his two boys, entered the court, and having pleaded the right of an ancient law of the duchy, which, though seldom claimed, he said, was no less in force, he took his sword from his side; - Here, said he, take it; and be trusty guardians of it till better times put me in condition to reclaim it. The president accepted the Marquis's sword; he staid a few minutes to see it deposited in the archives of his house, and departed. The Marquis and his whole family embarked the next day for Martinico, and, in about nineteen or twenty years of successful application to business, with some unlooked-for bequests from distant branches of his house, returned home to reclaim his nobility, and to support it. It was an incident of good fortune, which will never happen to any traveller but a sentimental one, that I should be at Rennes at the very time of this requisition. I call it solemn-it was so to me. : The Marquis entered the court with his whole family he supported his lady ;-his eldest son supported his sister, and his youngest was at the other extreme of the line next his mother; he put his handkerchief to his face twice. There was a dead silence. When the Marquis had approached within six paces of the tribunal, he gave the Marchioness to his youngest son, and advancing three steps before his family-he reclaimed his sword. His sword was given him: and the moment he got it into his hand, he drew it almost out of the scabbard : -'twas the shining face of a friend he had once given up: he looked attentively along it, beginning at the hilt, as if to see whether it was the same,—when observing a little rust which it had contracted near the point, he brought it near his eye, and bending his head down over it,-I think I saw a tear fall upon the place,-I could not be deceived by what followed. "I shall find," said he, some other way to get it off." 66 When the Marquis had said this, he returned his sword into its scabbard, made a bow to the guardians of it,—and, with his wife and daughter, and his two sons following him, walked out. O how I envied his feelings! L. STERNE HOME AND CLASS WORK. Learn the spellings and meanings at the top of the page; and write sentences containing these words. INGRATITUDE. Blow, blow, thou winter wind, As man's ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen, Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, As friend rememb'red not. SHAKESPERE. CHRISTOPHER MARLOW. [Christopher Marlow was born about 1565. His character was loose, and he was killed in a disgraceful brawl in 1593. "Faustus" is his best work. Marlow is a link between Shakspere and the times that preceded him, and considerably improved dramatic poetry.] THE DEATH OF FAUSTUS. Faustus-Mephostophilis. MEPH. Ah, Faustus, now thou hast no hope of heaven. FAUST. Oh, thou bewitching fiend! 'twas thy temptation Hath robbed me of eternal happiness. MEPH. I do confess it, Faustus, and rejoice. 'Twas I, that when thou wert the way to heaven Damm'd up thy passage; when thou took'st the book To view the scriptures, then I turned the leaves And led thine eye. What, weep'st thou ?-'tis too late. Despair!-Farewell. Enter the Good and Bad Angels. G. ANG. Oh, Faustus, if thou hadst given ear to me, Innumerable joys had followed thee. But thou didst love the world : B. ANG. Gave ear to me. G. ANG. Oh, what will all thy riches, pleasures, B. ANG. Nothing but vex thee more. G. ANG. Oh, thou hast lost celestial happiness, Pleasures unspeakable, bliss without end? [Exit. B. ANG. Now, Faustus, let thine eyes with horror stare Into that vast perpetual torture house: FAUST. Oh, I have seen enough to torture me. B. ANG. Nay, thou must feel them, taste the smart of all; He that loves pleasure must for pleasure fall. And so I leave thee, Faustus. The clock strikes eleven. FAUST. Oh, Faustus! Now thou hast but one bare hour to live. A year, a month, a week, a natural day, [Exit. The stars move still,-time runs -the clock will strike. And see a threatening arm-an angry brow! Whose influence hath allotted death and hell, Oh! half the hour is past: 'twill all be past anon. All beasts are happy, for when they die, It strikes-it strikes! now body turn to air. MARLOW. HOME AND CLASS WORK. Learn the spellings and meanings at the top of the page; and write sentences containing these words. |