embrasures." A high mound, also, which overlooks one of the rivers, bears sign of having been used as a fortification. Altogether, with the mountains, rivers, and ravine, the plateau would be a formidable stronghold. 11. Fuen'tes, who wrote the chronicles of Guatemala, in speaking of Copan, affirms that "on entering the gateway there are two fine stone pyramids, moderately large and lofty, from which is suspended a hammock that contains two human figures, one of each sex, clothed in the Indian style. Astonishment is forcibly excited on viewing this structure, because, large as it is, there is no appearance of the component parts being joined together; and though entirely of one stone, and of an enormous weight, it may be put in motion by the slightest impulse of the hand." 12. I made many inquiries about this curiosity, but no one at Copan knew anything about it. Afterwards I was informed by a gentleman attached to the legation at Guatemala that he had scen fragments of this hammock in a now cultivated field among the ruins of Quirig'ua, which lie to the north of Copan. 13. My scant description of these ruins can only give a general idea of their appearance; but their effect on the mind and imagination may be conceived. The mysterious idols carved by unknown hands, and standing in the midst of a forest as silent as themselves, impress the spectator with mingled feelings of melancholy and curiosity. The cold sculptured faces overlooking the cruel altars must have witnessed scenes so terrible, that even the intervening lapse of centuries cannot dispel the horror they inspire, and their grim features seem to mock at the efforts of man to reveal their written but unread secrets. The green and desolate walls, "all touched with the magic of the past," excite our interest and our sympathy, but that "past" is so buried and unknown, that our sympathy is without the reverence which mortals feel for most expressions of ruin and decay. 14. In the village of Copan are some more sculptured stones, but so timeworn and moss-covered that the hieroglyphics are indistinct; there is also a large monolith, fallen and broken, the carving on which appears only half-finished, but the red paint with which it has been embellished is apparently fresh. The altar that probably belonged to this column is circular, and stands on a carved pedestal behind a hut, whose occupant uses it as a mortar. NOTE. 1 hacien'da, a solitary farmhouse. clear'ing, a spot cleared of trees, in a forest. ob'elisk, lit., a needle. A tall four-sided pillar of stone, narrowing towards the top. abruptly, suddenly. mon'olith, a sign stone. com'plicated, the opposite of simple. flor'id, flowery. emblematic, sym bolical. hieroglyph'ics, sacred characters (in writing). SPELL AND PRONOUNCE appreciation, high deci'pher, to make out, ped'estal, the base on quadran'gle, a space the sisting of right angles; square at the corners. interven'ing, coming between. coloss'al, huge, notable, THE ENGLISH BOY.-MRS. HEMANS, 1793-1835. FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS was born at Liverpool in 1793, and spent her early life in Wales. Her married life was unhappy, and she died prematurely, at the age of 42, in Dublin. Her poetry is tender rather than powerful, but some of her odes and lyrics are very fine. Look from the ancient mountains down, My noble English boy; Thy country's fields around thee gleam Ages have rolled since foeman's march Gaze proudly on, my English boy, There, in the shadow of old Time, Which poured forth to the fields of yore How bravely and how solemnly They stand, midst oak and yew! And round their walls the good swords hung, Whose faith knew no alloy, And shields of knighthood, pure from stain: Gaze on, my English boy. Gaze where the hamlet's ivied church Or where the minster lifts the cross Martyrs have showered their free heart's blood, From those grey fanes of thoughtful years, Along their aisles, beneath their trees, Gaze on,-gaze farther, farther yet→ My gallant English boy! Yon blue sea bears thy country's flag, The billows' pride and joy. Those waves in many a fight have closed Above her faithful dead; That red-cross flag victoriously Hath floated o'er their bed. They perished-this green turf to keep By hostile tread unstained, These knightly halls inviolate, Those churches unprofaned. And high and clear their memory's light And many an answering beacon-fire Shall there be kindled yet. Lift up thy heart, my English boy, THE PURITANS.-MACAULAY. THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY was born in Leicestershire in 1800, and was educated at Cambridge. He was called to the bar in 1826, but never practised the law. He entered Parliament in 1830, and was soon after sent out as a member of the Supreme Council, to India, where he remained till 1838. His Essays, published in the Edinburgh Review, had meanwhile gained him a foremost place in literature. His Lays of Ancient Rome appeared in 1842. In 1849 he published the first two volumes of his History of England, and the third and fourth in 1855. In 1857 he was raised to the peerage. He died suddenly in 1859. 1. THE Puritans' were the most remarkable body of men, perhaps, which the world has ever produced. The odious and ridiculous parts of their character lie on the surface. He that runs may read them; nor have there been wanting attentive and malicious observers to point them out. For many years after the Restoration, they were the theme of unmeasured invective and derision. They were exposed to the utmost licentiousness of the press and of the stage, at the time when the press and stage were most licentious. They were not men of letters; they were as a body unpopular; they could not defend themselves; and the public would not take them under its protection. They were, therefore, abandoned, without reserve, to the tender mercies of the satirists and dramatists. The ostentatious simplicity of their dress, their sour aspect, their nasal twang, their stiff posture, their long graces, their Hebrew names, the Scriptural phrases which they introduced on every occasion, their contempt of human learning, their detestation of polite amusements, were, indeed, fair game for the laughers. But it is not from the laughers alone that the philosophy of history is to be learned. And he who approaches this subject should carefully guard against the influence of that potent ridicule which has already misled so many excellent writers. 2. Those who roused the people to resistance-who directed their measures through a long series of eventful years-who formed, out of the most unpromising materials, the finest army that Europe had ever seen-who trampled down king, church, and aristocracy-who, in the short intervals of domestic sedition and rebellion, made the name of England terrible to every nation on the face of the earth, were no vulgar fanatics. Most of their absurdities were mere external badges, like the signs of free-masonry or the dresses of friars. We regret that these badges were not more attractive. We regret that a body to whose courage and talents mankind has owed inestimable obligations, had not the lofty elegance which distinguished some of the adherents of Charles I., or the easy good-breeding for which the court of Charles II.5 was celebrated. But, if we must make our choice, we shall, like Bassanio' in the play, turn from the specious caskets which contain only the Death's head and the Fool's head, and fix our choice on the plain leaden chest which conceals the treasure. 3. The Puritans were men whose minds had derived a peculiar character from the daily contemplation of superior beings and eternal interests. Not content with acknowledging, in general terms, an overruling Providence, they habitually ascribed every event to the will of the Great Being, for whose power nothing was too vast, for whose inspection nothing was too minute. To know Him, to serve Him, to enjoy Him, was with them the great end of existence. They rejected with contempt the ceremonious homage which other sects substituted for the pure worship of the soul. Instead of catching occasional glimpses of the Deity through an obscuring veil, they aspired to gaze full on the intolerable brightness, and to commune with him face to face. Hence originated their contempt for terrestrial distinctions. The difference between the greatest and meanest of mankind seemed to vanish when compared with the boundless interval which separated the whole race from Him on whom their own eyes were constantly fixed. They recognized no title to superiority but His favour; and confident of that favour, they despised all the accomplishments and all the dignities of the world. 4. If they were unacquainted with the works of philosophers and poets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God. If their names were not found in the register of heralds, they felt assured that they were recorded in the Book of Life. If their steps were not accompanied by a splendid train of menials, legions of ministering angels had charge over them. Their palaces were houses not made with hands; their diadems crowns of glory which should never fade away! 5. On the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests, they looked down with contempt; for they esteemed themselves rich in a more precious treasure, and eloquent in a more sublime language; nobles by the right of an earlier creation, and priests by the imposition of a mightier hand. The very meanest of them was a being to whose fate a mysterious and terrible importance belonged-on whose slightest action the spirits of light and darkness looked with anxious interest-who had been destined, before |
