each, the advantages of that institution are manifest by which, besides those who are engaged in active and every-day life, there are also found in the Church ascetic and contemplative men, who, abandoning the cares of life, and trampling its pleasures under foot, devote their whole being to the conten plation of the Deity, and the admiration of his works; or who freed from personal concerns, apply themselves exclusively to watch and relieve the necessities of others; some by instructing the ignorant or erring; some by assisting the needy and afflicted. 2. Nor is it the least among those marks which commend to us that Church, which alone has preserved the name and the badges of Catholicity, that we see her alone produce and cherish these illustrious examples of the eminent virtues and of the ascetic life. Wherefore, I confess, that I have ardently admired the re ligious orders, and the pious confraternities, and the other similar admirable institutions; for they are a sort of celestial soldiery upon earth, provided, corruptions and abuses being removed, they are governed according to the institutes of the founders, and regulated by the supreme Pontiff for the use of the universal Church. 3. For what can be more glorious than to carry the light of truth to distant nations, through seas and fires and swords, -to traffic in the salvation of souls alone,-to forego the allurements of pleasure, and even the enjoyment of conversation and of social intercourse, in order to pursue, undisturbed, the contemplation of abstruse truths and divine meditation,to dedicate one's self to the education of youth in science and in virtue, to assist and console the wretched, the despairing the lost, the captive, the condemned, the sick,—in squalor, in chains, in distant lands,-undeterred even by the fear of pestilence from the lavish exercise of these heavenly offices of charity! 4. The man who knows not, or despises these things, has but a vulgar and plebeian conception of virtue; he foolishly measures the obligations of men towards their God by the perfunctory discharge of ordinary duties, and by that frozen habit of life, devoid of zeal, and even of soul, which prevails commonly among men. For it is not a counsel, as some persuade themselves, but a strict precept, to labor with every power of soul and body, no matter in what condition of life we may be, for the attainment of Christian perfection, with which neither wedlock, nor children, nor public office, are incompatible (although they throw difficulties in the way), but it is only a counsel to select that state of life which is more free from earthly obstacles, upon which selection on Lord congratulated Magdalen. 112. "MY FATHER'S GROWING OLD." ELIZABETH G. BARBER. 1. My father's growing old; his eye The locks that round his forehead lie My heart has learn'd too well the tale His years and strength begin to fail- 2 They tell me, in my youthful years And strove to calm my childish fears, But years, with all their scenes of change, I now must guide his faltering steps- 3. When sunset's rosy glow departs, Our household band with joyous hearts They look upon his trembling form, And turn away with chasten'd tones- 4. And when each tuneful voice we raise, In songs of "long ago," His voice which mingles in our lays Is tremulous and low. It used to seem a clarion's tone, So musical and bold, But weaker, fainter has it grown— 5. The same fond smile he used to wear His heart has not grown cold, 6. My father! thou did'st strive to share My joys and calm my fears, And now thy child, with grateful care, In thy declining years Shall smooth thy path, and brighter scence And love thee with a holier love Since thou art "growing old." 113. CHARLES V., EMPEROR OF GERMANY, RESIGNS HIS DOMINIONS AND RETIRES FROM THE WORLD. ROBERTSON. DR. WILLIAM ROBERTSON, born in 1721, at Borthwich, Mid Lothian, Scotland; died 1793. His principal works are the "History of Charles the Fifth," ""History of America," and "History of Scotland." As an histo rian, Robertson is remarkable for grace and elegance of style, although some of his works are disfigured by a partisan bias. 1. THIS great emperor, in the plenitude of his power, and in possession of all the honors which can flatter the heart of man, took the extraordinary resolution to resign his kingdoms; and to withdraw entirely from any concern in business or the affairs of this world, in order that he might spend the remainder of his days in retirement and solitude. 2. Though it requires neither deep reflection, nor extraordinary discernment, to discover that the state of royalty is not exempt from cares and disappointments; though most of those who are exalted to a throne, find solicitude, and satiety, and disgust, to be their perpetual attendants, in that envied pre-eminence; yet, to descend voluntarily from the supreme to a subordinate station, and to relinquish the possession of power in order to attain the enjoyment of happiness, seems to be an effort too great for the human mind. 3. Several instances, indeed, occur in history, of monarchs who have quitted a throne, and have ended their days in retirement. But they were either weak princes, who took this resolution rashly, and repented of it as soon as it was taken ; or unfortunate princes, from whose hands some strong rival had wrested their sceptre, and compelled them to descend with reluctance into a private station. 4. Diocletian is, perhaps, the only prince capable of holding the reins of government, who ever resigned them from deliberate choice; and who continued, during many years, to erjoy the tranquillity of retirement, without fetching one penitent sigh, or casting back one look of desire towards the power or dignity which he had abandoned. 5. No wonder, then, that Charles's resignation should fill all Europe with astonishment, and give rise, both among his contemporaries and among the historians of that period, to various conjectures concerning the motives which determined a prince, whose ruling passion had been uniformly the love of power, at the age of fifty-six, when objects of ambition operate with full force on the mind, and are pursued with the greatest ardor, to take a resolution so singular and unexpected 6. The Emperor, in pursuance of his determination, having assembled the states of the Low Countries at Brussels, seated himself, for the last time, in the chair of state; on one side of which was placed his son, and on the other, his sister the queen of Hungary, regent of the Netherlands, with a splendid retinue of the grandees of Spain, and princes of the empire standing behind him. 7. The president of the council of Flanders, by his command, explained in a few words, his intention in calling this extraordinary meeting of the state. He then read the instrument of resignation, by which Charles surrendered to his son Philip all his territories, jurisdiction, and authority in the Low Countries; absolving his subjects there from their oath of allegiance to him, which he required them to transfer to Philip his lawful heir; and to serve him with the same loyalty and zeal that they had manifested, during so long a course of years, in support of his government. 8. Charles then rose from his seat, and leaning on the shoulder of the Prince of Orange, because he was unable to stand without support, he addressed himself to the audience; and, from a paper which he held in his hand, in order to assist his memory, he recounted, with dignity, but without ostentation, all the great things which he had undertaken and performed, since the commencement of his administration. 9. He observed, that from the seventeenth year of his age, he had dedicated all his thoughts and attention to public objects, reserving no portion of his time for the indulgence of his ease, and very little for the enjoyment of private pleasure; that either in a pacific or hostile manner, he had visited Germany nine times, Spain six times, France four times, Italy |