Delta, surveying different branches of the Nile' in that direction, with countless villages spotting its shores, and the valley further back.

11. Following the Nile in its turnings, our eyes traced the valley southward, as far as vision could stretch. There, lay before us, the former site of Memphis, the residence of Joseph, from whence he supplied his father and brethren with corn, and finally made himself known to them, in the extraordinary manner recorded in Holy Writ.

d

12. This spot was about eight miles from the place where we were standing, and yet from our vast height, it seemed nearly at our feet. It is marked by other pyramids, in its immediate vicinity. Beyond, the valley stretched to our view as far as sight could trace it. To the west, lay the unexplorable Lybian desert,' with its yellow sands glistening in the sunbeams.

13. To the east, stood Grand Cairo," with its mosques and lofty minarets, its environs and neighboring villages. To the south and east of it, the eternal sands lay spread out in all the majesty of desolation. The day, though hot, was one of the finest for our purpose. Never could the sky be clearer, and at no time, could our eyes have traveled over a greater space.

14. In the midst of what a scene we were standing! No man can gaze from the top of the pyramid Cheops," without emotions never to be forgotten. His thoughts roam backward through thousands of years. He gazes, with astonishment, on the mysterious works of art spread at his feet. He

с

NOTES. a Delta; the island contained between the two extreme mouths of the Nile. It takes its name from its resemblance to the Greek letter delta, which has the form of a triangle. b Nile; a large river in the north-eastern part of Africa, 2.800 miles in length. Mem'phis; a splendid city of ancient Egypt, situated near where Cairo now stands. Its ruins cover a space eighteen miles in circumference. dJoseph, the son of Jacob, was sold into slavery in Egypt through the wickedness of his brothers; but by his wisdom, and the over-ruling power of God, he was raised to the highest office in the kingdom, excepting king. See Genesis, xxxvii. 25-29, xxxix. 1, and xli. 39-44. e Holy Writ; the Bible. See Genesis, xlv. 1-4. fLybian desert; the great desert in the north of Africa. g Grand Cairo (kl'r8); a large city, the capital of Egypt, containing 300,000 inhabitants. h See Cheops, p. 258, note c.

thinks of the countless thousands," employed in constructing. these vast monuments of human toil.

15. He contemplates the whole, as done by men who lived, and moved, and had a being, more than three thousand years ago. Where are they now? Gone! all gone! their names lost, and even the design of their vast labor, enveloped in mystery and uncertainty !

16. We now began to think seriously of descending. As I turned my eyes down the vast sloping side, our descent looked like a fearful task. At first thought, I would have given a pretty little sum to have been set in safety on the ground below. But on commencing a descent, how was I disappointed!

17. With an Arab at each arm, and one before you, the descent is one of the simplest things in the world. No fatigue attends it, and all is perfectly safe to one who is not troubled with giddiness of head. We completed our journey to the base, in about one third of the time employed in ascending.

NOTE. — a Herod'otus, the Greek historian, says that 100,000 men worked 20 years, without interruption, in building the pyramid of Cheops.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is the state of the air within the pyramid? 8. How long was the author in ascending to the top of the pyramid? 10. How did the Arabs on the ground appear to him? 10. What is the Delta? 10. What is the Nile? 11. What was Memphis? 11. What circumference do its ruins cover? 11. Where did Joseph live? 11. To what station in the kingdom did he rise? 12. How far is the site of Memphis from the pyramids ? 12. What is the Lybian desert? 13. What is Grand Cairo ? 14. How many men were employed, and how long, in building the pyramid of Cheops? 15. How long ago did the builder of the pyramids live?

23

1. Three'score, sixty. 2. Foes, enemies.

LESSON LVI.

Spell and Define.

3. Mar'row, the pith of the bones.

4. Mem'o-ries, recollections.

5. Buoy'ant, elastic, sprightly.

5. Yore, of old time, long ago.

6. Shriv'el-ed, contracted into wrinkles.

6. Hag'gard, pale, ghostly.

7. Like'ness, resemblance in form. [son. 8. Grand'son, the son of a daughter of 8. Wight, a child so called in burlesque. 10. Sooth, truth.

12. Nerve, an organ of feeling.
12. Her'it-age, an inheritance.

ERRORS.1. Ole for old; 2. lef for left; 3. marʼrer for mar-row; 4. airly for early; 6. sriv'el-ed for shriv'el-ed; 9. sence for since; 12. her'it-ige for her'it-age.

THE SONG OF SEVENTY.

M. F. TUPPER.

[The learner may point out the words that are particularly emphatic in the first four verses of this piece, and tell whether they are made so by absolute or antithetic emphasis. See Emphasis, p. 37.]

1. I AM not old,—I cannot be old,

Though threescore years and ten

Have wasted away, like a tale that is told,
The lives of other men.

2. I am not old; though friends and foes
Alike have gone to their graves,

And left me alone to my joys or my woes,
As a rock in the midst of the waves.

3. I am not old, I cannot be old,

Though tottering, wrinkled, and gray;

Though my eyes are dim, and my marrow is cold,
Call me not old to-day.

4. For early memories round me throng,
Old times, and manners, and men,
As I look behind on my journey so long
Of threescore miles and ten.

5.

I look behind, and am once more young,
Buoyant, and brave, and bold,

And my heart can sing, as of

yore it sung,

Before they called me old.

6. I do not see her, the old wife there,

Shriveled, and haggard, and gray,

But I look on her blooming, and soft, and fair,
As she was on her wedding day.

7. I do not see you, daughters and sons,
In the likeness of women and men,
But I kiss you now, as I kissed you once,
My fond little children then.

8. And, as my own grandson rides on my kne
Or plays with his hoop or kite,

I can well recollect I was merry as he,
The bright-eyed little wight!

9. 'Tis not long since, it cannot be long,—
My years so soon were spent,

J

Since I was a boy both straight and strong,
Yet now am I feeble and bent.

10. A dream," a dream, it is all a dream,

11. Eye hath not seen, tongue hath not told,

NOTE.

And ear hath not heard it sung,

How buoyant and bold, though it seem to grow old,
Is the heart, forever young;

b

The life of the aged, seems to them so very short, when they reflect upon t, that they look upon it rather as a dream than a reality. b Heart is here used for mind.

12. Forever young,- though life's old age

Hath every nerve unstrung;

The heart, the heart, is a heritage

That keeps the old man young!

QUESTIONS. 1. Do the aged seem old to themselves? 4. Why do they not? 7. How do they look upon their sons and daughters? 10. How does their life appear to them? 11. What part of man is always young? 11. What does heart mean here?

LESSON LVII.
Spell and Define.

1. Cap'tive, a prisoner of war.
1. Ex-ult-a'tion, rapturous delight.
1. Sub'sti-tute, one put in the place of
another.

2. Em'per-or, the ruler of an empire.
3. Dis-cus'sion, debate, disquisition.
3. In-tru'sive, entering without right.
4. Ad-ven'tur-ous, courageous, daring.

5. In-ter-pos'ed, interfered.

6. Ex-e-cu'tion-er, one who kills another. 7. Ap-peas'ed, quieted, calmed.

8. Dra-mat'ic, pertaining to the drama. 8. Im-pend'ing, hanging over. 9. Baffled, defeated, confounded. 9. Chron'i-cles, historians. 10. Po'tent, powerful.

ERRORS. 1. Con'ter-a-ry for con'tra-ry; 2. in-ter-est'ed for in'ter-est-ed; 3. a-gaynst' for a'gainst; 4. dis-cree'tion for dis-cretion; 6. fust for first; 7. exquis'ite for ex'-qui-site; 7. fem'i-nyne for fem'i-nine; 7. voilent for vi'o-lent;

10. bons for bonds.

RESCUE OF CAPTAIN SMITH BY POCAHONTAS.

SIMMS.

1. THE appearance of the captive before the king, was welcomed by a shout from all the people. This does not appear to have been an outbreak of exultation. On the contrary, the disposition seems to have been to treat the prisoner with becoming gravity and consideration. A handsome young

NOTES.a Cap'tain Smith (John); an Englishman of a bold and adventurous disposition, and the most efficient man in the Virginia colony. He was born in 1579, and died in London in 1631. b Po-ca-hon'tas; an Indian female, and daughter of Powhattan, the great sachem of the Virginia Indians. She was born in 1595, and when seventeen years of age, married an Englishman by the name of Rolf. In 1616, they visited England, where she died at the age of twenty-two, leaving one son who was educated by his uncle in London, and afterwards became a wealthy and distin guished character in Virginia.