oured by the worm of indolence." In
the same spirit one of our Elizabethan poets delivered his wholesome
advice:--

"Eschew the idle vein
Flee, flee from doing nought!
For never was there idle brain
But bred an idle thought."

* * * * *

FLOGGING.

Little did king Solomon apprehend, when his unfortunate saying concerning
the rod fell from his lips, that it would occasion more havoc among
birch-trees than was made among the cedars for the building of his temple,
and his house of the forest of Lebanon! Many is the phlebotomist who, with
this text in his mouth, has taken the rod in hand, when he himself, for
ill teaching, or ill temper, or both, has deserved it far more than the
poor boy who, whether slow of comprehension, or stupified by terror, has
stood untrussed and trembling before him.

* * * * *

THE SKETCH BOOK.

* * * * *

THE VISION OF VALDEMARO.

_Translated from the Spanish._

It was night; and by degrees, that sweet forgetfulness which suspends our
faculties insensibly began to steal over me, and I fell asleep. In an
instant my soul was transported to an unknown region. I found myself in
the centre of a spacious plain, surrounded by groves of mournful cypresses.
The whole enclosure was full of superb mausoleums, some assuming the shape
of pyramids, whose lofty summits almost touched the clouds; and others the
forms of altars, whose magnificence presented the most imposing spectacle.
On all were engraved the epitaphs and sculptured insignia of the heroes
who had been interred there. In various places I discovered coffins lying
on the ground covered with sable palls, and bodies extended on the bare
earth, meanly enveloped in miserable garbs.

I wandered, filled with terror, through this dismal region. By the light
of the moon, which shone in the midst of an unclouded sky, I attentively
regarded these proud monuments, and curiosity impelled me to read the
pompous epitaphs inscribed on them. "How remarkable a difference!" I
observed to myself; "when ordinary men, incapable of eclipsing their
fellow mortals, lie forgotten in dust and corruption, those great men who
have excited astonishment and admiration throughout the world, even after
the lapse of many ages, still breathe in splendid marble! Happy are they
who have had the glory of performing brilliant achievements! Even though