r wrote many verses while yet a boy, and in 1801 his
father published a collection of them, entitled "Juvenilia." For many
years he was connected with various newspapers, and, while editor of the
"Examiner," was imprisoned for two years for writing disrespectfully of
the prince regent. While in prison he was visited frequently by the poets
Byron, Moore, Lamb, Shelley, and Keats; and there wrote "The Feast of the
Poets," "The Descent of Liberty, a Mask," and "The Story of Rimini," which
immediately gave him a reputation as a poet. His writings include various
translations, dramas, novels, collections of essays, and poems.

1. ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold.

2. Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold;
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?" The vision raised its head,
And, with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."

3. "And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men."

4. The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again, with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed;
And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

NOTE.--The above selection is written in imitation of an
oriental fable.

XXVII. LUCY FORESTER.

John Wilson (b. 1785, d. 1854), better known as "Christopher North," was a
celebrated author, poet, and critic, born at Paisley, Scotland, and
educated at the University of Glasgow and at Oxford. In 1808 he moved to
Westmoreland, England, where he formed one of the "Lake School" of poets.
While at Oxford he gained a prize for a poem on "Painting, Poetry, and
Architecture." In 1820 he became Professor of Moral Philosophy in the
University of Edinburgh, which position he retained until 1851. He gained
his greatest reputation as the chief author of "Noctes Ambrosianae,"
essays contributed to Blackwood's Magazine between 1822 and 1825. Among
his poems may be mentioned "The Isle of Palms" and the "City of the
Plague," This selection is adapted from "The Foresters," a tale of
Scottish life.

1. Lucy was only six years old, but bold as a fairy; she had gone by
her