h of purple fire blazed out from above the horizon, and
turned the dewy teardrops of flower and leaf into rubies and diamonds. In
a few seconds, the everlasting gates of the morning were thrown wide open,
and the lord of day, arrayed in glories too severe for the gaze of man,
began his state.

I do not wonder at the superstition of the ancient Magians, who, in the
morning of the world, went up to the hilltops of Central Asia, and,
ignorant of the true God, adored the most glorious work of his hand. But I
am filled with amazement, when I am told, that, in this enlightened age
and in the heart of the Christian world, there are persons who can witness
this daily manifestation of the power and wisdom of the Creator, and yet
say in their hearts, "There is no God."

Notes.--Jupiter, the largest planet of the solar system, and, next to
Venus, the brightest. Pleiades (pro. ple'ya-dez), a group of seven small
stars in the constellation of Taurus.

Lyra, Androm'eda, two brilliant constellations in the northern part of the
heavens. Pointers, two stars of the group called the Dipper, in the Great
Bear. These stars and the Polar Star are nearly in the same straight line.

Blue Hills, hills about seven hundred feet high, southwest of Boston,
Massachusetts.

Magians, Persian worshipers of fire and the sun, as representatives of the
Supreme Being.

IV. DESCRIPTION OF A STORM. (70)

Benjamin Disraeli. 1805-1881, was of Jewish descent. His ancestors were
driven out of Spain by the Inquisition, and went to Venice. In 1748, his
grandfather came to England. His father was Isaac Disraeli, well known as
a literary man. Benjamin was born in London, and received his early
education under his father. He afterwards studied for a lawyer, but soon
gave up his profession for literature. His first novel, "Vivian Grey,"
appeared when the author was twenty-one years of age; it received much
attention. After several defeats he succeeded in an election to
Parliament, and took his seat in that body, in the first year of
Victoria's reign. On his first attempt to speak in Parliament, the House
refused to hear him. It is said that, as he sat down, he remarked that the
time would come when they would hear him. In 1849, he became the leader of
the Conservative party in the House. During the administration of W. E.
Gladstone, Mr. Disraeli was leader of the opposition. In 1868, he became
prime minister, holding the office for a short time. In 1874,