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12. The friends who had alternately reproved and encouraged him, were convinced their efforts had been of no avail. Intemperance, "like the strong man armed," took possession of a soul that lifted no cry to God, and girded on no weapon to resist the destroyer.

MRS. SIGOURNEY.

QUESTIONS. — What effect was produced upon the father by the death of his child? What were his friends disposed to hope for? How did intemperance take possession of him? Why was he unsuccessful, do you suppose, in his resi-tance to intemperate habits?

Explain the inflections proper in the first three paragraphs.

ARTICULATION.

Shi-ning, not shi-nın: al-most, not al-moce: memo-ries, not mem'ries: heal-ing, not heal-in; old-est, not ole-es: rev-er-ent-ly, not rev'rent-ly,with-er-ing, not with'rin: se-lect-ed, not s'lect-ed: fu-ner-al, not fu'n'ral: per-ma-nent, not per-m'nent: in-ter-est-ed, not in-t'rest-ed.

SPELL AND DEFINE.-1. Composed: 2. carelessly, immovable, affectionate: 3. consecrated, inspired: 4. frailty: 6. sympathy: 7. constrained: 8. righteousness: 10. overthrown: 11. disaffection: 12. alternately,

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LESSON XXII.

RULE. Sound the vowels correctly, and very full, prolonging the sounds of those that are italicized in the following words, and repeat the exercise many times. A-we, a-ge, a-rm, o-ld, o-r, ee-l, oo-ze, bu-oy, i-sle.

Words to be Spelled and Defined.

1. Rep'-tiles (pro rep'-tils). n. animals that
creep, as worms, snakes, &c.
Re-coil', v. start back, shrink from.

2. Coil'-ed, p. gathered into a circular
form.

Coy'-a, n. a kind of serpent.

3. In-fest'-ed, v. troubled, annoyed.
4. Ob-structs', v. hinders, stops.

5. Rank'-le, v. to rage, to become violent.
Spell, n. a charm.

7. Still, n. a vessel used in distilling or making liquors.

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Outvenoms all the worms of Nile."-Shakspeare.

1. WHO has not heard of the rattlesnake or copperhead? An unexpected sight of either of these reptiles will make even the lords of creation recoil; but there is a species of worm, found in various parts of this state, which conveys a poison of a

nature so deadly, that, compared with it, even the venom of the rattlesnake is harmless. To guard our readers against this foe of human kind, is the object of this lesson.

2. This worm varies much in size. It is frequently an inch in diameter, but, as it is rarely seen, except when coiled, its length can hardly be conjectured. It is of a dull lead color, and generally lives near a spring or small stream of water, and bites the unfortunate people, who are in the habit of going there to drink. The brute creation it never molests. They avoid it with the same instinct that teaches the animals of Peru to shun the deadly coya.

3. Several of these reptiles have long infested our settlements, to the misery and destruction of many of our fellow citizens. I have, therefore, had frequent opportunities of being the melancholy spectator of the effects produced by the subtile poison which this worm infuses.

4. The symptoms of its bite are terrible. The eyes of the patient become red and fiery, his tongue swells to an immoderate size, and obstructs his utterance; and delirium of the most horrid character, quickly follows. Sometimes, in his madness, he attempts the destruction of his nearest friends.

5. If the sufferer has a family, his weeping wife and helpless infants are not unfrequently the objects of his frantic fury. In a word, he exhibits, to the life, all the detestable passions that rankle in the bosom of a savage; and, such is the spell in which his senses are locked, that, no sooner has the unhappy patient recovered from the paroxysm of insanity, occasioned by the bite, than he seeks out the destroyer, for the sole purpose of being bitten again.

6. I have seen a good old father, his locks as white as snow, his step slow and trembling, beg in vain of his only son to quit the lurking place of the worm. My heart bled when he turned away; for I knew the fond hope, that his son would be the “staff of his declining years," had supported him through many a

sorrow.

7. Youths of America, would you know the name of this reptile ? It is called the Worm of the Still.

JOHN RUSSELL.

QUESTIONS. What is manufactured at the "still" here spoken of? Why is intemperance worse than the bite of the most venomous serpent' What is the coya ? What part of a still is called the "worm?" Why is it

so called?

In the last paragraph, parse " youths" and "worm."

PRONUNCIATION.

Rep-tiles (pro. rep-tils), not rep-tiles: poi-son,

not pi-son: un-fort-u-nate, not un-fort-er-nit: an-i-mals, not an-i-muls: destruc-tion, not dis-truc-tion: symp-toms, not symp-tims: in-san-i-ty, not in-san-er-ty.

SPELL AND DEFINE.

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1. Copperhead, venom: 2. diameter, con

jectured, instinct: 3. misery, infuses: 4. symptoms, utterance, delirium: 5. exhibits, paroxysm: 6. lurking.

LESSON XXIII.

REMARK. - It will be a good exercise for the pupil to stand at a distan from the teacher, and then try to read so loud and distinctly, that the teacher may hear with perfect ease each syllable that is pronounced.

Words to be Spelled

1. A-slope', adv. obliquely, in a slanting

manner.

2. Pau'-per, n. a poor person, one sup-
ported by the public.
Pro-mul'-ga-ting, p. publishing.

3. Mu-nic-i-pal'-i-ty, n. a division of coun-
try or of a city.

4. Gob'-let, n. a kind of drinking vessel. Cogn'-iac, n. (pro. Kone'-yak) the best kind of brandy.

and Defined.

Hol'-lands, n. a kind of gin.
Ja-mai'-ca, n. a kind of rum.

6. Po-ta'-tions, n. draughts.

Ru'-bi-cund, a. inclined to redness. 10. Tit-il-la'-tion, n the state of being tickled.

14. Mo-nop'-o-lize. v. to obtain the whole. Con-sum-ma'-tion, n. completion, perfection of a work.

THE TOWN PUMP.

(Scene The corner of two principal streets.-The Town Pump talking through its nose.)

1. NOON, by the north clock'! Noon, by the east'! High noon, too, by those hot sunbeams which fall', scarcely aslope', upon my head, and almost make the water bubble and smoke in the trough under my nose'. Truly', we public characters have a tough time' of it! And among all the town officers, chosen at the yearly meeting, where is he that sustains, for a single year, the burden of such manifold duties as are imposed, in perpetuity, upon the Town Pump.

2. The title of town treasurer is rightfully mine, as guardian of the best treasure the town has. The overseers of the poor ought to make me their chairman, since I provide bountifully for the pauper, without expense to him that pays taxes. I am at the head of the fire department, and one of the physicians of the board of health. As a keeper of the peace, all water drink

ers confess me equal to the constable. I perform some of the duties of the town clerk, by promulgating public notices, when they are pasted on my front.

3. To speak within bounds, I am chief person of the municipality, and exhibit, moreover, an admirable pattern to my brother officers, by the cool, steady, upright, downright, and impartial discharge of my business, and the constancy with which I stand to my post. Summer or winter, nobody seeks me in vain; for all day long I am seen at the busiest corner, just above the market, stretching out my arms to rich and poor alike; and at night I hold a lantern over my head, both to show where I am, and to keep people out of the gutters.

4. At this sultry noontide, I am cupbearer to the parched populace, for whose benefit an iron goblet is chained to my waist. Like a dramseller on the public square, on a muster-day, I cry aloud to all and sundry, in my plainest accents, and at the very tiptop of my voice. Here it is', gentlemen'! Here is the good liquor! Walk up', walk up', gentlemen', walk up', walk up! Here is the superior stuff! Here is the unadulterated ale of father Adam'! better than Cogniac', Hollands', Jamaica', strong beer', or wine of any price; here it is, by the hogshead or the single glass, and not a cent to pay! Walk up, gentlemen, walk up and help yourselves!

5. It were a pity, if all this outcry should draw no customers. Here they come. A hot day, gentlemen. Quaff and away again, so as to keep yourselves in a nice, cool sweat. You, my friend, will need another cupfull to wash the dust out of your throat, if it be as thick there as it is on your cowhide shoes. I see that you have trudged half a score of miles today, and, like a wise man, have passed by the taverns, and stopped at the running brooks and wellcurbs. Otherwise, betwixt heat without and fire within, you would have been burnt to a cinder, or melted down to nothing at all, in the fashion of a jellyfish.

6. Drink, and make room for that other fellow, who seeks my aid to quench the fiery fever of last night's potations, which he drained from no cup of mine. Welcome, most rubicund sir! You and I have been great strangers hitherto; nor, to confess the truth, will my nose be anxious for a closer intimacy, till the fumes of your breath be a little less potent.

7. Mercy on you, man! The water absolutely hisses down your red-hot gullet, and is converted quite into steam in the miniature Tophet, which you mistake for a stomach. Fill again, and tell me, on the word of an honest toper, did you ever, in cellar, tavern, or any other kind of dramshop, spend the price

of

your children's food, for a swig half so delicious? Now, for the first time these ten years, you know the flavor of cold water. Good-by; and whenever you are thirsty, recollect that I keep a constant supply, at the old stand.

8. Who next? Oh, my little friend, you are just let loose from school, and come hither to scrub your blooming face, and drown the memory of certain taps of the ferule, and other school-boy troubles, in a draught from the Town Pump. Take it, pure as the current of your young life; take it, and may your heart and tongue never be scorched with a fiercer thirst than

now.

9. There, my dear child, put down the cup, and yield your place to this elderly gentleman, who treads so tenderly over the pavingstones, that I suspect he is afraid of breaking them. What he limps by, without so much as thanking me, as if my hospitable offers were meant only for people who have no winecellars.

10. Well, well, sir, no harm done, I hope! Go, draw the cork, tip the decanter; but when your great toe shall set you a roaring, it will be no affair of mine. If gentlemen love the pleasant titillation of the gout, it is all one. to the Town Pump. This thirsty dog, with his red tongue lolling out, does not scorn my hospitality, but stands on his hind legs, and laps eagerly out of the trough. See, how lightly he capers away again! Jowler, did your worship ever have the gout?

11. Your pardon, good people'! I must interrupt my stream of eloquence, and spout forth a stream of water, to replenish the trough for this teamster and his two yoke of oxen, who have come all the way from Staunton, or somewhere along that way. No part of my business gives me more pleasure than the watering of cattle. Look! how rapidly they lower the water mark on the sides of the trough', till their capacious stomachs are moistened with a gallon or two apiece, and they can afford time to breathe, with sighs of calm enjoyment. Now, they roll their quiet eyes around the brim of their monstrous drinking vessel. An ox is your true toper.

12. I hold myself the grand reformer of the age. From my spout, and such spouts as mine, must flow the stream that shall cleanse our earth of a vast portion of its crime and anguish, which has gushed from the fiery fountains of the still. In this mighty enterprise, the cow shall be my great confederate. Milk and water!

13. Ahem! Dry work, this speechifying, especially to all un

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