The pious Abbot of Aberbrothock, Had placed that bell on the Inchcape rock; When the rock was hid by the tempest swell, And then they knew the perilous rock, And blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothock. The float of the Inchcape Bell was seen, His eye was on the Bell and Float,— The boat was lower'd, the boatmen row, Down sunk the bell with a gurgling 1 sound, Quoth he, "Who next comes to the rock, Sir Ralph the Rover sail'd away, He scour'd the sea for many a day, And now, grown rich with plunder'd store, (1) Gurgling—a deep gushing noise, as made by any heavy body falling into the water, like the bell in the present instance. So thick a haze o'erspread the sky, "Can'st hear," said one, "the breakers 2 roar ? Now, where we are, I cannot tell,— I wish we heard the Inchcape Bell." They heard no sound-the swell is strong, Though the wind hath fallen, they drift along; Till the vessel strikes with a quivering shock,"Oh heavens! it is the Inchcape Rock!" Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair, And waves rush in on every side, The ship sinks fast beneath the tide. SOUTHEY. (2) Breakers-rocks against which the waves break, as the word implies. There is a deep moral conveyed in these verses which it would be well to reflect upon for a moment, as no doubt the poet calculated to teach us a very useful lesson in a pleasant manner. It is impossible to do wrong, or to act rashly without being at some future time punished for our wickedness, or reproved for our rashness. It has been rightly said by a great philosopher, that "theft never enriches, that falsehood never profiteth, and every bad action is sure to bring with it some sore punishment." As it was with Sir Ralph the Rover, so it has been with hundreds and thousands of individuals, who out of sheer caprice and in an idle moment, did some malicious act which sometime afterwards they bitterly regretted. Alike the boy and the man when they take that which does not belong to them, or do that which is evil in the sight of God, are sure to be punished in more ways than one, by Him who sees every act, and knows every thought of our minds. THE POWER OF GOD. The Lord our God is full of might, The winds obey his will; He speaks, and in his heavenly height, Rebel, ye waves, and o'er the land, Howl, winds of night, your force combine; His voice sublime is heard afar, In distant peals it dies; He yokes the whirlwinds to his car, Ye nations bend, in reverence bend, . Ye monarchs wait his nod, And bid the choral song ascend, To celebrate the God! H. K. WHITE. (1) Behest-command. "For at his word the stormy wind ariseth, which lifted up the waves thereof." "For he maketh the storm to cease; so that the waves thereof are still."-Psalm 108th. BIRDS. Birds-birds! ye are beautiful things, With your earth treading feet and your cloud cleaving wings. Where shall man wander, and where shall he dwell, Beautiful birds, that ye come not as well? Ye have nests on the mountains all rugged aud stark : (1) Beautiful birds! ye come thickly around, When the bud's on the branch, and the snow on the ground; Beautiful birds! how the schoolboy remembers That schoolboy remembers his holiday ramble, When his finger was raised as he stopped in the bramble (1) Stark-bare, naked.—(2) Entangled-knitted together. (3) Heather-heath, a small plant.-(4) Brake-thicket of trees. (5) Flags-a species of water plant. Beautiful birds! we've encircled (6) thy names With the fairest of fruits and the fiercest of flames. Beautiful creatures of freedom and light! Oh! where is the eye that groweth not bright Let them give me a tomb where the daisy will bloom, Is the eloquent hymn of the beautiful bird. E. COOK. (6) Encircled-surrounded.-(7) Leveret-a young hare. I think this piece so admirably appeals to the choicest feelings of a schoolboy, that it needs no remark or commendation from me, to render it a great favourite among those who are destined to learn poetry from this small collection. If perfectly learnt it will fully reward the pupils patience and perseverance. |