4. "On one condition," And then a pause- 5. "If not "-and the giant looked grim and stern- "In vain 6. "Mad pagan!" St. Lawrence exclaimed. 66 7. "Well," läughed the giant, "'t is rather bad That what I covet can not be had. But, if your God my request denies, 8. "That will I do!" said the man of God. 9. The site was chosen, the compact made, 10. "Be strong! be high! O ye walls!" cried he. 11. He sits on the roof, and he läughs and sings, "My tåsk," says the giant, "is almost done, 1 For' feit, what is or may be taken away from one for some fault committed, or for some contract broken. 12. On the Hill of the Saints, with a saddened gaze, 13. Then arose a voice as the thunder's roar— 14. "Sleep sweetly, Solve, my little son," As into the crypt he went with a rush, 18. On the Hill of the Saints the temple stands, Must share the fate of the Giant Finn. IV. FROM THE SWEDISH. 52. THE TYPHOON. 'HE fourth voyage made by Columbus to the New World which he had discovered, gives one of those sublime proofs 1 Săc'ri fice, to make an offering to God. 2 Thrōe, extreme pain; violent anguish, 3 Gri māce', a distortion of the face, expressive of some passing emotion. of sanctity which might well adorn the life of a canonized 1 saint. His sixty-seventh year was already upon him; but his mind and heart were too much occupied to think of rest. 2. In spite of repeated attacks of rheumatism, his figure was as straight and as firm as at the age of fifty. There was a majesty in his věry bearing which could only come from lofty aims nobly fulfilled, while his countenance expressed the greatness of a soul that lived whōlly in God. 2 3. His benign looks showed how far he had advanced in Christian perfection, while his hair, of a lustrous gray, or rather white, encircled his temples like a crown of glory. 4. It was at the age when most men seek repose that Columbus set forth on this, his låst great voyage, a voyage destined to be so full of extraôrdinary incidents. It was begun, as Columbus himself has told us, in the name of the Blessed Trinity. It was continued in the same spirit which animated his first voyage, which was the desire to gain new victories for the Cross. 5. The voyage was a stormy one, and the health of Columbus had already suffered from his long and severe exposures. He had left Spain on the twenty-fifth of May. The fifteenth of December found him not only sick, but apparently in his last great agony. 6. Suddenly shrieks were heard through the ship. They reached the ears of the dying man. He shuddered and opened his eyes. Something frightful was going on around him, and he must be at his post. 4 7. At once he rose from his bed, and in a moment stood on the deck. Before him loomed the awful phenomenon before unknown to European navigators. At a certain point the sea, swelling with all the waves which were attracted to this centre, arose like a single mountain-peak; while dark clouds, stretching down from the sky like an inverted cone, suddenly met the lofty mountain-peak of waters, and both, whirling together, made a spectacle of terrific import. 1 Căn'on ized, placed upon the catalogue of the saints. 2 Be nign', gentle; kind; favorable. In' ci dents, events; circum stances; actions. ble; sometimes a remarkable or unusual appearance, whose cause is not at once obvious. 5 Cōne, a solid body, having a circular base, and terminating at ♦ Phe nom ́e non, anything visi- the top in a point, 8. The very sea appeared to have been sucked up by the angry heavens. Art was useless; navigation powerless. Then it was that the faith of Columbus shōne fōrth above all the fury of the elements. He doubted not for an instant that the spirits of evil, always jealous of the triumphs of the Cross, had chosen this method to destroy him with his Christian crew. 9. He could not attempt to exorcise1 the spirits of the air according to the rites of the Church; but he called to mind. that he was the chief of a Christian expedition; that his object was a holy one, and he determined to force the spirits of darkness to yield before him. 10. Columbus immediately ordered blessèd candles to be lighted and put into lanterns. Then he girded on his sword, and taking the book of the Gospels, standing face to face with that form of the dreaded water-spout to which the Orientals? have given the very name of the prince of evil-Typhoon 3-he read in a loud voice the inspired words of St. John in the first chapter of his Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;" continuing the whole of this magnificent testimony to the Divinity of Jesus Christ, even to the last sentence: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." He then commanded the water-spout to spâre the children of God, who go in the name of the Blessèd Trinity to carry the faith to the extremities of the earth. 11. At the same moment, drawing his sword from its scabbard, with full and perfect faith, he traced on the air with its bright steel the sign of the Cross, and described a circle with the blade, as if he had already severed this monster, born of the sea and of the air. 12. The water-spout, which was seen coming directly upon his small vessels to engulf them in destruction, immediately appeared to be pushed from its course, and, passing between his hälf-submerged vessels, swept on, to lose itself in the immensity of the Atlantic. 1 Ex'or cise, to cast out devils by that power which Christ our Lord gave to His Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of the Church. 2 O'ri ĕnt'als, the inhabitants of eastern countries. 3 Ty phoon', a violent hurricane or storm at sea, so called from Typhon, the name given by the Egyptians to the evil spirit. 4 Scǎb'bard, case for a sword-blade. TH SECTION XV. I. 53. THE PRISONER'S FLOWER. HE Count,1 who is in prison for a political cause, and is not allowed books or paper to beguile his solitude, has found one little green plant growing up between the paving-stōnes of the prison-yard in which he is allowed to walk. He watches it from day to day, marks the opening of the leaves and buds, and soon loves it as a friend. In dread lest the jailer, who seems a rough man, should crush it with his foot, he resolves to ask him to be careful of it; and this is the conversation they have on the subject: 2. "As to your gil'lyflower "_" Is it a gillyflower ?" asked the Count. "Upon my word," said the jailer, "I know nothing about it, Sir Count; all flowers are gillyflowers to me. you mention the subject, I must tell you, you are rather late in recommending it to my mercy. I should have trodden upon it long ago, without any ill-will to you or to it, had I not remarked the tender interèst you take in it, the little beauty!"—"Oh, my interest," said the Count, "is nothing out of the common." 3. "Oh! it's all very well; I know all about it,” replied the jailer, trying to wink with a knowing look; "a man must have occupation-he must take to something-and poor prisoners have not much choice. You see, Sir Count, we have amongst our inmates men who doubtless were formerly important people; men who had brains-for it is not small-fry that they bring here: well, now, they occupy and ǎmuse themselves at věry little cost, I assure you. One cătches flies-there's no harm in that; another carves figures on his deal-table, without remembering that I am responsible for the fûrniture of the place." 4. The Count would have spoken, but he went on. "Some breed canaries and goldfinches, others little white mice. For my part, I respect their tastes to such a point, that I am happy 1 Count, a nobleman on the continent of Europe, equal in rank to an English earl, 2 Gil'ly flow'er, a flowering plant, called also purple gillyflower, cultivated for ornament. |