2. A word, a look, has crushed to earth
Full many a budding flower,

Which, if a smile had owned its birth,
Had blessed life's darkest hour.

3. Then deem it not an idle thing
A pleasant word to speak;

The face you wear, the thoughts you bring,
A heart may heal or break.

LESSON LXVII.

MAN AND WOMAN.

MONTGOMERY.

First Speaker.

1. MAN is the proud and lofty pine,

That frowns on many a wave-beat shore;

Second Speaker.

2. Woman, the young and tender vine, Whose curling tendrils round it twine, And deck its rough bark sweetly o'er

First Speaker.

3. Man is the rock, whose towering crest Nods o'er the mountain's barren side;

Second Speaker.

4. Woman, the soft and mossy vest,

That loves to clasp its sterile breast,
And wreathe its brow with verdant pride.

First Speaker.

5. Man is the cloud of coming storm,

Dark as the raven's murky plume,

Second Speaker.

6. Save where the sunbeam, light and warm,
Of woman's soul-of woman's form,

Gleams brightly through the gathering gloom.
First Speaker.

7. Yes, 'tis to lovely woman given,

To soothe our griefs, our woes allay;
To heal the heart by misery riven-
Change earth into an embryo heaven,
And drive life's fiercest cares away.

LESSON LXVIII.

SPEECH OF BLACK HAWK.

I am

hold

1. You have taken me prisoner, with all my warriors much grieved, for I expected, if I did not defeat you, out much longer, and give you more trouble before I surrendered. I tried hard to bring you into ambush, but your last general understands Indian fighting. I determined to rush on you, and fight you face to face. I fought hard. But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in winter. My warriors fell around me; it began to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand.

2. The sun rose dim on us in the morning, and at night it sank in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. His heart is dead, and no longer beats quick in his bosom. He is now a prisoner to the white men. They will do with him as they wish. But he can stand torture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is an Indian.

3. He has done nothing for which an Indian ought to be

ashamed. He has fought for his countrymen, the squaws and pappooses, against white men, who came, year after year, to cheat them and take away their lands. You know the cause of our making war. It is known to all white men. They ought to be ashamed of it. The white men despise the Indians, and drive them from their homes. But the Indians are not deceitful. The white men speak bad of the Indian, and look at him spitefully. But the Indian does not tell lies; Indians do not steal.

4. An Indian who is as bad as the white men could not live in our nation; he would be put to death, and eat up by the wolves. The white men are bad school-masters. They carry false looks, and deal in false actions. They smile in the face of the poor Indians to cheat them. They shake them by the hand to gain their confidence, to make them drunk, and to deceive them. We told them to let us alone, and keep away from us; but they followed on, and beset our paths, and they coiled themselves among us, like the snake. They poisoned us by their touch. We were not safe. We lived in danger. We were becoming like them-hypocrites and liars, adulterers, and lazy drones, all talkers and no workers.

5. We looked up to the Great Spirit. We went to our father. We were encouraged. His great council gave us fair words and big promises; but we got no satisfaction, things were growing worse. There were no deer in the forest. The opossum and the beaver were fled. The springs were drying up, and our squaws and pappooses without victuals to keep them from starving. We called a great council, and built a large fire. The spirit of our fathers arose and spoke to us, to avenge our wrongs or die.

6. We all spoke before the council-fire. It was warm and pleasant. We set up the war-whoop, and dug up the tomahawk. Our knives were ready, and the heart of Black Hawk swelled high in his bosom, when he led his warriors to battle.

He is satisfied. He will go to the world of spirits contented. He has done his duty. His father will meet him there and commend him.

LESSON LXIX.

SPEECH OF RED JACKET.

1. FRIEND AND BROTHER :It was the will of the Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. He orders all things, and has given us a fine day for our council. He has taken his garment from before the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness upon us. Our eyes are opened that we see clearly; our ears are unstopped that we have been able to hear distinctly the words you have spoken. For all these favors we thank the Great Spirit, and Him only.

2. Brother, listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island. Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun; the Great Spirit had made it for the use of the Indians. He had created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals, for food. He had made the bear and the beaver; their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country, and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread. All this he had done for his red children, because he loved them.

3. If we had disputes about our hunting-ground, they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood. But an evil day came upon us; your forefathers crossed the great waters and landed on this island. Their numbers were small; they found us friends, and not enemies. They told us they had fled from their own country through fear of wicked men, and had come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a

small seat; we took pity on them, and granted their request; and they sat down among us. We gave them corn and meat; and, in return, they gave us poison.

4. The white people now having found our country, tidings were sent back, and more came amongst us; yet we did not fear them. We took them to be friends: they called us broth ers; we believed them, and gave them a larger seat. At length, their numbers so increased that they wanted more land: they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened, and we became uneasy. Wars took place; Indians were hired to fight against Indians; and many of our people were destroyed. They also distributed liquor amongst us, which has slain thousands.

5. Brother, once our seats were large, and yours were small. You have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. You have got our country, but, not satisfied, you want to force your religion upon us.

6. Brother, continue to listen. You say you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his mind, and that if we do not take hold of the religion which you teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter. How do we know this to be true? We understand that your religion is written in a book. If it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given it to us; and not only to us, but why did he not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means of rightly understanding it? We only know what you tell us about it, and having been so often deceived by the white people, how shall we believe what they say?