stand silently, side by side, while the earth, stónes, and clóds, were falling down upon their father's coffin. 5. A head-stone had been prepared, and a person came forward to plant it. The older brother directed him how to place ita plain stone, with a sand-glass, skull, and bones, chiseled not rudely, and a few words inscribed. The younger brother regarded the operation with a troubled eye, and said, loudly enough to be heard by several of the bystanders, “ William, this was not kind in you; you should have told me of this. I loved my father as well as you could love him. You were the elder, and, it may be, the favorite son; but I had a right, in nature, to have joined you in ordering this head-stone, had I not?" 6. During these words, the stone was sinking into the earth, and many persons, who were on their way from the grave, returned. For a while the elder brother said nothing, for he had a consciousness in his heart that he ought to have consulted his father's son, in designing this last, becoming mark of affection and respect to his memory; so the stone was planted in silence, and now stood erect, decently and simply, among the other unostentatious memorials of the humble dead. We 7. The inscription merely gave the name and age of the deceased, and told that the stone had been erected "by his affectionate sons." The sight of these words seemed to soften the displeasure of the angry man; and he said, somewhat more mildly, "Yes, we were his affectionate sons, and, since my name is on the stone, I am satisfied, brother. have not drawn together kindly of late years, and perhaps never may; but I acknowledge and respect your worth; and here, before our own friends, and before the friends of our father, with my foot above his head, I express my willingness to be on other and better terms with you; and if we cannot command love in our hearts, let us, at least, brother, bar out all unkindness." 8. The minister, who had attended the funeral, and had something intrusted to him to say publicly before he left the church-yard, now came forward, and asked the elder brother why he spake not regarding this matter. He saw that there was something of a cold and sullen pride rising up in his heart; for not easily may any man hope to dismiss from the chamber of his heart, even the vilest guest, if once cherished there. With a solemn and almost severe air, he looked upon the relenting man, and then, changing his countenance into serenity, said gently, “Behold how good a thing it is, And how becoming well, 9. The time, the place, and this beautiful expression of a natural sentiment, quite overcame a heart, in which many kind, if not warm affections dwelt; and the man, thus appealed to, bowed down his head and wept-"Give me your hand, brother;" -and it was given, while a murmur of satisfaction arose from all present, and all hearts felt kindlier and more humanely toward each other. 10. As the brothers stood, fervently but composedly grasping each other's hand, in the little hollow that lay between the grave of their mother, long since dead, and of their father, whose shroud was not yet still from the fall of dust to dust, the minister stood beside them, with a pleasant countenance, and said, "I must fulfill the promise I made to your father on his death-bed. I must read to you a few words which his hand wrote, at an hour when his tongue denied its office. B 11. "I must not say that you did your duty to your old father; for did he not often beseech you, apart from one another, to be reconciled, for your own sakes as Christians, for his sake, and for the sake of the mother who bare you, and Stephen, who died that you might be born? When the palsy struck him for the last time, you were both absent, nor was it your fault that you were not beside your dear father when he died. 12. "As long as sense continued with him here, did he think of you two, and of you two alone. Tears were in his eyes I saw them there, and on his cheek too, when no breath came from his lips. But of this no more. He died with this paper in his hand; and he made me know that I was to read it to you over his grave. I now obey him: 'My sons, if you will let my bones lie quiet in the grave, near the dust of your mother, depart not from my burial, till, in the name of God and Christ, you promise to love one another as you used to do. Dear boys, receive my blessing."" 13. Some turned their heads away to hide the tears that needed not to be hidden;-and, when the brothers had released each other from a long and sobbing embrace, many went up to them, and in a single word or two, expressed their joy at this perfect reconciliation. The brothers themselves walked away from the church-yard, arm in arm, with the minister to the parsonage. 14. On the following Sabbath, they were seen sitting with their families in the saine pew; and it was observed that they read together from the same Bible when the minister gave out the text, and that they sung together from the same psalmbook. The same psalm was sung, being given out at their own request, of which one verse had been repeated at their father's grave; - a larger sum than usual was on that Sabbath found in the plate for the poor,- for love and charity are sisters. And ever after, both during the peace and the troubles of this life, the hearts of the brothers were as one, and in nothing were they divided. GENTLE WORDS. 15. More precious than the honeyed dew, 16. More joyous than the merry thrill, 17. Sweeter than music's hallowed strains, 18. Holy as friendship's gifted name, Burning with bright, unquivering flame, RULE 8. Indirect questions, or those which cannot be answered by yes or no, generally require the falling inflection, and their answers, the same. EXAMPLES. 1. Which is the largest ocean on the glòbe? The Pacìfic. 2. Who was the greatest Roman òrator? Cicero. 3. What Roman general took Jerusalem ?a Tìtus.b 4. Where was Burgoyne's c army captured? At Stillwater. 5. What is the number of fixed stars visible to the èye? 6. How came Bonaparte to escape from the island of Elbà? 7. Why did Julius Cæsar aspire to the imperial cròwn? 8. When did Alexander the Great d dìe, and whère? 9. Where did Scipio e meet and conquer Hànnibal ? f 10. Who was Charles XII. and with whom did he make wàr ? 11. Wherefore did Alexander wèep at the close of his conquests? 12. What led Sir Isaac Newton h to the discovery of gravitàtion ? 13. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. 14. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his wày? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. с * Jerusalem, anciently the largest and most celebrated city of Palestine, surrounded by a high wall, and said once to contain 1,000,000 inhabitants. b Titus, a Roman emperor, who took Jerusalem and burned the temple in the year 70. Burgoyne,( John,) an English general, who, with his army, was taken prisoner at Stillwater, by Gen. Gates, an American officer of the Revolution, in 1777. d Alexander, (the Great,)'a Grecian general of great talents, but corrupt morals. Scipio, (Africanus,) a Roman general, of great courage and humanity. f Hannibal, a distinguished Carthagenian general. g Charles XII., the king of Sweden, who made war with the Danes, Russians, and Poles. b Newton, (Sir Isaac,) an eminent philosopher and mathematician of England. QUESTIONS. What inflections do indirect questions generally require? What their answers? Give an example. |