime. Our diplomatic relations connect us, on terms of equality and honest friendship, with the chief powers of the world; while we avoid entangling participation in their intrigues, their passions, 5 and their wars. Our national resources are developed by an earnest culture of the arts of peace. Every man may enjoy the fruits of his industry; every mind is free to publish its convictions. Our government, by its organization, is necessarily 10 identified with the interests of the people, and relies exclusively on their attachment, for its durability and support. Even the enemies of the state, if there be any among us, have liberty to express their opinions undisturbed; and are safely tolerated, where reason is left free to combat their 15 errors. Nor is the constitution a dead letter, unalterably fixed; it has the capacity for improvement; adopting whatever changes time and the public will may require, and safe from decay, so long as that will retains its energy. New states are forming in the wilderness; canals, inter20 secting our plains and crossing our highlands, open numerous channels to internal commerce; manufactures prosper along our water-courses; the use of steam on our rivers and rail-roads, annihilates distance by the acceleration of speed. Our wealth and population, already giving us a 25 place in the first rank of nations, are so rapidly cumulative, that the former is increased fourfold; and the latter is doubled, in every period of twenty-two or twenty-three years. There is no national debt; the community is opulent; the government economical; and the public treasury 30 full. Religion, neither persecuted nor paid by the state, is sustained by the regard for public morals, and the convictions of an enlightened faith. Intelligence is diffused with unparalleled universality; a free press teems with the choicest productions of all na35 tions and ages. There are more daily journals in the United States, than in the world beside. A public document of general interest is, within a month, reproduced in at least a million of copies, and is brought within the reach of every freeman in the country. 40 An immense concourse of emigrants, of the most various lineage, is perpetually crowding to our shores; and the principles of liberty, uniting all interests by the operation of equal laws, blend the discordant elements into harmonious union. Other governments are convulsed by the |