like dice, and in his left spheres like marbles. The cubes are of stainless ivory, and on each is written, in letters of gold-TRUTH. The spheres are veined and streaked and spotted beneath, with a dark crimson flush above, where the light falls on them, and in a certain aspect you can make out upon every one of them the three letters, L-I-E. The child to whom they are offered very probably clutches at both. The spheres are the most convenient things in the world; they roll with the least possible impulse just where the child would have them. The cubes will not roll at all; they have a great talent for standing still, and always keep right side up. But very soon the young philosopher finds that things which roll so easily are very apt to roll into the wrong corner, and to get out of his way when he most wants them, while he always knows where to find the others, which stay where they are left. Thus he learns thus we learn-to drop the streaked and speckled globes of falsehood, and to hold fast the white, angular blocks of truth. But then comes Timidity, and after her Good-nature, and last of all Polite-behavior, all insisting that Truth must roll, or nobody can do anything with it; and so the first with her coarse rasp, and the second with her broad file, and the third with her silken sleeve, do so round off and smooth and polish the snow-white cubes of truth, that when they have got a little dingy by use, it becomes hard to tell them from the rolling spheres of falsehood.

O. W. Holmes, Mass., 1809-.

33. The True Hero.

The true hero is the great, wise man of duty,-he whose soul is armed by truth and supported by the smile of God,—he who meets life's perils with a cautious but tranquil spirit, gathers strength by facing its storms, and dies, if he is called to die, as a christian victor at the post of duty. And if we must have heroes, and wars wherein to make them, there is no so brilliant war as a war with wrong, no hero so fit to be sung as he who has gained the bloodless victory of truth and mercy.

Horace Bushnell, Conn., 1802-1876.

34. Influence Lasting. ·

We live and com

We enjoy the ben

The relations between man and man cease not with life. The dead leave behind them their memory, their example, and the effects of their actions. Their influ ence still abides with us. Their names and characters dwell in our thoughts and hearts. mune with them in their writings. efits of their labors. Our institutions have been founded by them. We are surrounded by the works of the dead. Our knowledge and our arts are the fruit of their toil. Our minds have been formed by their instructions. We are most intimately connected with them by a thousand dependencies. Those whom we have loved are still objects of our deepest and holiest affections. Their power over us remains. They are with us in our solitary walks; and their voices speak to our

hearts in the silence of midnight. Their image is impressed upon our dearest recollections and our most sacred hopes. They form an essential part of our treasures laid up in heaven. We are separated from them but for a little time. We are soon to be united with them. If we follow in the path of those we have loved, we too shall soon join the innumerable company of the "spirits of just men made perfect.”

Andrews Norton, Mass., 1786-1853.

35. Knowledge.

Without knowledge there can be no sure progress. Vice and barbarism are the inseparable companions of ignorance. Nor is it too much to say that, except in rare instances, the highest virtue is attained only through intelligence. This is natural; for to do right we must first understand what is right. But the peo

ple of Greece and Rome, even in the brilliant days of Pericles and Augustus, could not arrive at this knowledge. The sublime teachings of Plato and Socratescalculated, in many respects, to promote the best interests of the race-were limited, in influence, to a small company of listeners, or to the few who could obtain a copy of the costly manuscripts in which they were preserved. Thus the knowledge and virtue acquired by individuals were not diffused in their own age, or secured to posterity.

Chas. Sumner, Mass., 1811-1874.

36. Charity.

The little I have seen of the world, and known of the history of mankind, teaches me to look on the errors of others in sorrow, and not in anger. When I take the history of one poor heart, that has sinned and suffered, and represent to myself the struggles and temptations it has passed through; vicissitudes of hope and fear; the pressure of want; the desertion of friends; the scorn of a world that has little charity; the desolation of the mind's sanctuary; the threatening voices within it; health gone; happiness gone; even hope, that remains the longest, gone,-I would fain lay the erring soul of my fellow-man tenderly in His hand from whom it came.

H. W. Longfellow, Maine, 1807-.

37. A Gentleman,

To be a gentleman does not depend upon the tailor or toilet. Good clothes are not good habits. A gentleman is just a gentle-man-no more, no less; a diamond polished, that was first a diamond in the rough. A gentleman is gentle. A gentleman is modest. A gentleman is courteous. A gentleman is generous. A gentleman is slow to take offense, as being one that never gives it. A gentleman is slow to surmise evil, as being one that never thinks it. A gentleman goes armed only in consciousness of right. A gentleman subjects his appetites. A gentleman refines his tastes.

A gentleman subdues his feelings. A gentleman deems every other better than himself.

Bishop Doane, New Jersey, 1799-1859.

38. Politeness.

In politeness, as in many other things connected with the formation of character, people in general begin outside, when they should begin inside; instead of beginning with the heart, and trusting that to form the manners, they begin with the manners, and trust the heart to chance influences. The golden rule contains the very life and soul of politeness. Children may be taught to make a graceful courtesy, or a gentlemanly bow; but unless they have likewise been taught to abhor what is selfish, and always prefer another's comfort and pleasure to their own, their politeness will be entirely artificial, and used only when it is to their interest to use it. On the other hand, a truly benevolent, kind-hearted person will always be distinguished for what is called native politeness, though entirely ignorant of the conventional forms of society.

Mrs. L. M. Child, Mass., 1802-.

39. Washington.

The character of Washington is among the most cherished contemplations of my life. It is a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, steady, beneficent