THE POWER OF HABIT. John

JOHN. B. GOUGH.

1. I REMEMBER once riding from Buffalo to the Niagara Falls. I said to a gentleman, "What river is that, sir?" "That," said he, "is Niagara river."

2. "Well, it is a beautiful stream," said I; "bright, and fair, and glassy. How far off are the rapids ?"

"Only a mile or two," was the reply.

3. "Is it possible that only a mile from us, we shall find the water in the turbulence which it must show near the Falls'?"

"You will find it so, sir." And so I found it; and the first sight of Niagara I shall never forget.

4. Now, launch your bark on that Niagara river; it is bright, smooth, beautiful, and glassy. There is a ripple at the bow; the silver wake you leave behind, adds to your enjoyment. Down the stream you glide, oars, sails, and helm in proper trim, and you set out on your pleasure excursion.

5. Suddenly, some one cries out from the bank, "Young men, ahoy!"

"What is it?"

"The rapids are below you!"

6. "Ha ha! we have heard of the rapids; but we are not such fools as to get there. If we go too fast, then we shall up with the helm, and steer to the shore; we will set the mast in the socket, hoist the sail, and speed to the land. Then on, boys; don't be alarmed,—there is no danger." 7. "Young men, ahoy there!"

"What is it?"

"The rapids are below you!"

8. "Ha ha! we will laugh and quaff; all things delight us. What care we for the future! No man ever

saw it. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

We will

enjoy life while we may,-will catch pleasure as it flies. This is enjoyment; time enough to steer out of danger when we are sailing swiftly with the current."

9. (f) "YOUNG MEN, AHOY!"

"What is it?"

See

"BEWARE! BEWARE! THE RAPIDS ARE BELOW YOU!' 10. "Now you see the water foaming all around. how fast you pass that point! Up with the helm! Now turn! Pull hard! (=) Quick! quick! quick! pull for your lives! pull till the blood starts from your nostrils, and the veins stand like whip-cords upon your brow! Set the mast in the socket! hoist the sail! (7) Ah! ah! it is too late! Shrieking, howling, blaspheming; over they go."

11. Thousands go over the rapids of intemperance every year, through the power of habit, crying all the while, "When I find out that it* is injuring me, I will give it up!"

QUESTIONS.—1. Where are the Niagara Falls? 2. How does the water appear just above the Falls? 3. How does it appear farther up? 4. What reply are the young men represented as making, when first told the rapids were below them? 5. What, when told the second time? 6. What must they do, to escape destruction? 7. What is said of the power of habit?

BE SOT' TED, stupefied.

LESSON XLI.

BUR LESQU'ED, mocked; derided.
DE FI ED, set at defiance.
CHER' ISH ED, fostered; encouraged.
STREW ED, Scattered; spread.
LIV' ID, discolored; black and blue.
MIRROR ED, reflected, as in a glass.
RE VEAL' ING$, disclosures.

PLIGHT ED, pledged.
FOR SWORN', perjured.

STAMP ED, impressed; fixed deeply.
BLIGHT, blasting disease.

A TONE', make reparation.
PRO CLAIM ED, openly declared.
LOATHE, detest; abhor.
BEV' ER AGE, drink.

* Temperate drinking.

These verses should be read in a firm, half-indignant, yet imploring tone of voice,-except the last verse, which should be expressed in a very decided and impassioned manner.

THE DRUNKARD'S DAUGHTER.*

1. Go, feel what I have felt,

Go, bear what I have borne;
Sink 'neath a blow a father dealt,
And the cold, proud world's scorn;
Thus struggle on from year to year,
Thy sole relief,—the scalding tear.

2. Go, weep as I have wept,

O'er a loved father's fall,

See every cherished promise swept,-
Youth's sweetness turned to gall;
Hope's faded flowers strewed all the way
That led me up to woman's day.

3. Go, kneel as I have knelt;
Implore, beseech, and pray,
Strive the besotted heart to melt,

The downward course to stay;

Be cast with bitter curse aside,-
Thy prayers burlesqued, thy tears defied.

4. Go, stand where I have stood,

And see the strong man bow;

With gnashing teeth, lips bathed in blood,
And cold and livid brow;

Go, catch his wandering glance, and see
There mirrored, his soul's misery.

* These beautiful and touching verses were written by a young lady, in reply to a friend who had called her a monomaniac on the subject of temperance

5. Go, hear what I have heard,-
The sobs of sad despair,

As memory's feeling fount hath stirred,
And its revealings there

Have told him what he might have been,
Had he the drunkard's fate foreseen.

6. Go to my mother's side,

And her crushed spirit cheer

Thine own deep anguish hide,
Wipe from her cheek the tear;

Mark her dimmed eye,―ber furrowed brow,

The

gray
that streaks her dark hair now;
Her toil-worn frame, her trembling limb,
And trace the ruin back to him
Whose plighted faith, in early youth,
Promised eternal love and truth;
But who, forsworn, hath yielded up
That promise to the deadly cup,
And led her down from love and light,
From all that made her pathway bright,
And chained her there 'mid want and strife,
That lowly thing,—a drunkard's wife!
And stamped on childhood's brow so mild,
That withering blight, a drunkard's child!

7. Go,.hear, and see, and feel, and know,

All that my soul hath felt and known,
Then look upon the wine cup's glow;

See if its brightness can atone;
Think if its flavor you will try,

If all proclaimed, "'Tis drink and die!"

8. Tell me I hate the bowl;

Hate is a feeble word:

(f) I loathe, ABHOR,-my very soul
With strong disgust is stirred,
Whene'er I see, or hear, or tell,

Of the DARK BEVERAGE OF HELL!!

QUESTIONS.-1. By whom was this poetry written? 2. What circumstance induced her to write it? 3: What is the meaning of monomaniac? Ans. One who is deranged in a single faculty of the mind, or with regard to a particular subject, the other faculties being in regular exercise. 4. What reasons does she assign for her hatred of alcoholic drink? 5. What does she say of her mother? 6. With what tone of voice should the last verse be read? See page 40, Rule 4. 7. Why are some words and sentences printed in Italics and Capitals? See page 22, Note III.

LESSON XLII.

RECORD$, accounts; minutes.
AD VENT' URE$, doings; strange oc-
EN CUM BER, load; clog. [currences.
GRAT I FI CA'TION, indulgence.
SCHEME, plan; progress. [eration.
DE LIB ER A'TION, thought; consid-
LUX U' RI OUS, pleasure-loving.
EX PE DI" TION, tour; enterprise.

MO ROSE', sour; ill-humored.
RE VOLT ING, disgusting; abhorrent.
CON TEM' PLATE, consider; think
REL' IC, remains.
[upon.
IN VES' TI GATE, examine; look into.
AC COM' PLISH ED, effected.

PIC TUR ESQUE, (pikt yur esk',) grand;
beautiful; picture-like.

THE TWO YOUNG TRAVELERS,

MERRY'S MUSEUM.

1. HORACE and Herman, two young men who were friends, set out to travel in distant countries. Before they departed, each had formed a plan of proceeding. Horace determined to give himself up entirely to pleasure,-to go wherever his humor might dictate,—and to keep no records