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diff --git a/old/51707-h/51707-h.htm b/old/51707-h/51707-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a57dd4b..0000000 --- a/old/51707-h/51707-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12022 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Ontario Readers: Third Reader, by Various. - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - -<style type="text/css"> - -a { - text-decoration: none; -} - -b { - font-size: 110%; -} - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -h1,h2 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -h3 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-style: italic; - font-weight: normal; -} - -hr.chap { - width: 65%; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - clear: both; -} - -hr.r15 { - width: 15%; - margin-left: 42.5%; - margin-right: 42.5%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: 0.5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -div.dropcap { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -div.dropcap-img { - float: left; - margin: -2.5em 1.5em 0 0; - position: relative; - left: -2em; -} - -div.dropcap:first-letter { - color: transparent; - visibility: hidden; - margin-left: -0.9em; -} - -table { - width: 90%; - margin: auto; - max-width: 50em; -} - -td { - padding-left: 0.25em; - padding-right: 0.25em; - vertical-align: bottom; - font-weight: normal; -} - -th { - padding-left: 0.25em; - padding-right: 0.25em; - vertical-align: bottom; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: small-caps; -} - -td.firstletter { - padding-top: 0.75em; -} - -.list-container { - text-align: center; -} - -.list { - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -ul { - list-style-type: none; -} - -li { - margin-top: 0.25em; -} - -.author { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; - text-align: center; - margin-bottom: 1.5em; - margin-top: 1.5em; -} - -.blockquote { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.border-double { - border-top: double; - border-bottom: double; - margin-top: 3em; - width: 40em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.caption { - text-align: center; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-size: 90%; - text-indent: 0em; - font-variant: small-caps; -} - -.center { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.figleft { - float: left; - clear: left; - margin-left: 0; - margin-bottom: 1em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 1em; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; -} - -.figright { - float: right; - clear: right; - margin-left: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 0; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; -} - -.figmulti { - margin-left: 1em; - display: inline-block; - vertical-align: top; -} - -.hanging { - padding-left: 2em; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.larger { - font-size: 150%; -} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - right: 4%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} - -.poetry-container { - text-align: center; - margin: 1em; - position: relative; -} - -.poetry { - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .stanza { - margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; -} - -.poetry .verse { - text-indent: -3em; - padding-left: 3em; -} - -.poetry .indent2 { - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.poetry .indent4 { - text-indent: -1em; -} - -.poetry .indent6 { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.poetry .indent8 { - text-indent: 1em; -} - -.poetry .indent10 { - text-indent: 2em; -} - -.poetry .attribution { - text-align: right; - margin-top: 0.5em; -} - -.right { - text-align: right; -} - -.smaller { - font-size: 80%; -} - -.smcap { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; -} - -.titlepage { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.u { - text-decoration: underline; -} - -@media handheld { - -img { - max-width: 100%; - width: auto; - height: auto; -} - -.poetry { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; -} - -.blockquote { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 5%; -} - -div.dropcap:first-letter { - color: inherit; - visibility: visible; - margin-left: 0; -} - -div.dropcap-img { - display: none; -} -} - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Third Reader, by Various - -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/license - - -Title: Third Reader - The Ontario Readers - -Author: Various - -Release Date: April 9, 2016 [EBook #51707] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THIRD READER *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage">The Ontario Readers.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="titlepage larger">THIRD READER.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="titlepage">AUTHORIZED FOR USE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS<br /> -OF ONTARIO BY THE MINISTER OF<br /> -EDUCATION.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="titlepage">TORONTO:<br /> -THE W. J. GAGE COMPANY (<span class="smcap">Limited</span>).</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<div class="border-double"> - -<p class="hanging">Entered according to Act of the Parliament of -Canada in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture by the Minister -of Education for Ontario, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight -hundred and eighty-five.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PREFACE.</h2> - -<p>The plan of the Third Reader is the same as that of the Second, with -the exception that a few historical lessons have been introduced, and two -lessons which may serve as an introduction to Physical Science. The -botanical lessons supplement those given in the Second Reader. These, and -the lessons on Canadian trees, and all lessons relating to things in nature, -should be made the subjects of conversation between the teacher and his -class, and should form a basis for scientific instruction. The pupils should be -led to study nature directly. To this end they should be required to obtain -(wherever possible) the natural objects which are described in the lessons, -and to examine them, and to form opinions for themselves concerning them.</p> - -<p>Similarly, every lesson should form the subject of conversation—before -reading, during the progress of the reading, and after reading:—the teacher -eliciting from his pupils clear statements of their knowledge of it, correcting -any wrong notions they may have of it, throwing them back upon -their own experience or reading, and leading them to observe, compare, -and judge, and to state in words the results of their observations, -comparisons, and judgments. Some of these statements should be written -on the blackboard, and then be made the subject of critical conversation; -others might be written by the pupils at their desks, and afterwards be -reviewed in class. In this incidental teaching, it should be the teacher’s aim -to develop the previous imperfect knowledge of the pupils concerning a -lesson into a full and complete knowledge. This can best be effected by -judicious questioning and conversation.</p> - -<p>The illustrations of the lessons, as in the Second Reader, are intended to -aid the pupils in obtaining real conceptions of the ideas involved in the -lessons. Children vary greatly in capacity for imagination. It is essential, -however, to the proper understanding of a lesson, and hence to the proper -reading of it, that a child be able to imagine the persons, actions, objects, -described in it. The illustrations will aid in developing this power of -imagination, and the teacher by his questions and appropriate criticisms, -and by a judicious use of his own greater knowledge and experience, will -aid still more in developing it.</p> - -<p>In the poetry great care has been taken to select not only such pieces as -children can easily comprehend, but also such as are in themselves good -literature. Many old favorites have been retained, their worth as reading -lessons having been proved with generations of school children. In the -reading of poetry the teacher must constantly assure himself that the -pupils clearly understand what they read. Children have a natural ear for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -rhythm, and a fondness for rhyme. Hence they easily learn to read verse -being insensibly charmed by its melody. But they cannot, with equal -facility, comprehend the poetical meanings, the terse expressions, and the -inverted constructions, with which verse abounds. Much more time, therefore, -should be spent by the teacher, in poetry than in prose, in eliciting from -his pupils the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences. He should not -rest satisfied until the pupils can substitute for every more important word, -phrase, and sentence of a poem, an equivalent of their own finding. He -must be certain too that they understand the substitutions which they offer. -Conversation and questioning will here, as elsewhere in school work, help -him in effecting his purpose.</p> - -<p>The exercises which are put at the end of some of the lessons are intended -merely as examples of exercises which the teacher can himself prepare for all -the lessons. Methods of using these have been described in the Preface to -the Second Reader. In the Word Exercises, many of the words have been -re-spelled phonetically to indicate their pronunciation. This too is merely -an example of what may be done with all words. Pupils should be taught -to pick out the silent letters in words, and to indicate the true phonetic -equivalents of the “orthographical expedients,” as they are called, by which -vowel sounds are often indicated. For example, in <i>neighbour</i>, <i>g</i>, <i>h</i>, and -either <i>o</i> or <i>u</i> are silent, and <i>ei</i> does duty for <i>ā</i>; so that the pronunciation of -the word may be indicated by <i>nā’bor</i> or <i>nā’bur</i>. It will be a useful exercise -for the pupils sometimes to write out in this way, on the blackboard, -the phonetic spelling of the irregularly spelled words which occur in -their lessons, alongside of their common spelling. Practice will soon give -facility in doing this. It is believed that by such practice the orthography -of irregularly spelled words will be more easily remembered, and accuracy -of pronunciation more readily gained.</p> - -<p>To aid in securing accuracy of pronunciation, a short chapter on Orthoëpy -has been prefixed to the reading lessons. The statements in it are to form -a basis for lessons to be given by the teacher to the pupils in conversation. -Orthoëpy is acquired only by constant attention to utterance. Carefulness -in enunciation must first become a habit. The correct pronunciation -of individual words will then be gained by the imitation of those who -speak correctly, or reference to a dictionary. It is true that in the -pronunciation of many words, authorities differ widely; hence dogmatism in -pronunciation is to be avoided. Notwithstanding this, no one can hope -to become a correct speaker without the careful study of a dictionary. The -teacher should see that the system of sound-marking adopted by the -dictionary in use in his school, is understood by his pupils, so that they -may consult it intelligently.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<p class="center">(<i>The Titles of the Selections in Poetry are printed in Italics.</i>)</p> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <th class="right">Number.</th><th>Title.</th><th>Author.</th><th class="right">Page.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">I.</td><td><a href="#I_THE_WHITE_SHIP"><span class="smcap">The White Ship</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Dickens</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">II.</td><td><a href="#II_CASABIANCA"><i>Casabianca</i></a></td><td>Hemans, Mrs.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">III.</td><td><a href="#III_THE_GIRAFFE_OR_CAMELOPARD"><span class="smcap">The Giraffe or Camelopard</span> (<i>Illus.</i>)</a></td><td><i>Barnes’ IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">IV.</td><td><a href="#IV_THE_MOUNTAIN_AND_THE_SQUIRREL"><i>The Mountain and the Squirrel</i></a></td><td>Emerson</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">V.</td><td><a href="#V_THE_PET_LAMB"><i>The Pet Lamb</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Wordsworth</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">VI.</td><td><a href="#VI_THE_CAMEL"><span class="smcap">The Camel</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">VII.</td><td><a href="#VII_LUCY_GRAY"><i>Lucy Gray</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Wordsworth</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">VIII.</td><td><a href="#VIII_THE_EMPEROR_AND_THE_MAJOR"><span class="smcap">The Emperor and the Major</span> (<i>Illus.</i>)</a></td><td><i>Butler’s IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">IX.</td><td><a href="#IX_FARMER_JOHN"><i>Farmer John</i></a></td><td>Trowbridge</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">X.</td><td><a href="#X_THE_POOR_LITTLE_MATCH_GIRL"><span class="smcap">The Poor Little Match Girl</span></a></td><td>Andersen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XI.</td><td><a href="#XI_THE_SANDS_O_DEE"><i>The Sands O’ Dee</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Kingsley</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XII.</td><td><a href="#XII_THE_RHINOCEROS"><span class="smcap">The Rhinoceros</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Barnes’ IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XIII.</td><td><a href="#XIII_THE_OLD_ARM-CHAIR"><i>The Old Arm-Chair</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Cook, Eliza</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XIV.</td><td><a href="#XIV_ABOU_BEN_ADHEM_AND_THE_ANGEL"><i>Abou Ben Adhem and the Angel</i></a></td><td>Hunt</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XV.</td><td><a href="#XV_PRINCE_ARTHUR"><span class="smcap">Prince Arthur</span></a></td><td>Dickens</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XVI.</td><td><a href="#XVI_A_WET_SHEET_AND_A_FLOWING_SEA"><i>A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea</i></a></td><td>Cunningham</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XVII.</td><td><a href="#XVII_WE_ARE_SEVEN"><i>We are Seven</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Wordsworth</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XVIII.</td><td><a href="#XVIII_THE_HIPPOPOTAMUS"><span class="smcap">The Hippopotamus</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Battersea III.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XIX.</td><td><a href="#XIX_A_BRIGHT_BOY"><i>A Bright Boy</i></a></td><td>Blackie</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XX.</td><td><a href="#XX_AFTER_BLENHEIM"><i>After Blenheim</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Southey</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXI.</td><td><a href="#XXI_THE_BLACK_DOUGLAS"><span class="smcap">The Black Douglas</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Battersea IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXII.</td><td><a href="#XXII_BRUCE_AND_THE_SPIDER"><i>Bruce and the Spider</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Cook, Eliza</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXIII.</td><td><a href="#XXIII_THE_FARMER_AND_THE_FOX"><span class="smcap">The Farmer and the Fox</span></a></td><td>Froude</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXIV.</td><td><a href="#XXIV_A_CANADIAN_BOAT_SONG"><i>A Canadian Boat Song</i></a></td><td>Moore</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXV.</td><td><a href="#XXV_THE_WRECK_OF_THE_HESPERUS"><i>The Wreck of the Hesperus</i></a></td><td>Longfellow</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXVI.</td><td><a href="#XXVI_HOLLAND"><span class="smcap">Holland</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Dodge, Mrs.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXVII.</td><td><a href="#XXVII_EVENING_HYMN"><i>Evening Hymn</i></a></td><td>Keble</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXVIII.</td><td><a href="#XXVIII_PSALM_XXIII"><i>Psalm XXIII.</i></a></td><td></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXIX.</td><td><a href="#XXIX_THE_HEROIC_SERF"><span class="smcap">The Heroic Serf</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Champneys</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXX.</td><td><a href="#XXX_THERES_A_GOOD_TIME_COMING"><i>There’s a Good Time Coming</i></a></td><td>Mackay</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXI.</td><td><a href="#XXXI_JOHN_BROWN"><i>John Brown</i></a></td><td>Mackay</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXII.</td><td><a href="#XXXII_THE_OTTER"><span class="smcap">The Otter</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Butler’s IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXIII.</td><td><a href="#XXXIII_THE_IVY_GREEN"><i>The Ivy Green</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Dickens</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXIV.</td><td><a href="#XXXIV_THE_SEA"><i>The Sea</i></a></td><td>Procter</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXV.</td><td><a href="#XXXV_HO_BREAKERS_ON_THE"><i>Ho! Breakers on the Weather Bow</i></a></td><td>Swain</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>XXXVI.</td><td><a href="#XXXVI_A_CHILDS_DREAM_OF_A_STAR"><span class="smcap">A Child’s Dream of a Star</span></a></td><td>Dickens</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXVII.</td><td><a href="#XXXVII_HANNAH_BINDING_SHOES"><i>Hannah Binding Shoes</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Larcom, Lucy</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXVIII.</td><td><a href="#XXXVIII_JACK_IN_THE_PULPIT"><i>Jack in the Pulpit</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Whittier</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XXXIX.</td><td><a href="#XXXIX_THE_BEAVER"><span class="smcap">The Beaver</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Barnes’ III.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XL.</td><td><a href="#XL_THE_ANGELS_WHISPER"><i>The Angel’s Whisper</i></a></td><td>Lover</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLI.</td><td><a href="#XLI_THE_RAPID"><i>The Rapid</i></a></td><td>Sangster</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLII.</td><td><a href="#XLII_A_NARROW_ESCAPE"><span class="smcap">A Narrow Escape</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Ill. English IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLIII.</td><td><a href="#XLIII_THE_FAIRIES_OF_CALDON-LOW"><i>The Fairies of Caldon-Low</i> (<i>Illus.</i>)</a></td><td>Howitt, Mrs.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLIV.</td><td><a href="#XLIV_VOLCANOES"><span class="smcap">Volcanoes</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Barnes’ IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLV.</td><td><a href="#XLV_A_SMALL_CATECHISM"><i>A Small Catechism</i></a></td><td>McGee</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLVI.</td><td><a href="#XLVI_CURIOUS_BIRDS_NESTS"><span class="smcap">Curious Birds’ Nests</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Butler’s IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLVII.</td><td><a href="#XLVII_LORD_ULLINS_DAUGHTER"><i>Lord Ullin’s Daughter</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Campbell</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLVIII.</td><td><a href="#XLVIII_TO_AN_EARLY_PRIMROSE"><i>To An Early Primrose</i></a></td><td>White</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XLIX.</td><td><a href="#XLIX_THE_WHISTLE"><span class="smcap">The Whistle</span></a></td><td>Franklin</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">L.</td><td><a href="#L_BUGLE_SONG"><i>Bugle Song</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Tennyson</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LI.</td><td><a href="#LI_THE_INCHCAPE_ROCK"><i>The Inchcape Rock</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Southey</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LII.</td><td><a href="#LII_THE_FLAX"><span class="smcap">The Flax</span></a></td><td>Andersen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LIII.</td><td><a href="#LIII_THE_FRENCH_AT_RATISBON"><i>The French at Ratisbon</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Browning</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LIV.</td><td><a href="#LIV_EGYPT_AND_ITS_RUINS"><span class="smcap">Egypt and Its Ruins</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LV.</td><td><a href="#LV_TO_MY_MOTHER"><i>To My Mother</i></a></td><td>White</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LVI.</td><td><a href="#LVI_ZLOBANE"><i>Zlobane</i></a></td><td>Gustafson, Mrs.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LVII.</td><td><a href="#LVII_THE_RUBY-THROATED_HUMMING-BIRD"><span class="smcap">The Ruby-Throated Humming-Bird</span></a></td><td>Audubon</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LVIII.</td><td><a href="#LVIII_TRUST_IN_GOD_AND_DO_THE_RIGHT"><i>Trust in God and Do the Right</i></a></td><td>Macleod</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LIX.</td><td><a href="#LIX_SOMEBODYS_DARLING"><i>Somebody’s Darling</i></a></td><td>Lacoste, Marie</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LX.</td><td><a href="#LX_SONG_FROM_THE_PRINCESS"><i>Song from “The Princess”</i></a></td><td>Tennyson</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXI.</td><td><a href="#LXI_ANTS_AND_THEIR_SLAVES"><span class="smcap">Ants and Their Slaves</span></a></td><td>Michelet</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXII.</td><td><a href="#LXII_THE_GRAY_SWAN"><i>The Gray Swan</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Cary, Alice</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXIII.</td><td><a href="#LXIII_THE_CAPTURE_OF_A_WHALE"><span class="smcap">The Capture of a Whale</span></a></td><td>Cooper</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXIV.</td><td><a href="#LXIV_THE_VILLAGE_BLACKSMITH"><i>The Village Blacksmith</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Longfellow</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXV.</td><td><a href="#LXV_THE_MONSTER_OF_THE_NILE"><span class="smcap">The Monster of the Nile</span></a></td><td>Baker</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXVI.</td><td><a href="#LXVI_PRAYER"><i>Prayer</i></a></td><td>Montgomery</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXVII.</td><td><a href="#LXVII_THE_THERMOMETER"><span class="smcap">The Thermometer</span></a></td><td><i>Ill. English IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXVIII.</td><td><a href="#LXVIII_GOLDEN_DEEDS"><span class="smcap">Golden Deeds</span></a></td><td></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXIX.</td><td><a href="#LXIX_BY_COOL_SILOAMS_SHADY_RILL"><i>By Cool Siloam’s Shady Rill</i></a></td><td>Heber</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXX.</td><td><a href="#LXX_AGE_OF_TREES"><span class="smcap">Age of Trees</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td><i>Butler’s IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXI.</td><td><a href="#LXXI_ROCK_ME_TO_SLEEP"><i>Rock Me to Sleep</i></a></td><td>Allen, Mrs.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXII.</td><td><a href="#LXXII_HEAT_CONDUCTION_AND"><span class="smcap">Heat:—Conduction and Radiation</span></a></td><td><i>Ill. English IV.</i></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXIII.</td><td><a href="#LXXIII_WHEN_ALL_THY_MERCIES"><i>When All Thy Mercies, O my God</i></a></td><td>Addison</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXIV.</td><td><a href="#LXXIV_CANADIAN_TREES"><span class="smcap">Canadian Trees</span> (<i>First Reading—Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Brown</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXV.</td><td><a href="#LXXV_BINGEN_ON_THE_RHINE"><i>Bingen on the Rhine</i></a></td><td>Norton, Hon. Mrs.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXVI.</td><td><a href="#LXXVI_CANADIAN_TREES"><span class="smcap">Canadian Trees</span> (<i>Second Reading</i>)</a></td><td>Brown</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>LXXVII.</td><td><a href="#LXXVII_BURIAL_OF_SIR_JOHN_MOORE"><i>Burial of Sir John Moore</i></a></td><td>Wolfe</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXVIII.</td><td><a href="#LXXVIII_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH"><span class="smcap">The Golden Touch</span> (<i>First Reading—Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Hawthorne</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXIX.</td><td><a href="#LXXIX_THE_ROAD_TO_THE_TRENCHES"><i>The Road to the Trenches</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Lushington</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXX.</td><td><a href="#LXXX_THE_ROOT"><span class="smcap">The Root</span></a></td><td>Figuier</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXI.</td><td><a href="#LXXXI_THE_WATER_FOWL"><i>The Waterfowl</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Bryant</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXII.</td><td><a href="#LXXXII_SHAPES_OF_LEAVES"><span class="smcap">Shapes of Leaves</span> (<i>First Reading—Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Frankenstein</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXIII.</td><td><a href="#LXXXIII_THE_BROOK"><i>The Brook</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Tennyson</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_233">233</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXIV.</td><td><a href="#LXXXIV_SHAPES_OF_LEAVES"><span class="smcap">Shapes of Leaves</span> (<i>Second Reading—Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Frankenstein</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXV.</td><td><a href="#LXXXV_THE_BURIAL_OF_MOSES"><i>The Burial of Moses</i></a></td><td>Alexander, Mrs.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXVI.</td><td><a href="#LXXXVI_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH"><span class="smcap">The Golden Touch</span> (<i>Second Reading</i>)</a></td><td>Hawthorne</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXVII.</td><td><a href="#LXXXVII_THE_MAY_QUEEN"><i>The May Queen</i> (<i>First Reading—Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Tennyson</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXVIII.</td><td><a href="#LXXXVIII_THE_FLOWER"><span class="smcap">The Flower</span></a></td><td></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">LXXXIX.</td><td><a href="#LXXXIX_THE_MAY_QUEEN_NEW_YEARS"><i>The May Queen</i> (<i>Second Reading</i>)</a></td><td>Tennyson</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XC.</td><td><a href="#XC_THE_FRUIT"><span class="smcap">The Fruit</span> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Frankenstein</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_257">257</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XCI.</td><td><a href="#XCI_THE_MAY_QUEEN_CONCLUSION"><i>The May Queen</i> (<i>Third Reading—Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Tennyson</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_261">261</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XCII.</td><td><a href="#XCII_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH"><span class="smcap">The Golden Touch</span> (<i>Third Reading—Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Hawthorne</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right">XCIII.</td><td><a href="#XCIII_JOHN_GILPIN"><i>John Gilpin</i> (<i>Illustrated</i>)</a></td><td>Cowper</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>INDEX OF AUTHORS.</h2> - -<table summary="Index of Authors"> - <tr> - <th>Name.</th><th class="right">Page.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Addison, Joseph</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Alexander, Cecil Frances</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Allen, Elizabeth Akers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Andersen, Hans Christian</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Audubon, John James</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Baker, Sir Samuel White</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Blackie, John Stuart</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Brown, James</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Browning, Robert</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Bryant, William Cullen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Campbell, Thomas</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Cary, Alice</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Cook, Eliza</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Cooper, James Fenimore</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Cowper, William</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>Cunningham, Allan</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Dickens, Charles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Dodge, Mary Mapes</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Emerson, Ralph Waldo</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Figuier, Louis</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Frankenstein, Gustavus</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Franklin, Benjamin</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Froude, James Anthony</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Gustafson, Zadel Barnes</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Hawthorne, Nathaniel</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Heber, Reginald</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hemans, Felicia Dorothea</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Howitt, Mary</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hunt, Leigh</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Keble, John</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Kingsley, Charles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Lacoste, Marie</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Larcom, Lucy</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Lover, Samuel</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Lushington, Henry</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Mackay, Charles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Macleod, Norman</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Michelet, Jules</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Montgomery, James</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Moore, Thomas</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>McGee, Thomas D’Arcy</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Norton, Hon. Caroline Elizabeth Sarah</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Procter, Bryan Waller (<i>Barry Cornwall</i>)</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Sangster, Charles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Southey, Robert</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Swain, Charles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">Tennyson, Alfred (Lord Tennyson)</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Trowbridge, John Townsend</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="firstletter">White, Henry Kirke</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Whittier, John Greenleaf</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Wolfe, Charles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Wordsworth, William</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<h2>ORTHOËPY.</h2> - -<p>1. <b>Orthoëpy</b> or <b>Correct Pronunciation</b>, is the utterance of -words with their right sounds and accents, as sanctioned by the best usage. -It depends principally upon <b>Articulation</b>, <b>Syllabication</b>, and -<b>Accentuation</b>.</p> - -<p>2. <b>Articulation</b> is the distinct utterance of the elementary vowel and -consonant sounds of the language, whether separate, or combined into -syllables and words. In pronouncing a word its elementary sounds should -be correctly articulated.</p> - -<p>3. The more <b>common faults in articulation</b> are:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>(1) <i>Omitting a vowel sound, or substituting one vowel sound for another, in -an unaccented syllable.</i> Of all faults in pronunciation probably this is the -commonest. As a rule it results from carelessness in utterance. Examples -of it are:—pronouncing—arithmetic, <i>’rithmetic</i>; library, <i>līb’ry</i>; literature, -<i>lit’rature</i>; geography, <i>j’ography</i>; barrel, <i>barr’l</i>; below, <i>b’low</i>; family, -<i>fam’ly</i>; violent, <i>vi’lent</i>; history, <i>hist’ry</i>; memory, <i>mem’ry</i>; regular, <i>reg’lar</i>; -usual, <i>ūzh’al</i>; alwāys, <i>alwŭz</i>; afford, <i>ŭfford</i>; abundant, <i>abundŭnt</i>; eatable, -<i>eatŭble</i>; America, <i>Ameriky</i>; childrĕn, <i>childrin</i>; modĕst, <i>modŭst</i>; commandment, -<i>commandmŭnt</i>; judgment, <i>judgmŭnt</i>; moment, <i>momŭnt</i>; kindness, -<i>kindniss</i>; gospĕl, <i>gospil</i>; pockĕt, <i>pockit</i>; ēmotion, <i>immotion</i>; charĭty, -<i>charŭty</i>; opposĭte, <i>oppozŭt</i>; potatō, <i>pŭtatĕh</i>; patriŏt, <i>patriŭt</i>; ōbedience, -<i>ŭbediĕnce</i>; accūrāte, <i>ak’er-ĭt</i>; particūlar, <i>partikĭlĕr</i>.</p> - -<p>(2) <i>Substituting one vowel sound for another in an accented syllable or a -one-syllabled word.</i> This fault may result, not from carelessness, but from -want of knowledge, for the correct pronunciation of the vowel sounds of -words must be learned from some correct speaker, or from a dictionary. -Examples of this fault are:—pronouncing—āte, <i>ĕt</i>; cătch, <i>kĕtch</i>; săt, <i>sŏt</i>; -găther, <i>gĕther</i>; băde, <i>bāde</i>; was, <i>wŭz</i>; father, <i>făther</i> or <i>fawther</i>; says (<i>sĕz</i>), -<i>sāz</i>; get, <i>git</i>; kettle, <i>kĭttle</i>; deaf (dĕf), <i>deef</i>; creek, <i>crick</i>; rinse, <i>rĕnse</i>; -bŏnnet, <i>bŭnnet</i>; bosom, <i>bŭzum</i>; frŏm, <i>frum</i>; just, <i>jĕst</i>; shut, <i>shĕt</i>; new -(nū), <i>noo</i>; dūty, <i>dooty</i>; redūce, <i>redooce</i>; because, <i>bekŭz</i>; saucy, <i>sāssy</i>; -point, <i>pīnt</i>; instead, <i>instĭd</i>; route, (rōōt), <i>rout</i>.</p> - -<p>(3) <i>Omitting a consonant sound, or substituting one consonant sound for -another</i>; as in pronouncing—yeast, <i>’east</i>; February, <i>Feb’uary</i>; and, <i>an’</i>; -old, <i>ōl’</i>; acts, <i>ac’s</i>; slept, <i>slep’</i>; depths, <i>dep’s</i>; fields, <i>fiel’s</i>; winds, <i>win’s</i>; -breadths, <i>bre’ths</i>; twelfth, <i>twel’th</i> or <i>twelf’</i>; asked (askt), <i>as’t</i>; mostly, -<i>mōs’ly</i>; swiftly, <i>swif’ly</i>; government, <i>gover’ment</i>; Arctic, <i>Ar’tic</i>; products, -<i>produc’s</i>; consists, <i>consis’</i>; commands, <i>comman’s</i>; morning, <i>mornin</i>; -strength, <i>strenth</i>; length, <i>lenth</i>; shrink, <i>srink</i>; shrill, <i>srill</i>; height, <i>hīth</i>; -Asia (A’she-a), <i>A’zhe-a</i>; chimney, <i>chimbly</i>; covetous (cŭv’ĕt-ŭs), <i>cŭv’e-chŭs</i>; -fortūne, <i>forchin</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<p>(4) <i>Introducing in the pronunciation of a word a sound that does not belong -to it</i>; as in pronouncing—drown, <i>drownd</i>; drowned, <i>drownded</i>; often (of’n), -<i>of´ten</i>; epistle, (e-pis´l), <i>e-pis´tel</i>; elm, <i>el´um</i>; film, <i>fil´um</i>; height, <i>hīt’th</i>; -grievous, <i>grēv´i-us</i>; mischievous (mis´chĭv-us), <i>mis-chēv´i-us</i>; column, -<i>col´yum</i>; once (wŭns), <i>wŭnst</i>; across, <i>acrost</i>.</p> - -<p>(5) <i>Misusing the sound of</i> r; as in pronouncing—Maria, <i>Mariar</i>; idea, -<i>idear</i>; widow, <i>widder</i>; meadow, <i>medder</i>; farm, <i>far-r-m</i>; warm, <i>war-r-m</i>; -war, <i>wa’</i>; door, <i>do-ah</i>; garden, <i>gä’den</i>; card, <i>cä’d</i>; warm, <i>wä’m</i>; forth, -<i>fo’th</i>; hundred, <i>hunderd</i>; children, <i>childern</i>.</p> - -<p>(6) <i>Misusing the aspirate</i> (h); as in pronouncing—happy, <i>’appy</i>; apples, -<i>happles</i>; whence, <i>wence</i>; which, <i>wich</i>; what, <i>wot</i>; whirl, <i>wirl</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>4. <b>Syllabication</b> (in Orthoëpy) is the correct formation of syllables in -pronouncing words. A syllable is a sound, or a combination of sounds, -uttered by a single impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or a part of -a word. A word has as many syllables as it has separate vowel sounds. -When words are uttered so that their vowel sounds are clearly and correctly -articulated, they will be properly syllabified.</p> - -<p>5. <b>Accentuation</b> is the correct placing of accent in uttering words. -<b>Accent</b> is a superior stress or force of voice upon certain syllables of -words which distinguishes them from the other syllables. In uttering a -word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables receives a greater stress -in pronunciation than the others, and is said to be <i>accented</i>, or to <i>have the -accent</i>. Some words have more than one syllable accented, as <i>con´fla-gra´´tion</i>, -<i>in-com´pre-hen´si-bil´´ity</i>; but one syllable is always more strongly accented -than the others, and is said to have the <i>main</i> or <i>primary accent</i>. Accentuation, -like the other elements of orthoëpy, is fixed by usage; that is, by -the practice of those who are recognized as correct speakers.</p> - -<p>6. In the pronunciation of a word care should be taken to give to the -vowels their proper sounds, to place the accent upon the right syllable, and -to sound the consonants distinctly. The tendency to drop consonant sounds, -and to pronounce indistinctly or incorrectly the vowel sounds of unaccented -syllables, should be carefully guarded against. The distinction between -syllables should be carefully made, and especially, the distinction between -separate words. Carelessness in this respect may make the meanings of -sentences uncertain. For example:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p><i>He saw two beggars steal</i>, may sound as, <i>He sought to beg or steal</i>;</p> - -<p><i>He had two small eggs</i>, may sound as, <i>He had two small legs</i>; and</p> - -<p><i>Can there be an aim more lofty?</i> as, <i>Can there be a name more lofty?</i></p> - -</div> - -<p>This blending of the sounds of words is prevented, partly by distinctly -uttering the sounds of their initial letters, but chiefly by distinctly uttering -and slightly dwelling upon the sounds of their final letters.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<h1><i>THIRD READER.</i></h1> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<h2><a name="I_THE_WHITE_SHIP" id="I_THE_WHITE_SHIP"></a>I.—THE WHITE SHIP.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Dickens.</p> - -<p>King Henry I. went over to Normandy with his son -Prince William and a great retinue, to have the prince -acknowledged as his successor, and to contract a marriage -between him and the daughter of the Count of Anjou. -Both these things were triumphantly done, with great -show and rejoicing; and on the 25th of November, in -the year 1120, the whole retinue prepared to embark, for -the voyage home.</p> - -<p>On that day, there came to the king, Fitz-Stephen, a -sea-captain, and said, “My liege, my father served your -father all his life, upon the sea. He steered the ship -with the golden boy upon the prow, in which your father -sailed to conquer England. I have a fair vessel in the -harbor here, called The White Ship, manned by fifty -sailors of renown. I pray you, Sire, to let your servant -have the honor of steering you in The White Ship to -England.”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry, friend,” replied the king, “that my ship -is already chosen, and that I cannot, therefore, sail with -the son of the man who served my father. But the prince -and his company shall go along with you in the fair<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -White Ship, manned by the fifty sailors of renown.” -An hour or two afterward, the king set sail in the vessel -he had chosen, accompanied by other vessels, and, sailing -all night with a fair and gentle wind, arrived upon the -coast of England in the morning. While it was yet night, -the people in some of these ships heard a faint, wild cry -come over the sea, and wondered what it was.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p012.jpg" width="300" height="320" alt="A ship in a storm" /> -</div> - -<p>Now, the prince was a dissolute young man of eighteen, -who bore no love to the English, and who had declared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -that when he came to the throne he would yoke them to -the plough like oxen. He went aboard The White Ship -with one hundred and forty youthful nobles like himself, -among whom were eighteen noble ladies of the highest -rank. All this gay company, with their servants and the -fifty sailors, made three hundred souls aboard the fair -White Ship.</p> - -<p>“Give three casks of wine, Fitz-Stephen,” said the -prince, “to the fifty sailors of renown. My father the -king has sailed out of the harbor. What time is there to -make merry here, and yet reach England with the rest?”</p> - -<p>“Prince,” said Fitz-Stephen, “before morning my fifty -and The White Ship shall overtake the swiftest vessel -in attendance on your father the king if we sail at midnight.” -Then the prince commanded to make merry; and -the sailors drank out the three casks of wine, and the -prince and all the noble company danced in the moonlight -on the deck of The White Ship.</p> - -<p>When, at last, she shot out of the harbor, there was not -a sober seaman on board. But the sails were all set and -the oars all going merrily. Fitz-Stephen had the helm. -The gay young nobles and the beautiful ladies, wrapped -in mantles of various bright colors to protect them from -the cold, talked, laughed, and sang. The prince encouraged -the fifty sailors to row yet harder, for the honor of -The White Ship.</p> - -<p>Crash! A terrific cry broke from three hundred hearts. -It was the cry the people in the distant vessels of the -king heard faintly on the water. The White Ship had -struck upon a rock,—was filling,—going down! Fitz-Stephen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -hurried the prince into a boat with some few -nobles. “Push off,” he whispered, “and row to the land. -It is not far, and the sea is smooth. The rest of us must -die.” But as they rowed fast away from the sinking -ship, the prince heard the voice of his sister calling for -help. He never in his life had been so good as he was -then. He cried in agony, “Row back at any risk! I -cannot bear to leave her!”</p> - -<p>They rowed back. As the prince held out his arm to -catch his sister, such numbers leaped into the boat that -it was overset. And in the same instant The White -Ship went down. Only two men floated. They both -clung to the mainyard of the ship, which had broken -from the mast and now supported them. One asked the -other who he was. He replied, “I am a nobleman,—Godfrey -by name, son of Gilbert. And you?”—“I am a -poor butcher of Rouen,” was the answer. Then they said -together, “Lord be merciful to us both!” and tried to -encourage each other as they drifted in the cold, benumbing -sea on that unfortunate November night.</p> - -<p>By and by another man came swimming toward them, -whom they knew, when he pushed aside his long wet -hair, to be Fitz-Stephen. “Where is the prince?” said -he. “Gone, gone!” the two cried together. “Neither he, -nor his brother, nor his sister, nor the king’s niece, nor -her brother, nor any one of all the brave three hundred, -noble or commoner, except us three, has risen above the -water!” Fitz-Stephen, with a ghastly face, cried, “Woe! -woe to me!” and sank to the bottom.</p> - -<p>The other two clung to the yard for some hours. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -length the young noble said faintly, “I am exhausted, and -chilled with the cold, and can hold no longer. Farewell, -good friend! God preserve you!” So he dropped and -sank; and, of all the brilliant crowd, the poor butcher of -Rouen alone was saved. In the morning some fishermen -saw him floating in his sheep-skin coat, and got him into -their boat,—the sole relator of the dismal tale.</p> - -<p>For three days no one dared to carry the intelligence -to the king. At length they sent into his presence a little -boy, who, weeping bitterly and falling at his feet, told -him that The White Ship was lost with all on board. -The king fell to the ground like a dead man, and never, -never afterward was seen to smile.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>liege (<i>lēj</i>)</li> -<li>niece (<i>nēs</i>)</li> -<li>Gil´bert</li> -<li>en-cour´age (<i>en-kur´-aj</i>)</li> -<li>helm</li> -<li>con´quer (<i>kŏng´ker</i>)</li> -<li>An-jou (<i>an´joo</i>)</li> -<li>float´ed</li> -<li>ex-haust´ed (<i>egz-awst´ed</i>)</li> -<li>butch´er</li> -<li>God´frey</li> -<li>Rou-en (<i>roo´en</i>)</li> -<li>man´tles</li> -<li>dis´so-lūte</li> -<li>tri-umph´ant (<i>tri-umf´ant</i>)</li> -<li>whis´per</li> -<li>com´mon-er</li> -<li>ag´o-ny</li> -<li>wrapped</li> -<li>No-vem´ber</li> -<li>com-mand´ed</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Great retinue.—2. <i>Contract</i> a marriage.—3. Sailors of -renown.—4. <i>Fair</i> wind.—5. To make merry.—6. Sails were -set.—7. Oars <i>going merrily</i>.—8. Terrific cry.—9. <i>Encourage</i> -each other.—10. <i>Benumbing</i> sea.—11. <i>Ghastly</i> face.—12. Brilliant -crowd.—13. Sole relator of the dismal tale.—14. Carry -the intelligence.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>Howe’er it be, it seems to me</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>’Tis only noble to be good.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>Tennyson.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="II_CASABIANCA" id="II_CASABIANCA"></a>II.—CASABIANCA.</h2> - -<p class="author">Mrs. Hemans.</p> - -<p>Casabianca, a boy about thirteen years old, son of the Admiral of the -French fleet, remained at his post, in the Battle of the Nile, after his ship, -the “Orient,” had caught fire, and after all the guns had been abandoned. -He perished in the explosion of the vessel, when the flames reached the -powder magazine.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The boy stood on the burning deck,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Whence all but he had fled;</div> -<div class="verse">The flame, that lit the battle’s wreck,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Shone round him o’er the dead.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yet beautiful and bright he stood,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As born to rule the storm;</div> -<div class="verse">A creature of heroic blood,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A proud, though childlike, form.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The flames rolled on,—he would not go</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Without his father’s word;</div> -<div class="verse">That father, faint in death below,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His voice no longer heard.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He called aloud:—“Say, Father, say</div> -<div class="verse indent2">If yet my task is done!”</div> -<div class="verse">He knew not that the chieftain lay</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Unconscious of his son.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Speak, Father!” once again he cried,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“If I may yet be gone!”</div> -<div class="verse">And but the booming shots replied,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And fast the flames rolled on.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Upon his brow he felt their breath,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And in his waving hair,</div> -<div class="verse">And looked from that lone post of death</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In still, yet brave, despair;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And shouted but once more aloud,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“My Father! must I stay?”</div> -<div class="verse">While o’er him fast, through sail and shroud,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The wreathing fires made way.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They wrapped the ship in splendor wild,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They caught the flag on high,</div> -<div class="verse">And streamed above the gallant child</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Like banners in the sky.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There came a burst of thunder sound—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The boy—oh! where was he?</div> -<div class="verse">Ask of the winds that far around</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With fragments strewed the sea!—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With mast, and helm, and pennon fair,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That well had borne their part!—</div> -<div class="verse">But the noblest thing that perished there</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Was that young faithful heart.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Battle’s <i>wreck</i>.—2. To rule the storm.—3. A creature of -heroic blood.—4. Lay <i>unconscious</i> of his son.—5. <i>Booming</i> -shots.—6. <i>Lone post</i> of death.—7. Brave despair.—8. <i>Wreathing</i> -fires.—9. Wrapped in wild splendor.—10. Gallant child.—11. -Streamed like banners.—12. Fair pennon.—13. <i>Noblest</i> -thing.—14. Faithful heart.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="III_THE_GIRAFFE_OR_CAMELOPARD" id="III_THE_GIRAFFE_OR_CAMELOPARD"></a>III.—THE GIRAFFE OR CAMELOPARD.</h2> - -<p>There are few sights more pleasing than a herd of tall, -graceful giraffes. With their heads reaching a height of -from twelve to eighteen feet, they move about in small -herds on the open plains -of Africa, eating the -tender twigs and leaves -of the mimosa and -other trees.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 239px;"> -<img src="images/p018.jpg" width="239" height="500" alt="Three giraffes by a stand of trees" /> -</div> - -<p>The legs of a large -giraffe are about nine -feet long and its neck -nearly six feet; while -its body measures only -seven feet in length and -slopes rapidly from the -neck to the tail. The -graceful appearance of -the giraffe is increased -by the beauty of its -skin, which is orange -red in color, and mottled -with dark spots. Its -long tail has at the end -a tuft of thick hair, -which serves the purpose -of keeping off the -flies and stinging insects, so plentiful in the hot climate -of Africa.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> - -<p>Its tongue is very wonderful. It is from thirteen to -seventeen inches in length, is slender and pointed, and is -capable of being moved in so many ways, that it is almost -as useful to the giraffe as the trunk is to the elephant.</p> - -<p>The horns of the giraffe are very short and covered -with skin. At the ends there are tufts of short hair. -The animal has divided hoofs somewhat resembling those -of the ox.</p> - -<p>The head of the giraffe is small, and its eyes large and -mild looking. These eyes are set in such a way that the -animal can see a great deal of what is behind it, without -turning its head. In addition to its wonderful power of -sight, the giraffe can scent danger from a great distance; -so that there is no animal more difficult of approach.</p> - -<p>Strange to relate, the giraffe has no voice. In London, -some years ago, two giraffes were burned to death in their -stables, when the slightest sound would have given notice -of their danger, and have saved their lives.</p> - -<p>The giraffe is naturally both gentle and timid, and he -will always try to avoid danger by flight. It is when -running that he exposes his only ungraceful point. He -runs swiftly, but since he moves his fore and hind legs on -each side at the same time, the movement gives him a -very awkward gait. But though timid, he will, when -overtaken, turn even upon the lion or panther, and defend -himself successfully by powerful kicks with his strong legs.</p> - -<p>The natives of Africa capture the giraffe in pitfalls, -which are deep holes covered over with branches of trees -and dirt. When captured, the giraffe can be tamed, and -during its captivity it gives scarcely any trouble.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> - -<p>Fifty years ago, but little was known about the giraffe in -America or Europe. Now it is to be found in menageries -and the public gardens of large cities. The giraffe thrives -in captivity and seems to be well satisfied with a diet of -corn and hay. It is a source of great satisfaction to -those who admire this beautiful animal, that there is -nothing to prevent it from living in a climate so -different from that of its African home.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="IV_THE_MOUNTAIN_AND_THE_SQUIRREL" id="IV_THE_MOUNTAIN_AND_THE_SQUIRREL"></a>IV.—THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SQUIRREL.</h2> - -<p class="author">R. W. Emerson.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The mountain and the squirrel</div> -<div class="verse">Had a quarrel,</div> -<div class="verse">And the former called the latter “Little Prig.”</div> -<div class="verse">Bun replied:</div> -<div class="verse">“You are doubtless very big,</div> -<div class="verse">But all sorts of things and weather</div> -<div class="verse">Must be taken in together</div> -<div class="verse">To make up a year,</div> -<div class="verse">And a sphere:</div> -<div class="verse">And I think it no disgrace</div> -<div class="verse">To occupy my place.</div> -<div class="verse">If I am not so large as you,</div> -<div class="verse">You are not so small as I,</div> -<div class="verse">And not half so spry:</div> -<div class="verse">I’ll not deny you make</div> -<div class="verse">A very pretty squirrel track.</div> -<div class="verse">Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;</div> -<div class="verse">If <i>I</i> cannot carry forests on my back,</div> -<div class="verse">Neither can <i>you</i> crack a nut.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="V_THE_PET_LAMB" id="V_THE_PET_LAMB"></a>V.—THE PET LAMB.</h2> - -<p class="author">Wordsworth.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p021.jpg" width="400" height="200" alt="Little girl feeding a lamb from a dish" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink;</div> -<div class="verse">I heard a voice; it said, “Drink, pretty creature, drink!”</div> -<div class="verse">And, looking o’er the hedge, before me I espied</div> -<div class="verse">A snow-white mountain lamb with a maiden at its side.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">No other sheep were near, the lamb was all alone,</div> -<div class="verse">And by a slender cord was tethered to a stone;</div> -<div class="verse">With one knee on the grass did the little maiden kneel,</div> -<div class="verse">While to that mountain lamb she gave its evening meal.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The lamb, while from her hand he thus his supper took,</div> -<div class="verse">Seemed to feast with head and ears, and his tail with pleasure shook.</div> -<div class="verse">“Drink, pretty creature, drink,” she said in such a tone</div> -<div class="verse">That I almost received her heart into my own.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Twas little Barbara Lewthwaite, a child of beauty rare!</div> -<div class="verse">I watched them with delight, they were a lovely pair.</div> -<div class="verse">Now with her empty can the maiden turned away;</div> -<div class="verse">But ere ten yards were gone her footsteps did she stay.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Towards the lamb she looked; and from that shady place</div> -<div class="verse">I unobserved could see the workings of her face:</div> -<div class="verse">If Nature to her tongue could measured numbers bring,</div> -<div class="verse">Thus, thought I, to her lamb that little maid might sing:—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“What ails thee, young one? What? Why pull so at thy cord?</div> -<div class="verse">Is it not well with thee? Well both for bed and board?</div> -<div class="verse">Thy plot of grass is soft, and green as grass can be;</div> -<div class="verse">Rest, little young one, rest; what is’t that aileth thee?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“What is it thou wouldst seek? What is wanting to thy heart?</div> -<div class="verse">Thy limbs are they not strong? And beautiful thou art.</div> -<div class="verse">This grass is tender grass; these flowers they have no peers;</div> -<div class="verse">And that green corn all day is rustling in thy ears!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“If the sun be shining hot, do but stretch thy woollen chain,</div> -<div class="verse">This beech is standing by, its covert thou canst gain;</div> -<div class="verse">For rain and mountain storms, the like thou need’st not fear—</div> -<div class="verse">The rain and storm are things that scarcely can come here.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Rest, little young one, rest; thou hast forgot the day</div> -<div class="verse">When my father found thee first in places far away;</div> -<div class="verse">Many flocks were on the hills, but thou wert owned by none,</div> -<div class="verse">And thy mother from thy side for evermore was gone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“He took thee in his arms, and in pity brought thee home:</div> -<div class="verse">A blessed day for thee! then whither wouldst thou roam?</div> -<div class="verse">A faithful nurse thou hast; the dam that did thee yean</div> -<div class="verse">Upon the mountain-tops no kinder could have been.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Thou know’st that twice a day I have brought thee in this can</div> -<div class="verse">Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran;</div> -<div class="verse">And twice in the day, when the ground is wet with dew,</div> -<div class="verse">I bring thee draughts of milk,—warm milk it is, and new.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Thy limbs will shortly be twice as stout as they are now;</div> -<div class="verse">Then I’ll yoke thee to my cart, like a pony in the plough:</div> -<div class="verse">My playmate thou shalt be; and when the wind is cold,</div> -<div class="verse">Our hearth shall be thy bed, our house shall be thy fold.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“It will not, will not rest!—Poor creature, can it be</div> -<div class="verse">That ’tis thy mother’s heart which is working so in thee?</div> -<div class="verse">Things that I know not of belike to thee are dear,</div> -<div class="verse">And dreams of things which thou canst neither see nor hear.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Alas, the mountain-tops that look so green and fair!</div> -<div class="verse">I’ve heard of fearful winds and darkness that come there;</div> -<div class="verse">The little brooks that seem all pastime and all play,</div> -<div class="verse">When they are angry, roar like lions for their prey.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Here thou need’st not dread the raven in the sky;</div> -<div class="verse">Night and day thou art safe,—our cottage is hard by.</div> -<div class="verse">Why bleat so after me? Why pull so at thy chain?</div> -<div class="verse">Sleep,—and at break of day I will come to thee again!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As homeward through the lane I went with lazy feet,</div> -<div class="verse">This song unto myself did I oftentimes repeat;</div> -<div class="verse">And it seemed, as I retraced the ballad line by line,</div> -<div class="verse">That but half of it was hers, and one-half of it was <i>mine</i>.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Again, and once again, did I repeat the song;</div> -<div class="verse">“Nay,” said I, “more than half to the <i>damsel</i> must belong;</div> -<div class="verse">For she looked with such a look, and she spake with such a tone,</div> -<div class="verse">That I almost received her heart into my own.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>bal´lad</li> -<li>cov´ert (<i>kŭv´ert</i>)</li> -<li>draught (<i>draft</i>)</li> -<li>Bar´ba-ra</li> -<li>wool´len</li> -<li>Lew´-thwaite</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="VI_THE_CAMEL" id="VI_THE_CAMEL"></a>VI.—THE CAMEL.</h2> - -<p>In Asia and in Africa there are vast plains of sand, upon -which no grass grows, and through which no river runs. -These plains are as smooth as the ocean unmoved by -waves. As far as the eye can reach, nothing is to be -seen but sand. In the middle of the day when the sun -is hottest, the sand dazzles the eyes of the traveller, as if -there were a sun beneath the sand as well as one above.</p> - -<p>Here and there, but many miles apart, are green spots -consisting of bushes, trees, and grass, growing around a -small pool or spring of water. These green spots are -called oases. Here the tired traveller can find food and -shade, and can sleep awhile, sheltered from the blazing sun.</p> - -<p>How do you think the traveller crosses these burning -plains? Not in carriages, nor on horseback, nor in railroad -trains, but on the backs of tall, long-necked, humpbacked -camels.</p> - -<p>Even if you have seen camels alive, or pictures of -them, you will still be glad to learn more about these -very useful animals.</p> - -<p>The camel lives on grass, and the dry short herbage, -which is found on the edges of the desert. While travelling -in the desert, it is fed upon dates and barley. It is able -to eat a great deal of food at a time and to drink enough -water to last some days. By this means, it can go for a -long time without food, and travel long distances without -stopping to eat or drink. The camel has a curious lump -of fat on the top of its back called a “hump.” One kind -of camel has two humps. One purpose of these humps,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -is to supply the camel with strength, when it has neither -food nor water, and would -otherwise die from want.</p> - -<p>The foot of the camel is -a wonderful thing. It is -broad, and has a soft pad at -the bottom, which keeps it -from sinking in the yielding -sand, when the camel crosses -the arid deserts.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 377px;"> -<img src="images/p025.jpg" width="377" height="500" alt="A camel train arriving at a desert oasis, surrounded by palm trees" /> -</div> - -<p>The camel with two humps on its back is much larger -and stronger than the camel with one hump. The one-humped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -camel is known as the Arabian camel or dromedary. -Asia is the home of the camel, but numbers of -them are used in Africa and other parts of the world. -The camel is trained to kneel down to receive its load, -and to let its master get on its back. The camel can -smell water at a great distance. When its rider is nearly -dead from thirst, and water is near, he can tell it by the -greater speed at which the camel begins to travel.</p> - -<p>The camel is often called the “ship of the desert.” As -the desert is like a sea, and the green spots upon it like -islands, so is the camel like a ship, that can carry the -traveller from one point to another, quickly and safely. -But even with his faithful camel, the traveller does not -care to cross the desert alone. The difficulties of keeping -in the right track, and the fear of wild Arabs, make it -much safer for a number of travellers to cross the desert -together.</p> - -<p>Travellers take with them camel-drivers and men who -know the way, to look after the beasts when they stop -for the night. These men light the fires, cook the food, -and fill the large skin-bottles with water when they come -to a spring. The travellers, camels, and camel-drivers, -together, form what is called a caravan.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>ar´id</li> -<li>daz´zles</li> -<li>isl´and (<i>ī´land</i>)</li> -<li>dĕs´ert (<i>dĕz-</i>)</li> -<li>oases (<i>ō´a-sēz</i>)</li> -<li>car´riage (<i>kăr´rij</i>)</li> -<li>dif´fi-cult</li> -<li>herb´age</li> -<li>A-ra´bi-an</li> -<li>car´a-van (or, <i>car-a-van´</i>)</li> -<li>pict´ure (<i>pĭkt´yür</i>)</li> -<li>shel´tered</li> -<li>dromedary (<i>drŭm´e-da-re</i>)</li> -<li>trav´el-ler</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="VII_LUCY_GRAY" id="VII_LUCY_GRAY"></a>VII.—LUCY GRAY.</h2> - -<p class="author">Wordsworth.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p027.jpg" width="300" height="172" alt="Lucy walking through the snow, cloaked, carrying a lantern" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And, when I crossed the wild,</div> -<div class="verse">I chanced to see at break of day</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The solitary child.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">No mate, no comrade Lucy knew;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She dwelt on a wide moor,—</div> -<div class="verse">The sweetest thing that ever grew</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Beside a human door!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">You yet may spy the fawn at play,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The hare upon the green;</div> -<div class="verse">But the sweet face of Lucy Gray</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Will never more be seen.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“To-night will be a stormy night—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">You to the town must go;</div> -<div class="verse">And take a lantern, child, to light</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Your mother through the snow.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“That, father, will I gladly do;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">’Tis scarcely afternoon,—</div> -<div class="verse">The minster-clock has just struck two,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And yonder is the moon.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At this the father raised his hook</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And snapped a fagot-band;</div> -<div class="verse">He plied his work;—and Lucy took</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The lantern in her hand.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not blither is the mountain roe:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With many a wanton stroke</div> -<div class="verse">Her feet disperse the powdery snow,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That rises up like smoke.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The storm came on before its time;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She wandered up and down;</div> -<div class="verse">And many a hill did Lucy climb,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But never reached the town.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The wretched parents, all that night,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Went shouting far and wide;</div> -<div class="verse">But there was neither sound nor sight</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To serve them for a guide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At daybreak on a hill they stood</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That overlooked the moor;</div> -<div class="verse">And thence they saw the bridge of wood</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A furlong from their door.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They wept, and, turning homeward, cried,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“In heaven we all shall meet!”</div> -<div class="verse">When in the snow the mother spied</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The print of Lucy’s feet.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then downward from the steep hill’s edge</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They tracked the footmarks small;</div> -<div class="verse">And through the broken hawthorn hedge,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And by the long stone wall;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And then an open field they crossed;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The marks were still the same;</div> -<div class="verse">They tracked them on, nor ever lost,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And to the bridge they came.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They followed from the snowy bank</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Those footmarks, one by one,</div> -<div class="verse">Into the middle of the plank;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And further there were none!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yet some maintain that to this day</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She is a living child;</div> -<div class="verse">That you may see sweet Lucy Gray</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Upon the lonesome wild.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O’er rough and smooth she trips along,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And never looks behind;</div> -<div class="verse">And sings a solitary song</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That whistles in the wind.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Crossed the wild.—2. <i>Solitary</i> child.—3. Sweetest thing.—4. -<i>Minster</i> clock.—5. Snapped a fagot-band.—6. <i>Plied</i> his -work.—7. Not blither is the mountain roe.—8. Wanton -stroke.—9. <i>Disperse the powdery</i> snow.—10. <i>Wretched</i> -parents.—11. Sound nor sight.—12. Spied the print.—13. -Tracked them on.—14. Lonesome wild.—15. <i>Trips</i> along.—16. -<i>Solitary</i> song.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="VIII_THE_EMPEROR_AND_THE_MAJOR" id="VIII_THE_EMPEROR_AND_THE_MAJOR"></a>VIII.—THE EMPEROR AND THE MAJOR.</h2> - -<p>The Emperor Alexander, while travelling in Western -Russia, came one day to a small town of which he knew -very little; so, when he found that he must change horses, -he thought that he would look around and see what the -town was like.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p030.jpg" width="400" height="365" alt="The Emperor encountering the smoking major on a doorstep" /> -</div> - -<p>Alone, habited in a plain military coat, without any -mark of his high rank, he wandered through the place -until he came to the end of the road that he had been -following. There he paused, not knowing which way to -turn; for two paths were before him,—one to the right -and one to the left.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p> - -<p>Alexander saw a man standing at the door of a house; -and, going up to him, the Emperor said, “My friend, can -you tell me which of these two roads I must take to get -to Kalouga?” The man, who was in full military dress, -was smoking a pipe with an air of dignity almost ridiculous. -Astonished that so plain-looking a traveller should -dare to speak to him with familiarity, the smoker answered -shortly, “To the right.”</p> - -<p>“Pardon!” said the Emperor. “Another word, if you -please.”—“What?” was the haughty reply.—“Permit -me to ask you a question,” continued the Emperor. -“What is your grade in the army?”—“Guess.” And the -pipe blazed away furiously.—“Lieutenant?” said the -amused Alexander.—“Up!” came proudly from the -smoker’s lips.—“Captain?”—“Higher.”—“Major?”—“At -last!” was the lofty response. The Emperor bowed low -in the presence of such greatness.</p> - -<p>“Now, in my turn,” said the major, with the grand air -that he thought fit to assume in addressing a humble -inferior, “what are you, if you please?”—“Guess,” -answered Alexander.—“Lieutenant?”—“Up!”—“Captain?”—“Higher.”—“Major?”—“Go -on.”—“Colonel?”—“Again.”</p> - -<p>The smoker took his pipe from his mouth: “Your -Excellency is, then, General?” The grand air was fast -disappearing.—“You are coming near it.”—The major put -his hand to his cap: “Then your Highness is Field-Marshal?”</p> - -<p>By this time the grand air had taken flight, and the -officer, so pompous a moment before, looked as if the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -steady gaze and the quiet voice of the traveller had -reduced him to the last stage of fear.—“Once more, my -good major,” said Alexander.—“His Imperial Majesty?” -exclaimed the man, in surprise and terror, letting his pipe -drop from his trembling fingers.—“His very self,” -answered the Emperor; and he smiled at the wonderful -change in the major’s face and manner.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Sire, pardon me!” cried the officer, falling on his -knees,—“pardon me!”—“And what is there to pardon?” -said Alexander, with real, simple dignity. “My friend, -you have done me no harm. I asked you which road I -should take, and you told me. Thanks!”</p> - -<p>But the major never forgot the lesson. If, in later years, -he was tempted to be rude or haughty to his so-called -inferiors, there rose at once in his mind a picture of a well-remembered -scene, in which his pride of power had brought -such shame upon him. Two soldiers in a quiet country-town -made but an every-day picture, after all; but what -a difference there had been between the pompous manner -of the petty officer and the natural, courteous dignity of -the Emperor of all the Russias!</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>haughty (<i>haw´te</i>)</li> -<li>Maj´es-ty</li> -<li>Colonel (<i>kur´nel</i>)</li> -<li>Lieu-ten´ant (<i>lĕu-ten´ant</i>)</li> -<li>Ka-lou´ga (<i>kă-loo´gă</i>)</li> -<li>Em´per-or</li> -<li>Im-pe´ri-al</li> -<li>Ex´cel-len-cy</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. <i>Habited in a plain military</i> coat.—2. Air of dignity.—3. -Speak with <i>familiarity</i>.—4. Answered shortly.—5. Haughty -reply.—6. Lofty response.—7. Steady gaze.—8. Exclaimed in -surprise.—9. Simple dignity.—10. Pompous manner.—11. -Petty officer.—12. Natural dignity.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="IX_FARMER_JOHN" id="IX_FARMER_JOHN"></a>IX.—FARMER JOHN.</h2> - -<p class="author">J. T. Trowbridge.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Home from his journey, Farmer John</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Arrived this morning safe and sound;</div> -<div class="verse">His black coat off, and his old clothes on,</div> -<div class="verse">“Now I’m myself,” said Farmer John;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And he thinks, “I’ll look around.”</div> -<div class="verse">Up leaps the dog: “Get down, you pup!</div> -<div class="verse">Are you so glad you would eat me up?”</div> -<div class="verse">The old cow lows at the gate to greet him;</div> -<div class="verse">The horses prick up their ears to meet him.</div> -<div class="verse indent10">“Well, well, old Bay!</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Ha, ha, old Gray!</div> -<div class="verse">Do you get good feed when I’m away?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“You haven’t a rib,” says Farmer John;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“The cattle are looking round and sleek;</div> -<div class="verse">The colt is going to be a roan,</div> -<div class="verse">And a beauty, too; how he has grown!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">We’ll wean the calf in a week.”</div> -<div class="verse">Says Farmer John, “When I’ve been off,</div> -<div class="verse">To call you again about the trough,</div> -<div class="verse">And water you and pet you while you drink,</div> -<div class="verse">Is a greater comfort than you can think!”</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And he pats old Bay</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And he slaps old Gray;</div> -<div class="verse">“Ah! this is the comfort of going away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“For after all,” says Farmer John,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“The best of a journey is getting home:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -<div class="verse">I’ve seen great sights, but I would not give</div> -<div class="verse">This spot, and the peaceful life I live,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For all their Paris and Rome;</div> -<div class="verse">These hills for the city’s stifled air,</div> -<div class="verse">And big hotels and bustle and glare;—</div> -<div class="verse">Land all houses and roads all stones,</div> -<div class="verse">That deafen your ears and batter your bones!</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Would you, old Bay?</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Would you, old Gray?</div> -<div class="verse">That’s what one gets by going away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“There Money is king,” says Farmer John,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“And Fashion is queen; and it’s very queer</div> -<div class="verse">To see how sometimes, while the man</div> -<div class="verse">Is raking and scraping all he can,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The wife spends, every year,</div> -<div class="verse">Enough, you would think, for a score of wives,</div> -<div class="verse">To keep them in luxury all their lives!</div> -<div class="verse">The town is a perfect Babylon</div> -<div class="verse">To a quiet chap,” says Farmer John.</div> -<div class="verse indent10">“You see, old Bay,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">You see, old Gray,</div> -<div class="verse">I’m wiser than when I went away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I’ve found out this,” says Farmer John,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“That happiness is not bought and sold,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And clutched in a life of waste and hurry,</div> -<div class="verse">In nights of pleasure and days of worry,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And wealth isn’t all in gold,</div> -<div class="verse">Mortgage and stocks, and ten per cent.,</div> -<div class="verse">But in simple ways and sweet content,</div> -<div class="verse">Few wants, pure hopes, and noble ends,</div> -<div class="verse">Some land to till, and a few good friends,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Like you, old Bay,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And you, old Gray,—</div> -<div class="verse">That’s what I’ve learned by going away.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And a happy man is Farmer John,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O a rich and happy man is he!</div> -<div class="verse">He sees the peas and pumpkins growing,</div> -<div class="verse">The corn in tassel, the buckwheat blowing,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And fruit on vine and tree;</div> -<div class="verse">The large kind oxen look their thanks,</div> -<div class="verse">As he rubs their foreheads and strokes their flanks;</div> -<div class="verse">The doves light round him, and strut and coo;</div> -<div class="verse">Says Farmer John, “I’ll take you, too,—</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And you, old Bay,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And you, old Gray,</div> -<div class="verse">Next time I travel so far away.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>trough (<i>trawf</i>)</li> -<li>luxury (<i>lŭk´shu-re</i>)</li> -<li>mortgage (<i>mor´gaj</i>)</li> -<li>foreheads (<i>fŏr´eds</i>)</li> -<li>clutched</li> -<li>jour´ney (<i>jŭr-</i>)</li> -<li>Bab´y-lon</li> -<li>hăp´pi-nĕss</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Arrived safe and sound.—2. Stifled air.—3. Bustle and -glare.—4. Money is king.—5. Fashion is queen.—6. Raking -and scraping.—7. Days of <i>worry</i>.—8. Simple ways.—9. Sweet -content.—10. Sees the corn <i>in tassel</i>.—11. Buckwheat <i>blowing</i>.—12. -Look their thanks.—13. The doves <i>light</i> round him.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>There is nothing so kingly as kindness,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>And nothing so royal as truth.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>Alice Cary.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="X_THE_POOR_LITTLE_MATCH_GIRL" id="X_THE_POOR_LITTLE_MATCH_GIRL"></a>X.—THE POOR LITTLE MATCH GIRL.</h2> - -<p class="author">Hans Christian Andersen.</p> - -<p>It was New Year’s Eve, and a cold, snowy evening. -On this night, a poor little girl walked along the street -with naked feet, benumbed with cold, and carrying in her -hand a bundle of matches, which she had been trying all -day to sell, but in vain; no one had given her a single -penny. The snow fell fast upon her pretty yellow hair -and her bare neck; but she did not mind that. She -looked wistfully at the bright lights which shone from -every window as she passed along; she could smell the -nice roast goose, and she longed to taste it: it was New -Year’s Eve!</p> - -<p>Wearied and faint she laid herself down in a corner -of the street, and drew her little legs under her to keep -herself warm. She could not go home, for her father -would scold her for not having sold any matches; and, -even if she were there, she would still be cold, for the -house was but poorly protected, and the wind whistled -through many a chink in the roof and walls. She thought -she would try and warm her cold fingers by lighting one -of the matches; she drew one out, struck it against the -wall, and immediately a bright, clear flame streamed from -it, like a little candle.</p> - -<p>The little girl looked at the flame, and she saw before -her a beautiful brass stove with a nice warm fire in it! -She stretched out her feet to warm them,—when, lo, the -match went out; in a moment the stove and fire vanished; -she sat again in the cold night, with the burnt match in -her hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p> - -<p>She struck another; the flame blazed on the opposite -wall, and she saw through it into a room where a table -was laid out with handsome dishes,—roast goose, and -other nice things were there,—and, what was still more -extraordinary, she saw the goose jump from the dish, -knife, and fork, and all, and come running towards her. -But again the match went out; and nothing but the dark -wall and the cold street were to be seen.</p> - -<p>The little girl drew another match; and, as soon as it -struck a light, she saw a most beautiful Christmas tree, -much larger and more splendid than any she had ever -seen before. A vast number of lighted candles hung -among the branches; and a multitude of pretty variegated -pictures, like those in the shops, met her eyes. -The girl lifted up her little hands in rapture at the sight; -but again the match fell; and in the same moment one -of the blazing candles shot through the sky, like a falling -star, and fell at her feet. “Now some one dies,” cried -she; for she had been told by her good old grandmother, -that when a star falls, a soul returns to God.</p> - -<p>Again she struck; and, behold, a bright light shone -round about her, and in the midst of it stood her kind -grandmother, looking calmly and smilingly upon her.</p> - -<p>“Dear grandmother,” said she, “take me, oh take me! -You will be gone from me when the match goes out, like -the bright stove, the nice supper, and the Christmas -tree;” and saying this, she struck all the rest of the -matches at once, which made a light round her almost -like day. And now the good grandmother smiled still -more sweetly upon her; she lifted her up in her arms,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -and they soared together, far, far away; where there was -no longer any cold, or hunger, or pain,—they were in -Paradise!</p> - -<p>But the poor little match-girl was still in the corner of -the street, in the cold New Year’s morning. She was -frozen to death, and a bundle of burnt matches lay beside -her. People said, “She has been trying to warm herself, -poor thing!” But ah, they knew not what glorious -things she had seen; they knew not into what joys she -had entered—nor how happy she was on this festival of -the New Year!</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>calmly (<i>kām-le</i>)</li> -<li>fes´ti-val</li> -<li>vanished (<i>van´isht</i>)</li> -<li>vā´ri-e-gāt-ed</li> -<li>Par´a-dise</li> -<li>grand´mother</li> -<li>op´po-site (<i>op´po-zĭt</i>)</li> -<li>handsome (<i>han´sum</i>)</li> -<li>Christmas (<i>krĭs´mas</i>)</li> -<li>extraordinary (<i>eks-tror´dĭ-na-re</i>)</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. <i>Benumbed</i> with cold.—2. She <i>did not mind</i> that.—3. -Looked <i>wistfully</i>.—4. Wearied and faint.—5. Poorly protected.—6. -A <i>clear</i> flame <i>streamed</i> from it.—7. A table <i>was -laid out</i>.—8. <i>In rapture</i> at the sight.—9. <i>Soared</i> far away.—10. -<i>Glorious</i> things.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XI_THE_SANDS_O_DEE" id="XI_THE_SANDS_O_DEE"></a>XI.—THE SANDS O’ DEE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Kingsley.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O Mary, go and call the cattle home,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">And call the cattle home,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">And call the cattle home,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Across the sands o’ Dee.”</div> -<div class="verse">The western wind was wild and dank with foam,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">And all alone went she.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The creeping tide came up along the sand,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">And o’er and o’er the sand,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">And round and round the sand,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">As far as eye could see;</div> -<div class="verse">The blinding mist came down and hid the land—</div> -<div class="verse indent4">And never home came she.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Oh, is it weed, or fish, or floating hair—</div> -<div class="verse indent6">A tress o’ golden hair,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">O’ drowned maiden’s hair,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Above the nets at sea?</div> -<div class="verse">Was never salmon yet that shone so fair,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Among the stakes on Dee.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They rowed her in across the rolling foam,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">The cruel, crawling foam,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">The cruel, hungry foam,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">To her grave beside the sea;</div> -<div class="verse">But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Across the sands o’ Dee.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p039.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="Two men in a rowing boat, searching" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XII_THE_RHINOCEROS" id="XII_THE_RHINOCEROS"></a>XII.—THE RHINOCEROS.</h2> - -<p>Next to the mighty elephant, the rhinoceros is the -largest and strongest of animals. There are several -species of the rhinoceros, some of which are found in Asia, -and others in different parts of Africa.</p> - -<p>In the latter country there are four varieties,—the black -rhinoceros, having a single horn; a black species, having -two horns; the long-horned white rhinoceros; and the -common white species, which has a short, stubby horn.</p> - -<p>The largest of the African species is the long-horned, -white, or square-nosed rhinoceros. When full grown, it -sometimes measures eighteen feet in length, and about as -many feet around the body. Its horn frequently grows -to the length of thirty inches.</p> - -<p>The black rhinoceros, although much smaller than the -white, and seldom having a horn over eighteen inches -long, is far more ferocious than the white species, and -possesses a wonderful degree of strength.</p> - -<p>The form of the rhinoceros is clumsy, and its appearance -dull and heavy. The limbs are thick and powerful, -and each foot has three toes, which are covered with -broad, hoof-like nails. The tail is small; the head very -long and large. Taken altogether, there are few—if any—animals -that compare with the rhinoceros in ugliness. -The eyes are set in such a manner that the animal can -not see anything exactly in front of it; but the senses of -hearing and smelling are so keen that sight is not required -to detect an enemy, whether it be man or beast. The -skin of the African rhinoceros is smooth, and has only a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -few scattering hairs here and there. It is, however, very -thick and tough, and can resist the force of a rifle-ball -except when it is fired from a very short distance.</p> - -<p>The largest known species of the rhinoceros is found -in Asia. It lives chiefly in the marshy jungles, and on the -banks of lakes and rivers, in India. Some of this species -are over five feet in height, and have horns three feet in -length and eighteen inches around the base. Unlike that -of the African rhinoceros, the skin of the Asiatic species -is not smooth, but lies in thick folds upon the body, -forming flaps which can be lifted with the hand.</p> - -<p>The food of the rhinoceros consists of roots, and the -young branches and leaves of trees and shrubs. It ploughs -up the roots with the aid of its horn, and gathers the -branches and leaves with its upper lip, which is long -and pointed, and with it rolls its food together before -placing it in its mouth. The flesh of the rhinoceros is -good to eat; and its strong, thick skin is made by the -natives into shields, whips, and other articles.</p> - -<p>Though clumsy, and apparently very stupid, the rhinoceros -is a very active animal when attacked or otherwise -alarmed. It is very fierce and savage,—so much so, that -the natives dread it more than they do the lion. In -hunting the rhinoceros, it is dangerous for a man to fire -at one, unless he is mounted upon a swift horse, and can -easily reach some place of safety. When attacking an -enemy, the rhinoceros lowers its head and rushes forward -like an angry bull. Though it may not see the object of -its attack, its sense of smell is so acute that it knows when -the enemy is reached. Then begins a furious tossing of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -the head, and if its powerful horn strikes the foe, a -terrible wound is the result. When wounded itself, the -rhinoceros loses all sense of fear, and charges again and -again, with such desperate fury, that the enemy is almost -always overcome.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 423px;"> -<img src="images/p042.jpg" width="423" height="500" alt="Depiction of the hunt described by the famous traveller" /> -</div> - -<p>A famous traveller in South Africa relates the following<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -incident that happened during one of his hunting -excursions:</p> - -<p>“Having proceeded about two miles, I came upon a -black rhinoceros, feeding within fifty yards of me. I -fired from my saddle, and sent a bullet in behind his -shoulder, upon which he rushed forward, blowing like a -grampus, and then stood looking about him. Presently -he started off, and I followed. I expected that he would -come to bay, but it seems a rhinoceros never does that,—a -fact I did not know at that time. Suddenly he fell -flat upon the ground; but soon recovering his feet, he -resumed his course as if nothing had happened.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I spurred on my horse, dashed ahead, and rode right -in his path. Upon this, the hideous monster charged me -in the most resolute manner, blowing loudly through his -nostrils. Although I quickly turned about, he followed -me at such a furious pace for several hundred yards, with -his horrid, horny snout within a few yards of my horse’s -tail, that I thought my destruction was certain. The -animal, however, suddenly turned and ran in another -direction. I had now become so excited with the incident, -that I determined to give him one more shot any way. -Nerving my horse again, I made another dash after -the rhinoceros, and coming up pretty close to him, I again -fired, though with little effect, the ball striking some thick -portion of the skin and doing no harm. Not caring to -run the chance of the huge brute again charging me, and -believing that my rifle-ball was not powerful enough to -kill him, I determined to give up the pursuit, and accordingly -let him run off while I returned to the camp.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XIII_THE_OLD_ARM-CHAIR" id="XIII_THE_OLD_ARM-CHAIR"></a>XIII.—THE OLD ARM-CHAIR.</h2> - -<p class="author">Eliza Cook.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> - -<div class="dropcap-img"> -<img src="images/dropcap-i.jpg" width="83" height="100" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="verse dropcap">I love it, I love it, and who shall dare</div> -<div class="verse">To chide me for loving that old arm-chair?</div> -<div class="verse">I’ve treasured it long as a sainted prize,</div> -<div class="verse">I’ve bedewed it with tears, and embalmed it with sighs;</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis bound by a thousand bands to my heart;</div> -<div class="verse">Not a tie will break, not a link will start.</div> -<div class="verse">Would you learn the spell?—a mother sat there,</div> -<div class="verse">And a sacred thing is that old arm-chair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In childhood’s hour I lingered near</div> -<div class="verse">The hallowed seat with listening ear;</div> -<div class="verse">And gentle words that mother would give,</div> -<div class="verse">To fit me to die and teach me to live.</div> -<div class="verse">She told me shame would never betide,</div> -<div class="verse">With truth for my creed and God for my guide;</div> -<div class="verse">She taught me to lisp my earliest prayer,</div> -<div class="verse">As I knelt beside that old arm-chair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I sat and watched her many a day,</div> -<div class="verse">When her eyes grew dim, and her locks were gray;</div> -<div class="verse">And I almost worshipped her when she smiled</div> -<div class="verse">And turned from her Bible to bless her child.</div> -<div class="verse">Years rolled on, but the last one sped—</div> -<div class="verse">My idol was shattered, my earth-star fled;</div> -<div class="verse">I learned how much the heart can bear,</div> -<div class="verse">When I saw her die in that old arm-chair.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Tis past! ’tis past! but I gaze on it now</div> -<div class="verse">With quivering breath and throbbing brow:</div> -<div class="verse">’Twas there she nursed me, ’twas there she died;</div> -<div class="verse">And memory flows with lava tide.</div> -<div class="verse">Say it is folly, and deem me weak,</div> -<div class="verse">While the scalding drops start down my cheek;</div> -<div class="verse">But I love it, I love it, and cannot tear</div> -<div class="verse">My soul from a mother’s old arm-chair.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XIV_ABOU_BEN_ADHEM_AND_THE_ANGEL" id="XIV_ABOU_BEN_ADHEM_AND_THE_ANGEL"></a>XIV.—ABOU BEN ADHEM AND THE ANGEL.</h2> - -<p class="author">Leigh Hunt.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)</div> -<div class="verse">Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,</div> -<div class="verse">And saw, within the moonlight in his room,</div> -<div class="verse">Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,</div> -<div class="verse">An angel, writing in a book of gold:—</div> -<div class="verse">Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,</div> -<div class="verse">And to the presence in the room he said,</div> -<div class="verse">“What writest thou?”—The vision raised its head,</div> -<div class="verse">And, with a look made of all sweet accord,</div> -<div class="verse">Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”</div> -<div class="verse">“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”</div> -<div class="verse">Replied the Angel. Abou spake more low,</div> -<div class="verse">But cheerily still; and said, “I pray thee, then,</div> -<div class="verse">Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The angel wrote and vanished. The next night</div> -<div class="verse">It came again with a great wakening light,</div> -<div class="verse">And showed the names whom love of God had blest,</div> -<div class="verse">And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XV_PRINCE_ARTHUR" id="XV_PRINCE_ARTHUR"></a>XV.—PRINCE ARTHUR.</h2> - -<p class="author">Dickens.</p> - -<p>At two-and-thirty years of age, in the year 1199, John -became king of England. His pretty little nephew, -Arthur, had the best claim to the throne; but John seized -the treasure, and made fine promises to the nobility, and -got himself crowned at Westminster within a few weeks -after his brother Richard’s death. I doubt whether the -crown could possibly have been put upon the head of a -meaner coward, or a more detestable villain, if the country -had been searched from end to end to find him out.</p> - -<p>The French king, Philip, refused to acknowledge the -right of John to his new dignity, and declared in favor -of Arthur. You must not suppose that he had any -generosity of feeling for the fatherless boy; it merely suited -his ambitious schemes to oppose the king of England. So -John and the French king went to war about Arthur.</p> - -<p>He was a handsome boy, at that time only twelve years -old. He was not born when his father, Geoffrey, had his -brains trampled out at the tournament; and, besides the -misfortune of never having known a father’s guidance -and protection, he had the additional misfortune to have -a foolish mother (Constance by name), lately married to -her third husband. She took Arthur, upon John’s accession, -to the French king, who pretended to be very much -his friend, and made him a knight, and promised him -his daughter in marriage; but who cared so little about -him in reality, that, finding it his interest to make peace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -with King John for a time, he did so without the least -consideration for the poor little prince, and heartlessly -sacrificed all his interests.</p> - -<p>Young Arthur, for two years afterwards, lived quietly, -and in the course of that time his mother died. But the -French king, then finding it his interest to quarrel with -King John again, made Arthur his pretence, and invited -the orphan boy to court. “You know your rights, -prince,” said the French king, “and you would like to be -a king. Is it not so?” “Truly,” said Prince Arthur, “I -should greatly like to be a king!” “Then,” said Philip, -“you shall have two hundred gentlemen who are knights -of mine, and with them you shall go to win back the provinces -belonging to you, of which your uncle, the usurping -king of England, has taken possession. I myself, meanwhile, -will head a force against him in Normandy.”</p> - -<p>Prince Arthur went to attack the town of Mirebeau, -because his grandmother, Eleanor, was living there, and -because his knights said, “Prince, if you can take her -prisoner, you will be able to bring the king your uncle to -terms!” But she was not to be easily taken. She was -old enough by this time—eighty; but she was as full of -stratagem as she was full of years and wickedness. Receiving -intelligence of young Arthur’s approach, she shut -herself up in a high tower, and encouraged her soldiers -to defend it like men. Prince Arthur with his little -army besieged the high tower. King John, hearing how -matters stood, came up to the rescue with his army. So -here was a strange family party! The boy-prince besieging -his grandmother, and his uncle besieging him!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> - -<p>This position of affairs did not last long. One summer -night, King John, by treachery, got his men into the town, -surprised Prince Arthur’s force, took two hundred of his -knights, and seized the prince himself in his bed. The -knights were put in heavy irons, and driven away in open -carts, drawn by bullocks, to various dungeons, where they -were most inhumanly treated, and where some of them -were starved to death. Prince Arthur was sent to the -Castle of Falaise.</p> - -<p>One day, while he was in prison at that castle, mournfully -thinking it strange that one so young should be in -so much trouble, and looking out of the small window in -the deep, dark wall, at the summer sky and the birds, the -door was softly opened, and he saw his uncle, the king, -standing in the shadow of the archway, looking very grim.</p> - -<p>“Arthur,” said the king, with his wicked eyes more on -the stone floor than on his nephew, “will you not trust -to the gentleness, the friendship, and the truthfulness of -your loving uncle?” “I will tell my loving uncle that,” -replied the boy, “when he does me right. Let him restore -to me my kingdom of England, and then come to -me and ask the question.” The king looked at him and -went out. “Keep that boy a close prisoner,” said he to -the warden of the castle. Then the king took secret -counsel with the worst of his nobles, how the prince was -to be got rid of. Some said, “Put out his eyes and keep -him in prison, as Robert of Normandy was kept.” Others -said, “Have him stabbed.” Others, “Have him poisoned.”</p> - -<p>King John feeling that in any case, whatever was done -afterwards, it would be a satisfaction to his mind to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -those handsome eyes burnt out, that had looked at him -so proudly, while his own royal eyes were blinking at the -stone floor, sent certain ruffians to Falaise to blind the boy -with red-hot irons. But Arthur so pathetically entreated -them, and shed such piteous tears, and so appealed to -Hubert de Bourg (or Burgh), the warden of the castle, -who had a love for him, and was a merciful, tender man, -that Hubert could not bear it. To his eternal honor, he -prevented the torture from being performed; and, at his -own risk sent the savages away.</p> - -<p>The chafed and disappointed king bethought himself -of the stabbing suggestion next; and, with his shuffling -manner and his cruel face, proposed it to one William de -Bray. “I am a gentleman, and not an executioner,” said -William de Bray, and left the presence with disdain. But -it was not difficult for a king to hire a murderer in those -days. King John found one for his money, and sent him -down to the castle of Falaise. “On what errand dost thou -come?” said Hubert to this fellow. “To despatch young -Arthur,” he returned. “Go back to him who sent thee,” -answered Hubert, “and say that I will do it!”</p> - -<p>King John, very well knowing that Hubert would never -do it, but that he evasively sent this reply to save the -prince or gain time, despatched messengers to convey the -young prisoner to the castle of Rouen. Arthur was soon -forced from the kind Hubert—of whom he had never -stood in greater need than then—carried away by night, -and lodged in his new prison; where, through his grated -window, he could hear the deep waters of the river Seine -rippling against the stone wall below.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> - -<p>One dark night, as he lay sleeping, dreaming, perhaps, -of rescue by those unfortunate gentlemen who were -obscurely suffering and dying in his cause, he was roused, -and bidden by his jailor to come down the staircase to the -foot of the tower. He hurriedly dressed himself, and -obeyed. When they came to the bottom of the winding-stairs, -the jailor trod upon his torch, and put it out. Then -Arthur, in the darkness, was hurriedly drawn into a -solitary boat; and in that boat he found his uncle and -one other man.</p> - -<p>He knelt to them, and prayed them not to murder him. -Deaf to his entreaties, they stabbed him, and sank his -body in the river with heavy stones. When the spring -morning broke, the tower-door was closed, the boat was -gone, the river sparkled on its way, and never more was -any trace of the poor boy beheld by mortal eyes.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>Seine (<i>sān</i>)</li> -<li>Fă-lāise´ (<i>lāz</i>)</li> -<li>ruffians (<i>rŭf´yans</i>)</li> -<li>accession (<i>ak-sesh´un</i>)</li> -<li>Geoffrey (<i>jĕf´re</i>)</li> -<li>besieged (<i>be-sējd</i>)</li> -<li>dungeons (<i>dŭn´juns</i>)</li> -<li>tour´na-ment (<i>toor-</i> or <i>tur-</i>)</li> -<li>Mirebeau (<i>meer´bō</i>)</li> -<li>usurping (<i>yū-zurp´ing</i>)</li> -<li>treachery (<i>trĕch´er-e</i>)</li> -<li>acknowledge (<i>ak-nŏl´ej</i>)</li> -<li>Nor´man-dy</li> -<li>mĕs´sen-gers</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Detestable villain.—2. <i>Declared in favor</i> of Arthur.—3. -Ambitious schemes.—4. Heartlessly sacrificed his interests.—5. -Full of <i>stratagem</i>.—6. Inhumanly treated.—7. Took <i>secret -counsel</i>.—8. Arthur <i>pathetically entreated</i>.—9. The <i>chafed</i> and -<i>disappointed</i> king.—10. <i>To despatch</i> Arthur.—11. <i>Evasively</i> -sent this <i>reply</i>.—12. He prayed them.—13. Solitary boat.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XVI_A_WET_SHEET_AND_A_FLOWING_SEA" id="XVI_A_WET_SHEET_AND_A_FLOWING_SEA"></a>XVI.—A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA.</h2> - -<p class="author">Allan Cunningham.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A wet sheet and a flowing sea,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A wind that follows fast,</div> -<div class="verse">And fills the white, and rustling sail,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And bends the gallant mast;</div> -<div class="verse">And bends the gallant mast, my boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">While, like the eagle free,</div> -<div class="verse">Away the good ship flies, and leaves</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Old England on the lee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O for a soft and gentle wind!”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I heard a fair one cry;</div> -<div class="verse">But give to me the snoring breeze</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And white waves heaving high;</div> -<div class="verse">And white waves heaving high, my boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The good ship tight and free,—</div> -<div class="verse">The world of waters is our home,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And merry men are we.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s tempest in yon hornèd moon,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And lightning in yon cloud;</div> -<div class="verse">And hark the music, mariners,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The wind is piping loud!</div> -<div class="verse">The wind is piping loud, my boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The lightning flashes free,—</div> -<div class="verse">While the hollow oak our palace is,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Our heritage the sea.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>An idler is a watch that wants both hands,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>As useless if it goes as if it stands.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>Cowper.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XVII_WE_ARE_SEVEN" id="XVII_WE_ARE_SEVEN"></a>XVII.—WE ARE SEVEN.</h2> - -<p class="author">Wordsworth.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p052.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="Little girl talking to the poet" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A simple child,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That lightly draws its breath,</div> -<div class="verse">And feels its life in every limb,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">What should it know of death?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I met a little cottage girl:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She was eight years old, she said;</div> -<div class="verse">Her hair was thick with many a curl</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That clustered round her head.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">She had a rustic, woodland air,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And she was wildly clad;</div> -<div class="verse">Her eyes were fair, and very fair:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Her beauty made me glad.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Sisters and brothers, little maid,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">flow many may you be?”</div> -<div class="verse">“How many? Seven in all,” she said,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And wondering, looked at me.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And where are they? I pray you tell.”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She answered, “Seven are we;</div> -<div class="verse">And two of us at Conway dwell,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And two are gone to sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Two of us in the churchyard lie,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My sister and my brother;</div> -<div class="verse">And in the churchyard cottage, I</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Dwell near them with my mother.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“You say that two at Conway dwell,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And two are gone to sea,</div> -<div class="verse">Yet you are seven!—I pray you tell,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Sweet maid, how this may be.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then did the little maid reply,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“Seven boys and girls are we;</div> -<div class="verse">Two of us in the churchyard lie,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Beneath the churchyard tree.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“You run about, my little maid,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Your limbs they are alive;</div> -<div class="verse">If two are in the churchyard laid,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Then you are only five.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Their graves are green, they may be seen,”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The little maid replied,</div> -<div class="verse">“Twelve steps or more from my mother’s door,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And they are side by side.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“My stockings there I often knit,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My kerchief there I hem;</div> -<div class="verse">And there upon the ground I sit—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I sit and sing to them.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And often after sunset, sir,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When it is light and fair,</div> -<div class="verse">I take my little porringer,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And eat my supper there.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“The first that died was little Jane;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In bed she moaning lay,</div> -<div class="verse">Till God released her of her pain;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And then she went away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“So in the churchyard she was laid;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And, when the grass was dry,</div> -<div class="verse">Together round her grave we played,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My brother John and I.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And when the ground was white with snow,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And I could run and slide,</div> -<div class="verse">My brother John was forced to go,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And he lies by her side.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“How many are you, then,” said I,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“If they two are in heaven?”</div> -<div class="verse">The little maiden did reply,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“O master! we are seven.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“But they are dead; those two are dead!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Their spirits are in heaven!”</div> -<div class="verse">’Twas throwing words away; for still</div> -<div class="verse">The little maid would have her will,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And said, “Nay, we are seven.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XVIII_THE_HIPPOPOTAMUS" id="XVIII_THE_HIPPOPOTAMUS"></a>XVIII.—THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.</h2> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p055.jpg" width="400" height="287" alt="Hippopotamus on a river bank, another in the river" /> -</div> - -<p>Of all the ugly-looking animals the hippopotamus is -certainly one of the ugliest. Its name means the river-horse, -and was given it because it is generally found either -in rivers or their neighborhood, but the hippopotamus is -nothing like a horse, either in its form or its habits.</p> - -<p>Though it rarely exceeds five feet in height, it is of vast -bulk, and, when full grown, will weigh, it is said, as much -as four or five oxen. The head is of enormous size, and -provided with a mouth of alarming width. The skin, -which is of a dark color and thinly covered with short -white hairs, is, in places, nearly two inches thick. The -feet are large and divided into four parts, each of which -is protected by a hoof.</p> - -<p>The hippopotamus lives entirely upon vegetable food, -of which it eats vast quantities, as much as six bushels of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -grass having been found in its stomach. But it is not so -much the amount of food which it consumes, as what it -destroys, that makes the African dread its visits to the -standing crops. Its body is so huge and its legs are so -short that it tramples down far more than it eats. It is -provided with a tremendous array of teeth, some of which -weigh from five to eight pounds. With these it cuts -down the grass and shrubs on which it lives as if they -were mown with a scythe.</p> - -<p>The hippopotamus, in spite of its awkward form, is an -excellent swimmer and diver, and can remain under water -for as much as ten minutes. During the first few months -of its life the young hippopotamus is carried upon its -mother’s neck. When born it is not much larger than a -terrier dog.</p> - -<p>The hippopotamus is caught in various ways. Sometimes -several pitfalls, having sharp stakes at the bottom, -are dug across the path which it pursues. In the -darkness of the night it falls into one of these, and is -impaled on the stakes. This is a very cruel mode of -capture, and it is to be hoped that the natives who employ -it, soon put the poor animal out of its misery. It is not -easy to shoot it fatally, for, once it is alarmed, it does not -readily show itself. It just pushes up its nostrils above -the water to take in air, often selecting for this purpose -some spot where the reeds conceal its movements, and -then sinks again. Sometimes the hippopotamus is harpooned -like a whale. As soon as it is struck with the -harpoon the hunters fasten the line round a neighboring -tree, and so hold their prey tight until it is despatched.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -Or, if there is no time for them to get to land, they throw -the line, with a buoy attached to it, into the water. The -hippopotamus is then pursued in canoes, and every time -it rises to the surface it is pierced with javelins, until, at -length, it dies from loss of blood. This is dangerous sport, -for it sometimes turns upon the hunters and crushes in or -capsizes their canoes. Once a hippopotamus, whose calf -had been speared on the previous day, attacked a boat in -which was Dr. Livingstone. She struck it with such -violence that the forepart was lifted clean out of the -water, one of the negro boatmen was thrown into the -river, and the whole crew were forced to jump ashore.</p> - -<p>Between the skin and the flesh is a layer of fat, which -is considered a great delicacy. The flesh also is very good -eating. The hide is made into shields, whips, and walking-sticks. -The teeth yield a beautiful white ivory, which is -much valued on account of its never losing color.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>buoy (<i>bwoi</i>)</li> -<li>pit´falls</li> -<li>javelins (<i>jăv´lĭns</i>)</li> -<li>e-nor´mous</li> -<li>ter´ri-er</li> -<li>har-pooned´</li> -<li>scythe</li> -<li>pierced</li> -<li>nŏs´trils</li> -<li>neighborhood (<i>nā´bur-</i>)</li> -<li>i´vo-ry</li> -<li>mĭs´er-y</li> -<li>hĭp-po-pot´a-mus</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Either in its <i>form</i> or its <i>habits</i>.—2. Rarely exceeds.—3. -Vast bulk.—4. Alarming width.—5. Lives entirely upon -vegetable food.—6. Food which it <i>consumes</i>.—7. Tremendous -array.—8. Awkward form.—9. <i>Impaled</i> on the stakes.—10. -Cruel mode of capture.—11. Shoot it <i>fatally</i>.—12. The reeds -<i>conceal its movements</i>.—13. The hunters fasten the line.—14. -Dangerous sport.—15. <i>Capsizes</i> their canoes.—16. Lifted <i>clean</i> -out of the water.—17. Considered a delicacy.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XIX_A_BRIGHT_BOY" id="XIX_A_BRIGHT_BOY"></a>XIX.—A BRIGHT BOY.</h2> - -<p class="author">Prof. J. S. Blackie.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Bill is a bright boy;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Do you know Bill?</div> -<div class="verse">Marching cheerily</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Up and down hill;</div> -<div class="verse">Bill is a bright boy</div> -<div class="verse indent2">At books and at play,</div> -<div class="verse">A right and a tight boy,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All the boys say.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">His face is like roses</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In flush of the June;</div> -<div class="verse">His eyes like the welkin,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When cloudless the noon;</div> -<div class="verse">His step is like fountains</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That bicker with glee,</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath the green mountains,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Down to the sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When Bill plays at cricket,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">No ball on the green</div> -<div class="verse">Is shot from the wicket</div> -<div class="verse indent2">So sharp and so clean;</div> -<div class="verse">He stands at his station</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As strong as a king</div> -<div class="verse">When he lifts up a nation</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On Victory’s wing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When bent upon study,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He girds to his books;</div> -<div class="verse">No frown ever ploughs</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The smooth pride of his looks;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -<div class="verse">I came, and I saw,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And I conquered at will:</div> -<div class="verse">This be the law</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For great Cæsar and Bill.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Like Thor with the hammer</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of power in his hand,</div> -<div class="verse">He rides through the grammar</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Triumphant and grand;</div> -<div class="verse">O’er bastions and brambles</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Which pedants up-pile,</div> -<div class="verse">He leaps and he ambles</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Along with a smile.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As mild as a maiden,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where mildness belongs,—</div> -<div class="verse">He’s hot as Achilles,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When goaded by wrongs;</div> -<div class="verse">He flirts with a danger,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He sports with an ill,</div> -<div class="verse">To fear, such a stranger</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Is brave-hearted Bill!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For Bill is a bright boy—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Who is like Bill?</div> -<div class="verse">Oft have I marched with him</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Up and down hill.</div> -<div class="verse">When I hear his voice calling,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I follow him still,</div> -<div class="verse">And, standing or falling,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I conquer with Bill!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>Do good by stealth and blush to find it fame.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>Pope.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XX_AFTER_BLENHEIM" id="XX_AFTER_BLENHEIM"></a>XX.—AFTER BLENHEIM.</h2> - -<p class="author">Robert Southey.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p060.jpg" width="300" height="221" alt="Old Kaspar and his grandchildren, on a bench outside the house" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">It was a summer evening,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Old Kaspar’s work was done,</div> -<div class="verse">And he before his cottage door</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Was sitting in the sun,</div> -<div class="verse">And by him sported on the green</div> -<div class="verse">His little grandchild Wilhelmine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">She saw her brother Peterkin</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Roll something large and round,</div> -<div class="verse">Which he beside the rivulet</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In playing there had found;</div> -<div class="verse">He came to ask what he had found,</div> -<div class="verse">That was so large, and smooth, and round.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Old Kaspar took it from the boy,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Who stood expectant by;</div> -<div class="verse">And then the old man shook his head,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And with a natural sigh:</div> -<div class="verse">“’Tis some poor fellow’s skull,” said he,</div> -<div class="verse">“Who fell in the great victory.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I find them in the garden,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For there’s many here about;</div> -<div class="verse">And often when I go to plough,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The ploughshare turns them out!</div> -<div class="verse">For many thousand men,” said he,</div> -<div class="verse">“Were slain in that great victory.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Now tell us what ’twas all about,”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Young Peterkin, he cries;</div> -<div class="verse">And little Wilhelmine looks up,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With wonder-waiting eyes;</div> -<div class="verse">“Now tell us all about the war,</div> -<div class="verse">And what they fought each other for.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“It was the English,” Kaspar cried,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“Who put the French to rout;</div> -<div class="verse">But what they fought each other for,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I could not well make out;</div> -<div class="verse">But everybody said,” quoth he,</div> -<div class="verse">“That ’twas a famous victory.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“My father lived at Blenheim then,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Yon little stream hard by;</div> -<div class="verse">They burnt his dwelling to the ground,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And he was forced to fly;</div> -<div class="verse">So with his wife and child he fled,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor had he where to rest his head.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“With fire and sword the country round</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Was wasted far and wide,</div> -<div class="verse">And many a childing mother then</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And new-born baby died;</div> -<div class="verse">But things like that, you know, must be</div> -<div class="verse">At every famous victory.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“They say it was a shocking sight</div> -<div class="verse indent2">After the field was won;</div> -<div class="verse">For many thousand bodies here</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Lay rotting in the sun;</div> -<div class="verse">But things like that, you know, must be</div> -<div class="verse">After a famous victory.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Great praise the Duke of Marlbro’ won,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And our good Prince Eugene.”</div> -<div class="verse">“Why, ’twas a very wicked thing!”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Said little Wilhelmine.</div> -<div class="verse">“Nay—nay—my little girl,” quoth he</div> -<div class="verse">“It was a famous victory.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And everybody praised the Duke</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Who this great fight did win.”</div> -<div class="verse">“But what good came of it at last?”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Quoth little Peterkin.</div> -<div class="verse">“Why, that I cannot tell,” said he,</div> -<div class="verse">“But ’twas a famous victory.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>fa´mous</li> -<li>vĭc´to-ry</li> -<li>Kas´par</li> -<li>quōth (or <i>kwŭth</i>)</li> -<li>shock´ing</li> -<li>nat´u-ral (<i>-yu</i>)</li> -<li>Eu-gēne´</li> -<li>Wil´hel-mine (<i>mēn</i>)</li> -<li>Pe´ter-kin</li> -<li>rĭv´u-let</li> -<li>plough´share</li> -<li>Blĕn´heĭm</li> -<li>ex-pĕct´ant</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXI_THE_BLACK_DOUGLAS" id="XXI_THE_BLACK_DOUGLAS"></a>XXI.—THE BLACK DOUGLAS.</h2> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p063.jpg" width="300" height="212" alt="Woman nursing baby on the ramparts, sentinel standing next to her" /> -</div> - -<p>King Edward I. of England, commonly known as -“Longshanks,” nearly conquered Scotland. It was from -no lack of spirit or energy that he did not quite complete -his troublesome task, but he died a little too soon. On -his death-bed he called his pretty, spiritless son to him, and -made him promise to carry on the war; he then ordered -that his bones should be wrapped up in a bull’s hide, and -carried at the head of the army in future campaigns against -the Scots. Edward II. soon forgot his promise to his -father, and spent his time in dissipation among his favorites, -and allowed the resolute Scots to recover Scotland.</p> - -<p>Good James, Lord Douglas, was a very wise man in his -day. He may not have had long shanks, but he had a very -long head, as you shall presently see. He was one of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -hardest foes with which the two Edwards had to contend, -and his long head proved quite too powerful for the second -Edward, who, in his single campaign against the Scots, -lost at Bannockburn nearly all that his father had gained.</p> - -<p>The tall Scottish castle of Roxburgh stood near the -border, lifting its grim turrets above the Teviot and the -Tweed. When the Black Douglas, as Lord James was -called, had recovered castle after castle from the English, -he desired to gain this stronghold, and determined to -accomplish his wish. But he knew it could be taken -only by surprise, and a very wily affair it must be. He -had outwitted the English so many times that they were -sharply on the look out for him.</p> - -<p>How could it be done?</p> - -<p>’Tis an old Yule-log story, and you shall be told.</p> - -<p>Near the castle was a gloomy old forest, called Jedburgh. -Here, just as the first days of spring began to -kindle in the sunrise and the sunsets, and warm the frosty -hills, Black Douglas concealed sixty picked men.</p> - -<p>It was Shrove-tide, and Fasten’s Eve, immediately -before the great Church fast of Lent, was to be celebrated -with song and harp and a great blaze of light, and free -offerings of wine in the great hall of the castle. The -garrison was to have leave for merry-making and -indulging in drunken wassail.</p> - -<p>The sun had gone down in the red sky, and the long, -deep shadow began to fall on Jedburgh woods, the river, -the hills, and valleys. An officer’s wife had retired from -the great hall, where all was preparation for the merry-making, -to the high battlements of the castle, in order to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -quiet her little child and put it to rest. The sentinel, -from time to time, paced near her. She began to sing:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye!</div> -<div class="verse">Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye;</div> -<div class="verse">The Black Douglas shall not get ye!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>She saw some strange objects moving across the level -ground in the distance. They greatly puzzled her. They -did not travel quite like animals, but they seemed to have -four legs.</p> - -<p>“What are those queer-looking things yonder?” she -asked of the sentinel as he drew near.</p> - -<p>“They are Farmer Asher’s cattle,” said the soldier, -straining his eyes to discern the outlines of the long figures -in the shadows. “The good man is making merry to-night, -and has forgotten to bring in his oxen; lucky -’twill be if they do not fall a prey to the Black Douglas.”</p> - -<p>So sure was he that the objects were cattle, that he -ceased to watch them longer.</p> - -<p>The woman’s eye, however, followed the queer-looking -cattle for some time, until they seemed to disappear under -the outer works of the castle. Then feeling quite at ease, -she thought she would sing again. Spring was in the -evening air; and, perhaps, it was the joyousness of spring -which made her sing.</p> - -<p>Now, the name of the Black Douglas had become so -terrible to the English that it was used to frighten the -children, who, when they misbehaved, were told that the -Black Douglas would get them. The little ditty I have -quoted must have been very quieting to good children in -those alarming times.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> - -<p>So the good woman sang cheerily:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye!</div> -<div class="verse">Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye:</div> -<div class="verse">The Black Douglas shall not get ye!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Do not be so sure of that,” said a husky voice close -beside her, and a mail-gloved hand fell solidly upon her -shoulder. She was dreadfully frightened, for she knew -from the appearance of the man he must be the Black -Douglas.</p> - -<p>The Scots came leaping over the walls. The garrison -was merry making below, and, almost before the disarmed -revellers had any warning, the Black Douglas was in the -midst of them. The old stronghold was taken, and many -of the garrison were put to the sword; but the Black -Douglas spared the woman and the child, who probably -never afterwards felt quite so sure about the little ditty:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye:</div> -<div class="verse">The Black Douglas shall not get ye!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Douglas had caused his picked men to approach the -castle by walking on their hands and knees, with long -black cloaks thrown over their bodies, and their ladders -and weapons concealed under their cloaks. The men -thus presented very nearly the appearance of a herd of -cattle in the deep shadows, and completely deceived the -sentinel, who was probably thinking more of the music -and dancing below, than of the watchful enemy who had -been haunting the gloomy woods of Jedburgh.</p> - -<p>The Black Douglas, or “Good James, Lord Douglas,” as -he was called by the Scots, fought, as you will afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -read, with King Robert Bruce at Bannockburn. One -lovely June day, in the far-gone year of 1329, King -Robert lay dying. He called Douglas to his bedside, and -told him that it had been one of the dearest wishes of his -heart to go to the Holy Land, and recover Jerusalem from -the Infidels; but since he could not go, he wished him to -embalm his heart after his death, and carry it to the Holy -City, and deposit it in the Holy Sepulchre.</p> - -<p>Douglas had the heart of Bruce embalmed and enclosed -in a silver case, and wore it on a silver chain -about his neck. He set out for Jerusalem, but resolved -first to visit Spain and engage in the war waged against -the Moorish king of Granada. He fell in Andalusia, in -battle. Just before his death he threw the silver casket -into the thickest of the fight, exclaiming, “Heart of -Bruce, I follow thee or die!”</p> - -<p>His dead body was found beside the casket, and the -heart of Bruce was brought back to Scotland and -deposited in the ivy-clad Abbey of Melrose.</p> - -<p>Douglas was a real hero, and few things more engaging -than his exploits were ever told under the holly and -mistletoe, or in the warm Christmas light of the old -Scottish Yule-logs.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>Te´vi-ot</li> -<li>rĕv´el-lers</li> -<li>weapons (<i>wĕp´pns</i>)</li> -<li>Jedburgh (<i>jĕd´bŭr-rŭh</i>)</li> -<li>wassail (<i>wŏs´sil</i>)</li> -<li>Andalusia (<i>an-da-lu´she-a</i>)</li> -<li>haunting (<i>hänt´ing</i>)</li> -<li>Roxburgh (<i>rŏx´bŭr-rŭh</i>)</li> -<li>Doŭg´las</li> -<li>Sepulchre (sĕpul-ker)</li> -<li>Mel-rōse´</li> -<li>găr´ri-son (<i>-sn</i>)</li> -<li>dĭs-si-pa´tion</li> -<li>Gra-nä´dä</li> -<li>Je-rū´sa-lĕm</li> -<li>Ban´nock-burn</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXII_BRUCE_AND_THE_SPIDER" id="XXII_BRUCE_AND_THE_SPIDER"></a>XXII.—BRUCE AND THE SPIDER.</h2> - -<p class="author">Eliza Cook.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p068.jpg" width="300" height="217" alt="Robert the Bruce watches a spider" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">King Bruce of Scotland flung himself down in a lonely mood to think;</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown, but his heart was beginning to sink,</div> -<div class="verse">For he had been trying to do a great deed to make his people glad,</div> -<div class="verse">He had tried and tried, but couldn’t succeed, and so he became quite sad.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He flung himself down in low despair, as grieved as man could be;</div> -<div class="verse">And after a while as he pondered there, “I’ll give it all up,” said he.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Now just at the moment a spider dropped, with its silken cobweb clew,</div> -<div class="verse">And the king in the midst of his thinking stopped to see what the spider would do.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome, and it hung by a rope so fine,</div> -<div class="verse">That how it would get to its cobweb home, King Bruce could not divine.</div> -<div class="verse">It soon began to cling and crawl straight up with strong endeavor,</div> -<div class="verse">But down it came, with a slipping sprawl, as near to the ground as ever.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Up, up it ran, not a second it stayed, to utter the least complaint,</div> -<div class="verse">Till it fell still lower, and there it lay, a little dizzy, and faint.</div> -<div class="verse">Its head grew steady—again it went, and travelled a half yard higher,</div> -<div class="verse">’Twas a delicate thread it had to tread, and a road where its feet would tire.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Again it fell and swung below, but again it quickly mounted,</div> -<div class="verse">Till up and down, now fast, now slow, nine brave attempts were counted.</div> -<div class="verse">“Sure,” cried the king, “that foolish thing will strive no more to climb,</div> -<div class="verse">When it toils so hard to reach and cling, and tumbles every time.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But up the insect went once more, ah me, ’tis an anxious minute,</div> -<div class="verse">He’s only a foot from his cobweb door, oh, say will he lose or win it?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Steadily, steadily, inch by inch, higher and higher he got,</div> -<div class="verse">And a bold little run at the very last pinch, put him into his native spot.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Bravo, bravo!” the king cried out, “all honor to those who try;</div> -<div class="verse">The spider up there defied despair, he conquered, and why shouldn’t I?”</div> -<div class="verse">And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind, and gossips tell the tale,</div> -<div class="verse">That he tried once more as he tried before, and that time he did not fail.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Pay goodly heed, all you who read, and beware of saying. “I can’t,”</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis a cowardly word, and apt to lead to Idleness, Folly, and Want.</div> -<div class="verse">Whenever you find your heart despair of doing some goodly thing,</div> -<div class="verse">Con over this strain, try bravely again, and remember the Spider and King.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>ceil´ing (<i>sēl´ing</i>)</li> -<li>gŏs´sips</li> -<li>idleness (<i>ī´dl-nĕs</i>)</li> -<li>travelled (<i>trăv´eld</i>)</li> -<li>grieved (<i>grēvd</i>)</li> -<li>anx´ious (<i>angk´shus</i>)</li> -<li>mon´arch (<i>mon´ark</i>)</li> -<li>endeavor (<i>en-dĕv´or</i>)</li> -<li>pŏn´dered</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Lonely mood.—2. His heart was beginning to sink.—3. -Low despair.—4. Silken clew.—5. Ceiling dome.—6. Bruce -could not <i>divine</i>.—7. Strong endeavor.—8. Slipping sprawl.—9. -Bruce <i>braced his mind</i>.—10. Con over this strain.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXIII_THE_FARMER_AND_THE_FOX" id="XXIII_THE_FARMER_AND_THE_FOX"></a>XXIII.—THE FARMER AND THE FOX.</h2> - -<p class="author">J. A. Froude.</p> - -<p>A Farmer, whose poultry-yard had suffered severely -from the foxes, succeeded at last in catching one in a trap.</p> - -<p>“Ah, you rascal!” said he, as he saw him struggling, -“I’ll teach you to steal my fat geese. You shall hang on -the tree yonder, and your brothers shall see what comes -of thieving.”</p> - -<p>The Farmer was twisting a halter to do what he had -threatened, when the Fox, whose tongue had helped him -in hard pinches before, thought there could be no harm -in trying if it might not do him one more good turn.</p> - -<p>“You will hang me,” he said, “to frighten my brother -foxes. On the word of a fox they won’t care a rabbit-skin -for it; they’ll come and look at me, but you may -depend upon it, they will dine at your expense before -they go home again!”</p> - -<p>“Then I shall hang you for yourself, as a rogue and a -rascal,” said the Farmer.</p> - -<p>“I am only what Nature, or whatever you call the -thing, chose to make me,” the Fox answered; “I didn’t -make myself.”</p> - -<p>“You stole my geese,” said the man.</p> - -<p>“Why did Nature make me like geese, then?” said the -Fox. “Live and let live; give me my share and I won’t -touch yours; but you keep them all to yourself.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand your fine talk,” answered the -Farmer; “but I know that you are a thief, and that -you deserve to be hanged.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p> - -<p>His head is too thick to let me catch him so, thought -the Fox; I wonder if his heart is any softer. “You are -taking away the life of a fellow-creature,” he said; -“that’s a responsibility,—it is a curious thing that life, -and who knows what comes after it? You say I am a -rogue; I say I am not; but at any rate I ought not to be -hanged, for if I am not, I don’t deserve it; and if I am, -you should give me time to repent.” I have him now, -thought the Fox; let him get out if he can.</p> - -<p>“Why, what would you have me do with you?” said -the man.</p> - -<p>“My notion is, that you should let me go, and give me -a lamb, or a goose or two, every month, and then I could -live without stealing; but perhaps you know better than -I, and I am a rogue; my education may have been neglected; -you should shut me up, and take care of me, and -teach me. Who knows but in the end I may turn into a -dog?”</p> - -<p>“Very pretty,” said the Farmer; “we have dogs -enough, and more, too, than we can take care of, without -you. No, no, Master Fox; I have caught you, and you -shall swing, whatever is the logic of it. There will be -one rogue less in the world, any how.”</p> - -<p>“It is mere hate and unchristian vengeance,” said the -Fox.</p> - -<p>“No, friend,” the Farmer answered, “I don’t hate you, -and I don’t want to revenge myself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> on you; but you and -I can’t get on together, and I think I am of more importance -than you. If nettles and thistles grow in my cabbage-garden, -I don’t try and persuade them to grow into -cabbages. I just dig them up. I don’t hate them; but I -feel somehow that they mustn’t hinder me with my cabbage, -and that I must put them away; and so, my poor -friend, I am sorry for you, but I am afraid you must -swing.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XXIV_A_CANADIAN_BOAT_SONG" id="XXIV_A_CANADIAN_BOAT_SONG"></a>XXIV.—A CANADIAN BOAT SONG.</h2> - -<p class="author">Thomas Moore.</p> - -<p class="center">[Written on the river Ottawa in the summer of 1804.]</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Faintly as tolls the evening chime,</div> -<div class="verse">Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time;</div> -<div class="verse">Soon as the woods on the shore look dim,</div> -<div class="verse">We’ll sing at St. Anne’s our parting hymn.</div> -<div class="verse">Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast,</div> -<div class="verse">The Rapids are near, and the daylight’s past.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why should we yet our sail unfurl?</div> -<div class="verse">There is not a breath the blue wave to curl;</div> -<div class="verse">But when the wind blows off the shore,</div> -<div class="verse">O sweetly we’ll rest our weary oar.</div> -<div class="verse">Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast,</div> -<div class="verse">The Rapids are near, and the daylight’s past.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Utaw’a’s tide! this trembling moon</div> -<div class="verse">Shall see us float over thy surges soon.</div> -<div class="verse">Saint of this green isle! hear our prayers;</div> -<div class="verse">O grant us cool heavens, and favoring airs.</div> -<div class="verse">Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast,</div> -<div class="verse">The Rapids are near, and the daylight’s past.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXV_THE_WRECK_OF_THE_HESPERUS" id="XXV_THE_WRECK_OF_THE_HESPERUS"></a>XXV.—THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS.</h2> - -<p class="author">Longfellow.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">It was the schooner Hesperus,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That sailed the wintry sea;</div> -<div class="verse">And the skipper had taken his little daughter,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To bear him company.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Blue were her eyes as the fairy flax,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Her cheeks like the dawn of day,</div> -<div class="verse">And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That ope in the month of May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The skipper he stood beside the helm,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His pipe was in his mouth,</div> -<div class="verse">And he watched how the veering flaw did blow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The smoke now west, now south.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then up and spake an old sailor,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Had sailed the Spanish Main,</div> -<div class="verse">“I pray thee put into yonder port.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For I fear a hurricane.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Last night the moon had a golden ring,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And to-night no moon we see!”</div> -<div class="verse">The skipper he blew a whiff from his pipe,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And a scornful laugh laughed he.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Colder and louder blew the wind,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A gale from the north-east;</div> -<div class="verse">The snow fell hissing in the brine,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the billows frothed like yeast.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Down came the storm, and smote amain</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The vessel in its strength;</div> -<div class="verse">She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Then leaped her cable’s length.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Come hither! come hither! my little daughter,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And do not tremble so;</div> -<div class="verse">For I can weather the roughest gale,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That ever wind did blow.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He wrapped her warm in his seaman’s coat,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Against the stinging blast;</div> -<div class="verse">He cut a rope from a broken spar,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And bound her to the mast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O father! I hear the church bells ring,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O say, what may it be?”</div> -<div class="verse">“’Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast!”—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And he steered for the open sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O father! I hear the sound of guns,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O say what may it be?”</div> -<div class="verse">“Some ship in distress, that cannot live</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In such an angry sea!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O father! I see a gleaming light,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O say, what may it be?”</div> -<div class="verse">But the father answered never a word,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A frozen corpse was he.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With his face turned to the skies,</div> -<div class="verse">The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On his fixed and glassy eyes.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That savèd she might be;</div> -<div class="verse">And she thought of Him who stilled the wave</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On the Lake of Galilee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And fast through the midnight dark and drear,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Through the whistling sleet and snow,</div> -<div class="verse">Like a sheeted ghost, the vessel swept</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Towards the reef of Norman’s Woe.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And ever the fitful gusts between</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A sound came from the land;</div> -<div class="verse">It was the sound of the trampling surf,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On the rocks and the hard sea-sand.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The breakers were right beneath her bows,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She drifted a dreary wreck,</div> -<div class="verse">And the whooping billow swept the crew</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Like icicles from her deck.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">She struck where the white and fleecy waves</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Looked soft as carded wool,</div> -<div class="verse">But the cruel rocks, they gored her side</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Like the horns of an angry bull.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With the masts went by the board;</div> -<div class="verse">Like a vessel of glass she stove and sank—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Ho! Ho! the breakers roared!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At daybreak on the bleak sea-beach,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A fisherman stood aghast,</div> -<div class="verse">To see the form of a maiden fair</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Lashed close to a drifting mast.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The salt sea was frozen on her breast,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The salt tears in her eyes;</div> -<div class="verse">And he saw her hair, like the brown sea-weed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On the billows fall and rise.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Such was the wreck of the Hesperus,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In the midnight and the snow;</div> -<div class="verse">Oh! save us all from a death like this,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On the reef of Norman’s Woe!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>yeast (<i>yēst</i>)</li> -<li>aghast (<i>a-gast´</i>)</li> -<li>icicles (<i>ī´sik-kls</i>)</li> -<li>whistling (<i>hwis´ling</i>)</li> -<li>gored</li> -<li>steered</li> -<li>skip´per</li> -<li>fright´ed</li> -<li>wreck</li> -<li>frothed</li> -<li>Span´ish</li> -<li>haw´thorn</li> -<li>a-main´</li> -<li>sheeted</li> -<li>schoon´er</li> -<li>whoop´ing</li> -<li>lăn´tern</li> -<li>Găl´i-lēe</li> -<li>Hĕs´pe-rŭs</li> -<li>hŭr´ri-cāne</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. <i>To bear</i> him company.—2. <i>Fairy</i> flax.—3. Veering flaw.—4. -Spanish Main.—5. The moon had a <i>golden ring</i>.—6. <i>Scornful</i> -laugh.—7. I can weather the roughest gale.—8. <i>Stinging</i> -blast.—9. Rock-bound coast.—10. In distress.—11. <i>Gleaming</i> -light.—12. Stiff and stark.—13. Norman’s Woe.—14. Fitful -gusts.—15. By the board.—16. Whooping billow.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>The blue skies smile, and flowers bloom on,</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>And rivers still keep flowing,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>The dear God still his rain and sun</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>On good and ill bestowing.</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>His pine trees whisper, “Trust and wait!”</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>His flowers are prophesying</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>That all we dread of change or fate</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>His love is underlying.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>J. G. Whittier.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXVI_HOLLAND" id="XXVI_HOLLAND"></a>XXVI.—HOLLAND.</h2> - -<p class="author">Mary Mapes Dodge.</p> - -<p>Dutch cities seem, at first sight, to be a bewildering -jumble of houses, bridges, churches, and ships, sprouting -into masts, steeples, and trees. In some cities boats are -hitched, like horses, to their owners’ door-posts, and -receive their freight from the upper windows.</p> - -<p>Mothers scream to their children not to swing on -the garden gate for fear they may be drowned. Water -roads are more frequent in Holland than common roads -and railroads; water fences, in the form of lazy green -ditches, enclose pleasure-ground, farm, and garden.</p> - -<p>Sometimes fine green hedges are seen; but wooden -fences, such as we have, are rarely met with in Holland. -As for stone fences, a Hollander would lift his hands -with astonishment at the very idea. There is no stone -there, excepting those great, masses of rock that have -been brought from other lands, to strengthen and protect -the coast. All the small stones or pebbles, if there -ever were any, seem to be imprisoned in pavements -or quite melted away. Boys, with strong, quick arms, -may grow from aprons to full beards, without ever finding -one to start the water-rings, or set the rabbits flying.</p> - -<p>The water-roads are nothing less than canals crossing -the country in every direction. These are of all sizes, -from the great North Holland Ship Canal, which is the -wonder of the world, to those which a boy can leap. -Water-omnibuses constantly ply up and down these -roads for the conveyance of passengers; and water-drays<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -are used for carrying fuel and merchandise.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 375px;"> -<img src="images/p079.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="A canal-side scene: boats, horse and cart, people carrying baskets" /> -</div> - -<p>Instead of green country lanes, green canals stretch -from field to barn, and from barn to garden; and the -farms are merely great lakes pumped dry. Some of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -busiest streets are water, while many of the country roads -are paved with brick. The city boats, with their rounded -sterns, gilded bows, and gayly-painted sides, are unlike -any others under the sun; a Dutch waggon, with its funny -little crooked pole, is a perfect mystery of mysteries.</p> - -<p>One thing is clear, you may think that the inhabitants -need never be thirsty. But no, Odd-land is true to itself -still. With the sea pushing to get in, and the lakes -struggling to get out, and the overflowing canals, rivers, -and ditches, in many districts there is no water that is fit -to swallow. Our poor Hollanders must go dry, or send -far inland for that precious fluid, older than Adam, yet -young as the morning dew. Sometimes, indeed, the -inhabitants can swallow a shower, when they are provided -with any means of catching it; but generally they -are like the sailors told of in a famous poem, who saw</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Water, water, everywhere,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor any drop to drink!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Great flapping windmills all over the country make it -look as if flocks of huge sea-birds were just settling upon -it. Everywhere one sees the funniest trees, bobbed into -all sorts of odd shapes, with their trunks painted a -dazzling white, yellow, or red.</p> - -<p>Horses are often yoked three abreast. Men, women -and children go clattering about in wooden shoes with -loose heels.</p> - -<p>Husbands and wives lovingly harness themselves side -by side on the bank of the canal and drag their produce -to market.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXVII_EVENING_HYMN" id="XXVII_EVENING_HYMN"></a>XXVII.—EVENING HYMN.</h2> - -<p class="author">John Keble.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,</div> -<div class="verse">It is not night if Thou be near;</div> -<div class="verse">Oh! may no earth-born cloud arise</div> -<div class="verse">To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When the soft dews of kindly sleep</div> -<div class="verse">My wearied eyelids gently steep,</div> -<div class="verse">Be my last thought, how sweet to rest</div> -<div class="verse">For ever on my Saviour’s breast!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Abide with me from morn till eve,</div> -<div class="verse">For without Thee I cannot live!</div> -<div class="verse">Abide with me when night is nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">For without Thee I dare not die!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If some poor wandering child of Thine</div> -<div class="verse">Have spurned, to-day, the voice divine,—</div> -<div class="verse">Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;</div> -<div class="verse">Let him no more lie down in sin!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Watch by the sick, enrich the poor</div> -<div class="verse">With blessings from Thy boundless store!</div> -<div class="verse">Be every mourner’s sleep to-night</div> -<div class="verse">Like infant’s slumbers, pure and light!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Come near and bless us when we wake,</div> -<div class="verse">Ere through the world our way we take:</div> -<div class="verse">Till, in the ocean of Thy love,</div> -<div class="verse">We lose ourselves in Heaven above!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXVIII_PSALM_XXIII" id="XXVIII_PSALM_XXIII"></a>XXVIII.—PSALM XXIII.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The Lord is my shepherd;</div> -<div class="verse indent4">I shall not want.</div> -<div class="verse">He maketh me to lie down</div> -<div class="verse indent4">In green pastures:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He leadeth me beside the still waters.</div> -<div class="verse">He restoreth my soul:</div> -<div class="verse">He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness</div> -<div class="verse indent4">For his name’s sake.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yea, though I walk through the valley</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Of the shadow of death,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.</div> -<div class="verse">Thou preparest a table before me</div> -<div class="verse indent4">In the presence of mine enemies:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thou anointest my head with oil;</div> -<div class="verse indent4">My cup runneth over.</div> -<div class="verse">Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me</div> -<div class="verse indent4">All the days of my life:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And I will dwell in the house of the Lord</div> -<div class="verse indent4">For ever.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XXIX_THE_HEROIC_SERF" id="XXIX_THE_HEROIC_SERF"></a>XXIX.—THE HEROIC SERF.</h2> - -<p>In the dark forests of Russia, where the snow lies on -the ground for eight months in the year, wolves roam -about in countless troops; and it is a fearful thing for -the traveller, especially if night overtakes him, to hear -their famished howlings as they approach nearer and -nearer to him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<p>A Russian nobleman, with his wife and a young -daughter, was travelling in a sleigh over a bleak plain. -About nightfall they reached an inn, and the nobleman -called for a relay of horses to go on. The innkeeper -begged him not to proceed. “There is danger ahead,” -said he: “the wolves are out.” The traveller thought the -object of the man was to keep him as a guest for the -night, and, saying it was too early in the season for -wolves, ordered the horses to be put to. In spite of the -repeated warnings of the landlord, the party proceeded -on their way.</p> - -<p>The driver was a serf who had been born on the nobleman’s -estate, and who loved his master as he loved his -life. The sleigh sped swiftly over the hard snow, and there -seemed no signs of danger. The moon began to shed her -light, so that the road seemed like polished silver.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the little girl said to her father, “What is -that strange, dull sound I heard just now?” Her father -replied, “Nothing but the wind sighing through the trees.”</p> - -<p>The child shut her eyes, and kept still for a while; but -in a few minutes, with a face pale with fear, she turned -to her father, and said, “Surely that is not the wind: I -hear it again; do you not hear it too? Listen!” The -nobleman listened, and far, far away in the distance -behind him, but distinct enough in the clear, frosty air, he -heard a sound of which he knew the meaning, though -those who were with him did not.</p> - -<p>Whispering to the serf, he said, “They are after us. -Get ready your musket and pistols; I will do the same.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -We may yet escape. Drive on! drive on!”</p> - -<p>The man drove wildly on; but nearer, ever nearer, -came the mournful howling which the child had first -heard. It was perfectly clear to the nobleman that a -pack of wolves had got scent, and was in pursuit of them. -Meanwhile he tried to calm the anxious fears of his wife -and child.</p> - -<p>At last the baying of the wolves was distinctly heard, -and he said to his servant, “When they come up with us, -single you out the leader, and fire. I will single out the -next; and, as soon as one falls, the rest will stop to devour -him. <i>That</i> will be some delay, at least.”</p> - -<p>By this time they could see the pack fast approaching, -with their long, measured tread. A large dog-wolf was -the leader. The nobleman and the serf singled out two, -and these fell. The pack immediately turned on their -fallen comrades, and soon tore them to pieces. The taste -of blood only made the others advance with more fury, -and they were soon again baying at the sleigh. Again -the nobleman and his servant fired. Two other wolves -fell, and were instantly devoured. But the next post-house -was still far distant.</p> - -<p>The nobleman then cried to the post-boy, “Let one of -the horses loose, that we may gain a little more time.” -This was done, and the horse was left on the road. In a -few minutes they heard the loud shrieks of the poor -animal as the wolves tore him down. The remaining -horses were urged to their utmost speed, but again the -pack was in full pursuit. Another horse was cut loose, -and he soon shared the fate of his fellow.</p> - -<p>At length the servant said to his master, “I have -served you since I was a child, and I love you as I love<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -my own life. It is clear to me that we can not all reach -the post-house alive. I am quite prepared, and I ask -you to let me die for you.”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” cried the master, “we will live together -or die together. You must not, must not!”</p> - -<p>But the servant had made up his mind; he was fully -resolved. “I shall leave my wife and children to you; -you will be a father to them: you have been a father to -me. When the wolves next reach us, I will jump down, -and do my best to delay their progress.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p085.jpg" width="400" height="231" alt="The master whips his horses on, as wolves pursue the sleigh" /> -</div> - -<p>The sleigh glides on as fast as the two remaining -horses can drag it. The wolves are close on their track, -and almost up with them. But what sound now rings -out sharp and loud? It is the discharge of the servant’s -pistol. At the same instant he leaps from his seat, and -falls a prey to the wolves! But meanwhile the post-house -is reached, and the family is safe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p> - -<p>On the spot where the wolves had pulled to pieces the -devoted servant, there now stands a large wooden cross, -erected by the nobleman. It bears this inscription: -“<i>Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay -down his life for his friends.</i>”</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Heroic serf.—2. Famished howlings.—3. Bleak plain.—4. -<i>A relay</i> of horses.—5. <i>Ordered</i> the horses <i>to be put to</i>.—6. -Repeated warnings.—7. The moon began <i>to shed</i> her light.—8. -<i>Pack</i> of wolves.—9. Had got scent of them.—10. To calm -the anxious fears.—11. <i>Baying</i> at the sleigh.—12. Instantly -devoured.—13. Fully resolved.—14. To delay their progress.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XXX_THERES_A_GOOD_TIME_COMING" id="XXX_THERES_A_GOOD_TIME_COMING"></a>XXX.—THERE’S A GOOD TIME COMING.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Mackay.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s a good time coming, boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A good time coming:</div> -<div class="verse">We may not live to see the day,</div> -<div class="verse">But earth shall glisten in the ray</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of the good time coming.</div> -<div class="verse">Cannon-balls may aid the truth,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But thought’s a weapon stronger;</div> -<div class="verse">We’ll win our battle by its aid;—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Wait a little longer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s a good time coming, boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A good time coming:</div> -<div class="verse">The pen shall supersede the sword,</div> -<div class="verse">And Right, not Might, shall be the lord</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In the good time coming.</div> -<div class="verse">Worth, not Birth, shall rule mankind,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">And be acknowledged stronger;</div> -<div class="verse">The proper impulse has been given;—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Wait a little longer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s a good time coming, boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A good time coming:—</div> -<div class="verse">War in all men’s eyes shall be</div> -<div class="verse">A monster of iniquity</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In the good time coming;</div> -<div class="verse">Nations shall not quarrel then,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To prove which is the stronger;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor slaughter men for glory’s sake;—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Wait a little longer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s a good time coming, boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A good time coming:</div> -<div class="verse">Hateful rivalries of creed</div> -<div class="verse">Shall not make their martyrs bleed</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In the good time coming.</div> -<div class="verse">Religion shall be shorn of pride,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And flourish all the stronger;</div> -<div class="verse">And Charity shall trim her lamp;—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Wait a little longer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s a good time coming, boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A good time coming:</div> -<div class="verse">Let us aid it all we can,</div> -<div class="verse">Every woman, every man,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The good time coming.</div> -<div class="verse">Smallest helps, if rightly given,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Make the impulse stronger;</div> -<div class="verse">’Twill be strong enough one day;—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Wait a little longer.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXI_JOHN_BROWN" id="XXXI_JOHN_BROWN"></a>XXXI.—JOHN BROWN; -OR, -A PLAIN MAN’S PHILOSOPHY.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Mackay.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent10">I’ve a guinea I can spend,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I’ve a wife and a friend,</div> -<div class="verse">And a troop of little children at my knee, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I’ve a cottage of my own,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">With the ivy overgrown,</div> -<div class="verse">And a garden with a view of the sea, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I can sit at my door,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">By my shady sycamore,</div> -<div class="verse">Large of heart, though of very small estate, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">So of water drain a glass,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">In my arbor as you pass,</div> -<div class="verse">And I’ll tell you what I love, and what I hate, John Brown.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent10">I love the song of birds,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And the children’s early words,</div> -<div class="verse">And a loving woman’s voice, low and sweet, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And I hate a false pretence,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And the want of common sense,</div> -<div class="verse">And arrogance, and fawning, and deceit, John Brown.</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I love the meadow flowers,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And the briar in the bowers,</div> -<div class="verse">And I love an open face without guile, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And I hate a selfish knave,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And a proud, contented slave,</div> -<div class="verse">And a lout who’d rather borrow than he’d toil, John Brown.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent10">I love a simple song,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">That awakes emotions strong,</div> -<div class="verse">And the word of hope which raises him who faints, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And I hate the constant whine</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Of the foolish who repine,</div> -<div class="verse">And turn their good to evil by complaints, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">But ever when I hate,—</div> -<div class="verse indent10">If I seek my garden gate,</div> -<div class="verse">And survey the world around me and above, John Brown,—</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The hatred flies my mind,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And I sigh for human kind,</div> -<div class="verse">And excuse the faults of those I cannot love, John Brown.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent10">So if you like my ways,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And the comfort of my days,</div> -<div class="verse">I can tell you how I live so unvexed, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I never scorn my health,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Nor sell my soul for wealth,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor destroy one day the pleasure of the next, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I’ve parted with my pride,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And I take the sunny side,</div> -<div class="verse">For I’ve found it worse than folly to be sad, John Brown;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I keep a conscience clear,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I’ve a hundred pounds a year,</div> -<div class="verse">And I manage to exist and to be glad, John Brown.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Large of heart.—2. Small estate.—3. <i>Drain</i> a glass.—4. -Children’s <i>early words</i>.—5. False pretence.—6. Common sense.—7.—Open -face without guile.—8. Selfish knave.—9. Contented -slave.—10. Simple song.—11. Awakes emotions strong.—12. -Constant whine.—13. <i>Survey</i> the world.—14. Excuse the -faults.—15. <i>Scorn</i> my health.—16. Sell my soul for wealth.—17. -Sunny side.—18. Conscience <i>clear</i>.—19. Manage to exist.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXII_THE_OTTER" id="XXXII_THE_OTTER"></a>XXXII.—THE OTTER.</h2> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p090.jpg" width="300" height="280" alt="Two otters on rocks by the riverside" /> -</div> - -<p>The otter resembles land animals in shape, hair, and -general conformation, and the aquatic tribes in its manner -of living and in its webbed toes, which assist it in -swimming. It swims even faster than it runs, and can -overtake fishes in their own element.</p> - -<p>It is found in all parts of the world,—on tropical islands, -in America, and on the bleak coasts of Alaska and Siberia. -It is one of the great weasel family, as active and cunning -in the water, as its land relations are in the field, or in -the farm-yard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p> - -<p>The fish-otter—which is found around lakes and rivers -in Canada, in the United States, in South America, and -in wild parts of Europe—is a famous fisher. Its home is in -the water, but it can travel over the land with wonderful -swiftness, although its paws are webbed.</p> - -<p>It is very fond of sliding down hill. On the slopes by -ponds and rivers, it enjoys itself in a very odd fashion. -It lies with its fore-feet bent backward, and pushes itself -forward with its hind-feet, going down the snowy or -muddy slope with as much pleasure as if it were a schoolboy -“coasting.” A number of fish-otters thus amusing -themselves must present a very ludicrous sight.</p> - -<p>These furry little quadrupeds can stay a long time under -water, swimming swiftly and without noise; so that the -fish they follow seldom escape them. If the prey is small, -the otters do not trouble themselves to go far with it, but -bite off the most delicate morsels and throw the rest away. -When they catch a large fish, however, they drag it ashore -and feed upon it at their leisure. When fish are not -plentiful enough, the otters, grown bold from necessity, -will attack ducks or any other waterfowl within reach. -They are so strong, and bite so fiercely, that the animals -they pursue may well regard them with terror.</p> - -<p>Their habitations are really safe hiding-places. They -burrow under the ground, and make the entrance of their -“nest” under water; so that no land-enemies can pursue -them: certainly, no water-foe can follow them into the -hollow made by them in the bank. This proves that the -crafty nature of the weasel is not wanting in the otter.</p> - -<p>They dig upward four or five feet, or even more; and at -the end of the tunnel they make a little room, which they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -line with moss and grass, for the comfort of the baby-otters. -This underground room has no need of windows; -but it does need ventilation, and a minute air-hole, leading, -like a chimney, to the surface of the earth, is an important -part of otter house-building.</p> - -<p>When taken young, otters can be tamed and taught to -catch fish for their masters, being trained to hunt as dogs -are trained for the chase. “I have seen one,” says Goldsmith, -“go to a gentleman’s pond at the word of command, -drive up the fish into a corner, and, having seized upon -the largest, bring it off in its mouth to its master.”</p> - -<p>Otters differ very much in size and color. Fish-otters -are from two to three feet long, and sea-otters—the largest -of the family—are somewhat longer. These sea-otters are -very much prized for their soft, glossy, black fur. Some -of the species, however are white, with a yellow tinge; -others are dark-brown, with yellow spots under the throat. -No doubt all of you have seen caps, and gloves, and -other coverings made of the soft, warm fur of the otter.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>weasel (<i>wē´zl</i>)</li> -<li>leisure (<i>lē´zhur</i>)</li> -<li>trŏp’i-cal</li> -<li>resembles (<i>re-zĕm´bls</i>)</li> -<li>Sī-bē-ri-a</li> -<li>rē´al-ly</li> -<li>burrow (<i>bŭr´rō</i>)</li> -<li>A-mĕr´i-ca</li> -<li>par-tĭc´-ū-lar</li> -<li>A-las´ka</li> -<li>lū´di-croŭs</li> -<li>vĕn-ti-lā´tion</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. General conformation.—2. Aquatic tribes.—3. Bleak -coast.—4. <i>Wild</i> parts.—5. Odd fashion.—6. Ludicrous sight.—7. -Furry quadrupeds.—8. Delicate morsels.—9. Crafty nature.—10. -Minute air-hole.—11. Differ in size.—12. Much prized.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXIII_THE_IVY_GREEN" id="XXXIII_THE_IVY_GREEN"></a>XXXIII.—THE IVY GREEN.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Dickens.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p093.jpg" width="400" height="228" alt="Ivy-covered ruins" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Oh, a dainty plant is the Ivy Green,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That creepeth o’er ruins old!</div> -<div class="verse">Of right choice food are his meals, I ween,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In his cell so lone and cold.</div> -<div class="verse">The wall must be crumbled, the stone decayed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To pleasure his dainty whim;</div> -<div class="verse">And the mouldering dust that years have made</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Is a merry meal for him.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Creeping where no life is seen,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">A rare old plant is the Ivy Green.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Fast he stealeth on, though he wears no wings,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And a staunch old heart has he;</div> -<div class="verse">How closely he twineth, how tight he clings</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To his friend, the huge Oak-tree!</div> -<div class="verse">And slyly he traileth along the ground,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">And his leaves he gently waves,</div> -<div class="verse">As he joyously hugs and crawleth around</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The rich mould of dead men’s graves.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Creeping where grim death has been,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">A rare old plant is the Ivy Green.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Whole ages have fled, and their works decayed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And nations have scattered been,</div> -<div class="verse">But the stout old Ivy shall never fade</div> -<div class="verse indent2">From its hale and hearty green.</div> -<div class="verse">The brave old plant, in its lonely days,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Shall fatten upon the past,</div> -<div class="verse">For the stateliest building man can raise</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Is the Ivy’s food at last.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Creeping on, where time has been,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">A rare old plant is the Ivy Green.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XXXIV_THE_SEA" id="XXXIV_THE_SEA"></a>XXXIV.—THE SEA.</h2> - -<p class="author">Bryan Waller Procter.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The Sea! the Sea! the open Sea!</div> -<div class="verse">The blue, the fresh, the ever free!</div> -<div class="verse">Without a mark, without a bound,</div> -<div class="verse">It runneth the earth’s wide regions round;</div> -<div class="verse">It plays with the clouds; it mocks the skies;</div> -<div class="verse">Or like a cradled creature lies.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I’m on the Sea! I’m on the Sea!</div> -<div class="verse">I am where I would ever be,</div> -<div class="verse">With the blue above, and the blue below,</div> -<div class="verse">And silence whereso’er I go:</div> -<div class="verse">If a storm should come, and awake the deep,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -<div class="verse">What matter? I shall ride and sleep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I love, oh how I love, to ride</div> -<div class="verse">On the fierce, foaming, bursting tide,</div> -<div class="verse">When every mad wave drowns the moon,</div> -<div class="verse">Or whistles aloft its tempest tune,</div> -<div class="verse">And tells how goeth the world below,</div> -<div class="verse">And why the south-west blasts do blow!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I never was on the dull, tame shore,</div> -<div class="verse">But I loved the great Sea more and more,</div> -<div class="verse">And backward flew to her billowy breast,</div> -<div class="verse">Like a bird that seeketh its mother’s nest:</div> -<div class="verse">And a mother she was and is to me;</div> -<div class="verse">For I was born on the open Sea!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The waves were white, and red the morn,</div> -<div class="verse">In the noisy hour when I was born;</div> -<div class="verse">And the whale it whistled, the porpoise rolled,</div> -<div class="verse">And the dolphins bared their backs of gold;</div> -<div class="verse">And never was heard such an outcry wild</div> -<div class="verse">As welcomed to life the Ocean-child.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I’ve lived since then, in calm and strife,</div> -<div class="verse">Full fifty summers a sailor’s life,</div> -<div class="verse">With wealth to spend, and power to range,</div> -<div class="verse">But never have sought, nor sighed for change;</div> -<div class="verse">And Death, whenever he comes to me,</div> -<div class="verse">Shall come on the wild unbounded sea!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>sighed</li> -<li>porpoise´(<i>por´pŭs</i>)</li> -<li>bil´low-y</li> -<li>dol´phins (<i>-fins</i>)</li> -<li>cradled</li> -<li>foam´ing</li> -<li>tem´pest</li> -<li>creature</li> -<li>burst´ing</li> -<li>un<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>-bound´ed</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XXXV_HO_BREAKERS_ON_THE" id="XXXV_HO_BREAKERS_ON_THE"></a>XXXV.—HO! BREAKERS ON THE -WEATHER BOW.</h2> - -<p class="author">Swain.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ho! breakers on the weather bow,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And hissing white the sea;</div> -<div class="verse">Go, loose the topsail, mariner,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And set the helm a-lee;</div> -<div class="verse">And set the helm a-lee, my boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And shift her while ye may;</div> -<div class="verse">Or not a living soul on board</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Will view the light of day!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Aloft the seaman daringly</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Shook out the rattling sail;</div> -<div class="verse">The danger fled—she leapt a-head</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Like wild stag through the gale;</div> -<div class="verse">Like wild stag through the gale, my boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All panting as in fear,</div> -<div class="verse">And trembling as her spirit knew</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Destruction in the rear!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now slacken speed—take wary heed—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All hands haul home the sheet;</div> -<div class="verse">To Him who saves, amidst the waves,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Let each their prayer repeat;</div> -<div class="verse">Let each their prayer repeat, my boys,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For but a moment’s gain</div> -<div class="verse">Lay ’tween our breath and instant death,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Within that howling main.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXVI_A_CHILDS_DREAM_OF_A_STAR" id="XXXVI_A_CHILDS_DREAM_OF_A_STAR"></a>XXXVI.—A CHILD’S DREAM OF A STAR.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Dickens.</p> - -<p>There was once a child, and he strolled about a good -deal, and thought of a number of things. He had a -sister, who was a child too, and his constant companion. -These two used to wonder all day long. They wondered -at the beauty of the flowers; they wondered at the height -and blueness of the sky; they wondered at the goodness -and the power of God, who made the lovely world.</p> - -<p>They used to say to one another sometimes, “Supposing -all the children upon earth were to die, would the -flowers, and the water, and the sky be sorry?” They -believed they would be sorry. “For,” said they, “the -buds are the children of the flowers, and the little playful -streams that gambol down the hillsides are the children -of the water; and the smallest bright specks, playing at -hide-and-seek in the sky all night, must surely be the -children of the stars; and they would all be grieved to -see their playmates, the children of men, no more.”</p> - -<p>There was one clear-shining star that used to come out -in the sky before the rest, near the church spire, above the -graves. It was larger and more beautiful, they thought, -than all the others, and every night they watched for it, -standing hand in hand at a window. Whoever saw it -first cried out, “I see the star!” And often they cried -out both together, knowing so well when it would rise, -and where. So they grew to be such friends with it, that,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -before lying down on their beds, they always looked out -once again, to bid it good-night; and when they were turning -round to sleep they used to say, “God bless the star!”</p> - -<p>But while she was still very young—oh, very, very -young!—the sister drooped, and came to be so weak, that -she could no longer stand at the window at night; and -then the child looked sadly out by himself, and when he -saw the star, turned round and said to the patient, pale -face on the bed, “I see the star!” and then a smile would -come upon the face, and a little, weak voice used to say, -“God bless my brother and the star!”</p> - -<p>And so the time came, all too soon! when the child -looked out alone, and when there was no face on the bed; -and when there was a little grave among the graves, not -there before; and when the star made long rays down -towards him, as he saw it through his tears.</p> - -<p>Now, these rays were so bright, and they seemed to -make such a shining way from earth to heaven, that when -the child went to his solitary bed, he dreamed about the -star; and dreamed that, lying where he was, he saw a -train of people taken up that sparkling road by angels. -And the star, opening, showed him a great world of light, -where many more such angels waited to receive him.</p> - -<p>All these angels, who were waiting, turned their beaming -eyes upon the people who were carried up into the -star; and some came out from the long rows in which -they stood, and fell upon the people’s necks, and kissed -them tenderly, and went away with them down avenues -of light, and were so happy in their company, that, lying -in his bed, he wept for joy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> - -<p>But there were many angels who did not go with them, -and among them one he knew. The patient face that -once had lain upon the bed was glorified and radiant, but -his heart found out his sister among all the host. His -sister’s angel lingered near the entrance of the star, and -said to the leader among those who had brought the -people thither, “Is my brother come?” And he said, -“No.” She was turning hopefully away, when the child -stretched out his arms, and cried, “O sister, I am here! -Take me!” And then she turned her beaming eyes upon -him, and it was night; and the star was shining into the -room, making long rays down towards him, as he saw it -through his tears. From that hour forth, the child looked -out upon the star as on the Home he was to go to when -his time should come; and he thought that he did not -belong to the earth alone, but to the star too, because of -his sister’s angel gone before. There was a baby born to -be a brother to the child; and while he was so little that -he never yet had spoken a word, he stretched his tiny -form out on the bed, and died.</p> - -<p>Again the child dreamed of the opened star, and of the -company of angels, and the train of people, and the rows -of angels, with their beaming eyes all turned upon those -people’s faces. Said his sister’s angel to the leader, “Is -my brother come?” And he said, “Not that one, but -another.” As the child beheld his brother’s angel in her -arms, he cried, “O sister, I am here! Take me!” And she -turned and smiled upon him, and the star was shining.</p> - -<p>He grew to be a young man, and was busy at his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -books, when an old servant came to him, and said, “Thy -mother is no more. I bring her blessing on her darling -son!” Again at night he saw the star, and all the former -company. Said his sister’s angel to the leader, “Is my -brother come?” And he said, “Thy mother!” A mighty -cry of joy went forth through all the star, because the -mother was reunited to her two children. And he -stretched out his arms, and cried, “O mother, sister, and -brother, I am here! Take me!” And they answered -him, “Not yet,” and the star was shining.</p> - -<p>He grew to be a man, whose hair was turning gray, -and he was sitting in his chair by the fireside, heavy -with grief, and with his face bedewed with tears, when -the star opened once again. Said his sister’s angel to -the leader, “Is my brother come?” And he said, “Nay, -but his maiden daughter.” And the man who had been -the child saw his daughter, newly lost to him, a celestial -creature among those three, and he said, “My daughter’s -head is on my sister’s bosom, and her arm is round my -mother’s neck, and at her feet there is the baby of old -time, and I can bear the parting from her—God be -praised!” And the star was shining.</p> - -<p>Thus the child came to be an old man, and his face was -wrinkled, and his steps were slow, and his back was bent. -And one night, as he lay upon his bed, his children -standing around, he cried, as he had cried so long ago, -“I see the star!” They whispered to one another, “He -is dying.” And he said, “I am. My age is falling from -me like a garment, and I move towards the star as a child. -And, O my Father, now I thank Thee that it has so often -opened, to receive those dear ones who await me!” And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -the star was shining; and it shines upon his grave.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XXXVII_HANNAH_BINDING_SHOES" id="XXXVII_HANNAH_BINDING_SHOES"></a>XXXVII.—HANNAH BINDING SHOES.</h2> - -<p class="author">Lucy Larcom.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/p101.jpg" width="100" height="400" alt="Hannah gazing out of the window, surrounded by a decorative border of flowers" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Poor lone Hannah,</div> -<div class="verse">Sitting at the window binding shoes.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Faded, wrinkled,</div> -<div class="verse">Sitting, stitching, in a mournful muse.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Bright-eyed beauty once was she,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When the bloom was on the tree;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Spring and winter,</div> -<div class="verse">Hannah’s at the window binding shoes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Not a neighbor</div> -<div class="verse">Passing, nod or answer will refuse</div> -<div class="verse indent8">To her whisper,</div> -<div class="verse">“Is there from the fishers any news?”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Oh, her heart’s adrift with one</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On an endless voyage gone!</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Night and morning,</div> -<div class="verse">Hannah’s at the window binding shoes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Fair young Hannah,</div> -<div class="verse">Ben, the sunburnt fisher, gayly woos;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Hale and clever,</div> -<div class="verse">For a willing heart and hand he sues.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">May-day skies are all aglow,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the waves are laughing so!</div> -<div class="verse indent8">For her wedding</div> -<div class="verse">Hannah leaves her window and her shoes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">May is passing;</div> -<div class="verse">Mid the apple-boughs a pigeon coos.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Hannah shudders,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -<div class="verse">For the mild south-wester mischief brews.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Round the rocks of Marblehead,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Outward bound a schooner sped;</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Silent, lonesome,</div> -<div class="verse">Hannah’s at the window binding shoes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent6">’Tis November;</div> -<div class="verse">Now no tear her wasted cheek bedews.</div> -<div class="verse indent6">From Newfoundland</div> -<div class="verse">Not a sail returning will she lose,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Whispering hoarsely: “Fishermen,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Have you—have you heard of Ben?”</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Old with watching,</div> -<div class="verse">Hannah’s at the window binding shoes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent6">Twenty winters</div> -<div class="verse">Bleach and tear the ragged shore she views.</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Twenty seasons!</div> -<div class="verse">Never one has brought her any news.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Still her dim eyes silently</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Chase the white sails o’er the sea:</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Hopeless, faithful,</div> -<div class="verse">Hannah’s at the window binding shoes.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>gay´ly</li> -<li>wrinkled (<i>rĭngk´kld</i>)</li> -<li>mischief (<i>mĭs´chif</i>)</li> -<li>hoarsely (<i>hōrs´ly</i>)</li> -<li>boughs</li> -<li>voy´age</li> -<li>stitch´ing</li> -<li>No-vem´ber</li> -<li>whispering (<i>hwĭs´per-ing</i>)</li> -<li>shŭd´ders</li> -<li>lone´some</li> -<li>Newfoundland</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. In a <i>mournful muse</i>.—2. Her heart’s <i>adrift</i>.—3. Hale -and clever.—4. Skies <i>aglow</i>.—5. No tear her <i>wasted</i> cheek -<i>bedews</i>.—6. <i>Old with</i> watching.—7. Bleach the <i>ragged</i> shore.—8. -Silently chase.—9. Twenty <i>seasons</i>.—10. <i>Hopeless</i> Hannah.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXVIII_JACK_IN_THE_PULPIT" id="XXXVIII_JACK_IN_THE_PULPIT"></a>XXXVIII.—JACK IN THE PULPIT.</h2> - -<p class="author">John G. Whittier.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 135px;"> -<img src="images/p103.jpg" width="135" height="400" alt="Drawing of the Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Jack in the Pulpit</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Preaches to-day,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Squirrel and song-sparrow,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">High on their perch,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Hear the sweet lily-bells</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Ringing to church.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Come, hear what his reverence</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Rises to say,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">In his low, painted pulpit,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">This calm Sabbath-day.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Fair is the canopy</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Over him seen,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Pencilled by Nature’s hand</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Black, brown, and green.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Green is his surplice,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Green are his bands;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">In his queer little pulpit</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The little priest stands.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">In black and gold velvet,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">So gorgeous to see,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Comes with his bass voice</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The chorister bee.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Green fingers playing</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Unseen on wind-lyres,—</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Low singing bird-voices,—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent10">These are his choirs.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">The violets are deacons;</div> -<div class="verse indent10">I know by their sign</div> -<div class="verse indent8">That the cups which they carry</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Are purple with wine.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">And the columbines bravely</div> -<div class="verse indent10">As sentinels stand</div> -<div class="verse indent8">On the look-out, with all their</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Red trumpets in hand.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Meek-faced anemones</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Drooping and sad;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Great yellow violets</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Smiling out glad;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Buttercups’ faces</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Beaming and bright;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Clovers, with bonnets—</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Some red and some white;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Daisies, their white fingers</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Half-clasped in prayer;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Dandelions proud of</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The gold of their hair;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Innocents, children</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Guileless and frail,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Meek little faces</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Upturned and pale;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Wild-wood geraniums,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">All in their best,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Languidly leaning</div> -<div class="verse indent10">In purple gauze dressed;—</div> -<div class="verse indent8">All are assembled</div> -<div class="verse indent10">This sweet Sabbath day</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -<div class="verse">To hear what the priest in his pulpit will say.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Look! white Indian pipes</div> -<div class="verse indent10">On the green mosses lie!</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Who has been smoking</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Profanely so nigh?</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Rebuked by the preacher</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The mischief is stopped,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">And the sinners, in haste,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Have their little pipes dropped.</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Let the wind, with the fragrance</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Of fern and black-birch,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Blow the smell of the smoking</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Clean out of the church!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">So much for the preacher:</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The sermon comes next;—</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Shall we tell how he preached it,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And what was his text?</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Alas! like too many</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Grown-up folk who play</div> -<div class="verse indent8">At worship in churches</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Man-builded to-day—</div> -<div class="verse indent8">We heard not the preacher</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Expound or discuss;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">But we looked at the people</div> -<div class="verse indent10">And they looked at us;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">We saw all their dresses,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">Their colors and shapes,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">The trim of their bonnets,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The cut of their capes;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">We heard the wind-organ,</div> -<div class="verse indent10">The bee and the bird,</div> -<div class="verse">But of Jack in the Pulpit we heard not a word!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XXXIX_THE_BEAVER" id="XXXIX_THE_BEAVER"></a>XXXIX.—THE BEAVER.</h2> - -<p>There are few animals -that can teach us -more useful lessons than -the beaver.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 346px;"> -<img src="images/p106.jpg" width="346" height="400" alt="Beavers gnawing through a treetrunk" /> -</div> - -<p>They are very timid -animals. If we went to -places where they are common, it would be very difficult -to find them and see what they do.</p> - -<p>The beaver is between two and three feet long, and one -foot high, and is covered with brown hair. Its eyes are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -very small and far apart; its ears also are small and its nose -blunt. It has very strong, sharp teeth, and a long tail -shaped somewhat like the blade of an oar. This tail has -no hair or fur on it, but is covered with little scales like -those of a fish. The hind feet of the beaver have a thin -skin between the toes. This shows that the beaver is -fitted for swimming. During the summer these animals -live in holes near the banks of rivers. They are very -social animals. They never live alone. They usually go -in parties, and build a little “beaver town.” They have -some means of making known their wants to each other. -They know they will be safer in water than on land, so -they try to find a pond where they can build their town. -If they can not do this, they will choose a running stream -with some trees on the banks.</p> - -<p>The first thing they do, is to make a dam, right across -the stream. They have neither saws nor hatchets with -which to cut down the trees; but they use their sharp, -strong teeth, and gnaw and gnaw away, until they bring -down tree after tree. These little wood-cutters know -very well how to do this; otherwise the trees might fall -and kill them. When they have gnawed nearly through -the trunk, away they run to see if the tree is beginning to -bend. If it is still straight, they set to work again; but -the moment they hear it crack, off they run to keep out -of danger.</p> - -<p>When the tree is down, they gnaw off all the branches -in the same way, and then cut the trunk into short pieces, -and roll them down to the water’s edge. Then they go to -work at another tree, and still another, until they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> have -cut down all they want. These logs of wood, kept in -their places by mud and stones, make a dam, and this -dam stops the water and causes it to rise around their -houses and cover the openings which are at the bottom, -and helps to keep them safe from danger.</p> - -<p>Then the houses are built of mud, stones, sticks, and -small branches twined in and out to keep them fast. These -houses are several feet high and are very thick. There -are two rooms in them, one at the bottom, under water, -which they use for a store-room, and the other, at the -top, above the water, for a living-room. The floor of this -room is covered with soft moss.</p> - -<p>But these wise beavers know that they must have a -store of food for the winter, as well as a snug little house -to live in. They gather logs of wood and branches, and -put them away in their store-room. The bark of these -logs and some water plants supply them with food. -When they are “at home” during the winter months -in their “beaver town,” they always have a sentinel to -keep watch, and if any one comes near, he gives the -alarm by striking the water with his broad, flat tail.</p> - -<p>There are no idle beavers. They not only work hard, -but with great skill and care.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Useful lessons.—2. Where they are <i>common</i>.—3. The -<i>blade</i> of an oar.—4. <i>Social</i> animals.—5. Usually go in parties.—6. -<i>Right</i> across the stream.—7. If it is still straight.—8. <i>Stops</i> -the water.—9. <i>Twined</i> in and out.—10. For a living-room.—11. -A <i>store</i> of food.—12. He gives the alarm.—13. <i>Supply</i> -them with food.—14. They have a <i>sentinel to keep watch</i>.—15. -Work with great skill and care.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XL_THE_ANGELS_WHISPER" id="XL_THE_ANGELS_WHISPER"></a>XL.—THE ANGEL’S WHISPER.</h2> - -<p class="author">Samuel Lover.</p> - -<p>A superstition of great beauty prevails in Ireland, that when a child -smiles in its sleep it is ‘talking with angels.’—<span class="smcap">Lover.</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">A baby was sleeping,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Its mother was weeping,</div> -<div class="verse">For her husband was far on the wild raging sea;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">And the tempest was swelling</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Round the fisherman’s dwelling,</div> -<div class="verse">And she cried, “Dermot, darling, oh come back to me!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">Her beads while she numbered,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">The baby still slumbered,</div> -<div class="verse">And smiled in her face as she bended her knee:</div> -<div class="verse indent8">“Oh, blessed be that warning,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">My child, thy sleep adorning,</div> -<div class="verse">For I know that the angels are whispering with thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">“And while they are keeping</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Bright watch o’er thy sleeping,</div> -<div class="verse">Oh, pray to them softly, my baby, with me!</div> -<div class="verse indent8">And say thou would’st rather</div> -<div class="verse indent8">They’d watch o’er thy father!—</div> -<div class="verse">For I know that the angels are whispering with thee.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent8">The dawn of the morning</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Saw Dermot returning,</div> -<div class="verse">And the wife wept with joy her babe’s father to see;</div> -<div class="verse indent8">And closely caressing</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Her child, with a blessing,</div> -<div class="verse">Said, “I knew that the angels were whispering with thee.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XLI_THE_RAPID" id="XLI_THE_RAPID"></a>XLI.—THE RAPID.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Sangster.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">All peacefully gliding, the waters dividing,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The indolent batteau moved slowly along;</div> -<div class="verse">The rowers, light-hearted, from sorrow long parted,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Beguiled the dull moments with laughter and song:</div> -<div class="verse indent8">“Hurrah for the Rapid! that merrily, merrily</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Gambols and leaps on its tortuous way;</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Soon, we will enter it, cheerily, cheerily,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Pleased with its freshness, and wet with its spray.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">More swiftly careering, the wild Rapid nearing,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They dash down the stream like a terrified steed;</div> -<div class="verse">The surges delight them, no terrors affright them,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Their voices keep pace with their quickening speed:</div> -<div class="verse indent8">“Hurrah for the Rapid! that merrily, merrily</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Shivers its arrows against us in play;</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Now we have entered it, cheerily, cheerily,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Our spirits as light as its feathery spray.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Fast downward they’re dashing, each fearless eye flashing,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Though danger awaits them on every side;</div> -<div class="verse">Yon rock—see it frowning! they strike—they are drowning!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But downward they speed with the merciless tide.</div> -<div class="verse indent6">No voice cheers the Rapid, that angrily, angrily</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Shivers their bark in its maddening play;</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Gaily they entered it—heedlessly, recklessly,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">Mingling their lives with its treacherous spray!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XLII_A_NARROW_ESCAPE" id="XLII_A_NARROW_ESCAPE"></a>XLII.—A NARROW ESCAPE.</h2> - -<p>In 1843, Livingstone, the celebrated traveller, settled -as a missionary in Mabtosa, a beautiful valley in South -Africa. Here he met with an adventure which nearly -terminated his earthly career.</p> - -<p>The natives of Mabtosa had long been troubled by lions, -which invaded their cattle-pens by night, and even -attacked the herds during the day. These poor people, -being very ignorant and superstitious, thought that the -inroads of the lions were caused by witchcraft. It was -perhaps for this reason that all their attempts to drive -away the animals were feeble and faint-hearted, and therefore -unsuccessful.</p> - -<p>It is well known that a troop of lions will not remain -long in any district where one of their number has been -killed. So the next time the herds of Mabtosa were -attacked, Livingstone went out with the natives to -encourage them to destroy one of the marauders, and -thus free themselves from the whole troop. They found -the lions on a small hill covered with wood. The hunters -placed themselves in a circle round the hill, and began to -ascend, coming gradually closer to each other as they -approached the summit.</p> - -<p>Livingstone remained, along with a native teacher, on -the plain below, to watch the manœuvres of the party. -His companion, seeing one of the lions sitting on a piece -of rock within the circle of hunters, took aim and fired; -but the ball only struck the stones at the animal’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -feet. With a roar of rage the fierce brute bounded -away, broke through the ring, and escaped unhurt, the -natives not having the courage to stand close and spear -him as he passed.</p> - -<p>The band again closed in and resumed their march. -There were still two lions in the wood, and it was hoped -that fortune would favor a second attempt to destroy one -of them. But suddenly a terrific roar echoed from the -hill, and the timid hunters quaked with fear. First one -of the lions, and then the other, with streaming manes and -glaring eyes, rushed down through the wavering ranks, -and bounded away, free to continue their devastations.</p> - -<p>As the party were returning home, bewailing their want -of success, Livingstone observed one of the lions about -thirty yards in front, sitting on a rock behind a bush. -Raising his gun, he took steady aim, and discharged both -barrels into the thicket. “He is shot! He is shot!” was -the joyful cry; and some of the men were about to rush -in and despatch the wounded beast with their spears. -But Livingstone, seeing the lion’s tail erected in anger, -warned them to keep back until he had fired a second -time. He was just in the act of reloading, when, hearing -a shout of terror, he looked round and saw the lion -preparing to spring. It was too late to retreat. With a -savage growl the frenzied animal seized him by the -shoulder, and shook him as a terrier shakes a rat. The -shock caused a momentary anguish, followed by a sort of -drowsiness, in which he had no sense of pain nor feeling -of terror, though he knew all that was happening.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p113.jpg" width="400" height="500" alt="Above: Lion at rest. Below: Lion being hunted." /> -</div> - -<p>The lion’s paw was resting on the back of his head, and -as he turned round to relieve himself of the pressure, he -saw the creature’s fiery eyes directed to the native teacher, -who, at a distance of ten or fifteen yards, was making -ready to shoot. The gun missed fire in both barrels; and -the lion sprang at his new assailant, and bit him in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -thigh. Another man also, who was standing near, was -severely bitten in the shoulder; but at this moment the -bullets took effect, and the huge beast fell back dead.</p> - -<p>All this occurred in a few seconds: the death-blow had -been inflicted before the animal sprang upon his assailants. -Livingstone’s arm was wounded in eleven places, and the -bone crushed into splinters; and the injuries might have -proved fatal but for his tartan jacket, which wiped the -poison from the lion’s teeth before they entered the flesh.</p> - -<p>It was long ere the wounds healed, and all through life -the intrepid missionary bore the marks of this dreadful -encounter. Thirty years afterwards, when his noble and -useful career had ended among the swamps of Central -Africa, and his remains were taken to England to be -interred in Westminster Abbey, the crushed and mangled -arm was one of the marks which enabled his sorrowing -friends in that country to identify the body as that of -David Livingstone.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>resumed (<i>re-zūmd´</i>)</li> -<li>West´ min-ster</li> -<li>in-trep´id</li> -<li>ī-dĕn´tĭ-fy</li> -<li>dĕv-as-tā´tions</li> -<li>marauders (<i>ma-raw´ders</i>)</li> -<li>as-sail´ants</li> -<li>ĭg´no-rant</li> -<li>sū-per-stĭ´tious (<i>-stish´us</i>)</li> -<li>be-wail´ing</li> -<li>Mab-tō´sa</li> -<li>drow´si-ness</li> -<li>ad-vent´ure</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Settled as a missionary.—2. Terminated his earthly -career.—3. Attacked the herds.—4. Feeble and faint-hearted.—5. -To watch the manœuvres.—6. <i>A terrific roar echoed</i> from -the hill.—7. <i>Quaked</i> with fear.—8. Streaming manes.—9. -Wavering ranks.—10. Bewailing their want of success.—11. -Steady aim.—12. <i>Discharged</i> both barrels.—13. A shout -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> terror.—14. Momentary anguish.—15. Dreadful encounter.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XLIII_THE_FAIRIES_OF_CALDON-LOW" id="XLIII_THE_FAIRIES_OF_CALDON-LOW"></a>XLIII.—THE FAIRIES OF CALDON-LOW. -<i>A MIDSUMMER LEGEND.</i></h2> - -<p class="author">Mary Howitt.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 288px;"> -<img src="images/p116.jpg" width="288" height="400" alt="Mary, the fairies, the mill" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And where have you been, my Mary.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And where have you been from me?”</div> -<div class="verse">“I’ve been to the top of the Caldon-Low,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The Midsummer night to see!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And what did you see, my Mary,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All up on the Caldon-Low?”</div> -<div class="verse">“I saw the blithe sunshine come down,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And I saw the merry winds blow.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And what did you hear, my Mary,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All up on the Caldon Hill?”</div> -<div class="verse">“I heard the drops of the water made,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the green corn ears to fill.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Oh, tell me all, my Mary—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All, all that ever you know;</div> -<div class="verse">For you must have seen the fairies,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Last night on the Caldon-Low.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Then take me on your knee, mother,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And listen, mother of mine:</div> -<div class="verse">A hundred fairies danced last night,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the harpers they were nine.</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And merry was the glee of the harp-strings,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And their dancing feet so small;</div> -<div class="verse">But, oh, the sound of their talking</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Was merrier far than all!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And what were the words, my Mary,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That you did hear them say?”</div> -<div class="verse">“I’ll tell you all, my mother—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But let me have my way!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And some they played with the water,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And rolled it down the hill;</div> -<div class="verse">‘And this’ they said, ‘shall speedily turn</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The poor old miller’s mill;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“‘For there has been no water</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Ever since the first of May;</div> -<div class="verse">And a busy man shall the miller be</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">By the dawning of the day!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“‘Oh, the miller, how he will laugh,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When he sees the mill-dam rise!</div> -<div class="verse">The jolly old miller, how he will laugh,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Till the tears fill both his eyes!’</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And some they seized the little winds,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That sounded over the hill,</div> -<div class="verse">And each put a horn into his mouth,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And blew so sharp and shrill:—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“‘And there,’ said they, ‘the merry winds go,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Away from every horn;</div> -<div class="verse">And those shall clear the mildew dank</div> -<div class="verse indent2">From the blind old widow’s corn:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“‘Oh, the poor, blind old widow—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Though she has been blind so long,</div> -<div class="verse">She’ll be merry enough when the mildew’s gone,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the corn stands stiff and strong!’</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And some they brought the brown lintseed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And flung it down from the Low—</div> -<div class="verse">‘And this,’ said they, ‘by the sunrise,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In the weaver’s croft shall grow!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“‘Oh, the poor, lame weaver,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">How he will laugh outright,</div> -<div class="verse">When he sees his dwindling flax-field</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All full of flowers by night!’</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And then upspoke a brownie,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With a long beard on his chin—</div> -<div class="verse">‘I have spun up all the tow,’ said he,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">‘And I want some more to spin.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“‘I’ve spun a piece of hempen cloth,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And I want to spin another—</div> -<div class="verse">A little sheet for Mary’s bed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And an apron for her mother!’</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And with that I could not help but laugh,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And I laughed out loud and free;</div> -<div class="verse">And then on the top of the Caldon-Low</div> -<div class="verse indent2">There was no one left but me.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And all, on the top of the Caldon-Low,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The mists were cold and gray,</div> -<div class="verse">And nothing I saw but the mossy stones</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That round about me lay.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“But, as I came down from the hill-top,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I heard, afar below,</div> -<div class="verse">How busy the jolly miller was,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And how merry the wheel did go!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And I peeped into the widow’s field;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And sure enough were seen</div> -<div class="verse">The yellow ears of the mildewed corn</div> -<div class="verse indent2">All standing stiff and green.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And down by the weaver’s croft I stole,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To see if the flax were high;</div> -<div class="verse">But I saw the weaver at his gate</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With the good news in his eye!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Now, this is all I heard, mother,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And all that I did see;</div> -<div class="verse">So, prithee, make my bed, mother,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For I’m tired as I can be!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XLIV_VOLCANOES" id="XLIV_VOLCANOES"></a>XLIV.—VOLCANOES.</h2> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 440px;"> -<img src="images/p119.jpg" width="440" height="500" alt="An erupting volcano" /> -</div> - -<p>In various parts of the earth, there are mountains that -send out from their highest peaks, smoke, ashes, and fire. -Mountains of this class are called volcanoes, and they -present a striking contrast to other mountains, on account<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -of their conical form and the character of the rocks of -which they are composed. All volcanoes have at their -summits what are called craters. These are large, hollow, -circular openings, from which the smoke and fire escape.</p> - -<p>Nearly all volcanoes emit smoke constantly. This -smoke proceeds from fires that are burning far down in -the depths of the earth. Sometimes these fires burst -forth from the crater of the volcano with tremendous -force. The smoke becomes thick and black, and lurid -flames shoot up to a height of hundreds of feet, making a -scene of amazing grandeur. With the flames there are -thrown out stones, ashes, and streams of melted rock -called lava. This lava flows down the sides of the -mountain, and, being red hot, destroys everything with -which it comes in contact. At such times, a volcano is -said to be in eruption. Such is the force of some of -these eruptions, that large rocks have been hurled to -great distances from the crater, and towns and cities have -been buried under a vast covering of ashes and lava.</p> - -<p>The quantity of lava and ashes which sometimes -escapes from volcanoes during an eruption, is almost -beyond comprehension. In 1772, a volcano in the island -of Java, threw out ashes and cinders that covered the -ground fifty feet deep, for a distance of seven miles all -around the mountain. This eruption destroyed nearly -forty towns and villages. In 1783, a volcano in Iceland -sent out two streams of lava; one forty miles long and -seven miles wide, and the other fifty miles long and -fifteen miles wide. These streams were from one hundred -to six hundred feet deep.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> - -<p>Near the city of Naples, in Italy, is situated the volcano -Mt. Vesuvius. This fiery monster has probably caused -more destruction than any other volcano known. In the -year 79, A.D., it suddenly burst forth in a violent eruption, -that resulted in one of the most appalling disasters that -ever happened. Such immense quantities of ashes, stones, -and lava were poured forth from its crater, that within -twenty hours, two large cities were completely destroyed. -These cities were Herculaneum and Pompeii.</p> - -<p>At this eruption of Vesuvius, the stream of lava flowed -directly through and over the city of Herculaneum into -the sea. The quantity was so great that, as it cooled and -became hardened, it gradually filled up all the streets and -ran over the tops of the houses. While the lava was -thus turning the city into a mass of solid stone, the -inhabitants were fleeing from it along the shore toward -Naples, and in boats on the sea. At the same time, too, -the wind carried the ashes and cinders in such a direction -as to deluge the city of Pompeii. Slowly and steadily the -immense volume of ashes and small stones, blocked up -the streets and settled on the roofs of the houses. The -light of the flames that burst out from the awful crater, -aided the people in their escape; but many who for some -reason could not get away, perished.</p> - -<p>Pompeii was so completely covered that nothing could -be seen of it. Thus it remained, buried under the ground, -until the year 1748, when it was discovered by accident. -Since that time much of the city has been uncovered, -and now one can walk along the streets, look into the -houses, and form some idea how the people lived there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -eighteen hundred years ago.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XLV_A_SMALL_CATECHISM" id="XLV_A_SMALL_CATECHISM"></a>XLV.—A SMALL CATECHISM.</h2> - -<p class="author">Thomas D’Arcy McGee.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why are children’s eyes so bright?</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Tell me why!</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis because the infinite</div> -<div class="verse">Which they’ve left, is still in sight,</div> -<div class="verse">And they know no earthly blight,—</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Therefore ’tis their eyes are bright.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why do children laugh so gay?</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Tell me why!</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis because their hearts have play</div> -<div class="verse indent4">In their bosoms, every day,</div> -<div class="verse">Free from sin and sorrow’s sway,—</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Therefore ’tis they laugh so gay.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why do children speak so free?</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Tell me why!</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis because from fallacy,</div> -<div class="verse">Cant, and seeming, they are free;</div> -<div class="verse">Hearts, not lips, their organs be,—</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Therefore ’tis they speak so free.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why do children love so true?</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Tell me why!</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis because they cleave unto</div> -<div class="verse">A familiar, favorite few,</div> -<div class="verse">Without art or self in view,—</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Therefore children love so true.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XLVI_CURIOUS_BIRDS_NESTS" id="XLVI_CURIOUS_BIRDS_NESTS"></a>XLVI.—CURIOUS BIRDS’ NESTS.</h2> - -<p>Among the most curious nests are those made by the -birds called weavers. These feathered workmen serve -no apprenticeship: their trade comes to them by nature; -and how well they work at it! But then you must admit -that Nature is a skilful teacher and birds are apt scholars.</p> - -<p>The Baltimore oriole is a weaver, and it makes its nest -out of bark, fine grass, moss, and wool, strengthening it, -when circumstances permit, with pieces of string or horsehair. -This nest, pouch-shaped, and open at the top, is -fastened to the branch of a tree, and is sometimes interwoven -with the twigs of a waving bough. The threads -of grass and long fibres of moss, are woven together, in -and out, as if by machinery; and it seems hard to believe -that the little birds can do such work without help.</p> - -<p>The long, slender boughs of the willow are the favorite -resort of the oriole; and here, in the midst of a storm, -the bird may sit in its swinging nest, fearing no danger. -What is there to dread? The trees rock in the wind, but -the oriole’s habitation is strong and well secured. Unless -the branch from which the nest hangs be torn from the -tree, the nest will endure the tempest and prove a safe -shelter for the blithe little bird.</p> - -<p>Many weaver-birds in Asia and Africa hang their nests -from the ends of twigs and branches overhanging the -water. This is to keep away monkeys and snakes, which -abound in hot countries and are the greatest enemies birds -have. The wise little weaver knows that the cunning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -monkey will not trust his precious life to a frail branch -that may break, and drop him into the water; yet the -same frail branch is strong enough for the bird and its -nest. In this case, the monkey is obliged to admit that -the bird’s wisdom is more than a match for his.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p124.jpg" width="400" height="350" alt="Weaver-birds and their nest" /> -</div> - -<p>A very curious custom exists among a class of birds -found in Africa, called “the social weavers.” They begin -their work in companies, and build immense canopies, -like umbrellas, in the tops of trees. These grassy structures -are so closely woven that the rain cannot penetrate -them. Under this shelter the birds build their nests, but -no longer in company; the nest for each pair must be -made by the pair without assistance from their neighbors.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>The tailor-bird of India makes a still more curious nest -than that of the weavers: it actually sews, using its long, -slender bill as a needle. Birds that fly, birds that run, -birds that swim, and birds that sing are by no means rare; -but birds that sew seem like the wonderful birds in the -fairy-tales.</p> - -<p>Yet they really exist, and make their odd nests with -great care and skill. They pick out a leaf large enough -for their nest, and pierce rows of holes along the edges -with their sharp bill; then, with the fibres of a plant or -long threads of grass, they sew the leaf up into a bag. -Sometimes it is necessary to sew two leaves together, that -the space within may be large enough.</p> - -<p>This kind of sewing resembles shoemakers’ or saddlers’ -work; but, the leaf being like fine cloth and not like -leather, perhaps the name “tailor-bird” is the most appropriate -for the little worker. The bag is lined with soft, -downy material, and in this the tiny eggs are laid—tiny -indeed, for the tailor-bird is no larger than the humming-bird. -The weight of the little creature does not even -draw down the nest, and the leaf in which the eggs or -young birds are hidden looks like the other leaves on the -trees; so that there is nothing to attract the attention of -the forest robbers.</p> - -<p>Another bird, called the Indian sparrow, makes her -nest of grass, woven like cloth and shaped like a bottle. -The neck of the bottle hangs downward, and the bird -enters from below. This structure, swinging from a high -tree, over a river, is safe from the visits of mischievous -animals.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> - -<p>If all the stories about this Indian sparrow are true, the -inside of its nest is strangely adorned. Fire-flies are -brought in by the bird and stuck to the walls with clay; -whether they are placed there to light up the little home, -or to dazzle the bats that infest the neighborhood, no one -seems to know. Perhaps the truth is that the fire-flies -are in the nest in imagination only. However that may -be, the Indian sparrow is a clever workman.</p> - -<p>Can you wonder that birds and their nests have always -been a source of delight to the thoughtful enquirer?</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent10">“Mark it well—within, without.</div> -<div class="verse">No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut,</div> -<div class="verse">No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert,</div> -<div class="verse">No glue to join: his little beak was all.</div> -<div class="verse">And yet how neatly finished! What nice hand,</div> -<div class="verse">With every implement and means of art,</div> -<div class="verse">And twenty years’ apprenticeship to boot.</div> -<div class="verse">Could make me such another?”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>o´ri-ōle</li> -<li>căn´o-pies</li> -<li>fā´vor-ĭte</li> -<li>as-sĭst´ance</li> -<li>monkey (<i>mŭng´ke</i>)</li> -<li>en-quīr´er</li> -<li>apprentice (<i>ap-prĕn´tis</i>)</li> -<li>mischievous (<i>mĭs´che-vŭs</i>)</li> -<li>machinery (<i>ma-shēn´er-e</i>)</li> -<li>Baltimore (<i>bawl´ti-more</i>)</li> -<li>nĕç´es-sa-ry</li> -<li>ap-prō´pri-āte</li> -<li>um-brĕl´las</li> -<li>im´ple-mĕnt</li> -<li>cir´cum-stance</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Apt scholars.—2. Endure the tempest.—3. Obliged to -admit.—4. A curious custom exists.—5. Downy material.—6. -Attract the attention.—7. Strangely adorned.—8. Infest -the neighborhood.—9. Clever workman.—10. Source of -delight.—11. Thoughtful enquirer.—12. Mark it well.—13. -Neatly finished.—14. With apprenticeship to boot.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XLVII_LORD_ULLINS_DAUGHTER" id="XLVII_LORD_ULLINS_DAUGHTER"></a>XLVII.—LORD ULLIN’S DAUGHTER.</h2> - -<p class="author">Campbell.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p128.jpg" width="300" height="200" alt="The boatman rows his passengers towards land" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A chieftain, to the Highlands bound,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Cries, “Boatman, do not tarry!</div> -<div class="verse">And I’ll give thee a silver pound,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To row us o’er the ferry.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Now, who be ye, would cross Lochgyle,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">This dark and stormy water?”</div> -<div class="verse">“Oh! I’m the chief of Ulva’s Isle,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And this Lord Ullin’s daughter.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And fast before her father’s men</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Three days we’ve fled together,</div> -<div class="verse">For should he find us in the glen,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My blood would stain the heather.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“His horsemen hard behind us ride;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Should they our steps discover,</div> -<div class="verse">Then who would cheer my bonny bride,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When they have slain her lover?”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Out spoke the hardy Highland wight,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“I’ll go, my chief—I’m ready:</div> -<div class="verse">It is not for your silver bright,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But for your winsome lady:</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And, by my word! the bonny bird</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In danger shall not tarry;</div> -<div class="verse">So, though the waves are raging white,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I’ll row you o’er the ferry.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">By this the storm grew loud apace,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The water-wraith was shrieking;</div> -<div class="verse">And, in the scowl of heaven, each face</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Grew dark as they were speaking.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But still, as wilder blew the wind,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And as the night grew drearer,</div> -<div class="verse">Adown the glen rode armèd men,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Their trampling sounded nearer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O haste thee, haste!” the lady cries,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“Though tempests round us gather,</div> -<div class="verse">I’ll meet the raging of the skies,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But not an angry father.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The boat has left a stormy land,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A stormy sea before her—</div> -<div class="verse">When, oh! too strong for human hand,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">The tempest gathered o’er her.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And still they rowed amidst the roar</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of waters fast prevailing;</div> -<div class="verse">Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His wrath was changed to wailing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For sore dismayed, through storm and shade,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His child he did discover:</div> -<div class="verse">One lovely arm she stretched for aid,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And one was round her lover.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Come back! come back!” he cried, in grief,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“Across this stormy water;</div> -<div class="verse">And I’ll forgive your Highland chief,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My daughter!—Oh! my daughter!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Twas vain: the loud waves lashed the shore,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Return or aid preventing:</div> -<div class="verse">The waters wild went o’er his child—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And he was left lamenting.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XLVIII_TO_AN_EARLY_PRIMROSE" id="XLVIII_TO_AN_EARLY_PRIMROSE"></a>XLVIII.—TO AN EARLY PRIMROSE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Henry Kirke White.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Mild offspring of a dark and sullen sire!</div> -<div class="verse">Whose modest form, so delicately fine,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Was nursed in whirling storms,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">And cradled in the winds:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thee, when young Spring first questioned Winter’s sway,</div> -<div class="verse">And dared the sturdy blusterer to the fight,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Thee on this bank he threw</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent6">To mark his victory.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In this low vale, the promise of the year,</div> -<div class="verse">Serene, thou openest to the nipping gale,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Unnoticed and alone,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Thy tender elegance.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So virtue blooms, brought forth amid the storms</div> -<div class="verse">Of chill adversity; in some lone walk</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Of life she rears her head,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Obscure and unobserved;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">While every bleaching breeze that on her blows</div> -<div class="verse">Chastens her spotless purity of breast,</div> -<div class="verse indent6">And hardens her to bear</div> -<div class="verse indent6">Serene the ills of life.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XLIX_THE_WHISTLE" id="XLIX_THE_WHISTLE"></a>XLIX.—THE WHISTLE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Benjamin Franklin.</p> - -<p>When I was a child, seven years old, my friends, on a -holiday, filled my pockets with coppers. I went directly -toward a shop where they sold toys for children; and, -being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I met -by the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily -offered him all my money for it.</p> - -<p>I then returned home, and went whistling all over -the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing -all the family. My brothers, and sisters, and cousins, -understanding the bargain I had made, told me I had -given four times as much for it as it was worth.</p> - -<p>This put me in mind of what good things I might have -bought with the rest of the money; and they laughed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> at -me so much for my folly that I cried with vexation.</p> - -<p>This, however, was afterward of use to me, the impression -continuing on my mind; so that often, when I was -tempted to buy some unnecessary thing, I said to myself, -“Don’t give too much for the whistle;” and so I saved -my money.</p> - -<p>As I grew up, went into the world, and observed the -actions of men, I thought I met with many, very many, -who gave too much for their whistles.</p> - -<p>When I saw any one too ambitious of the favor of the -great, wasting his time in attendance on public dinners, -sacrificing his repose, his liberty, his virtue, and perhaps -his friends, to retain it, I said to myself, “This man gives -too much for his whistle.”</p> - -<p>When I saw another fond of popularity, constantly -employing himself in politics, neglecting his own affairs, -and ruining them by that neglect, “He pays, indeed,” said -I, “too much for his whistle.”</p> - -<p>If I knew a miser, who gave up every kind of comfortable -living, all the pleasure of doing good to others, all -the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and the joys of benevolent -friendship, for the sake of accumulating wealth, -“Poor man,” said I, “you do indeed pay too much for -your whistle.”</p> - -<p>When I met a man of pleasure, sacrificing the improvement -of his mind, or of his fortune, to mere bodily comfort, -“Mistaken man,” said I, “you are providing pain -for yourself, instead of pleasure: you give too much for -your whistle.”</p> - -<p>If I saw one fond of fine clothes, fine furniture, fine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -horses, all above his fortune, for which he contracted -debts, and ended his career in prison, “Alas!” said I, “he -has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle.”</p> - -<p>In short, I believed that a great part of the miseries of -mankind were brought upon them by the false estimates -they had made of the value of things, and by their giving -too much for their whistles.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="L_BUGLE_SONG" id="L_BUGLE_SONG"></a>L.—BUGLE SONG.</h2> - -<p class="author">Tennyson.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> - -<div class="dropcap-img"> -<img src="images/dropcap-t.jpg" width="91" height="100" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="verse dropcap">The splendor falls on castle walls,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And snowy summits old in story;</div> -<div class="verse">The long light shakes across the lakes,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the wild cataract leaps in glory.</div> -<div class="verse">Blow, bugle, blow! set the wild echoes flying</div> -<div class="verse">Blow, bugle! answer, echoes,—dying, dying, dying.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O hark! O hear! how thin and clear,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And thinner, clearer, farther going!</div> -<div class="verse">O sweet and far, from cliff and scar,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!</div> -<div class="verse">Blow! let us hear the purple glens replying;</div> -<div class="verse">Blow, bugle! answer, echoes,—dying, dying, dying.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O love, they die on yon rich sky;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They faint on hill, or field, or river:</div> -<div class="verse">Our echoes roll from soul to soul,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And grow forever and forever.</div> -<div class="verse">Blow, bugle, blow! set the wild echoes flying,</div> -<div class="verse">And answer, echoes, answer,—dying, dying, dying.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LI_THE_INCHCAPE_ROCK" id="LI_THE_INCHCAPE_ROCK"></a>LI.—THE INCHCAPE ROCK.</h2> - -<p class="author">Robert Southey.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p133.jpg" width="300" height="177" alt="A rowboat, by the bell, as the men sabotage it" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,</div> -<div class="verse">The ship was as still as she could be;</div> -<div class="verse">Her sails from heaven received no motion,</div> -<div class="verse">Her keel was steady in the ocean.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Without either sign or sound of their shock,</div> -<div class="verse">The waves flowed over the Inchcape Rock;</div> -<div class="verse">So little they rose, so little they fell,</div> -<div class="verse">They did not move the Inchcape Bell.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The pious Abbot of Aberbrothock</div> -<div class="verse">Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock;</div> -<div class="verse">On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And over the waves its warning rung.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When the Rock was hid by the surge’s swell,</div> -<div class="verse">The mariners heard the warning bell;</div> -<div class="verse">And then they knew the perilous Rock,</div> -<div class="verse">And blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothock.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The sun in heaven was shining gay;</div> -<div class="verse">All things were joyful on that day;</div> -<div class="verse">The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled round,</div> -<div class="verse">And there was joyance in their sound.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen,</div> -<div class="verse">A darker speck on the ocean green;</div> -<div class="verse">Sir Ralph the Rover walked his deck,</div> -<div class="verse">And he fixed his eye on the darker speck.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He felt the cheering power of spring;</div> -<div class="verse">It made him whistle, it made him sing:</div> -<div class="verse">His heart was mirthful to excess,</div> -<div class="verse">But the Rover’s mirth was wickedness.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">His eye was on the Inchcape float;</div> -<div class="verse">Quoth he: “My men, put out the boat,</div> -<div class="verse">And row me to the Inchcape Rock,</div> -<div class="verse">And I’ll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothock.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The boat is lowered, the boatmen row,</div> -<div class="verse">And to the Inchcape Rock they go;</div> -<div class="verse">Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,</div> -<div class="verse">And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Down sank the bell, with a gurgling sound,</div> -<div class="verse">The bubbles rose and burst around;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Quoth Sir Ralph: “The next who comes to the Rock</div> -<div class="verse">Won’t bless the Abbot of Aberbrothock.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away;</div> -<div class="verse">He scoured the seas for many a day;</div> -<div class="verse">And now, grown rich with plundered store,</div> -<div class="verse">He steers his course for Scotland’s shore.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky</div> -<div class="verse">They cannot see the sun on high;</div> -<div class="verse">The wind hath blown a gale all day,</div> -<div class="verse">At evening it hath died away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">On the deck the Rover takes his stand;</div> -<div class="verse">So dark it is, they see no land.</div> -<div class="verse">Quoth Sir Ralph, “It will be lighter soon,</div> -<div class="verse">For there is the dawn of the rising moon.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Canst hear,” said one, “the breakers roar?</div> -<div class="verse">For methinks we should be near the shore.”</div> -<div class="verse">“Now where we are I cannot tell,</div> -<div class="verse">But I wish we could hear the Inchcape Bell.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They hear no sound; the swell is strong;</div> -<div class="verse">Though the wind hath fallen, they drift along,</div> -<div class="verse">Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock;</div> -<div class="verse">Cried they: “It is the Inchcape Rock!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,</div> -<div class="verse">He cursed himself in his despair:</div> -<div class="verse">The waves rush in on every side;</div> -<div class="verse">The ship is sinking beneath the tide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But, even in his dying fear,</div> -<div class="verse">One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,—</div> -<div class="verse">A sound as if, with the Inchcape Bell,</div> -<div class="verse">The fiends below were ringing his knell.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LII_THE_FLAX" id="LII_THE_FLAX"></a>LII.—THE FLAX.</h2> - -<p class="author">Hans Christian Andersen.</p> - -<p>The flax was in full bloom; it had pretty little blue -flowers as delicate as the wings of a moth, or even more -so. The sun shone, and the showers watered it; and -this was just as good for the flax as it is for little children -to be washed and then kissed by their mother. They -look much prettier for it, and so did the flax.</p> - -<p>“People say that I look exceedingly well,” said the flax, -“and that I am so fine and long, that I shall make a -beautiful piece of linen. How fortunate I am! it makes -me so happy; it is such a pleasant thing to know that -something can be made of me. How the sunshine cheers -me, and how sweet and refreshing is the rain! my happiness -overpowers me; no one in the world can feel happier -than I do.”</p> - -<p>One day some people came, who took hold of the flax -and pulled it up by the roots; this was painful. Then -it was laid in water as if they intended to drown it; and, -after that, placed near a fire as if it were to be roasted; -all this was very shocking.</p> - -<p>“We cannot expect to be happy always,” said the flax; -“by experiencing evil as well as good we become wise.” -And certainly there was plenty of evil in store for the -flax. It was steeped, and roasted, and broken, and -combed; indeed, it scarcely knew what was done to it.</p> - -<p>At last it was put on the spinning-wheel. “Whirr, -whirr,” went the wheel so quickly that the flax could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -collect its thoughts.</p> - -<p>“Well, I have been very happy,” he thought in the -midst of his pain, “and must be contented with the past;” -and contented he remained till he was put on the loom, -and became a beautiful piece of white linen. All the flax, -even to the last stalk, was used in making this one piece. -“How wonderful it is that, after all I have suffered, I am -made something of at last; I am the luckiest person in -the world—so strong and fine; and how white, and what -a length! This is something different from being a mere -plant and bearing flowers. Then I had no attention, nor -any water unless it rained. Now I am watched and -taken care of. Every morning the maid turns me over, -and I have a shower-bath from the watering-pot every -evening. Yes, and the clergyman’s wife noticed me, and -said I was the best piece of linen in the whole parish. I -cannot be happier than I am now.”</p> - -<p>After some time, the linen was taken into the house, -placed under the scissors, and cut and torn into pieces, -and then pricked with needles. This certainly was not -pleasant; but at last it was made into garments.</p> - -<p>“See, now, then,” said the flax, “I have become something -of importance. This was my destiny; it is quite a -blessing. Now I shall be of some use in the world, as -every one ought to be; it is the only way to be happy.”</p> - -<p>Years passed away; and at last the linen was so worn -it could scarcely hold together.</p> - -<p>“It must end very soon,” said the pieces to each other. -“We would gladly have held together a little longer, but -it is useless to expect impossibilities.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> - -<p>And at length they fell into rags and tatters, and -thought it was all over with them, for they were torn to -shreds, and steeped in water, and made into a pulp, and -dried, and they knew not what besides, till all at once -they found themselves beautiful white paper.</p> - -<p>“Well, now, this is a surprise; a glorious surprise too,” -said the paper. “I am now finer than ever, and I shall -be written upon, and who can tell what fine things I may -have written upon me? This is wonderful luck!”</p> - -<p>And sure enough, the most beautiful stories and poetry -were written upon it, and only once was there a blot, -which was very fortunate.</p> - -<p>Then people heard the stories and poetry read, and it -made them wiser and better; for all that was written -had a good and sensible meaning, and a great blessing -was contained in the words on the paper.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I never imagined anything like this,” said the paper, -“when I was only a little blue flower, growing in the -fields. How could I fancy that I should ever be the -means of bringing knowledge and joy to men? I cannot -understand it myself, and yet it is really so. Heaven -knows that I have done nothing myself, but what I was -obliged to do with my weak powers for my own preservation; -and yet I have been promoted from one joy and -honor to another. Each time I think that the song is -ended; and then something higher and better begins for -me. I suppose now I shall be sent on my travels about -the world, so that people may read me. It cannot be -otherwise; indeed it is more than probable; for I have -more splendid thoughts written upon me than I had -pretty flowers in olden times. I am happier than ever.”</p> - -<p>But the paper did not go on its travels. It was sent -to the printer, and all the words written upon it were set -up in type, to make a book, or rather hundreds of books; -for so many more persons could derive pleasure and profit -from a printed book than from the written paper; and if -the paper had been sent about the world, it would have -been worn out before it had got half through its journey.</p> - -<p>“This is certainly the wisest plan,” said the written -paper; “I really did not think of that. I shall remain -at home and be held in honor, like some old grandfather, -as I really am to all these new books. They will -do some good. I could not have wandered about as they -do. Yet he who wrote all this has looked at me as every -word flowed from his pen upon my surface. I am the -most honored of all.”</p> - -<p>Then the paper was tied in a bundle with other papers, -and thrown into a tub that stood in the washhouse.</p> - -<p>“After work, it is well to rest,” said the paper, “and -a very good opportunity this is to collect one’s thoughts. -Now I am able, for the first time, to think of my real -condition; and to know one’s self is true progress. What -will be done with me now I wonder? No doubt I shall -still go forward.”</p> - -<p>Now it happened one day that all the paper in the tub -was taken out, and laid on the hearth to be burnt. -People said it could not be sold at the shop, to wrap up -butter and sugar, because it had been written upon. The -children in the house stood round the stove; for they -wanted to see the paper burn, because it flamed up so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -prettily, and afterwards, among the ashes, so many red -sparks could be seen running one after the other, here -and there, as quick as the wind. They called it “seeing -the children come out of school,” and the last spark was -the schoolmaster. They often thought the last spark -had come; and one would cry, “There goes the schoolmaster;” -but the next moment another spark would -appear, shining so beautifully. How they would like to -know where the sparks all went to! Perhaps we shall -find out some day, but we don’t know now.</p> - -<p>The whole bundle of paper had been placed on the fire, -and was soon alight. “Ugh!” cried the paper, as it -burst into a bright flame; “ugh!” It was certainly not -very pleasant to be burning; but when the whole was -wrapped in flames, the flames mounted up into the air, -higher than the flax had ever been able to raise its little -blue flower; and they glistened as the white linen never -could have glistened. All the written letters became -quite red in a moment, and all the words and thoughts -turned into fire.</p> - -<p>“Now I am mounting straight up to the sun,” said a -voice in the flames; and it was as if a thousand voices -echoed the words; and the flames darted up through the -chimney, and went out at the top. Then a number of -tiny beings, as many in number as the flowers on the flax -had been, and invisible to mortal eyes, floated above them. -They were even lighter and more delicate than the flowers -from which they were born; and as the flames were -extinguished, and nothing remained of the paper but -black ashes, these little things danced upon it; and whenever -they touched it, bright red sparks appeared.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LIII_THE_FRENCH_AT_RATISBON" id="LIII_THE_FRENCH_AT_RATISBON"></a>LIII.—THE FRENCH AT RATISBON.</h2> - -<p class="author">Robert Browning.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p141.jpg" width="300" height="236" alt="Napoleon looks down at the boy fallen from his horse" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">You know, we French stormed Ratisbon;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A mile or so away,</div> -<div class="verse">On a little mound, Napoleon</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Stood on our storming day;</div> -<div class="verse">With neck out-thrust, you fancy how,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Legs wide, arms locked behind,</div> -<div class="verse">As if to balance the prone brow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Oppressive with its mind.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Just as perhaps he mused, “My plans</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That soar, to earth may fall,</div> -<div class="verse">Let once my army-leader, Lannes,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Waver at yonder wall,”—</div> -<div class="verse">Out ’twixt the battery-smokes there flew</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A rider, bound on bound</div> -<div class="verse">Full galloping; nor bridle drew</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Until he reached the mound.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then off there flung in smiling joy,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And held himself erect</div> -<div class="verse">By just his horse’s mane, a boy:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">You hardly could suspect,—</div> -<div class="verse">(So tight he kept his lips compressed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Scarce any blood came through,)</div> -<div class="verse">You looked twice ere you saw his breast</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Was all but shot in two.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Well,” cried he, “Emperor, by God’s grace</div> -<div class="verse indent2">We’ve got you Ratisbon!</div> -<div class="verse">The Marshal’s in the market-place,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And you’ll be there anon</div> -<div class="verse">To see your flag-bird flap his vans</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where I, to heart’s desire,</div> -<div class="verse">Perched him!” The chief’s eye flashed; his plans</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Soared up again like fire.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The chief’s eye flashed; but presently</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Softened itself, as sheathes</div> -<div class="verse">A film the mother-eagle’s eye</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When her bruised eaglet breathes:</div> -<div class="verse">“You’re wounded!” “Nay,” his soldier’s pride</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Touched to the quick, he said:</div> -<div class="verse">“I’m killed, Sire!” And, his chief beside,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Smiling, the boy fell dead.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LIV_EGYPT_AND_ITS_RUINS" id="LIV_EGYPT_AND_ITS_RUINS"></a>LIV.—EGYPT AND ITS RUINS.</h2> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 331px;"> -<img src="images/p143.jpg" width="331" height="400" alt="Egyptian ruins, and a pyramid" /> -</div> - -<p>Egypt embraces that part of Africa occupied by the -valley of the River Nile. For many centuries, it was a -thickly populated country, and at one time possessed -great influence and wealth, and had reached an advanced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -state of civilization.</p> - -<p>The history of Egypt extends through a period of -about six thousand years. During this time great cities -were built, which flourished for hundreds of years. Owing -to wars and changes of government, many of these cities -were destroyed, and nothing of them now remains but -massive and extensive ruins. Pyramids were built, obelisks -erected, canals projected, and many other vast enterprises -were carried out. Remains of these are to be -seen to-day, some in ruins, some fairly preserved, and, -altogether, they give the present generation an idea of -the wealth and power of the different dynasties under -which they were built.</p> - -<p>Not far from Cairo, which is now the principal city of -Egypt, stand the famous pyramids. These are of such -immense proportions, that from a distance their tops -seem to reach the clouds. They are constructed of great -blocks of stone. Some of these are of great size, and how -the builders put them into their places, is a question we -cannot answer.</p> - -<p>It is supposed that the construction of the largest -pyramid required the labor of thousands of men, for more -than twenty years. It is four hundred and sixty-one feet -high, seven hundred and forty-six feet long at the base, -and covers more than twelve acres of ground.</p> - -<p>Sixty-seven of these pyramids in all have been discovered -and explored. They are the tombs in which the -kings of ancient Egypt and their families were buried. -To contain their coffins, which were made of stone, many -chambers were constructed in the interior of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> pyramids. -It has been calculated that one of the principal -pyramids could contain three thousand seven hundred -rooms of large size.</p> - -<p>The bodies of those who were buried in the pyramids -were preserved from decay by a secret process, which we -call embalming, and which was known only to the priests. -After the bodies were embalmed, they were wrapped in -bands of fine linen, and on the inside of these was spread a -peculiar kind of gum. Sometimes as many as a thousand -yards of these bands were wrapped around a single body. -After the bandaged body was thus prepared, a soft substance -was placed around it. When this covering hardened, -it kept the body in a state of complete preservation. -These coverings are now called mummy-cases, and the -bodies they enclose are called mummies. The bodies were -finally placed in huge stone coffins, many of which were -covered with curious carvings.</p> - -<p>Some mummies have been found, that are said to be -over three thousand years old. But, notwithstanding this -great age, when the wrappings are removed from them, -many of the bodies have been so well preserved, that the -features present the appearance which they had in life. -Large numbers of mummies have been carried off to other -countries and placed on exhibition in museums.</p> - -<p>The ancient Egyptians erected many obelisks in various -parts of their country. These were monuments made -from single pieces of hard stone, and in some cases they -reached a height of more than a hundred feet. They -were placed before gateways leading to the principal -temples and palaces, and were covered with curious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -carvings, which represented the language of the people -at that time. Their written language was not composed -of letters and words like our own; but they used pictures -of animals, including birds, and also pictures of human -figures, and other devices of a similar nature, to express -their thoughts and ideas. These pictures are now called -hieroglyphics.</p> - -<p>Until the year 1799, scholars of modern nations were -unable to read this strange language. In that year, -however, a stone tablet was discovered by a French -engineer, containing an inscription written in three -different characters:—namely: first, in the hieroglyphics -spoken of above; second, in a running hand also used -by the Egyptians; and third, in the well known letters -of the Greek alphabet.</p> - -<p>By comparing the words of these inscriptions with -many others, the proper method of interpreting this -peculiar language was ascertained. It was then learned -that the inscriptions on these obelisks were the records -of memorable events, and of the heroic deeds of ancient -kings and heroes.</p> - -<p>Many of the obelisks have been taken from their -positions in Egypt and transported with great labor to -other countries. Nearly two thousand years ago, the -Roman Emperors began to carry them to Rome, where -they were set up in the public squares. Altogether, nearly -fifty of these remarkable monuments were taken away -and set up in that city. They were then, and are still, -regarded as evidences of the wonderful ingenuity and -skill of the ancients who first made them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> - -<p>In late years, obelisks have been taken to Paris and -London, and more recently one has been brought to -America, and set up in Central Park in New York City. -This one belongs to the largest class, being nearly seventy -feet high and about eight feet square at the base.</p> - -<p>In their large cities, the Egyptians built massive temples -which were dedicated to religious ceremonies. Some -of them, although now in ruins, are considered to be -among the most remarkable productions of the ancients. -Tourists who nowadays sail up the River Nile and visit -the site of the city of Thebes, the ancient capital of -Egypt, are struck with amazement at the vast ruins -surrounding them.</p> - -<p>On the eastern side of the Nile lies what is left of the -temple of Karnak. Imagine a long line of courts, gateways, -and halls; with here and there an obelisk rising -above the ruins, and shutting off the view of the forest -of columns! The temple is approached on every side by -avenues and gateways of colossal grandeur. It originally -covered an area of two hundred and seventy acres, enclosed -within a wall of brick, parts of which are still -visible, while the rest lie crumbled and broken.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to realize the grand appearance of the -thirty rows of stone columns standing within the wall. -Some of those that are still perfect, are capped with -enormous monolith capitals, and it is said that on one of -them a hundred men could stand without crowding.</p> - -<p>The hall itself is four hundred and twenty-two feet -long by one hundred and sixty-five feet broad. The -stones of the ceiling are supported by one hundred and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -thirty-four columns. The largest measures ten feet in -diameter, and more than seventy-two feet in height. -They are covered with carvings and paintings whose -colors are still bright, even after a lapse of forty centuries.</p> - -<p>Gazing on what he sees around him, the traveller becomes -lost in the effort to form some idea of the grandeur -and vastness of the original.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>Cairo (<i>kī´ro</i>)</li> -<li>ob´e-lisk</li> -<li>căp´i-tals</li> -<li>cen´tu-ries</li> -<li>co-lŏs´sal</li> -<li>re-lĭg´ious (<i>re-lĭj´us</i>)</li> -<li>pro-pōr´tions</li> -<li>E´gypt</li> -<li>mŏn´o-lĭth</li> -<li>cĕr´e-mo-nies</li> -<li>he-rō´ic</li> -<li>ĕn-gi-neer (<i>ĕn-ji-neer´</i>)</li> -<li>dy´nas-ties (or <i>dyn´as-ties</i>)</li> -<li>mĕm´o-ra-ble</li> -<li>ăv´e-nūes</li> -<li>prĕs-er-vā´tion (<i>z</i>)</li> -<li>pyr´a-mĭd</li> -<li>ex-plōred´</li> -<li>dĕd´i-cāt-ed</li> -<li>hī-e-ro-glyph´ics</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LV_TO_MY_MOTHER" id="LV_TO_MY_MOTHER"></a>LV.—TO MY MOTHER.</h2> - -<p class="author">Henry Kirke White.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And canst thou, mother, for a moment think</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That we, thy children, when old age shall shed</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Its blanching honors on thy weary head,</div> -<div class="verse">Could from our best of duties ever shrink?</div> -<div class="verse">Sooner the sun from his bright sphere shall sink,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Than we ungrateful leave thee in that day</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To pine in solitude thy life away;</div> -<div class="verse">Or shun thee tottering on the grave’s cold brink.</div> -<div class="verse">Banish the thought!—where’er our steps may roam,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O’er smiling plains, or wastes without a tree,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Still will fond memory point our hearts to thee,</div> -<div class="verse">And paint the pleasures of thy peaceful home;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">While duty bids us all thy griefs assuage,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And smooth the pillow of thy sinking age.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LVI_ZLOBANE" id="LVI_ZLOBANE"></a>LVI.—ZLOBANE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Mrs. Gustafson.</p> - -<p>Zlobane is the name of the mountain which was taken by storm from -the Zulus by the British forces on the morning of the 28th of March, 1879. -On the top of this mountain the victorious English troops, who had -unsaddled their horses and cast themselves down to rest, were surprised and -surrounded by the Zulus. Of the British corps only one captain and six -men escaped. The young hero of the ballad was the son of Colonel -Weatherly.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As swayeth in the summer wind</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The close and stalwart grain,</div> -<div class="verse">So moved the serried Zulu shields</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That day on wild Zlobane;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The white shield of the husband,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Who hath twice need of life,</div> -<div class="verse">The black shield of the young chief,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Who hath not yet a wife.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Unrecking harm, the British lay,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Secure as if they slept,</div> -<div class="verse">While close on front and either flank</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The live, black crescent crept.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then burst their wild and frightful cry</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Upon the British ears,</div> -<div class="verse">With whirr of bullets, glare of shields,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And flash of Zulu spears.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Uprose the British; in the shock</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Reeled but an instant; then,</div> -<div class="verse">Shoulder to shoulder, faced the foe,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">And met their doom like men.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But one was there whose heart was torn,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In a more awful strife;</div> -<div class="verse">He had the soldier’s steady nerve,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And calm disdain of life;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yet now, half turning from the fray,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Knee smiting against knee,</div> -<div class="verse">He scanned the hills, if yet were left</div> -<div class="verse indent2">An open way to flee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not for himself. His little son,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Scarce thirteen summers born,</div> -<div class="verse">With hair that shone upon his brows</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Like tassels of the corn,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And lips yet curled in that sweet pout</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Shaped by the mother’s breast,</div> -<div class="verse">Stood by his side, and silently</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To his brave father pressed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The horse stood nigh; the father kissed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And tossed the boy astride.</div> -<div class="verse">“Farewell!” he cried, “and for thy life,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That way, my darling, ride!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Scarce touched the saddle ere the boy</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Leaped lightly to the ground,</div> -<div class="verse">And smote the horse upon its flank,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That with a quivering bound</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">It sprang and galloped for the hills,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With one sonorous neigh;</div> -<div class="verse">The fire flashed where its spurning feet</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Clanged o’er the stony way.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Father, I’ll die with you!” The sire</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As this he saw and heard,</div> -<div class="verse">Turned, and stood breathless in the joy</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And pang that knows no word.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Once, each, as do long knitted friends,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Upon the other smiled,</div> -<div class="verse">And then—he had but time to give</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A weapon to the child</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ere, leaping o’er the British dead,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The supple Zulus drew</div> -<div class="verse">The cruel assegais, and first</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The younger hero slew.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Still grew the father’s heart, his eye</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Bright with unflickering flame:</div> -<div class="verse">Five Zulus bit the dust in death</div> -<div class="verse indent2">By his unblenching aim.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then, covered with uncounted wounds,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He sank beside his child,</div> -<div class="verse">And they who found them say, in death</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Each on the other smiled.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. <i>Stalwart</i> grain.—2. <i>Serried</i> shields.—3. Unrecking harm.—4. -The black crescent crept.—5. <i>Whirr</i> of bullets.—6. Reeled -but an instant.—7. Met their <i>doom like men</i>.—8. Awful strife.—9. -<i>Calm disdain</i> of life.—10. Shone like tassels of the corn.—11. -Sweet pout.—12. Quivering bound.—13. <i>Spurning</i> feet.—14. -Unflickering flame.—15. <i>Unblenching</i> aim.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LVII_THE_RUBY-THROATED_HUMMING-BIRD" id="LVII_THE_RUBY-THROATED_HUMMING-BIRD"></a>LVII.—THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD.</h2> - -<p class="author">Audubon.</p> - -<p>The most common, as well as the most beautiful, -species of humming-birds, is the ruby-throat, a name given -to it on account of the delicate metallic feathers, which -glow with ruby lustre on its throat, gleaming in the sunshine -like gems of living fire. From the tip of the bill to -that of the tail, it measures about three and a half inches. -The upper part of the neck, the back, and the wing-coverts, -are of a resplendent and varied green and gold. -The breast and lower parts are white, the wings purplish -brown, and the tail partly of the same color, with the -two middle tail-feathers of vivid green.</p> - -<p>In the warm climate of the Southern States, the beautiful -little ruby-throat is found throughout the winter; and -as the summer draws on, the heat in the Northern States -and Canada suiting its delicate constitution, it migrates -in large numbers, appearing in Canada towards the end -of June. The long flights of these tiny creatures are performed -at night, it is supposed, as they are found feeding -leisurely at all times of the day. When passing through -the air they move at a rapid rate, in long undulations, -now rising for some distance at an angle of about forty -degrees, then falling in a curve.</p> - -<p>Small as they are, from their rapid flight and meteor-like -movements, they do not fear the largest birds of prey; -for even should the lordly eagle venture into their domains,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -the tiny creature will attack him without fear; and one -has been seen perched on the head of an eagle, at which -it was pecking away furiously, scattering the feathers of -the huge bird, who flew screaming through the air with -alarm, to rid himself of his tiny assailant.</p> - -<p>Brave and high-spirited as is the little bird, it is easily -tamed; and Mr. Webber, the naturalist, succeeded in -securing several specimens. The first he caught did not -flutter, or make the least attempt to escape, but remained -quietly in his hand; and he saw, when he opened it, the -minute creature lying on his palm, perfectly motionless, -feigning most skilfully to be dead. As he watched it -with breathless curiosity, he saw it slowly open its bright -little eyes to see whether the way was clear, and then close -them slowly as it caught his glance upon it. When a -mixture of sugar, water, and honey, was brought, and a -drop placed on its bill, it came very suddenly to life, and -in a moment was on its legs, drinking with eager gusto -of the refreshing draught from a silver teaspoon.</p> - -<p>The nest of the ruby-throat is of a most delicate nature, -the external parts being formed of bits of a little grey -lichen, found on the branches of trees, glued together by -the saliva of the bird. Bits of lichen are also neatly -arranged round the whole of the nest, and to some distance -from the spot where the nest is attached to the tree. The -interior is formed of a cottony substance, and is lined -with silky fibres obtained from various plants.</p> - -<p>The difficulty of finding the little nests of the humming-birds -is increased by a curious habit possessed by some -of the species. When they leave or approach their home<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>, -they do so as if conscious that by the bright gleam of -their plumage they may give an indication of the place -of their nest. Rising perpendicularly until they are out -of sight, and then flying to the point under which their -nest is placed, they drop down upon it as perpendicularly -as they ascended.</p> - -<p>The eggs are only two in number, and although somewhat -larger than might be imagined from the size of the -bird, are very small indeed. They are of a delicate, -slightly pink, semi-transparent, white color, and have been -well compared to pearls.</p> - -<p>Could you cast a momentary glance on the nest of a -humming-bird, and see, as I have seen, the newly hatched -pair of young, not much larger than humble-bees, naked, -blind, and so feeble as scarcely to be able to raise their -little bills to receive food from their parents, and could -you see those parents full of anxiety and fear, passing and -repassing within a few inches of your face, alighting on a -twig not more than a yard from you, and waiting the -result of your unwelcome visit in a state of despair—you -could not fail to be interested in such a display of parental -affection. Then how pleasing it is, on leaving the spot, -to see the returning joy of the parents, when, after -examining the nest, they find their nurslings untouched!</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>meteor (<i>mē´te-ur</i>)</li> -<li>draught (<i>draft</i>)</li> -<li>feigning (<i>fān´ing</i>)</li> -<li>lichen (<i>lī´ken</i>, or <i>lĭch´en</i>)</li> -<li>coverts (<i>kŭv´erts</i>)</li> -<li>mī´grates</li> -<li>specimen (<i>spĕs´e-mĕn</i>)</li> -<li>in´ter-est-ed</li> -<li>as-sail´ant</li> -<li>do-mains´</li> -<li>un-du-lā´tion</li> -<li>dĕl´i-cate</li> -<li>re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>-splĕn´dent</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LVIII_TRUST_IN_GOD_AND_DO_THE_RIGHT" id="LVIII_TRUST_IN_GOD_AND_DO_THE_RIGHT"></a>LVIII.—TRUST IN GOD AND DO THE RIGHT.</h2> - -<p class="author">Norman Macleod.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Courage, brother! do not stumble;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Though thy path be dark as night,</div> -<div class="verse">There’s a star to guide the humble:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Trust in God, and do the right.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Though the road be long and dreary,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the goal be out of sight,</div> -<div class="verse">Foot it bravely, strong or weary:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Trust in God, and do the right.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Perish, policy and cunning,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Perish, all that fears the light:</div> -<div class="verse">Whether losing, whether winning,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Trust in God, and do the right.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Fly all forms of guilty passion;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Fiends can look like angels bright;</div> -<div class="verse">Heed no custom, school, or fashion:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Trust in God, and do the right.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Some will hate thee, some will love thee,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Some will flatter, some will slight;</div> -<div class="verse">Cease from Man, and look above thee:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Trust in God, and do the right.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Simple rule and surest guiding,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Inward peace and shining light;</div> -<div class="verse">Star upon our path abiding:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Trust in God, and do the right.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LIX_SOMEBODYS_DARLING" id="LIX_SOMEBODYS_DARLING"></a>LIX.—SOMEBODY’S DARLING.</h2> - -<p class="author">Marie Lacoste.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Into a ward of the whitewashed walls,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where the dead and dying lay,</div> -<div class="verse">Wounded by bayonets, shells, and balls,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Somebody’s darling was borne one day—</div> -<div class="verse">Somebody’s darling, so young and so brave,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Wearing yet on his pale, sweet face,</div> -<div class="verse">Soon to be hid by the dust of the grave,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The lingering light of his boyhood’s grace.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Matted and damp are the curls of gold,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Kissing the snow of that fair young brow;</div> -<div class="verse">Pale are the lips of delicate mould—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Somebody’s darling is dying now.</div> -<div class="verse">Back from his beautiful, blue-veined brow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Brush all the wandering waves of gold,</div> -<div class="verse">Cross his hands on his bosom now,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Somebody’s darling is still and cold.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Kiss him once for somebody’s sake,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Murmur a prayer soft and low;</div> -<div class="verse">One bright curl from its fair mates take,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They were somebody’s pride you know.</div> -<div class="verse">Somebody’s hand had rested there,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Was it a mother’s, soft and white?</div> -<div class="verse">And have the lips of a sister fair</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Been baptized in those waves of light?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">God knows best; he has somebody’s love;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Somebody’s heart enshrined him there;</div> -<div class="verse">Somebody wafted his name above,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Night and morn, on the wings of prayer.</div> -<div class="verse">Somebody wept when he marched away,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Looking so handsome, brave, and grand;</div> -<div class="verse">Somebody’s kiss on his forehead lay,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Somebody clung to his parting hand.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Somebody’s waiting and watching for him,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Yearning to hold him again to the heart;</div> -<div class="verse">And there he lies with his blue eyes dim,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the smiling, childlike lips apart.</div> -<div class="verse">Tenderly bury the fair young dead,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Pausing to drop on his grave a tear;</div> -<div class="verse">Carve on the wooden slab at his head,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“<i>Somebody’s darling slumbers here.</i>”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LX_SONG_FROM_THE_PRINCESS" id="LX_SONG_FROM_THE_PRINCESS"></a>LX.—SONG FROM “THE PRINCESS.”</h2> - -<p class="author">Tennyson.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Home they brought her warrior dead:—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She nor swooned nor uttered cry:</div> -<div class="verse">All her maidens, watching, said,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“She must weep, or she will die.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then they praised him, soft and low,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Called him worthy to be loved,</div> -<div class="verse">Truest friend and noblest foe;—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Yet she neither spoke nor moved.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Stole a maiden from her place,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Lightly to the warrior stept,</div> -<div class="verse">Took the face-cloth from the face;—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Yet she neither moved nor wept.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Rose a nurse of ninety years,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Set his child upon her knee;—</div> -<div class="verse">Like summer tempest came her tears—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“Sweet my child, I live for thee.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXI_ANTS_AND_THEIR_SLAVES" id="LXI_ANTS_AND_THEIR_SLAVES"></a>LXI.—ANTS AND THEIR SLAVES.</h2> - -<p class="author">Michelet.</p> - -<p>Peter Huber, the son of the celebrated observer of the -manners and habits of bees, walking one day in a field near -Geneva, saw on the ground a strong detachment of reddish-colored -ants on the march, and bethought himself of following -them. On the flanks of the column, as if to dress -its ranks, a few sped to and fro in eager haste. After -marching for about a quarter of an hour, they halted -before an ant-hill belonging to some small black ants, -and a desperate struggle took place at its gates.</p> - -<p>A small number of blacks offered a brave resistance; but -the great majority of the people thus assailed fled through -the gates remotest from the scene of combat, carrying -away their young. It was just these which were the -cause of the strife, what the blacks most feared being -the theft of their offspring. And soon the assailants, who -had succeeded in penetrating into the city, might be seen -emerging from it, loaded with the young black progeny.</p> - -<p>The red ants, encumbered with their living booty, left -the unfortunate city in the desolation of its great loss, and -resumed the road to their own habitation, whither their -astonished and almost breathless observer followed them. -But how was his astonishment augmented when, at the -threshold of the red ants’ community, a small population -of black ants came forward to receive the plunder, welcoming -with visible joy these children of their own race, -which would perpetuate it in the foreign lands!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> - -<p>This, then, is a mixed city, where the strong warrior-ants -live on a perfectly good understanding with the little -blacks. But what of the latter? Huber speedily discovered -that, in fact, they do everything. They alone build; -they alone bring up the young red ants and the captives -of their own species; they alone administer the affairs of -the community, provide its supplies of food, and wait upon -and feed their red masters, who, like great infant giants, -indolently allow their little attendants to feed them at -the mouth. No other occupations are theirs but war, -theft, and kidnapping. No other movements in the intervals -than to wander about lazily, and bask in the sunshine -at the doors of their barracks.</p> - -<p>Huber made an experiment. He was desirous of -observing what would be the result if the great red ants -found themselves without servants,—whether they would -know how to supply their own wants. He put a few into -a glass case, and put some honey for them in a corner, so -that they had nothing to do but to take it. Miserable the -degradation, cruel the punishment with which slavery -afflicts the enslavers! They did not touch it; they seemed -to know nothing; they had become so grossly ignorant -that they could no longer feed themselves. Some of them -died from starvation, with food before them!</p> - -<p>Huber, to complete the experiment, then introduced -into the case one black ant. The presence of this -sagacious slave changed the face of things, and re-established -life and order. He went straight to the honey, and -fed the great dying simpletons.</p> - -<p>The little blacks in many things carry a moral authority<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -whose signs are very visible. They do not, for example, -permit the great red ants to go out alone on useless expeditions, -but compel them to return into the city. Nor are -they even at liberty to go out in a body, if their wise little -slaves do not think the weather favorable, if they fear a -storm, or if the day is far advanced. When an excursion -proves unsuccessful, and they return without children, the -little blacks are stationed at the gates of the city to forbid -their ingress, and send them back to the combat; nay -more, you may see them take the cowards by the collar, -and force them to retrace their route.</p> - -<p>These are astounding facts; but they were seen, as here -described, by our illustrious observer. Not being able to -trust his eyes, he summoned one of the greatest naturalists -of Sweden, Jurine, to his side, to make new investigations, -and decide whether he had been deceived. This witness, -and others who afterwards pursued the same course of -experiments, found that his discoveries were entirely -accurate. Yet after all these weighty testimonies, I still -doubted. But on a certain occasion I saw it—with my -own eyes saw it—in the park of Fontainebleau. I was -accompanied by an illustrious philosopher, an excellent -observer, and he too saw exactly what I saw.</p> - -<p>It was half-past four in the afternoon of a very warm -day. From a pile of stones emerged a column of from -four to five hundred red or reddish ants. They marched -rapidly towards a piece of turf, kept in order by their -sergeants or “pivot-men,” whom we saw on the flanks, -and who would not permit any one to straggle. (This is -a circumstance known to everyone who has seen a file of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -ants on the march.)</p> - -<p>Suddenly the mass seemed to sink and disappear. -There was no sign of ant-hills in the turf; but after a -while we detected an almost imperceptible orifice, through -which we saw them vanish in less time than it takes me -to write these words. We asked ourselves if it was an -entrance to their domicile; if they had re-entered their -city. In a minute at the utmost they gave us a reply, -and showed us our mistake. They issued in a throng, -each carrying a captive in its mandibles.</p> - -<p>From the short time they had taken, it was evident -that they had a previous knowledge of the locality, the -place where the eggs were deposited, the time when they -were to assemble, and the degree of resistance they had to -expect. Perhaps it was not their first journey. The little -blacks on whom the red ants made this raid sallied out in -considerable numbers; and I truly pitied them. They did -not attempt to fight. They seemed frightened and -stunned. They endeavored only to delay the red ants -by clinging to them. A red ant was thus stopped; but -another red one, who was free, relieved him of his burden, -and thereupon the black ant relaxed his grasp.</p> - -<p>It was, in fact, a pitiful sight. The blacks offered no -serious resistance. The five hundred ants succeeded in -carrying off nearly three hundred children. At two or -three feet from the hole, the blacks ceased to pursue them, -and resigned themselves to their fate. All this did not -occupy ten minutes between the departure and the return. -The two parties were very unequal. It was very probably -an outrage often repeated—a tyranny of the great, who -levied a tribute of children from their poor little neighbors.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXII_THE_GRAY_SWAN" id="LXII_THE_GRAY_SWAN"></a>LXII.—THE GRAY SWAN.</h2> - -<p class="author">Alice Cary.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p162.jpg" width="400" height="287" alt="Sailor and mother by a dresser, examining the jacket" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Oh! tell me, sailor, tell me true,</div> -<div class="verse">Is my little lad, my Elihu,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A-sailing with your ship?”</div> -<div class="verse">The sailor’s eyes were dim with dew,—</div> -<div class="verse">“Your little lad, your Elihu?”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He said with trembling lip,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“What little lad? What ship?”</div> -</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“What little lad? as if there could be</div> -<div class="verse">Another such a one as he!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">What little lad, do you say?</div> -<div class="verse">Why, Elihu, that took to sea</div> -<div class="verse">The moment I put him off my knee!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">It was just the other day</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The Gray Swan sailed away!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“The other day?” The sailor’s eyes</div> -<div class="verse">Stood open with a great surprise:—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“The other day?—The Swan?”</div> -<div class="verse">His heart began in his throat to rise.</div> -<div class="verse">“Ay, ay, sir! here in the cupboard lies</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The jacket he had on!”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“And so your lad is gone?”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Gone with the Swan!”—“And did she stand</div> -<div class="verse">With her anchor clutching hold of the sand,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For a month and never stir?”</div> -<div class="verse">“Why, to be sure! I’ve seen from the land</div> -<div class="verse">Like a lover kissing his lady’s hand,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The wild sea kissing her,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A sight to remember, sir!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“But, my good mother, do you know</div> -<div class="verse">All this was twenty years ago?</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I stood on the Gray Swan’s deck,</div> -<div class="verse">And to that lad I saw you throw</div> -<div class="verse">(Taking it off, as it might be, so)</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The kerchief from your neck,”—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“Ay, and he’ll bring it back!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And did the little lawless lad,</div> -<div class="verse">That has made you sick, and made you sad,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Sail with the Gray Swan’s crew?”</div> -<div class="verse">“Lawless! The man is going mad!</div> -<div class="verse">The best boy mother ever had:—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Be sure he sailed with the crew!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">What would you have him do?”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And he has never written line,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor sent you word, nor made you sign,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To say he was alive?”</div> -<div class="verse">“Hold! if ’twas wrong, the wrong is mine;</div> -<div class="verse">Besides, he may be in the brine;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And could he write from the grave?</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Tut, man! What would you have?”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Gone twenty years,—a long, long cruise,</div> -<div class="verse">’Twas wicked thus your love to abuse!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But if the lad still live,</div> -<div class="verse">And come back home, think you, you can</div> -<div class="verse">Forgive him?”—“Miserable man!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">You’re mad as the sea; you rave,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">What have I to forgive?”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The sailor twitched his shirt of blue;</div> -<div class="verse">And from within his bosom drew</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The kerchief. She was wild.</div> -<div class="verse">“Oh God, my Father! is it true?</div> -<div class="verse">My little lad, my Elihu!</div> -<div class="verse">And is it—is it—is it you?</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My blessed boy, my child,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My dead, my living child!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>My heart leaps up when I behold</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>A rainbow in the sky:</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>So was it when my life began;</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>So is it now I am a man;</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>So be it when I shall grow old,</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>Or let me die!</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>The child is father of the man;</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>And I could wish my days to be</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Bound each to each by natural piety.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>Wordsworth.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXIII_THE_CAPTURE_OF_A_WHALE" id="LXIII_THE_CAPTURE_OF_A_WHALE"></a>LXIII.—THE CAPTURE OF A WHALE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Cooper.</p> - -<p>“Tom,” cried Barnstable, starting, “there is the blow of -a whale!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir!” returned the cockswain with undisturbed -composure: “here is his spout, not half a mile to seaward. -The easterly gale has driven the creature to leeward; -and he begins to find himself in shoal water. He’s -been sleeping while he should have been working to -windward.”</p> - -<p>“The fellow takes it coolly, too. He’s in no hurry to -get an offing.”</p> - -<p>“I rather conclude, sir,” said the cockswain, rolling over -his tobacco in his mouth very composedly, while his little -sunken eyes began to twinkle with pleasure at the sight, -“the gentleman has lost his reckoning, and doesn’t know -which way to head to take himself back into blue water.”</p> - -<p>“’Tis a fin-back!” exclaimed the lieutenant. “He will -soon make headway, and be off.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, ’tis a right whale,” answered Tom; “I saw -his spout. He threw up a pair of as pretty rainbows as -one could wish to see. He’s a real oil-butt, that fellow!”</p> - -<p>Barnstable laughed, and exclaimed in joyous tones,—“Give -strong way, my hearties! There seems nothing -better to be done; let us have a stroke of a harpoon at -that impudent rascal.” The men shouted spontaneously; -and the old cockswain suffered his solemn visage to relax -into a small laugh, while the whale-boat sprang forward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -like a courser for the goal.</p> - -<p>During the few minutes they were pulling toward -their game, Long Tom arose from his crouching attitude -in the stern-sheets, and transferred his huge frame to the -bows of the boat, where he made such preparations to -strike the whale as the occasion required. The tub, containing -about half a whale line, was placed at the feet of -Barnstable, who had been preparing an oar to steer with -in place of the rudder which was unshipped, in order that, -if necessary, the boat might be whirled round when not -advancing.</p> - -<p>Their approach was utterly unnoticed by the monster -of the deep, who continued to amuse himself with throwing -the water in two circular spouts high into the air; -occasionally flourishing the broad flukes of his tail with -graceful but terrific force until the hardy seamen were -within a few hundred feet of him, when he suddenly cast -his head downward, and without apparent effort, reared -his immense body for many feet above the water, waving -his tail violently, and producing a whizzing noise that -sounded like the rushing of winds.</p> - -<p>The cockswain stood erect, poising his harpoon, ready -for the blow; but, when he beheld the creature assuming -this formidable attitude, he waved his hand to his commander, -who instantly signed to his men to cease rowing. -In this situation the sportsman rested a few minutes; -while the whale struck several blows on the water in rapid -succession, the noise of which re-echoed along the cliffs -like the hollow reports of so many cannon. After this -wanton exhibition of his terrible strength, the monster<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -sank again into his native element and slowly disappeared.</p> - -<p>“Which way did he head, Tom?” cried Barnstable, the -moment the whale was out of sight.</p> - -<p>“Pretty much up and down, sir,” returned the cockswain, -his eye brightening with the excitement of the -sport. “He’ll soon run his nose against the bottom if he -stands long on that course, and will be glad to get another -snuff of pure air. Send her a few fathoms to starboard, -sir, and I promise we shall not be out of his track.”</p> - -<p>The conjecture of the experienced old seaman proved -true; for in a few minutes the water broke near them, -and another spout was cast into the air, when the huge -animal rushed for half his length in the same direction, -and fell on the sea with a turbulence and foam equal to -that which is produced by the launching of a vessel for -the first time into its proper element. After this evolution, -the whale rolled heavily, and seemed to rest from -further efforts.</p> - -<p>His slightest movements were closely watched by -Barnstable and his cockswain; and when he was in a state -of comparative rest, the former gave the signal to his crew -to ply their oars once more. A few long and vigorous -strokes sent the boat directly up to the broadside of the -whale, with its bows pointing towards one of the fins, -which was at times, as the animal yielded sluggishly to -the action of the waves, exposed to view. The cockswain -poised his harpoon with much precision, and then darted -it from him with a violence that buried the iron in the -body of their foe. The instant the blow was made, Long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -Tom shouted with singular earnestness:—</p> - -<p>“Starn, all!”</p> - -<p>“Stern, all!” echoed Barnstable; when the obedient -seamen, by united efforts, forced the boat in a backward -direction, beyond the reach of any blow from their -formidable antagonist. The alarmed animal, however, -meditated no such resistance. Ignorant of his own -power, and of the insignificance of his enemies, he sought -refuge in flight. One moment of stupid surprise succeeded -the entrance of the iron; then casting his huge tail into -the air with a violence that threw the sea around him -into increased commotion, he disappeared with the quickness -of lightning amid a cloud of foam.</p> - -<p>“Snub him!” shouted Barnstable. “Hold on, Tom! he -rises already.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir!” replied the composed cockswain, seizing -the line, which was running out of the boat with a velocity -that rendered such a manœuvre rather hazardous, and -causing it to yield more gradually round the large loggerhead -that was placed in the bows of the boat for that -purpose. Presently the line stretched forward; and, -rising to the surface with tremulous vibrations, it indicated -the direction in which the animal might be expected to -reappear. Barnstable had cast the bows of the boat -towards that point before the terrified and wounded -victim rose to the surface. His time was, however, no -longer wasted in his sports, but as he ploughed his way -along the surface he forced the waters aside with prodigious -energy. The boat was dragged violently in his -wake, and it cut through the billows with a terrific -rapidity, that at moments appeared to bury it in the ocean.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> - -<p>When Long Tom beheld his victim throwing his spouts -on high again, he pointed with exultation to the jetting -fluid, which was streaked with the deep red of blood, and -cried,—“Ay, I’ve touched the fellow’s life! It must be -more than two foot of blubber that stops my iron from -reaching the life of any whale that ever sculled the ocean.”</p> - -<p>“I believe you have saved yourself the trouble of using -the bayonet you have rigged for a lance,” said his commander, -who entered into the sport with all the ardor of -one whose youth had been chiefly passed in such pursuits. -“Feel your line, Master Coffin: can we haul alongside of -our enemy? I like not the course he is steering, as he -tows us from the schooner.”</p> - -<p>“’Tis the creatur’s way, sir,” said the cockswain. -“You know they need the air in their nostrils when they -run, the same as a man. But lay hold, boys, and let us -haul up to him.”</p> - -<p>The seamen now seized their whale-line, and slowly -drew their boat to within a few feet of the tail of the fish, -whose progress became sensibly less rapid as he grew weak -with the loss of blood. In a few minutes he stopped -running, and appeared to roll uneasily on the water, as if -suffering the agony of death.</p> - -<p>“Shall we pull in and finish him, Tom?” cried Barnstable. -“A few sets from your bayonet would do it.”</p> - -<p>The cockswain stood examining his game with cool discretion, -and replied to this interrogatory,—</p> - -<p>“No, sir! no! He’s going into his flurry; there’s no -occasion for using a soldier’s weapon in taking a whale. -Starn off, sir! starn off! the creatur’s in his flurry.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p> - -<p>The warning of the prudent cockswain was promptly -obeyed; and the boat cautiously drew off to a distance, -leaving to the animal a clear space while under its dying -agonies. From a state of perfect rest, the terrible monster -threw its tail on high as when in sport; but its blows -were trebled in rapidity and violence, till all was hid from -view by a pyramid of foam that was deeply dyed with -blood. The roarings of the fish were like the bellowings -of a herd of bulls, and it seemed as if a thousand monsters -were engaged in deadly combat behind the bloody -mist that obstructed the view.</p> - -<p>Gradually these efforts subsided; and, when the discolored -water again settled down to the long and regular -swell of the ocean, the fish was seen exhausted, and -yielding passively to its fate. As life departed, the -enormous black mass rolled to one side; and when the -white and glistening skin of the belly became apparent, -the seamen well knew that their victory was achieved.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>flukes</li> -<li>whiz´zing</li> -<li>un-shipped´ (<i>-shipt´</i>)</li> -<li>ma-nœu´vre (<i>mă-noo´ver or -nū-</i>)</li> -<li>ras´cal</li> -<li>ap-pār´ent</li> -<li>pois´ing (<i>poiz-</i>)</li> -<li>cock´swain (or <i>kŏk´sn</i>)</li> -<li>launch´ing (<i>länch-</i>)</li> -<li>ĕv-o-lū´tion</li> -<li>im´pu-dĕnt</li> -<li>tur´bu-lence</li> -<li>con-jĕct´ure</li> -<li>for´mi-da-ble</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. To get an offing.—2. Has lost his reckoning.—3. <i>Right</i> -whale.—4. Shouted <i>spontaneously</i>.—5. Solemn visage.—6. -Crouching attitude.—7. Huge frame.—8. Utterly unnoticed.—9. -Terrific force.—10. <i>Wanton exhibition</i> of his -strength.—11. Singular earnestness.—12. Formidable antagonist.—13. -Tremulous vibrations.—14. Promptly obeyed.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXIV_THE_VILLAGE_BLACKSMITH" id="LXIV_THE_VILLAGE_BLACKSMITH"></a>LXIV.—THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH.</h2> - -<p class="author">Longfellow.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p171.jpg" width="300" height="211" alt="Blacksmith shoes a horse" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Under a spreading chestnut tree</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The village smithy stands;</div> -<div class="verse">The smith, a mighty man is he,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With large and sinewy hands;</div> -<div class="verse">And the muscles of his brawny arms</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Are strong as iron bands.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">His hair is crisp, and black, and long,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His face is like the tan;</div> -<div class="verse">His brow is wet with honest sweat,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He earns whate’er he can,</div> -<div class="verse">And looks the whole world in the face,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">For he owes not any man.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Week in, week out, from morn till night,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">You can hear his bellows blow;</div> -<div class="verse">You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With measured beat and slow,</div> -<div class="verse">Like a sexton ringing the village bell,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When the evening sun is low.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And children coming home from school</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Look in at the open door;</div> -<div class="verse">They love to see the flaming forge,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And hear the bellows roar,</div> -<div class="verse">And catch the burning sparks that fly</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Like chaff from a threshing floor.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He goes on Sunday to the church,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And sits among his boys;</div> -<div class="verse">He hears the parson pray and preach,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He hears his daughter’s voice,</div> -<div class="verse">Singing in the village choir,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And it makes his heart rejoice.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">It sounds to him like her mother’s voice,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Singing in Paradise!</div> -<div class="verse">He needs must think of her once more,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">How in the grave she lies;</div> -<div class="verse">And with his hard, rough hand he wipes</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A tear out of his eyes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Onward, through life he goes;</div> -<div class="verse">Each morning sees some task begin,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Each evening sees it close;</div> -<div class="verse">Something attempted, something done,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Has earned a night’s repose.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For the lesson thou hast taught!</div> -<div class="verse">Thus, at the flaming forge of life</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Our fortunes must be wrought;</div> -<div class="verse">Thus, on its sounding anvil, shaped</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Each burning deed and thought!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>crisp</li> -<li>choir (<i>kwīr</i>)</li> -<li>par´son</li> -<li>bĕl´lows (<i>bĕl´lus</i>)</li> -<li>honest (<i>on´est</i>)</li> -<li>smĭth´y</li> -<li>earned (<i>ernd</i>)</li> -<li>sin´ew-y</li> -<li>re-joic´ing (<i>-jois-</i>)</li> -<li>toil´ing</li> -<li>mŭs´cles (<i>mŭs´sls</i>)</li> -<li>brawn´y</li> -<li>sex´ton</li> -<li>Par´a-dise</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXV_THE_MONSTER_OF_THE_NILE" id="LXV_THE_MONSTER_OF_THE_NILE"></a>LXV.—THE MONSTER OF THE NILE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Sir Samuel Baker.</p> - -<p>Few creatures are so sly and wary as the crocodile. I -watch them continually as they attack the dense flocks of -small birds that throng the bushes at the water’s edge. -These birds are perfectly aware of the danger, and they fly -from the attack, if possible. The crocodile then quietly -and innocently lies upon the surface, as though it had appeared -quite by an accident. It thus attracts the attention -of the birds, and it slowly sails away to a considerable -distance, exposed to their view. The birds, thus beguiled -by the deceiver, believe that the danger is removed, and -they again flock to the bush<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>, and once more dip their -thirsty beaks in the stream.</p> - -<p>Thus absorbed in slaking their thirst, they do not -observe that their enemy is no longer on the surface. A -sudden splash, followed by a huge pair of jaws, beneath -the bush, which engulf some dozens of victims, is the signal -unexpectedly given of the crocodile’s return—he having -slily dived, and hastened under cover of water to his -victims. I have seen the crocodile repeat this manœuvre -constantly: they deceive by a feigned retreat, and then -attack from below.</p> - -<p>In like manner the crocodile perceives, while it is -floating on the surface in mid-stream, or from the opposite -side of the river, a woman filling her girba, or an animal -drinking. Sinking immediately, it swims perhaps a hundred -yards nearer, and again appearing for an instant upon -the surface, it assures itself of the position of its prey by a -steady look. Once more it sinks, and reaches the exact -spot above which the person or animal may be. Seeing -distinctly through the water, it generally makes its fatal -rush from beneath,—sometimes seizing with its jaws, and -at other times striking the object into the water with its -tail, after which it seizes it, and carries it off.</p> - -<p>The crocodile does not attempt to swallow a large prey -at once, but generally carries it away, and keeps it for a -considerable time in its jaws in some deep hole beneath a -rock or the root of a tree, where it eats it at leisure. The -tongue of the crocodile is so unlike that of any other -creature that it can hardly be called by the same name. -No portion of it is detached from the flesh of the lower -jaw; it is like a thickened membrane extending from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -the gullet to about half-way along the length of jaw.</p> - -<p>I was one day returning from head-quarters to my -station—a distance of a mile and a half along the river’s -bank—when I noticed the large head of a crocodile about -thirty yards from the shore. I knew every inch of the -river, and I was satisfied that the water was shallow. A -solitary piece of waving rush, that grew upon the bank -exactly opposite the crocodile, marked its position. So, -stooping down, I retreated inland from the bank, and -then running forward, I crept gently towards the rush.</p> - -<p>Stooping as low as possible, I advanced till very near the -bank (upon which grew tufts of grass), when, by slowly -raising my head, I could observe the head of the crocodile -in the same position, not more than twenty-six or twenty-eight -yards from me. At that distance my rifle could hit -a half-crown; I therefore made sure of bagging. The bank -was about four feet above the water; thus the angle was -favorable, and I aimed just behind the eye. Almost as I -touched the trigger, the crocodile gave a convulsive start, -and turning slowly on its back, it stretched its four legs -above the surface, straining every muscle. It then -remained motionless in water about two feet deep.</p> - -<p>My horse was always furnished with a long halter or -tethering-rope. So I ordered two men to jump into the -river and secure the crocodile by a rope fastened round -the body behind the fore-legs. This was quickly accomplished, -and the men remained knee-deep, hauling upon the -rope to prevent the stream from carrying away the body. -In the meantime an attendant had mounted my horse and -galloped off to the camp for assistance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> - -<p>Crocodiles are very tenacious of life; and although -they may be shot through the brain, and be actually dead -for all practical purposes, they will remain motionless at -first; but they will begin instinctively to move the limbs -and tail a few minutes after receiving the shot. If lying -upon a sand-bank, or in deep water, they would generally -disappear unless secured by a rope, as the spasmodic -movements of the limbs and tail would act upon the water, -and the body would be carried away.</p> - -<p>The crocodile, which had appeared stone dead, now -began to move its tail, and my two men who were holding -on to the rope cried out that it was still alive. It was in -vain that I assured the frightened fellows that it was dead. -I was on the bank, and they were in the water within a -few feet of the crocodile, which made some difference in -our ideas of its vivacity. Presently the creature really -began to struggle, and the united efforts of the men could -hardly restrain it from getting into deeper water.</p> - -<p>The monster now began to yawn, which so terrified the -men that they would have dropped the rope and fled had -they not been afraid of the consequences, as I was -addressing them rather forcibly from the bank. I put -another shot through the shoulder of the struggling -monster, which appeared to act as a narcotic until the -arrival of the soldiers with ropes. No sooner was the -crocodile well secured than it began to struggle violently. -But a great number of men hauled upon the rope; and -when it was safely landed, I gave it a blow with a sharp -ax on the back of the neck, which killed it by dividing -the spine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was now dragged along the turf until we reached the -camp, where it was carefully measured with a tape, and -showed an exact length of twelve feet three inches from -snout to end of tail. The stomach contained about five -pounds’ weight of pebbles, as though it had fed upon flesh -resting upon a gravel bank, and had swallowed the pebbles -that had adhered. Mixed with the pebbles was a greenish -slimy matter that appeared woolly.</p> - -<p>In the midst of this were three undeniable witnesses -that convicted the crocodile of wilful murder. A necklace -and two armlets, such as are worn by the negro girls, were -taken from the stomach! This was an old malefactor -that was a good riddance.</p> - -<p>I have frequently seen crocodiles upwards of eighteen -feet in length, and there can be little doubt that they -sometimes exceed twenty; but a very small creature of -this species may carry away a man while swimming.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXVI_PRAYER" id="LXVI_PRAYER"></a>LXVI.—PRAYER.</h2> - -<p class="author">James Montgomery.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Uttered, or unexpressed;</div> -<div class="verse">The motion of a hidden fire</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That trembles in the breast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Prayer is the burthen of a sigh,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The falling of a tear,</div> -<div class="verse">The upward glancing of the eye,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">When none but God is near.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Prayer is the simplest form of speech</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That infant lips can try;</div> -<div class="verse">Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The Majesty on high.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Returning from his ways,</div> -<div class="verse">While angels in their songs rejoice,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And cry, Behold, he prays!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The Christian’s native air;</div> -<div class="verse">His watchword at the gates of death;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He enters Heaven with prayer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The saints, in prayer, appear as one,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In word, and deed, and mind;</div> -<div class="verse">While with the Father and the Son</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Sweet fellowship they find.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Nor prayer is made by man alone:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The Holy Spirit pleads;</div> -<div class="verse">And Jesus, on the eternal Throne,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For mourners intercedes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O Thou, by whom we come to God!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The Life, the Truth, the Way!</div> -<div class="verse">The path of prayer Thyself hast trod:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Lord! teach us how to pray!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p><i>Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them -that fear Him.—Psalm CIII.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXVII_THE_THERMOMETER" id="LXVII_THE_THERMOMETER"></a>LXVII.—THE THERMOMETER.</h2> - -<p>All substances produce in us, when we touch them, the -sensation of heat or of cold. The degree of heat of any -substance is called its temperature; and the temperature -varies from time to time, according to circumstances. -Boiling water, for example, contains so much heat that -it scalds the skin; but, when removed from the fire, the -water gradually becomes less and less warm, until at last -it contains so little heat that it cools the hand instead of -scalding it.</p> - -<p>Our feelings do not always give us true information -about the temperature of the bodies by which we are -surrounded. A person comes into a warm room from the -open air on a cold day, and exclaims, “How warm it is -here!” Another person enters the same room from one -still warmer, and cries, “How cold it is here!” The -first person gains heat, and therefore calls the room -warm; the second loses heat, and calls it cold; while, in -reality, the air of the room, all the while, is at the same -degree of temperature.</p> - -<p>A nurse prepares water for a child’s bath, and measures -the heat by the feeling of her hand; but she learns from -the quick and sudden cry of the child, when placed in the -bath, that what seemed warm to her is cold to the child.</p> - -<p>These examples show that our sensations are not always -a true test of temperature; and thus, if we wish to -measure heat and cold accurately, we must have some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -instrument made for the purpose. Such an instrument -we have: it is called a thermometer, a word which means -heat-measurer.</p> - -<p>It was long ago noticed that bodies expand, or swell -out, when they are heated; and that they contract, or -shrink into less bulk, when they are cooled. This observation -led to the construction of the thermometer; for to -measure the expansion or contraction of a substance is -the same as to measure the quantity of heat that has -produced this effect.</p> - -<p>The thermometer consists of a small glass tube of very -fine bore and ending in a hollow bulb. The bulb is -entirely filled with a fluid metal, called mercury, or -quicksilver, which rises or falls in the tube according as -it is heated or cooled. The space in the tube above the -mercury is empty: it does not even contain air; for in -preparing the instrument, sufficient heat is applied to the -bulb to make the fluid, by expansion, fill the whole tube, -which is then closely sealed at the upper end by melting -the glass: the mercury sinks as it cools, and leaves the -space empty.</p> - -<p>The tube is fastened to a metal or wooden plate, marked -so as to measure the expansion of the mercury. This is -called the scale, and the divisions upon it are called -degrees. The degrees are counted upwards from the -bottom, and are expressed by placing a small circle over -the number. There are three different scales in use; -that commonly used in this country is called Fahrenheit’s -scale, from the name of the inventor.</p> - -<p>When the tube of the thermometer is immersed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -melting ice or freezing water, the upper surface of the -mercury stands always at the same point, which is called -the <i>freezing point of water</i>. On Fahrenheit’s thermometer -this point is marked 32°. Again, when the bulb is held -in the steam of boiling water, the mercury rises to a fixed -point, which is called the <i>boiling point of water</i>, and is -marked 212°. All bodies that are as hot as boiling water, -raise the mercury to 212°; and all bodies that are as cold -as freezing water, make the mercury shrink to 32°. The -space between these two points is divided into 180 -equal parts, each being called a degree. Similar equal -divisions are carried below the point marked 32°, till 0° -is reached, and this last point is called <i>zero</i>.</p> - -<p>The tube of the thermometer may contain some other -fluid than mercury; but, as this metal is in every respect -well fitted for the purpose, it is most generally used in -construction of the instrument.</p> - -<p>The thermometer is one of the most useful inventions -of science. It enables travellers to compare the climates -of different countries, and to give us, who stay at home, -a distinct idea of them. It is also necessary in the arts: -it enables workmen to apply the exact amount of heat -required in delicate operations, where a little excess might -spoil the whole work.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>scald´ing (<i>skawld-´</i>)</li> -<li>Mer´cu-ry</li> -<li>in-vĕnt´or</li> -<li>dĕl´i-cate</li> -<li>im-mersed (<i>im-merst´</i>)</li> -<li>sen-sā´tions</li> -<li>sur-round´ed</li> -<li>fast´ened (<i>fas´snd</i>)</li> -<li>in´stru-ment</li> -<li>con-trac´tion</li> -<li>ex-păn´sion (<i>eks-păn´shun</i>)</li> -<li>op-er-a´tions</li> -<li>Fah´ren-heīt</li> -<li>ther-mom´e-ter</li> -<li>tem´per-a-tūre</li> -<li>con-struc´tion</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXVIII_GOLDEN_DEEDS" id="LXVIII_GOLDEN_DEEDS"></a>LXVIII.—GOLDEN DEEDS.</h2> - -<p>What is a golden deed? It is something which we do -for the good of others when we think more of them than -we do of ourselves. And it is called <i>golden</i>, because the -rarest and most precious things in all the world are the -acts of unselfish men.</p> - -<p>Let me tell you the story of a golden deed that was -performed by Sir Philip Sidney. This brave English -knight was fighting in the Netherlands, to help the Dutch -in their struggle for liberty against the tyrant, Philip of -Spain. In a fierce battle he was struck by a musket ball, -which broke his thigh-bone. Thirsty and faint from loss -of blood, he called for water.</p> - -<p>He had just raised the cup to his lips, when his eye fell -on a poor, dying soldier, who was looking longingly at the -cool drink. Without so much as tasting it, Sidney handed -the cup to the poor fellow with these words: “<i>Thy -necessity is greater than mine.</i>”</p> - -<p>Here is the story of another golden deed. A little boy, -named Peter, who lived in Holland a long time ago, -was once on his way home late in the evening, when -he became alarmed at hearing water trickling through -a sluice or gate in one of the many dikes which are so -necessary for the safety of that country; for you must -know that Holland is so flat and low that it is in constant -danger of finding itself under water.</p> - -<p>He stopped and thought of what would happen if the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -hole were not closed. He had often heard his father tell -of the sad disasters which had come from such small -beginnings as this—how, in a few hours, the little aperture -gradually enlarged until the whole defence was -washed away, and the rolling, dashing, angry sea rushed -in, and swept on to the next village, destroying life and -property. Should he run home and alarm the villagers, -it would be dark before they could arrive; and the hole, -even then, might become so large as to defy all attempts -to close. What could he do to prevent such a terrible -ruin—he, only a little boy? He sat down on the bank -of the canal, stopped the opening with his hand, and -patiently awaited the passing of a villager. But no one -came. Hour after hour rolled by, yet there sat the -heroic boy, in cold and darkness, shivering, wet, and -tired, but stoutly pressing his hand against the water -that was trying to pass the dangerous breach. The -remainder of the story is thus told by an American poet, -Miss Phœbe Cary:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He thinks of his brother and sister</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Asleep in their safe, warm bed;</div> -<div class="verse">He thinks of his father and mother,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of himself as dying—and dead;</div> -<div class="verse">And of how, when the night is over,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They must come and find him at last:</div> -<div class="verse">But he never thinks he can leave the place</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where duty holds him fast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The good dame in the cottage</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Is up and astir with the light,</div> -<div class="verse">For the thought of her little Peter</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Has been with her all the night.</div> -<div class="verse">And now she watches the pathway,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As yester eve she had done;</div> -<div class="verse">But what does she see so strange and black</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Against the rising sun?</div> -<div class="verse">Her neighbors bearing between them</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Something straight to her door;</div> -<div class="verse">Her child is coming home, but not</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As he ever came before!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“He is dead!” she cries; “my darling!”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the startled father hears,</div> -<div class="verse">And comes and looks the way she looks,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And fears the thing she fears:</div> -<div class="verse">Till a glad shout from the bearers</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thrills the stricken man and wife—</div> -<div class="verse">“Give thanks, for your son has saved our land,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And God has saved his life!”</div> -<div class="verse">So there in the morning sunshine</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They knelt about the boy,</div> -<div class="verse">And every head was bared and bent,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In tearful, reverent joy.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Tis many a year since then; but still,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When the sea roars like a flood,</div> -<div class="verse">Their boys are taught what a boy can do,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Who is brave, and true, and good;</div> -<div class="verse">For every man in that country</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Takes his son by the hand,</div> -<div class="verse">And tells him of little Peter,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Whose courage saved the land.</div> -<div class="verse">They have many a valiant hero,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Remembered through the years,</div> -<div class="verse">But never one whose name so oft</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Is named with loving tears.</div> -<div class="verse">And his deed shall be sung by the cradle,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And told to the child on the knee,</div> -<div class="verse">As long as the dikes of Holland</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Divide the land from the sea.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Now let us hear of a golden deed done more than two -thousand years ago—a deed that has made the names of -Damon and Pythias famous for ever.</p> - -<p>In Syracuse there was so hard a ruler that the people -made a plot to drive him out of the city. The plot was -discovered, and the king commanded that the leaders -should be put to death. One of these, named Damon, -lived at some distance from Syracuse. He asked that -before he was put to death, he might be allowed to go -home to say good-bye to his family, promising that he -would then come back to die, at the appointed time.</p> - -<p>The king did not believe that he would keep his word, -and said, “I will not let you go unless you find some -friend who will come and stay in your place. Then, if -you are not back on the day set for execution, I shall put -your friend to death in your stead.” The king thought -to himself, “Surely no one will ever take the place of a -man condemned to death.”</p> - -<p>Now, Damon had a very dear friend named Pythias, -who at once came forward and offered to stay in prison -while Damon was allowed to go away. The king was -very much surprised, but he had given his word; Damon -was therefore permitted to leave for home, while Pythias -was shut up in prison.</p> - -<p>Many days passed,—the time for the execution was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -close at hand, and Damon had not come back. The king, -curious to see how Pythias would behave, now that death -seemed so near, went to the prison. “Your friend will -never return,” he said to Pythias.</p> - -<p>“You are wrong,” was the answer. “Damon will be -here if he can possibly come. But he has to travel by sea, -and the winds have been blowing the wrong way for -several days. However, it is much better that I should -die than he. I have no wife and no children, and I love -my friend so well that it would be easier to die for him -than to live without him. So I am hoping and praying -that he may be delayed until my head has fallen.”</p> - -<p>The king went away more puzzled than ever. The -fatal day arrived. Still Damon had not come, and Pythias -was brought forward and mounted the scaffold. “My -prayers are heard,” he cried. “I shall be permitted to -die for my friend. But mark my words. Damon is -faithful and true; you will yet have reason to know that -he has done his utmost to be here.”</p> - -<p>Just at this moment a man came galloping up at full -speed, on a horse covered with foam! It was Damon. -In an instant he was on the scaffold, and had Pythias in -his arms. “My beloved friend,” he cried, “the gods be -praised that you are safe. What agony have I suffered in -the fear that my delay was putting your life in danger!”</p> - -<p>There was no joy in the face of Pythias, for he did not -care to live if his friend must die. But the king had -heard all. At last he was forced to believe in the unselfish -friendship of these two. His hard heart melted at -the sight, and he set them both<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> free, asking only that -they would be his friends also.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXIX_BY_COOL_SILOAMS_SHADY_RILL" id="LXIX_BY_COOL_SILOAMS_SHADY_RILL"></a>LXIX.—BY COOL SILOAM’S SHADY RILL.</h2> - -<p class="author">Reginald Heber.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">By cool Siloam’s shady rill</div> -<div class="verse indent2">How sweet the lily grows!</div> -<div class="verse">How sweet the breath beneath the hill</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of Sharon’s dewy rose!</div> -<div class="verse">Lo! such the child whose early feet</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The paths of peace have trod,</div> -<div class="verse">Whose secret heart with influence sweet</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Is upward drawn to God!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">By cool Siloam’s shady rill</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The lily must decay;</div> -<div class="verse">The rose that blooms beneath the hill</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Must shortly fade away.</div> -<div class="verse">And soon, too soon, the wintry hour</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of man’s maturer age</div> -<div class="verse">Will shake the soul with sorrow’s power,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And stormy passion’s rage!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O thou, whose infant feet were found</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Within thy Father’s shrine!</div> -<div class="verse">Whose years with changeless virtue crowned</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Were all alike divine!</div> -<div class="verse">Dependent on thy bounteous breath,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">We seek thy grace alone,</div> -<div class="verse">In childhood, manhood, age, and death,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To keep us still thy own!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p><i>Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of -that man is peace.—Psalm XXXVII.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXX_AGE_OF_TREES" id="LXX_AGE_OF_TREES"></a>LXX.—AGE OF TREES.</h2> - -<p>Man counts his life by years; the oak by centuries. -At one hundred years of age, the tree is but a sapling; at -five hundred, it is mature and strong; at six hundred, the -gigantic king of the greenwood begins to feel the touch -of Time; but the decline is as slow as the growth was, -and the sturdy old tree rears its proud head and reckons -centuries of old age just as it reckoned centuries of youth.</p> - -<p>It has been said that the patriarch of the forest laughs -at history. Is it not true? Perhaps when the balmy -zephyrs stir the trees, the leaves whisper strange stories -to one another. The oaks, and the pines, and their brethren -of the wood, have seen so many suns rise and set, so -many seasons come and go, and so many generations pass -into silence, that we may well wonder what the “story of -the trees” would be to us, if they had tongues to tell it, or -we ears fine enough to understand.</p> - -<p>“The king of white oak trees,” says a letter-writer in -the year 1883, “has been chopped down and taken to the -saw-mill. It was five hundred and twenty-five years old, -and made six twelve-foot logs, the first one being six feet -in diameter and weighing seven tons.” What a giant -that oak-tree must have been, and what changes in this -land of ours it must have witnessed! It looked upon the -forest when the red man ruled there alone; it was more -than a century old when Columbus landed in the New -World; and to that good age it added nearly four centuries -before the ax of the woodman laid it low.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p> - -<p>Yet, venerable as this “king of white oak trees” was, -it was but an infant, compared -with other monarchs of the -Western solitudes. One California -pine, cut down about -1855, was, according to very -good authority, eleven hundred -and twenty years old; -and many of its neighbors in -its native grove are no less -ancient than it was. Who -shall presume, then, to fix the -age of the hoary trees that -still rear their stalwart frames -in the unexplored depths of -American wildernesses.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 315px;"> -<img src="images/p189.jpg" width="315" height="500" alt="Tall trees" /> -</div> - -<p>In England there are still in -existence many trees that serve -to link the far-off past with -the living present. Some of -them were witnesses of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -fierce struggles between Norman -and Saxon when William the Conqueror planted his -standard—“the three bannered lions of Normandy old”—upon -English soil. Then there is the King’s Oak, at -Windsor, which, tradition informs us, was a great favorite -with William, when that bold Norman first enclosed the -forest for a royal hunting-ground.</p> - -<p>The Conqueror loved to sit in the shade of the lofty, -spreading tree, and muse—upon what? Who knows what -fancies filled his brain, what feelings stirred his proud -spirit, what memories, what regrets, thrilled his heart, as -he sat there in the solitude? Over eight hundred years -have rolled away since the Norman usurper fought the -sturdy Saxon, and, for conqueror as for conquered, life, -and its ambitions, and its pangs, ended long ago; but the -mighty oak, whose greenness and beauty were a delight -to the Conqueror, still stands in Windsor Forest. Eight -centuries ago its royal master saw it a “goodly tree.” -How old is it now?</p> - -<p>Older even than this, are the oaks near Croydon, nine -miles south of London. If the botanist may judge by the -usual evidences of age, these trees saw the glitter of the -Roman spears as the legions of the Empire wound their -way through the forest-paths or in the green open spaces -in the woodland. Now, the Roman legions left Britain -fourteen centuries ago, having been summoned home to -Rome because the Empire was in danger,—in fact, was -hastening to its fall. How wonderful, if fourteen centuries -have spared these oaks at Croydon!</p> - -<p>There is a famous yew that must not go without notice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -in our record of ancient trees. This venerable tree stands -in its native field, ever green and enduring, as if the years -had forgotten it. Yet it was two centuries old when, in -the adjacent meadow, King John signed Magna Charta. -If we bear in mind that in 1215, the stout English barons -compelled their wicked king to sign the Great Charter, -protecting the rights of his subjects, we may conclude -that this patriarch-yew is at least eight hundred and fifty -years old.</p> - -<p>The Parliament Oak—so called because it is said that -Edward I., who ruled England from 1272 to 1307, once -held a Parliament under its branches—is believed to be -fifteen hundred years old. If Fine-Ear, of the fairy-tale, -could come and translate for us the whispers of these -ancient English trees, and tell us ever so little of what -the stately monarchs of the wood have seen, what new -histories might be written, what old chronicles reversed!</p> - -<p>On the mountains of Lebanon, a few of the cedars, -famous in sacred and in profane history, yet remain. One -of these relics of the past has been estimated to be three -thousand five hundred years old. The patriarchs of the -English forests cannot, then, so far as age is considered, -claim equal rank with the “cedars of Lebanon.” But the -baobab, or “monkey-bread,” of Senegal, must take the -first rank among long-lived trees. Even the “goodly -trees” of Lebanon must, if ordinary proofs can be trusted, -yield the palm to their African rival.</p> - -<p>An eminent French botanist of the eighteenth century, -whose discoveries in natural history are of great interest -to the world of science, lived some years in Senegal, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -had ample opportunity to observe and study the wonderful -baobab. He saw several trees of this species growing, -and from the most careful calculations, he formed his -opinion as to the age of some of these African wonders. -One baobab, which even in its decay measured one hundred -and nine feet in circumference, he believed to be -more than five thousand years old. Truly, the patriarchs -of the forest laugh at history.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXI_ROCK_ME_TO_SLEEP" id="LXXI_ROCK_ME_TO_SLEEP"></a>LXXI.—ROCK ME TO SLEEP.</h2> - -<p class="author">Elizabeth Akers Allen.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,</div> -<div class="verse">Make me a child again, just for to-night;</div> -<div class="verse">Mother, come back from the echoless shore;</div> -<div class="verse">Take me again to your heart as of yore;</div> -<div class="verse">Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care,</div> -<div class="verse">Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair;</div> -<div class="verse">Over my slumbers your loving watch keep—</div> -<div class="verse">Rock me to sleep, mother—rock me to sleep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!</div> -<div class="verse">I am so weary of toil and of tears—</div> -<div class="verse">Toil without recompense—tears all in vain—</div> -<div class="verse">Take them and give me my childhood again!</div> -<div class="verse">I have grown weary of dust and decay—</div> -<div class="verse">Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away;</div> -<div class="verse">Weary of sowing for others to reap—</div> -<div class="verse">Rock me to sleep, mother—rock me to sleep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you.</div> -<div class="verse">Many a summer the grass has grown green,</div> -<div class="verse">Blossomed and faded, our faces between;</div> -<div class="verse">Yet with strong yearning and passionate pain</div> -<div class="verse">Long I to-night for your presence again.</div> -<div class="verse">Come from the silence, so long and so deep—</div> -<div class="verse">Rock me to sleep, mother—rock me to sleep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Over my heart, in the days that are flown,</div> -<div class="verse">No love like mother-love ever has shone;</div> -<div class="verse">No other worship abides and endures—</div> -<div class="verse">Faithful, unselfish, and patient like yours;</div> -<div class="verse">None like a mother can charm away pain</div> -<div class="verse">From the sick soul and the world-weary brain.</div> -<div class="verse">Slumber’s soft calms o’er my heavy lids creep—</div> -<div class="verse">Rock me to sleep, mother—rock me to sleep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Come, let your brown hair, just lighted with gold,</div> -<div class="verse">Fall on your shoulders, again, as of old;</div> -<div class="verse">Let it drop over my forehead to-night,</div> -<div class="verse">Shading my faint eyes away from the light;</div> -<div class="verse">For with its sunny-edged shadows once more</div> -<div class="verse">Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore;</div> -<div class="verse">Lovingly, softly, its bright billows sweep;—</div> -<div class="verse">Rock me to sleep, mother—rock me to sleep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Mother, dear mother, the years have been long</div> -<div class="verse">Since I last listened your lullaby song;</div> -<div class="verse">Sing, then, and unto my soul it shall seem</div> -<div class="verse">Womanhood’s years have been only a dream.</div> -<div class="verse">Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace,</div> -<div class="verse">With your light lashes just sweeping my face,</div> -<div class="verse">Never hereafter to wake or to weep—</div> -<div class="verse">Rock me to sleep, mother—rock me to sleep.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXII_HEAT_CONDUCTION_AND" id="LXXII_HEAT_CONDUCTION_AND"></a>LXXII.—HEAT:—CONDUCTION AND -RADIATION.</h2> - -<p>In a former lesson you read a description of the thermometer, -a useful instrument which enables us to estimate -the temperature, or sensible heat, of substances.</p> - -<p>All bodies, even the coldest, contain heat; and they -have also a tendency to part with their heat to colder -substances around them, until all have the same temperature. -Thus, when you lay your hand on a block of iron -or marble, heat leaves your hand to enter the less warm -material and raise its temperature; and it is this abstraction -of heat that produces in you the sensation of cold.</p> - -<p>There is, then, a constant communication or transmission -of heat from one body to another. This communication -is effected chiefly in two ways—by <i>conduction</i> and -by <i>radiation</i>. In conduction, the bodies are in contact; -in radiation, they are at some distance apart.</p> - -<p>If you push one end of a cold poker into the fire, that -end will soon become warm, and the heat will be propagated -from particle to particle through the poker, until -the end most distant from the fire becomes too hot to be -touched without injury. This mode of transmission is -called conduction. Different substances possess this -power in very different degrees. Thus, if instead of a -poker you thrust into the fire a bar of wood of equal -length and thickness, you will find that, even when the -inserted end is in flames, the other remains comparatively<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -cold, and may be handled with impunity. Hence we say -that iron is a <i>good</i> conductor, and wood a <i>bad</i> conductor -of heat.</p> - -<p>The conducting power of bodies depends in a great -measure on the closeness of their particles—dense, solid -substances being much better conductors than those -which are light and porous. The metals are the best -conductors, but they differ very much among themselves. -The best is silver; the others stand in this respect in the -following order—copper, gold, brass, tin, iron, steel, lead.</p> - -<p>You will now understand why metals feel cold to the -touch: it is because, being good conductors, they carry -the heat rapidly away from that part of our body with -which they are in contact.</p> - -<p>Among the bad conductors of heat are fur, wool, cotton, -silk, and linen; straw, paper, feathers, wood, earth, snow, -water, and air; and loose bodies, such as sawdust and -shavings, which contain a large amount of air in the -spaces between their particles.</p> - -<p>Our clothing, as you know, is made of wool, cotton, or -linen. Can you tell why such materials are selected for -the purpose? It is not, as many ignorant people suppose, -because they are best adapted to <i>impart</i> warmth. The -true reason is that, being bad conductors, they prevent -the cold air and other objects around us from robbing us -of the heat which is produced within our bodies.</p> - -<p>When once you understand what is meant by conduction -of heat, and can distinguish between substances -which are good conductors and those which are not, you -will be able to give a reason for many facts that must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -appear strange to every one who does not possess such -information. A little reflection, for instance, will enable -you to explain why a linen garment feels colder to the -skin than one made of cotton or wool; why a silver spoon -becomes hot when the bowl is left for a few minutes in a -cup of hot liquid; why a metal tea-pot or kettle is commonly -furnished with a handle of wood or ivory; why -ice may be preserved by being wrapped in flannel or -covered with sawdust; why a pump, in frosty weather, -should be encased in straw or matting; and why the -farmer welcomes the snow, and regards it as a protection -to his crops.</p> - -<p>Every warm body has the power of sending out rays of -heat, as a luminous body gives out rays of light. This -mode of communicating heat is called <i>radiation</i>, and -it serves, as we shall see, a very important purpose in -the economy of nature.</p> - -<p>When you stand before a fire, heat-rays stream forth -from the burning fuel, and create in you the sensation of -warmth. In this case, the heat of the fire is communicated -to you, not by conduction, but by radiation.</p> - -<p>Everything in nature is constantly radiating heat from -its surface. If a body be surrounded by objects hotter -than itself, it becomes heated by radiation; if it be -exposed to the influence of objects colder than itself, it -becomes cooled by radiation; and if the objects around it -are neither hotter nor colder than itself, its temperature -remains unaltered.</p> - -<p>But though all bodies radiate heat, they have not all the -same radiating power. Some substances possess this power<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -in a far greater degree than others. The metals, though -they are the best conductors, are the worst radiators. -This is particularly the case when they are polished. Dull, -dark substances, and especially those which have a rough -or scratched surface, are good radiators; light-colored -and smooth substances, on the other hand, are bad radiators; -and this explains why, as every good housewife -knows, a polished metal tea-pot keeps tea warmer than a -black earthen one—it does not part with its heat so -readily.</p> - -<p>Bodies which radiate freely have the power in an equal -degree of <i>absorbing</i> heat; that is, they are as ready to -take it in, as they are to throw it out again. Dark substances, -therefore, must be good absorbers, as they are -good radiators of heat. A very simple experiment will -illustrate this fact very clearly. If you spread upon snow, -in a place exposed to the sunbeams, two pieces of cloth of -the same texture, one black and the other white, you will -find, after some time, that under the black cloth the snow -has been melted, but under the white cloth it remains as -it was at first. The black material has been heated -quickly and intensely; the white has not been heated at -all: the former has <i>absorbed</i> the sun’s rays; the latter -has <i>reflected</i> them.</p> - -<p>The laws of absorption and radiation enable us to -explain many curious facts. Thus, dark-colored clothes -are cold in the shade, because they are then radiating heat -from our bodies; but they are warm in the sunshine, -because they are then absorbing the heat that falls upon -them from the sun. On the other hand, light colored<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -clothes are warm in the shade, and cool in the sunshine. -Again, a dish-cover or metal tea-pot is kept as brightly -polished as possible, in order to prevent the escape of the -heat by radiation; a black earthenware tea-pot, on the -contrary, has a dull and dark surface, so that it may be -placed on the hob and absorb the heat. So, too, if a kettle -is to heat quickly, the bottom and sides should be covered -with soot, to absorb the heat; while the upper part -should be bright, to prevent radiation.</p> - -<p>It is radiation, also, that accounts for the deposition of -dew. It is a common error to suppose that dew falls in -the same manner as rain or mist, only in much finer -particles. Dew, in fact, does not fall, but is formed on -the surface of bodies by the condensation of the moisture -of the atmosphere.</p> - -<p>The air around us contains at all times a quantity of -moisture in the form of vapor. Now this vapor has -been formed from water by the action of heat; and it may -again be turned into water by being brought in contact -with objects that are cold. And this is just what takes -place in the formation of dew. When the sun has set, -the trees and grass and other objects on the earth’s surface -immediately begin to radiate the heat which they -have absorbed from its beams during the day. The best -radiators, of course, become cool most rapidly, and quickly -condense the vapor that floats in the air around them; -and in the morning we find those objects which radiate -freely, such as blades of grass, leaves of plants, and floating -cobwebs, covered with this condensed vapor in the -form of glittering dewdrops.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - -<p>Clouds, in a great measure, prevent radiation, and -hence the dew will be most plentiful on a clear and cloudless -night. If the radiation continues till the temperature -of the ground is very low, the dew freezes as it is deposited -and forms <i>hoar-frost</i>.</p> - -<p>You may see a smooth road or gravel walk quite dry -in the morning, while the grass or box by its side is -thickly coated with moisture. Why is this? It is -simply because the road or walk is a bad radiator and -cools slowly, while the grass and box, being good radiators, -become rapidly cold and condense the vapor of the -passing air into dew.</p> - -<p>Thus by a wise arrangement, the cultivated fields -receive an abundance of precious moisture, while not a -drop is wasted on the bare rock, or the sterile sands of -the desert.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>ster´ĭle</li> -<li>precious (<i>prĕsh´us</i>)</li> -<li>ĭg´no-rant</li> -<li>rā-di-ā´tion</li> -<li>pō´rous</li> -<li>il-lŭs´trāte</li> -<li>ăt´mos-phēre (<i>ăt´mos-fēr</i>)</li> -<li>text´ure (<i>tekst´yure</i>)</li> -<li>par´ti-cle</li> -<li>sen-sā´tion</li> -<li>se-lĕct´ed</li> -<li>dep-o-sĭ´tion (<i>-zĭsh´un</i>)</li> -<li>trăns-mis´sion (<i>trăns-mish´un</i>)</li> -<li>e-cŏn´o-my</li> -<li>lū´mi-noŭs</li> -<li>ab-sorb´ing</li> -<li>in´flu-ence</li> -<li>cŏn-dŭc´tion</li> -<li>ar-rānge´ment</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Have a <i>tendency to part</i> with their heat.—2. Constant -communication.—3. Heat will be <i>propagated</i>.—4. May be -<i>handled</i> with <i>impunity</i>.—5. Adapted to impart warmth.—6. -Regards it as a protection.—7. Exposed to the influence.—8. -Remains unaltered.—9. A simple experiment.—10. Heated -<i>intensely</i>.—11. Immediately begin to radiate.—12. Thickly -coated with moisture.—13. Wise arrangement.—14. Cultivated -fields.—15. Precious moisture.—16. <i>Wasted</i> on the <i>bare</i> rock.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXIII_WHEN_ALL_THY_MERCIES" id="LXXIII_WHEN_ALL_THY_MERCIES"></a>LXXIII.—WHEN ALL THY MERCIES, -O MY GOD.</h2> - -<p class="author">Joseph Addison.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When all Thy mercies, O my God,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My rising soul surveys,</div> -<div class="verse">Transported with the view, I’m lost</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In wonder, love, and praise.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O how shall words with equal warmth</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The gratitude declare,</div> -<div class="verse">That glows within my ravished heart!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But Thou canst read it there.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thy Providence my life sustained,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And all my wants redressed,</div> -<div class="verse">When in the silent womb I lay,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And hung upon the breast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">To all my weak complaints and cries,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thy mercy lent an ear,</div> -<div class="verse">Ere yet my feeble thoughts had learnt</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To form themselves in prayer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Unnumbered comforts to my soul</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thy tender care bestowed,</div> -<div class="verse">Before my infant heart conceived</div> -<div class="verse indent2">From whence these comforts flowed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When in the slippery paths of youth,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With heedless steps I ran,</div> -<div class="verse">Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">And led me up to man.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Through hidden dangers, toils, and death,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">It gently cleared my way;</div> -<div class="verse">And through the pleasing snares of vice,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">More to be feared than they.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With health renewed my face;</div> -<div class="verse">And when in sins and sorrows sunk,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Revived my soul with grace.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thy bounteous hand with worldly bliss</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Has made my cup run o’er;</div> -<div class="verse">And in a kind and faithful friend</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Has doubled all my store.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ten thousand thousand precious gifts</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My daily thanks employ;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor is the least a cheerful heart,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That tastes those gifts with joy.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Through every period of my life</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thy goodness I’ll pursue;</div> -<div class="verse">And after death, in distant worlds,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The glorious theme renew.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When nature fails, and day and night</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Divide thy works no more,</div> -<div class="verse">My ever-grateful heart, O Lord,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thy mercy shall adore.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Through all eternity, to Thee</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A joyful song I’ll raise:</div> -<div class="verse">But O! eternity’s too short</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To utter all thy praise!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXIV_CANADIAN_TREES" id="LXXIV_CANADIAN_TREES"></a>LXXIV.—CANADIAN TREES.</h2> - -<p class="author">James Brown, LL.D.</p> - -<h3>FIRST READING.—SOFT WOODS.</h3> - -<p>The principal evergreen, or cone-bearing trees, natives -of Canada, are <i>Pines</i>, <i>Firs</i>, and <i>Thujas</i>.</p> - -<p>As every one cannot distinguish a Pine from a Fir, -this lesson is illustrated with drawings, showing the -peculiar character of each, so that any boy or girl may -be able, when looking at a cone-bearing tree, to decide -whether it is a Pine or a Fir.</p> - -<p>Fig. 1 represents a -small piece of the twig -of a White Pine. On -examination it will be -seen that the leaves -are needle-shaped, and -spring from the young -shoot in little tufts -of fives, all issuing -from one point. This -arrangement and form -of the leaf are peculiar to Pines, and should be kept in -mind when examining a tree, in order to know whether -it is a Pine or a Fir. Every Pine tree, however, has not -<i>five</i> leaves issuing from one point; some have only two, -and there are others, again, that have three.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;"> -<img src="images/fig1.jpg" width="200" height="173" alt="Twig of the White Pine" /> -<p class="caption">Fig. 1.</p> -</div> - -<p>Fig. 2 represents a twig of the Hemlock Spruce Fir, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -tree well-known to nearly every young person in Canada. -Looking at this illustration, we at once observe that -the leaves are distributed <i>singly</i> on -the young shoot, and stand out in -two rows. In the case of a few -species of Fir, however, the leaves -are not thus arranged, but are scattered -all round the twigs, being stiff -and pointed, as shown in Fig. 3, -which represents a twig of the common -Black Spruce Fir. In all cases, -Firs have their leaves springing -<i>singly</i> from the twigs, an arrangement -by which any child can distinguish them from Pines.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 136px;"> -<img src="images/fig2.jpg" width="136" height="200" alt="Twig of the Hemlock Spruce Fir" /> -<p class="caption">Fig. 2.</p> -</div> - -<p>Of all our native trees, Pines are considered -the most valuable, as their timber -can be used for almost every purpose for -which wood is required, especially for -house-building, ship-building, fencing, -and railway construction. The two principal -species are the White and the Red -Pine.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/fig3.jpg" width="100" height="200" alt="Twig of the Black Spruce Fir" /> -<p class="caption">Fig. 3.</p> -</div> - -<p>The White Pine is one of the grandest -trees of our Canadian forests. It -grows to very large proportions on dry, -gravelly lands, where it is not crowded by other -trees. We often find individual pine trees rising to the -height of 200 feet, with stems from four to six feet in -diameter near the ground; but in general they may be -said to reach 150 feet, with a diameter of about three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -feet. In the earlier settled parts of the country, the best -and largest trees of this species were cut down long ago; -but thousands of fine specimens are still to be met with -in the backwoods.</p> - -<p>The Red Pine does not grow to so large a size as the -White, nor is it found so plentifully in our forests. It is -to be met with only on dry, gravelly knolls, and in rocky -parts of the country, generally in patches of small extent, -and seldom among other trees. Its timber is of the best -description, and is much sought after by lumbermen. -Owing to this cause it is now comparatively scarce. All -Pines are reared from seeds, which may be found ripe in -their cones in the month of November.</p> - -<p>Although our Fir trees are, generally speaking, not so -important as our Pines, still, there are two or three of -them well worthy of being brought under notice here, -particularly the Douglas Fir, the Hemlock Spruce Fir, -the common Black Spruce Fir, and the Balsam Fir.</p> - -<p>The Douglas Fir is not found in the woods east of the -Rocky Mountains, but it grows in the immense forests of -British Columbia to heights varying from 150 to 250 feet, -with trunks from three to ten feet in diameter. A -peculiar feature of this Fir is, that the bark on old trees -is found from ten to fourteen inches thick. Where full -grown, this grand Fir usually stands apart from other -trees, and forms a majestic object in the landscape, being -clothed with horizontal branches from the base to the -top. The timber is exceedingly durable, and in its native -province is much used for general purposes. It is also -exported for ship-masts, the tall,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> clean stems making the -best of material for this purpose.</p> - -<p>The Hemlock Spruce Fir, most young people of Canada -are acquainted with, as it is widely distributed, and found -in many bushes of the country. In open situations, and -on cool-bottomed lands, the Hemlock is a noble tree; -while young it is very graceful in form, and when -approaching maturity its horizontal limbs give it the -appearance of the Cedar of Lebanon. Its timber, however, -is not esteemed so highly as that of the Pine, being -of a loose and open character. But, although this is the -case, it is largely used for rough boarding purposes, as in -building barns, and in making side-walks. The bark of -this tree is valuable for tanning leather.</p> - -<p>The Black Spruce Fir, or <i>Gum Spruce</i>, as it is often -called, is very common on most flat and cool-bottomed -lands in Canada, and also on the banks of lakes and -rivers. It is a tall and beautifully formed tree, having -a dark brown bark, and very dark green leaves. It is -from these characteristics that it derives its name. It -grows to a height varying from 70 to 100 feet, but -the stems seldom attain diameters over two feet at the -bottom. The timber, though light, is very tough and -strong.</p> - -<p>The Balsam is one of the handsomest members of this -family. Commercially it is not of much value, but as an -ornamental tree it is unsurpassed—its regular conical -form, closely set branches, and deep green leaves, rendering -it a conspicuous object in any landscape. The Balsam -seldom exceeds forty or fifty feet in height.</p> - -<p>Although the Firs, like the Pines, are reared from seeds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -which ripen in October and November, they may be grown -from cuttings of the young wood, as rare kinds sometimes -are when their seeds cannot be had.</p> - -<p>The Thuja, or <i>Arbor vitæ</i>, as it is generally called, is a -very useful class of Canadian trees. It grows to a large -size, and is found chiefly on the Pacific slope. There -is only one species which is a native of Ontario, and to it -alone we shall here refer. It is known to most people in -Ontario under the name of the <i>White Cedar</i>. How it came -to be called a <i>Cedar</i> we do not know; but its true name -is the <i>Arbor vitæ</i>. This species is too familiar to the -people of the eastern provinces of Canada to require any -lengthened description, as many farmers have it growing -in the swampy parts of their bushes, and find it useful -for various purposes, especially as rails for fencing.</p> - -<p>The leaves of this tree are so small, that to a casual -observer, they scarcely appear to be leaves. If they are -closely looked at, however, it will be seen that they are -in opposite pairs, and lie flat and pressed on the twigs, -each pair overlapping the other like the shingles on a -house-top. When they are roughly handled, they give -out a strong aromatic smell. The tree, although it grows -to large dimensions—some times to eighty or ninety feet -in height, with stems from two to three feet in diameter—cannot -be considered an ornamental one, as its branches -are too loose and open, and its leaves too small, to give it -a clothed look. Its timber, however, is of the most -valuable description, being very durable, and in this -respect it is not surpassed by any other tree. Much of it -is used for railway ties. The Thujas are all grown from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -seeds, but like the Firs, they may be reared from cuttings.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXV_BINGEN_ON_THE_RHINE" id="LXXV_BINGEN_ON_THE_RHINE"></a>LXXV.—BINGEN ON THE RHINE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Hon. Mrs. Norton.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A soldier of the Legion, lay dying in Algiers;</div> -<div class="verse">There was lack of woman’s nursing, there was dearth of woman’s tears;</div> -<div class="verse">But a comrade stood beside him, while his life-blood ebbed away,</div> -<div class="verse">And bent with pitying glances, to hear what he might say.</div> -<div class="verse">The dying soldier faltered, as he took that comrade’s hand,</div> -<div class="verse">And he said: “I never more shall see my own, my native land;</div> -<div class="verse">Take a message, and a token, to some distant friends of mine,</div> -<div class="verse">For I was born at Bingen,—at Bingen on the Rhine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Tell my brothers and companions, when they meet and crowd around,</div> -<div class="verse">To hear my mournful story, in the pleasant vineyard ground,</div> -<div class="verse">That we fought the battle bravely; and when the day was done,</div> -<div class="verse">Full many a corpse lay ghastly pale, beneath the setting sun.</div> -<div class="verse">And ’mid the dead and dying were some grown old in wars—</div> -<div class="verse">The death-wound on their gallant breasts, the last of many scars;</div> -<div class="verse">But some were young, and suddenly beheld life’s morn decline;</div> -<div class="verse">And one had come from Bingen,—fair Bingen on the Rhine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Tell my mother, that her other sons shall comfort her old age;</div> -<div class="verse">And I was aye a truant bird, that thought his home a cage;</div> -<div class="verse">For my father was a soldier, and, even as a child,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -<div class="verse">My heart leaped forth to hear him tell of struggles fierce and wild;</div> -<div class="verse">And when he died, and left us to divide his scanty hoard,</div> -<div class="verse">I let them take whate’er they would, but kept my father’s sword;</div> -<div class="verse">And with boyish love I hung it, where the bright light used to shine,</div> -<div class="verse">On the cottage wall at Bingen,—calm Bingen on the Rhine!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Tell my sister not to weep for me, and sob with drooping head,</div> -<div class="verse">When the troops are marching home again, with glad and gallant tread;</div> -<div class="verse">But to look upon them proudly, with a calm and steadfast eye,</div> -<div class="verse">For her brother was a soldier too, and not afraid to die.</div> -<div class="verse">And if a comrade seek her love, I ask her in my name,</div> -<div class="verse">To listen to him kindly, without regret or shame;</div> -<div class="verse">And to hang the old sword in its place (my father’s sword and mine),</div> -<div class="verse">For the honor of old Bingen,—dear Bingen on the Rhine!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“There’s another—not a sister;—in the happy days gone by,</div> -<div class="verse">You’d have known her by the merriment that sparkled in her eye;</div> -<div class="verse">Too innocent for coquetry, too fond for idle scorning,—</div> -<div class="verse">O friend, I fear the lightest heart makes sometimes heaviest mourning!</div> -<div class="verse">Tell her the last night of my life,—for ere this moon be risen,</div> -<div class="verse">My body will be out of pain, my soul be out of prison—</div> -<div class="verse">I dreamed I stood with her, and saw the yellow sunlight shine</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -<div class="verse">On the vine-clad hills of Bingen,—fair Bingen on the Rhine!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I saw the blue Rhine sweep along; I heard, or seemed to hear,</div> -<div class="verse">The German songs we used to sing in chorus sweet and clear;</div> -<div class="verse">And down the pleasant river, and up the slanting hill,</div> -<div class="verse">That echoing chorus sounded, through the evening calm and still;</div> -<div class="verse">And her glad blue eyes were on me, as we passed with friendly talk,</div> -<div class="verse">Down many a path beloved of yore, and well-remembered walk;</div> -<div class="verse">And her little hand lay lightly, confidingly in mine,—</div> -<div class="verse">But we’ll meet no more at Bingen,—loved Bingen on the Rhine!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">His voice grew faint and hoarser; his grasp was childish weak;</div> -<div class="verse">His eyes put on a dying look; he sighed, and ceased to speak.</div> -<div class="verse">His comrade bent to lift him, but the spark of life had fled,—</div> -<div class="verse">The soldier of the Legion, in a foreign land—was dead!</div> -<div class="verse">And the soft moon rose up slowly, and calmly she looked down</div> -<div class="verse">On the red sand of the battle-field, with bloody corpses strewn;</div> -<div class="verse">Yea, calmly on that dreadful scene, her pale light seemed to shine,</div> -<div class="verse">As it shone on distant Bingen,—fair Bingen on the Rhine!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>aye (<i>ā</i>)</li> -<li>strewn (<i>strōne</i>)</li> -<li>vĭne´yard (<i>vĭn-</i>)</li> -<li>Le´gion (<i>lee´jun</i>)</li> -<li>Rhine (<i>rīn</i>)</li> -<li>dearth (<i>derth</i>)</li> -<li>Al-giers´ (<i>-jeers´</i>)</li> -<li>co-quĕt´ry (<i>-kĕt´-</i>) (or <i>ko´kĕt-ry</i>)</li> -<li>Bing´en</li> -<li>Ger´man</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1.—A soldier of the <i>Legion</i>.—2. Pitying glances.—3. Take -a <i>token</i>.—4. Ghastly pale.—5. Beheld life’s morn decline.—6. -Aye a truant bird.—7. To divide his scanty hoard.—8. -Gallant tread.—9. A path beloved of yore.—10. <i>Soft</i> moon.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXVI_CANADIAN_TREES" id="LXXVI_CANADIAN_TREES"></a>LXXVI.—CANADIAN TREES.</h2> - -<p class="author">James Brown, LL.D.</p> - -<h3>SECOND READING.—HARD WOODS.</h3> - -<p>Let us now briefly describe the principal varieties of -our Canadian trees which lose their leaves every autumn, -and are therefore called <i>Deciduous Trees</i>; and first we -shall begin with the Oak. There are at least thirty different -species of Oaks found in our Canadian forests, all -growing to a size that makes them valuable as timber. -Most of them form noble specimens of ornamental trees, -when they stand out free, and separate from each other. -The White Oak, when so found, is one of the grandest -objects in the vegetable kingdom. The seeds of the Oak, -which are called acorns, are found ripe on the trees in -October and November.</p> - -<p>There are about ten different species of Maples found in -our woods, all beautiful and ornamental trees. The Sugar -Maple is a tree of especial beauty, and in the autumn -months is remarkable for the brilliant color of its leaves. -The seeds of the Maple are what is called <i>winged</i>. They -may be found lying under the old trees in autumn.</p> - -<p>The Ash is another valuable Canadian tree; and of -this genus about twenty species are found in our forests. -All are more or less valuable, both for their timber and -for their ornamental qualities. Several of the species, -especially those called the <i>White</i> and the <i>Black</i> Ash, are -found upwards of 100 feet in height, with diameters, close -to the ground, of three to four feet through. The timber<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> -is much prized for its toughness and strength, and is used -in the manufacture of implements, barrel hoops, and the -wood-work of machinery. The Ash is always found on -deep land, having a rather damp and cool bottom. The -seeds are ripe in November, and may then be gathered -from the trees.</p> - -<p>Of the Beech, there is only one species found in Canada, -but here and there varieties of it are to be met with, -caused by difference of soil and aspect. It grows to a -large size, when not closely surrounded by other trees. -Its timber is held in high esteem; but as it does not last -long when exposed to the weather, it should therefore be -used for indoor purposes only. The Beech is not a long-lived -tree, as it becomes matured within 150 years. It -succeeds best on dry, gravelly soils. The seeds are called -<i>nuts</i>, and are ripe in October, as every country schoolboy -knows.</p> - -<p>The Sweet Chestnut is another of our timber trees -deserving of notice. There is only one species of it to be -found in Canada, and it is in all respects the same as the -European Sweet Chestnut. It is a majestic tree, where -found standing alone, and its timber is of a very durable -nature, much sought after for many purposes, especially -for posts and fence-rails. This tree grows best on deep, -dry, and strong land, where it often reaches a height of -100 feet, with a proportionate trunk. The seeds are -called <i>nuts</i>, and may be used as food.</p> - -<p>The Hornbeam (or <i>Ironwood</i>, as it is generally called -in Canada,) is a tree of moderate size, and is plentiful on -the dry parts of our forest-land. It has much the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -appearance as the Beech, but it is easily distinguished -from that tree by the curled edges of its leaves, and by -its darker and rougher bark. The timber is very hard, -of a close and compact texture, and is much used for -farm purposes, where strength is required. The seeds of -this tree are called <i>nuts</i>, and each is enclosed in a peculiar -leafy substance, called by botanists a <i>perianth</i>.</p> - -<p>The Walnut is found plentifully in most bushes in the -southern parts of Ontario. It includes nine or ten species, -all growing to considerable size, and forming very handsome -trees, as for example, the <i>Black Walnut</i>, <i>Butternut</i>, -<i>Pecan Nut</i>, <i>Hickory</i>, <i>Bitter Nut</i>, and <i>Hog Nut</i>: each -having beautiful foliage. The Hickory is especially -known for the toughness and other valuable qualities of -its timber; and every boy is familiar with the delicious -nuts which this tree produces. All these trees grow best -on a deep, rich soil.</p> - -<p>The Plane is another member of our Canadian forests -deserving of notice, and is a tree of peculiar beauty. Its -wide-spreading branches, clothed with large leaves, make -it well adapted for shelter or shade. In Canada it is best -known by the name of <i>Cotton-wood</i>, or <i>Button-wood</i>, and -is also familiar as the <i>Sycamore</i>. The British name for -it is the Plane Tree. It is found on deep, loamy lands, -by the sides of our rivers and lakes, forming a tall, massive-headed -tree, often upwards of 130 feet in height, -with a trunk of from three to five feet in diameter. The -timber is not held in high estimation, though sometimes -used for furniture-making, and for some parts of the -inner work of house-building. The tree can be grown<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -from cuttings of the young wood.</p> - -<p>The Elm in our woods is a stately tree, and often rises -to the height of 140 feet, with a stem of six feet in -diameter. There are several species of Elm, but the most -important is the <i>White</i>, which, on deep and cool-bottomed -land, attains the dimensions stated. Where individuals -of this species stand alone, with all their limbs fully -developed, they form grand and imposing objects. The -timber of the various species is used in house-building -and in the manufacture of agricultural implements. The -seeds ripen in the early part of summer when they may -be gathered and sown at once.</p> - -<p>Of the Birch there are several species found in our -woods, but the <i>Tall Birch</i> and the <i>Paper Birch</i> are the -most important and best known. Both species are of -graceful habit and foliage. The <i>Paper Birch</i> is particularly -remarkable on account of its cream-colored, paper-like -bark. Both kinds attain large dimensions in favorable -soil, being often found from 90 to 100 feet high, with -stems of two or three feet in diameter. It is from the -bark of the Paper Birch that the Indians construct their -canoes; hence it is often called the <i>Canoe Birch</i>. The -timber of this tree enters largely into the manufacture of -furniture, and for this purpose it is exported to Europe. -The seeds are contained in <i>catkins</i>, which hang from the -points of the branches, and ripen in October.</p> - -<p>The Tulip may be easily known by its leaves, which -are quite unlike those of almost any other tree, and much -resemble a riding saddle. It grows to a large size, and is -highly ornamental; its luxuriant foliage, together with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -its numerous greenish-yellow, tulip-shaped flowers, giving -it a fine appearance. The timber is soft, and of no especial -value. There is only one species.</p> - -<p>Of the Lime we have four different species in our -woods, namely: the <i>Broad-leaved</i>, the <i>Downy-leaved</i>, the -<i>Thin-leaved</i>, and the <i>Variable-leaved</i>. This tree is more -generally known to Canadians by the name of <i>Basswood</i>. -All the species are graceful trees, with sweet-smelling -flowers. Many of them grow to a large size on rich, deep -lands, often attaining the height of 120 feet, with stems -ranging from three to five feet in diameter. The timber -is white and soft, when newly cut up, but, as it becomes -seasoned, it acquires firmness of texture, and when kept -dry, lasts well in house-building. It is employed by shoemakers -and saddlers for cutting-boards, and is well-suited -for carving purposes.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXVII_BURIAL_OF_SIR_JOHN_MOORE" id="LXXVII_BURIAL_OF_SIR_JOHN_MOORE"></a>LXXVII.—BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Charles Wolfe.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As his corpse to the rampart we hurried;</div> -<div class="verse">Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O’er the grave where our hero we buried.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">We buried him darkly at dead of night,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The sods with our bayonets turning;</div> -<div class="verse">By the struggling moonbeam’s misty light,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">And the lantern dimly burning.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">No useless coffin enclosed his breast,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Nor in sheet nor in shroud we wound him;</div> -<div class="verse">But he lay like a warrior taking his rest,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With his martial cloak around him.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Few and short were the prayers we said,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And we spoke not a word of sorrow;</div> -<div class="verse">But we steadfastly gazed on the face that was dead,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And we bitterly thought of the morrow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">We thought as we hollowed his narrow bed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And smoothed down his lonely pillow,</div> -<div class="verse">That the foe and the stranger would tread o’er his head,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And we far away on the billow!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Lightly they’ll talk of the spirit that’s gone,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And o’er his cold ashes upbraid him,—</div> -<div class="verse">But little he’ll reck, if they let him sleep on</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In the grave where a Briton has laid him.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But half of our heavy task was done</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When the clock struck the hour for retiring;</div> -<div class="verse">And we heard the distant and random gun</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That the foe was sullenly firing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Slowly and sadly we laid him down,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">From the field of his fame fresh and gory;</div> -<div class="verse">We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But we left him alone with his glory.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. We buried him <i>darkly</i>.—2. At dead of night.—3. Misty -light.—4. <i>Useless</i> coffin.—5. <i>Martial</i> cloak.—6. <i>Bitterly</i> -thought.—7. <i>Lightly</i> they’ll talk.—8. Little he’ll <i>reck</i>.—9. -<i>Random</i> gun.—10. <i>Sullenly</i> firing.—11. Field of his fame.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXVIII_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH" id="LXXVIII_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH"></a>LXXVIII.—THE GOLDEN TOUCH.</h2> - -<p class="author">Nathaniel Hawthorne.</p> - -<h3>FIRST READING.</h3> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p216.jpg" width="300" height="247" alt="Midas in his treasury, looking up at the visitor" /> -</div> - -<p>Once upon a time, there lived a very rich man, and a -king besides, whose name was Midas; and he had a little -daughter, whom nobody but myself ever heard of, and -whose name I either never knew, or have entirely forgotten. -So, because I love odd names for little girls, I -choose to call her Marygold.</p> - -<p>This King Midas was fonder of gold than of any thing -else in the world. He valued his royal crown chiefly because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -it was composed of that precious metal. If he loved -any thing better, or half so well, it was the one little maiden -who played so merrily around her father’s footstool. But -the more Midas loved his daughter, the more did he desire -and seek for wealth. He thought, foolish man! that the -best thing he could possibly do for this dear child would -be to bequeath her the largest pile of glistening coin, that -had ever been heaped together since the world was made.</p> - -<p>Thus he gave all his thoughts and all his time to this -one purpose. If ever he happened to gaze for an instant -at the gold-tinted clouds of sunset, he wished that they -were real gold, and that they could be squeezed safely -into his strong box. When little Marygold ran to meet -him, with a bunch of buttercups and dandelions, he used -to say, “Pooh, pooh, child! If these flowers were as golden -as they look, they would be worth the plucking!”</p> - -<p>At length (as people always grow more and more foolish, -unless they take care to grow wiser and wiser) Midas had -got to be so exceedingly unreasonable, that he could -scarcely bear to see or touch any object that was not gold. -He made it his custom, therefore, to pass a large portion -of every day in a dark and dreary apartment, under -ground, at the basement of his palace. It was here that -he kept his wealth. To this dismal hole—for it was little -better than a dungeon—Midas betook himself, whenever -he wanted to be particularly happy.</p> - -<p>Here, after carefully locking the door, he would take a -bag of gold coin, or a gold cup as big as a washbowl, or a -heavy golden bar, or a peck-measure of gold-dust, and -bring them from the obscure corners of the room into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -one bright and narrow sunbeam that fell from the dungeon-like -window. He valued the sunbeam for no other reason -but that his treasure would not shine without its help.</p> - -<p>And then would he reckon over the coins in the bag; -toss up the bar, and catch it as it came down; sift the -gold-dust through his fingers; look at the funny image of -his own face, as reflected in the burnished circumference -of the cup; and whisper to himself, “O Midas, rich King -Midas, what a happy man art thou!”</p> - -<p>Midas was enjoying himself in his treasure-room, one -day, as usual, when he perceived a shadow fall over the -heaps of gold; and, looking up, he beheld the figure of a -stranger, standing in the bright and narrow sunbeam! It -was a young man, with a cheerful and ruddy face.</p> - -<p>Whether it was that the imagination of King Midas -threw a yellow tinge over every thing, or whatever the -cause might be, he could not help fancying that the smile -with which the stranger regarded him had a kind of -golden brightness in it. Certainly, there was now a -brighter gleam upon all the piled-up treasures than before. -Even the remotest corners had their share of it, -and were lighted up, when the stranger smiled, as with -tips of flame and sparkles of fire.</p> - -<p>As Midas knew that he had carefully turned the key in -the lock, and that no mortal strength could possibly break -into his treasure-room, he, of course, concluded that his -visitor must be something more than mortal.</p> - -<p>Midas had met such beings before now, and was not -sorry to meet one of them again. The stranger’s aspect, -indeed, was so good-humored and kindly, if not beneficent,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -that it would have been unreasonable to suspect him of -intending any mischief. It was far more probable that -he came to do Midas a favor. And what could that favor -be, unless to multiply his heaps of treasure?</p> - -<p>The stranger gazed about the room; and, when his -lustrous smile had glistened upon all the golden objects -that were there, he turned again to Midas.</p> - -<p>“You are a wealthy man, friend Midas!” he observed. -“I doubt whether any other four walls on earth contain so -much gold as you have contrived to pile up in this room.”</p> - -<p>“I have done pretty well,—pretty well,” answered -Midas, in a discontented tone. “But, after all, it is but a -trifle, when you consider that it has taken me my whole -lifetime to get it together. If one could live a thousand -years, he might have time to grow rich!”</p> - -<p>“What!” exclaimed the stranger. “Then you are not -satisfied?”</p> - -<p>Midas shook his head.</p> - -<p>“And pray, what would satisfy you?” asked the -stranger. “Merely for the curiosity of the thing, I should -be glad to know.”</p> - -<p>Midas paused and meditated. He felt sure that this -stranger, with such a golden lustre in his good-humored -smile, had come hither with both the power and the -purpose of gratifying his utmost wishes. Now, therefore, -was the fortunate moment, when he had but to speak, and -obtain whatever possible, or seemingly impossible thing, -it might come into his head to ask. So he thought and -thought, and thought, and heaped up one golden mountain -upon another, in his imagination, without being able to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -imagine them big enough.</p> - -<p>At last a bright idea occurred to King Midas.</p> - -<p>Raising his head, he looked the lustrous stranger in -the face.</p> - -<p>“Well, Midas,” observed his visitor, “I see that you -have at length hit upon something that will satisfy you. -Tell me your wish.”</p> - -<p>“It is only this,” replied Midas. “I am weary of -collecting my treasures with so much trouble, and beholding -the heap so diminutive, after I have done my best. -I wish every thing that I touch to be changed to gold!”</p> - -<p>The stranger’s smile grew so bright and radiant, that it -seemed to fill the room like an outburst of the sun, -gleaming into a shadowy dell, where the yellow autumnal -leaves—for so looked the lumps and particles of gold—lie -strewn in the glow of light.</p> - -<p>“The Golden Touch!” exclaimed he. “You certainly -deserve credit, friend Midas, for striking out so brilliant a -fancy. But are you quite sure that this will satisfy you?”</p> - -<p>“How could it fail?” said Midas.</p> - -<p>“And will you never regret the possession of it?”</p> - -<p>“What could induce me?” asked Midas. “I ask nothing -else, to render me perfectly happy.”</p> - -<p>“Be it as you wish, then,” replied the stranger, waving -his hand in token of farewell. “To-morrow, at sunrise, -you will find yourself gifted with the Golden Touch.”</p> - -<p>The figure of the stranger then became exceedingly -bright, and Midas involuntarily closed his eyes. On -opening them again, he beheld only one yellow sunbeam -in the room, and, all around him, the glistening of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -precious metal which he had spent his life in hoarding up.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXIX_THE_ROAD_TO_THE_TRENCHES" id="LXXIX_THE_ROAD_TO_THE_TRENCHES"></a>LXXIX.—THE ROAD TO THE TRENCHES.</h2> - -<p class="author">Lushington.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p221.jpg" width="400" height="286" alt="Five soldiers in winter gear, struggling onwards" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Leave me, comrades, here I drop,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">No, sir, take them on,</div> -<div class="verse">All are wanted, none should stop,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Duty must be done;</div> -<div class="verse">Those whose guard you take will find me</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As they pass below.”</div> -<div class="verse">So the soldier spoke, and staggering,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Fell amid the snow;</div> -<div class="verse">And ever on the dreary heights,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Down came the snow.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Men, it must be as he asks;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Duty must be done;</div> -<div class="verse">Far too few for half our tasks,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">We can spare not one.</div> -<div class="verse">Wrap him in this; I need it less;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Fear not, they shall know;</div> -<div class="verse">Mark the place, yon stunted larch,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Forward,”—on they go;</div> -<div class="verse">And silent on their silent march,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Down sank the snow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O’er his features as he lies,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Calms the wrench of pain:</div> -<div class="verse">Close faint eyes, pass cruel skies,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Freezing mountain plain;</div> -<div class="verse">With far, soft sound, the stillness teems,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Church bells—voices low,</div> -<div class="verse">Passing into English dreams</div> -<div class="verse indent2">There amid the snow;</div> -<div class="verse">And darkening, thickening o’er the heights,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Down fell the snow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Looking, looking for the mark,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Down the others came,</div> -<div class="verse">Struggling through the snowdrifts stark,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Calling out his name;</div> -<div class="verse">“Here,—or there; the drifts are deep;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Have we passed him?”—No!</div> -<div class="verse">Look, a little growing heap,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Snow above the snow;</div> -<div class="verse">Where heavy on his heavy sleep,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Down fell the snow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Strong hands raised him, voices strong</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Spoke within his ears;</div> -<div class="verse">Ah! his dreams had softer tongue,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Neither now he hears.</div> -<div class="verse">One more gone for England’s sake,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where so many go,</div> -<div class="verse">Lying down without complaint,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Dying in the snow;</div> -<div class="verse">Starving, striving for her sake,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Dying in the snow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Simply done his soldier’s part,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Through long months of woe;</div> -<div class="verse">All endured with soldier heart,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Battle, famine, snow.</div> -<div class="verse">Noble, nameless, English heart,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Snow cold, in snow!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXX_THE_ROOT" id="LXXX_THE_ROOT"></a>LXXX.—THE ROOT.</h2> - -<p class="author">Figuier.</p> - -<p>Commit a seed to the earth; plant, for example, a -Lima bean, at the depth of two inches in moist vegetable -soil. The seed will not be slow to germinate; first swelling, -and then bursting its outer skin, a vegetable in miniature -will, after a time, slowly reveal itself to the observer. In -the meantime two very distinct parts make their appearance; -one, yellowish in color, already throwing out -slender fibrous shoots, sinks farther into the soil,—this is -the <i>radicle</i>, or root; the other of a pale greenish color, -takes the opposite direction, ascends to the surface, -and rises above the ground,—this is the stem.</p> - -<p>This root and stem are the essential organs of vegetation,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -without which, when we have excepted certain -vegetables of an inferior order, plants adorned with leaves -and flowers cannot exist. How vast the difference between -the verdant top of a tree, which rises graceful and elegant -into mid-air,—not to speak of the flower it bears—and -the coarse, tangled mass of its roots and rootlets, without -harmony, without symmetry! These organs, so little -favored in their appearance, have, however, very important -functions in the order of vegetable action.</p> - -<p>The chief offices of the root are two: in the first place, -it attaches the plant to the soil, holds it in its place, and -prevents it from being overwhelmed by the elements. In -the second, it feeds the plant by absorbing from the earth -the sap necessary to its growth. How is this done?</p> - -<p>The root branches again and again as it grows, throwing -out numerous smaller branches. These hollow, thread-like -rootlets suck up, from the soil, the water and other -things, which are to go, through the stem or trunk and -the branches, to all the leaves. Here these are made into -the perfect sap, which, being distributed, causes the plant -to grow, to blossom, and to bear fruit.</p> - -<p>The manner in which roots succeed in overcoming -obstacles, has always been a subject of surprise to the -observer. The roots of trees and shrubs, when cramped or -hindered in their progress, have been observed to exhibit -considerable mechanical force, throwing down walls or -splitting rocks; in other cases, clinging together in -bunches, or spreading out their fibres over a prodigious -space, in order to follow the course of a rivulet with its -friendly moisture.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p> - -<p>A celebrated botanist of the last century relates that, -wishing to preserve a field of rich soil from the roots -of a row of elms, which would soon have exhausted it, -he had a ditch dug between the field and the trees in -order to cut the roots off from it. But he saw with surprise -that those roots, which had not been severed in the -operation, had made their way down the slope so as to -avoid meeting the light, had passed under the ditch, and -were again spreading themselves over the field.</p> - -<p>There are some roots which are developed along the -stem itself. These supplementary organs come as helps -to the roots properly so called, and replace them when by -any cause they have been destroyed. In the primrose, for -example, both the principal and the secondary roots -springing from it, perish after some years of growth, but -the supplementary roots, springing from the lower part of -the stalk, prevent the plant from dying.</p> - -<p>In the tropical forests of America and Asia, the -vanilla, whose fruit is so sought after for its sweet aroma, -twines its slender stem round the neighboring trees, -forming an elegant, flexible, and aerial garland, an ornament -in these vast solitudes, at once grateful and pleasing. -The underground roots of the vanilla would not be sufficient -for the nutriment of the plant, and the rising of the -nourishing sap would take place too slowly. But Nature -makes up for this inconvenience by the air roots which -the plant throws out at intervals along its stem. Living -in the warm and humid atmosphere of tropical forests, the -stronger shoots soon reach the ground and root themselves -in the soil. Others float freely in the atmosphere, inhaling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> -the moisture and conveying it to the parent stem.</p> - -<p>A grand tree—the banyan, or the pagoda fig-tree—adorns -the landscape of India, and presents the most -remarkable development of aerial roots. When the parent -stem has attained the height of some fifty or sixty feet, it -throws out side branches in every direction, and each -branch in its turn throws out supplementary roots, which -descend perpendicularly in long slender shoots till they -reach the ground. When they have rooted themselves in -the soil, they increase rapidly in diameter, and soon form -around the parent stem thousands of columns, each -throwing out new lateral branches and new roots.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow</div> -<div class="verse">About the mother tree, a pillared shade.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The natives love to build their temples in the intervals -left between these roots of the wild fig-tree. A famous -banyan tree on the Nerbuddah is said by Professor -Forbes to have three hundred large and three thousand -smaller aerial roots; it is capable of sheltering thousands -of men, and thus forms one of the marvels of the vegetable -world; it is, in short, a forest within a forest.</p> - -<p>Roots constantly endeavor to bury themselves in the -earth. They seem to shun the light of day; and this -tendency is to be seen from the very first moment -when the root shows itself in the seed. The tendency is -so decided, and appears so inherent in the life of all -vegetables, that if we reverse a germinating seed, placing -it with the root upwards, the root and the stem will twist -round of themselves,—the stem will stretch upward, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -the root will bury itself in the ground.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXXI_THE_WATER_FOWL" id="LXXXI_THE_WATER_FOWL"></a>LXXXI.—THE WATER FOWL.</h2> - -<p class="author">Bryant.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p227.jpg" width="300" height="172" alt="A countryside scene: fields, trees, river" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">Whither, midst falling dew,</div> -<div class="verse">While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,</div> -<div class="verse">Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Thy solitary way?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">Vainly the fowler’s eye</div> -<div class="verse">Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,</div> -<div class="verse">As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Thy figure floats along.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">Seek’st thou the plashy brink</div> -<div class="verse">Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,</div> -<div class="verse">Or where the rocking billows rise and sink</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent4">On the chafed ocean side?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">There is a Power whose care</div> -<div class="verse">Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,—</div> -<div class="verse">The desert and illimitable air,—</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Lone wandering, but not lost.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">All day thy wings have fanned,</div> -<div class="verse">At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere;</div> -<div class="verse">Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Though the dark night is near.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">And soon that toil shall end;</div> -<div class="verse">Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,</div> -<div class="verse">And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Soon o’er thy sheltered nest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">Thou’rt gone; the abyss of heaven</div> -<div class="verse">Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart</div> -<div class="verse">Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">And shall not soon depart:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent4">He, who from zone to zone,</div> -<div class="verse">Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,</div> -<div class="verse">In the long way that I must tread alone,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Will lead my steps aright.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. <i>Glow</i> the heavens.—2. The last steps of day.—3. Rosy -depths.—4. Pursue thy solitary way.—5. Might <i>mark</i> thy <i>distant -flight</i>.—6. Darkly painted.—7. Plashy brink.—8. <i>Marge</i> -of river.—9. Rocking billows.—10. <i>Chafed</i> side.—11. Pathless -coast.—12. The <i>desert</i> and <i>illimitable</i> air.—13. Lone -wandering.—14. Thy wings have <i>fanned the atmosphere</i>.—15. -<i>Welcome</i> land.—16. <i>Sheltered</i> nest.—17. The <i>abyss</i> of -heaven.—18. <i>Boundless</i> sky.—19. Certain flight.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXXII_SHAPES_OF_LEAVES" id="LXXXII_SHAPES_OF_LEAVES"></a>LXXXII.—SHAPES OF LEAVES.</h2> - -<p class="author">Gustavus Frankenstein.</p> - -<h3>FIRST READING.</h3> - -<p>By far the greater number of plants have leaves of an -oval shape, and we have only to go through our forests -and gardens to see them on every hand. Exceedingly -varied are they indeed, from very narrow to very broad -oval, some with toothed, some with smooth edges, and -some even deeply notched; and yet to such an extent -does this tendency toward a rounded form prevail, that -there seems scarcely a plant in whose leaves a trace of -the oval may not be found.</p> - -<p>The apple tree gives us a good specimen of an oval leaf; -and an immense number of plants have -leaves resembling it in shape. In many -plants, the leaves are almost the very -counterpart of those of the apple-tree; -in some, they are narrower, and in -others, still narrower, till we come to -very slender blades like those of the -grasses; and then, beyond still, to the -needle-like leaves of the pines. On the -other hand, plants are to be found with -leaves broader than the apple-leaf; and -so on, rounder and rounder, until we -come to such plants as the nasturtium and -the water-lily, whose leaves are almost as round as circles.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-apple.jpg" width="100" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Leaf of Apple.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span></p> - -<p>There are certainly to be met with most remarkable -departures from the oval shape, and we need but refer -to such leaves as those of the buckwheat, to find that -roundness seems to be entirely absent.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 146px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-buckwheat.jpg" width="146" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Buckwheat Leaf.</p> -</div> - -<p>This style of leaf, of which there are -many variations, is apparently built on the -model of the heart-shaped leaf, of which -the morning-glory affords -a familiar example. It will -be noted, however, that -instead of the curvilinear -flow of outline, in which -a tendency to oval roundness is plainly -visible, the hastate leaf of the buckwheat -is angular throughout.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 160px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-morningglory.jpg" width="160" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Morning-Glory Leaf.</p> -</div> - -<p>Another marked characteristic of most leaves is, that -they terminate in a point, either sharp -to extreme slenderness, or blunt to broad -roundness; for even in a circular leaf -there is one point which is its extremity, -and to which the margin from either -side approaches by a convexity. To this -pointedness of leaves the exceptions are -exceedingly rare. A plant found in -some parts of our own country—the magnificent tulip-tree—presents, -perhaps, the most extraordinary of all.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 181px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-tuliptree.jpg" width="181" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Leaf of Tulip-Tree.</p> -</div> - -<p>Now this leaf comes out of a bud-case which is actually -oval. The young leaf is folded double inside of its -bud-case; and, besides, its small stalk is bent over so as -to bring the little leaf to hold its end downwards. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -can see this curious arrangement very well, just after the -bud has opened, and the young leaf has come out. However, -it soon straightens up, holds its little head aloft, and -looks like a pretty little flag. After this it -spreads apart into the full leaf, and stands up -like a banner. If the bud be held -up to the light, the young leaf -can be seen nicely folded up inside, -with its head snugly bent -down. There is nothing prettier, -or more curious, to be seen in the -woods, than the young buds of the -tulip-trees, when they are about to -open, or after they have unfurled -their little flags; and all summer -long, even from earliest spring, the tulip-trees -are continually unfolding their buds.</p> - -<div class="figleft"> - -<div class="figmulti" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-tuliptree-bud-opening.jpg" width="84" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Opening Leaf-Bud of Tulip-Tree.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figmulti" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-tuliptree-bud-early.jpg" width="100" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Early Leaf-Bud of Tulip-Tree.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>There are leaves broader above than -below, and some, instead of ending in a -point, have a notch or indentation of some -sort. Oak-trees give us many fine and -varied samples of notched and lobed leaves. -And yet the leaf of the chestnut-oak is not -at all notched, being simply ovate, pointed, -and toothed. The leaves of the bur and -the pin oaks, on the contrary, are lobed and -notched, and are therefore characteristic oak-leaves, -while those of the chestnut-oak are -not so, because almost all oaks have leaves -more or less scalloped or deeply indented.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - -<p>Great as is the variety in the shapes of oak leaves, any -one of them would almost surely be at once recognized as -belonging to an oak-tree by its peculiar scallopings. But -suppose a person had never seen or heard of a chestnut-oak -leaf, would he be likely to recognize such a leaf simply -by its outline? There is -still another oak with -simple leaves; and they -are not even toothed, but -entirely smooth all around -the edge. Looking at that -tree, which is called the -willow-oak, scarcely anyone -would suppose it to -be an oak unless he could see its flowers or its fruit, -the acorns.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - -<div class="figmulti" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-chestnutoak.jpg" width="74" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Chestnut-Oak Leaf.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figmulti" style="width: 135px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-buroak.jpg" width="135" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Bur-Oak Leaf.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figmulti" style="width: 124px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-pinoak.jpg" width="124" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Pin-Oak Leaf.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>This fact brings us to consider a very important point -in the study of a plant. It is not the leaf which tells -us what kind of plant it is: it is the flower and the fruit. -Whatever be the shape of the leaf, if the plant bears -acorns it is an oak. If a tree has cherries and cherry -blossoms, it is a cherry.</p> - -<p>It is true that, in many families of plants, leaves, by -their shape alone, announce at once the kind of plant to -which they belong; at the same time there is a large -number of plants that cannot be known by their leaves, -but only by their flowers and fruits. It is by flowers -and fruits that plants are classified; and the more nearly -alike these are in two plants, the more closely are those -plants related. The flower and the fruit proclaim the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -nature of the plant. “A tree is known by its fruit.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXXIII_THE_BROOK" id="LXXXIII_THE_BROOK"></a>LXXXIII.—THE BROOK.</h2> - -<p class="author">Tennyson.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p233.jpg" width="400" height="338" alt="Bridge over a brook" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I come from haunts of coots and hern,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I make a sudden sally,</div> -<div class="verse">And sparkle out among the fern,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To bicker down a valley.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">By thirty hills I hurry down,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Or slip between the ridges,</div> -<div class="verse">By twenty thorps, a little town,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">And half a hundred bridges.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Till last by Phillip’s farm I flow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To join the brimming river,</div> -<div class="verse">For men may come and men may go,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But I go on for ever.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I chatter over stony ways,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In little sharps and trebles,</div> -<div class="verse">I bubble into eddying bays,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I babble on the pebbles.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With many a curve my banks I fret</div> -<div class="verse indent2">By many a field and fallow,</div> -<div class="verse">And many a fairy foreland set</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With willow-weed and mallow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I chatter, chatter, as I flow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To join the brimming river,</div> -<div class="verse">For men may come and men may go,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But I go on for ever.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I wind about, and in and out,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With here a blossom sailing,</div> -<div class="verse">And here and there a lusty trout,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And here and there a grayling,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And here and there a foamy flake</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Upon me, as I travel,</div> -<div class="verse">With many a silvery waterbreak</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Above the golden gravel.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And draw them all along, and flow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To join the brimming river,</div> -<div class="verse">For men may come and men may go,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">But I go on for ever.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I steal by lawns and grassy plots,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I slide by hazel covers;</div> -<div class="verse">I move the sweet forget-me-nots</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That grow for happy lovers.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Among my skimming swallows;</div> -<div class="verse">I make the netted sunbeam dance</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Against my sandy shallows.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I murmur under moon and stars</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In brambly wildernesses;</div> -<div class="verse">I linger by my shingly bars;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">I loiter round my cresses;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And out again I curve and flow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To join the brimming river,</div> -<div class="verse">For men may come, and men may go,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But I go on for ever.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXXIV_SHAPES_OF_LEAVES" id="LXXXIV_SHAPES_OF_LEAVES"></a>LXXXIV.—SHAPES OF LEAVES.</h2> - -<p class="author">Gustavus Frankenstein.</p> - -<h3>SECOND READING.</h3> - -<p>Although the flower and its fruit tell us what the -plant is, and leaves do not with any certainty, there is -yet a strong similarity, as well in texture as in shape, in -the leaves of most of the plants comprised within any -one family. Especially in texture is this marked similarity -observable; and, perhaps, in most cases the peculiar -structure of the leaf, aside from its shape, is indicative of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -the order to which the plant belongs. The leaves of the -grasses are very much alike; so are the leaves of the -sedges;—and though it is true, also, that in some instances -a sedge-leaf might be mistaken for a grass-leaf, -it must be remembered that the sedge family and the -grass family have some points of similarity.</p> - -<p>Again, if we should come upon a plant belonging to -the common potato or nightshade family, we should be -almost sure to recognize the family resemblance at the -very first glance, provided we were already familiar with -a number of plants included in that order. Yet the -leaves of the nightshade family vary considerably in -shape, and it is therefore decisively the texture and -peculiar appearance of the leaves, that announce the kinship -of the plant. And thus we are led back to the consideration -of the willow-oak and chestnut-oak leaves, -which, entirely unlike the typical oak-leaf in shape, are -yet very much like all other oak leaves in texture and -other essential structure.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 150px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-rose.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Leaf of the Rose.</p> -</div> - -<p>Still more widely divided than oak leaves, are such as -are called pinnate, in which the separated -parts are actually distinct leaflets, some -even provided with stalks. Such compound -leaves may be seen in almost -every garden by looking at a rose-bush. -In the cut, we see what appears to be five -distinct leaves attached to one twig; but -the fact is that they are only leaflets, and, -together with the stalk which bears them all, constitute -but one complete leaf. Each of these leaflets has a short<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -stalk, connecting it with the main stem, which passes -between the pairs, and has an odd leaflet at the end. A -rose-bush may have leaves of seven or nine leaflets.</p> - -<p>Among our forest trees, hickory, walnut, butternut, -locust, and ash have pinnate leaves; and on the honey-locust -not only are the leaves pinnate, but on the same -tree, may also be found leaves doubly pinnate, and even -tripinnate. Compound leaves may be seen also in the -pea-vine, which is simply pinnate; but here the place of -the absent terminal leaflet is supplied by a tendril.</p> - -<p>But if we examine a bean-plant, we do find an odd -leaf, together with a pair of leaflets; that is, each leaf is -composed of three leaflets. The many varieties of bean-plants -are all thus three-leaved. Besides, the woods are -full of three-leaved plants, belonging to other kinds of the -bean or pulse order of plants. In addition to these and -some others, we must not overlook a most extraordinary -three-leaved plant, plentiful in almost every forest, and -on almost every stone-fence in the country; only too well -known by persons who have been poisoned by it, and yet -not so well known by most people as it ought to be, for -it is often confounded with a plant having digitate leaves.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 188px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-poisonvine.jpg" width="188" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Leaf of Poison-Vine.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 271px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-virginiacreeper.jpg" width="271" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Leaf of Virginia Creeper.</p> -</div> - -<p>Here, side by side, the forms of the two leaves can be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -compared. On the right is the digitate leaf of the beautiful -Virginia creeper, entirely harmless; on the left is the -pinnate leaf of the poison-vine. The innocent plant is -<i>five</i>-leaved; the noxious plant is <i>three</i>-leaved. But we -should also notice particularly that the arrangement of -the leaflets is quite different in the two plants. In the -poison-vine, we see a pair of leaflets and a terminal odd -one; whereas in the Virginia creeper, there is no pairing -of leaflets whatever, but the five parts radiate from a -centre. All the leaflets come out together from one -point at the tip of the leaf-stalk.</p> - -<p>Plants there are with digitate -leaves, having three, five, seven, nine, -or more leaflets. Clover has digitate -leaves of three leaflets, while the -leaves of the buck-eye and horse-chestnut -have five, seven, and nine -leaflets. The pretty little wood-sorrel -plant of small yellow flowers, has three most -beautiful, inverted, heart-shaped leaflets, radiating from -the tip of the little leaf-stalk.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 191px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-woodsorrel.jpg" width="191" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Leaflet of Wood-Sorrel.</p> -</div> - -<p>In leaves like those of the maple we -see the main veins radiating from a point -at the top of the stalk. Such leaves are -therefore much like the digitate kind, -only they are not completely divided -into separate leaflets.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 139px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-maple.jpg" width="139" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Maple Leaf.</p> -</div> - -<p>Sassafras leaves offer forms something -different. On the same tree may be -seen oval, two-lobed, and three-lobed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -leaves. Thus on one and the same plant, we see leaves -strikingly different in form; yet the texture, the color, -and the veining are exactly after the same pattern in -them all, so that a sassafras leaf, whether oval or cleft, -can at once be easily known.</p> - -<p>Recalling to mind the leaf of the apple, buckwheat, -morning-glory, oak, rose, Virginia creeper, maple, and sassafras, -we have pretty good models after which nearly all -leaves are built, approximating to one or other of these, -with certain variations peculiar to the species.</p> - -<p>Another important matter regarding the leaves of -plants, is their relative position on the stems. There are -two principal and very marked arrangements of leaves. -Leaves are either opposite one another on the stem, or -they are alternate or not opposite. There are whole -orders of plants with none but opposite leaves, as the -mint family. In other orders, the leaves of every plant -are alternate. And again, in some orders, and even on -the same plants, are found both opposite and alternate -leaves, as in the composite or sunflower family; and a -single wild sunflower plant itself has opposite leaves -below, and alternate leaves above.</p> - -<p>Of our forest trees, there are very few species with -opposite leaves. If you see that the branches and leaves -of a tree do not stand one opposite another on the stem, -you can at once be sure that it is not an ash, a maple, or -a buck-eye, because all these trees do have opposite leaves. -On the other hand, there are many trees having alternate -branches and leaves, such as the oak, chestnut, elm, hickory, -walnut, butternut, tulip-tree, alder, beech, birch,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -poplar, willow, mulberry, linden, locust, and others.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXXV_THE_BURIAL_OF_MOSES" id="LXXXV_THE_BURIAL_OF_MOSES"></a>LXXXV.—THE BURIAL OF MOSES</h2> - -<p class="author">Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">By Nebo’s lonely mountain,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On this side Jordan’s wave,</div> -<div class="verse">In a vale in the land of Moab,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">There lies a lonely grave.</div> -<div class="verse">And no man knows that sepulchre,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And no man saw it e’er;</div> -<div class="verse">For the angels of God upturned the sod,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And laid the dead man there.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">That was the grandest funeral</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That ever passed on earth;</div> -<div class="verse">But no man heard the trampling,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Or saw the train go forth;—</div> -<div class="verse">Noiselessly as the daylight</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Comes when the night is done,</div> -<div class="verse">And the crimson streak on ocean’s cheek</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Grows into the great sun;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Noiselessly as the spring-time</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Her crown of verdure weaves,</div> -<div class="verse">And all the trees on all the hills</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Open their thousand leaves:</div> -<div class="verse">So, without sound of music,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Or voice of them that wept,</div> -<div class="verse">Silently down from the mountain’s crown</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">The great procession swept.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Perchance the bald old eagle,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On gray Beth-peor’s height,</div> -<div class="verse">Out of his lonely eyrie</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Looked on the wondrous sight;</div> -<div class="verse">Perchance the lion stalking,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Still shuns that hallowed spot;</div> -<div class="verse">For beast and bird have seen and heard</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That which man knoweth not.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But when the warrior dieth,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His comrades in the war,</div> -<div class="verse">With arms reversed and muffled drum,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Follow his funeral car;</div> -<div class="verse">They show the banners taken,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They tell his battles won,</div> -<div class="verse">And after him lead his masterless steed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">While peals the minute gun.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Amid the noblest of the land,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">We lay the sage to rest,</div> -<div class="verse">And give the bard an honored place,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With costly marble dressed,</div> -<div class="verse">In the great minster transept,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where lights like glories fall,</div> -<div class="verse">And the sweet choir sings, and the organ rings</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Along the emblazoned wall.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">This was the bravest warrior</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That ever buckled sword;</div> -<div class="verse">This the most gifted poet</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">That ever breathed a word;</div> -<div class="verse">And never earth’s philosopher</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Traced, with his golden pen,</div> -<div class="verse">On the deathless page, truths half so sage,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As he wrote down for men.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And had he not high honor,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The hill-side for his pall;</div> -<div class="verse">To lie in state, while angels wait,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With stars for tapers tall;</div> -<div class="verse">And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Over his bier to wave;</div> -<div class="verse">And God’s own hand, in that lonely land,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To lay him in the grave;—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In that strange grave, without a name,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Whence his uncoffined clay</div> -<div class="verse">Shall break again—O wondrous thought!—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Before the Judgment-day,</div> -<div class="verse">And stand with glory wrapped around</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On the hills he never trod,</div> -<div class="verse">And speak of the strife that won our life,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With the Incarnate Son of God?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O lonely grave in Moab’s land!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O dark Beth-peor’s hill!</div> -<div class="verse">Speak to these curious hearts of ours,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And teach them to be still.</div> -<div class="verse">God hath His mysteries of grace,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Ways that we cannot tell;</div> -<div class="verse">He hides them deep, like the hidden sleep,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of him He loved so well!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXXVI_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH" id="LXXXVI_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH"></a>LXXXVI.—THE GOLDEN TOUCH.</h2> - -<p class="author">Nathaniel Hawthorne.</p> - -<h3>SECOND READING.</h3> - -<p>Whether Midas slept as usual that night, the story -does not say. But when the earliest sunbeam shone -through the window, and gilded the ceiling over his -head, it seemed to him that this bright yellow sunbeam -was reflected in rather a singular way on the white -covering of the bed. Looking more closely, what was his -astonishment and delight, when he found that this linen -fabric had been transmuted to what seemed a woven -texture of the purest and brightest gold! The Golden -Touch had come to him with the first sunbeam!</p> - -<p>Midas started up, in a kind of joyful frenzy, and ran -about the room, grasping at every thing that happened to -be in his way. He seized one of the bedposts, and it -became immediately a fluted golden pillar. He pulled -aside a window-curtain in order to admit a clear spectacle -of the wonders which he was performing, and the tassel -grew heavy in his hand,—a mass of gold. He took up a -book from the table; at his first touch, it assumed the -appearance of such a splendidly bound and gilt-edged -volume as one often meets with now-a-days; but on running -his fingers through the leaves, behold! it was a -bundle of thin golden plates, in which all the wisdom of -the book had grown illegible.</p> - -<p>He hurriedly put on his clothes, and was enraptured to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -see himself in a magnificent suit of gold cloth, which -retained its flexibility and softness, although it burdened -him a little with its weight. He drew out his handkerchief, -which little Marygold had hemmed for him; that -was likewise gold, with the dear child’s neat and pretty -stitches running all along the border, in gold thread!</p> - -<p>Somehow or other, this last transformation did not quite -please King Midas. He would rather that his little -daughter’s handiwork should have remained just the same -as when she climbed his knee and put it into his hand.</p> - -<p>But it was not worth while to vex himself about a trifle. -Midas took his spectacles from his pocket, and put them -on his nose, in order that he might see more distinctly -what he was about. In those days, spectacles for common -people had not been invented, but were already worn by -kings; else, how could Midas have had any? To his -great perplexity, however, excellent as the glasses were, -he discovered that he could not possibly see through -them. But this was the most natural thing in the world; -for, on taking them off, the transparent crystals turned -out to be plates of yellow metal, and, of course, were -worthless as spectacles, though valuable as gold. It struck -Midas as rather inconvenient, that, with all his wealth, he -could never again be rich enough to own a pair of serviceable -spectacles.</p> - -<p>“It is no great matter, nevertheless,” said he to himself,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> -Very philosophically. “We can not expect any great -good, without its being accompanied with some small -inconvenience. The Golden Touch is worth the sacrifice -of a pair of spectacles at least, if not of one’s very eyesight. -My own eyes will serve for ordinary purposes, and -little Marygold will soon be old enough to read to me.” -Wise King Midas was so exalted by his good fortune, -that the palace seemed not sufficiently spacious to contain -him. He therefore went down stairs, and smiled on -observing that the balustrade of the staircase became a -bar of burnished gold, as his hand passed over it, in his -descent. He lifted the door-latch (it was brass only a -moment ago, but golden when his fingers quitted it), and -emerged into the garden. Here, as it happened, he found -a great number of beautiful roses in full bloom, and others -in all the stages of lovely bud and blossom. Very delicious -was their fragrance in the morning breeze. Their delicate -blush was one of the fairest sights in the world; so gentle, -so modest, and so full of sweet soothing, did these roses -seem to be.</p> - -<p>But Midas knew a way to make them far more precious, -according to his way of thinking, than roses had ever been -before. So he took great pains in going from bush to -bush, and exercised his magic touch most untiringly; -until every individual flower and bud, and even the -worms at the heart of some of them, were changed to gold. -By the time this good work was completed, King Midas -was summoned to breakfast; and as the morning air had -given him an excellent appetite, he made haste back to -the palace.</p> - -<p>What was usually a king’s breakfast in the days of -Midas, I really do not know, and can not stop now to -investigate. To the best of my knowledge, however, on -this particular morning, the breakfast consisted of hot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -cakes, some nice little brook trout, roasted potatoes, fresh -boiled eggs, and coffee for King Midas himself, and a -bowl of bread and milk for his daughter Marygold.</p> - -<p>Little Marygold had not yet made her appearance. -Her father ordered her to be called, and seating himself -at table, awaited the child’s coming, in order to begin his -own breakfast. To do Midas justice, he really loved his -daughter, and loved her so much the more this morning, -on account of the good fortune which had befallen him. -It was not a great while before he heard her coming along -the passage, crying bitterly. This circumstance surprised -him, because Marygold was one of the most cheerful little -people whom you would see in a summer’s day, and hardly -shed a tear in a twelvemonth.</p> - -<p>When Midas heard her sobs, he determined to put little -Marygold into better spirits by an agreeable surprise; so, -leaning across the table, he touched his daughter’s bowl -(which was a china one, with pretty figures all around it), -and changed it into gleaming gold.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Marygold slowly and sadly opened the door, -and showed herself with her apron at her eyes, still sobbing -as if her heart would break.</p> - -<p>“How now, my little lady!” cried Midas. “Pray, -what is the matter with you, this bright morning?”</p> - -<p>Marygold, without taking the apron from her eyes, held -out her hand, in which was one of the roses which Midas -had so recently changed into gold.</p> - -<p>“Beautiful!” exclaimed her father. “And what is -there in this magnificent golden rose to make you cry?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, dear father!” answered the child, between her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> -sobs, “it is not beautiful, but the ugliest flower that ever -grew! As soon as I was dressed, I ran into the garden to -gather some roses for you; because I know you like them, -and like them the better when gathered by your little -daughter. But oh, dear, dear me! What do you think -has happened? Such a sad thing! All the beautiful -roses, that smelled so sweetly, and had so many lovely -blushes, are blighted and spoilt! They are grown quite -yellowy as you see this one, and have no longer any -fragrance! What can have been the matter with them?”</p> - -<p>“Pooh, my dear little girl,—pray don’t cry about it!” -said Midas, who was ashamed to confess that he himself -had wrought the change which so greatly afflicted her. -“Sit down, and eat your bread and milk. You will find -it easy enough to exchange a golden rose like that (which -will last hundreds of years), for an ordinary one which -would wither in a day.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care for such roses as this!” cried Marygold, -tossing it contemptuously away. “It has no smell, and -the hard petals prick my nose!”</p> - -<p>The child now sat down to table, but was so occupied -with her grief for the blighted roses that she did not even -notice the wonderful change in her china bowl. Perhaps -this was all the better; for Marygold was accustomed to -take pleasure in looking at the queer figures and strange -trees and houses that were painted on the outside of the -bowl; and those ornaments were now entirely lost in the -yellow hue of the metal.</p> - -<p>Midas, meanwhile, had poured out a cup of coffee; and, -as a matter of course, the coffee-pot, whatever metal it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -may have been when he took it up, was gold when he set -it down. He thought to himself that it was rather an -extravagant style of splendor, in a king of his simple -habits, to breakfast off a service of gold, and began to -be puzzled with the difficulty of keeping his treasures -safe. The cupboard and the kitchen would no longer be -a secure place of deposit for articles so valuable as golden -bowls and golden coffee-pots.</p> - -<p>Amid these thoughts, he lifted a spoonful of coffee to his -lips, and, sipping it, was astonished to perceive that, the -instant his lips touched the liquid, it became molten gold, -and, the next moment, hardened into a lump!</p> - -<p>“Ha!” exclaimed Midas, rather aghast.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, father?” asked little Marygold, -gazing at him, with the tears still standing in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Nothing, child, nothing!” said Midas. “Take your -milk before it gets quite cold.”</p> - -<p>He took one of the nice little trouts on his plate, and -touched its tail with his finger. To his horror, it was -immediately changed from a brook-trout into a gold fish, -and looked as if it had been very cunningly made by the -nicest goldsmith in the world. Its little bones were now -golden wires; its fins and tail were thin plates of gold; -and there were the marks of the fork in it, and all the -delicate, frothy appearance of a nicely fried fish, exactly -imitated in metal.</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite see,” thought he to himself, “how I am -to get any breakfast!”</p> - -<p>He took one of the smoking-hot cakes, and had scarcely -broken it, when, to his cruel mortification, though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> a -moment before, it had been of the whitest wheat, it -assumed the yellow hue of Indian meal. Its solidity and -increased weight made him too bitterly sensible that it -was gold. Almost in despair, he helped himself to a boiled -egg, which immediately underwent a change similar to -that of the trout and the cake.</p> - -<p>“Well, this is terrible!” thought he, leaning back in his -chair, and looking quite enviously at little Marygold, who -was now eating her bread and milk with great satisfaction. -“Such a costly breakfast before me, and nothing that can -be eaten!”</p> - -<p>Hoping that, by dint of great dispatch, he might avoid -what he now felt to be a considerable inconvenience, -King Midas next snatched a hot potato, and attempted to -cram it into his mouth, and swallow it in a hurry. But -the Golden Touch was too nimble for him. He found his -mouth full, not of mealy potato, but of solid metal, which -so burnt his tongue that he roared aloud, and, jumping up -from the table, began to dance and stamp about the room, -both with pain and affright.</p> - -<p>“Father, dear father!” cried little Marygold, who was -a very affectionate child, “pray what is the matter? Have -you burnt your mouth?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, dear child,” groaned Midas, dolefully, “I don’t -know what is to become of your poor father!”</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>Oh, many a shaft at random sent,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Finds mark, the archer little meant!</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>And many a word at random spoken,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>May soothe, or wound, a heart that’s broken.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>Sir Walter Scott.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXXVII_THE_MAY_QUEEN" id="LXXXVII_THE_MAY_QUEEN"></a>LXXXVII.—THE MAY QUEEN.</h2> - -<p class="author">Tennyson.</p> - -<h3>FIRST READING.</h3> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p250.jpg" width="400" height="290" alt="A May Day dance" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear;</div> -<div class="verse">To-morrow ’ill be the happiest time of all the glad New-year;</div> -<div class="verse">Of all the glad New-year, mother, the maddest, merriest day;</div> -<div class="verse">For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s many a black black eye, they say, but none so bright as mine;</div> -<div class="verse">There’s Margaret and Mary, there’s Kate and Caroline:</div> -<div class="verse">But none so fair as little Alice in all the land they say,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -<div class="verse">So I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I sleep so sound all night, mother, that I shall never wake,</div> -<div class="verse">If you do not call me loud when the day begins to break:</div> -<div class="verse">But I must gather knots of flowers, and buds and garlands gay,</div> -<div class="verse">For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As I came up the valley whom think ye should I see,</div> -<div class="verse">But Robin leaning on the bridge beneath the hazel-tree?</div> -<div class="verse">He thought of that sharp look, mother, I gave him yesterday,—</div> -<div class="verse">But I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He thought I was a ghost, mother, for I was all in white,</div> -<div class="verse">And I ran by him without speaking, like a flash of light.</div> -<div class="verse">They call me cruel-hearted, but I care not what they say,</div> -<div class="verse">For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They say he’s dying all for love, but that can never be:</div> -<div class="verse">They say his heart is breaking, mother—what is that to me?</div> -<div class="verse">There’s many a bolder lad ’ill woo me any summer day,</div> -<div class="verse">And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Little Effie shall go with me to-morrow to the green,</div> -<div class="verse">And you’ll be there, too, mother, to see me made the Queen:</div> -<div class="verse">For the shepherd lads on every side ’ill come from far away,</div> -<div class="verse">And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The honeysuckle round the porch has wov’n its wavy bowers,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And by the meadow-trenches blow the faint sweet cuckoo-flowers;</div> -<div class="verse">And the wild marsh-marigold shines like fire in swamps and hollows gray,</div> -<div class="verse">And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The night-winds come and go, mother, upon the meadow-grass,</div> -<div class="verse">And the happy stars above them seem to brighten as they pass;</div> -<div class="verse">There will not be a drop of rain the whole of the livelong day,</div> -<div class="verse">And I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">All the valley, mother, ’ill be fresh and green and still,</div> -<div class="verse">And the cowslip and the crowfoot are over all the hill,</div> -<div class="verse">And the rivulet in the flowery dale ’ill merrily glance and play,</div> -<div class="verse">For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So you must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear,</div> -<div class="verse">To-morrow ’ill be the happiest time of all the glad New-year:</div> -<div class="verse">To-morrow ’ill be of all the year the maddest, merriest day,</div> -<div class="verse">For I’m to be Queen o’ the May, mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="LXXXVIII_THE_FLOWER" id="LXXXVIII_THE_FLOWER"></a>LXXXVIII.—THE FLOWER.</h2> - -<p>Why comes the flower upon the plant? That fruit -may come. And why the fruit? That it may hold, protect, -and cherish the seed. And why the seed? That -the plant may have offspring—that other plants may -grow up and be as near like itself as one living thing can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -well be like another.</p> - -<p>The flower is the beginning of the seed, the first step -toward reproduction, and the fruit is the flower completed. -If it does throw aside its floral ornaments,—its petals or -other adorning or useful parts of its blooming period,—it -still retains the maturing seed and ends in the ripened fruit.</p> - -<p>Look inside of almost any flower and you will see -embosomed in its petals the thread-like organs called stamens -with little yellow knobs at their ends. Shake them; -if they are ripe, they will give up the fine dust or pollen, -so light that the breeze will blow it away.</p> - -<p>Some flowers have few stamens, some have many, and -of the latter the apple and cherry blossoms afford examples. -Most of the different grasses have three stamens -to each of their little flowers. For example, a head of -timothy-grass has a long thick bunch of flowers, crowded -together at the top of the slender stem. Early in the -summer, about June, you may see the little stamens -peeping out all around, three of them together, and their -little golden knobs dangling in the breeze. Some plants -have only two stamens on a flower, and there is a water -plant, called the mare’s-tail, with only one stamen. A few -flowers, indeed, are wholly destitute of this organ.</p> - -<p>Besides the stamens, there are also in most flowers, -other threads, stems, or knobs, somewhat like the stamens, -but generally of a different color. These pistils, as they -are called, have their place in the centre of the flower, -whilst the stamens stand around them. Unlike the -stamens, the pistils have no pollen; but it is on the latter -that the pollen must fall, in order that the plant may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> -bear seed. It is in the bottom of the pistils, that the seeds -grow, but there will be no seed, unless the dust or pollen -from the stamens, falls on the pistils.</p> - -<p>Most plants bear flowers that have both stamens and -pistils. Such flowers are called <i>perfect</i> flowers. But -there are also plants that have two kinds of flowers, in -some of which are stamens only, and in the others pistils -only. Again, there are plants, some of which have -flowers with stamens only, and others of which have -flowers with pistils only. The willow-trees are such plants.</p> - -<p>Of the five senses, flowers address themselves most -feelingly to two. In delighting the sense of smell they -stand pre-eminent—almost alone. Does true fragrance -ever come from anything but a plant? and are not flowers -especially the generous dispensers of grateful odors? And -to the eye what wealth of beauty do they unfold!</p> - -<p>We need think of no more than the lily, the pink, and -the rose. Was <i>anything</i> ever arrayed like one of these? -When we look upon them they fill the heart with joy. We -smell of them, and exclaim that their fragrance exceeds -even their beauty. Again we look upon them, and now -we aver that their beauty surpasses their perfume.</p> - -<div class="list-container"> - -<h3>Word Exercise.</h3> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>pĕt´als</li> -<li>slĕn´der</li> -<li>cher´ish</li> -<li>dangling (<i>dang´gling</i>)</li> -<li>pŏl´len</li> -<li>re-tains´</li> -<li>ar-rayed´</li> -<li>pĭs´tils</li> -<li>stā´mens</li> -<li>blos´soms</li> -<li>ma-tūr´ing</li> -<li>per´fume</li> -<li>ad-drĕss´</li> -<li>a-dorn´ing</li> -<li>frā´grance</li> -</ul> - -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Floral ornaments.—2. Blooming period.—3. Afford -examples.—4. Golden knobs.—5. Wholly destitute.—6. <i>Perfect</i> -flowers.—7. They stand pre-eminent.—8. True fragrance.—9. -Generous dispensers.—10. Grateful odors.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LXXXIX_THE_MAY_QUEEN_NEW_YEARS" id="LXXXIX_THE_MAY_QUEEN_NEW_YEARS"></a>LXXXIX.—THE MAY QUEEN.—NEW YEAR’S -EVE.</h2> - -<p class="author">Tennyson.</p> - -<h3>SECOND READING.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If you’re waking, call me early, call me early, mother dear,</div> -<div class="verse">For I would see the sun rise upon the glad New-year.</div> -<div class="verse">It is the last New-year that I shall ever see,</div> -<div class="verse">Then you may lay me low i’ the mould and think no more of me.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">To-night I saw the sun set: he set and left behind</div> -<div class="verse">The good old year, the dear old time, and all my peace of mind;</div> -<div class="verse">And the New-year’s coming up, mother, but I shall never see</div> -<div class="verse">The blossom on the blackthorn, the leaf upon the tree.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Last May we made a crown of flowers: we had a merry day;</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath the hawthorn on the green they made me Queen of May;</div> -<div class="verse">And we danced about the May-pole and in the hazel copse,</div> -<div class="verse">Till Charles’s Wain came out above the tall white chimney-tops.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There’s not a flower on all the hills: the frost is on the pane:</div> -<div class="verse">I only wish to live till the snow-drops come again:</div> -<div class="verse">I wish the snow would melt and the sun come out on high:</div> -<div class="verse">I long to see a flower so before the day I die.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The building rook ’ill caw from the windy tall elm-tree,</div> -<div class="verse">And the tufted plover pipe along the fallow lea,</div> -<div class="verse">And the swallow ’ill come back again with summer o’er the wave,</div> -<div class="verse">But I shall lie alone, mother, within the mouldering grave.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Upon the chancel-casement, and upon that grave of mine,</div> -<div class="verse">In the early early morning the summer sun ’ill shine,</div> -<div class="verse">Before the red cock crows from the farm upon the hill,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> -<div class="verse">When you are warm asleep, mother, and all the world is still.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When the flowers come again, mother, beneath the waning light</div> -<div class="verse">You’ll never see me more in the long gray fields at night;</div> -<div class="verse">When from the dry dark wold the summer airs blow cool</div> -<div class="verse">On the oat-grass and the sword-grass, and the bulrush in the pool.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">You’ll bury me, my mother, just beneath the hawthorn shade,</div> -<div class="verse">And you’ll come sometimes and see me where I am lowly laid.</div> -<div class="verse">I shall not forget you, mother, I shall hear you when you pass,</div> -<div class="verse">With your feet above my head in the long and pleasant grass.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I have been wild and wayward, but you’ll forgive me now;</div> -<div class="verse">You’ll kiss me, my own mother, and forgive me ere I go;</div> -<div class="verse">Nay, nay, you must not weep, nor let your grief be wild,</div> -<div class="verse">You should not fret for me, mother, you have another child.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If I can I’ll come again, mother, from out my resting-place;</div> -<div class="verse">Tho’ you’ll not see me, mother, I shall look upon your face;</div> -<div class="verse">Tho’ I cannot speak a word, I shall hearken what you say,</div> -<div class="verse">And be often, often with you when you think I’m far away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Good-night, good-night, when I have said good-night forevermore,</div> -<div class="verse">And you see me carried out from the threshold of the door,</div> -<div class="verse">Don’t let Effie come to see me till my grave be growing green:</div> -<div class="verse">She’ll be a better child to you than ever I have been.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">She’ll find my garden-tools upon the granary floor:</div> -<div class="verse">Let her take ’em: they are hers: I shall never garden more:</div> -<div class="verse">But tell her, when I’m gone, to train the rose-bush that I set</div> -<div class="verse">About the parlor-window and the box of mignonette.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Good-night, sweet mother: call me before the day is born.</div> -<div class="verse">All night I lie awake, but I fall asleep at morn;</div> -<div class="verse">But I would see the sun rise upon the glad New-year,</div> -<div class="verse">So, if you’re waking, call me, call me early, mother dear.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XC_THE_FRUIT" id="XC_THE_FRUIT"></a>XC.—THE FRUIT.</h2> - -<p class="author">Gustavus Frankenstein.</p> - -<p>It is not alone the delicious grape, the grateful apple, -the luscious pear, the clustered cherries, the tart currants, -the golden orange, the sweet blackberries, the refreshing -melon, the blooming peach, the purple plum, the sun-fed -strawberries, or whatever other products of the plants we -may deem good to eat, that are entitled to the name of -fruit. The very mention, the very thought of fruit, -brings to our minds an ever-welcome idea of something -not only wholesome and pleasing to the taste, but at the -same time beautiful; for all fertile flowers, on whatever -plant they may grow, merge eventually into fruit. That -fruit may not be edible; it may be bitter, it may be sour, -it may be as dry as a chip, or it may even be poisonous,—still -it is fruit. It is fruit to the plant, if not to us.</p> - -<p>The seed, we may say, is the infant offspring of the -plant, by means of which, in the course of nature, it perpetuates -its kind. The flower is the first step in the formation -of the fruit. The plant opens to the sunshine a -charming expression of form and color in the budding -flower. Nursing in its bosom the growing germ, the -flower usually sheds its gay attire, throws off its petals, -its ribbons, and its tassels, and in a sober, motherly way -devotes itself to the one great task of cherishing, perfecting, -and guarding the seed.</p> - -<p>In fact, the flower, which at first seemed but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> a transport -of joy, now shorn of its bridal ornaments, has -become the substantial fruit. That fruit is the guardian -of the seed, within which sleeps the infant plant; and -according to the needs of that seed will the fruit be -fashioned. Are the seeds to be carried far and wide?—ten -to one the fruit is furnished with a plume, a sail, or a -wing, by which to be wafted through the air, or with -hooks to cling to passing animals, or with some other contrivance -to effect conveyance.</p> - -<p>Or, if the seed inside be provided with a sail, the fruit -will open and let the little seed go forth and seek its fortune -by itself. Endless are the expedients by which the -seed and the fruit seek to perpetuate the kind of plant -from which they spring.</p> - -<p>We may look at the well-known fruit-head of the -dandelion, which is the prettiest -little airy-like silken ball -that can be imagined. Doubtless, -it has not occurred to -everybody, what this beautiful -sphere, so common in the meadows -and by the road-sides, -really is. Previous to this -sphere, and in the place of it, -was the flower, the well-known -yellow dandelion, which belongs -to the composite family.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 132px;"> -<img src="images/leaf-dandelion.jpg" width="132" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Dandelion Head.</p> -</div> - -<p>The dandelion is not really -<i>one</i> flower, but a circled group -of many small flowers or florets. These are surrounded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> -by an outer circle of green leaflets, which bend down -when the florets have changed into fruits, allowing them -to radiate in every direction from the core in the centre. -The whole ball is made up of many small fruits, each of -which is a single seed enclosed in a thin cover, surmounted -by an elevated circled plume.</p> - -<p>Blow on this lovely little sphere, and away will fly the -little tufted fruits, some one way and some another. If -there is any breeze stirring, there is no knowing how far -they will go. It is not strange, then, that dandelions -spring up almost everywhere. See what a vast number -of fruits must go sailing about, all over the country, on a -dry midsummer’s day. It is true, not half of them grow -up into plants to make more dandelions, but a great -many of them do.</p> - -<p>In the same way, the beautiful asters of our woods, -with their flowers of yellow or purplish disks, and lovely -rays of white or purple, as large as roses, let their little -fruits fly away from their heads as soon as ripe and dry.</p> - -<p>There are about as many different kinds of fruits as -there are of flowers. The plants of the bean family, for -instance, have fruits like the bean pods. These pods, -when ripe and dry, split open at the two edges, and then -the beans or seeds drop out. Do you know the pods of -the honey-locust trees,—large, broad, thin, and sweet? -Clover too belongs to the bean family. You can find the -tiny pods in the dry heads of clover, if you will pick -out the little withered flowers and open them.</p> - -<p>Some fruits have a kind of wings. Such are the fruits -of our beautiful maple tree; and very pretty are these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -maple keys, as they are called, when they hang in clusters -from the branches, and dangle among the leaves. At -the end, where they are joined, there is in each key a -thick, hard, round swelling, in which is the seed. When -the fruit is ripe and dry it falls off, and we may often see -the pair of keys flying away together. As they are light, -they go whirling in the wind, sometimes to a great distance. -The fruit of the ash-tree looks like that of the -maple, and also hangs in bunches; but each fruit is a -single key.</p> - -<p>These are but a few of the many kinds of fruits to be -found on plants, each in itself a curiosity and a beauty; -and how much we fairly owe to them is scarcely ever in -our thoughts. If we consider but wheat alone, how valuable -to us is its little fruit, the simple grain; to say -nothing of the fruits of other grasses, such as rice, rye, -oats, and the large and generous ears of Indian-corn.</p> - -<p>Nor must the cotton-plant be forgotten, whose fruit does -not indeed feed, but clothes our bodies, enters into countless -uses in every household, is indispensable on every -craft that sails the sea, and inseparable from so many industries -on land and water. The fruit of the cotton-plant -is a pod, which, bursting open, reveals a mass of -white woolly fibres, enveloping and clinging to the seeds. -This is the beautiful and useful cotton.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h3>Phrase Exercise.</h3> - -<p>1. Merge eventually.—2. Perpetuates its kind.—3. Charming -expression.—4. Usually sheds its gay attire.—5. Shorn of -its bridal ornaments.—6. Contrivance to effect conveyance.—7. -Surrounded by an elevated circled plume.—8. <i>Indispensable</i> -on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> every <i>craft</i>.—9. <i>Inseparable</i> from so many <i>industries</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2><a name="XCI_THE_MAY_QUEEN_CONCLUSION" id="XCI_THE_MAY_QUEEN_CONCLUSION"></a>XCI.—THE MAY QUEEN.—CONCLUSION.</h2> - -<p class="author">Tennyson.</p> - -<h3>THIRD READING.</h3> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p261.jpg" width="400" height="259" alt="The May Queen dying in bed" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I thought to pass away before, and yet alive I am;</div> -<div class="verse">And in the fields all round I hear the bleating of the lamb.</div> -<div class="verse">How sadly, I remember, rose the morning of the year!</div> -<div class="verse">To die before the snowdrop came, and now the violet’s here.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O sweet is the new violet, that comes beneath the skies,</div> -<div class="verse">And sweeter is the young lamb’s voice to me that cannot rise,</div> -<div class="verse">And sweet is all the land about, and all the flowers that blow,</div> -<div class="verse">And sweeter far is death than life to me that long to go.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">It seemed so hard at first, mother, to leave the blessed sun,</div> -<div class="verse">And now it seems as hard to stay, and yet His will be done!</div> -<div class="verse">But still I think it can’t be long before I find release;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And that good man, the clergyman, has told me words of peace.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O blessings on his kindly voice and on his silver hair!</div> -<div class="verse">And blessings on his whole life long, until he meet me there!</div> -<div class="verse">O blessings on his kindly heart and on his silver head!</div> -<div class="verse">A thousand times I blessed him, as he knelt beside my bed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He taught me all the mercy, for he showed me all the sin.</div> -<div class="verse">Now, tho’ my lamp was lighted late, there’s One will let me in:</div> -<div class="verse">Nor would I now be well, mother, again, if that could be,</div> -<div class="verse">For my desire is but to pass to Him that died for me.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I did not hear the dog howl, mother, or the death-watch beat,</div> -<div class="verse">There came a sweeter token when the night and morning meet:</div> -<div class="verse">But sit beside my bed, mother, and put your hand in mine,</div> -<div class="verse">And Effie on the other side, and I will tell the sign.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">All in the wild March morning I heard the angels call;</div> -<div class="verse">It was when the moon was setting, and the dark was over all;</div> -<div class="verse">The trees began to whisper, and the wind began to roll,</div> -<div class="verse">And in the wild March morning I heard them call my soul.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For lying broad awake I thought of you and Effie dear;</div> -<div class="verse">I saw you sitting in the house, and I no longer here;</div> -<div class="verse">With all my strength I prayed for both, and so I felt resigned,</div> -<div class="verse">And up the valley came a swell of music on the wind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I thought that it was fancy, and I listened in my bed,</div> -<div class="verse">And then did something speak to me—I know not what was said;</div> -<div class="verse">For great delight and shuddering took hold of all my mind,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And up the valley came again the music on the wind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But you were sleeping; and I said, “It’s not for them: it’s mine.”</div> -<div class="verse">And if it comes three times, I thought, I take it for a sign.</div> -<div class="verse">And once again it came, and close beside the window-bars,</div> -<div class="verse">Then seemed to go right up to Heaven and die among the stars.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So now I think my time is near. I trust it is. I know</div> -<div class="verse">The blessed music went that way my soul will have to go.</div> -<div class="verse">And for myself, indeed, I care not if I go to-day.</div> -<div class="verse">But Effie, you must comfort <i>her</i> when I am past away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And say to Robin a kind word, and tell him not to fret;</div> -<div class="verse">There’s many worthier than I, would make him happy yet.</div> -<div class="verse">If I had lived—I cannot tell—I might have been his wife;</div> -<div class="verse">But all these things have ceased to be, with my desire of life.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O look! the sun begins to rise, the heavens are in a glow;</div> -<div class="verse">He shines upon a hundred fields, and all of them I know.</div> -<div class="verse">And there I move no longer now, and there his light may shine—</div> -<div class="verse">Wild flowers in the valley for other hands than mine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O sweet and strange it seems to me, that ere this day is done</div> -<div class="verse">The voice, that now is speaking, may be beyond the sun—</div> -<div class="verse">For ever and for ever with those just souls and true—</div> -<div class="verse">And what is life, that we should moan? why make we such ado?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For ever and forever, all in a blessed home—</div> -<div class="verse">And there to wait a little while till you and Effie come—</div> -<div class="verse">To lie within the light of God, as I lie upon your breast—</div> -<div class="verse">And the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XCII_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH" id="XCII_THE_GOLDEN_TOUCH"></a>XCII.—THE GOLDEN TOUCH.</h2> - -<p class="author">Nathaniel Hawthorne.</p> - -<h3>THIRD READING.</h3> - -<p>And, truly, did you ever hear of such a pitiable case, in -all your lives? Here was literally the richest breakfast -that could be set before a king, and its very richness -made it absolutely good for nothing. The poorest laborer, -sitting down to his crust of bread and cup of water, was -far better off than King Midas, whose delicate food was -really worth its weight in gold.</p> - -<p>And what was to be done? Already, at breakfast, -Midas was excessively hungry. Would he be less so by -dinner-time? And how ravenous would be his appetite -for supper, which must undoubtedly consist of the same -sort of indigestible dishes as those now before him! -How many days, think you, would he survive a continuance -of this rich fare?</p> - -<p>These reflections so troubled wise King Midas, that he -began to doubt whether, after all, riches are the one -desirable thing in the world, or even the most desirable. -But this was only a passing thought. So fascinated was -Midas with the glitter of the yellow metal, that he would -still have refused to give up the Golden Touch for so paltry -a consideration as a breakfast. Just imagine what a price -for one meal’s victuals! It would have been the same as -paying millions and millions of money for some fried trout, -an egg, a potato, a hot cake, and a cup of coffee!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It would be much too dear,” thought Midas.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, so great was his hunger, and the perplexity -of his situation, that he again groaned aloud, and -very grievously too. Our pretty Marygold could endure -it no longer. She sat a moment gazing at her father, and -trying, with all the might of her little wits, to find out -what was the matter with him. Then, with a sweet and -sorrowful impulse to comfort him, she started from her -chair, and, running to Midas, threw her arms affectionately -about his knees. He bent down and kissed her. He felt -that his little daughter’s love was worth a thousand times -more than he had gained by the Golden Touch.</p> - -<p>“My precious, precious Marygold!” cried he.</p> - -<p>But Marygold made no answer.</p> - -<p>Alas, what had he done? How fatal was the gift -which the stranger had bestowed! The moment the lips of -Midas touched Marygold’s forehead, a change had taken -place. Her sweet, rosy face, so full of affection as it had -been, assumed a glittering yellow color, with yellow tear-drops -congealing on her cheeks. Her beautiful brown -ringlets took the same tint. Her soft and tender little -form grew hard and inflexible within her father’s -encircling arms. O terrible misfortune! The victim of -his insatiable desire for wealth, little Marygold was a -human child no longer, but a golden statue!</p> - -<p>Yes, there she was, with the questioning look of love, -grief, and pity, hardened into her face. It was the -prettiest and most woful sight that ever mortal saw. All -the features and tokens of Marygold were there; even the -beloved little dimple remained in her golden chin. But,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -the more perfect was the resemblance, the greater was the -father’s agony at beholding this golden image, which was -all that was left him of a daughter.</p> - -<p>It had been a favorite phrase of Midas, whenever he -felt particularly fond of the child, to say that she was -worth her weight in gold. And now the phrase had -become literally true. And, now, at last, when it was too -late, he felt how infinitely a warm and tender heart, that -loved him, exceeded in value all the wealth that could be -piled up betwixt the earth and sky!</p> - -<p>It would be too sad a story, if I were to tell you how -Midas, in the fulness of all his gratified desires, began to -wring his hands and bemoan himself; and how he could -neither bear to look at Marygold, nor yet to look away -from her. Except when his eyes were fixed on the image, -he could not possibly believe that she was changed to gold. -But, stealing another glance, there was the precious little -figure, with a yellow tear-drop on its yellow cheek, and a -look so piteous and tender, that it seemed as if that very -expression must needs soften the gold, and make it flesh -again. This, however, could not be. So Midas had only -to wring his hands, and to wish that he were the poorest -man in the wide world, if the loss of all his wealth might -bring back the faintest rose-color to his dear child’s face.</p> - -<p>While he was in this tumult of despair, he suddenly -beheld a stranger, standing near the door. Midas bent -down his head, without speaking; for he recognized the -same figure which had appeared to him the day before in -the treasure-room, and had bestowed on him this disastrous -power of the Golden Touch. The stranger’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> -countenance still wore a smile, which seemed to shed a -yellow lustre all about the room, and gleamed on little -Marygold’s image, and on the other objects that had been -transmuted by the touch of Midas.</p> - -<p>“Well, friend Midas,” said the stranger, “pray, how do -you succeed with the Golden Touch?”</p> - -<p>Midas shook his head.</p> - -<p>“I am very miserable,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Very miserable! indeed!” exclaimed the stranger, -“and how happens that? Have I not faithfully kept my -promise with you? Have you not every thing that your -heart desired?”</p> - -<p>“Gold is not every thing,” answered Midas. “And I -have lost all that my heart really cared for.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! So you have made a discovery, since yesterday?” -observed the stranger. “Let us see, then. Which of these -two things do you think is really worth the most,—the -gift of the Golden Touch, or one cup of clear cold water?”</p> - -<p>“O blessed water!” exclaimed Midas. “It will never -moisten my parched throat again!”</p> - -<p>“The Golden Touch,” continued the stranger, “or a -crust of bread?”</p> - -<p>“A piece of bread,” answered Midas, “is worth all the -gold on earth!”</p> - -<p>“The Golden Touch,” asked the stranger, “or your own -little Marygold, warm, soft, and loving, as she was an -hour ago?”</p> - -<p>“O my child, my dear child<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>!” cried poor King -Midas, wringing his hands. “I would not have given -that one small dimple in her chin for the power of changing -this whole big earth into a solid lump of gold!”</p> - -<p>“You are wiser than you were, King Midas!” said -the stranger, looking seriously at him. “Your own -heart, I perceive, has not been entirely changed from flesh -to gold. Were it so, your case would indeed be desperate. -But you appear to be still capable of understanding that -the commonest things, such as lie within everybody’s -grasp, are more valuable than the riches which so many -mortals sigh and struggle after. Tell me, now, do you -sincerely desire to rid yourself of this Golden Touch?”</p> - -<p>“It is hateful to me!” replied Midas.</p> - -<p>A fly settled on his nose, but immediately fell to the -floor; for it, too, had become gold. Midas shuddered.</p> - -<p>“Go, then,” said the stranger, “and plunge into the -river that glides past the bottom of your garden. Take -likewise a vase of the same water, and sprinkle it over -any object that you may desire to change back again from -gold into its former substance. If you do this in earnestness -and sincerity, it may possibly repair the mischief -which your avarice has occasioned.”</p> - -<p>King Midas bowed low; and when he lifted his head, -the lustrous stranger had vanished.</p> - -<p>You will easily believe that Midas lost no time in -snatching up a great earthen pitcher (but, alas me! it was -no longer earthen after he touched it), and in hastening -to the river-side. As he ran along, and forced his way -through the shrubbery, it was positively marvellous to see -how the foliage turned yellow behind him, as if the -autumn had been there, and nowhere else. On reaching -the river’s brink, he plunged headlong in, without waiting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -so much as to pull off his shoes.</p> - -<p>“Poof! poof! poof!” gasped King Midas, as his head -emerged out of the water. “Well; this is really a -refreshing bath, and I think it must have quite washed -away the Golden Touch. And now for filling my pitcher!”</p> - -<p>As he dipped the pitcher into the water, it gladdened -his very heart to see it change from gold into the same -good, honest, earthen vessel which it had been before he -touched it. He was conscious, also, of a change within -himself. A cold, hard, and heavy weight seemed to have -gone out of his bosom. No doubt his heart had been -gradually losing its human substance, and been changing -into insensible metal, but had now been softened back -again into flesh. Perceiving a violet, that grew on the -bank of the river, Midas touched it with his finger, and -was overjoyed to find that the delicate flower retained its -purple hue, instead of undergoing a yellow blight. The -curse of the Golden Touch had, therefore, really been -removed from him.</p> - -<p>King Midas hastened back to the palace; and, I -suppose, the servants knew not what to make of it when -they saw their royal master so carefully bringing home -an earthen pitcher of water. But that water, which was -to undo all the mischief that his folly had wrought, was -more precious to Midas than an ocean of molten gold -could have been. The first thing he did, as you need -hardly be told, was to sprinkle it by handfuls over the -golden figure of little Marygold.</p> - -<p>No sooner did it fall on her than you would have -laughed to see how the rosy color came back to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -dear child’s cheek!—and how astonished she was to find -herself dripping wet, and her father still throwing more -water over her!</p> - -<p>“Pray do not, dear father!” cried she. “See how you -have wet my nice frock, which I put on only this -morning!”</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p270.jpg" width="300" height="250" alt="Midas revives Marygold by sprinkling water over her" /> -</div> - -<p>For Marygold did not know that she had been a little -golden statue; nor could she remember any thing that had -happened since the moment when she ran with outstretched -arms to comfort poor King Midas.</p> - -<p>Her father did not think it necessary to tell his -beloved child how very foolish he had been, but contented -himself with showing how much wiser he had now grown.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> -For this purpose, he led little Marygold into the garden, -where he sprinkled all the remainder of the water over -the rose-bushes, and with such good effect that above five -thousand roses recovered their beautiful bloom. There -were two circumstances, however, which, as long as he -lived, used to remind King Midas of the Golden Touch. -One was, that the sands of the river in which he had -bathed, sparkled like gold; the other, that little -Marygold’s hair had now a golden tinge, which he had -never observed in it before she had been changed by the -effect of his kiss. This change of hue was really an -improvement, and made Marygold’s hair richer than in -her babyhood.</p> - -<p>When King Midas had grown quite an old man, and used -to take Marygold’s children on his knee, he was fond of -telling them this marvellous story, pretty much as I have -told it to you. And then would he stroke their glossy -ringlets, and tell them that their hair, likewise, had a rich -shade of gold, which they had inherited from their mother.</p> - -<p>“And, to tell you the truth, my precious little folks,” -said King Midas, “ever since that morning, I have hated -the very sight of all other gold, save this!”</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><i>Life! we’ve been long together</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Through pleasant and through cloudy weather;</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>’Tis hard to part when friends are dear,—</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>Perhaps ’twill cost a sigh, a tear;</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>Then steal away, give little warning,</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>Choose thine own time;</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Say not Good Night, but in some brighter clime</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><i>Bid me Good Morning.</i></div> -<div class="attribution">—<i>Anna Letitia Barbauld.</i></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="XCIII_JOHN_GILPIN" id="XCIII_JOHN_GILPIN"></a>XCIII.—JOHN GILPIN.</h2> - -<p class="center"><i>Showing how he went farther than he intended, and came safe home again.</i></p> - -<p class="author">William Cowper.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p272.jpg" width="400" height="289" alt="Gilpin tearing away from the pub on a horse, scattering geese and a dog in his wake" /> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">John Gilpin was a citizen</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of credit and renown,</div> -<div class="verse">A train-band captain eke was he</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of famous London town.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">John Gilpin’s spouse said to her dear,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“Though wedded we have been</div> -<div class="verse">These thrice ten tedious years, yet we</div> -<div class="verse indent2">No holiday have seen.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“To-morrow is our wedding day,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And we will then repair</div> -<div class="verse">Unto the Bell at Edmonton,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">All in a chaise and pair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“My sister and my sister’s child,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Myself and children three,</div> -<div class="verse">Will fill the chaise; so you must ride</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On horseback after we.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He soon replied, “I do admire</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of womankind but one;</div> -<div class="verse">And you are she, my dearest dear,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Therefore it shall be done.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I am a linen-draper bold,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As all the world doth know,</div> -<div class="verse">And my good friend the calender</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Will lend his horse to go.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Quoth Mrs. Gilpin, “That’s well said;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And for that wine is dear.</div> -<div class="verse">We will be furnished with our own,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Which is both bright and clear.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">John Gilpin kissed his loving wife;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O’erjoyed was he to find,</div> -<div class="verse">That though on pleasure she was bent,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She had a frugal mind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The morning came, the chaise was brought,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But yet was not allowed</div> -<div class="verse">To drive up to the door, lest all</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Should say that she was proud.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So three doors off the chaise was stayed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where they did all get in,—</div> -<div class="verse">Six precious souls, and all agog</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To dash through thick and thin.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Smack went the whip, round went the wheels,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Were never folks so glad!</div> -<div class="verse">The stones did rattle underneath,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As if Cheapside were mad.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">John Gilpin at his horse’s side,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Seized fast the flowing mane,</div> -<div class="verse">And up he got, in haste to ride,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But soon came down again:—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For saddle-tree scarce reached had he,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His journey to begin,</div> -<div class="verse">When, turning round his head, he saw</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Three customers come in.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So down he came; for loss of time,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Although it grieved him sore,</div> -<div class="verse">Yet loss of pence, full well he knew,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Would trouble him much more.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Twas long before the customers</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Were suited to their mind,</div> -<div class="verse">When Betty, screaming, came down stairs,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“The wine is left behind!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Good-lack!” quoth he, “yet bring it me,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My leathern belt likewise,</div> -<div class="verse">In which I bear my trusty sword,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">When I do exercise.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now, Mrs. Gilpin (careful soul!)</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Had two stone bottles found,</div> -<div class="verse">To hold the liquor that she loved,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And keep it safe and sound.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Each bottle had a curling ear,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Through which the belt he drew,</div> -<div class="verse">And hung a bottle on each side,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">To make his balance true.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then over all, that he might be</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Equipped from top to toe,</div> -<div class="verse">His long red cloak, well-brushed and neat,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He manfully did throw.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now see him mounted once again</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Upon his nimble steed,</div> -<div class="verse">Full slowly pacing o’er the stones,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With caution and good heed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But finding soon a smoother road</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Beneath his well-shod feet,</div> -<div class="verse">The snorting beast began to trot,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Which galled him in his seat.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So,“Fair and softly!” John he cried,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But John he cried in vain;</div> -<div class="verse">That trot became a gallop soon,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In spite of curb and rein.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So, stooping down, as needs he must</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Who cannot sit upright,</div> -<div class="verse">He grasped the mane with both his hands,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And eke with all his might.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">His horse, who never in that sort</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Had handled been before,</div> -<div class="verse">What thing upon his back had got</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Did wonder more and more.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Away went Gilpin, neck or nought;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Away went hat and wig;</div> -<div class="verse">He little dreamt, when he set out,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of running such a rig.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The wind did blow, the cloak did fly,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Like streamer long and gay</div> -<div class="verse">Till, loop and button failing both,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">At last it flew away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then might all people well discern</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The bottles he had slung,—</div> -<div class="verse">A bottle swinging at each side,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As hath been said or sung.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The dogs did bark, the children screamed,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Up flew the windows all;</div> -<div class="verse">And every soul cried out, “Well done!”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As loud as he could bawl.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Away went Gilpin—who but he?</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His fame soon spread around:</div> -<div class="verse">“He carries weight! he rides a race!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">’Tis for a thousand pound!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And still, as fast as he drew near,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">’Twas wonderful to view,</div> -<div class="verse">How in a trice the turnpike-men</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Their gates wide open threw.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And now, as he went bowing down</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His reeking head full low,</div> -<div class="verse">The bottles twain behind his back</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Were shattered at a blow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Down ran the wine into the road,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Most piteous to be seen,</div> -<div class="verse">Which made his horse’s flanks to smoke</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As they had basted been.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But still he seemed to carry weight,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">With leathern girdle braced;</div> -<div class="verse">For all might see the bottle-necks</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Still dangling at his waist.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thus all through merry Islington</div> -<div class="verse indent2">These gambols did he play,</div> -<div class="verse">Until he came unto the Wash</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Of Edmonton so gay;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And there he threw the Wash about</div> -<div class="verse indent2">On both sides of the way,</div> -<div class="verse">Just like unto a trundling mop,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Or a wild goose at play.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At Edmonton, his loving wife</div> -<div class="verse indent2">From the balcony espied</div> -<div class="verse">Her tender husband, wondering much</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To see how he did ride.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Stop, stop, John Gilpin:—Here’s the house!”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They all at once did cry;</div> -<div class="verse">“The dinner waits, and we are tired.”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Said Gilpin,—“So am I!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But yet his horse was not a whit</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Inclined to tarry there!</div> -<div class="verse">For why?—his owner had a house</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Full ten miles off, at Ware.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So like an arrow swift he flew,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Shot by an archer strong;</div> -<div class="verse">So did he fly—which brings me to</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The middle of my song.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Away went Gilpin, out of breath,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And sore against his will,</div> -<div class="verse">Till at his friend the calender’s</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His horse at last stood still.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The calender, amazed to see</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">His neighbor in such trim,</div> -<div class="verse">Laid down his pipe, flew to the gate,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And thus accosted him:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“What news? what news? your tidings tell;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Tell me you must and shall;</div> -<div class="verse">Say, why bareheaded you are come,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Or why you come at all!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now Gilpin had a pleasant wit,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And loved a timely joke;</div> -<div class="verse">And thus unto the calender</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In merry guise he spoke:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I came because your horse would come:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And, if I well forebode,</div> -<div class="verse">My hat and wig will soon be here,—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They are upon the road.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The calender, right glad to find</div> -<div class="verse indent2">His friend in merry pin,</div> -<div class="verse">Returned him not a single word,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But to the house went in;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Whence straight he came with hat and wig,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A wig that flowed behind,</div> -<div class="verse">A hat not much the worse for wear,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Each comely in its kind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He held them up, and in his turn,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thus showed his ready wit:</div> -<div class="verse">“My head is twice as big as yours.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They therefore needs must fit.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“But let me scrape the dirt away,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That hangs upon your face;</div> -<div class="verse">And stop and eat, for well you may</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Be in a hungry case.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Said John, “It is my wedding-day,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And all the world would stare,</div> -<div class="verse">If wife should dine at Edmonton,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And I should dine at Ware.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So, turning to his horse, he said—</div> -<div class="verse indent2">“I am in haste to dine:</div> -<div class="verse">’Twas for your pleasure you came here,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">You shall go back for mine.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ah! luckless speech, and bootless boast,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For which he paid full dear;</div> -<div class="verse">For, while he spake, a braying ass</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Did sing most loud and clear;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Whereat his horse did snort, as he</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Had heard a lion roar,</div> -<div class="verse">And galloped off with all his might,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As he had done before.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Away went Gilpin, and away</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Went Gilpin’s hat and wig;</div> -<div class="verse">He lost them sooner than at first;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For why?—they were too big.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now, mistress Gilpin, when she saw</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Her husband posting down</div> -<div class="verse">Into the country—far away,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">She pulled out half-a-crown;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And thus unto the youth, she said,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That drove them to the Bell,</div> -<div class="verse">“This shall be yours, when you bring back,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">My husband, safe and well.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The youth did ride, and soon did meet</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">John coming back amain;</div> -<div class="verse">Whom in a trice he tried to stop,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">By catching at his rein;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But, not performing what he meant,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And gladly would have done,</div> -<div class="verse">The frighted steed he frighted more,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And made him faster run.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Away went Gilpin, and away</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Went postboy at his heels,—</div> -<div class="verse">The postboy’s horse right glad to miss</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The lumbering of the wheels.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Six gentlemen upon the road,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thus seeing Gilpin fly,</div> -<div class="verse">With postboy scampering in the rear,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">They raised the hue and cry:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Stop, thief! stop, thief!—a highwayman!”</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Not one of them was mute;</div> -<div class="verse">And all and each that passed that way</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Did join in the pursuit.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And now the turnpike-gates again</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Flew open in short space;</div> -<div class="verse">The toll-men thinking as before,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">That Gilpin rode a race.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And so he did, and won it too,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For he got first to town;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor stopped till where he had got up</div> -<div class="verse indent2">He did again get down.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now let us sing, long live the king,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And Gilpin, long live he;</div> -<div class="verse">And when he next doth ride abroad,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">May I be there to see!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Third Reader, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THIRD READER *** - -***** This file should be named 51707-h.htm or 51707-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/7/0/51707/ - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images 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