people, and it was I that told them of their danger. I am a withered, leafless, branchless trunk. Cut me down, if you will: I am ready."

16. A yell of indignation sounded on all sides. Naöman descended from the little bank where he sat, shrouded his face with his mantle of skins, and submitted to his fate. He fell dead at the feet of the white woman by a blow of the tomahawk.

17. But the sacrifice of Naöman, and the firmness of the Christian white woman, did not suffice to save the lives of the other victims. They perished,-how, it is needless to say; and the memory of their fate has been preserved in the name of the pleasant stream, on whose banks they lived and died, which, to this day, is called MURDERER'S Creek.

QUESTIONS.-1. Where is Murderer's Creek? 2. What is said of Naöman and Stacy's family? 3. Why did Naöman, at first, refuse to tell Mrs. Stacy of her danger? 4. Did Stacy's family make their escape? 5. Where were they taken? 6. Did Mrs. Stacy tell who had informed her? 7. What measures did the Indians adopt, to make her tell? 8. What did Naöman say? 9. What did the Indians do with Naöman and Stacy's family?

LESSON LIII.

PER IL OUS, hazardous; dangerous.

DE FILES', narrow passages.
PREC' I PIC E$, steep descents.
SOL' I TUDE, lonely places.

AM MU NI" TION, military stores, as
powder, balls, &c.

DRA GOONS', mounted soldiers.
SUM' MIT, top; highest point.

AV A LANCHE', snow-slip.
CROUCH' ED, cringed.
AD VANCE', forward; proceed.
BE NUMB' ED, deprived of feeling.
EX PLOITS', heroic deeds. [clear.

IL LUS' TRATES, explains; makes
HE RO' IC, brave; fearless. [lute.
UN FLINCH ING, determined; reso

BAY' O NET, a short, pointed instrument of iron, or broad dagger, fitted to It is so called, because the first bayonets were made

the barrel of a gun.

at Bayonne, in France.

NAPOLEON'S ARMY CROSSING THE ALPS.

1. WHEN Napoleon was carrying war into Italy, he ordered one of his officers, Marshal Macdonald, to cross the Splugen with fifteen thousand soldiers, and join him on the plains below. The Splugen is one of the four great roads which cross the Alps from Switzerland to Italy.

2. When Macdonald received the order, it was about the last of November, and the winter storms were raging among the mountain passes. It was a perilous undertaking, yet he must obey; and the men began their terrible march through narrow defiles and overhanging precipices, six thousand feet up, up among the gloomy solitudes of the Alps.

3. The cannon were placed on sleds drawn by oxen, and the ammunition was packed on mules. First came the guides, sticking their long poles in the snow, in order to find the path; then came workmen to clear away the drifts; then the dragoons, mounted on their most powerful horses, to beat down the track; after which followed the main body of the army.

4. They encountered severe storms and piercing cold. When half-way up the summit, a rumbling noise was heard among the cliffs. The guides looked at each other in alarm; for they knew well what it meant. It grew louder and louder. "An avalanche! an avalanche!" they shrieked, and the next moment a field of ice and snow came leaping down the mountain, striking the line of march, and sweeping thirty dragoons in a wild plunge below. The black forms of the horses and their riders were seen for an instant struggling for life, and then they disappeared forever.

5. The sight struck the soldiers with horror; they crouched and shivered in the blast. Their enemy was not now flesh and blood, but wild winter storms; swords and bayonets could not defend them from the desolating avalanche. Flight

or retreat was hopeless; for all around lay the drifted snow, like a vast winding-sheet. On they must go, or death was certain, and the brave men struggled forward.

6. "Soldiers!" exclaimed their commander, "you are called to Italy; your general needs you. Advance and conquer, first the mountain and the snow, then the plains and the enemy!" Blinded by the winds, benumbed with the cold, and far beyond the reach of aid, Macdonald and his men pressed on. Sometimes a whole company of soldiers were suddenly swept away by an avalanche.

7. On one occasion, a poor drummer, crawling out from the mass of snow, which had torn him from his comrades, began to beat his drum for relief. The muffled sound came up from his gloomy resting-place, and was heard by his brother soldiers; but none could go to his rescue. For an hour, he beat rapidly, then the strokes grew fainter, until they were heard no more, and the poor drummer laid himself down to die. Two weeks were occupied in this perilous march, and two hundred men perished in the undertaking.

8. This passage of the Splugen is one of the bravest exploits in the history of Napoleon's generals, and illustrates the truth of the proverb, "Where there is a will there is a way." No one can read the heroic deeds of brave men grappling with danger and death, without a feeling of respect and admiration; but heroic deeds are always the fruit of toil and self-sacrifice. No one can accomplish great things, unless he aims at great things, and pursues that aim with unflinching courage and perseverance.

QUESTIONS.-1. What orders had Napoleon given to Marshal Macdonald? 2. What time of year was it? 3. Describe the march of the army over the Alps. 4. What disaster occurred to them? 5. How did their commander address the army? 6. Describe the drummer boy's fate. 7. How many men perished? 8. What does this exploit of the army illustrate? 9. What is said of heroic deeds?

LESSON LIV.

PROVERBS, sayings; maxims.
TRAC ED, shown; marked out.
Woo' ER$, suitors; lovers.
DENSE, close; thick.

STRIVING, making efforts.

CON TROL', restraint; government.

COPE, strive; contend.
DE FY' ING, daring; outbraving.
GHOST, specter; apparition.
RE LY' ING, trusting; depending.
WIN'NING, getting; gaining.
BRAM' BLES, prickly shrubs.

WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY.

1. WE have faith in old proverbs full surely,
For wisdom has traced what they tell,
And truth may be drawn up as purely
From them, as it may from a "well."
Let us question the thinkers and doers,

And hear what they honestly say,

ELIZA COOK

And you'll find they believe, like bold wooers,
In "Where there's a WILL there's a WAY."

2. The hills have been high for man's mounting,
The woods have been dense for his ax,
The stars have been thick for his counting,
The sands have been wide for his tracks.
The sea has been deep for his diving,

The poles have been broad for his sway,
But bravely he's proved by his striving,

That "Where there's a WILL there's a WAY.”

3. Have ye vices that ask a destroyer,
Or passions that need your control'?
Let Reason become your employer,
And your body be ruled by your soul.

Fight on, though ye bleed at the trial,
Resist with all strength that ye may,
Ye may conquer Sin's host by denial,

For, "Where there's a WILL there's a WAY."

4. Have ye poverty's pinching to cope with'?
Does suffering weigh down your might'?
Only call up a spirit to hope with,

And dawn may come out of the night.
Oh! much may be done by defying
The ghost of Despair and Dismay,
And much may be gained by relying

On "Where there's a WILL there's a WAY."

5. Should ye see afar off that worth winning,
Set out on a journey with trust,

And ne'er heed though your path at beginning
Should be among brambles and dust.

Though it is by footsteps ye do it,

And hardships may hinder and stay,
Keep a heart and be sure ye go through it,

For, "Where there's a WILL there's a WAY."

QUESTIONS.-1. What is the meaning of this proverb, "Where there's a will there's a way?" 2. What instances can you mention in which its truth has been realized? 3. Do you apply this proverb in getting your lessons?

LESSON LV.

TAL IS MAN, charm; amulet.
VAN, front or head of an army.
Fr' ER Y, ardent; passionate.
PLUMES, supplies with feathers.

TENSE LY, tightly.
SWERVES, deviates.
DÄUNT, frighten; terrify.
BAN' ISH, expel;

drive away.

TEL' E GRAPH, (TELE, far off; GRAPH, writing or marking,) a machine to convey news far off. See SANDERS' NEW SPELLER, page 161, Ex. 419.