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A KING, HIS OWN GARDENER.

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9 angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to 10 the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was

Mark; where many were gathered together, praying. And 11 as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to 12 hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice.

she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told 13 how Peter stood before the gate. And they say unto her, 14 Thou art mad. 15 But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. 16 But Peter continued knocking. 17 And when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. But he beckoning unto 18 them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them

how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he 19 said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. 20 And he departed, and went into another place.

SECT. CLXXI. —A KING, HIS OWN GARDENER.

1 Ir was upon that occasion Cyrus had the celebrated conversation with Lysander related by Xenophon; and which Cicero after him has applied so beautifully. That young 2 prince, who piqued himself more upon his affability and politeness than nobility and grandeur, pleased himself with conducting in person so illustrious a guest through his gardens, and with making him observe the various beauties of them. Lysander, struck with so fine a prospect, admired the manner in which the several parts were laid out'; the 3 height of the trees'; the neatness and disposition of the walks'; the abundance of fruit-trees, planted checkerwise, with an art which had known how to unite the useful with the agreeable; the beauty of the parterres, and the glowing variety of flowers, exhaling odors universally throughout the delightful scene. 66 Every thing charms and transports 4 me in this place," said Lysander, addressing himself to Cyrus'; "but what strikes me most, is the exquisite taste and elegant industry of the person who drew the plan of the several parts of this garden, and gave it the fine order,

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CHRIST AT EMMAUS.

wonderful disposition, and happiness of symmetry, which I cannot sufficiently admire." Cyrus, infinitely pleased with 5 this discourse, replied, "It was I that drew the plan, and entirely marked it out; and many of the trees, which you see, 6 were planted with my own hands." "What!" replied Lysander, considering him from head to foot. "Is it possible 7 with these purple robes and splendid vestments, those strings of jewels and bracelets of gold, those buskins so richly embroidered, that you could play the gardener, and 8 employ your royal hands in planting trees!"-"Does that surprise you?" said Cyrus. “I assure you, that when my health 9 admits, I never sit down to table without having made myself sweat with some fatigue or other, either in military exercise, rural labor, or some other toilsome employment, to which I apply with pleasure, and without sparing myself." 10 Lysander was amazed at this discourse, and pressing him by the hand, "Cyrus," said he, “you are truly happy, and deserve your high fortune, because in you it is united with

virtue.'

DEFINITIONS, &c.-Define celebrated, related, piqued, affability, politeness, guest, various, prospect, height, neatness, disposition, (arrangement,) checkerwise, parterres, exhaling odors, exquisite, symmetry, discourse, vestments, jewels, bracelets, buskins, embroider, gardener, royal, sweat, fatigue, rural, toilsome, sparing. Who were Cyrus, Xenophon, Cicero, Lysander?

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Ir happened on a solemn eventide, 1 Soon after He that was our Surety died, Two bosom friends, each pensively inclined, (The scene of all those sorrows left behind,) Sought their own village: busied as they went In musings worthy of the great event.

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They speak of him they loved: of him whose life,
Though blameless, had incurred perpetual strife;
Whose deeds had left, in spite of hostile arts,
A deep memorial graven on their hearts.
The recollection, like a vein of ore,

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The farther traced, enriched them still the more.
They thought him, and they justly thought him, one
Sent to do more than he appeared t' have done,

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PERICLES.

(T' exalt a people, and to place them high
Above all else,) and wondered he should die.
Ere yet they brought their journey to an end,
A stranger joined them, courteous as a friend,
And asked them, with a kind, engaging air,
What their affliction was, and begged a share.
Informed, he gathered up the broken thread,
And, truth and wisdom gracing all he said,
Explained, illustrated, and searched so well
The tender theme on which they chose to dwell,
That, reaching home, The night, they said, is near:
We must not now be parted'; sojourn here.
The new acquaintance soon became a guest;
And, made so welcome at their simple feast,
He blessed the bread, but vanished at the word,
And left them both exclaiming, 'Twas the Lord!
* Did not our hearts feel all he deigned to say?
Did not they burn within us by the way?

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DEFINITIONS, &c.-Define pensively, inclined, busied, musings, perpetual, graven, vein of ore, traced, courteous, engaging, air, thread, (subject,) illustrated, sojourn, vanished.

SECT. CLXXIII. -PERICLES.

1 He had no cause to repent his having bestowed so much time on this study, for his success far exceeded his utmost 2 hopes. The poets, his contemporaries, used to say, that he lightened, thundered, and agitated all Greece: so powerful was his eloquence. It had those piercing and lively strokes, 3 that reach the inmost soul; and his discourse left always an irresistible incentive, a kind of spur, behind it in the minds of his auditors. He had the art of uniting beauty 4 with strength; and Cicero observes, that at the very time he opposed, with the greatest tenaciousness, the inclinations and desires of the Athenians, he had the art to make even severity itself, and the kind of harshness with which he spoke against the flatterers of the people, popular. There 5 was no resisting the solidity of his arguments, or the sweetness of his words; whence it was said, that the goddess of 6 persuasion, with all her graces, resided on his lips. And indeed, as Thucydides, his rival and adversary, was one

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SELF-EXAMINATION.

day asked, whether he or Pericles was the best wrestler, "Whenever," says he, "I have given him a fall, he affirms the contrary, in such strong and forcible terms, that he persuades all the spectators that I did not throw him, though they themselves saw him on the ground." Nor was he less prudent and reserved than strong and vehement in his 7 speeches; and it is related, that he never spoke in public till after he had besought the gods not to suffer any expression to drop from him, either incongruous to his subject, or offensive to the people. Whenever he was to appear in the assembly, before he came out of his house he 8 used to say to himself, "Remember, Pericles, that thou art going to speak to men born in the arms of liberty: to Greeks to Athenians."

DEFINITIONS, &c.-Define bestowed, contemporaries, agitated, strokes, irresistible, incentive, spur, auditors, tenaciousness, harshness, flatterers, popular, solidity, arguments, adversary, wrestler, vehement, incongruous, offensive. Who were Pericles and Thucydides? The first an orator, and the second an historian of Greece?

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LONG SERMONS AND PRAYERS.-FARMING.

If I pray, or hear, or read,

Sin is mixed with all I do :

You who love the Lord indeed,

Tell me is it so with you?

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DEFINITIONS, &C.-Define frame, (state of mind,) hardly, task, mixed.

SECT. CLXXV.-I ONG SERMONS AND PRAYERS.

1 OUR modern complainers will be more reconciled to their destiny when they are informed of the experience of those 2 who went before them. When Essex left London to march against King Charles, then at Oxford, be requested the assembly of Divines, usually known as the "Westminster Assembly," to keep a day of fasting for his success. The 3 manner in which it was observed is thus stated by Baillie:

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"We spent from nine to five graciously. After Dr. Twiss had begun with a brief prayer, Mr. Marshall prayed large two hours, most divinely confessing the sins of the members of the Assembly in a wonderful pathetic and prudent way: after, Mr. Arrowsmith preached an hour; then a psalm: thereafter Mr. Vines prayed near two hours, and Mr. Palmer preached an hour, and Mr. Leaman prayed near two hours; then a psalm: after, Mr. Henderson brought them to a sweet conference of the heat confessed in the Assembly and other seen faults to be remedied, and the conveniency to preach against all sects, especially Anabaptists and Antinomians : 5 Dr. Twiss closed with a short prayer and blessing. God was so evidently in all this exercise, that we expect certainly a blessing."

DEFINITIONS, &c.-Define modern, complainers, reconciled, destiny Essex, (Earl of Essex, a general,) day of fasting, stated, spent, (i. e. the time from-to-) graciously, brief, prayed large, (prayed at large. length,) pathetic, prudent, psalm, thereafter, conference, heat confessed (anger acknowledged,) faults, remedied, conveniency, sects, so evidently blessing.

SECT. CLXXVI.-PROFITABLE FARMING.

1 In its account of the doings of the Farmers' Club, the Commercial gives a statement furnished by Messrs. Cooper, farmers, near Bushwick, Long Island, to show what can be 2 done in producing, from even a small farm. The land held

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