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In 1825, Mr. Everett was elected to Congress, and held his seat in the House for ten years. He was Governor of his native state from 1835 to 1839. In 1841, he was appointed Minister to England. On his return, in 1846, he was chosen President of Harvard University, and held the office for three years. In 1852, he was appointed Secretary of State. February 22, 1856,he delivered, in Boston, his celebrated lecture on Washington. This lecture was afterwards delivered in most of the principal cities and towns in the United States. The proceeds were devoted to the purchase of Mt. Vernon. In 1860, he was a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States, He is celebrated as an elegant and forcible writer, and a chaste orator.
This extract, a wonderful piece of word painting, is a portion of an address on the “Uses of Astronomy,” delivered at the inauguration of the Dudley Observatory, at Albany, N. Y. Note the careful use of words, and the strong figures in the third and fourth paragraphs.
I had occasion, a few weeks since, to take the early train from Providence to Boston; and for this purpose rose at two o’clock in the morning. Everything around was wrapped in darkness and hushed in silence, broken only by what seemed at that hour the unearthly clank and rush of the train. It was a mild, serene, midsummer’s night, -the sky was without a cloud, the winds were whist. The moon, then in the last quarter, had just risen, and the stars shone with a spectral luster but little affected by her presence.
Jupiter, two hours high, was the herald of the day; the Pleiades, just above the horizon, shed their sweet influence in the east; Lyra sparkled near the zenith; Andromeda veiled her newly-discovered glories from the naked eye in the south; the steady Pointers, far beneath the pole, looked meekly up from the depths of the north to their sovereign.
Such was the glorious spectacle as I entered the train. As we proceeded, the timid approach of twilight became more perceptible; the intense blue of the sky began to soften; the smaller stars, like little children, went first to rest; the sister beams of the Pleiades soon melted together; but the bright constellations of the west and north remained unchanged. Steadily the wondrous transfiguration went on. Hands of angels, hidden from mortal eyes, shifted the scenery of the heavens; the glories of night dissolved into the glories of the dawn.
The blue sky now turned more softly gray; the great watch stars shut up their holy eyes; the east began to kindle. Faint streaks of purple soon blushed along the sky; the whole celestial concave was filled with the inflowing tides of the morning light which came pouring down from above in one great ocean of radiance; till at length, as we reached the Blue Hills, a flash 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.”
STUDY GUIDE
A. Vocabulary in Context-Read the definitions, then answer the questions that include vocabulary words.
1. Dawn is the time of day when the Sun rises.
2. A clank is a loud sound made by pieces of metal hitting each other.
3. Constellations are groups of stars.
4. Serene means peaceful and calm.
5. Transfiguratio refers to a change in appearance.
6. To kindle is to catch on fire
7. Celestial is anything to do with space or the sky.
8. Bright rays of light produce radiance .
9. If someone is ignorant , he or she doesn’t know something.
10. When people are enlightened , they have a lot of information about many things.
a) Why is this piece of writing called “ Dawn ”?
b) The scene in “ Dawn ” is very serene . Can you describe a serene place you have been to?
c) In “ Dawn ”, a transfiguration happens. What is it?
d) It says in the fourth paragraph, “The east began to kindle”. What does this mean?
e) Some people are ignorant of math. Other people are ignorant of history. What are you ignorant of?
f) Tell about something you became enlightened about recently.
B. True or False-Write T (true) or F (false). Explain your answer.
[ ] 1. The narrator arrived in Boston at 2 A.M.
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[ ] 2. It was dark when the narrator got on the train.
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[ ] 3. The train was noisy.
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[ ] 4. The Blue Hills are near Boston.
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[ ] 5. The narrator took the train in Central Asia.
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[ ] 6. The narrator believes in God.
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C. Opposites-Find the words in the reading that have the same or similar meanings to the words in this exercise.
1. hot: m___
2. harden: s___
3. new: a___
4. false: t___
5. fallen: r___
6. closed: o___
7. sour: s___
8. noise: s___