"Alas, my noble boy! that thou shouldst die,-
Thou, who wert made so beautifully fair;
That death should settle in thy glorious eye,
And leave his stillness in thy clustering hair;
How could he mark thee for the silent tomb,
My proud boy, Absalom!

"Cold is thy brow, my son, and I am chill,
As to my bosom I have tried to press thee.
How was I wont to feel my pulses thrill

Like a rich harp-string, yearning to caress thee,
And hear thy sweet 'My father!' from these dumb
And cold lips, Absalom!

"The grave hath won thee! I shall hear the gush Of music and the voices of the young;

And life will pass me in the mantling blush
And the dark tresses to the soft winds flung;

But thou no more with thy sweet voice shalt come
To meet me, Absalom!

"And oh, when I am stricken, and my heart
Like a bruised reed is waiting to be broken,
How will its love for thee, as I depart,

Yearn for thine ear to drink its last deep token;
It were so sweet amid death's gathering gloom

To see thee, Absalom!

"And now, farewell! 'T is hard to give thee up,
With death so like a gentle slumber on thee;
And thy dark sin! - Oh, I could drink the cup,
If from this woe its bitterness had won thee!
May God have called thee, like a wanderer, home,
My erring Absalom!"

He covered up his face, and bowed himself
A moment on his child; then, giving him
A look of melting tenderness, he clasped
His hands convulsively, as if in prayer;

And, as a strength were given him of God,
He rose up calmly, and composed the pall
Firmly and decently, and left him there,
As if his rest had been a breathing sleep.

NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS.

14. SAUL AND JONATHAN.

SAUL, king of the great Hebrew nation, and Prince Jonathan, his son, brother-in-law and the most intimate friend of David, fell in battle with the Philistines, about the year 1056 B. C. The lament of David is unrivalled in its appreciative regard and tenderness for the fallen heroes, and anxiety lest the honor of the nation should suffer.

THY glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places!

How are the mighty fallen!

Tell it not in Gath,

Publish it not in the streets of Askelon,

Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,

Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph!

Ye mountains of Gilboa,

Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,

Neither fields of offerings;

For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul, as of one not anointed with oil.

From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan turned not back,

And the sword of Saul returned not empty.

Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives,

And in their death they were not divided;

They were swifter than eagles,

They were stronger than lions;

Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, delicately,

Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan is slain upon thy high places!

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan;

Very pleasant hast thou been unto me:

Thy love to me was wonderful,

Passing the love of women;
How are the mighty fallen,

And the weapons of war perished!

15. SOLOMON, THE WISE KING.

(B. C. 1033-975.)

SOLOMON, "the wise man," the son and successor of King David, surpassed all contemporary monarchs in wisdom, wealth, and glory. He married a daughter of Pharaoh, King of Egypt; and a cordial alliance with Hiram, King of Tyre, enabled him to enlist the interest of that prince in beautifying his capital, Jerusalem, and its magnificent Temple for the worship of Jehovah. Even the present rulers of Abyssinia proudly count as their ancestor the famous Queen of Sheba, who so freely acknowledged the wisdom and glory of Solomon, and scholars of all ages, including those of Arabia, India, and the farthest East, have made use of his concise maxims for the regulation of national and personal life.

SELECTIONS FROM SOLOMON'S PROVERBS.

WISDOM is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

KEEP thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

LET thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

PONDER the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

TURN not to the right hand or to the left; remove thy feet from evil. The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble but the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more, unto the perfect day.

TRAIN up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

16. THE HEBREW CAPITAL DESPOILED.

JERUSALEM was captured and the temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Chaldea, about 588 B. C.

Is this thy place and city, this thy throne,
Where the wild desert rears its craggy stones,
While suns, unblessed, their angry lustre fling,
And way-worn pilgrims seek the scanty spring?
Where now thy pomp, which kings with envy viewed?
Where now thy might, which all those kings subdued?
No suppliant nations in thy temple wait!

No prophet bards, thy glittering courts among,
Wake the full lyre and swell the tide of song;
But lawless Force and meagre Want is there,
And the quick-darting eye of restless Fear,
Where cold Oblivion, 'mid thy ruin laid,
Folds his dark wing beneath the ivy shade.

Yet shall she rise; but not by war restored,
Nor built in murder, planted by the sword.
Yes, Salem, thou shalt rise; thy Father's aid
Shall heal the wound His chastening hand has made,
Shall judge the proud oppressor's ruthless sway;
Then on your tops shall deathless verdure spring.
Break forth, ye mountains! and ye valleys, sing!

No more your thirsty rocks shall frown forlorn,
The unbeliever's jest, the heathen's scorn;
The sultry sands shall tenfold harvests yield,
And a new Eden deck the thorny field.

BISHOP REGinald Heber.

17. THE DESPOILER DOOMED.

THE prediction of the prophet Isaiah, 712 B. C., was subsequently verified with most minute exactness.

On the lofty mountain, elevate the banner,
Lift up the voice to them, wave the hand,

That they may enter into the gates of the tyrants.

I have given my orders to my consecrated ones [warriors],
I have ordered my heroes to execute my indignation,
My proud exulters [deliverers] !

Hark!

The noise of a multitude upon the mountain,

Like that of a great nation!

The tumult of kingdoms, of trembling nations!

Jehovah, God of hosts, mustereth his army for battle.

They come from a distant land, from the end of the heaven, Jehovah and the instruments of his indignation,

To lay waste the whole country.

Behold, I will raise against them the Medes,
Who make no account of silver,

And as to gold, they regard it not.
Their bows shall strike down the youth,
Their eye shall not pity the children.
So shall Babylon, the pride of kingdoms,

The boast and glory of the Chaldeans,

Be like Sodom and Gomorrah, which God destroyed;
It shall never more be inhabited nor dwelt in,
From generation to generation.