EXERCISE LXIII.

OVERTHROW OF BELSHAZZAR.—Procter.

Belshazzar is king! Belshazzar is lord!

And a thousand dark nobles all bend at his board;
Fruits glisten, flowers blossom, meats steam, and a flood
Of the wine that man loveth, runs redder than blood:
Wild dancers are there, and a riot of mirth,

And the beauty that maddens the passions of earth;'
And the crowds all shout,

Till the vast roofs ring,

'All praise to Belshazzar, Belshazzar, the king!'

'Bring forth,' cries the monarch, 'the vessels of gold, Which my father tore down from the temples of old:

Bring forth; and we'll drink, while the trumpets are blown,

To the gods of bright silver, of gold, and of stone:

Bring forth!'. and before him the vessels all shine,
And he bows unto Baal, and he drinks the dark wine;
While the trumpets bray,
And the cymbals ring,-

'Praise, praise to Belshazzar, Belshazzar, the king!'

Now, what cometh? -look, look!-Without menace, or call, Who writes, with the lightning's bright hand, on the wall? What pierceth the king, like the point of a dart?

What drives the bold blood from his cheek to his heart? 'Chaldeans! magicians! the letters expound!'

They are read; and Belshazzar is dead on the ground! Hark! the Persian is come,

On a conqueror's wing;

And a Mede's on the throne of Belshazzar, the king!

See Rules and Remarks connected with Exercises V, VIII, and X, for the regulation of the voice, in the reading of pieces such as the above.

EXERCISE LXIV.

PELAGIC, OR SEA-FISHES. — Dr. R. Coates.

Dr. Coates gives the following vivid sketch of the habits of those fishes which haunt the track of vessels, and become familiar to mariners.

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The impression generally prevails, and it is a natural one, that the animals of the higher orders, which inhabit the deep sea, are all of great dimensions. This is an error. The albatross among the clouds, and the whale upon the waters, in physical development, are worthy of the boundless theatre on which they play their parts. But the sea has its dwarfs, as well as its leviathans, some heedless of the presence of man, others wild or savage, flying upon the slightest approach of danger, or fearlessly courting the combat against superior skill or strength.

Come, then, and let us recline together, for an idle hour, in yon forestaysail nettings. It is a pleasant couch; and there is no danger of an involuntary salt-bath, on this delightful day, I can assure you that the bowsprit, in a steady six-knot breeze, forms one of the most luxurious swings imaginable.

'Whence and what, you will inquire, are those beautiful little creatures, sporting about the cutwater, and skipping continually into the foam? That is a question which I cannot answer. Their names are probably unknown to fame, and never found their way into Dr. Mitchell's catalogue. Yet there they have continued constantly, during six long days and nights, a group of little fishes, the largest not an inch in length, colored like harlequin, with many spots, and quite as fantastic in their exercises. You will never see them more than two feet distant from the ship. Their numbers neither increase nor diminish. They have been our fellow-travellers through seven hundred miles. You may examine all other parts of the vessel, yet no where but between the parted foamwreaths on the bow, can any trace be seen of animals like these. How inconceivable is the muscular power which enables them to dart sportively through more than one hundred times their length, in a second, and to continue their velocity unceasingly, for many days in succession!

"Their constant adhesion to one particular play-ground, can

only be explained upon the supposition that they seek protection from their enemies in a nook where nothing larger than themselves would venture to pursue them. Beneath the run, by the side of the keel, or close about the stern-post of the vessel, they would be equally secure against the large fish of prey; but there they still might find an enemy beyond their strength. Those places are the favorite domain of the rudderfish, who would not dare to follow our Lilliputian friends beneath the bow, exposed to the dangerous pitching of the vessel; for, though his own dimensions are not on a grand scale, as he seldom exceeds six or seven inches in length, his inertia would offer some resistance to a blow; and his parti colored garments might be injured by a contact harmless to his minute neighbors, who move through the water like a feather through the air.

'If you wish to examine the haunts of these rudder-fish, come aft, and thrust your person out at the lee cabin, whence you can see the whole of the rudder and some portion of the run. You will find them, if there be any in the neighborhood, coursing, like sentinels, on each side of the stern, regulating their pace according to the speed with which the vessel sails. They are among the most beautiful of fishes, with their alternate circular bands of the brightest colored scales. Sometimes you may observe a number of them following in the wake of a single vessel, but more frequently only two or three at a time are visible. When danger threatens, as when sharks are near, they crowd themselves closely to the vessel, or shoot around the rudder; but at other times, they venture out some feet, in the pursuit of prey.. How they pass their time, when not attached to ships, it is impossible to say; but they seldom remain near the same vessel for many days in succession.

"The cause of the predilection for the after part of the ship, displayed by the rudder-fish, is obvious to all who carefully observe their habits; for, at this spot, the rush of the divided waters from both sides toward the middle line, produces many eddies, and a superficial current in the centre of the track, which actually pursues the rudder. Into these eddies and this central current are washed the garbage and the refuse of the table, thrown over by the cook, at stated intervals. The fish enjoy this enviable reversion; and wisely place themselves where ease in travelling, safety, and good dinners, can be most certainly secured,'

EXERCISE LXV..

PERILS OF FLOE FISHING. — Anon

There are large bodies of ice, which form, in hard winters, along the seacoasts of New England; and which, driven on shore by winds and waves, connect themselves with the main land, and with each other, until they compose vast fields. These are called, by the fishermen, floes; and, by going out upon them, and cutting holes, through which to fish, they render the period of their continuance a season of considerable profit. These fields of ice sometimes remain steady for weeks, but are often, by a sudden off-shore wind and falling tide, swept out to sea, at short warning.

During the winter, being exceedingly fond of fishing, and wishing to enjoy the sport in all its varieties, —I rambled to the shores of Scituate and Cohasset, equipped cap-apie for floe-fishing. I made my arrangements with a party of villagers, and accordingly, on the next day, set out for the floes. The morning was one of those beautiful ones, with which our winters are so delightfully decked, when the sky is pure and high as that of summer, and every object is defined with intense distinctness, to the unobstructed eye. Our party consisted of five of the villagers, a singular, long-limbed being, whom they called Derk, who seemed a personage apart from the rest, 'the observed of all observers'. he was an old whaler, I believe, and myself.

It was early when we went out; but at our arrival on the ice, we found many persons already assembled there. A bonfire was blazing, some sixty yards from the shore, and throwing up a column of white smoke, which, as it arose slowly in the air, assumed a thousand graceful curls and fantastic shapes. The scene on the ice was full of life and beauty. The forms of men and boys were seen in all directions, gliding over the vast floes in search of air-holes. The noise of axes, and of voices hallooing and laughing, formed an assemblage of sounds in the highest degree exhilarating. Turning from this view of gayety and life, the eye wandered far over the dark bosom of the Atlantic, the perfect serenity of which was undisturbed, save by the occasional plunge of the sea-gull.

Every circumstance was favorable; and we had a capital day's sport, 'I like this,' said Derk, as he drew in his line,

to which a large cod was attached; it's a real screamer; I see him w'isk his tail; and his face is, for all the world, a good likeness of Mr. He stopped short, with his eye riveted on a neighboring floe. There was an uneasy expression in his face, which, at any other time, would have excited the mirth of a by-stander. He stooped down, and rose again, five or six times, in quick succession, turned to look at the sun, rubbed his eyes, and finally gave a shout that attracted the attention of the whole widely spread party to one point. 'Boys! - Mr. Arthur― Ichabod run for your lives!'

The cause soon became apparent to all. The floe on which these individuals were engaged in their sports, was at the extreme outside of the rest. The tide, in falling, had detached it from the others; and it was now moving slowly and majestically out to sea.

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There's a breeze springing up,' said the whaler, almost at the same elevation of voice, and they 'll be among the rocks afore a soul can help them!'

The lads who were upon the floe had become aware of their dangerous situation too late. The distance from the firm ice was greater than any one could clear at a leap; and, as none knew how to swim, there was no alternative but to remain there, until assistance could be afforded them. Had any boat been in readiness, the accident would not have been consider ed in a serious light; but it happened, that all belonging to the village were drawn up for the winter, in a small bay, more than a mile from this place; and the tide setting out rapidly, made it a matter of doubt whether one could be brought up, before assistance would be rendered unavailing.

The gaunt form of the whaler was the first seen moving in the direction of the boats; his enormous strides setting at defiance the attempts of others of the party to keep pace with him; and in a few moments, the place so lately thronged with busy and mirthful sportsmen, was silent and deserted, except by a few individuals, who remained watching, with intense interest, the fast decreasing figures of their comrades.

From a cape in view, a dangerous reef of rocks, over which, in tempestuous weather, the waves beat with inconceivable fury, ran out seaward the distance of three quarters of a mile; and the wind, which had changed from west to northeast, blew directly upon it. The sun, in its decline, had become partially obscured by thin, white clouds; and thick masses of them lay