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4. And Aram answered and said, "Lord, he would not wor ship thee, neither would he call upon thy name, therefore have I driven him out before my face into the wilderness." And God said, "Have I borne with him these hundred and ninety years, and nourished him, and clothed him, notwithstanding his rebellion against me, and couldst not thou, who art thyself a sinner, bear with him one night?"

5. And Aram said, "Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot against his servant; lo, I have sinned, I pray thee, forgive me." And Aram arose, and went forth into the wilderness, and sought diligently for the man, and found him, and returned with him to the tent, and when he had treated him kindly, he sent him away on the morrow with gifts.

LESSON IX.

Story of Goffe, the Regicide."-PRESIDENT DWIGHT.

1. In the course of Philip's war, which involved almost all the Indian tribes in New-England, and among others those in the neighborhood of Hadley, the inhabitants thought it proper to observe the first of September, 1675, as a day of fasting and prayer.

2. While they were in the church, and employed in their worship, they were surprised by a band of savages. The people instantly betook themselves to their arms,-which, according to the custom of the times, they had carried with them to the church,-and, rushing out of the house, attacked their invaders.

3. The panic, under which they began the conflict, was, however, so great, and their number was so disproportioned to that of their enemies, that they fought doubtfully at first, and in a short time began evidently to give way.

4. At this moment an ancient man, with hoary locks, of a most venerable and dignified aspect, and in a dress widely differing from that of the inhabitants, appeared suddenly at their head; and, with a firm voice and an example of undaunted resolution, reanimated their spirits, led them again to the conflict, and totally routed the savages.

* A regicide is one who puts a king to death. Goffe, Whalley, and Dix well, were three of the judges who condemned to death Charles I. king of Great Britain, 1648. They afterwards fled to America.

+ Hadley, a town in Massachusetts, on the east bank of Connecticut river 97 miles west of Boston-40 north of Hartford.

5 When the battle was ended, the stranger disappeared; and no person knew whence he had come, or whither he had gone.

6. The relief was so timely, so sudden, so unexpected, and so providential; the appearance and the retreat of him who furnished it were so unaccountable; his person was so dignified and commanding, his resolution so superior, and his interference so decisive, that the inhabitants, without any uncommon exercise of credulity, readily believed him to be an angel, sent by heaven for their preservation.

7. Nor was this opinion seriously controverted, until it was discovered, several years afterward, that Goffe* and Whalley† had been lodged in the house of Mr. Russell. Then it was known that their deliverer was Goffe; Whalley having become superannuated‡ some time before the event took place.

LESSON X.

The Affectionate Dog.

1. In the time of Robespierre, a revolutionary tribunal in one of the departments of the north of France, condemned to death an ancient and respectable magistrate, on suspicion of his being guilty of a conspiracy.\ Immediately after the decree was passed, he was committed to prison, where he saw his family dispersed by a system of terror.

2. Some had taken flight; others, themselves arrested, were carried into distant jails; his domestics were dismissed; his house was buried in the solitary of the seals; his friends either abandoned him or concealed themselves; every thing in the world was silent to him, except his dog. This faithful animal had been refused admittance into the prison. He had returned to his master's house and found it shut. He took refuge with a neighbor, who received him; but that posterity may judge rightly of the times in which we have existed, it must be added that this man received him trembling, in secret, and dreading lest his humanity for an animal, should conduct him to the scaffold.

*Pronounced Goff.

† Whàl-le.

Superannuated, to become feeble, or impaired by old age.

§ Pronounced Rob-es-peer', a sanguinary tyrant of France, was born at Arras in 1759. At an early period of the French revolution, he became the chief of the Jacobins-the leading party at that time, and at length obtained the supreme command. A confederacy was formed against him, and he was arrested in the national assembly, and executed in July, 1794.

3. Every day, at the same hour, the dog left the house, and went to the door of the prison. He was refused admittance; but he constantly passed an hour before it, and then returned. His fidelity, at length, gained upon the porter, and he was one day allowed to enter. The dog saw his master. / It was difficult to separate them; but the jailer carried him away, and the dog returned to his retreat.

4. He came back the next morning, and every day; and once each day he was admitted. He licked the hand of his friend, looked at him, licked his hand again, and went away of himself. When the day of sentence arrived, notwithstanding the crowd, and the guard, he penetrated into the hall, and crouched himself at the feet of the unhappy man, whom he was about to lose for ever.

5. They conducted him to the prison, and the dog for that time did not visit the door. The fatal hour arrives ;—the prison opens —the unfortunate man passes out; it is the dog that receives him at the threshold. He clings upon his hand. Ålas! that hand will never be spread upon thy caressing head! he follows him;—the axe falls;—the master dies ;—but the tenderness of the dog cannot cease.

6. The body is carried away,—he walks by its side;—the earth receives it; he lays himself upon the grave. There he passes the first night, the next day, and the second night. The neighbor, in the mean time, unhappy at not seeing him, risks himself, searching for the dog, guesses by the extent of his fidelity the asylum he has chosen,-finds him,—caresses him,— brings him back, and gives him food.

7. An hour afterwards the dog escaped, and regained his favorite place. Three months passed away; each morning he came to seek his food, and then returned to the grave of his master; but each day he was more sad, more meagre, more Janguishing, and it was plain that he was gradually reaching nis end. They endeavored, by chaining him up, to wean him; but you cannot triumph over nature! He broke or bit through his bonds; escaping, returned to the grave, and never quitted it more! It was in vain they endeavored to bring him

back.

8. They carried him food, but he ate no longer! For four and twenty hours he was seen employing his weakened limbs, in digging up the earth that separated him from the remains of the man he had so much loved. Passion gave him strength. and he gradually approached the body; his labour of affection then vehemently increased: his efforts became convulsive! he

shrieked in his struggles; his faithful heart gave way, and he breathed out his last gasp, as if he knew that he had found his

master.

X

LESSON XI.

The French Merchant.-CHILD'S MONITor.

1. A FRENCH merchant, having some money due from a correspondent,* set out on horseback, accompanied by his dog, on purpose to receive it. Having settled the business to his satisfaction, he tied the bag of money before him, and then set off for home. His faithful dog, as if he entered into his master's feelings, frisked round the horse, barked and jumped, and seemed to participate in his joy.

2. The merchant, after riding some miles, alighted to repose himself under an agreeable shade, and, taking the bag of money in his hand, laid it down by his side under a hedge, and, on remounting, forgot it. The dog perceived his lapse of recollection, and, wishing to rectify it, ran to fetch the bag; but it was too heavy for him to drag along.

3. He then ran to his master, and, by crying, barking, and howling, endeavored to remind him of his mistake. The merchant did not understand his language; but the assiduous creature persevered in his efforts, and, after trying to stop the horse in vain, at last began to bite his heels.

4. The merchant, absorbed in some revery, wholly overlooked the real object of his affectionate attendant's importunity, but awaked to the alarming apprehension that he was gone mad. Full of this suspicion, in crossing a brook, he turned back to see if the dog would drink. The animal was too intent on his master's business to think of himself: he continued to bark and bite with greater violence than before.

5.Mercy!" cried the afflicted merchant; "it must be so; my poor dog is certainly mad: what must I do? I must kill him, lest some greater misfortune befall me; but with what regret! Oh, could I find some one to perform this cruel office for me! but there is no time to lose; I myself may become the victim if I spare him."

6. With these words, he drew a pistol from his pocket, and with a trembling hand, took aim at his faithful servant, turning *Correspondent, one with whom an intercourse is carried on either by leiters, or messages.

3

his face away in agony as he fired; but his aim was too sure. The poor animal fell wounded, and, weltering in his blood, still endeavored to crawl toward his master, as if to tax him with ingratitude.

7. The merchant could not bear the sight; he spurred on his horse, with a heart full of sorrow, and lamented that ne had taken a journey which had cost him so dear. Still, however, the money never entered his mind; he thought only of his poor dog, and tried to console himself with the reflection, that he had prevented a greater evil, by despatching a mad animal, than he had suffered by his loss.

8. This opiate to his wounded spirit was ineffectual: “I am most unfortunate,” said he to himself; “I would almost rather have lost my money than my dog." Saying this, he stretched out his hand to grasp his treasure. It was missing ; no bag was

to be found.

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9. In an instant, he opened his eyes to his rashness and his folly. "Wretch that I am! I alone am to blame. I could not comprehend the admonition which my innocent and most faithful friend gave me, and I have sacrificed him for his zeal. He wished only to inform me of my mistake, and he has paid for his fidelity with his life.”

10. He instantly turned his horse, and went off at full gallop to the place where he had stopped. He saw, with half-averted eyes, the scene where the tragedy was acted; he perceived the traces of blood as he proceeded; he was oppressed and distracted; but in vain did he look for his dog-he was not to be seen on the road.

11. At last, he arrived at the spot where he had alighted.But what were his sensations! His heart was ready to bleed; he raved in the madness of despair. The poor dog, unable to follow his dear, but cruel master, had determined to consecrate his last moments to his service. He had crawled, all bloody as he was, to the forgotten bag, and, in the agonies of death, he lay watching beside it.

12. When he saw his master, he still testified his joy, by the wagging of his tail-he could do no more he tried to rise. but his strength was gone. The vital tide was ebbing fast; even the caresses of his master could not prolong his life for a few moments.

13. He stretched out his tongue to lick the hand that was now fondling him in the agonies of regret, as if to seal forgiveness for the deed that had deprived him of life. He then cast a look of kindness on his master, and closed his eyes for ever.

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