Agenor. I await thy will.

Ion. To thee I look as to the wisest friend Of this afflicted people. Thou must leave Awhile the quiet which thy life hath earned, To rule our councils; fill the seats of justice With good men, not so absolute in goodness, As to forget what human frailty is;

And order my sad country.

Agen. Pardon me

Ion. Nay, I will promise 'tis my last request: Thou never couldst deny me what I sought In boyish wantonness1, and shall not grudge Thy wisdom to me, till our state revive From its long anguish. It will not be long If Heaven approve me here. Thou hast all power, Whether I live or die.

Agen. Die! I am old

Ion. Death is not jealous of thy mild decay,
Which gently wins thee his; exulting Youth
Provokes the ghastly monarch's sudden stride,
And makes his horrid fingers quick to clasp
His shivering prey at noontide. Let me see
The captain of the guard.

Crythes. I kneel to crave

Humbly the favor which thy sire bestowed

On one who loved him well.

Ion. I cannot thank thee,

That wak'st the memory of my father's weakness;
But I will not forget that thou hast shared
The light enjoyments of a noble spirit,
And learned the need of luxury. I grant
For thee and thy brave comrades, ample share
Of such rich treasures as my stores contain,
To grace thy passage to some distant land,
Where, if an honest cause engage thy sword,

May glorious laurels wreath it! In our realm,
We shall not need it longer.

Cry. Dost intend

To banish the firm troops before whose valor
Barbarian millions shrink appalled, and leave
Our city naked to the first assault

Of reckless foes!

Ion. No, Crythes! In ourselves,

In our own honest hearts and chainless hands,
Will be our safeguard. While we seek no use
Of arms we would not have our children blend
With their first innocent wishes; while the love
Of Argos and of justice shall be one

To their young reason; while their sinews grow
Firm 'midst the gladness of heroic sports,-
We shall not ask, to guard our country's peace,
One selfish passion, or one venal2 sword.

I would not grieve thee; but thy valiant troop-
For I esteem them valiant - must no more,
With luxury which suits a desperate camp,
See that they embark, Agenor,

Infect us.

Ere night.

Cry. My lord

Ion. No more

my word hath passed.

Medon, there is no office I can add

To those thou hast grown old in. -Thou wilt guard

The shrine of Phoebus, and within thy home

Thy too delightful home — befriend the stranger
As thou didst me. - There sometimes waste a thought
On thy spoiled inmate !

Medon. Think of thee, my lord?

Long shall we triumph in thy glorious reign

Ion. Prithee no more. Argives,* I have a boon

To crave of you. Whene'er I shall rejoin

* ÄR'ĢĪVES. Inhabitants of Argos.

In death the father from whose heart in life
Stern fate divided me, think gently of him!
For ye, who saw him in his full-blown pride,
Knew little of affections crushed within,

4

And wrongs which frenzied him; yet never more
Let the great interests of the state depend
Upon the thousand chances that may sway
A piece of human frailty! Swear to me
That ye will seek hereafter in yourselves

The means of sovereign rule. Our narrow space,
So happy in its confines, so compact,

Needs not the magic of a single name
Which wider regions may require to draw
Their interests into one; but, circled thus,
Like a blessed family, by simple laws,
May tenderly be governed; all degrees
Moulded together as a single form

Of nymph-like loveliness, which finest chords
Of sympathy pervading shall suffuse,

In times of quiet, with one bloom, and fill
With one resistless impulse, if the hosts

Of foreign power should threaten. Swear to me
That ye will do this!

Medon. Wherefore ask this now?

Thou shalt live long! The paleness of thy face Which late appalled me, is grown radiant now, And thine eyes kindle with the prophecy

Of lustrous years.

Ion. The gods approve me, then!

7

Yet will I use the function of a king,

And claim obedience. Promise, if I leave

No issue, that the sovereign power shall live
In the affections of the general heart,

And in the wisdom of the best.

Medon and others. [Kneeling.] We swear it!

Ion. Hear and record the oath, Immortal Powers! Now give me leave a moment to approach

That altar, unattended.

Gracious gods!

[He goes to the altar.

In whose mild service my glad youth was spent,
Look on me now; and if there is a Power, —

As at this solemn time I feel there is,

Beyond ye, that hath breathed through all your shapes
The spirit of the beautiful that lives

In earth and heaven,-to ye I offer up
This conscious being, full of life and love,

For my dear country's welfare. Let this blow
End all her sorrows!

[Stabs himself and falls. CTESIPHON
rushes to support him.

Enter IRUS.

Irus. I bring you glorious tidings- Ha! no joy

Can enter here.

Ion. Yes-is it as I hope?

Irus. The pestilence abates.

Ion. [Springs on his feet.] Do ye not hear?

Why shout ye not? -Ye are strong- think not of me. Hearken! The curse my ancestry had spread

O'er Argos, is dispelled. Agenor, give

This gentle youth his freedom, who hath brought
Sweet tidings that I shall not die in vain!-

And, Medon! cherish him as thou hast one

Who, dying, blesses thee.
Let this console thee also
The offering is accepted

- My own Clemanthe!
Argos lives-
All is well!

[Dies.

FREN'ZIED. Affected with madness. 5 SUF-FÜŞE'. Overspread as with a vapor, fluid or color.

6 LUSTROUS. Bright; shining.
7 FUNCTION, Office; faculty.
8 IS'SUE (is'shy). Offspring; children

LXXXIX. -NATIONAL MONUMENT TO

WASHINGTON.

WINTHROP.

[Robert Charles Winthrop is a native and resident of Boston. He was for several years a member of the House of Representatives in Congress, and Speaker of the House from December, 1847, to March, 1849. In 1856, he served for a short time in the Senate of the United States, by appointment of the Governor of Massachusetts. During his public life he was a leading member of the Whig party. The following piece is taken from an oration delivered by him, July 4, 1848, on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the National Monument to Washington.]

1. FELLOW-CITIZENS of the United States: We are assembled to take the first step towards the fulfilment of a long deferred obligation. In this eight and fortieth year since his death, we have come together to lay the cornerstone of a national monument to WASHINGTON.

2. Other monuments to this illustrious person, have, long ago, been erected. By not a few of the great States of our Union, by not a few of the great cities of our states, the chiselled statue, or the lofty column, has been set up in his honor. The highest art of the Old Worldof France, of Italy, and of England, successively-has been put in requisition for the purpose. Houdon* for Virginia, Canova † for North Carolina, Sir Francis Chantrey for Massachusetts, have severally signalized their genius by portraying and perpetuating the form and features of the Father of his Country.

a monument

3. One tribute to his memory is left to be rendered. One monument remains to be reared, which shall bespeak the gratitude, not of states, or of cities, or of governments; not of separate communities, or of official bodies, but of the people, the whole people of the nation, a National Monument, erected by the citizens of the United States of America.