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+Project Gutenberg's 'Round the Year in Myth and Song, by Florence Holbrook
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: 'Round the Year in Myth and Song
+
+Author: Florence Holbrook
+
+Release Date: January 26, 2014 [EBook #44765]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 'ROUND THE YEAR IN MYTH AND SONG ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Sam W. and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+The chapter 'PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED' contains some less commonly
+used characters to indicate pronunciation, including the following:
+
+ upper and lower case c with hyphen through, C̵ and c̵
+ s with uptack below, s̝
+ y with breve above, y̆
+ y with macron above, ȳ
+ a with dot above, ȧ
+
+If they do not display correctly, you may wish to adjust your font
+settings.
+
+
+
+
+ 'ROUND THE YEAR IN
+ MYTH AND SONG
+
+ BY
+ FLORENCE HOLBROOK
+
+
+ NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO
+ AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+ Copyright, 1897, by
+ AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY.
+
+
+ HOL. MYTH AND SONG.
+ W. P. II
+
+
+
+
+ TO
+ MRS. ELLA FLAGG YOUNG
+ A FRIEND
+ WHOSE ZEAL AND
+ ABILITY IN THE CAUSE OF
+ EDUCATION ARE KNOWN TO THOUSANDS
+ THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED
+ BY ONE OF THE MANY TO WHOM
+ HER WORDS HAVE BEEN
+ AN INCENTIVE AND
+ HER WORK AN
+ INSPIRATION
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This book is intended for use in all grades of elementary schools,
+the method of presentation varying with the age of the pupils. It
+has been welcomed even by pupils in higher schools, because easily
+familiarizing them with myths and characters that figure so largely
+in the literary texts with which they are to deal.
+
+In the first and second grades the teachers should read or tell some
+of the stories to the pupils, thus satisfying the demand of children
+for a story, and preparing the way for an appreciation of literature.
+The pupils should retell the stories, thus enriching their vocabulary
+and learning to express thought clearly, easily, consecutively, and
+confidently,--a power so much needed and so valuable to citizens of a
+republic.
+
+Some of the poems, as "Daybreak," "The Moss Rose," "Forget-me-not,"
+"Sweet and Low," "The Child's World," etc., should be memorized. If
+this work has been well done in these grades, the pupils of third and
+fourth grades will enjoy reading the stories, continuing the reciting
+of myth and poem. The pictures that so well illustrate the myths
+should be studied and described. In these classes and in the grammar
+grades the stories should be written and the poems reproduced
+accurately, serving as valuable lessons in form, in spelling,
+punctuation, and capitalization. The reproduction of the myth and
+poem both orally and in written papers is an exercise whose value
+cannot be overestimated.
+
+While the myths are valuable in themselves as stories which appeal
+to and which nourish the imagination, and as aids to expression
+in oral and written language, they are also very helpful, when
+presented early, to the understanding of references with which our
+literature is filled, and make the reading of the best in literature
+more of a delight because of this knowledge. It is important that
+these myths be given to children who enjoy the world of fairy tale
+and myth,--children who in their imagination drive the car of Apollo
+with the bold Phaëthon, and see with Narcissus the nymph smiling in
+the brook.
+
+The poems and pictures in the book serve to illustrate the debt both
+poets and artists owe to the fancies of the beauty-loving Greeks, the
+children of our race. With imagination and memory nourished and stored
+with stories that have been part of men's literary possessions for
+centuries, and which have been embodied in all the arts, the love for
+literature which is permanent and valuable will leave no room for the
+worthless and transitory.
+
+Acknowledgments are due to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Company for
+selections from Holmes, Whittier, and Longfellow; to Messrs. D.
+Appleton & Company for selections from Bryant; to Messrs. A. C.
+McClurg & Company for the poem, "Rainbow Fairies," from Tomlin's
+"Child's Garden of Song"; and to Mr. John Burroughs for permission to
+use his poem, "Waiting."
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+ 'Round the Year _Gary Cooper_ 15
+
+ The Seasons 22
+
+ Worship of Nature _John Greenleaf Whittier_ 27
+
+ How the Myths arose 28
+
+ The Months--Winter 30
+
+ The Voice of Spring _Felicia Dorothea Hemans_ 31
+
+ The Months--Spring 33
+
+ On May Morning _John Milton_ 34
+
+ The Child's Wish in June _Caroline Gilman_ 36
+
+ The Months--Summer 37
+
+ Autumn _Anonymous_ 38
+
+ The Months--Autumn 39
+
+ The Old Year _Alfred Tennyson_ 41
+
+ The Holidays of the Year 43
+
+ The Days of the Week 47
+
+ Ode _Joseph Addison_ 50
+
+ Ceres 52
+
+ To the Fringed Gentian _William Cullen Bryant_ 54
+
+ Ceres and Persephone 55
+
+ Arbutus Asleep _William Whitman Bailey_ 57
+
+ The Search of Ceres 59
+
+ Waiting _John Burroughs_ 61
+
+ Apollo 62
+
+ Hark! hark! the Lark _William Shakespeare_ 63
+
+ Diana 65
+
+ Lady Moon _Anonymous_ 66
+
+ The Pleiades 68
+
+ The Stars _Amelia_ 70
+
+ Aurora 73
+
+ Daybreak _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_ 75
+
+ Aurora and Tithonus 77
+
+ On the Grasshopper and Cricket _John Keats_ 77
+
+ Aurora and Memnon 79
+
+ A Walk at Sunset _William Cullen Bryant_ 79
+
+ The Nymphs and Other Goddesses 82
+
+ Give _Adelaide Anne Procter_ 87
+
+ Apollo and the Muses 88
+
+ The Descent of the Muses _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_ 90
+
+ Apollo and Daphne 92
+
+ Forget-me-not _Anonymous_ 94
+
+ Clytie 96
+
+ The Daisy _James Montgomery_ 99
+
+ Niobe 102
+
+ Apollo _George Gordon Byron_ 104
+
+ Jupiter 106
+
+ Abou Ben Adhem _Leigh Hunt_ 108
+
+ Neptune 109
+
+ Neptune _John Keats_ 111
+
+ Vulcan 112
+
+ Work _Mary N. Prescott_ 114
+
+ Venus 115
+
+ Her Face _Robert Browning_ 119
+
+ Cupid and Psyche 121
+
+ Love _Francis Bourdillon_ 122
+
+ Psyche and Venus 123
+
+ Longing _James Russell Lowell_ 125
+
+ St. Valentine's Day 127
+
+ What March does _May Riley Smith_ 128
+
+ Phaëthon 129
+
+ Wings _Mary F. Butts_ 131
+
+ Mercury 134
+
+ The Finding of the Lyre _James Russell Lowell_ 135
+
+ Æolus 137
+
+ Æolus and Ulysses 140
+
+ The Chambered Nautilus _Oliver Wendell Holmes_ 141
+
+ The Wind Tower 143
+
+ Mudjekeewis 145
+
+ Wabun 146
+
+ Shawondasee 149
+
+ Little Dandelion _Helen B. Bostwick_ 150
+
+ Kabibonokka 151
+
+ What the Winds bring _Edmund Clarence Stedman_ 153
+
+ Iris 155
+
+ The Rainbow _William Wordsworth_ 155
+
+ Rainbow Stories 156
+
+ The Rainbow Fairies _Lizzie M. Hadley_ 157
+
+ Narcissus 158
+
+ The Brook _Alfred Tennyson_ 159
+
+ Echo and Narcissus 161
+
+ Blue _John Keats_ 163
+
+ Minerva 164
+
+ Minerva and Arachne 166
+
+ Minerva's Weaving _Edmund Spenser_ 169
+
+ Prometheus 171
+
+ Home Thoughts from Abroad _Robert Browning_ 173
+
+ Adonis 174
+
+ Origin of the Opal _Anonymous_ 176
+
+ The Apples of the Hesperides 177
+
+ Cleon and I _Charles Mackay_ 179
+
+ Pandora 180
+
+ The Gladness of Nature _William Cullen Bryant_ 183
+
+ Hebe and Ganymede 185
+
+ May _Macdonald_ 186
+
+ Vesta 186
+
+ Sweet and Low _Alfred Tennyson_ 188
+
+ The Origin of the Moss Rose 190
+
+ The Moss Rose _Krummacher_ 192
+
+ Orpheus and Eurydice 193
+
+ The Child's World _Lilliput Lectures_ 197
+
+ Arion 198
+
+ June _James Russell Lowell_ 200
+
+
+
+
+PERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED.
+
+
+ Ä´bou bĕn Äd´hem (ä´bōō)
+ A c̵hĭl´lēs̝
+ A dō´nis
+ Æ ō´li a
+ Æ ō´li an Īs´lands̝
+ Æ´o lus
+ A pŏl´lo
+ Aq´ui lo (ăk´wi lo)
+ A răc̵h´ne
+ A ri´on
+ Ăth´ens̝
+ Au rō´ra
+
+ Bō´re as
+
+ Cæ´s̝ar Au gŭs´tus
+ C̵al lï´o pe
+ Cẽr´be rus
+ Cē´rēs̝
+ C̵hā´ron
+ C̵lē´on
+ C̵lī´o
+ C̵lȳ´tie
+ C̵ŏl i sē´um
+ C̵ŏr´inth
+ C̵ō´rus
+ C̵ū´pid
+ Cȳ´c̵lops
+ Cy̆g´nus
+ Cy̆n´thi a
+
+ Dăph´ne
+ Di ā´na
+ Drȳ´ads̝
+
+ Ec̵h´o
+ En dy̆m´i on
+ Ep i mē´the us
+ Ĕr´a to
+ Ē´ris
+ Ĕt´na
+ Eu rō´pa
+ Eū´rus
+ Eu ry̆d´i ce
+ Eu tẽr´pe
+
+ Flō´ra
+ Flŏr´ence
+ Frĭg´ga
+
+ Găn y mē´de
+
+ Hā´dēs̝
+ Hē´be
+ He li´a dēs̝
+ Hẽr´c̵u lēs̝
+ Hẽr´mēs̝
+ Hes pē´ri a
+ Hes pĕr´i dēs̝
+ Hēs´pe rus
+ Hi a wä´tha
+ Hō´mer
+
+ Ī´ris
+ Ĭt´a ly
+ Ĭth´a c̵a
+ Ī´da
+
+ Jā´nus
+ Jōve
+ Jūli us Cæ´s̝ar
+ Jū´no
+ Jū´pi ter
+
+ Kä´be yun
+ Ka bi bon ŏk´ka
+
+ La tō´na
+ Lē´da
+ Lĭp´ar i Īs´lands̝
+ Louvre (lōōvr)
+
+ Mā´i a
+ Märs̝
+ Mē´los
+ Mel pŏm´e ne
+ Mĕm´non
+ Mẽr´cu ry
+ Mĭ nẽr´va
+ Mud je kēē´wis
+
+ Nā´iads̝ (yādz)
+ Nar cĭs´sus
+ Nĕp´tūne
+ Nē´re ids̝
+ Nĭ´o be
+ No kō´mis
+ Nō´tus
+
+ O ce ăn´ids̝ (she)
+ Oc tā´vi us Cæs̝ar
+ Ō´din
+ O ly̆m´pus
+ Ō´re ads̝
+ O rī´on
+ Ôr´phe us
+
+ Păl´las A thē´ne
+ Pan dō´ra
+ Păr´is
+ Par năs´sus
+ Pär´the non
+ Per i ăn´der
+ Per sĕph´o ne
+ Phā´ë thon
+ Phœ´bus (fē)
+ Pi ĕr´ i dēs̝
+ Pī´e rus
+ Plē´ia dēs̝ (yȧ)
+ Plū´to
+ Pō
+ Pol y hy̆m´ni a
+ Po mō´na
+ Pro mē´the us
+ Psȳ´c̵he (sȳ´)
+
+ Rōme
+
+ Sæ´ter
+ Sha won dä´see
+ Sĭb´y̆ls
+ Sĭc´i ly
+ Sĭ´rens̝
+ Sty̆x
+
+ Ta rĕn´tum
+ Tẽrp sĭc̵h´o re
+ Tha lĭ´a
+ Thēbes̝
+ Thē´tis
+ Thôr
+ Ti thō´nus
+ Tiw (tū)
+ Tri´tons̝
+ Troy
+
+ U ly̆s´sĕs̝
+ U rā´ni a
+
+ Val´en tīne
+ Vē´nus
+ Vẽr´gil
+ Vĕs´ta
+ Vŭl´c̵an
+
+ Wa bäs´so
+ Wä´bun
+ Wä´bun-An´nung
+ Wō´den
+
+ Zĕph´y̆ rus (zĕf´)
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Spring.
+ E. Semenowsky (_modern_).]
+
+'ROUND THE YEAR.
+
+
+ O beautiful world of green!
+ When bluebirds carol clear,
+ And rills outleap,
+ And new buds peep,
+ And the soft sky seems more near;
+ With billowy green and leaves,--what then?
+ How soon we greet the red again!
+
+ [Illustration: Summer.
+ E. Semenowsky (_modern_).]
+
+ O radiant world of red!
+ When roses blush so fair,
+ And winds blow sweet,
+ And lambkins bleat,
+ And the bees hum here and there;
+ With thrill of bobolinks,--ah, then,
+ Before we know, the gold again!
+
+ [Illustration: Autumn.
+ E. Semenowsky (_modern_).]
+
+ O beautiful world of gold!
+ When waving grain is ripe,
+ And apples beam
+ Through the hazy gleam,
+ And quails on the fence rails pipe;
+ With pattering nuts and winds,--why then,
+ How swiftly falls the white again!
+
+ [Illustration: Winter.
+ E. Semenowsky (_modern_).]
+
+ O wonderful world of white!
+ When trees are hung with lace,
+ And the rough winds chide,
+ And snowflakes hide
+ Each bleak unsheltered place;
+ When birds and brooks are dumb,--what then?
+ O, round we go to the green again!
+ --G. Cooper.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Spring.
+ A. B. Thorwaldsen (1770-1844).]
+
+THE SEASONS.
+
+
+The earth receives light from the sun, and completes its course
+through the heavens once a year. Each year brings Spring with her
+garlands of flowers, Summer--golden Summer--with her sheaves of sunlit
+grain, Autumn with the purple grape, and Winter clad in frost and
+snow.
+
+ [Illustration: Summer.
+ A. B. Thorwaldsen.]
+
+Every year there is the same order of the seasons. Therefore man knows
+when to plant the tiny seeds, when the harvests and fruits will ripen,
+and what provision to make for the cold but merry winter.
+
+ [Illustration: Autumn.
+ A. B. Thorwaldsen.]
+
+Just as little children, tired with play, and men who work all day,
+must have the night for sleep and rest, so Mother Earth, who plays and
+works so gaily from March to October, must have the winter season for
+rest. Then she covers herself with a mantle of snow, and sings a
+sleepy lullaby song.
+
+Each of the seasons has three months to attend her.
+
+ [Illustration: Winter.
+ A. B. Thorwaldsen.]
+
+Spring, clad in dainty green, has March with cleansing winds,
+changeable April with sunshine and rain, and tender May with the
+fragrant flowers.
+
+Summer, in her golden dress, has June, July, and August to attend her.
+
+Autumn, with September, October, and November, comes with her hands
+filled with baskets of fruit.
+
+Winter has December, January, and February to cover the earth with
+snow, to freeze the rivers, and to paint curious pictures upon the
+windowpanes.
+
+Can you compare the passing of the year and the life of man?
+Childhood, the springtime of life, is the time for play and dance and
+merry song, the time to make the body supple and strong. When the body
+is strong and the mind has been trained, comes the summer time of
+work--hard work in all the fields of labor, that the harvest may not
+fail. In the autumn of life, when the labor of the summer ripens into
+fruit, how pleasant to reap the reward of work! Then slowly come the
+snowy hair and the winter of life, when we sit by the fire and tell
+the story of our battles, our struggles, our defeats, and our
+victories.
+
+Each season of the year has its pleasures and its tasks, and so has
+each season of life. A youth of cheerful labor and study brings its
+own reward of a well-prepared and happy adult life. Then we can repeat
+Browning's cheering words,--
+
+ "Grow old along with me!
+ The best of life is yet to be,
+ The last for which the first is made."
+
+
+
+
+WORSHIP OF NATURE.
+
+
+ The harp at Nature's advent strung
+ Has never ceased to play;
+ The song the stars of morning sung
+ Has never died away.
+
+ And prayer is made, and praise is given,
+ By all things near and far;
+ The ocean looketh up to heaven,
+ And mirrors every star.
+
+ The green earth sends her incense up
+ From many a mountain shrine;
+ From folded leaf and dewy cup
+ She pours her sacred wine.
+
+ The mists above the morning rills
+ Rise white as wings of prayer;
+ The altar curtains of the hills
+ Are sunset's purple air.
+
+ The blue sky is the temple's arch,
+ Its transept earth and air,
+ The music of its starry march
+ The chorus of a prayer.
+ --John Greenleaf Whittier.
+
+
+
+
+HOW THE MYTHS AROSE.
+
+
+The Greeks lived much in the open air, and dearly loved the trees, the
+flowers, the birds, the sea and sky.
+
+They watched the clouds floating in the beautiful azure dome,
+sometimes in long lines like soldiers, sometimes looking like great
+curly white feathers, and sometimes piled high like mountains of snow.
+
+They saw the sun rise, coloring the clouds and awakening all things on
+the earth; and they watched him sink in the western sky, flooding the
+heavens with brilliant hues.
+
+In the quiet night, they saw the lovely stars come, one by one at
+first, and then in such numbers that their eyes were dazzled, and they
+thought of God and of the beauty of His works.
+
+ "The million-handed sculptor molds
+ Quaintest bud and blossom folds;
+ The million-handed painter pours
+ Opal hues and purple dye;
+ Azaleas flush the inland floor,
+ And the tints of heaven reply."
+
+They listened to the carols of the birds and they believed that the
+brooks, the trees, and the flowers could talk to men.
+
+The poets dreamed and sang about the spirits which inhabited all the
+forms of nature. All the people loved these fancies, and repeated the
+stories again and again. These stories,--these beautiful fancies about
+nature, which to the Greeks seemed true,--we call myths, or fairy
+tales.
+
+ "The beauty of the sea and sky,
+ The airy flight of birds on high,
+ The lovely flowers, whose perfume rare
+ So softly fills the summer air;
+ The rainbow's glow, the shimmering rain
+ When springtime buds peep out again,
+ The golden glory of the sun
+ The fields of ripening grain upon,
+ The winds that sigh harmoniously,
+ The tempest's wrath o'er land and sea,
+ The purple haze of mountains far,
+ Or snowy crest, whereon the star
+ Of night shines soft and silvery:--
+ These joys that nature offers thee,
+ Wilt thou not know; wilt thou not feel
+ What God and thine own heart reveal?"
+ --F. H.
+
+
+
+
+THE MONTHS.--WINTER.
+
+
+In addition to its four seasons--spring, summer, autumn, and
+winter--the year is divided into twelve months. Long ago, there were
+but ten months, and the first month was March. But when January and
+February were added, the year had twelve months, and January, the
+second month of the winter season, is now called the first month of
+the year.
+
+"Month" and "moon" come from a word which means "to measure." It takes
+the earth three hundred and sixty-five days, or a year, to revolve
+around the sun. The moon revolves around the earth about twelve times
+in one year; so the moon is the measurer of the year, and the twelve
+periods we call months.
+
+From Janus, a Roman god, comes the name of the first month of the
+year. Janus is the two-headed god. A temple of this divinity was
+placed at the city gate of Rome. His statue had one face looking
+toward the city and one beyond the gate. The month of January stands
+at the gateway of the year, with one face looking toward the past and
+one toward the future.
+
+Our second month, February, receives its name from a Latin word which
+means "to purify," for in this month the people used to purify their
+homes and offer sacrifices to the gods, who love order and
+cleanliness.
+
+
+
+
+THE VOICE OF SPRING.
+
+
+ I come! I come! ye have called me long;
+ I come o'er the mountains, with light and song!
+ Ye may trace my steps o'er the wakening earth,
+ By the winds which tell of the violet's birth,
+ By the primrose stars in the shadowy grass,
+ By the green leaves opening as I pass.
+
+ I have sent through the wood paths a glowing sigh,
+ And called out each voice of the deep blue sky,
+ From the night bird's lay through the starry time,
+ In the groves of the soft Hesperian clime,
+ To the swan's wild note, by the Iceland lakes,
+ Where the dark fir branch into verdure breaks.
+
+ From the streams and founts I have loosed the chain;
+ They are sweeping on to the silvery main,
+ They are flashing down from the mountain brows,
+ They are flinging spray o'er the forest boughs,
+ They are bursting fresh from their sparry caves,
+ And the earth resounds with the joy of waves!
+
+ Come forth, O ye children of gladness, come!
+ Where the violets lie may be now your home.
+ Ye of the rose lip and dew-bright eye,
+ And the bounding footstep, to meet me fly!
+ With the lyre, and the wreath, and the joyous lay,
+ Come forth to the sunshine, I may not stay.
+ --Felicia Dorothea Hemans.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Spring.
+ F. A. Kaulbach (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE MONTHS.--SPRING.
+
+
+The name of the famous Mars, god of war, was given to the first month
+of spring. This month, formerly the first of the year, is now the
+third. Mars is fond of storm and strife, and his name is very
+appropriate for this windy, stormy month. In March the sun turns back
+in his journey among the stars, and begins to come north again. The
+days grow longer in our part of the world, and we know that summer is
+coming.
+
+In April the snows melt, the little brooks awake and chatter over
+their pebbly beds, the birds return to gladden us with their songs,
+and the tiny leaves peep out of their winter nests. The earth seems to
+open to receive the moist rains and the warm winds. April, the
+beautiful name given to this second month of spring, comes from a
+Latin word meaning "to open."
+
+The lovely month of May is a great favorite with the poets. Many of
+them have written charming poems in her honor. Maia, in whose honor
+this month was named, is the mother of Mercury, the winged messenger
+of the gods. The Romans held this god in great honor, and gave the
+name of his mother to the loveliest of the months.
+
+
+
+
+ON MAY MORNING.
+
+
+ Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger,
+ Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her
+ The flow'ry May, who from her green lap throws
+ The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose.
+ Hail, bounteous May! that dost inspire
+ Mirth and youth and warm desire;
+ Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
+ Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing.
+ Thus we salute thee with our early song,
+ And welcome thee, and wish thee long.
+ --John Milton.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: May.
+ A. H. Dieffenbach (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE CHILD'S WISH IN JUNE.
+
+
+ Mother, mother, the winds are at play;
+ Prithee, let me be idle to-day.
+ Look, dear mother, the flowers all lie
+ Languidly under the bright blue sky.
+
+ See, how slowly the streamlet glides;
+ Look, how the violet roguishly hides;
+ Even the butterfly rests on the rose,
+ And scarcely sips the sweets as he goes.
+
+ Poor Tray is asleep in the noonday sun,
+ And the flies go about him, one by one;
+ And pussy sits near with a sleepy grace,
+ Without ever thinking of washing her face.
+
+ There flies a bird to a neighboring tree,
+ But very lazily flieth he;
+ And he sits and twitters a gentle note,
+ That scarcely ruffles his little throat.
+
+ You bid me be busy. But, mother dear,
+ How the humdrum grasshopper soundeth near;
+ And the soft west wind is so light in its play,
+ It scarcely moves a leaf on the spray.
+
+ I wish, O I wish I were yonder cloud,
+ That sails about with its misty shroud;
+ Book and work I no more should see,
+ And I'd come and float, dear mother, o'er thee.
+ --Caroline Gilman.
+
+
+
+
+THE MONTHS.--SUMMER.
+
+
+June, the month of roses, is named in honor of the stately Juno, queen
+of the gods. Juno is the goddess of happy marriages, and June is the
+favorite month for weddings.
+
+July is named in honor of Julius Cæsar, the greatest of the Romans in
+the art of war. In peace, also, he advanced the condition of the
+people, and he was a great statesman and writer. He it was who
+reformed the calendar, and so it is just that his name should be given
+to one of the months.
+
+Octavius Cæsar was the nephew and heir of Julius Cæsar, the great
+commander. After conquering his enemies, he became the master of Rome
+and was named Emperor by the Roman Senate. He ruled the empire wisely
+and well, and received the title Augustus, which means "worthy of
+reverence." From him the eighth month receives its name--August.
+
+Cæsar Augustus was the friend of the poets and orators who lived
+during his reign. So many beautiful poems were written at that time,
+and all the arts so flourished, that the reign of Augustus has been
+called "The Golden Age."
+
+
+
+
+AUTUMN.
+
+
+ When leaves grow sear, all things take somber hue;
+ The wild winds waltz no more the woodside through,
+ And all the faded grass is wet with dew.
+
+ The forest's cheeks are crimsoned o'er with shame,
+ The cynic frost enlaces every lane,
+ The ground with scarlet blushes is aflame.
+
+ The ripened nuts drop downward day by day,
+ Sounding the hollow tocsin of decay,
+ And bandit squirrels smuggle them away.
+
+ Inconstant Summer to the tropics flees,
+ And, as her rose sails catch the amorous breeze,
+ Lo! bare, brown Autumn trembles to her knees.
+
+ The stealthy nights encroach upon the days,
+ The earth with sudden whiteness is ablaze,
+ And all her paths are lost in crystal maze.
+
+ With blooms full-sapped again will smile the land,
+ The Fall is but the folding of His hand,
+ Anon with fuller glories to expand.
+
+ So shall the truant bluebirds backward fly,
+ And all loved things that vanish or that die
+ Return to us in some sweet by and by.
+
+
+
+
+THE MONTHS.--AUTUMN.
+
+
+The months of September, October, November, and December are named
+from Latin words that mean "seven," "eight," "nine," and "ten."
+
+When the beginning of the year was placed in March, these months were
+named from their position the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth
+months. When the first day of January was made the first day of the
+year, these months became the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth
+months, but their names were not changed. December is, of course, the
+first month of winter.
+
+Each year has three hundred and sixty-five days, except leap year,
+which comes once in four years. In leap years there are three hundred
+and sixty-six days, the extra day being added to the month of
+February.
+
+The days are not evenly divided among the twelve months, but, as the
+old rhyme says,--
+
+ "Thirty days hath September,
+ April, June, and November;
+ All the rest have thirty-one,
+ Excepting February alone,
+ Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine,
+ Till leap year gives it twenty-nine."
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: The New-year Bells.
+ Blashfield (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE OLD YEAR.
+
+
+ Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
+ The flying cloud, the frosty light;
+ The year is dying in the night;
+ Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
+
+ Ring out the old, ring in the new,
+ Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
+ The year is going, let him go;
+ Ring out the false, ring in the true.
+
+ Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
+ For those that here we see no more;
+ Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
+ Ring in redress to all mankind.
+
+ Ring out false pride in place and blood,
+ The civic slander and the spite;
+ Ring in the love of truth and right,
+ Ring in the common love of good.
+
+ Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
+ Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
+ Ring out the thousand wars of old,
+ Ring in the thousand years of peace.
+
+ Ring in the valiant man and free,
+ The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
+ Ring out the darkness of the land,
+ Ring in the Christ that is to be.
+ --Alfred Tennyson.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: A May Scene.
+ A. H. Waterlow (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE HOLIDAYS OF THE YEAR.
+
+
+When the New Year comes, we all hold out our hands to the welcome
+guest, and are glad to see his young and smiling face. So we have made
+the first day of January a holiday, that friends may wish one another
+a "Happy New Year."
+
+February has many days that are dear to us. The birthdays of our noble
+presidents, Lincoln and Washington, are always celebrated with honor
+for their greatness and rejoicings for our country's prosperity.
+Longfellow and Lowell, two of our greatest poets, are also remembered.
+St. Valentine's Day is a festival welcome to children, and to all who
+love to see young people gay and happy.
+
+In March we have no holiday.
+
+In many of our states a very interesting holiday has been given to
+April. It is called "Arbor Day," for on this day trees are planted.
+Men have always felt a reverence for trees, and have believed that
+
+ "The groves were God's first temples."
+
+The Greeks gave a personality to trees, and the Druids worshiped the
+strong and noble oak. So we are setting aside a day when all the
+people shall make holiday, and plant trees whose shade shall refresh
+and whose fruit shall nourish us. This is a beautiful holiday, and
+one full of meaning. Our poet Bryant says,--
+
+ "What plant we in this apple tree?
+ Sweets for a hundred flowery springs
+ To load the May wind's restless wings,
+ When, from the orchard row, he pours
+ Its fragrance through our open doors;
+ A world of blossoms for the bee,
+ Flowers for the sick girl's silent room,
+ For the glad infant sprigs of bloom,
+ We plant with the apple tree."
+
+May brings with her one of the most sacred and beautiful days of all
+the year. On Memorial, or Decoration, Day we cover with flowers the
+graves of those who died to preserve the nation.
+
+In England and in Sweden, May Day is given up to dance and song and
+flower shows. This festival began in honor of Odin, the old Norse god
+of the sun.
+
+June has no day that is remembered as a universal holiday. But in July
+we find the greatest day of the year--the Fourth of July, Independence
+Day. Every child knows that on this day our nation was born. The
+flags, the drums, the trumpets, the cannon,--all awaken in the breast
+of every American a thrill of love and pride that will never pass
+away.
+
+ [Illustration: The Christ Child.
+ Prescott Davies (_modern_).]
+
+August is passed by; but on the first Monday in September comes Labor
+Day. This has been celebrated for only a few years, but the meaning
+of the holiday lies deep in the minds and hearts of men who realize
+that labor is man's greatest blessing and hope.
+
+Thanksgiving Day, generally the last Thursday in November, is sacred
+to the memory of our honored ancestors, who bravely and nobly endured
+the cold and want of that first New England winter, confident that the
+God whom they trusted and served would not forget them.
+
+ "Aye, call it holy ground,
+ The soil where first they trod!
+ They have left unstained what there they found,--
+ Freedom to worship God!"
+
+December has the children's great festal day,--the blessed Christmas,
+when the lessons of Christ's life blossom into deeds, and a loving
+spirit seems to spread over all the land. The carols, the Christmas
+trees, the merry bells, make the heart gay, and all the air resounds
+with Christmas glee. We read the Christmas stories, sing the old
+songs, send loving greetings to absent friends, and rejoice with the
+happy children, for "of such is the kingdom of heaven."
+
+
+
+
+THE DAYS OF THE WEEK.
+
+
+In the southern countries of Europe, the days of the week were named
+after the gods of the Greeks and Romans. But in our country, and in
+some of the countries of northern Europe, the gods of the North have
+given their names to the days.
+
+Sunday and Monday received their names from the sun and the moon--the
+radiant lamps that light the earth by day and by night.
+
+Tiw is the god of honorable war, the son of Odin and Frigga, the earth
+mother. His emblem is the sword, and in olden days the people did him
+great homage. Tuesday, the third day of the week, was named in his
+honor.
+
+Wednesday was called Woden's day, in honor of Woden, or Odin, the king
+of the gods. He was often called the All Father.
+
+Thor, the son of Odin, is one of the twelve great gods of northern
+mythology. "Whenever he throws his wonderful hammer," they used to
+say, "the noise of thunder is heard through the heavens. He is the
+only god who cannot cross from earth to heaven upon the rainbow, for
+he is so heavy and powerful that the gods fear it will break under his
+weight." Thursday was sacred to Thor.
+
+ [Illustration: Thor.]
+
+ "I am the Thunderer!
+ Here in my Northland,
+ My fastness and fortress,
+ Reign I forever!"
+ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
+
+Friday was the day sacred to Frigga, queen of the gods.
+
+Saturday received its name from Sæter, god of the harvest.
+
+ "One poor day!--
+ Remember whose, and not how short it is!
+ It is God's day, it is Columbus's.
+ A lavish day! One day, with life and heart,
+ Is more than time enough to find a world."
+ --James Russell Lowell.
+
+ "No man is born into the world whose work
+ Is not born with him. There is always work,
+ And tools to work withal, for those who will;
+ And blesséd are the horny hands of toil!
+ The busy world shoves angrily aside
+ The man who stands with arms akimbo set,
+ Until occasion tells him what to do;
+ And he who waits to have his task marked out
+ Shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled."
+ --James Russell Lowell.
+
+
+
+
+ODE.
+
+
+ The spacious firmament on high,
+ With all the blue ethereal sky
+ And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
+ Their great Original proclaim.
+ The unwearied sun, from day to day,
+ Does his Creator's power display;
+ And publishes to every land
+ The work of an Almighty hand.
+
+ Soon as the evening shades prevail,
+ The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
+ And nightly, to the listening earth,
+ Repeats the story of her birth;
+ Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
+ And all the planets in their turn,
+ Confirm the tidings as they roll,
+ And spread the truth from pole to pole.
+
+ What though, in solemn silence, all
+ Move round this dark terrestrial ball?
+ What though no real voice nor sound
+ Amidst their radiant orbs be found?
+ In reason's ear they all rejoice,
+ And utter forth a glorious voice,
+ Forever singing, as they shine,
+ "The hand that made us is divine!"
+ --Joseph Addison.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Moonlight on the Ocean.]
+
+
+
+
+CERES.
+
+
+All through the warm days of July and August, the grain ripens in the
+rays of the sun, and in September the fields are yellow with nodding
+heads of golden grain. Ceres, the earth mother, has been driving north
+and south, east and west.
+
+Two beautiful maidens always attend her,--Flora, with garlands of
+roses, who cares for the lovely flowers, and Pomona, who ripens the
+fruits for man to eat.
+
+As Ceres passes, the fields and woods gleam with color and beauty, and
+all the voices of nature join man's in hymns of thanksgiving for her
+bounty. The old Greeks tell us, that it is she who taught men how to
+cultivate the fields; how to prepare the soil for the seed, when to
+plant the many grains and fruits, and how to care for the young and
+tender plants.
+
+In autumn, after the work of spring and summer, she rejoices in the
+bounteous harvests, in the vineyards filled with purple grapes. Great
+golden pumpkins, like huge apples, lie basking in Apollo's rays; the
+purple aster and the golden-rod add color to the landscape. Ceres is
+glad at heart. She is happy in the results of her labor and in the
+presence of her lovely daughter, Persephone. But when Persephone
+leaves her mother, Ceres is sad, and winter, cold and drear, settles
+over the earth.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Ceres.
+ _Vatican, Rome._]
+
+
+
+
+TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN.
+
+
+ Thou blossom bright with autumn dew,
+ And colored with the heaven's own blue,
+ That openest when the quiet light
+ Succeeds the keen and frosty night.
+
+ Thou comest not when violets lean
+ O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen,
+ Or columbines, in purple dressed,
+ Nod o'er the ground bird's hidden nest.
+
+ Thou waitest late, and com'st alone,
+ When woods are bare and birds are flown,
+ And frosts and shortening days portend
+ The aged year is near his end.
+
+ Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye
+ Look through its fringes to the sky,
+ Blue--blue--as if that sky let fall
+ A flower from its cerulean wall.
+
+ I would that thus, when I shall see
+ The hour of death draw near to me,
+ Hope, blossoming within my heart,
+ May look to heaven as I depart.
+ --William Cullen Bryant.
+
+
+
+
+CERES AND PERSEPHONE.
+
+
+You will wonder why Persephone is not always with her mother. This is
+the story the Greeks tell.
+
+As Ceres takes care of the ripening grains and fruits all over the
+earth, it is necessary for her to visit every country of the world.
+One day she was seated in her chariot drawn by those wonderful winged
+dragons, ready to set forth on her travels. She kissed her little
+daughter, and warned her not to go far from home. She had never before
+felt so anxious about leaving her little girl, but she had to go.
+
+Persephone threw a loving kiss to her fond mother, and then went to
+the shore of the sea to play with the sea nymphs. They are graceful,
+slender girls, with sea-green hair and eyes like opals. They are
+charming playmates, but cannot come out of the water. Persephone
+gathered flowers for them, and was obedient to her mother's command.
+
+But Pluto, the god of the palaces of gold and silver under the earth,
+looking out from one of the caverns, saw the pretty child, and wanted
+to carry her away to his home. So he caused a wonderful flower, all
+crimson and gold, to charm Persephone farther away. She stooped to
+pick it; and lo! it came up by the roots, a deep cavern yawned, and
+the chariot of King Pluto appeared.
+
+The driver, who was King Pluto himself, caught the frightened
+Persephone in his arms. Whipping his coal-black steeds, he hurried
+away with her to his home in Hades.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: A Winter Scene.
+ L. Munthe (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+ARBUTUS ASLEEP.
+
+
+ Arbutus lies beneath the snows,
+ While winter waits her brief repose,
+ And says, "No fairer flower grows!"
+
+ Of sunny April days she dreams,
+ Of robins' notes and murmuring streams,
+ And smiling in her sleep she seems.
+
+ She thinks her rosy buds expand
+ Beneath the touch of childhood's hand,
+ And beauty breathes throughout the land.
+
+ The arching elders bending o'er
+ The silent river's sandy shore,
+ Their golden tresses trim once more.
+
+ The pussy willows in their play
+ Their varnished caps have flung away,
+ And hung their furs on every spray.
+
+ The toads their cheery music chant,
+ The squirrel seeks his summer haunt,
+ And life revives in every plant.
+
+ "I must awake! I hear the bee!
+ The butterfly I long to see!
+ The buds are bursting on the tree!"
+
+ Ah! blossom, thou art dreaming, dear;
+ The wild winds howl about thee here
+ The dirges of the dying year!
+
+ Thy gentle eyes with tears are wet;
+ In sweeter sleep these pains forget;
+ Thy merry morning comes not yet!
+ --William Whitman Bailey.
+
+
+
+
+THE SEARCH OF CERES.
+
+
+When Ceres returned and could not find her little girl, she was
+frantic. Over the whole earth she drove her chariot, calling upon all
+things to help her in her search--but in vain!
+
+Then she became so sad that she refused to allow the earth to produce
+any food for man or beast. The flowers and trees and harvests drooped
+and faded. In vain did gods and men plead with her. She would not be
+comforted.
+
+At last Jupiter sent the swift-flying Mercury, messenger of the gods,
+to Pluto, commanding him to release Persephone. When Ceres saw her
+daughter restored to her, what joy was hers! Yet she feared one thing.
+
+"Have you eaten anything in Pluto's kingdom, my child?" was her
+anxious question.
+
+"Yes, dear mother," Persephone replied, "six pomegranate seeds."
+
+"Alas! then you must remain with Pluto six months of every year," said
+the sad Ceres.
+
+Thus it is that for six months Ceres and Persephone are together, the
+earth is covered with the blessed gifts of Ceres, and it is summer
+over the land. But when they are separated, the mother grieves, and
+winter is king.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Waiting.
+ Nonnenbruch (_modern_).
+ Copyright, 1895, by Photographische Gesellschaft.]
+
+
+
+
+WAITING.
+
+
+ Serene I fold my hands and wait,
+ Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;
+ I rave no more 'gainst time or fate
+ For lo, my own shall come to me.
+
+ I stay my haste, I make delays;
+ For what avails this eager pace?
+ I stand amid the eternal ways,
+ And what is mine shall know my face.
+
+ Asleep, awake, by night or day,
+ The friends I seek are seeking me;
+ No wind can drive my bark away
+ Nor change the tide of destiny.
+
+ What matter if I stand alone?
+ I wait with joy the coming years;
+ My heart shall reap where it has sown,
+ And gather up its fruits of tears.
+
+ The waters know their own and draw
+ The brook that springs from yonder height.
+ So flows the good with equal law
+ Unto the soul of pure delight.
+
+ The stars come nightly to the sky,
+ The tidal wave unto the sea;
+ Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high
+ Can keep my own away from me.
+ --John Burroughs.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Aurora.
+ Guido Reni (1575-1642).]
+
+APOLLO.
+
+
+The palace of the sun is far away in the east. The walls are of
+silver, the ceilings of carved ivory, and the pillars of gold shining
+with many jewels.
+
+Phœbus Apollo, in a robe of royal purple, sits upon a golden throne,
+and the bright rays shining from his golden hair light up the palace
+and dazzle the eyes. On either hand stand the Day, the Month, the
+Year, and the rosy Hours, who attend him in his daily course through
+the heavens.
+
+When his beautiful twin sister, Diana, the queen of the night, has
+finished her course through the deep blue sky, and all the stars are
+gone, Aurora, the dawn, opens the silvery eastern bars and shows a
+path covered with roses. Beautiful, rosy boys hold torches to light up
+the path, and to tell the people of the earth that the sun god is
+coming. The agile Hours quickly harness the impatient horses, Apollo
+mounts his chariot, takes the reins, and away they gallop, delighted
+with their task.
+
+The wind arises from the sea, and wafts the clouds along; the birds
+stir in the trees, and begin their sweet morning song; the leaves
+rustle, and the flowers raise their perfumed heads and say "good
+morning!" The little children open their eyes with a laugh and shout,
+for another day of play. All the world is awake to give thanks for the
+glorious sunlight!
+
+
+
+
+HARK! HARK! THE LARK.
+
+
+ Hark! hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings,
+ And Phœbus 'gins arise,
+ His steeds to water at those springs
+ On chaliced flowers that lies;
+ And winking Mary-buds begin
+ To ope their golden eyes;
+ With everything that pretty bin
+ My lady sweet, arise!
+ Arise, arise!
+ --William Shakespeare.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Moon Goddess.
+ Correggio (1494-1534).]
+
+
+
+
+DIANA.
+
+
+Diana, the goddess of the moon, is the twin sister of Apollo. She
+completes her journey around the earth once in a month. Her chariot is
+of polished silver, and her horses are dark as night. She is a strong
+and beautiful goddess, with a robe of deepest azure, and a golden
+crescent in her black hair.
+
+When Apollo sinks in the west, the chariot of Diana appears, and she
+drives like a queen over the floor of heaven, which is studded with
+twinkling stars. How lovely is the night! Sometimes we see only a
+silver crescent, and the rim of the moon. This the children call the
+baby moon. But night after night the moon shows more and more of her
+silver face, until she seems like a great ball floating high in air.
+This we call the full moon. The stars are her maidens, who welcome her
+coming and attend her on her journey.
+
+In September, the grains are gathered into the barns, and we call the
+full moon in that month the Harvest Moon.
+
+The October full moon is the Hunter's Moon, for in that month Diana
+leads the jolly hunters. Then, according to the old Greeks, she leaves
+her chariot, sees that her bow and arrows are ready, calls her
+maidens, and steps forward, strong and free, to the chase.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Harvest Moon.
+ Mason (_modern_).]
+
+LADY MOON.
+
+
+ Lady moon, lady moon,
+ Sailing so high!
+ Drop down to baby
+ From out the blue sky:
+ Babykin, babykin,
+ Down far below,
+ I hear thee calling,
+ But I cannot go.
+
+ But lady moon sendeth thee
+ Soft, shining rays;
+ Moon loves the baby,
+ The moonlight says.
+ In her house dark and blue,
+ Though she must stay,
+ Kindly she'll watch thee
+ Till dawns the new day.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Lady Moon.
+ F. A. Kaulbach (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE PLEIADES.
+
+
+Diana had seven graceful maidens who hunted the deer with her. One day
+they saw Orion, a great hunter, coming toward them with his dog and
+his big club. Orion was a giant, and the maidens feared him and ran
+away.
+
+Orion called to them not to be afraid, for he wished to hunt with
+them. But still they fled, and when they were weary and saw that he
+was overtaking them, they called upon the gods to save them from the
+mighty hunter. The gods loved them, and listened to their cries. When
+Orion thought he had at last caught up with them, he saw, not the
+maidens, but seven snow-white doves flying away under the azure sky.
+
+At night, when the queenly Diana looked down from her chariot, she saw
+that her attendants had been transformed to doves. As she could not
+give them their original form, she placed them in the heavens as stars
+to attend her during the night.
+
+ [Illustration: The Dance of the Pleiades.
+ Elihu Vedder (_modern_).]
+
+These sister stars we call the group of the Pleiades. For a long time
+they accompanied their queen in her journey. At last the Trojan war
+broke out, and they were terrified and covered their faces. The
+youngest of the sweet sisters was so frightened that she hid behind
+the others. In some way she became separated from them and lost her
+way. Now there are only six stars in the constellation called the
+Pleiades, and the little sister is constantly searching for them.
+
+There is a beautiful statue called "The Lost Pleiad" which shows a
+lovely young girl borne by the clouds and looking eagerly for her
+beloved sisters.
+
+
+
+
+THE STARS.
+
+
+ Ye snow-white clouds, whose fleecy wings enfold
+ The stars, that light yon boundless breadth of blue,
+ Roll back your edges, tinged with deepest gold,
+ And softly let the peaceful wanderers through;
+ Till, one by one, they burst upon my eyes,
+ O'ertaking my young heart with sudden sweet surprise.
+
+ How oft, when but a child, in wildest glee,
+ I've climbed the summit of some breezy hill,
+ Whose mossy sides went sloping to the sea
+ Where slept another heaven serenely still;
+ While, from the mighty stronghold of the seas,
+ The dead send up their dirge upon the twilight breeze.
+
+ And there beneath a fringe of dewy leaves,
+ That drooped away from many a bended bough,
+ I used to lie on summer's golden eves,
+ And gaze about as I am gazing now,
+ Thinking each lustrous star a heavenly shrine
+ For an immortal soul, and wondered which was mine.
+
+ [Illustration: The Lost Pleiad.
+ Randolph Rogers (1825-1892).]
+
+ But now the moon, beside yon lonely hill,
+ Lifts high her cup of paly gold;
+ And all the planets, following slow and still,
+ Along the deep their solemn marches hold;
+ While here and there some meteor's startling ray
+ Shoots streaks of arrowy fire far down the Milky Way.
+
+ The Milky Way: ah, fair, illumined path,
+ That leadeth upward to the gate of heaven;
+ My spirit, soaring from this world of scath,
+ Is lost with thee among the clouds of even,
+ And there, upborne on Fancy's glittering wing,
+ Floats by the Golden Gate, and hears the angels sing.
+ --Amelia.
+
+
+
+
+AURORA.
+
+
+Aurora, goddess of the dawn, is the young sister of Diana, the queen
+of night. It is her duty to open the eastern doors of the palace of
+the sun, and to strew the path of Apollo, the sun god, with roses.
+Just before sunrise she appears in the eastern sky, her rosy fingers
+tinting the misty clouds.
+
+Aurora is goddess of the evening light, as well as of the dawn. Long
+after the chariot of the sun has disappeared below the horizon, the
+western clouds are bright with the rosy light of this beauty-loving
+goddess.
+
+In some countries the twilights are very long, and Aurora seems to
+linger on the hilltops. She sprinkles refreshing dew upon the thirsty
+flowers, who have bravely raised their heads to the sun all day. They
+revive under her gentle care.
+
+At evening, when she is slowly closing the gates of the west, the eyes
+of the little children grow tired of day and close in welcome sleep.
+The birds, too, who welcome the fair Aurora with their joyous matin
+songs, now seek their nests, and their last chirp is heard as the
+twilight deepens. Then Aurora bars the gates, gives the lantern, or
+evening star, to Hesperus, and returns to the east for her morning
+task.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Day.
+ A. B. Thorwaldsen.]
+
+
+
+
+DAYBREAK.
+
+
+ A wind came up out of the sea,
+ And said, "O mists, make room for me."
+
+ It hailed the ships, and cried, "Sail on,
+ Ye mariners, the night is gone."
+
+ And hurried landward far away
+ Crying, "Awake! it is the day."
+
+ It said unto the forest, "Shout!
+ Hang all your leafy banners out!"
+
+ It touched the wood bird's folded wing,
+ And said, "O bird, awake and sing."
+
+ And o'er the farms, "O chanticleer,
+ Your clarion blow; the day is near."
+
+ It whispered to the fields of corn,
+ "Bow down, and hail the coming morn."
+
+ It shouted through the belfry tower,
+ "Awake, O bell! proclaim the hour."
+
+ It crossed the churchyard with a sigh,
+ And said, "Not yet! in quiet lie."
+ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Aurora.
+ J. L. Hamon (1821-1874).]
+
+
+
+
+AURORA AND TITHONUS.
+
+
+Aurora loves the pretty flowers and often wanders among the gardens
+watching and caring for the tender blossoms.
+
+One morning she met the handsome youth, Tithonus. Aurora loved
+Tithonus, and, as he was a mortal, she begged the gods to give him
+immortal life. Unfortunately, she forgot to ask for him immortal
+youth, and after a while he began to grow old. Although he still lived
+in her palace and fed on ambrosia, the food of the gods, he became
+smaller and smaller, until Aurora was ashamed of him and turned him
+into a grasshopper.
+
+This is the way you see him to-day--with the face of an old man on the
+body of a grasshopper.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET.
+
+
+ The poetry of earth is never dead:
+ When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
+ And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
+ From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead.
+ That is the grasshopper's,--he takes the lead
+ In summer luxury,--he has never done
+ With his delights; for, when tired out with fun,
+ He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
+ The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
+ On a lone winter evening, when the frost
+ Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
+ The cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
+ And seems, to one in drowsiness half lost,
+ The grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
+ --John Keats.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Night.
+ A. B. Thorwaldsen.]
+
+
+
+
+AURORA AND MEMNON.
+
+
+Memnon was the son of Aurora and Tithonus, and was dearly loved by his
+young and beautiful mother. He became a very brave man. When the
+Trojan war broke out, he came from the East to help the Trojans. At
+first he was successful, and he put the Greeks to flight; but when
+Achilles met him, a great struggle began. Long they fought and
+bravely; but at last Memnon fell.
+
+Aurora, who had witnessed Memnon's defeat, told his brothers, the
+Winds, to bear his body to his home in the far East. There in the
+evening Aurora came to weep over the body of her son. The Hours, the
+rosy sister goddesses, joined in her grief, and the shining Pleiades
+veiled their faces in sorrow.
+
+Aurora still laments the untimely death of her son, and her tears you
+may find in the early morning as dewdrops upon the bending grass and
+flowers.
+
+
+
+
+A WALK AT SUNSET.
+
+
+ When insect wings are glistening in the beam
+ Of the low sun, and mountain tops are bright,
+ Oh! let me by the crystal valley stream,
+ Wander amid the mild and mellow light;
+ And while the wood thrush pipes his evening lay,
+ Give me one lonely hour to hymn the setting day.
+
+ O sun! that o'er the western mountains now
+ Go'st down in glory! ever beautiful
+ And blesséd is thy radiance, whether thou
+ Colorest the eastern heaven and night mist cool,
+ Till the bright day-star vanish, or on high
+ Climbest and streamest thy white splendors from mid-sky.
+
+ Yet, loveliest are thy setting smiles, and fair,
+ Fairest of all that earth beholds, the hues
+ That live among the clouds, and flush the air,
+ Lingering and deepening at the hour of dews.
+ Then softest gales are breathed, and softest heard
+ The plaining voice of streams, and pensive note of bird.
+ --William Cullen Bryant.
+
+ [Illustration: Sunset.
+ Leader (_modern_).
+ Copyright, 1894, by Photographische Gesellschaft.]
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Dance of the Nymphs.
+ Kray (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE NYMPHS AND OTHER GODDESSES.
+
+
+The Greeks, in their love for nature, believed that all her forms had
+life and feeling. The mildness of their climate, their out-of-door
+life, the apparent nearness of sea and sky, the beauty of mountain,
+tree, flower, and glistening rivulet, made nature dear to them. Their
+love for the beautiful outside world was nourished, and caused them to
+look upon all nature as friendly. Their vivid fancy peopled grove and
+dale with forms that returned human affection.
+
+They liked to believe that every stream had a naiad sporting in its
+waters, that dryads lived in the graceful trees, and that shrubs and
+flowers were the outward forms of spirits imprisoned there.
+
+Oreads, or mountain nymphs, wandered over the mountains, and their
+laughter echoed in the valleys. Nereids and oceanids--water
+nymphs--sported in the waves of the ocean, and, with the tritons,
+attended Neptune, god of the deep blue sea.
+
+The sunflower concealed the sea nymph Clytie, and lovely Echo was
+transformed into a voice. The laurel tree, with its glossy green
+leaves, was but the nymph Daphne, to whom, when fleeing from Apollo,
+her father, the river god, gave this form.
+
+ [Illustration: The Graces.
+ Germain Pilon (1515-1590).]
+
+The sirens lived on an island of the sea. They sang so beautifully
+that all the sailors who passed that way longed to see the singers,
+and, coming too near, were wrecked on the rocks which the water
+concealed.
+
+There were some nymphs and goddesses who were always mentioned
+together. The Graces were three maidens of charming appearance, who
+waited upon Venus. No one was so beautiful that the Graces could not
+add to her charm and loveliness, and they were ever welcome guests in
+every home.
+
+Spenser says,--
+
+ "These three on men all gracious gifts bestow
+ Which deck the body or adorn the mind,
+ To make them lovely or well-favored show;
+ As comely carriage, entertainment kind,
+ Sweet semblance, friendly offices that bind,
+ And all the complements of courtesy;
+ They teach us how to each degree and kind
+ We should ourselves demean, to low, to high,
+ To friends, to foes; which skill men call civility."
+
+The Fates also numbered three. These severe goddesses could reveal the
+future to men and gods and no one could escape their decrees. Even
+Jupiter must obey the Fates, daughters of stern necessity. The decrees
+of the gods and the Fates were generally revealed to men by
+priestesses called sibyls. These wise women lived in caves. Their
+prophecies, or oracles, as they were called, were believed in and
+greatly respected by the Greeks and Romans, who often went to the
+sibyls for advice and assistance.
+
+ [Illustration: The Fates.
+ Paul Thumann (_modern_).]
+
+The Furies were deities who searched out all wicked people and
+punished them for their crimes, pursuing them with whips and snakes.
+The Furies were really friends to man, because they wished him to
+repent of his guilty deeds, live a better and truer life, and do good
+and not evil in the world.
+
+The nine Muses, those gracious daughters of Jupiter and Memory, sang
+their songs and joined in a graceful dance on Mount Parnassus. Apollo,
+god of poesy and song, was their teacher, and from him they learned
+how to inspire artists, poets, and musicians with thoughts of
+harmonies more beautiful than ordinary mortals know.
+
+The Hours attended Apollo, as he drove his flaming chariot through the
+heavens.
+
+ "The rosy Hours, with agile grace, attend
+ Apollo, when, as god of the sun, he makes
+ His joyful journey through the heavens."
+
+Another group of four graceful beings Keats thus describes in his
+poem, "Endymion,"--
+
+ "An ethereal band
+ Are visible above: The Seasons four,--
+ Green-kirtled Spring, flush Summer, golden store
+ In Autumn's sickle, Winter's frosty hoar."
+
+
+
+
+GIVE.
+
+
+ See the rivers flowing
+ Downwards to the sea,
+ Pouring all their treasures
+ Bountiful and free:
+ Yet to help their giving
+ Hidden springs arise;
+ Or, if need be, showers
+ Feed them from the skies!
+
+ Watch the princely flowers
+ Their rich fragrance spread,
+ Load the air with perfumes,
+ From their beauty shed:
+ Yet their lavish spending
+ Leaves them not in dearth,
+ With fresh life replenished
+ By their mother earth!
+
+ Give thy heart's best treasures,--
+ From fair Nature learn;
+ Give thy love, and ask not,
+ Wait not a return!
+ And the more thou spendest
+ From thy little store,
+ With a double bounty
+ God will give thee more.
+ --Adelaide Anne Procter.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Apollo in his Chariot.
+ Raphael (1483-1520).]
+
+APOLLO AND THE MUSES.
+
+
+When Apollo's daily task is done, he removes the dazzling rays from
+his head and places there the wreath of laurel which he much prefers.
+Then he goes to Parnassus, the beautiful mountain in Greece, where the
+Muses dwell. The Muses are nine maidens, the wonderful daughters of
+Memory, to each of whom Apollo has given some department of music or
+poetry. All musicians and poets are said to ask Apollo and the Muses
+for aid and inspiration.
+
+To Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, Homer and Vergil prayed when
+they sang of war and heroes.
+
+Astronomers appeal to Urania, who presides over the stars--their song
+makes the music of the spheres; and those who write history must be
+aided by Clio.
+
+To Thalia and Melpomene are given the realms of comic and tragic
+poetry.
+
+Erato, who presides over the poems of love, generally accompanies the
+youngest and gayest of the Muses, Terpsichore. The chief pleasure and
+delight of Terpsichore is in the graceful movements of the dance. When
+Euterpe, the muse of lyric poetry, strikes her golden lyre, these
+three, with their music, song, and dance, create exquisite beauty and
+harmony, and they are much beloved by their sister Muses and by
+mortals.
+
+The wisest and most dignified of all the Muses is Polyhymnia, who
+presides over sacred music. She it is who inspires the hymns of praise
+to the Almighty Ruler of the world.
+
+Apollo instructs these maidens in the arts of poetry and music, and
+then they unite in a merry dance; for they are graceful beings and
+have strong, beautiful bodies. The Greeks believed in the culture of
+the body,--the temple of the soul,--and so Apollo, god of the sun, of
+poetry and music, was also their ideal of physical perfection.
+
+
+
+
+THE DESCENT OF THE MUSES.
+
+
+ Nine sisters, beautiful in form and face,
+ Came from their convent on the shining heights
+ Of Pierus, the mountain of delights,
+ To dwell among the people at its base.
+ Then seemed the world to change. All time and space,
+ Splendor of cloudless days and starry nights,
+ And men and manners, and all sounds and sights,
+ Had a new meaning, a diviner grace.
+ Proud were these sisters, but were not too proud
+ To teach in schools of little country towns
+ Science and song, and all the arts that please;
+ So that while housewives span, and farmers plowed,
+ Their comely daughters, clad in homespun gowns
+ Learned the sweet songs of the Pierides.
+ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
+
+ [Illustration: Apollo and the Muses.
+ Giulio Romano (1492-1546).]
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Cupid with his Bow.
+ V. Tojetti (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+APOLLO AND DAPHNE.
+
+
+One day Apollo found Cupid, the mischievous little god of love,
+playing with his arrows, and he said,--"Why are you playing with my
+arrows? You are only a boy and should not use manly weapons!" Cupid
+did not like to be called a child, and took from his own quiver two
+tiny arrows, one tipped with lead, one with gold. The golden arrow he
+shot into the heart of Apollo; the leaden, into the heart of a young
+and graceful wood nymph, Daphne.
+
+When Apollo saw Daphne, the golden arrow in his heart made him love
+her, and he pursued her; but the heavy arrow of dull lead in her heart
+made her dislike him, and she fled.
+
+Soon Daphne found that she could not run so fast as Apollo, and she
+called upon her father, the river god, to save her. He heard her cry
+and changed her into a beautiful laurel tree. When Apollo came up he
+saw that her body was growing rough with the bark, her slender feet
+were changing into the roots, and her long wavy hair was turning into
+the shiny green leaves.
+
+The sun god grieved at this change, but said: "This tree shall be
+sacred to poets and musicians and artists. I shall wear a wreath of
+laurel, and all who follow the arts shall be crowned with the laurel
+wreath."
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Daphne.
+ Rylands (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+FORGET-ME-NOT.
+
+
+ When to the flowers so beautiful
+ The Father gave a name,
+ Back came a little blue-eyed one,--
+ All timidly it came.
+
+ And standing at the Father's feet
+ And gazing on His face,
+ It said, in meek and timid voice,
+ Yet with a gentle grace:
+
+ "Dear Lord, the name Thou gavest me,
+ Alas, I have forgot."
+ The Father kindly looked on her
+ And said, "Forget-me-not."
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Forget-me-not.
+ G. Schrœdter (_modern_).
+ Copyright, 1894, by Photographische Gesellschaft.]
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Clytie.
+ _British Museum._]
+
+CLYTIE.
+
+
+Clytie was a beautiful sea nymph who lived in a wonderful palace under
+the sea. Her dress was of pale green sea moss, and she wore ornaments
+of delicate pink coral in her sunny curls. Her carriage was an
+exquisite shell of many brilliant hues, which glittered in the
+sunlight, and gold fish were her strange and beautiful horses.
+
+One day, when she was driving over the surface of the sea, she saw the
+glorious god Apollo in his golden chariot. Day after day she watched
+him journey through the deep blue sky, and hoped he would see her.
+Alas! he never noticed the lonely sea maid, so far below.
+
+At last she left her chariot, and all day long watched him from the
+shore. When the sun had gone and she started to return to her home
+under the waves, she could not move. Her feet had become fastened to
+the soil and her form began to change into the sunflower. Her green
+dress became the stalk and leaves, and her golden hair changed into
+the yellow petals.
+
+But the flower still loves the sun. In the morning it looks toward the
+east and rejoices when the sun appears above the horizon, following
+his course and slowly turning its face toward the west.
+
+So this flower is the emblem of constancy. Poets often speak of the
+great love and faithfulness of Clytie, and artists paint her picture
+or sculpture her form.
+
+In the art galleries may be found a lovely bust of a young girl. The
+sculptor is unknown, but the bust is supposed to be one of Clytie, for
+the shoulders seem to rise from the leaves of the sunflower.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Daisies.
+ A. Cabanel (1823-1889).]
+
+
+
+
+THE DAISY.
+
+
+ There is a flower, a little flower,
+ With silver crest and golden eye,
+ That welcomes every changing hour,
+ And weathers every sky.
+
+ The prouder beauties of the field
+ In gay but quick succession shine;
+ Race after race their honors yield,
+ They flourish and decline.
+
+ But this small flower, to Nature dear,
+ While moons and stars their courses run,
+ Enwreathes the circle of the year,
+ Companion of the sun.
+
+ It smiles upon the lap of May,
+ To sultry August spreads its charm,
+ Lights pale October on his way,
+ And twines December's arm.
+
+ The purple heath and golden broom
+ On moory mountains catch the gale;
+ O'er lawns the lily sheds perfume,
+ The violet in the vale.
+
+ But this bold floweret climbs the hill,
+ Hides in the forest, haunts the glen,
+ Plays on the margin of the rill,
+ Peeps round the fox's den.
+
+ Within the garden's cultured round
+ It shares the sweet carnation's bed;
+ And blooms on consecrated ground
+ In honor of the dead.
+
+ The lambkin crops its crimson gem;
+ The wild bee murmurs on its breast;
+ The blue fly bends its pensile stem
+ Light o'er the skylark's nest.
+
+ 'Tis Flora's page; in every place,
+ In every season, fresh and fair,
+ It opens with perennial grace,
+ And blossoms everywhere.
+
+ On waste and woodland, rock and plain,
+ Its humble buds unheeded rise:
+ The rose has but a summer reign;
+ The daisy never dies!
+ --James Montgomery.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Niobe and Child.
+ _Uffizi Gallery, Florence._]
+
+
+
+
+NIOBE.
+
+
+Apollo and Diana are both hunters and carry bows and arrows. One day
+Niobe, queen of Thebes, boasted that she had more children than
+Latona, the mother of Apollo and Diana, and that her children were
+more beautiful.
+
+Latona called upon her children to punish Niobe for her pride, and
+they shot their arrows at the children of the boasting Niobe. Soon all
+were slain, although their mother, in her grief, tried to protect
+those she loved so well. Apollo killed the seven handsome sons, and
+Diana aimed her arrows at the seven lovely daughters.
+
+Niobe grieved so over the loss of her dear children that she turned
+into stone, but her tears still continued to flow.
+
+There is a room in a famous gallery in Florence, Italy, called the
+Niobe room, because here are placed the famous statues of Niobe and
+her fourteen children, trying, in vain, to escape the fatal arrows of
+the divine archers.
+
+Some people believe that this story means that the rays of the sun and
+moon are harmful. But others say that it only shows that Apollo, the
+sun, battles with Niobe and her children, who are the powers of
+winter. When his rays have overcome them, Niobe dissolves in tears,
+and the cold snows melt and disappear.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Diana as Huntress.
+ Hamo Thornycroft (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+APOLLO.
+
+
+ Lord of the unerring bow,
+ The God of life and poesy and light--
+ The sun in human limbs arrayed, and brow
+ All radiant from his triumph in the fight.
+ The shaft has just been shot--the arrow bright
+ With an immortal's vengeance; in his eye
+ And nostril, beautiful disdain and might
+ And majesty flash their full lightnings by,
+ Developing in that one glance the Deity.
+ --George Gordon Byron.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Apollo Belvedere.
+ _Vatican, Rome._]
+
+
+
+
+JUPITER.
+
+
+Jupiter, or Jove, as he is sometimes called, king of the gods, lives
+in high Olympus, a mountain in Greece. All the gods obey him, except
+the Fates, who are more powerful than the gods.
+
+Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, Diana, Mars, Minerva, Pluto, Ceres, Mercury,
+Venus, Neptune, and Vesta are the twelve gods whose home is on Mount
+Olympus. Vulcan prefers his home in Mount Etna, and is generally busy
+at work there. Pluto, also, is seldom away from his underground home.
+
+In the palace of Jupiter, all the questions in which the gods are
+interested are discussed and settled. Ceres came hither to ask Jupiter
+to restore her dear Persephone. Cupid brought Psyche to Olympus after
+their many trials on earth. Minerva and Neptune had their celebrated
+contest for the honor of naming Athens, in the presence of these gods.
+
+Juno, the wife of Jupiter, sits at his left. She wears a crown, and
+holds the royal scepter; for she is queen of gods and men. Peacocks
+with many-colored feathers draw her chariot, and Iris, with her
+rainbow wings, is Juno's messenger.
+
+Jupiter holds the terrible thunderbolts in his powerful right hand,
+and on his left hand stands the goddess Victory. The eagle, king of
+birds, is sacred to Jove.
+
+He has dominion over the sky, the earth, and the sea. As the clouds
+are continually changing their shape, now piling up like great white
+mountains, now looking like birds or fishes, Jupiter is said to change
+his form to an eagle, a swan, a cloud, or a shower of gold. He
+sometimes visits earth in mortal form, to see if men are just and
+kind. When he finds them cruel or wicked, he punishes them; but he
+rejoices to find those who are generous, just, and helpful.
+
+ [Illustration: Jove in his Chariot.
+ Raphael.]
+
+
+
+
+ABOU BEN ADHEM.
+
+
+ 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:
+ 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."
+ "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 fellowmen."
+
+ 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!
+ --Leigh Hunt.
+
+
+
+
+NEPTUNE.
+
+
+Jupiter gave to Neptune, his brother, dominion over the sea. He rides
+over the placid waves in his chariot, made of shells of many colors,
+gleaming in the sunlight. If he wishes a storm, he strikes upon the
+waves with his trident, and calls the winds, and the huge billows
+threaten the clouds. Tritons with wreathed horns follow his chariot,
+and naiads as graceful as the waves sport in the opaline waters.
+
+The palaces of the water gods and nymphs are more wonderful than those
+on earth. Shells, glistening sand, corals, and sea mosses lend beauty
+of color and form. The music of the waves lulls these beings to sleep.
+They ride upon a dolphin's back, or are borne onward by the
+waves,--free, happy, frolicking water sprites, dashing the spray and
+diving in graceful play through the deep waves of the sea.
+
+Neptune is strong and calm. He is represented in art as bearing the
+trident, and surrounded by his attendants and the inhabitants of the
+sea. There is a celebrated fountain in Rome adorned with a fine statue
+of Neptune. It is said that a visitor who throws a coin into its
+waters will return to that famous city.
+
+Sailors used to take offerings to the temples of Neptune, so that he
+would give them prosperous voyages.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Neptune.
+ Adam (_Louvre, Paris_).]
+
+
+
+
+NEPTUNE.
+
+
+ King of the stormy sea!
+ Brother of Jove, and coinheritor
+ Of elements! Eternally before
+ Thee the waves awful bow. Fast, stubborn rock,
+ At thy feared trident shrinking, doth unlock
+ Its deep foundations, hissing into foam.
+ All mountain rivers lost, in the wide home
+ Of thy capacious bosom ever flow.
+ Thou frownest, and old Æolus, thy foe,
+ Skulks to his cavern, 'mid the gruff complaint
+ Of all his rebel tempests. Dark clouds faint
+ When, from thy diadem, a silver gleam
+ Slants over blue dominion. Thy bright team
+ Gulfs in the morning light, and scuds along
+ To bring thee nearer to that golden song
+ Apollo singeth, while his chariot
+ Waits at the doors of heaven. Thou art not
+ For scenes like this: an empire stern hast thou
+ And it hath furrowed that large front: yet now,
+ As newly come of heaven, dost thou sit
+ To blend and interknit
+ Subduéd majesty with this glad time.
+ O shell-born king sublime!
+ We lay our hearts before thee evermore--
+ We sing, and we adore!
+ --John Keats.
+
+
+
+
+VULCAN.
+
+
+Vulcan, the son of Jupiter and Juno, is the blacksmith of the gods.
+His forges are in the caverns of volcanic mountains, where the fires
+are bright and ready to heat the gold, silver, and iron, of which he
+has made many wonderful things.
+
+Vulcan built the magnificent palaces of the gods on Mount Olympus,
+Juno's golden throne, and the chariot of Apollo. The delicate girdle
+of Venus, the wife of Vulcan, was also made in his workshop. This was
+a magic girdle; for whoever wore it inspired love in all she met, and
+sometimes the goddesses would beg Venus to lend it to them.
+
+The armor of Mars, god of war, and the shield of Minerva, goddess of
+wisdom, were the work of Vulcan. Sometimes he even manufactured armor
+for mortals, and Homer tells us of the marvelous shield he wrought for
+Achilles, the bravest of the Greeks. The most powerful weapons that
+Vulcan made at his forges were the dread thunderbolts of Jove and the
+arrows of mischievous Cupid, the winged god of love.
+
+Vulcan is represented as rather short and thickset, lame in one foot,
+with a cap on his curly head, and a hammer in his hand. His workmen
+are the Cyclops, powerful giants, who excel in all work in metals.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Blossoms.
+ Gamba le Preydour (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+WORK.
+
+
+ Sweet wind, fair wind, where have you been?
+ "I've been sweeping the cobwebs out of the sky;
+ I've been grinding a grist in the mill hard by;
+ I've been laughing at work while others sigh;
+ Let those laugh who win!"
+
+ Sweet rain, soft rain, what are you doing?
+ "I'm urging the corn to fill out its cells;
+ I'm helping the lily to fashion its bells;
+ I'm swelling the torrent and brimming the wells:
+ Is that worth pursuing?"
+
+ Redbreast, redbreast, what have you done?
+ "I've been watching the nest where my fledgelings lie;
+ I've sung them to sleep with a lullaby;
+ By and by I shall teach them to fly,
+ Up and away, every one!"
+
+ Honeybee, honeybee, where are you going?
+ "To fill my basket with precious pelf;
+ To toil for my neighbor as well as myself;
+ To find out the sweetest flower that grows,
+ Be it a thistle or be it a rose--
+ A secret worth the knowing!"
+
+ Wind and rain fulfilling His word!
+ Tell me, was ever a legend heard
+ Where the wind, commanded to blow, deferred;
+ Or the rain, that was bidden to fall, demurred?
+ --Mary N. Prescott.
+
+
+
+
+VENUS.
+
+
+Venus is the goddess of beauty, born of the ocean spray. When the
+tritons and nymphs who live in the sea beheld her, they loved her for
+her beauty, and the waves and gentle breezes bore her to Olympus.
+
+Venus is attended by three maidens called the Graces, who give to the
+beauty of the goddess a charm which makes her lovely to all.
+
+When she came to Olympus, all the gods loved her, but she proudly
+rejected the eager suitors. When Jupiter, the king of the gods, fared
+no better than the rest, he declared that she should be punished for
+her pride and must marry Vulcan, the lame blacksmith god who lived in
+the volcano, Mount Etna. Vulcan was delighted with her grace and
+beauty, and made for her a magic girdle, and the wonderful arrows of
+Cupid.
+
+Joy and mirth always attend the goddess of beauty. Cupid, her son, the
+roguish god of love, is her constant companion, and he sends his
+arrows wherever she directs. Venus drives in a chariot drawn by
+graceful swans. Cooing doves are her favorite birds, and roses and
+myrtle are sacred to her.
+
+ [Illustration: Venus de Milo.
+ _Louvre, Paris._]
+
+At the wedding of Thetis, a water nymph, all the gods and goddesses
+except Eris were seated at the banquet. Eris is the goddess of
+discord, and she had not been invited, as she always causes people to
+quarrel and so is loved by no one. She was angry at this slight, and,
+coming to the door of the banquet hall, she threw a golden apple upon
+the table.
+
+On the apple was written, "To the fairest." Eris knew that this would
+be an apple of discord, because all the nymphs and goddesses were
+fair, and each would claim to be fairer than the others.
+
+After much discussion, the guests agreed that Juno, Minerva, and Venus
+were fairer than all the others. These three at last decided to go to
+Paris and let him judge between them. Paris was a shepherd of Mount
+Ida, in Troy, and before him the lovely trio appeared in all their
+wonderful beauty. He held the apple long in his hand, for all were so
+fair that it was very difficult to decide. At last he gave the apple
+to Venus, and thus decided that she was fairest of all the goddesses.
+
+This decision is called the "Judgment of Paris."
+
+Artists have often tried to paint their ideals of Venus. The most
+beautiful statues in the world, ideals of womanly beauty, are those of
+this goddess. They are in the galleries of the Old World. The one said
+to be the most lovely is the Venus de Milo, in the gallery of the
+Louvre, Paris.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: A Star.]
+
+
+
+
+HER FACE.
+
+
+ Such a starved bank of moss
+ Till, that May morn,
+ Blue ran the flash across:
+ Violets were born!
+
+ Sky--what a scowl of cloud
+ Till, near and far,
+ Ray on ray split the shroud:
+ Splendid, a star!
+
+ World--how it walled about
+ Life with disgrace,
+ Till God's own smile came out:
+ That was thy face!
+ --Robert Browning.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Psyche.
+ Kray (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+CUPID AND PSYCHE.
+
+
+There once lived a maid, called Psyche, who was so very beautiful that
+the people who knew her thought her more lovely than Venus. So they
+worshiped her, and refused to place garlands and offerings upon the
+shrines of the goddess.
+
+Desiring to punish the people for their impiety, Venus sent Cupid to
+destroy the innocent Psyche. Although Cupid had used his weapons upon
+others, he himself had never loved. But when he saw Psyche, he started
+in surprise at her wonderful youthful beauty, and one of his own
+arrows pricked his heart. So he loved her, and, instead of obeying his
+mother's command, he carried her away to his home on a distant
+mountain.
+
+Here she lived in a palace of gleaming marble, surrounded by gardens
+wherein were fragrant flowers and sparkling fountains. But one thing
+troubled her. Cupid had told her that he could visit her only during
+the night, and so she had never seen his face.
+
+One night Psyche yielded to her curiosity, and held a lamp over him
+while he slept. Dear Love was so beautiful as he lay there asleep,
+that she tipped the lamp in her surprise, and a drop of oil fell upon
+his rounded arm. Then he awoke and blamed Psyche for her curiosity and
+lack of confidence, and, spreading his wings, flew far away to his
+home with the gods. Poor Psyche wept bitterly, but Cupid did not
+return.
+
+Psyche means the soul, and this story teaches that love comes unsought
+and unseen to the soul which is faithful and worthy; but if doubt and
+curiosity possess the soul, love departs.
+
+The Greeks chose the butterfly as the best emblem of the soul of man,
+because it emerges from the chrysalis state into which the caterpillar
+entered more beautiful than before. Psyche, the soul, is thus shown in
+the works of art with the wings of a butterfly, or holding one of the
+exquisite creatures in her hand.
+
+
+
+
+LOVE.
+
+
+ The night has a thousand eyes,
+ And the day but one;
+ Yet the light of the bright world dies
+ With the dying sun.
+
+ The mind has a thousand eyes,
+ And the heart but one;
+ Yet the light of a whole life dies
+ When love is done.
+ --Francis Bourdillon.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Psyche and Charon.
+ E. Neide (_modern_).]
+
+PSYCHE AND VENUS.
+
+
+Poor Psyche wandered far. At last she found Venus, whom she begged to
+have pity and restore Cupid to her. Venus gave her many tasks to
+perform. Although Psyche was often very tired, she knew she deserved
+to work and suffer, because of her lack of faith in Cupid. Finally,
+Venus sent her down to Hades, where King Pluto and Queen Persephone
+reign, to bring back a box of beauty ointment.
+
+The way was long and rough and dark. But Psyche persevered, and
+finally reached the river Styx. She called to the grim boatman,
+Charon, to row her across. He obeyed, and rowed her over the black
+river in his dingy boat, and Persephone gave her the box. Psyche was
+frightened by the terrible cries and the wretched dark faces of the
+souls in Hades. But she thought only of Love. Then all the monsters
+ceased to annoy her, and she came safely to earth again.
+
+Alas, when her work was so bravely done, why did she yield to
+temptation? She thought Love would think more of her if she were
+fairer, and she opened the box to take just a little of the precious
+beauty ointment. There was nothing in the box but a bad dream, which
+immediately seized her, and she fell down in sleep.
+
+Cupid loved and was sorry for Psyche, and he feared that some
+misfortune had befallen her; so he spread his wings and flew in search
+of the soul he loved. He soon found her asleep by the roadside. He
+awoke her, and together they went to Olympus, where Venus forgave
+them, and permitted them to be married.
+
+Now Love and the Soul belong together, and although the way is dark
+and lonely and difficult, you must believe that
+
+ "Love leads the soul to its perfection."
+
+
+
+
+LONGING.
+
+
+ Of all the myriad moods of mind
+ That through the soul come thronging
+ Which one was e'er so dear, so kind,
+ So beautiful as Longing?
+ The thing we long for, that we are
+ For one transcendent moment,
+ Before the Present poor and bare
+ Can make its sneering comment.
+
+ Still, through our paltry stir and strife,
+ Glows down the wished Ideal,
+ And Longing molds in clay what Life
+ Carves in the marble Real:
+ To let the new life in, we know,
+ Desire must ope the portal;
+ Perhaps the longing to be so
+ Helps make the soul immortal.
+
+ Ah! let us hope that to our praise
+ Good God not only reckons
+ The moments when we tread His ways,
+ But when the spirit beckons,
+ That some slight good is also wrought
+ Beyond self-satisfaction,
+ When we are simply good in thought,
+ Howe'er we fail in action.
+ --James Russell Lowell.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Cupid and Psyche.
+ W. A. Bouguereau (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.
+
+
+In the old Roman days, the people, in the month of February, had a
+great feast, when they purified their homes and made sacrifices to the
+gods. After this, the young people had games, and one of them was like
+that of our valentine box. In this box were placed the names of
+maidens. The young men drew out the names, and each must be a true and
+loyal knight, for the following year, to the young woman whose name he
+drew.
+
+The name "valentine" comes from a kind Christian monk, who was the
+friend of youth. We send valentines to those we love, and you know
+there are emblems of love and fidelity upon these pretty gifts. Here
+are the cooing doves, the graceful swan, the rose, and the myrtle--all
+sacred to Venus, goddess of love and beauty. Cupid, her mischievous
+son, has his bow and quiver filled with arrows with which to pierce
+the hearts of the young. Here is the butterfly, the emblem of Psyche,
+the Soul, whom Love chose to be his wife.
+
+From the story of Cupid and Psyche we learn how love ennobles the
+soul, purifying it of doubt, and raising it to perfect faith. For this
+reason, we may well celebrate the day of kind St. Valentine, by
+sending words of love and gifts of affection to our friends, in the
+form of dainty valentines.
+
+
+
+
+WHAT MARCH DOES.
+
+
+ In the dark silence of her chamber low
+ March works sweeter things than mortals know.
+ Her noiseless looms ply on with busy care,
+ Weaving the fine cloth that the flowers wear;
+ She sews the seams in violet's queer hood,
+ And paints the sweet arbutus of the wood.
+ Out of a bit of sky's delicious blue
+ She fashions hyacinths, and harebells too;
+ And from a sunbeam makes a cowslip fair,
+ Or spins a gown for a daffodil to wear.
+ She pulls the cover from the crocus beds
+ And bids the sleepers lift their drowsy heads.
+ "Come, early risers; come, anemone,
+ My pale windflower, awake, awake," calls she.
+ "The world expects you, and your lovers wait
+ To give you welcome at Spring's open gate."
+ She marshals the close armies of the grass,
+ And polishes their green blades as they pass
+ And all the blossoms of the fruit trees sweet
+ Are piled in rosy shells about her feet.
+ Within her great alembic she distills
+ The dainty odor which each flower fills.
+ Nor does she ever give to mignonette
+ The perfume that belongs to violet.
+ Nature does well whatever task she tries
+ Because _obedient_,--there the secret lies.
+ --May Riley Smith.
+
+
+
+
+PHAËTHON.
+
+
+Phaëthon was the son of Apollo. One day he approached the palace of
+his father and begged a favor. Apollo was pleased with his youthful
+grace and beauty, and promised to grant his desire. Phaëthon then
+boldly asked the great god of the sun for permission to drive his
+horses for a single day.
+
+Then did Apollo regret his hasty promise, and beg Phaëthon to ask
+anything but that--because it is so dangerous to drive those fiery
+steeds.
+
+"You know not what you ask, my son, I am the only one who can drive
+the chariot of the sun safely through the heavens. Even Jupiter
+himself would not attempt so dangerous a task."
+
+But Phaëthon was bold and proud, and finally Apollo yielded. The
+horses were harnessed, the gates unbarred, Phaëthon seized the reins,
+and away they flew! The horses knew that a weak hand held them, but
+they were going uphill and kept well in the course. So Phaëthon grew
+careless, and when the zenith was reached the horses paid no heed to
+his guidance.
+
+Exulting in their freedom from Apollo's masterful hand, they galloped
+far from the path, now on this side, now on that.
+
+ [Illustration: Phaëthon driving Apollo's Chariot.
+ Max F. Klepper (_modern_).]
+
+Sometimes they came so near the earth that the leaves and grass
+withered, the crops were all destroyed, and the streams disappeared.
+Then they turned so far away that snow fell, and the people shivered
+and suffered from the cold.
+
+All the people on earth were afraid, and even the gods on high Olympus
+wondered what was amiss with Apollo, that his horses were so unruly.
+
+Finally Jupiter looked over the heavens, and, seeing the reckless
+Phaëthon, hurled a thunderbolt at him, and he fell headlong into the
+river Po.
+
+Hither every day came his sisters, the Heliades, wringing their hands
+and weeping for their beloved brother. At length the gods changed them
+into poplar trees, and their tears into amber.
+
+Phaëthon's dearest friend, Cygnus, was continually plunging into the
+river, hoping to find the body of the rash youth, and he was changed
+into a swan. This bird now sails mournfully upon the waters,
+frequently dipping his head below the surface, as if still searching
+for his friend Phaëthon.
+
+
+
+
+WINGS.
+
+
+ Wings that flutter in sunny air;
+ Wings that dive and dip and dare;
+ Wings of the humming bird flashing by;
+ Wings of the lark in the purple sky;
+ Wings of the eagle aloft, aloof;
+ Wings of the pigeon upon the roof;
+ Wings of the storm bird swift and free,
+ With wild winds sweeping across the sea:
+ Often and often a voice in me sings,--
+ O, for the freedom, the freedom of wings!
+
+ O, to winnow the air with wings;
+ O, to float far above hurtful things--
+ Things that weary and wear and fret;
+ Deep in the azure to fly and forget;
+ To touch in a moment the mountain's crest,
+ Or haste to the valley for home and rest;
+ To rock with the pine tree as wild birds may;
+ To follow the sailor a summer's day:
+ Over and over a voice in me sings,--
+ O, for the freedom, the freedom of wings!
+
+ Softly responsive a voice in me sings,--
+ Thou hast the freedom, the freedom of wings;
+ Soon as the glass a second can count,
+ Into the heavens thy heart may mount;
+ Hope may fly to the topmost peak;
+ Love its nest in the vale may seek;
+ Outspeeding the sailor, Faith's pinions may
+ Touch the ends of the earth in a summer's day.
+ Softly responsive a voice in me sings,--
+ Thou hast the freedom, the freedom of wings.
+ --Mary F. Butts.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Winged Mercury.
+ _National Museum, Florence._]
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Mercury in his Chariot.
+ Raphael (_Rome_).]
+
+MERCURY.
+
+
+Mercury, or Hermes, is a very interesting god. He is the messenger of
+Jupiter, and has wings on his cap and sandals. He flies swifter than
+the wind and wears a cloak which makes him invisible. As the wind
+carries things away, Mercury is sometimes called the captain of
+thieves, and he likes to play tricks.
+
+While walking along a river bank one day, he carelessly hit a tortoise
+shell, and it gave forth a musical sound. Mercury at once fashioned it
+into a lyre. This musical instrument he gave to his brother Apollo,
+who was so delighted with it that he gave Mercury a wonderful wand
+called the caduceus. When animals or people quarrel, this wand will
+make them friends again. One day Mercury threw it upon the ground
+where two snakes were fighting, and at once they twined lovingly about
+it, and Mercury kept them there as an emblem of the power of the wand.
+
+The caduceus represents the gift of language; for when men quarrel and
+are angry, if they use this wand and talk with each other, their
+differences will soon disappear and they will become friends.
+
+You will recognize the statues of Mercury by his caduceus and by his
+winged cap and sandals. He is sometimes represented as standing upon a
+tongue; for he gave to man the gift of speech, and is the god of
+eloquence. Mercury is also the god of commerce; for if men could not
+speak and converse with one another, there would be no commerce in the
+world.
+
+
+
+
+THE FINDING OF THE LYRE.
+
+
+ There lay upon the ocean's shore
+ What once a tortoise served to cover.
+ A year and more, with rush and roar,
+ The surf had rolled it over,
+ Had played with it and flung it by,
+ As wind and weather might decide it,
+ Then tossed it high where sand drifts dry
+ Cheap burial might provide it.
+
+ It rested there to bleach or tan,
+ The rains had soaked, the suns had burned it;
+ With many a ban the fisherman
+ Had stumbled o'er and spurned it;
+ And there the fisher girl would stay,
+ Conjecturing with her brother
+ How in their play the poor estray
+ Might serve some use or other.
+
+ So there it lay, through wet and dry,
+ As empty as the last new sonnet,
+ Till by and by came Mercury,
+ And, having mused upon it,
+ "Why, here," cried he, "the thing of things
+ In shape, material, and dimensions!
+ Give it but strings, and lo, it sings,
+ A wonderful invention!"
+
+ So said, so done; the chords he strained,
+ And, as his fingers o'er them hovered,
+ The shell disdained a soul had gained,
+ The lyre had been discovered.
+ O empty world that round us lies,
+ Dead shell, of soul and thought forsaken,
+ Brought we but eyes like Mercury's,
+ In thee what songs should waken!
+ --James Russell Lowell.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Storm King.
+ Le Sénéschal (_modern_).
+ Carbon by Braun, Clement & Co.]
+
+ÆOLUS.
+
+
+All nature is musical. If you will listen, you can hear the leaves
+singing sweet songs, and the reeds along the river banks join in with
+their voices. The brooks and the rivers sing and laugh; they are so
+happy shining in the golden sun, or hiding in the cool shade.
+
+The fairies have the flowers for their musical bells, and the grasses
+sing softly to the dear mother earth. But the sweetest songs are the
+carols of the merry birds, and the songs of happy children.
+
+The winds are often noisy, but sometimes they seem to sing a musical
+song. Some instruments in the orchestra, the flute and the horn, are
+called wind instruments. There is a simple stringed instrument, called
+the æolian harp. When the winds blow upon its sensitive, delicate
+strings, musical sounds are heard, and we say that Æolus, king of the
+winds, is playing upon his harp.
+
+Long ago, the Lipari Islands, off the coast of Italy, were called the
+Æolian Islands. Here in a rocky cave lived Æolus and the winds, who
+were the children of Aurora and Æolus. All the winds were noisy and
+fond of strife except Zephyrus, the youngest. Æolus kept them fastened
+in the rocky cave, generally letting out but one at a time. They were
+always rushing to the iron doors, quarreling and fighting among
+themselves, and begging Æolus to let them out of the narrow cave.
+
+Whenever one of the gods wished a storm at sea, he would ask Æolus to
+release his sons; they would rush out of the cave, sweeping over the
+seas in a whirlwind, raising the waves mountain high. Then the ships
+were in great danger from wave and rock, as the winds rolled the
+billows over the ships, or drove the vessels against the sharp cliffs.
+
+Vergil, the great Latin poet, thus describes a storm raised by Æolus,
+at the request of Juno,--
+
+ "Æolus thus in reply: 'It is yours, O queen, to determine
+ What you may wish to accomplish; to do your command is my
+ duty;
+ You have procured me my place, my scepter, and Jupiter's favor;
+ You, too, the privilege grant to recline with the gods at their
+ banquet;
+ Over the tempest and storm, it is you who have made me the ruler.'
+ Turning, he struck with his spear the side of the cavernous mountain,
+ And, as in martial array, wherever an egress is granted,
+ Eagerly pour forth the winds, and sweep o'er the earth in a
+ whirlwind;
+ Now on the sea have they fallen, and stirred to its deepest
+ foundations;
+ Eastward and southward together, and blasts of the gusty southwest
+ wind
+ Lash it all into a fury, and roll to the shore the vast billows.
+ Now come the cries of the men, and the shrieks of the wind through
+ the rigging;
+ Then on a sudden collecting, the clouds, from the sight of the
+ Trojans
+ Shut out the sky and the day, o'er the sea broods the darkness of
+ midnight;
+ Thunder resounds through the sky, the air seems ablaze with the
+ lightning;
+ Everything seems to portend immediate death to the heroes."
+
+
+
+
+ÆOLUS AND ULYSSES.
+
+
+The famous Trojan war lasted ten years. After the Greeks had captured
+the city, they were anxious to return to their homes in Greece. One of
+the heroes, the wise Ulysses, had many strange adventures on his way
+home from Troy. At last he and his men came in their ship to Æolia,
+the home of the winds, where they were welcomed and entertained by
+Æolus.
+
+Æolus was so pleased with his guests that, when the time came for
+Ulysses to continue his journey, the god gave him a bag with all the
+dangerous winds shut up within it. Only one wind was not inclosed in
+the bag--Zephyrus, the gentle south wind, which filled the sails and
+bore him on his journey.
+
+After eight days, Ulysses came in sight of Ithaca, the home he had so
+long desired to see. He had not slept since leaving Æolia. Now, within
+sight of his home, he believed that he and his ship were safe, and he
+yielded to his desire for rest. The sailors were very glad to see him
+sleep, for they wanted to know what Ulysses had in the bag he so
+carefully guarded. They thought it was filled with gold and precious
+stones.
+
+Alas! when the avaricious sailors opened the bag, the winds rushed out
+in fury and drove them far from their homes. At last they were again
+cast upon the shores of the Æolian Islands.
+
+
+
+
+THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS.
+
+
+ This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,
+ Sails the unshadowed main,--
+ The venturous bark that flings
+ On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings
+ In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,
+ And coral reefs lie bare,
+ Where the cold sea maids rise to sun their streaming hair.
+
+ Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl!
+ Wrecked is the ship of pearl!
+ And every chambered cell,
+ Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,
+ As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,
+ Before thee lies revealed,--
+ Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!
+
+ Year after year beheld the silent toil
+ That spread his lustrous coil;
+ Still, as the spiral grew,
+ He left the past year's dwelling for the new,
+ Stole with soft step its shining archway through,
+ Built up its idle door,
+ Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more.
+
+ Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,
+ Child of the wandering sea,
+ Cast from her lap, forlorn!
+ From thy dead lips a clearer note is born
+ Than ever Triton blew from wreathéd horn!
+ While on mine ear it rings,
+ Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:--
+
+ Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
+ As the swift seasons roll!
+ Leave thy low-vaulted past!
+ Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
+ Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
+ Till thou at length art free,
+ Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!
+ --Oliver Wendell Holmes.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Tower of the Winds.
+ _Athens._]
+
+
+
+
+THE WIND TOWER.
+
+
+In Athens is a temple called the Tower of the Winds. There the people
+came to offer sacrifices to the winds, and to hold games in their
+honor. The Athenians felt that the winds had great power, and
+therefore they built this beautiful tower. The tower has eight sides,
+and on each side is sculptured a representation of one of the winds.
+
+All of the winds are shown with wings, and in a flying posture.
+Boreas, Aquilo, and Corus are the destructive winds, and are terrible
+in appearance. Boreas, the north wind, is the father of storms at sea,
+and carries a triton's horn. Aquilo, the northeast wind, is showering
+hailstones, and Corus, the dry and parching northwest wind, has in his
+hand a vessel of charcoal.
+
+The east wind, which in Greece is a pleasant wind, is carrying fruit
+and flowers. The rainy southeast wind, Eurus, is forming rain clouds;
+while Notus, the south wind, who brings the sudden storms of rain, is
+pouring rain from a jar. The southwest wind carries an ornament which
+was always placed at the stern of every ancient ship, for it was an
+important wind to the sailors of Greece. Zephyrus, the welcome west
+wind, has a lap filled with spring flowers.
+
+The gentle Zephyrus married Flora, goddess of the springtime. Together
+they wander joyously over all lands, bringing happiness to the people.
+The south wind wakes the flowers, and as Zephyrus and Flora pass,
+violets, pansies, daffodils, and roses lift their pretty heads, and
+fill the land with beauty and fragrance.
+
+ [Illustration: Zephyrus and Flora.
+ Saintpierre (_modern_).
+ Carbon by Braun, Clement & Co.]
+
+
+
+
+MUDJEKEEWIS.
+
+
+The Indians tell the story that once Mudjekeewis, a mighty hunter,
+killed the great bear of the mountains. Mudjekeewis found the bear
+asleep, and after stealthily taking off the belt of wampum which the
+bear wore, he smote him in the middle of his forehead and stunned him.
+They fought, and Mudjekeewis conquered.
+
+When he returned home, he told of his victory, and showed the magic
+belt. The Indians praised him for his bravery, and said,--"Mudjekeewis
+shall rule over the winds of heaven. He shall be king of the winds,
+and shall be called Kabeyun, the West-Wind."
+
+Mudjekeewis has three sons--Wabun, Shawondasee, and Kabibonokka. To
+Wabun, young and beautiful, he gave the east wind; to Shawondasee the
+south wind, and the north wind to the fierce Kabibonokka.
+
+Longfellow thus tells the story in "Hiawatha,"--
+
+ "'Honor be to Mudjekeewis!'
+ With a shout proclaimed the people,
+ 'Honor be to Mudjekeewis!
+ Henceforth he shall be the West-Wind,
+ And hereafter and forever
+ Shall he hold supreme dominion
+ Over all the winds of heaven.
+ Call him no more Mudjekeewis,
+ Call him Kabeyun, the West-Wind!'
+
+ "Thus was Mudjekeewis chosen
+ Father of the Winds of Heaven.
+ For himself he kept the West-Wind,
+ Gave the others to his children;
+ Unto Wabun gave the East-Wind,
+ Gave the South to Shawondasee,
+ And the North-Wind, wild and cruel,
+ To the fierce Kabibonokka."
+ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
+
+
+
+
+WABUN.
+
+
+Wabun was the son of Mudjekeewis. He was young and beautiful. When he
+came from the east in the morning, his breath was fresh with the
+perfume of flowers, and he painted the sky with streaks of crimson and
+gold. He woke the deer and called the hunters, and chased the dark
+over hill and valley.
+
+But Wabun was lonely in the sky, and, although the birds sang to him
+and the rivers and the forests shouted at his coming, he longed for a
+friend to be with him always.
+
+One day, when a fog lay on the river, he looked toward the earth and
+saw a slender maiden walking all alone upon the meadow. She was
+gathering water flags and bulrushes, which grew along the margin of
+the river. Her eyes were as blue as two blue lakes.
+
+Wabun loved the graceful maiden, for she was alone on the earth as he
+was alone in the heavens. So he drew her to his bosom, and changed her
+into a beautiful star.
+
+They are still found together in the eastern sky, Wabun and the
+Wabun-Annung, the east wind and the morning star.
+
+ "Young and beautiful was Wabun;
+ He it was who brought the morning,
+ He it was whose silver arrows
+ Chased the dark o'er hill and valley;
+ He it was whose cheeks were painted
+ With the brightest streaks of crimson,
+ And whose voice awoke the village,
+ Called the deer, and called the hunter.
+
+ "Lonely in the sky was Wabun;
+ Though the birds sang gaily to him,
+ Though the wild flowers of the meadow
+ Filled the air with odors for him,
+ Though the forests and the rivers
+ Sang and shouted at his coming,
+ Still his heart was sad within him,
+ For he was alone in heaven.
+
+ "But one morning, gazing earthward
+ While the village still was sleeping,
+ And the fog lay on the river,
+ Like a ghost, that goes at sunrise,
+ He beheld a maiden walking
+ All alone upon a meadow,
+ Gathering water flags and rushes
+ By a river in the meadow.
+
+ "Every morning, gazing earthward,
+ Still the first thing he beheld there
+ Was her blue eyes looking at him,
+ Two blue lakes among the rushes.
+ And he loved the lonely maiden,
+ Who thus waited for his coming;
+ For they both were solitary,
+ She on earth, and he in heaven.
+
+ "And he wooed her with caresses,
+ Wooed her with his smile of sunshine,
+ With his flattering words he wooed her,
+ With his sighing and his singing.
+ Gentlest whispers in the branches,
+ Softest music, sweetest odors,
+ Till he drew her to his bosom
+ Folded in his robes of crimson,
+ Till into a star he changed her,
+ Trembling still upon his bosom;
+ And forever in the heavens
+ They are seen together walking
+ Wabun and the Wabun-Annung,
+ Wabun and the Star of Morning."
+ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
+
+
+
+
+SHAWONDASEE.
+
+
+Shawondasee, fat and lazy, rules the south wind. He lives in the warm
+and pleasant south land, the land of perpetual summer. He sends us the
+beautiful Indian summer in November, the month of snowshoes, that we
+may not forget him during the long, cold winter.
+
+ "From his pipe the smoke ascending
+ Filled the sky with haze and vapor,
+ Filled the air with dreamy softness,
+ Gave a twinkle to the water,
+ Touched the rugged hills with smoothness,
+ Brought the tender Indian Summer
+ To the melancholy north-land,
+ In the dreary moon of Snow-shoes."
+ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
+
+Once Shawondasee thought he saw a maiden with golden tresses standing
+far away in the meadow. He loved her, but was too lazy to bestir
+himself to woo her. After watching her for some time, and always
+loving her, alas! her golden hair changed to white floss and was blown
+about the prairie.
+
+Shawondasee was sad, and he thought that his brother Kabibonokka had
+turned her hair from gold to white. But it was no maiden he had seen.
+It was only the prairie dandelion.
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE DANDELION.
+
+
+ Gay little Dandelion
+ Lights up the meads,
+ Swings on her slender foot,
+ Telleth her beads;
+ Lists to the robin's note
+ Poured from above:
+ Wise little Dandelion
+ Asks not for love.
+
+ Cold lie the daisy banks
+ Clothed but in green,
+ Where in the days agone
+ Bright hues were seen.
+ Wild pinks are slumbering;
+ Violets delay:
+ True little Dandelion
+ Greeteth the May.
+
+ Brave little Dandelion;
+ Fast falls the snow,
+ Bending the daffodil's
+ Haughty head low.
+ Under that fleecy tent,
+ Careless of cold,
+ Blithe little Dandelion
+ Counteth her gold.
+
+ Meek little Dandelion
+ Groweth more fair,
+ Till dies the amber dew
+ Out from her hair.
+ High rides the thirsty sun,
+ Fiercely and high;
+ Faint little Dandelion
+ Closeth her eye.
+
+ Pale little Dandelion,
+ In her white shroud,
+ Heareth the angel breeze
+ Call from the cloud.
+ Tiny plumes fluttering
+ Make no delay;
+ Little winged Dandelion
+ Soareth away.
+ --Helen B. Bostwick.
+
+
+
+
+KABIBONOKKA.
+
+
+To the fierce Kabibonokka, Mudjekeewis gave the cold and cruel north
+wind. He lives far away toward the north in the regions of ice and
+snow. In the autumn and winter he comes out from his home, and travels
+toward the south.
+
+He stamps upon the rivers, and the waters freeze. Frost pictures
+appear upon the windowpanes, the birds fly southward, and no one
+remains in the kingdom of the north wind but the Diver. This brave
+Diver cares not for the cold or for the stormy north wind. He sits in
+his wigwam, merry and warm; for he has four great logs for his fire,
+and each log will last a month. Kabibonokka enters the wigwam, but
+cannot stand the heat, and so taunts the Diver and dares him to a
+combat in the open air. Long they fight; but at length the Diver
+conquers, and the cold and fierce Kabibonokka is driven back into his
+kingdom of the north.
+
+The Diver is the glorious sun, who, with his warm golden beams, beats
+back the cold, and brings the pleasant summer with the birds and
+flowers.
+
+ "But the fierce Kabibonokka
+ Had his dwelling among icebergs,
+ In the everlasting snowdrifts,
+ In the kingdom of Wabasso,
+ In the land of the White Rabbit.
+ He it was whose hand in Autumn
+ Painted all the trees with scarlet,
+ Stained the leaves with red and yellow;
+ He it was who sent the snowflakes,
+ Sifting, hissing, through the forest,
+ Froze the ponds, the lakes, the rivers,
+ Drove the loon and sea gull southward,
+ Drove the cormorant and curlew
+ To their nests of sedge and sea tang
+ In the realms of Shawondasee."
+ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
+
+
+
+
+WHAT THE WINDS BRING.
+
+
+ Which is the wind that brings the cold?
+ The north wind, Freddy, and all the snow;
+ And the sheep will scamper into the fold
+ When the north begins to blow.
+
+ Which is the wind that brings the heat?
+ The south wind, Katy; and corn will grow,
+ And peaches redden for you to eat,
+ When the south begins to blow.
+
+ Which is the wind that brings the rain?
+ The east wind, Arty; and farmers know
+ That cows come shivering up the lane,
+ When the east begins to blow.
+
+ Which is the wind that brings the flowers?
+ The west wind, Bessy; and soft and low
+ The birdies sing in the summer hours,
+ When the west begins to blow.
+ --Edmund Clarence Stedman.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Iris.
+ Guy Head (_Rome_).]
+
+
+
+
+IRIS.
+
+
+The Greeks lived much in the open air, and they loved to watch the
+fleecy clouds float lazily across the blue heavens, or at night to see
+the bright, golden stars shine down upon them like friendly eyes. They
+believed that Juno was goddess of the heavens when they were calm and
+peaceful, as Jupiter was god of the storm cloud and of the
+thunderbolt.
+
+Whenever they saw the radiant rainbow, they said, "There is the
+glowing Iris, the messenger of Juno, carrying some message from the
+sky to the earth." They thought that Iris had shining wings of various
+colors, and that while she stayed upon earth, you could see her path
+in the heavens marked by the many-colored rainbow.
+
+
+
+
+THE RAINBOW.
+
+
+ My heart looks up when I behold
+ A rainbow in the sky.
+ So was it when my life began;
+ So is it now I am a man;
+ So be it when I shall grow old
+ Or let me die!
+ The child is father of the man;
+ And I could wish my days to be
+ Bound each to each by natural piety.
+ --William Wordsworth.
+
+
+
+
+RAINBOW STORIES.
+
+
+The Indians had a lovely thought about the rainbow,--perhaps more
+beautiful than the belief of the Greeks.
+
+You know how sweet and beautiful the flowers are, how we love the
+roses, the lilies, the pansies, and the golden-rod, and how sorry we
+are to have them leave us when the cold winds blow.
+
+The Indians also loved the flowers; and they fancied, when they saw
+such lovely colors in the rainbow which spans the heavens, that all
+the wild flowers--the lilies, the buttercups, and windflowers, the
+dainty violets and the moss of the woods--were still living and
+blossoming in the heavens.
+
+Our poet Longfellow has told us about this myth in his "Song of
+Hiawatha." The little Hiawatha
+
+ "Saw the rainbow in the heaven,
+ In the eastern sky, the rainbow,
+ Whispered, 'What is that, Nokomis?'
+ And the good Nokomis answered:
+ ''Tis the heaven of flowers you see there;
+ All the wild flowers of the forest,
+ All the lilies of the prairie,
+ When on earth they fade and perish,
+ Blossom in that heaven above us.'"
+
+In the Old Testament we are told that many, many years ago there was a
+great flood. It had rained for forty days and forty nights, when
+suddenly the rain ceased, and a beautiful rainbow was seen by the
+people on the earth. How glad they were to see it! For they knew it
+was God's promise not to send another flood, and they were happy in
+this thought.
+
+"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I
+may remember the everlasting covenant."
+
+
+
+
+THE RAINBOW FAIRIES.
+
+
+ Two little clouds one summer's day
+ Went flying through the sky.
+ They went so fast they bumped their heads,
+ And both began to cry.
+ Old Father Sun looked out and said,
+ "O, never mind, my dears,
+ I'll send my little fairy folk
+ To dry your falling tears."
+
+ One fairy came in violet,
+ And one in indigo,
+ In blue, green, yellow, orange, red,--
+ They made a pretty row.
+ They wiped the cloud tears all away,
+ And then, from out the sky,
+ Upon a line the sunbeams made
+ They hung their gowns to dry.
+ --Lizzie M. Hadley.
+
+
+
+
+NARCISSUS.
+
+
+Narcissus was a vain youth, and loved no one but himself. One day,
+while looking into a quiet stream, he thought he saw a lovely naiad in
+the water gazing up at him.
+
+He smiled upon her, and she also smiled. Day after day he came to the
+bank and begged the lovely naiad to come out of the water, and roam
+with him through the flowery meadows of earth. Every day he believed
+she would come; for she seemed to smile upon him and welcome him, even
+as he spoke and smiled upon her.
+
+Some days, when the waters were dark and ruffled by the wind, he could
+not see her blue eyes and golden ringlets, and he thought she was
+vexed with him.
+
+He never knew it was his own face he saw reflected in the water, and
+at last, after weary watching and waiting, he pined away and died.
+Echo and all the nymphs of the stream and of the grove mourned for
+him. He was beautiful even in death, for the gods had changed him into
+a flower. His pale face and golden hair were changed into the delicate
+narcissus, which delights us with its graceful form and rare
+fragrance.
+
+The narcissus grows upon the margin of streams, and, bending over the
+waters, seems to admire its image mirrored there.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Brook.]
+
+THE BROOK.
+
+
+ I come from haunts of coot and hern,
+ I make a sudden sally,
+ And sparkle out among the fern,
+ To bicker down a valley.
+
+ By thirty hills I hurry down,
+ Or slip between the ridges,
+ By twenty thorps, a little town,
+ And half a hundred bridges.
+
+ I chatter over stony ways,
+ In little sharps and trebles,
+ I bubble into eddying bays,
+ I babble on the pebbles.
+
+ I wind about, and in and out,
+ With here a blossom sailing,
+ And here and there a lusty trout,
+ And here and there a grayling.
+
+ And here and there a foamy flake
+ Upon me, as I travel
+ With many a silvery water break
+ Above the golden gravel,
+
+ And draw them all along, and flow
+ To join the brimming river;
+ For men may come and men may go,
+ But I go on forever.
+
+ I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
+ I slide by hazel covers;
+ I move the sweet forget-me-nots,
+ That grow for happy lovers.
+
+ I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
+ Among my skimming swallows;
+ I make the netted sunbeam dance
+ Against my sandy shallows.
+
+ And out again I curve and flow
+ To join the brimming river;
+ For men may come and men may go,
+ But I go on forever.
+ --Alfred Tennyson.
+
+
+
+
+ECHO AND NARCISSUS.
+
+
+Diana had many young and lovely nymphs, who attended her in her
+rambles over the wooded hills. Among these maids was Echo, a very
+graceful and merry nymph of the mountain. Echo had one serious fault,
+however. She was too fond of talking, and was always anxious to say
+the last word.
+
+One day she angered Juno, with whom she was talking, and the goddess
+punished her severely. She said,--"Echo, this shall be your punishment
+for trying to deceive me. You may still have the last word as you are
+so fond of it, but never the first. You shall not have the power to
+begin the conversation; you may only reply."
+
+Soon after this Echo met Narcissus, a handsome youth who was hunting
+upon the mountain. She admired his grace and skill in the hunt and
+wished very much to join in the chase. But she could not speak to him,
+and when he called to his companions she could only repeat the last
+words. Narcissus did not care to please the nymph, and so refused to
+speak with her or to allow her to join in the hunt.
+
+ [Illustration: Echo.
+ Copyright, 1893, by Photographische Gesellschaft.]
+
+After Narcissus left the mountain, Echo sought a lonely cave amid the
+rocks; and she grieved so over her punishment, that she pined away
+until nothing was left of the lovely nymph but her voice. Sometimes,
+in the lonely mountain paths, if you call, you will hear Echo
+repeating your words softly from a distance. But you will never see
+her; she is nothing but a voice.
+
+
+
+
+BLUE.
+
+
+ Blue! 'Tis the life of heaven,--the domain
+ Of Cynthia,--the wide palace of the sun,--
+ The tent of Hesperus, and all his train,--
+ The bosomer of clouds, gold, gray, and dun.
+
+ Blue! 'Tis the life of waters--ocean
+ And all its vassal streams; pools numberless
+ May range, and foam, and fret, but never can
+ Subside, if not to dark-blue nativeness.
+
+ Blue! Gentle cousin of the forest green,
+ Married to green in all the sweetest flowers--
+ Forget-me-not, the bluebell, and that queen
+ Of secrecy, the violet: what strange powers
+ Hast thou, as a mere shadow! But how great
+ When in an eye thou art alive with fate!
+ --John Keats.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Parthenon.
+ _Athens._]
+
+MINERVA.
+
+
+The wonderful goddess Minerva is said to have come full-grown from the
+brain of her father, Jupiter, king of the gods. She is tall, and clad
+in full armor. Her name Minerva means "mind." She is called the
+goddess of wisdom, and she took the throne which the stupid goddess
+Dullness had held before. Unlike Mars, Minerva does not love war, but
+she is very brave when compelled to fight.
+
+A city in Greece was to be named, and Neptune and Minerva contended
+for the honor. The gods decided that the one who produced the article
+most valuable to man should name the city.
+
+Neptune struck the ground with his trident, and there sprang forth a
+horse, strong and noble. All admired Neptune's gift, and did not
+believe that Minerva could surpass him.
+
+When Minerva produced the olive tree, they laughed, and all thought
+that Neptune had won. But the goddess told them that the olive tree
+could furnish wood for fire, for building houses, and for making many
+useful articles; that food and oil could be obtained from it; and that
+even clothing could be made from its fiber.
+
+The gods then said that, while men could live without horses, they
+could not live without food, warmth, and shelter, and Minerva had the
+honor of naming the city.
+
+Minerva was called Pallas Athene by the Greeks, and so the city in
+Greece was named Athens. In this city was erected a beautiful temple
+in her honor, called the Parthenon. Its ruins are still standing.
+
+In this temple was a magnificent statue of Minerva, made by the great
+sculptor Phidias. It was of ivory and gold. The goddess wears a long
+cloak and a helmet, and carries a shield and spear. At her feet is
+coiled a serpent, the emblem of wisdom. Minerva has clear blue eyes,
+is always calm and dignified, and helps all those who wish to excel in
+wisdom, or to obtain skill in the arts of peace.
+
+
+
+
+MINERVA AND ARACHNE.
+
+
+Arachne was a young girl who was famous for her skill in embroidery
+and weaving. All the women of Greece knew that she excelled in this
+feminine work, and they liked to see her with her loom or needle. Even
+the nymphs, who love to sport about the fountains and in the groves,
+would leave their play to watch her.
+
+It was pleasant to see her deftly separate the wool, and card it until
+it was soft and fleecy as down. Then dexterously twirling the spindle,
+she wove the web so quickly and easily that one watched her fingers
+with delight. Under her skillful touch, the trees in her tapestry
+seemed to bend before the gentle breeze, and the flowers were so
+perfect that they were as beautiful as those growing in the gardens.
+
+"Minerva, the goddess of weaving, must be her teacher," said all who
+saw her wonderful work.
+
+But this did not please Arachne, who was vain and proud. "I am my own
+teacher," she said, with a saucy toss of her pretty head, "and Minerva
+herself cannot compete with me."
+
+This proud boast Minerva heard. The gods do not like such boasting,
+and Minerva determined to correct her or to punish her. She changed
+her form, and appeared before Arachne as a wise old woman.
+
+ [Illustration: Minerva.
+ _Vatican, Rome._]
+
+"My child," she said, "do not challenge a goddess. Your work is
+beautiful and deserves praise, but Minerva's skill is that of a
+goddess. You are a mortal, and you should ask forgiveness of Minerva
+for your rash speech."
+
+Arachne was angry at these wise words, and replied: "I do not wish
+your advice. I do not fear the goddess, and do not ask her
+forgiveness. If she is not afraid, let her come, and we will compare
+our work."
+
+Lo! as she spoke, Minerva dropped her disguise, and stood revealed--a
+goddess. All around were amazed, and trembled before the glorious
+Minerva, except the angry Arachne.
+
+Her friends tried to influence her to give up the contest, and to ask
+Minerva to forgive her irreverent words. But Arachne still thought she
+could excel the goddess in weaving, and, as Minerva said no more, the
+contest began.
+
+Each took her place. Wools of different dyes were given them. Both
+worked with speed, and the slender shuttle seemed to fly under their
+fingers.
+
+Arachne showed Leda and the swan, and Europa and the bull, with such
+fidelity to nature that they seemed to move and breathe. But the
+goddess showed her contest with Neptune. Twelve of the great gods were
+represented. Neptune with his trident had just produced the horse,
+that animal so strong and so useful to man. Minerva stood with her
+helmet and shield, showing her gift to man--the olive tree.
+
+All the beholders saw that Minerva had surpassed Arachne, and felt
+that the proud girl must be punished for her pride and impiety.
+Minerva, more in pity than in anger, touched Arachne's forehead and
+said, "Live, guilty woman, and thus shall you preserve the memory of
+this lesson to all future times."
+
+Speaking thus, the goddess changed the hapless Arachne into a spider.
+If you look at a spider's web, you will see that the descendants of
+Arachne still show great patience and skill, and spin wonderful webs.
+
+
+
+
+MINERVA'S WEAVING.
+
+
+ She made the story of the old debate
+ Which she with Neptune did for Athens try:
+ Twelve gods do sit around in royal state,
+ And Jove in midst with awful majesty,
+ To judge the strife between them stirréd late;
+ Each of the gods, by his like visnomy
+ Is to be known, but Jove above them all,
+ By his great looks and power imperial.
+
+ Before them stands the god of seas in place,
+ Claiming that seacoast city as his right;
+ And strikes the rocks with his three-forkéd mace;
+ Whenceforth issues a warlike steed in sight,
+ The sign by which he challengeth the place;
+ That all the gods, which saw his wondrous might,
+ Did surely deem the victory his due;
+ But seldom seen, forejudgment proveth true.
+
+ Then to herself she gives her Ægide shield,
+ And steel-head spear, and morion on her head
+ Such as she oft is seen in warlike field:
+ Then sets she forth, how with her weapon dread
+ She smote the ground, the which straightforth did yield
+ A fruitful olive tree, with berries spread,
+ That all the gods admired: then, all the story
+ She compassed with a wreath of olives hoary.
+
+ Amongst these leaves she made a butterfly,
+ With excellent device and wondrous slight,
+ Flutt'ring among the olives wantonly,
+ That seemed to live, so like it was in sight:
+ The velvet nap which on his wings doth lie,
+ The silken down with which his back is dight,
+ His broad outstretchéd horns, his hairy thighs,
+ His glorious colors, and his glistening eyes.
+ --Edmund Spenser.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Minerva, Prometheus, and Man.
+ A. B. Thorwaldsen.]
+
+PROMETHEUS.
+
+
+The gods told the wise Prometheus to bestow gifts upon all the animals
+of the earth, according to their need. So to the deer he gave
+swiftness; to the lion, courage; to the horse, strength; to the eagle,
+strong pinions; to the ox, patience; to the dog, keenness of scent;
+and to the nightingale, a melodious voice.
+
+After the animals had all received special gifts, the gods told
+Prometheus to make man to rule over them. Prometheus made man after
+the image of the gods, but smaller and weaker, and Minerva gave to him
+mind and soul. Prometheus loved the man he had made, but as he had
+already bestowed all the gifts he had upon the animals, for a long
+time he could not think of a way in which to give man power over them.
+At last he decided that he must obtain for man the gift of fire.
+
+But how could he get this wonderful element? He knew that Jupiter
+would never grant it; for fire belonged to Apollo, the god of the sun,
+and punishment would be inflicted upon any one who attempted to obtain
+it by stealth or by force. Yet his love for man prevailed over his
+fear and by night he approached the chariot wheels of the sun and
+stole some fire, bringing it to earth in a hollow tube. With this
+power, man conquers the cold, makes the minerals plastic, forces his
+way through mountains, and crosses deep seas.
+
+When Jupiter discovered that Prometheus had bestowed this great gift
+on man, he punished him very severely; but Prometheus endured the
+punishment bravely, conscious that man would always profit by his
+daring. Prometheus has always been called the friend of man, and many
+poets have written in his honor.
+
+
+
+
+HOME THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD.
+
+
+ Oh, to be in England
+ Now that April's there,
+ And whoever wakes in England
+ Sees, some morning, unaware,
+ That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
+ Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
+ While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
+ In England--now!
+
+ And after April, when May follows,
+ And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
+ Hark, where my blossomed pear tree in the hedge
+ Leans to the field, and scatters on the clover
+ Blossoms and dewdrops at the bent spray's edge--
+ That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
+ Lest you should think he never could recapture
+ That first fine careless rapture!
+
+ And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
+ All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
+ The buttercups, the little children's dower
+ Far brighter than this gaudy melon flower!
+ --Robert Browning.
+
+
+
+
+ADONIS.
+
+
+Adonis was a youth of wonderful beauty. Tall and lithe and graceful,
+he seemed like a young god, although he was but a mortal. He was fond
+of hunting, and day after day found him roaming over the hills and
+through the forests with his bow and arrows. His step was light and
+bounding, and he seemed to belong to the life of the hills as much as
+the trees and flowers.
+
+Tired with the hunt, he would throw himself upon the leafy turf and
+look up through the great branches of the trees to the azure skies.
+
+It seemed to him that he could understand what the leaves were saying,
+as they rustled in the breeze. The clouds made him think of
+white-sailed boats floating on a blue sea, and he wished that he could
+sail with them to the home of the god of the golden sun. The grass
+seemed to whisper to him and tell him the secrets of the earth mother,
+and the streams leaping down the mountain sides seemed to laugh
+joyously and to call upon him to follow.
+
+Adonis did not care for city life; the woods held all of beauty for
+him. And he was not at all surprised, one day, when he saw Venus
+coming towards him, her beauty radiant in the sunlight. She seemed to
+him to be at home in the woods he loved so well.
+
+Venus loved Adonis, and they went hunting together. Adonis was bold,
+and wished to chase the larger game; but Venus warned him against the
+fierce wild boars and the wolves. When Venus was with Adonis, he
+listened to her advice. But in her absence, one day, he pursued a wild
+boar. His arrow struck the boar and angered him. Fiercely the animal
+sprang upon the youthful hunter, and thrust his tusks through his
+side, and Adonis sank in death.
+
+Venus grieved for his death. "Alas!" she cried, "why did you hunt the
+cruel beasts which care not for youth or grace or beauty? Long shall I
+lament your untimely death, Adonis. From your blood a flower shall
+spring to keep your memory upon the earth, and people shall say, 'This
+is the flower of Adonis.'" At that moment blossomed the tender
+anemone, the windflower, which every spring adorns the warm hillsides.
+
+This myth has almost the same meaning as the myth of Ceres and
+Persephone. When the youthful Adonis, the springtime of the year, is
+hunting over the hills and valleys, Venus, the cherishing mother, is
+glad and happy in his presence, and all the earth is filled with
+flower and fruit.
+
+But before the tusk of the wild boar, the cruel and frosty winter,
+Adonis is slain; and Venus grieves, as Ceres laments when Persephone
+is in the kingdom of Pluto.
+
+
+
+
+ORIGIN OF THE OPAL.
+
+
+ A dewdrop came, with a spark of flame
+ He had caught from the sun's last ray,
+ To a violet's breast, where he lay at rest
+ Till the hours brought back the day.
+
+ The rose looked down, with a blush and frown;
+ But she smiled all at once, to view
+ Her own bright form, with its coloring warm,
+ Reflected back by the dew.
+
+ Then the stranger took a stolen look
+ At the sky, so soft and blue;
+ And a leaflet green with its silver sheen,
+ Was seen by the idler too.
+
+ A cold north wind, as he thus reclined,
+ Of a sudden raged around;
+ And a maiden fair, who was walking there,
+ Next morning, an opal found.
+
+
+
+
+THE APPLES OF THE HESPERIDES.
+
+
+Far away in the west was a beautiful land that belonged to King
+Hesperus. This king had three lovely daughters who cared for the
+fruits and flowers of the gardens. In the gardens were many graceful
+trees whose boughs bent under the weight of delicious fruit. Flowers
+red, yellow, and orange adorned the walks.
+
+When Juno, goddess of the sky, married Jupiter, her sister Ceres gave
+her a handsome present. Ceres is the earth goddess who cultivates the
+fruits, flowers, and grains, and the best gift she could bestow upon
+her sister was some golden apples.
+
+Juno prized these apples highly, and gave them to the Hesperides, the
+daughters of Hesperus. They placed them upon the shadiest tree of the
+garden, and watched and cared for them very carefully.
+
+Once they were taken away by Hercules, the strong hero who performed
+many wonderful labors, but they were afterwards restored to the
+careful hands of the maidens.
+
+Many heroes heard of the beautiful land, Hesperia, and of the
+wonderful apples growing there, and sailed westward to find them. Some
+people think that the golden apples were really the oranges of Spain,
+a rich and famous country west of Greece.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Juno.
+ _National Museum, Naples._]
+
+
+
+
+CLEON AND I.
+
+
+ Cleon hath ten thousand acres,
+ Ne'er a one have I;
+ Cleon dwelleth in a palace.
+ In a cottage I;
+ Cleon hath a dozen fortunes,
+ Not a penny I:
+ Yet the poorer of the twain is
+ Cleon, and not I.
+
+ Cleon is a slave to grandeur,
+ Free as thought am I;
+ Cleon fees a score of doctors,
+ Need of none have I;
+ Wealth surrounded, care environed,
+ Cleon fears to die;
+ Death may come--he'll find me ready,
+ Happier man am I.
+
+ Cleon sees no charms in Nature,
+ In a daisy I;
+ Cleon hears no anthems ringing
+ 'Twixt the sea and sky;
+ Nature sings to me forever,
+ Earnest listener I:
+ State for state, with all attendants--
+ Who would change? Not I.
+ --Charles Mackay.
+
+
+
+
+PANDORA.
+
+
+Vulcan was always trying his skill, and he made many wonderful and
+beautiful things. One day he invited the gods to see his latest
+creation. Here stood a beautiful figure, resembling Venus in beauty.
+The gods were delighted with his work, and decided each to bestow upon
+the woman some excellent gift.
+
+Minerva gave skill in handicraft, Mercury gave wit in conversation,
+Venus the power to please, the Graces added charm to her beauty, and
+Jupiter at last gave life and immortality. Because of these many
+gifts, she was named Pandora, a Greek word meaning "all gifts."
+
+The gods sent Pandora to Prometheus and Epimetheus, the brothers who
+loved mankind. Prometheus would not receive the lovely maiden, for he
+knew the gods did not love him and he feared their gifts. But
+Epimetheus welcomed her to his home.
+
+For some time they lived happily, but trouble came to them because of
+Pandora's curiosity. In the palace of Epimetheus was a quaintly carved
+box. Pandora had wondered what was in it, for Epimetheus did not know.
+
+"The winged messenger brought it," he told her, "and said that it
+contained a secret of the immortal gods. We must not open it, dear
+Pandora, for mortals should not know the secrets of the immortals."
+
+But Pandora was not to be satisfied. Day after day the longing grew
+upon her to open the box. She believed it contained beautiful garments
+or ornaments, and she said to herself: "Why should the gods leave the
+box here, if we must not open it? There are many places where they
+could have hidden it." So she persuaded herself that she would not be
+doing wrong to open the box, although a little voice seemed to warn
+her not to disobey.
+
+Slowly she approached the box. The figures upon it seemed to smile
+upon her. She thought she would open it just a little and peep in.
+Poor Pandora! The moment she lifted the cover, all the sorrow and
+sickness and sin which had been shut up in this wonderful box, flew
+out and winged their way all over the earth.
+
+Pandora was overcome with remorse and let the cover fall. In the midst
+of her grief, she heard a sweet voice say, "Pandora, dear Pandora, do
+not grieve so; let me out to comfort you."
+
+"No, indeed," replied Pandora; "too many of your sisters and brothers
+have I let out already."
+
+But the voice persisted, and was so kind and gentle that at last
+Pandora yielded, and Hope came forth to comfort and help man to endure
+all the evils of this life. In sickness or sorrow, hope points to
+happier to-morrows, and when we have done wrong and repent, hope
+encourages us to do what we know is right.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: A Landscape.
+ J. B. C. Corot (1796-1878).]
+
+
+
+
+THE GLADNESS OF NATURE.
+
+
+ Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
+ When our mother nature laughs around;
+ When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
+ And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?
+
+ There are notes of joy from the hangbird and wren,
+ And the gossip of swallows through all the sky;
+ The ground squirrel gayly chirps by his den,
+ And the wilding bee hums merrily by.
+
+ The clouds are at play in the azure space
+ And their shadows at play on the bright green vale;
+ And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
+ And there they roll on the easy gale.
+
+ There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,
+ There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree,
+ There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,
+ And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea.
+
+ And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles,
+ On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray,
+ On the leaping waters and gay young isles;
+ Ay, look, and he'll smile thy gloom away.
+ --William Cullen Bryant.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Hebe.
+ A. Canova (1757-1822).]
+
+
+
+
+HEBE AND GANYMEDE.
+
+
+As you know, the home of the gods and goddesses was a mountain in
+Greece called Olympus. It is the loftiest mountain of that country,
+and its top is often encircled by clouds. Here were the marble palaces
+of the gods. On this mountain, they would meet in council to decide
+upon the fate of mortals, or they would come together for a merry
+feast.
+
+Fair Hebe, the goddess of youth, was their cupbearer. It was her duty
+to pour out the delicious nectar. She was so graceful and light-footed
+that she seemed to float rather than to walk. The rosy light of youth
+and health shone from her bright eyes and glowing cheeks.
+
+But, alas! one day she stumbled, and some of the nectar fell upon the
+marble floor. The gods demand perfect service, and dislike
+awkwardness, so poor Hebe was in disgrace. Although she was the
+daughter of Jupiter and Juno, she could no longer serve the gods, and
+Jupiter sought another cupbearer.
+
+This god can assume any shape he chooses, and as an eagle he flew over
+the lands until he saw Ganymede, the son of a Trojan king. Jupiter was
+so pleased with him that he carried him to high Olympus for cupbearer
+in place of Hebe.
+
+
+
+
+MAY.
+
+
+ Merry, rollicking, frolicking May
+ Into the woods came skipping one day;
+ She teased the brook till he laughed outright,
+ And gurgled and scolded with all his might;
+ She chirped to the birds and bade them sing
+ A chorus of welcome to Lady Spring;
+ And the bees and butterflies she set
+ To waking the flowers that were sleeping yet.
+ She shook the trees till the buds looked out
+ To see what the trouble was all about,
+ And nothing in Nature escaped that day
+ The touch of the life-giving, bright, young May.
+ --Macdonald.
+
+
+
+
+VESTA.
+
+
+A beautiful little building in Rome is called the Temple of Vesta.
+Hundreds of years have passed since the Romans built this shrine. Many
+buildings and temples erected since have been destroyed, but this
+little temple still stands to show the thought and the artistic taste
+of the old Romans.
+
+Vesta is the goddess of the hearth. Fire is the emblem of friendship
+and hospitality, and in the temple of Vesta the fire was kept burning
+night and day. The Romans believed that if this fire went out, great
+trouble would come upon the people. So maidens were chosen to guard
+the fire and honor the goddess.
+
+Little girls, six years old, were taken from the best families in
+Rome, for it was considered a great honor to be chosen. For ten years
+they were taught the duties of a vestal virgin. Then for ten years
+they served the goddess at her altar fires, and after that they became
+the teachers of the young children.
+
+When a great general had won a victory over the enemies of Rome, and
+all the people gathered to celebrate the return of the soldiers from
+the battlefield, the vestal virgins had an honored place in the
+procession. At the great games held in the Coliseum, the vestals sat
+next to the emperor; for they guarded the fire of home--the dearest
+place on earth.
+
+
+
+
+SWEET AND LOW.
+
+
+ Sweet and low, sweet and low,
+ Wind of the western sea,
+ Low, low, breathe and blow,
+ Wind of the western sea!
+ Over the rolling waters go,
+ Come from the dying moon, and blow,
+ Blow him again to me;
+ While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps.
+
+ Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,
+ Father will come to thee soon;
+ Rest, rest, on mother's breast,
+ Father will come to thee soon;
+ Father will come to his babe in the nest,
+ Silver sails all out of the west
+ Under the silver moon:
+ Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep.
+ --Alfred Tennyson.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Mother and Child.
+ Saubès (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE ORIGIN OF THE MOSS ROSE.
+
+
+One beautiful summer day a fairy saw a butterfly with golden wings. He
+tried to catch the lovely insect, and it led him a merry chase from
+flower to flower. At last the fairy found himself in a strange wood,
+and he did not know the way home. The sun had set, the wind had gone
+away, and no one could direct him.
+
+Wearied with his search, he determined to rest until the moon rose,
+when the fairies would come forth to dance upon the mossy banks. He
+looked about him for a resting place, and asked a stately lily to let
+him sleep on her broad leaves; but the petals were closed, and she
+would not receive him. Many flowers refused him shelter. At last, worn
+out and almost hopeless, he came to a rose. This lovely flower spread
+wide her soft, fragrant petals as a downy couch for the tired fairy.
+
+After a quiet nap he awoke, rested and grateful, and asked the rose
+what return he could make for her kindness. The rose bowed her pretty
+head, and replied, "Make me more beautiful."
+
+The fairy looked at the rose blushing in the silvery moonlight, and
+wondered how she could be more lovely. Soon he noticed the dainty
+green moss at his feet, and drew a delicate veil of it over the rose.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Cupid Asleep.
+ L. Perrault (_modern_).]
+
+
+
+
+THE MOSS ROSE.
+
+
+ The angel of the flowers, one day,
+ Beneath a rose tree sleeping lay,--
+ That spirit to whose charge 'tis given
+ To bathe young buds in dews of heaven;
+ Awaking from his light repose,
+ The angel whispered to the rose:
+ "O fondest object of my care,
+ Still fairest found, where all are fair;
+ For the sweet shade thou giv'st to me,
+ Ask what thou wilt, 'tis granted thee."
+ "Then," said the rose, with deepened glow,
+ "On me another grace bestow."
+ The spirit paused, in silent thought,--
+ What grace was there that flower had not?
+ 'Twas but a moment,--o'er the rose
+ A veil of moss the angel throws;
+ And, robed in nature's simplest weed,
+ Could there a flower that rose exceed?
+ --Krummacher.
+
+
+
+
+ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.
+
+
+The Greeks said that Orpheus was a handsome youth, who loved music and
+song. He was the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope.
+
+Apollo, who is god of music, loved his son, and gave him a lyre with
+golden strings. When he played upon this musical lyre, and sang words
+of harmony and love, all the voices of nature became silent to listen.
+The ocean waves ceased their strife, the noisy winds said "Hush," and
+the flowers turned their pretty heads to listen to his strains.
+
+Orpheus loved his wife Eurydice dearly, and when she died, he would
+not be comforted. One day, lonely and sad, he took his lyre and
+wandered to the mountains.
+
+Soon he struck his strings, and the words he sang were so mournful
+that the trees leaned down their branches to comfort him, the rocks on
+the mountain side moved to follow him, the flowers bent their tender
+heads and their eyes filled with tears of sympathy, while the rippling
+brooks sighed in pity. All nature seemed sad, and the glorious sun
+drew a heavy cloud about him.
+
+ [Illustration: Orpheus.
+ J. B. C. Corot.]
+
+Now the gods who dwell on high Olympus heard his lamentations, and
+begged Jupiter to relieve his sorrow. Therefore, the king of gods sent
+Mercury to tell Orpheus to search for his loved Eurydice in Hades.
+Such was the power of his music that Cerberus with the three great
+heads, the fierce watchdog of Hades, licked his feet, and let him
+pass. All the souls of the wicked who were suffering punishment for
+their sins, when they heard his heavenly music, forgot their torments,
+and ceased from suffering.
+
+Finally Eurydice appeared. Imagine the joy of that meeting! Pluto, won
+by the melody of Orpheus, said that Eurydice might return to earth
+with her husband, if Orpheus would lead the way, and not look back
+until after she had crossed the threshold.
+
+But, alas! Just as the lovely Eurydice stood in the doorway, the
+anxious Orpheus looked back. His great love and longing overcame his
+prudence. A last loving glance, and they were separated, until gentle
+Death took Orpheus by the hand and led him to her.
+
+This charming myth shows us how music wins all hearts, and, with those
+wonderful harmonies which tell us that God, who is the maker of all
+harmony, is guiding us all, helps us to endure pain and loneliness.
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Child.
+ Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792).]
+
+
+
+
+THE CHILD'S WORLD.
+
+
+ Great, wide, wonderful, beautiful world,
+ With the wonderful water about you curled,
+ And the wonderful grass upon your breast--
+ World, you are beautifully dressed!
+
+ The wonderful air is over me,
+ And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree;
+ It walks on the water and whirls the mills,
+ And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.
+
+ You friendly earth; how far do you go
+ With the wheat fields that nod and the rivers that flow,
+ With cities and gardens, and cliffs and isles,
+ And people upon you for thousands of miles?
+
+ Ah, you are so great, and I am so small,
+ I tremble to think of you, world, at all;
+ And yet, when I said my prayer to-day,
+ A whisper within me seemed to say:
+
+ "You are more than the earth, though you're such a dot;
+ You can love and think, and the world cannot."
+ --Lilliput Lectures.
+
+
+
+
+ARION.
+
+
+Arion was a famous musician who lived at the court of Periander, King
+of Corinth. He wished to compete for the prize in the musical contest,
+celebrated in Sicily in honor of Apollo. But Periander, who loved the
+musician, dreaded to have him go so far away. Arion entreated him,
+saying,--"I wish to make the people better and happier by the gift
+which the gods have given me. It is my duty to Apollo to sing in his
+honor."
+
+So Arion went to Sicily, and his music was so excellent and so sweet
+that he won the great prize. The gold and the laurel wreath were put
+on board the ship, and he embarked for home. Wind and wave were
+favorable, the sky was clear. He gave thanks to Apollo for his good
+fortune, and promised to offer sacrifices in the temple.
+
+The wicked sailors, however, knew that Arion had a large amount of
+gold and jewels in his chests. They gathered around him and told him
+that he must die.
+
+"Do you want my gold?" he asked. "That you may have and welcome, but
+spare my life."
+
+But the sailors did not dare let him go to Periander, knowing that the
+king loved him and would have them punished for the robbery. They said
+they would kill him in the ship, or he might plunge into the sea.
+
+Arion was brave and chose to give his life to the waves. He dressed
+as if going to a festival, with his handsomest garments, his jewels,
+and a crown of golden laurel leaves. Taking his lyre, he played so
+exquisitely that even the cruel sailors were moved to pity, but the
+thought of his gold hardened their hearts.
+
+As he plunged beneath the waves, a dolphin, charmed by his music,
+offered its broad back for him to ride upon.
+
+The sailors thought him drowned and continued on their way. Meanwhile
+Arion journeyed on, singing and playing as he went. The dolphin bore
+him safely to the shore. He reached Corinth, and told his friend
+Periander of the treachery of the sailors.
+
+When the ship arrived, the sailors landed and were conducted to the
+palace. "Where is Arion?" asked Periander. "Has he not returned?" The
+sailors replied that he was safe in Tarentum.
+
+At this moment Arion appeared, tall and handsome, wearing elegant
+robes and shining jewels. Amazed to see one whom they believed dead,
+the sailors fell on their knees and cried,--"We murdered him, and he
+has become a god! O earth, open and receive us!"
+
+"Yes," replied the king, "the gods delight to honor the poet, and they
+have saved the life of one whose music charms all hearts but yours.
+Arion does not desire your death. Go, avaricious souls, and never know
+the joy that beauty and music can bring."
+
+
+
+
+JUNE.
+
+
+ No price is set on the lavish summer;
+ June may be had by the poorest comer.
+ And what is so rare as a day in June?
+ Then, if ever, come perfect days;
+ Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
+ And over it softly her warm ear lays:
+ Whether we look, or whether we listen,
+ We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;
+ Every clod feels a stir of might,
+ An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
+ And, groping blindly above it for light,
+ Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;
+ The flush of life may well be seen
+ Thrilling back over hills and valleys;
+ The cowslip startles in meadows green,
+ The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,
+ And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean
+ To be some happy creature's palace;
+ The little bird sits at his door in the sun,
+ Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,
+ And lets his illumined being o'errun
+ With the deluge of summer it receives;
+ His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,
+ And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings;
+ He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,--
+ In the nice ear of nature which song is the best?
+ --James Russell Lowell.
+
+
+
+
+SUPPLEMENTARY READING
+
+
+FAMOUS STORIES AND LITERATURE
+
+¶ This grading, which is simply suggestive, represents the earliest
+years in which these books can be read to advantage.
+
+ Year
+ 7 Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum $0.20
+ 2 Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories Retold .35
+ 4 Golden Fleece .50
+ 8 Nine Choice Poems .25
+ 3 Old Greek Stories .45
+ 3 Old Stories of the East .45
+ 2 Robinson Crusoe for Children .35
+ 3 Thirty More Famous Stories Retold .50
+ 3 Bradish's Old Norse Stories .45
+ 4 Clarke's Arabian Nights .60
+ 6 Story of Troy .60
+ 6 Story of Ulysses .60
+ 6 Story of Aeneas .45
+ 4 Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (Stephens) .50
+ 4 Dickens's Child's Oliver Twist and David Copperfield
+ (Severance) .40
+ 5 Story of Little Nell (Gordon) .50
+ 6 Tale of Two Cities (Kirk) .50
+ 6 Twelve Christmas Stories (Gordon) .50
+ 7 Franklin's Autobiography .35
+ 7 Guerber's Myths of Greece and Rome 1.50
+ 7 Myths of Northern Lands 1.50
+ 7 Legends of the Middle Ages 1.50
+ 4 Hall's Homeric Stories .40
+ 8 Irving's Sketch Book. Selections .20
+ 8 Tales of a Traveler .50
+ 3 Johnson's Waste Not, Want Not Stories .50
+ 3 Kupfer's Lives and Stories Worth Remembering .45
+ 8 Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare. Comedies (Rolfe) .50
+ 8 Tales from Shakespeare. Tragedies (Rolfe) .50
+ 8 Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome (Rolfe) .56
+ 8 Scott's Ivanhoe .50
+ 6 Kenilworth (Norris) .50
+ 8 Lady of the Lake (Gateway) .40
+ 6 Quentin Durward (Norris) .50
+ 6 Talisman (Dewey) .50
+ 8 Shakespeare's Julius Cæsar .20
+ 8 Merchant of Venice .20
+ 8 As You Like It .20
+ 1 Smythe's Reynard the Fox .30
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+BROOKS'S READERS
+
+By STRATTON D. BROOKS, Superintendent of Schools, Boston, Mass.
+
+FIVE BOOK SERIES
+
+ First Year $0.25
+ Second Year .35
+ Third Year .40
+ Fourth and Fifth Years .50
+ Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Years .60
+
+EIGHT BOOK SERIES
+
+ First Year $0.25
+ Second Year .35
+ Third Year .40
+ Fourth Year .40
+ Fifth Year .40
+ Sixth Year .40
+ Seventh Year .40
+ Eighth Year .40
+
+These readers form a good all-round basal series, suitable for use in
+any school; but they will appeal to teachers particularly, because of
+their very easy gradation. Both in thought and expression, the books
+are so carefully graded that each selection is but slightly more
+difficult than the preceding one, and there is no real gap anywhere.
+
+¶ Although a wide variety of reading matter is provided, good
+literature, embodying child interests, has been considered of
+fundamental importance. Lessons of a similar nature are grouped
+together, and topics relating to kindred subjects recur somewhat
+regularly. All are designed to quicken the child's observation, and
+increase his appreciation.
+
+¶ By the use of this series, the child will be taught to read in such
+a manner as will appeal to his interests, and at the same time he will
+be made acquainted with the masterpieces of many famous writers. He
+will gain a knowledge of many subjects, and acquire pure and
+attractive ideals of life and conduct. His imagination will be
+cultivated by pleasing tales of fancy, and he will also be taught a
+love of country, and given glimpses into the life of other lands.
+
+¶ The books are very attractive in mechanical appearance, and contain
+a large number of original illustrations, besides reproductions of
+many celebrated paintings.
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+HUNT'S PROGRESSIVE COURSE IN SPELLING
+
+ Complete $0.20
+ Part One. For Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades .15
+ Part Two. For Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grades .15
+
+The purpose of this book is to assist the pupil in using words
+correctly in any one of three relations, viz.: in speech, in oral
+reading, and in written composition. Its exercises recognize the laws
+of association, and provide a systematic drill in orthography,
+orthoepy, word-building, word-analysis, and other phases of
+word-study.
+
+¶ The vocabulary of the book is made up of words used by the pupil in
+his other studies, and in his every-day experience. The work is
+clearly laid out and graded; reviews are amply provided, both by
+duplication and by dictation work.
+
+¶ PART ONE contains a vocabulary of some 4,000 word-forms in common
+use, selected and graded with great care. The arrangement is such that
+there is afforded a variety of exercises, each containing an average
+of 20 words. The phonetic, the topical, the grammatical, and the
+antithetic and synonymic methods have received special treatment.
+Dictation exercises, including memory gems, illustrative sentences,
+and reviews, are also given.
+
+¶ PART TWO includes a vocabulary of about 5,000 word-forms, the
+exercises being devoted to topical lessons, phonetic drills,
+pronouncing drill, grammatical forms, synonyms and antonyms,
+applications of rules of spelling, drill on homophones, word-building
+and word-analysis, words the derivation of which is indicated, and
+derivatives from Latin and Greek roots. Great emphasis is laid on
+prefixes and suffixes, the origin of words, and pronunciation.
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+SPENCERS' PRACTICAL WRITING
+
+By PLATT R. SPENCER'S SONS
+
+ Books 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Per dozen, $0.60
+
+Spencers' Practical Writing has been devised because of the distinct
+and wide-spread reaction from the use of vertical writing in schools.
+It is thoroughly up-to-date, embodying all the advantages of the old
+and of the new. Each word can be written by one continuous movement of
+the pen.
+
+¶ The books teach a plain, practical hand, moderate in slant, and free
+from ornamental curves, shades, and meaningless lines. The stem
+letters are long enough to be clear and unmistakable. The capitals are
+about two spaces in height.
+
+¶ The copies begin with words and gradually develop into sentences.
+The letters, both large and small, are taught systematically. In the
+first two books the writing is somewhat larger than is customary
+because it is more easily learned by young children. These books also
+contain many illustrations in outline. The ruling is very simple.
+
+¶ Instruction is afforded showing how the pupil should sit at the
+desk, and hold the pen and paper. A series of drill movement
+exercises, thirty-three in number, with directions for their use,
+accompanies each book.
+
+
+SPENCERIAN PRACTICAL WRITING SPELLER
+
+Per dozen, $0.48
+
+This simple, inexpensive device provides abundant drill in writing
+words. At the same time it trains pupils to form their copies in
+accordance with the most modern and popular system of penmanship, and
+saves much valuable time for both teacher and pupil.
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+MILNE'S PROGRESSIVE ARITHMETICS
+
+By WILLIAM J. MILNE, Ph.D., LL.D., President of New York State Normal
+College, Albany, N. Y.
+
+THREE BOOK SERIES
+
+ First Book $0.35
+ Second Book .40
+ Third Book .45
+
+TWO BOOK SERIES
+
+ First Book $0.35
+ Complete Book .65
+
+In these series the best modern methods of instruction have been
+combined with those older features which gave the author's previous
+arithmetics such marvelous popularity.
+
+¶ Built upon a definite pedagogical plan, these books teach the
+processes of arithmetic in such a way as to develop the reasoning
+faculties, and to train the power of rapid, accurate, and skillful
+manipulation of numbers. The inductive method is applied, leading the
+pupils to discover truths for themselves; but it is supplemented by
+model solutions and careful explanations of each step.
+
+¶ Each new topic is first carefully developed, and then enforced by
+sufficient practice to fix it thoroughly in the mind. The problems,
+which have been framed with the greatest care, relate to a wide range
+of subjects drawn from modern life and industries. Reviews in various
+forms are a marked feature. Usefulness is the keynote.
+
+¶ In the First and Second Books the amount of work that may be
+accomplished in a half year is taken as the unit of classification,
+and the various subjects are treated topically, each being preceded by
+a brief résumé of the concepts already acquired. In the Third Book the
+purely topical method is used in order to give the pupil a coherent
+knowledge of each subject. The Complete Book covers the work usually
+given to pupils during the last four years of school.
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+STEPS IN ENGLISH
+
+ By A. C. McLEAN, A.M., Principal of Luckey School, Pittsburg;
+ THOMAS C. BLAISDELL, A.M., Professor of English, Fifth Avenue
+ Normal High School, Pittsburg; and JOHN MORROW,
+ Superintendent of Schools, Allegheny, Pa.
+
+ Book One. For third, fourth, and fifth years $0.40
+ Book Two. For sixth, seventh, and eighth years .60
+
+This series presents a new method of teaching language which is in
+marked contrast with the antiquated systems in vogue a generation ago.
+The books meet modern conditions in every respect, and teach the child
+how to express his thoughts in language rather than furnish an undue
+amount of grammar and rules.
+
+¶ From the start the attempt has been made to base the work on
+subjects in which the child is genuinely interested. Lessons in
+writing language are employed simultaneously with those in
+conversation, while picture-study, the study of literary selections,
+and letter-writing are presented at frequent intervals. The lessons
+are of a proper length, well arranged, and well graded. The books mark
+out the daily work for the teacher in a clearly defined manner by
+telling him what to do, and when to do it. Many unique mechanical
+devices, _e. g._, a labor-saving method of correcting papers, a
+graphic system of diagramming, etc., form a valuable feature of the
+work.
+
+¶ These books are unlike any other series now on the market. They do
+not shoot over the heads of the pupils, nor do they show a marked
+effort in writing down to the supposed level of young minds. They do
+not contain too much technical grammar, nor are they filled with what
+is sentimental and meaningless. No exaggerated attention is given to
+analyzing by diagramming, and to exceptions to ordinary rules, which
+have proved so unsatisfactory.
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+NEW SERIES OF THE NATURAL GEOGRAPHIES
+
+REDWAY AND HINMAN
+
+TWO BOOK OR FOUR BOOK EDITION
+
+ Introductory Geography $0.60
+ In two parts, each .40
+
+ School Geography 1.25
+ In two parts, each .75
+
+In the new series of these sterling geographies emphasis is laid on
+industrial, commercial, and political geography, with just enough
+physiography to bring out the causal relations.
+
+¶ The text is clear, simple, interesting, and explicit. The pictures
+are distinguished for their aptness and perfect illustrative
+character. Two sets of maps are provided, one for reference, and the
+other for study, the latter having corresponding maps drawn to the
+same scale.
+
+¶ The INTRODUCTORY GEOGRAPHY develops the subject in accordance with
+the child's comprehension, each lesson paving the way for the next. In
+the treatment of the United States the physiographic, historical,
+political, industrial, and commercial conditions are taken up in their
+respective order, the chief industries and the localities devoted
+largely to each receiving more than usual consideration. The country
+is regarded as being divided into five industrial sections.
+
+¶ In the SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY a special feature is the presentation of the
+basal principles of physical and general geography in simple,
+untechnical language, arranged in numbered paragraphs. In subsequent
+pages constant reference is made to these principles, but in each case
+accompanied by the paragraph number. This greatly simplifies the work,
+and makes it possible to take up the formal study of these
+introductory lessons after the remainder of the book has been
+completed. With a view to enriching the course, numerous specific
+references are given to selected geographical reading.
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+APPLIED PHYSIOLOGIES
+
+By FRANK OVERTON, A.M., M.D., late House Surgeon to the City Hospital,
+New York City
+
+ Primary Physiology $0.30
+ Intermediate Physiology $0.50
+ Advanced Physiology $0.80
+
+OVERTON'S APPLIED PHYSIOLOGIES form a series of text-books for
+primary, grammar, and high schools, which departs radically from the
+old-time methods pursued in the teaching of physiology. These books
+combine the latest results of study and research in biological,
+medical, and chemical science with the best methods of teaching.
+
+¶ The fundamental principle throughout this series is the study of the
+cells where the essential functions of the body are carried on.
+Consequently, the study of anatomy and physiology is here made the
+study of the cells from the most elementary structure in organic life
+to their highest and most complex form in the human body.
+
+¶ This treatment of the cell principle, and its development in its
+relation to life, the employment of laboratory methods, the numerous
+original and effective illustrations, the clearness of the author's
+style, the wealth of new physiological facts, and the logical
+arrangement and gradation of the subject-matter, give these books a
+strength and individuality peculiarly their own.
+
+¶ The effects of alcohol and other stimulants and narcotics are
+treated in each book sensibly, and with sufficient fullness. But while
+this important form of intemperance is singled out, it is borne in
+mind that the breaking of any of nature's laws is also a form of
+intemperance, and that the whole study of applied physiology is to
+encourage a more healthful and a more self-denying mode of life.
+
+¶ In the preparation of this series the needs of the various school
+grades have been fully considered. Each book is well suited to the
+pupils for whom it is designed.
+
+AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Minor punctuation errors have been repaired.
+
+Archaic and variable spelling is preserved as printed.
+
+Page 73--repeated 'the' deleted--... and to strew the path of Apollo,
+...
+
+Illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in
+the middle of a paragraph.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of 'Round the Year in Myth and Song, by
+Florence Holbrook
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 'ROUND THE YEAR IN MYTH AND SONG ***
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