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diff --git a/old/8elsw10h.htm b/old/8elsw10h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bc300e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/8elsw10h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,19793 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + <title>Elson Grammer School Literature, Book Four</title> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Elson Grammer School Literature, Book Four. +by William H. Elson and Christine Keck + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Elson Grammer School Literature, Book Four. + +Author: William H. Elson and Christine Keck + +Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6963] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on February 17, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ELSON GRAMMER SCHOOL LIT. 4 *** + + + + +This eBook was produced bySteve Schulze, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + +<p><br> +</p> +<p><br> +</p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><big><big><big><big>ELSON</big></big></big></big></div> +<p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><big><big><big><big>GRAMMAR +SCHOOL LITERATURE</big></big></big></big></p> +<p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><big>BOOK FOUR</big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">BY</span></p> +<p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><big>WILLIAM H. ELSON</big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><small>SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, +CLEVELAND, OHIO</small></p> +<p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">AND</p> +<p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><big>CHRISTINE KECK</big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><small>PRINCIPAL OF SIGSBEE SCHOOL, +GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.</small></p> +<p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">1912<br> +</p> +<hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><big>TABLE OF CONTENTS</big></p> +<p><a href="#PART_I."><span style="font-weight: bold;">PART I--Famous +Rides, Selections from Shakespeare and other Poets, and Studies in Rhythm</span>.</a></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">FAMOUS RIDES:<br> +</p> +<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" border="0" + style="width: 650px; text-align: left;" summary="Famous Rides"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#PAUL_REVERES_RIDE">PAUL +REVERE'S RIDE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Henry W. +Longfellow</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_LEAP_OF_ROUSHAN_BEG">THE LEAP OF ROUSHAN BEG,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Henry W. +Longfellow</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_CHARGE_OF_THE_LIGHT_BRIGADE_AT">THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT +BRIGADE AT BALAKLAVA,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Alfred, Lord +Tennyson</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_DIVERTING_HISTORY_OF_JOHN_GILPIN">THE DIVERTING HISTORY OF +JOHN GILPIN,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">William Cowper</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#HOW_THEY_BROUGHT_THE_GOOD_NEWS_FROM">HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD +NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> Robert +Browning</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#INCIDENT_OF_THE_FRENCH_CAMP">INCIDENT OF THE FRENCH CAMP,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> Robert +Browning</td> + </tr> + <tr align="center"> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"><a + href="#HERV%C9_RIEL">HERVÉ RIEL,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Robert +Browning</td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">STUDIES IN RHYTHM:<br> +</p> +<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" border="0" + style="width: 650px; text-align: left;" summary="Studies In Rhythm"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_BUGLE_SONG_">THE +BUGLE SONG,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Alfred, Lord +Tennyson</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_BROOK">THE BROOK,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Alfred, Lord +Tennyson</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#SONG_OF_THE_CHATTAHOOCHEE">SONG OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> Sidney +Lanier</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_CATARACT_OF_LODORE">THE +CATARACT OF LODORE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Robert Southey</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_BELLS">THE BELLS,</a> </td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Edgar Allan +Poe</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#ANNABEL_LEE">ANNABEL +LEE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Edgar Allan +Poe</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#OPPORTUNITY">OPPORTUNITY,</a> </td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Edward +Rowland Sil</td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">NATURE:<br> +</p> +<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" border="0" + style="width: 650px; text-align: left;" summary="Nature"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#TO_A_WATERFOWL">TO A +WATERFOWL,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">William +Cullen Bryant</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_SKYLARK">THE +SKYLARK,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">James Hogg</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#TO_A_SKYLARK">TO A +SKYLARK,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Percy Bysshe +Shelley</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_CLOUD">THE CLOUD,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Percy Bysshe +Shelley</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#APOSTROPHE_TO_THE_OCEAN_">APOSTROPHE TO THE OCEAN,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Lord Byron</td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">STORIES:<br> +</p> +<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" border="0" + style="width: 650px; text-align: left;" summary="Stories"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_DESTRUCTION_OF_SENNACHERIB">THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Lord Byron</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_EVE_BEFORE_WATERLOO_">THE EVE BEFORE WATERLOO,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Lord Byron</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#SONG_OF_THE_GREEK_BARD_">SONG OF THE GREEK BARD,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Lord Byron</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#MARCO_BOZZARIS">MARCO +BOZZARIS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> Fitz-Greene +Halleck</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_BURIAL_OF_SIR_JOHN_MOORE">THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Charles Wolfe</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#ABSALOM">ABSALOM,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> Nathaniel +Parker Wills</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#LOCHINVAR_">LOCHINVAR,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Sir Walter +Scott</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_PARTING_OF_MARMION_AND_DOUGLAS_">PARTING OF MARMION AND +DOUGLAS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Sir Walter +Scott</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#FOR_A_THAT_AND_A_THAT">FOR +A' THAT AND A' THAT,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Robert Burns</td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">SELECTIONS FROM SHAKESPEARE:<br> +</p> +<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" border="0" + style="width: 650px; text-align: left;" + summary="Selections from Shakespeare"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#1._MERCY">MERCY,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">The Merchant +of Venice</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#2._THE_SEVEN_AGES_OF_MAN">THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">As You Like It</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#3._POLONIUSS_ADVICE">POLONIUS'S +ADVICE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Hamlet</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#4._MAN">MAN,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Hamlet</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#5._HAMLETS_SOLILOQUY">HAMLET'S +SOLILOQUY,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Hamlet</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#6._REPUTATION">REPUTATION,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Othello</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#7._WOLSEY_AND_CROMWELL">WOLSEY +AND CROMWELL,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">King Henry +VIII</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#8._CASSIO_AND_IAGO">CASSIO +AND IAGO,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Othell</td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><br> +<a href="#PART_II">PART II--Great American Authors</a></p> +<p><a href="#WASHINGTON_IRVING">WASHINGTON IRVING<br> +</a><br> + <a href="#RIP_VAN_WINKLE">RIP VAN +WINKLE</a><br> + <a href="#THE_VOYAGE">THE VOYAGE</a></p> +<p><a href="#NATHANIEL_HAWTHORNE">NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE<br> +</a><br> + <a href="#THE_GREAT_STONE_FACE">THE +GREAT STONE FACE</a><br> + <a href="#MY_VISIT_TO_NIAGARA">MY +VISIT TO NIAGARA</a></p> +<p><a href="#EDGAR_ALLAN_POE">EDGAR ALLAN POE<br> +</a><br> + <a + href="#A_DESCENT_INTO_THE_MAELSTR%D6M">A DESCENT INTO THE +MAELSTRÖM</a><br> + <a href="#THE_RAVEN">THE RAVEN</a></p> +<p><a href="#HENRY_WADSWORTH_LONGFELLOW">HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW<br> +</a><br> + <a + href="#EVANGELINE:_A_TALE_OF_ACADIE">EVANGELINE: A TALE OF ACADIE</a><br> + <a href="#THE_BUILDING_OF_THE_SHIP">THE +BUILDING OF THE SHIP</a></p> +<p><a href="#JOHN_GREENLEAF_WHITTIER">JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER<br> +</a><br> + <a href="#SNOW-BOUND">SNOW-BOUND</a><br> + <a href="#THE_SHIP-BUILDERS">THE +SHIP BUILDERS</a></p> +<p><a href="#OLIVER_WENDELL_HOLMES">OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES<br> +</a><br> + <a href="#THE_CHAMBERED_NAUTILUS">THE +CHAMBERED NAUTILUS</a><br> + <a + href="#THE_DEACONS_MASTERPIECE:_OR_THE">THE DEACON'S MASTERPIECE; OR +THE WONDERFUL "ONE-HOSS SHAY"</a><br> + <a href="#OLD_IRONSIDES">OLD +IRONSIDES</a><br> + <a href="#THE_BOYS">THE BOYS</a><br> + <a href="#THE_LAST_LEAF">THE LAST +LEAF</a></p> +<p><a href="#JAMES_RUSSELL_LOWELL">JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL<br> +</a><br> + <a href="#THE_VISION_OF_SIR_LAUNFAL">THE +VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL</a><br> + <a href="#YUSSOUF">YUSSOUF</a></p> +<p><a href="#SIDNEY_LANIER">SIDNEY LANIER<br> +</a><br> + <a href="#THE_MARSHES_OF_GLYNN">THE +MARSHES OF GLYNN</a></p> +<p><br> +<a href="#PART_III"><span style="font-weight: bold;">PART +III--Patriotic Selections</span></a> </p> +<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" border="0" + style="width: 700px; text-align: left;" summary="Patriotic Selections"> + <tbody> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#REGULUS_BEFORE_THE_ROMAN_SENATE">REGULUS BEFORE THE ROMAN +SENATE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Epes Sargent</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_RETURN_OF_REGULUS">THE +RETURN OF REGULUS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Elijah Kellogg</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#SPARTACUS_TO_THE_GLADIATORS">SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Elijah Kellogg</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#MERIT_BEFORE_BIRTH">MERIT +BEFORE BIRTH,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Sallust</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#RIENZIS_ADDRESS_TO_THE_ROMANS">RIENZI'S ADDRESS TO THE ROMANS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Mary Russell +Mitford</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#EMMETS_VINDICATION">EMMET'S +VINDICATION</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Robert Emmet </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#KING_PHILIP_TO_THE_WHITE_SETTLER"> KING PHILLIP TO THE WHITE +SETTLER,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Edward Everett</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_CAPTURE_OF_QUEBEC_">THE +CAPTURE OF QUEBEC,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Francis +Parkman</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#ENGLAND_AND_HER_COLONIES">ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Edmund Burke</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_WAY_TO_WEALTH">THE +WAY TO WEALTH,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Benjamin +Franklin</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#SPEECH_ON_A_RESOLUTION_TO_PUT_VIRGINIA">SPEECH ON A RESOLUTION +TO PUT VIRGINIA INTO A STATE OF DEFENCE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Patrick Henry</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_MAN_WITHOUT_A_COUNTRY">THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Edward +Everett Hale</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#LOVE_OF_COUNTRY_">LOVE +OF COUNTRY,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Sir Walter +Scott</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#NAPOLEON_BONAPARTE">NAPOLEON +BONAPARTE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Charles +Phillips</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_TRUE_GRANDEUR_OF_NATIONS">THE TRUE GRANDEUR OF NATIONS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Charles Sumner</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_EVILS_OF_WAR">THE +EVILS OF WAR,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Henry Clay</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#PEACE_THE_POLICY_OF_A_NATION">PEACE, THE POLICY OF A NATION,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> John C. +Calhoun</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_FIRST_SETTLEMENT_OF_NEW_ENGLAND">THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF +NEW ENGLAND,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Daniel Webster</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#SUPPOSED_SPEECH_OF_JOHN_ADAMS">SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> Daniel +Webster</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#SOUTH_CAROLINA_AND_THE_UNION">SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE UNION,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Robert Hayne</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#REPLY_TO_HAYNE">REPLY +TO HAYNE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Daniel Webster</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#DEDICATION_SPEECH_AT_GETTYSBURG.">DEDICATION SPEECH AT +GETTYSBURG,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Abraham +Lincoln</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#LINCOLN_THE_GREAT_COMMONER">LINCOLN, THE GREAT COMMONER,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Edwin Markham</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#O_CAPTAIN_MY_CAPTAIN">O +CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN,</a> </td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Walt Whitman</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#EXTRACTS_FROM_WASHINGTONS_FAREWELL">FAREWELL ADDRESS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">George +Washington</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#THE_MEMORY_OF_OUR_FATHERS">THE MEMORY OF OUR FATHERS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Henry Ward +Beecher</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#THE_AMERICAN_FLAG">THE +AMERICAN FLAG,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"> J. R. +Drake</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#WARRENS_ADDRESS_AT_THE_BATTLE_OF_BUNKER">WARREN'S ADDRESS AT +THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">John Pierpont</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="#COLUMBUS">COLUMBUS,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Joaquin Miller</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#RECESSIONAL--A_VICTORIAN_ODE">RECESSIONAL--A VICTORIAN ODE,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Rudyard +Kipling</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td style="vertical-align: top;"><a + href="#A_DEFINITION_OF_A_GENTLEMAN">A DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN,</a></td> + <td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: right;">Cardinal +Newman</td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> +<a href="#GLOSSARY"> GLOSSARY</a> +<p><br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">COURSE OF READING</p> +<p>In the ELSON READERS selections are grouped according to theme or +authorship. This arrangement, however, is not intended to fix an order +for reading in class; its purpose is to emphasise classification, +facilitate comparison, and enable pupils to appreciate similarities and +contrasts in the treatment of like themes by different authors.</p> +<p>To give variety, to meet the interests at different seasons and +festivals, and to go from prose to poetry and from long to short +selections, a carefully planned order of reading should be followed. +Such an order of reading calls for a full consideration of all the +factors mentioned above. The Course here offered meets these ends but +may easily be varied to fit local conditions.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">FIRST HALF-YEAR</p> +<p><a href="#NATHANIEL_HAWTHORNE">BIOGRAPHY OF HAWTHORNE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_GREAT_STONE_FACE">THE GREAT STONE FACE</a><br> +<a href="#MY_VISIT_TO_NIAGARA">MY VISIT TO NIAGARA</a><br> +<a href="#THE_DIVERTING_HISTORY_OF_JOHN_GILPIN">THE DIVERTING HISTORY +OF JOHN GILPIN</a><br> +<a + href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#HOW_THEY_BROUGHT_THE_GOOD_NEWS_FROM">HOW +THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX</a><br> +<a + href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#INCIDENT_OF_THE_FRENCH_CAMP">INCIDENT +OF THE FRENCH CAMP</a><br> +<a href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#HERV%C9_RIEL">HERVÉ +RIEL</a><br> +<a href="#COLUMBUS">COLUMBUS</a> (COLUMBUS'S BIRTHDAY, OCT. 12)<br> +<a href="#SUPPOSED_SPEECH_OF_JOHN_ADAMS">SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS</a><br> +<a href="#SPEECH_ON_A_RESOLUTION_TO_PUT_VIRGINIA">SPEECH OF RESOLUTION +TO PUT VIRGINIA INTO A STATE OF DEFENCE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_EVE_BEFORE_WATERLOO_">THE EVE BEFORE WATERLOO</a><br> +<a href="#THE_BUGLE_SONG_">THE BUGLE SONG</a><br> +<a href="#OLIVER_WENDELL_HOLMES">BIOGRAPHY OF HOLMES</a><br> +<a + href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#THE_CHAMBERED_NAUTILUS">THE +CHAMBERED NAUTILUS</a><br> +<a + href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#THE_DEACONS_MASTERPIECE:_OR_THE">THE +DEACON'S MASTERPIECE</a><br> +<a href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#OLD_IRONSIDES">OLD +IRONSIDES</a><br> +<a href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#THE_BOYS">THE +BOYS</a><br> +<a href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#THE_LAST_LEAF">THE +LAST LEAF</a><br> +<a href="#MERIT_BEFORE_BIRTH">MERIT BEFORE BIRTH</a><br> +<a href="#SOUTH_CAROLINA_AND_THE_UNION">WEBSTER-HAYNE DEBATE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_BROOK">THE BROOK</a><br> +<a href="#SONG_OF_THE_CHATTAHOOCHEE">THE SONG OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_CATARACT_OF_LODORE">THE CATARACT OF LODORE</a><br> +<a href="#EDGAR_ALLAN_POE">BIOGRAPHY OF POE</a><br> +<a href="#A_DESCENT_INTO_THE_MAELSTR%D6M">A DESCENT INTO THE +MAELSTRÖM</a><br> +<a href="#THE_RAVEN">THE RAVEN</a><br> +<a href="#ANNABEL_LEE">ANNABEL LEE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_BELLS">THE BELLS</a><br> +<a href="#JOHN_GREENLEAF_WHITTIER">BIOGRAPHY OF WHITTIER</a> (WHITTIER'S +BIRTHDAY, DEC. 17)<br> +<a href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#SNOW-BOUND">SNOW-BOUND</a> (WHITTIER'S +BIRTHDAY, DEC. 17)<br> +<a + href="file:///C:/books/posted/elson/pp/Elsonhtm.html#THE_SHIP-BUILDERS">THE +SHIP BUILDERS</a> (WHITTIER'S BIRTHDAY, DEC. 17)<br> +<a href="#REGULUS_BEFORE_THE_ROMAN_SENATE">REGULUS BEFORE THE ROMAN +SENATE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_RETURN_OF_REGULUS">THE RETURN OF REGULUS</a><br> +<a href="#SPARTACUS_TO_THE_GLADIATORS">SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS</a><br> +<a href="#THE_WAY_TO_WEALTH">THE WAY TO WEALTH</a> (FRANKLIN'S BIRTHDAY, +JAN, 17)<br> +<a href="#EMMETS_VINDICATION">EMMET'S VINDICATION</a><br> +<a href="#MARCO_BOZZARIS">MARCO BOZZARIS</a><br> +<a href="#RIENZIS_ADDRESS_TO_THE_ROMANS">RIENZI'S ADDRESS TO THE ROMANS</a><br> +<a href="#SIDNEY_LANIER">BIOGRAPHY OF LANIER</a> (LANIER'S BIRTHDAY, +FEB. 3)<br> +<a href="#THE_MARSHES_OF_GLYNN">THE MARSHES OF GLYNN</a> (LANIER'S +BIRTHDAY, FEB. 3)</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">SECOND HALF-YEAR</span></p> +<p><a href="#LOVE_OF_COUNTRY_">LOVE OF COUNTRY</a><br> +<a href="#WARRENS_ADDRESS_AT_THE_BATTLE_OF_BUNKER">WARREN'S ADDRESS</a><br> +<a href="#PEACE_THE_POLICY_OF_A_NATION">PEACE, THE POLICY OF A NATION</a><br> +<a href="#THE_AMERICAN_FLAG">THE AMERICAN FLAG</a> (LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY, +FEB. 12)<br> +<a href="#LINCOLN_THE_GREAT_COMMONER">LINCOLN, THE GREAT COMMONER</a> +(LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY, FEB. 12)<br> +<a href="#DEDICATION_SPEECH_AT_GETTYSBURG.">DEDICATION SPEECH</a> +(LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY, FEB. 12)<br> +<a href="#O_CAPTAIN_MY_CAPTAIN">O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN</a> (WASHINGTON'S +BIRTHDAY, FEB. 22)<br> +<a href="#EXTRACTS_FROM_WASHINGTONS_FAREWELL">FAREWELL ADDRESS</a> +(WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY, FEB. 22)<br> +<a href="#JAMES_RUSSELL_LOWELL">BIOGRAPHY OF LOWELL</a> (LOWELL'S +BIRTHDAY, FEB. 22)<br> +<a href="#THE_VISION_OF_SIR_LAUNFAL">THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL</a> +(LOWELL'S BIRTHDAY, FEB. 22)<br> +<a href="#YUSSOUF">YUSSOUF</a> (LOWELL'S BIRTHDAY, FEB. 22)<br> +<a href="#HENRY_WADSWORTH_LONGFELLOW">BIOGRAPHY OF LONGFELLOW</a> +(LONGFELLOW'S BIRTHDAY, FEB. 27)<br> +<a href="#EVANGELINE:_A_TALE_OF_ACADIE">EVANGELINE</a> (LONGFELLOW'S +BIRTHDAY, FEB. 27)<br> +<a href="#THE_BUILDING_OF_THE_SHIP">THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP</a> +(LONGFELLOW'S BIRTHDAY, FEB. 27)<br> +<a href="#NAPOLEON_BONAPARTE">NAPOLEON BONAPARTE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_EVILS_OF_WAR">THE EVILS OF WAR</a><br> +<a href="#WASHINGTON_IRVING">BIOGRAPHY OF IRVING</a> (IRVING'S BIRTHDAY, +APRIL 3)<br> +<a href="#RIP_VAN_WINKLE">RIP VAN WINKLE</a> (IRVING'S BIRTHDAY, APRIL 3)<br> +<a href="#THE_VOYAGE">THE VOYAGE</a> (IRVING'S BIRTHDAY, APRIL 3)<br> +<a href="#PAUL_REVERES_RIDE">PAUL REVERE'S RIDE</a> (APRIL 19)<br> +<a href="#THE_LEAP_OF_ROUSHAN_BEG">THE LEAP OF ROUSHAN BEG</a><br> +<a href="#THE_CHARGE_OF_THE_LIGHT_BRIGADE_AT">THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT +BRIGADE</a><br> +<a href="#1._MERCY">SELECTIONS FROM SHAKESPEARE</a> (SHAKESPEARE'S +BIRTHDAY, APRIL 23)<br> +<a href="#TO_A_WATERFOWL">TO A WATER FOWL</a><br> +<a href="#THE_SKYLARK">THE SKYLARK</a><br> +<a href="#TO_A_SKYLARK">TO A SKYLARK</a> (SPRING AND ARBOR DAY)<br> +<a href="#THE_CLOUD">THE CLOUD</a><br> +<a href="#APOSTROPHE_TO_THE_OCEAN_">APOSTROPHE TO THE OCEAN</a><br> +<a href="#ABSALOM">ABSALOM</a><br> +<a href="#LOCHINVAR_">LOCHINVAR</a><br> +<a href="#THE_PARTING_OF_MARMION_AND_DOUGLAS_">PARTING OF MARMION AND +DOUGLAS</a><br> +<a href="#FOR_A_THAT_AND_A_THAT">FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT</a><br> +<a href="#KING_PHILIP_TO_THE_WHITE_SETTLER">KING PHILIP TO THE WHITE +SETTLER</a><br> +<a href="#THE_CAPTURE_OF_QUEBEC_">THE CAPTURE OF QUEBEC</a><br> +<a href="#ENGLAND_AND_HER_COLONIES">ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES</a><br> +<a href="#THE_MAN_WITHOUT_A_COUNTRY">THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY</a><br> +<a href="#OPPORTUNITY">OPPORTUNITY</a><br> +<a href="#THE_DESTRUCTION_OF_SENNACHERIB">THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB</a><br> +<a href="#SONG_OF_THE_GREEK_BARD_">SONG OF THE GREEK BARD</a><br> +<a href="#THE_BURIAL_OF_SIR_JOHN_MOORE">THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE</a><br> +<a href="#THE_TRUE_GRANDEUR_OF_NATIONS">THE TRUE GRANDEUR OF NATIONS</a><br> +<a href="#THE_MEMORY_OF_OUR_FATHERS">THE MEMORY OF OUR FATHERS</a><br> +<a href="#RECESSIONAL--A_VICTORIAN_ODE">THE RECESSIONAL</a></p> +<p><br> +<big><span style="font-weight: bold;">INTRODUCTION</span></big></p> +<p>This book is designed to furnish reading material of choice literary +and dramatic quality. The selections for the most part are those that +have stood the test of time and are acknowledged masterpieces. The +groupings into the separate parts will aid both teachers and pupils in +the classification of the material, indicating at a glance the range and +variety of the literature included.</p> +<p>Part One deals with poetry, and it is believed the poems offered in +this group are unsurpassed. No effort on the teacher's part will be +needed to arouse the enthusiasm of pupils who read the series of famous +rides with which this group opens. The thrill of delight which children +feel as they read of "A hurry of hoofs in a village street," or +"Charging an army while all the world wondered," may lead to the +stronger and more enduring emotions of patriotism and devotion. "John +Gilpin's Ride," which has furnished amusement for generations of old and +young, finds a place here. The rhythmic movement of these poems makes a +natural transition to those selections especially designed as studies in +rhythm. The series of nature poems and selections from Shakespeare +complete a group of choice literary creations. Part Two is given to a +study of the great American authors, and no apology is needed either for +the choice of material or for the prominence given to this group. It is +especially suited to parallel and supplement the work of this grade in +American history. Part Three contains patriotic selections and some of +the great orations. These are lofty and inspiring in style, within the +grasp of the pupils, and are especially helpful in developing power of +expression.</p> +<p>It is not expected that the order of selections will be followed. On +the contrary, each teacher will follow the order which will best suit +her own plans and purposes. While there is much material in the book +that will re-enforce lessons in history, geography, and nature study, +yet it is not for this that these selections should be studied, but +rather for the pleasure that comes from reading beautiful thoughts +beautifully expressed. The reading lesson should therefore be a study of +literature, and it should lead the children to find beauty of thought +and imagery, fitness in figures of speech, and delicate shades of +meaning in words. Literature is an art, and the chief aim of the reading +lesson is to discover and interpret its art qualities. In this way +children learn how to read books and are enabled to appreciate the +literary treasures of the race. The business of the reading book is to +furnish the best available material for this purpose.</p> +<p>It is worth while to make a thorough study of a few well-chosen +selections. Through the power gained in this way children are enabled to +interpret and enjoy other selections without the aid of the teacher. If +the class work is for the most part of the intensive kind, the pupils +will read the remaining lessons alone for sheer pleasure, which is at +once the secret and goal of good teaching in literature. Moreover, they +will exercise a discriminating taste and judgment in their choice of +reading matter. To love good literature, to find pleasure in reading it +and to gain power to choose it with discrimination are the supreme ends +to be attained by the reading lesson. For this reason, some selections +should be read many times for the pleasure they give the children. In +music the teacher sometimes calls for expressions of preference among +songs: "What song shall we sing, children?" So in reading, "What +selection shall we read?" is a good question for the teacher to ask +frequently. Thus children come to make familiar friends of some of the +stories and poems, and find genuine enjoyment in reading these again and +again.</p> +<p>Good results may also be obtained by assigning to a pupil a +particular lesson which he is expected to prepare. On a given day he +will read to the class the selection assigned to him. The orations are +especially suited to this mode of treatment. The pupil who can read one +selection well has gone a long way toward being a good reader. The +teacher who said to her pupils, "I shall read to you tomorrow," +recognized this truth and knew the value of an occasional exercise of +that kind. Good pedagogy approves of a judicious use of methods of +imitation in teaching reading.</p> +<p>The biographies are intended to acquaint the children with the +personal characteristics and lives of the authors, making them more +interesting and real to the children, giving them the human touch and +incidentally furnishing helpful data for interpreting their writings. In +this connection, the authors have, by permission, drawn freely from +Professor Newcomer's English and American Literatures. "Helps to Study" +include questions and notes designed to stimulate inquiry on the part of +pupils and to suggest fruitful lines of study. Only a few points are +suggested, to indicate the way, and no attempt is made to cover the +ground adequately; this remains for the teacher to do.</p> +<p>While placing emphasis primarily on the thought-getting process the +formalities of thought-giving must not be overlooked. The technique of +reading, though always subordinate and secondary to the mastery of the +thought, nevertheless claims constant and careful attention. Good +reading requires clear enunciation and correct pronunciation and these +can be secured only when the teacher steadily insists upon them. The +increase of foreign elements in our school population and the influence +of these upon clearness and accuracy of speech furnish added reason for +attention to these details. Special drill exercises should be given and +the habit of using the dictionary freely should be firmly established in +pupils. The ready use of the dictionary and other reference books for +pronunciation and meaning of words, for historical and mythical +allusions should be steadily cultivated. Without doubt much of the +reading accepted in the public schools is seriously deficient in these +particulars. The art of good reading can be cultivated by judicious +training and the school should spare no pains to realize this result.</p> +<p>Professor Clark, in his book on "How to Teach Reading," sets forth +the four elements of vocal expression--Time, Pitch, Quality and Force. +We quote a few of the sentences from his treatment of each of these +elementary topics.</p> +<p>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">I. TIME.</span> Time, then, refers +to the rate of vocal movement. It may be fast, or moderate, or slow, +according to the amount of what may be called the collateral thinking +accompanying the reading, of any given passage. To put it another way: a +phrase is read slowly because it means much; because the thought is +large, sublime, deep. The collateral thinking may be revealed by an +expansive paraphrase. For instance, in the lines</p> +<p> "Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note<br> + As his corse to the rampart we hurried,"</p> +<p><i>why</i> do we read slowly? The paraphrase answers the question. It +was midnight. There lay our beloved leader, who should have been borne +in triumphal procession to his last resting place. Bells should have +tolled, cannon thundered, and thousands should have followed his bier. +But now, alas, by night, by stealth, without even a single drum tap, in +fear and dread, we crept breathless to the rampart. This, or any one of +a hundred other paraphrases, will suffice to render the vocal movement +slow. And so it is with all slow time. Let it be remembered that a +profound or sublime thought may be uttered in fast time; but that when +we dwell upon that thought, when we hold it before the mind, the time +must necessarily be slow. If a child read too rapidly, it is because his +mind is not sufficiently occupied with the thought; if he read too +slowly, it is because he does not get the words; or because he is +temperamentally slow; or because, and this is the most likely +explanation, he is making too much of a small idea. To tell him to read +fast or slow is but to make him affected, and, incidentally, even if +unconsciously, to impress upon him that reading is a matter of +mechanics, and not of thought-getting and thought-giving."</p> +<p>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">II. PITCH.</span> By Pitch is meant +everything that has to do with the acuteness or gravity of the tone--in +other words, with keys, melodies, inflections and modulations. When we +say of one that he speaks in a high key, we should be understood as +meaning that his pitch is prevailingly high; and that the reverse is +true when we say of one that he speaks in a low key. While it is true +that the key differs in individuals, yet experience shows that within a +note or two, we all use the same keys in expressing the same states of +minds. The question for us is, what determines the key? It can be set +down as a fixed principle, that controlled mental states are expressed +by low keys, while the high keys are the manifestation of the less +controlled mental conditions. Drills in inflections as such are of very +little value, and potentially very harmful. Most pupils have no +difficulty in making proper inflections, so that for them class drills +are time wasted; for those whose reading is monotonous, because of lack +of melodic variety, the best drills are those which teach them to make a +careful analysis of the sentences, and those which awaken them to the +necessity of impressing the thought upon others. We have learned that +when a pupil has the proper motive in mind and is desirous of conveying +his intention to another, a certain melody will always manifest that +intention. The melody, then, is the criterion of the pupil's purpose. +The moment a pupil loses sight of a phrase and its relation to the other +phrases, that moment his melody betrays him."</p> +<p>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">III. QUALITY.</span> Quality +manifests emotional states. By Quality we mean that subtle element in +the voice by which is expressed at one time tenderness, at another +harshness, at another awe, and so on through the whole gamut of feeling. +The teacher now knows that emotion affects the quality of tone. Let him +then use this knowledge as he has learned to use his knowledge of the +other criteria. We recognize instinctively the qualities that express +sorrow, tenderness, joy, and the other states of feeling. When the +proper quality does not appear it is because the child has no feeling, +or the wrong feeling, generally the former. There is but one way to +correct the expression, i. e., by stimulating the imagination."</p> +<p>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">IV. FORCE.</span> Force manifests +the degree of mental energy. When we speak in a loud voice, there is +much energy; when softly, there is little. Do not tell the child to read +louder. If you do, you will get loudness--that awful grating schoolboy +loudness--without a particle of expression in it. Many a child reads +well, but is bashful. When we tell him to read louder, he braces himself +for the effort and kills the quality, which is the finer breath and +spirit of oral expression, and gives us a purely physical thing--force. +Put your weak-voiced readers on the platform; let them face the class +and talk to you, seated in the middle of the room, and you will get all +the force you need. On the whole, we have too much force, rather than +too little. Let the teacher learn that we want quality, not quantity, +and our statement of the mental action behind force will be of much +benefit in creating the proper conditions."</p> +<p>To discriminating teachers it will be apparent that this book is not +the usual school reader. On the contrary it differs widely from this in +the cultural value of the selections, in the classification and +arrangement of material, in the variety of interest to which it appeals, +and in the abundance of classic literature from American authors which +it contains. It aims to furnish the best in poetry and prose to be found +in the literature of the English-speaking race and to furnish it in +abundance. If these familiar old selections, long accepted as among the +best in literature, shall be the means of cultivating in pupils a taste +for good reading, the book will have fulfilled its purpose.</p> +<p>For permission to use valuable selections from their lists, +acknowledgment is due to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Charles +Scribner's Sons, and The Whitaker and Ray Company.</p> +<p>Grateful acknowledgment is also made to those teachers who have +given valuable suggestions and criticisms in the compilation of this +book.</p> +<p>THE AUTHORS.</p> +<p>April, 1909.</p> +<hr> +<p><br> +<br> +</p> +<div style="text-align: center;"><big><big><big><a name="PART_I."></a>PART +I.</big></big></big></div> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><big><big>FAMOUS RIDES, SELECTIONS +FROM SHAKESPEARE <br> +AND OTHER POETS, AND STUDIES IN RHYTHM</big></big><br> +</big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><br> +</big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big> "We live in +deeds, not years, in thoughts, not breaths;<br> + In feelings, not in figures on a dial."</big></p> +<p style="text-align: right;">--PHILIP JAMES BAILEY.<br> +</p> +<p style="text-align: right;"><br> +</p> +<p style="text-align: right;"><br> +</p> +<p><br> +</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="PAUL_REVERES_RIDE"></a>PAUL +REVERE'S RIDE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Listen, my +children, and you shall hear<br> + Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,<br> + On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five:<br> + Hardly a man is now alive<br> + Who remembers that famous day and year.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He said to his +friend: "If the British march<br> + By land or sea from the town tonight,<br> + Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch<br> + Of the North Church tower, as a signal-light,--<br> + One if by land, and two if by sea;<br> + And I on the opposite shore will be,<br> + Ready to ride and spread the alarm<br> + Through every Middlesex village and farm,<br> + For the country-folk to be up and to arm."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then he said +"good night," and with muffled oar<br> + Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,<br> + Just as the moon rose over the bay,<br> + Where, swinging wide at her moorings, lay<br> + The Somerset, British man-of-war:<br> + A phantom ship, with each mast and spar<br> + Across the moon, like a prison-bar,<br> + And a huge black hulk, that was magnified<br> + By its own reflection in the tide.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Meanwhile, his +friend through alley and street<br> + Wanders and watches with eager ears,<br> + Till in the silence around him he hears<br> + The muster of men at the barrack-door,<br> + The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,<br> + And the measured tread of the grenadiers<br> + Marching down to their boats on the shore.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then he climbed +to the tower of the church,<br> + Up the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,<br> + To the belfry-chamber overhead,<br> + And startled the pigeons from their perch<br> + On the sombre rafters, that round him made<br> + Masses and moving shapes of shade,--<br> + Up the trembling ladder, steep and tall,<br> + To the highest window in the wall,<br> + Where he paused to listen and look down<br> + A moment on the roofs of the town,<br> + And the moonlight flowing over all.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Beneath, in the +churchyard, lay the dead<br> + In their night-encampment on the hill,<br> + Wrapped in silence so deep and still,<br> + That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,<br> + The watchful night-wind, as it went<br> + Creeping along from tent to tent,<br> + And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"<br> + A moment only he feels the spell<br> + Of the place and the hour, the secret dread<br> + Of the lonely belfry and the dead;<br> + For suddenly all his thoughts are bent<br> + On a shadowy something far away,<br> + Where the river widens to meet the bay,--<br> + A line of black, that bends and floats<br> + On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Meanwhile, +impatient to mount and ride,<br> + Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride,<br> + On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.<br> + Now he patted his horse's side,<br> + Now gazed at the landscape far and near,<br> + Then impetuous stamped the earth,<br> + And turned and tightened his saddle-girth;<br> + But mostly he watched with eager search<br> + The belfry-tower of the old North Church,<br> + As it rose above the graves on the hill,<br> + Lonely, and spectral, and sombre, and still.<br> + And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height,<br> + A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!<br> + He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,<br> + But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight<br> + A second lamp in the belfry burns!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> A hurry of hoofs +in a village-street,<br> + A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,<br> + And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a +spark<br> + Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet:<br> + That was all! And yet, through the gloom and +the light,<br> + The fate of a nation was riding that night;<br> + And the spark struck out by that steed, in his +flight,<br> + Kindled the land into flame with its heat.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He has left the +village and mounted the steep,<br> + And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,<br> + Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;<br> + And under the alders, that skirt its edge,<br> + Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,<br> + Is heard the tramp of the steed as he rides.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> It was twelve by +the village-clock<br> + When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.<br> + He heard the crowing of the cock,<br> + And the barking of the farmer's dog,<br> + And felt the damp of the river-fog<br> + That rises after the sun goes down.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> It was one by the +village-clock<br> + When he galloped into Lexington.<br> + He saw the gilded weathercock<br> + Swim in the moonlight as he passed,<br> + And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,<br> + Gaze at him with a spectral glare,<br> + As if they already stood aghast<br> + At the bloody work they would look upon.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> It was two by the +village-clock<br> + When he came to the bridge in Concord town.<br> + He heard the bleating of the flock,<br> + And the twitter of birds among the trees,<br> + And felt the breath of the morning-breeze<br> + Blowing over the meadows brown.<br> + And one was safe and asleep in his bed<br> + Who at the bridge would be first to fall,<br> + Who that day would be lying dead,<br> + Pierced by a British musket-ball.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> You know the +rest. In the books you have read<br> + How the British regulars fired and fled,--<br> + How the farmers gave them ball for ball,<br> + From behind each fence and farmyard-wall,<br> + Chasing the redcoats down the lane,<br> + Then crossing the fields to emerge again<br> + Under the trees at the turn of the road,<br> + And only pausing to fire and load.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So through the +night rode Paul Revere;<br> + And so through the night went his cry of alarm<br> + To every Middlesex village and farm,--<br> + A cry of defiance, and not of fear,--<br> + A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,<br> + And a word that shall echo forevermore!<br> + For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,<br> + Through all our history, to the last,<br> + In the hour of darkness and peril and need,<br> + The people will waken and listen to hear<br> + The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,<br> + And the midnight-message of Paul Revere.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What message did Paul Revere bear?</p> +<p>Read an account of the battle of Lexington and observe how nearly +this poem is true to history.</p> +<p>Who were John Hancock and Samuel Adams?</p> +<p>What does the second stanza tell you? The seventh stanza?</p> +<p>Does this poem call your attention chiefly to the horse, the rider, +or the message?</p> +<p>Sketch a map locating Boston, Charlestown, Medford, Lexington, +Concord.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "the fate of a nation was riding that night"<br> + "gaze at him with a spectral glare"<br> + "the spark struck out by that steed in his +flight<br> + kindled the land into flame with its heat"<br> + "sombre"<br> + "red-coats"<br> + "fearless and fleet"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_LEAP_OF_ROUSHAN_BEG"></a>THE +LEAP OF ROUSHAN BEG</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Mounted on +Kyrat strong and fleet,<br> + His chestnut steed with four white feet,<br> + Roushan Beg, called +Kurroglou,<br> + Son of the road and bandit chief,<br> + Seeking refuge and relief,<br> + Up the mountain pathway +flew.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Such was the +Kyrat's wondrous speed,<br> + Never yet could any steed<br> + Reach the dust-cloud in +his course.<br> + More than maiden, more than wife,<br> + More than gold and next to life<br> + Roushan the Robber +loved his horse.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> In the land that +lies beyond<br> + Erzeroum and Trebizond,<br> + Garden-girt, his +fortress stood;<br> + Plundered khan, or caravan<br> + Journeying north from Koordistan,<br> + Gave him wealth and +wine and food.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Seven hundred and +fourscore<br> + Men at arms his livery wore,<br> + Did his bidding night +and day;<br> + Now, through regions all unknown,<br> + He was wandering, lost, alone,<br> + Seeking, without guide, +his way.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Suddenly the +pathway ends,<br> + Sheer the precipice descends,<br> + Loud the torrent roars +unseen;<br> + Thirty feet from side to side<br> + Yawns the chasm; on air must ride<br> + He who crosses this +ravine.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Following close +in his pursuit,<br> + At the precipice's foot<br> + Reyhan the Arab of Orfah<br> + Halted with his hundred men,<br> + Shouting upward from the glen,<br> + "La Illáh ilia +Alláh!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Gently Roushan +Beg caressed<br> + Kyrat's forehead, neck and breast;<br> + Kissed him upon both +his eyes,<br> + Sang to him in his wild way,<br> + As upon the topmost spray<br> + Sings a bird before it +flies.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "O my Kyrat, O my steed,<br> + Bound and slender as a reed,<br> + Carry me this peril +through!<br> + Satin housings shall be thine,<br> + Shoes of gold, O Kyrat mine,<br> + O thou soul of +Kurroglou!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Soft thy skin as +silken skein,<br> + Soft as woman's hair thy mane,<br> + Tender are thine eyes +and true;<br> + All thy hoofs like ivory shine,<br> + Polished bright; O life of mine,<br> + Leap, and rescue +Kurroglou!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Kyrat, then, the +strong and fleet,<br> + Drew together his four white feet,<br> + Paused a moment on the +verge,<br> + Measured with his eye the space,<br> + And into the air's embrace<br> + Leaped as leaps the +ocean surge.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> As the ocean +surge o'er sand<br> + Bears a swimmer safe to land,<br> + Kyrat safe his rider +bore;<br> + Rattling down the deep abyss<br> + Fragments of the precipice<br> + Rolled like pebbles on +a shore.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Roushan's +tasseled cap of red<br> + Trembled not upon his head;<br> + Careless sat he and +upright;<br> + Neither hand nor bridle shook,<br> + Nor his head he turned to look,<br> + As he galloped out of +sight.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Flash of harness +in the air,<br> + Seen a moment, like the glare<br> + Of a sword drawn from +its sheath;<br> + Thus the phantom horseman passed,<br> + And the shadow that he cast<br> + Leaped the cataract +underneath.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Reyhan the Arab +held his breath<br> + While this vision of life and death<br> + Passed above him. +"Allahu!"<br> + Cried he. "In all Koordistan<br> + Lives there not so brave a man<br> + As this Robber +Kurroglou!"</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What does the first stanza tell?</p> +<p>The second?</p> +<p>What is the purpose of the fifth stanza?</p> +<p>What comparison is found in the seventh stanza? In the eighth? In +the ninth?</p> +<p>What do we mean by "figure of speech?" Illustrate.</p> +<p>State in your own words the thought in the eleventh stanza.</p> +<p>In next to the last stanza give the meaning of the last three lines.</p> +<p>What lesson of heroism does this poem give you?</p> +<p>Whom should you call the hero of this tale?</p> +<p>Who is Allah? Where is Koordistan?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "phantom"<br> + "verge"<br> + "caravan"<br> + "abyss"<br> + "garden-girt"<br> + "cataract"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="THE_CHARGE_OF_THE_LIGHT_BRIGADE_AT"></a>THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT +BRIGADE AT BALAKLAVA</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Half a league, +half a league,<br> + Half a league onward,<br> + All in the valley of Death<br> + Rode the six hundred.<br> + "Forward, the Light Brigade!<br> + Charge for the guns!" he said:<br> + Into the valley of Death<br> + Rode the six hundred.<br> + "Forward, the Light Brigade!"<br> + Was there a man dismay'd?<br> + Not tho' the soldier knew<br> + Some one had blunder'd:<br> + Theirs not to make reply,<br> + Theirs not to reason why,<br> + Theirs but to do and die:<br> + Into the valley of Death<br> + Rode the six hundred.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Cannon to right +of them,<br> + Cannon to left of them,<br> + Cannon in front of them<br> + Volley'd and thunder'd;<br> + Storm'd at with shot and shell,<br> + Boldly they rode and well,<br> + Into the jaws of Death,<br> + Into the mouth of Hell<br> + Rode the six hundred.<br> + Flash'd all their sabres bare,<br> + Flash'd as they turn'd in air<br> + Sabring the gunners there,<br> + Charging an army, while<br> + All the world wonder'd;<br> + Plunged in the battery-smoke<br> + Right thro' the line they broke;<br> + Cossack and Russian<br> + Reel'd from the sabre-stroke<br> + Shatter'd and sunder'd.<br> + Then they rode back, but not,<br> + Not the six hundred.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Cannon to right +of them,<br> + Cannon to left of them,<br> + Cannon behind them<br> + Volley'd and thunder'd;<br> + Stormed at with shot and shell,<br> + While horse and hero fell,<br> + They that had fought so well<br> + Came through the jaws of Death<br> + Back from the mouth of Hell,<br> + All that was left of them,<br> + Left of six hundred.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> When can their +glory fade!<br> + Oh the wild charge they made!<br> + All the world wondered.<br> + Honor the charge they made!<br> + Honor the Light Brigade,<br> + Noble six hundred!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical And Historical: </span>Alfred +Tennyson was born in that memorable birth year, 1809, which brought +into the world a company of the greatest men of the century, including +Darwin, Gladstone, Lincoln, Poe, Chopin, and Mendelssohn. He was one of +twelve children who lived together a healthful life of study and sport. +Gathering the other children about him he held them captive with his +stories of knightly deeds--tales drawn partly from his reading and +partly from his fertile fancy. They lived again the thrilling life of +joust and tournament. Past the house in the village of Somersby, in +Lincolnshire, where his father was rector, flowed a brook, in all +probability the brook that came "from haunts of coot and hern... to +bicker down a valley." He was a student at Cambridge, where he met and +became deeply attached to Arthur Henry Hallam, whose death not long +afterward inspired the poem "In Memoriam." In 1850, upon Wordsworth's +death, Tennyson was made poet laureate and the poem commemorating the +heroic charge at Balaklava in 1854, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," +shows how he adorned this office. In 1884 the queen raised him to the +peerage, and from that time he was known as Lord Tennyson. He lived as +much in retirement as was possible, part of the time making his home in +the Isle of Wight. He died in 1892 and was buried in the Poets' Corner +in Westminster Abbey.</p> +<p>The event which this poem describes occurred at Balaklava in the +Crimea, October 25th, 1854. Of six hundred seven men only about one +hundred fifty survived. The order to charge, bearing the signature of +Lord Lucan, was delivered by Captain Nolan to the Earl of Cardigan, who +was in command of the "Light Brigade." Nolan was killed in the charge +while Cardigan survived. The death of Nolan made it impossible to +determine whether the signature to the order was genuine or forged.</p> +<p>It was in this war that Florence Nightingale rendered such noble +service as hospital nurse. She arrived at Balaklava ten days after this +charge.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>On your map find Balaklava on the Black Sea.</p> +<p>What nation attacked the Russians?</p> +<p>What was the significance of Sevastopol?</p> +<p>What is a brigade? A light brigade?</p> +<p>What is meant by "charging an army"?</p> +<p>Who had "blundered"?</p> +<p>What lines tell you that obedience is the first duty of the soldier?</p> +<p>What line tells you how vain and hopeless was this charge?</p> +<p>How does the poem impress you?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "Valley of Death"<br> + "half a league"<br> + "the mouth of Hell"<br> + "the jaws of Death"<br> + "dismay'd"<br> + "volley'd and thunder'd"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="THE_DIVERTING_HISTORY_OF_JOHN_GILPIN"></a>THE DIVERTING HISTORY +OF JOHN GILPIN</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>WILLIAM COWPER<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> John Gilpin was a +citizen<br> + Of credit and renown,<br> + A trainband captain eke was he<br> + Of famous London town.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> John Gilpin's +spouse said to her dear,<br> + "Though wedded we have +been<br> + These twice ten tedious years, yet we<br> + No holiday have seen.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Tomorrow is our +wedding day,<br> + And we will then repair<br> + Unto the Bell at Edmonton,<br> + All in a chaise and pair</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "My sister, and +my sister's child,<br> + Myself, and children +three,<br> + Will fill the chaise, so you must ride<br> + On horseback after we."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He soon replied, +"I do admire<br> + Of womankind but one,<br> + And you are she, my dearest dear,<br> + Therefore, it shall be +done.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "I am a +linen-draper bold,<br> + As all the world doth +know,<br> + And my good friend, the calender,<br> + Will lend his horse to +go."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Quoth Mrs. +Gilpin, "That's well said:<br> + And for that wine is +dear,<br> + We will be furnished with our own,<br> + Which is both bright +and clear."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> John Gilpin +kissed his loving wife;<br> + O'erjoyed was he to find<br> + That, though on pleasure she was bent,<br> + She had a frugal mind.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The morning came, +the chaise was brought,<br> + But yet was not allowed<br> + To drive up to the door, lest all<br> + Should say that she was +proud.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So three doors +off the chaise was stayed,<br> + Where they did all get +in;<br> + Six precious souls, and all agog<br> + To dash through thick +and thin.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Smack went the +whip, 'round went the wheels,<br> + Were never folks so +glad;<br> + The stones did rattle underneath<br> + As if Cheapside were +mad.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> John Gilpin at +his horse's side<br> + Seized fast the flowing +mane,<br> + And up he got, in haste to ride,<br> + But soon came down +again;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> For saddle-tree +scarce reached had he,<br> + His journey to begin,<br> + When, turning round his head, he saw<br> + Three customers come in.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So down he came; +for loss of time,<br> + Although it grieved him +sore,<br> + Yet loss of pence, full well he knew,<br> + Would trouble him much +more.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> 'Twas long before +the customers<br> + Were suited to their +mind,<br> + When Betty screaming came down stairs,--<br> + "The wine is left +behind!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Good lack!" +quoth he, "yet bring it me,<br> + My leathern belt +likewise,<br> + In which I bear my trusty sword<br> + When I do exercise."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Now Mrs. Gilpin, +careful soul,<br> + Had two stone bottles +found,<br> + To hold the liquor that she loved,<br> + And keep it safe and +sound.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Each bottle had a +curling ear,<br> + Through which the belt +he drew,<br> + And hung a bottle on each side,<br> + To make his balance +true.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then, over all, +that he might be<br> + Equipped from top to +toe,<br> + His long red cloak, well brushed and<br> + He manfully did throw.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Now see him +mounted once again,<br> + Upon his nimble steed,<br> + Full slowly pacing o'er the stones<br> + With caution and good +heed.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But finding soon +a smoother road<br> + Beneath his well-shod +feet,<br> + The snorting beast began to trot,<br> + Which galled him in his +seat.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So "Fair and +softly" John he cried,<br> + But John he cried in +vain;<br> + That trot became a gallop soon,<br> + In spite of curb and +rein.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So stooping down, +as needs he must<br> + Who cannot sit upright,<br> + He grasped the mane with both his hands,<br> + And eke with all his +might.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> His horse, which +never in that sort<br> + Had handled been before,<br> + What thing upon his back had got<br> + Did wonder more and +more.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Away went Gilpin, +neck or nought;<br> + Away went hat and wig;<br> + He little dreamed when he set out<br> + Of running such a rig.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The wind did +blow, the cloak did fly,<br> + Like streamer long and +gay,<br> + Till, loop and button failing both,<br> + At last it flew away.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then might all +people well discern,<br> + The bottles he had +slung;<br> + A bottle swinging at each side,<br> + As hath been said or +sung.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The dogs did +bark, the children screamed,<br> + Up flew the windows all,<br> + And every soul cried out, "Well done!"<br> + As loud as he could +bawl.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Away went +Gilpin--who but he?<br> + His fame soon spread +around;<br> + "He carries weight, he rides a race!<br> + 'Tis for a thousand +pound!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And still, as +fast as he drew near,<br> + 'Twas wonderful to view,<br> + How in a trice the turnpike men<br> + Their gates wide open +threw.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And now, as he +went bowing down<br> + His reeking head full +low,<br> + The bottles twain behind his back<br> + Were shattered at a +blow.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Down ran the wine +into the road,<br> + Most piteous to be seen,<br> + Which made his horse's flanks to smoke<br> + As they had basted been.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But still he +seemed to carry weight,<br> + With leathern girdle +braced;<br> + For all might see the bottle necks<br> + Still dangling at his +waist.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Thus all through +merry Islington<br> + These gambols he did +play,<br> + Until he came unto the wash<br> + Of Edmonton so gay;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And there he +threw the wash about<br> + On both sides of the +way,<br> + Just like unto a trundling mop,<br> + Or a wild goose at play.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> At Edmonton his +loving wife<br> + From the balcony spied<br> + Her tender husband, wondering much<br> + To see how he did ride.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Stop, stop, John +Gilpin! Here's the house!"<br> + They all at once did +cry;<br> + "The dinner waits and we are tired."<br> + Said Gilpin, "So am I!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But yet his horse +was not a whit<br> + Inclined to tarry there;<br> + For why? his owner had a house<br> + Full ten miles off, at +Ware.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So like an arrow +swift he flew,<br> + Shot by an archer +strong;<br> + So did he fly--which brings me to<br> + The middle of my song.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Away went Gilpin, +out of breath,<br> + And sore against his +will,<br> + Till, at his friend the calender's,<br> + His horse at last stood +still.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The calender, +amazed to see<br> + His neighbor in such +trim,<br> + Laid down his pipe, flew to the gate,<br> + And thus accosted him:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "What news? what +news? your tidings tell;<br> + Tell me you must and +shall;<br> + Say why bareheaded you are come,<br> + Or why you come at all?"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Now Gilpin had a +pleasant wit,<br> + And loved a timely joke;<br> + And thus unto the calender,<br> + In merry guise, he +spoke:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "I came because +your horse would come;<br> + And, if I well forbode,<br> + My hat and wig will soon be here:--<br> + They are upon the road."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The calender, +right glad to find<br> + His friend in merry pin,<br> + Returned him not a single word,<br> + But to the house went +in;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Whence straight +he came with hat and wig;<br> + A wig that flowed +behind,<br> + A hat not much the worse for wear,<br> + Each comely in its kind.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He held them up +and in his turn<br> + Thus showed his ready +wit:<br> + "My head is twice as big as yours,<br> + They, therefore, needs +must fit.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But let me scrape +the dirt away<br> + That hangs upon your +face;<br> + And stop and eat, for well you may<br> + Be in a hungry case."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Said John, "It is +my wedding day,<br> + And all the world would +stare,<br> + If wife should dine at Edmonton<br> + And I should dine at +Ware."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So, turning to +his horse, he said,<br> + "I am in haste to dine;<br> + 'Twas for your pleasure you came here,<br> + You shall go back for +mine."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Ah! luckless +speech and bootless boast,<br> + For which he paid full +dear;<br> + For while he spake, a braying ass<br> + Did sing most loud and +clear;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Whereat his horse +did snort, as he<br> + Had heard a lion roar,<br> + And galloped off with all his might,<br> + As he had done before.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Away went Gilpin, +and away<br> + Went Gilpin's hat and +wig:<br> + He lost them sooner than at first;<br> + For why?--they were too +big.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Now Mistress +Gilpin, when she saw<br> + Her husband posting down<br> + Into the country far away,<br> + She pulled out half a +crown;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And thus unto the +youth she said,<br> + That drove them to the +Bell,<br> + "This shall be yours when you bring back<br> + My husband safe and +well."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The youth did +ride, and soon did meet<br> + John coming back amain;<br> + Whom in a trice he tried to stop<br> + By catching at his rein;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But not +performing what he meant<br> + And gladly would have +done,<br> + The frightened steed he frighted more,<br> + And made him faster run.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Away went Gilpin, +and away<br> + Went postboy at his +heels,<br> + The postboy's horse right glad to miss<br> + The lumbering of the +wheels.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Six gentlemen +upon the road,<br> + Thus seeing Gilpin fly,<br> + With postboy scampering in the rear,<br> + They raised the hue and +cry;--</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Stop thief! stop +thief! a highwayman!"<br> + Not one of them was +mute;<br> + And all and each that passed that way<br> + Did join in the pursuit.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And now the +turnpike gates again<br> + Flew open in short +space;<br> + The toll-men thinking as before,<br> + That Gilpin rode a race.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And so he did, +and won it too,<br> + For he got first to +town;<br> + Nor stopped till where he had got up<br> + He did again get down.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Now let us sing +"Long Live the King,"<br> + And Gilpin, long live +he;<br> + And when he next doth ride abroad<br> + May I be there to see!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> William Cowper, +1731-1800, was a famous English poet. His poems range from religious to +humorous subjects.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>What was the occasion of the ride?</p> +<p>What tells you that the linen-draper lived over his shop?</p> +<p>Which stanza is most amusing?</p> +<p>Why did people think John Gilpin rode for a wager?</p> +<p>Edmonton--a suburb of London.</p> +<p>The Bell--the Inn.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "calender"<br> + "eke"<br> + "chaise and pair"<br> + "frugal"<br> + "gambols"<br> + "trainband"<br> + "repair"<br> + "he carries weight"<br> + "for that wine is dear"<br> + "turnpike"<br> + "basted"<br> + "bootless boast"<br> + "the postboy's horse right glad to miss the +lumbering of the wheels"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="HOW_THEY_BROUGHT_THE_GOOD_NEWS_FROM"></a>HOW THEY BROUGHT THE +GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ROBERT BROWNING</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I sprang to the +stirrup, and Joris, and he;<br> + I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all +three;<br> + "Good speed!" cried the watch, as the +gate-bolts undrew;<br> + "Speed!" echoed the wall to us galloping +through;<br> + Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to +rest,<br> + And into the midnight we galloped abreast.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Not a word to +each other; we kept the great pace<br> + Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing +our place;<br> + I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight,<br> + Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique +right,<br> + Rebuckled the cheek-strap, chained slacker the +bit,<br> + Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> 'Twas moonset at +starting; but while we drew near<br> + Lokeren, the cocks crew and twilight dawned +clear;<br> + At Boom, a great yellow star came out to see;<br> + At Düffeld, 'twas morning as plain as +could be;<br> + And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the +half-chime,<br> + So Joris broke silence with, "Yet there is +time!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> At Aershot, up +leaped of a sudden the sun,<br> + And against him the cattle stood black every +one,<br> + To stare through the mist at us galloping past,<br> + And I saw my stout galloper Roland at last,<br> + With resolute shoulders, each butting away<br> + The haze, as some bluff river headland its +spray:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And his low head +and crest, just one sharp ear bent back<br> + For my voice, and the other pricked out on his +track;<br> + And one eye's black intelligence,--ever that +glance<br> + O'er its white edge at me, his own master, +askance<br> + And the thick heavy spume-flakes which aye and +anon<br> + His fierce lips shook upwards in galloping on.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> By Hasselt, Dirck +groaned; and cried Joris, "Stay spur!<br> + Your Roos galloped bravely, the fault's not in +her,<br> + We'll remember at Aix"--for one heard the quick +wheeze<br> + Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and +staggering knees,<br> + And sunk tail, and horrible heave of the flank,<br> + As down on her haunches she shuddered and sank.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So, we were left +galloping, Joris and I,<br> + Past Looz and past Tongres, no cloud in the sky;<br> + The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh,<br> + 'Neath our feet broke the brittle bright +stubble like chaff;<br> + Till over by Dalhem, a dome-spire sprang white,<br> + And "Gallop," gasped Joris, "for Aix is in +sight!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "How they'll +greet us!"--and all in a moment his roan<br> + Rolled neck and croup over, lay dead as a stone;<br> + And there was my Roland to bear the whole weight<br> + Of the news which alone could save Aix from her +fate,<br> + With his nostrils like pits full of blood to +the brim,<br> + And with circles of red for his eye-sockets' +rim.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then I cast loose +my buffcoat, each holster let fall,<br> + Shook off both my jack-boots, let go belt and +all,<br> + Stood up in the stirrup, leaned, patted his ear,<br> + Called my Roland his pet-name, my horse without +peer;<br> + Clapped my hands, laughed and sang, any noise, +bad or good,<br> + Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and +stood.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And all I +remember is--friends flocking round<br> + As I sat with his head 'twixt my knees on the +ground;<br> + And no voice but was praising this Roland of +mine,<br> + As I poured down his throat our last measure of +wine,<br> + Which (the burgesses voted by common consent)<br> + Was no more than his due who brought good news +from Ghent.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Robert Browning was born in a suburb of London in 1812. His four +grandparents were respectively of English, German, Scotch, and Creole +birth. After his marriage with the poet, Elizabeth Barrett, he lived in +Italy, where in the old palace Casa Guidi, in Florence, they spent years +of rare companionship and happiness. After her death he returned to +England, but spent most of his summers abroad. On the Grand Canal, in +Venice, the gondoliers point out a palace where at his son's home, +Browning died in 1889. He was buried in the Poets' Corner, Westminster +Abbey.</p> +<p>Browning's poems are not easy to read, because he condenses so much +into a word or phrase and he often leaves large gaps to be filled in by +the reader's imagination. Any one can make selections of lines and even +entire poems from Tennyson, Poe, Southey, and Lanier, in which the poet +has created for us verbal music and beauty. Browning, however, is not so +much concerned with this side of poetry as he is with portraying +correctly the varied emotions of the human soul.</p> +<p>"Love in the largest sense, as the divine principle working through +all nature, is at the very center of Browning's creed. His is the +heartiest, happiest, most beautiful poetic voice that his age has read. +He stands apart from most others of his kind and age in the positiveness +of his religious faith, a faith that is based upon a conviction of the +conquering universality of love and self-sacrifice."</p> +<p>"How They Brought the Good News" is without historical basis; the +ride occurred only in the imagination of the poet. The inspiration came +from Browning's longing for a horseback gallop over the English downs.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Find Ghent and Aix la Chapelle on your map.</p> +<p>What was probably the nature of the "good news" carried by the +messengers?</p> +<p>How many messengers were there?</p> +<p>What makes you think so?</p> +<p>What does the fifth stanza tell you?</p> +<p>What tells you the praise given Roland?</p> +<p>The rhythm suggests the gallop of the horses. In which lines is this +suggestion most marked?</p> +<p>Indicate the rhythmic movement.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "postern"<br> + "pique"<br> + "askance"<br> + "burgesses"<br> + "stirrup"<br> + "twilight"<br> + "haunches"<br> + "holster"<br> + "Good speed! cried the watch as the gate-bolts +undrew"<br> + "With resolute shoulders each butting away<br> + The haze, as some bluff river headland its +spray"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="INCIDENT_OF_THE_FRENCH_CAMP"></a>INCIDENT +OF THE FRENCH CAMP</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ROBERT BROWNING<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> You know, we +French stormed Ratisbon:<br> + A mile or so away,<br> + On a little mound, Napoleon<br> + Stood on our +storming-day;<br> + With neck out-thrust, you fancy how,<br> + Legs wide, arms locked +behind,<br> + As if to balance the prone brow<br> + Oppressive with its +mind.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Just as perhaps +he mused, "My plans<br> + That soar, to earth may +fall,<br> + Let once my army-leader, Lannes,<br> + Waver at yonder wall,"--<br> + Out 'twixt the battery-smokes there flew<br> + A rider, bound on bound<br> + Full-galloping; nor bridle drew<br> + Until he reached the +mound.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then off there +flung in smiling joy,<br> + And held himself erect<br> + By just his horse's mane, a boy:<br> + You hardly could +suspect--<br> + (So tight he kept his lips compressed,<br> + Scarce any blood came +through)<br> + You looked twice ere you saw his breast<br> + Was all but shot in two.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Well," cried he, +"Emperor, by God's grace,<br> + We've got you Ratisbon!<br> + The marshal's in the market-place,<br> + And you'll be there anon<br> + To see your flag-bird flap his vans<br> + Where I, to heart's +desire,<br> + Perched him!" The chief's eye flashed; his plans<br> + Soared up again like +fire.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The chiefs eye +flashed; but presently<br> + Softened itself, as +sheathes<br> + A film the mother eagle's eye<br> + When her bruised eaglet +breathes:<br> + "You're wounded!" "Nay," the soldier's pride<br> + Touched to the quick, +he said:<br> + "I'm killed, sire!" And his chief beside,<br> + Smiling, the boy fell +dead.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>On your map find Ratisbon on the Danube River.</p> +<p>What picture have you of Napoleon from reading this poem?</p> +<p>What word used figuratively tells you of the rider's speed?</p> +<p>Tell the story of the boy rider.</p> +<p>What was the mission of the boy who rode alone?</p> +<p>Was his heroism greater because he was alone?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "stormed"<br> + "soar"<br> + "prone"<br> + "waver"<br> + "battery-smokes"<br> + "vans"<br> + "sheathes"<br> + "film"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="HERVÉ_RIEL"></a>HERVÉ +RIEL</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ROBERT BROWNING</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> On the sea and +at the Hogue, sixteen hundred ninety-two,<br> + Did the English fight +the French--woe to France!<br> + And the thirty-first of May, helter-skelter +through the blue,<br> + Like a crowd of frightened porpoises a shoal of +sharks pursue,<br> + Came crowding ship on +ship to St. Malo on the Rance,<br> + With the English fleet in view.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> 'Twas the +squadron that escaped, with the victor in full chase;<br> + First and foremost of +the drove, in his great ship, Damfreville;<br> + Close +on him fled, great and small,<br> + Twenty-two +good ships in all;<br> + And they signalled to the place,<br> + "Help the winners of a race!<br> + Get us guidance, give +us harbor, take us quick--or, quicker still,<br> + Here's the English can +and will!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then the pilots +of the place put out brisk and leapt on board;<br> + "Why, what hope or +chance have ships like these to pass?" laughed they:<br> + "Rocks to starboard, +rocks to port, all the passage scarred and scored,--<br> + Shall the "Formidable" here, with her twelve +and eighty guns,<br> + Think to make the +river-mouth by the single narrow way,<br> + Trust to enter--where 'tis ticklish for a craft +of twenty tons,<br> + And +with flow at full beside?<br> + Now, +'tis slackest ebb of tide.<br> + Reach the mooring? +Rather say,<br> + While rock stands or water runs,<br> + Not a ship will leave +the bay!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then was called a +council straight.<br> + Brief and bitter the debate:<br> + "Here's the English at our heels; would you +have them take in tow<br> + All that's left us of the fleet, linked +together stern and bow,<br> + For a prize to Plymouth Sound? Better run the +ships aground!"<br> + (Ended Damfreville his +speech).<br> + "Not a minute more to wait!<br> + Let the captains all +and each<br> + Shove ashore, then blow +up, burn the vessels on the beach!<br> + France must undergo her fate.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Give the word!" +But no such word<br> + Was ever spoke or heard:<br> + For up stood, for out +stepped, for in struck, amid all these,--<br> + A captain? a lieutenant? a mate,--first, +second, third?<br> + No +such man of mark, and meet<br> + With +his betters to compete!<br> + But +a simple Breton sailor, pressed by Tourville for the fleet,<br> + A poor coasting-pilot, +he,---Hervé Riel, the Croisickese.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And "What mockery +or malice have we here?" cried Hervé Riel.<br> + "Are you mad, you +Malouins? Are you cowards, fools, or rogues?<br> + Talk to me of rocks and shoals?--me, who took +the soundings, tell<br> + On my fingers every bank, every shallow, every +swell,<br> + 'Twixt the offing here +and Grève, where the river disembogues?<br> + Are you bought by English gold? Is it love the +lying's for?<br> + Morn +and eve, night and day,<br> + Have +I piloted your bay,<br> + Entered free and anchored fast at the foot of +Solidor.<br> + Burn the fleet, and +ruin France? That were worse than fifty Hogues!<br> + Sirs, they know I speak +the truth! Sirs, believe me, there's way!<br> + Only let me lead the line,<br> + Have the biggest ship +to steer,<br> + Get this <i>Formidable</i> +clear,<br> + Make the others follow mine,<br> + And I lead them, most and least, by a passage I +know well,<br> + Right to Solidor past +Grève,<br> + And +there lay them safe and sound;<br> + And if one ship +misbehave,--<br> + Keel +so much as grate the ground,<br> + Why, I've nothing but my life,--here's my +head!" cries Hervé Riel.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Not a minute more +to wait.<br> + "Steer us in, then, small and great!<br> + Take +the helm, lead the line, save the squadron!" cried its chief.<br> + Captains, give the sailor place!<br> + He +is Admiral, in brief.<br> + Still the north-wind, by God's grace!<br> + See the noble fellow's face<br> + As the big ship, with a bound,<br> + Clears the entry like a hound,<br> + Keeps the passage, as its inch of way were the +wide sea's profound!<br> + See, safe thro' shoal +and rock,<br> + How they follow in a +flock,<br> + Not a ship that misbehaves, not a keel that +grates the ground,<br> + Not a spar that comes +to grief!<br> + The peril, see, is past.<br> + All are harbored to the last,<br> + And just as Hervé Riel hollas "Anchor!" +sure as fate,<br> + Up the English come,--too late!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So, the storm +subsides to calm:<br> + They see the green trees wave<br> + On the heights +o'erlooking Grève.<br> + Hearts that bled are stanched with balm.<br> + "Just our rapture to enhance,<br> + Let +the English rake the bay,<br> + Gnash their teeth and glare askance<br> + As +they cannonade away!<br> + 'Neath rampired Solidor pleasant riding on the +Rance!"<br> + How hope succeeds despair on each captain's +countenance!<br> + Out burst all with one accord,<br> + "This +is paradise for hell!<br> + Let France, let +France's king,<br> + Thank the man that did +the thing!"<br> + What a shout, and all one word,<br> + "Hervé +Riel!"<br> + As he stepped in front once more;<br> + Not a symptom of +surprise<br> + In the frank blue +Breton eyes,--<br> + Just the same man as before.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then said +Damfreville, "My friend,<br> + I must speak out at the end,<br> + Though I find the +speaking hard;<br> + Praise is deeper than the lips;<br> + You have saved the king his ships;<br> + You must name your own +reward.<br> + Faith, our sun was near eclipse!<br> + Demand whate'er you will,<br> + France remains your debtor still.<br> + Ask to heart's content, and have! or my name's +not Damfreville."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then a beam of +fun outbroke<br> + On the bearded mouth that spoke,<br> + As the honest heart +laughed through<br> + Those frank eyes of +Breton blue:--<br> + "Since I needs must say my say,<br> + Since on board the +duty's done,<br> + And from Malo Roads to +Croisic Point, what is it but a run!<br> + Since 'tis ask and have, I may--<br> + Since the others go +ashore--<br> + Come! A good whole holiday!<br> + Leave to go and see my +wife, whom I call the Belle Aurore!"<br> + That he asked and that +he got,--nothing more.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Name and deed +alike are lost:<br> + Not a pillar nor a post<br> + In his Croisic keeps +alive the feat as it befell;<br> + Not a head in white and black<br> + On a single +fishing-smack,<br> + In memory of the man but for whom had gone to +wrack<br> + All that France saved +from the fight whence England bore the bell.<br> + Go to Paris: rank on rank<br> + Search the heroes flung +pell-mell<br> + On the Louvre, face and flank!<br> + You shall look long +enough ere you come to Hervé Riel.<br> + So, for better and for worse, Hervé +Riel, accept my verse!<br> + In my verse, Hervé Riel, do thou once +more<br> + Save the squadron, honor France, love thy wife +the Belle Aurore!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Find on your map: Saint Malo, le Croisic (St. Croisic), Plymouth +Sound, Paris.</p> +<p>What forfeit did Hervé Riel propose in case he failed to +pilot the ships safely in?</p> +<p>What ships were seeking harbor?</p> +<p>Who were the "porpoises" and who the "sharks"?</p> +<p>What reward did he claim?</p> +<p>What comparison is found in the first stanza?</p> +<p>What do stanzas three and four tell?</p> +<p>In what way is the hero's memory perpetuated?</p> +<p>The rhythm gives spirit to the poem. Which lines or stanzas are most +spirited?</p> +<p>What line gives the key-note to Hervé Riel's character?</p> +<p>Contrast Hervé Riel with the local pilots.</p> +<p>Saint Malo--noted for its high tides.</p> +<p>Rance--name of a river.</p> +<p>The Hogue--a cape on the French coast.</p> +<p>Malouins--residents of Saint Malo.</p> +<p>Tourville--the French admiral.</p> +<p>Grève--name given the beach.</p> +<p>Solidor--the old fortress.</p> +<p>Belle Aurore--the dawn.</p> +<p>Croisickese--inhabitants of Croisie.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "Worse than fifty Hogues"<br> + "Clears the entry like a hound"<br> + "Just the same man as before"<br> + "He is Admiral, in brief"<br> + "Keeps the passage as its inch of way were the +wide sea's profound"<br> + "Search the heroes flung pell-mell on the +Louvre, face and flank"<br> + "pressed"<br> + "disembogues"<br> + "rampired"<br> + "bore the bell"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_BUGLE_SONG_"></a>THE +BUGLE SONG <br> +<small>(From "The Princess")</small></span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> The +splendor falls on castle walls<br> + And +snowy summits, old in story;<br> + The long light shakes +across the lakes,<br> + And +the wild cataract leaps in glory.<br> + Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying;<br> + Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, +dying.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> O, +hark! O, hear! how thin and clear,<br> + And +thinner, clearer, farther going!<br> + O, sweet and far from +cliff and scar,<br> + The +horns of Elfland, faintly blowing!<br> + Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying;<br> + Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, +dying.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> O, +love, they die in yon rich sky;<br> + They +faint on hill or field or river.<br> + Our echoes roll from +soul to soul,<br> + And +grow forever and forever.<br> + Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying;<br> + And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Why does the poet use "splendor" instead of "sun-set," and "summits" +instead of "mountains"?</p> +<p>Line 2--What is meant by "old in story"?</p> +<p>Line 3--Why does the poet use "shakes"?</p> +<p>Line l3--To what does "they" relate?</p> +<p>Line l5--Explain.</p> +<p>Line l5--Why does the poet use "roll"?</p> +<p>Line l6--They "die" and "faint" while "our echoes" "roll" and +"grow." Note that "grow" is the important word.</p> +<p>Note the refrain and the changes in its use; in the first +stanza--the bugle; in the second--the echo; in the third--the spiritual +echo.</p> +<p>Point out lines that have rhyme within themselves.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "wild echoes"<br> + "cliff and scar"<br> + "horns of Elfland"<br> + "rich sky"<br> + "purple glens"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_BROOK"></a>THE BROOK</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> I come from +haunts of coot and hern,<br> + I make a sudden sally,<br> + And sparkle out among the fern,<br> + To bicker down a valley.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> By thirty hills I +hurry down,<br> + Or slip between the +ridges,<br> + By twenty thorps, a little town,<br> + And half a hundred +bridges,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Till last by +Philip's farm I flow<br> + To join the brimming +river,<br> + For men may come and men may go,<br> + But I go on forever.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I chatter over +stony ways,<br> + In little sharps and +trebles;<br> + I bubble into eddying bays,<br> + I babble on the pebbles.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> With many a curve +my banks I fret<br> + By many a field and +fallow,<br> + And many a fairy foreland set<br> + With willow-weed and +mallow.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I chatter, +chatter, as I flow<br> + To join the brimming +river,<br> + For men may come and men may go,<br> + But I go on forever.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I wind about, and +in and out,<br> + With here a blossom +sailing,<br> + And here and there a lusty trout,<br> + And here and there a +grayling.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And here and +there a foamy flake<br> + Upon me, as I travel<br> + With many a silvery water-break<br> + Above the golden gravel,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And draw them all +along, and flow<br> + To join the brimming +river,<br> + For men may come and men may go,<br> + But I go on forever.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I steal by lawns +and grassy plots,<br> + I slide by hazel covers;<br> + I move the sweet forget-me-nots<br> + That grow for happy +lovers.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I slip, I slide, +I gloom, I glance,<br> + Among my skimming +swallows;<br> + I make the netted sunbeams dance<br> + Against my sandy +shallows,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I murmur under +moon and stars<br> + In brambly wildernesses;<br> + I linger by my shingly bars,<br> + I loiter round my +cresses;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And out again I +curve and flow<br> + To join the brimming +river,<br> + For men may come and men may go,<br> + But I go on forever.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>These stanzas are part of a longer poem called "The Brook."</p> +<p>In this poem Tennyson personifies the brook. Why?</p> +<p>In what lines do the words and the rhythm suggest the sound of the +brook?</p> +<p>Which lines do this most successfully?</p> +<p>Point out words that seem to you especially appropriate in giving +the thought.</p> +<p>Where in the poem do we find a meaning for the following lines:<br> + "Oh! of all the songs sung<br> + No songs are so sweet<br> + As the songs with refrains<br> + Which repeat and repeat."</p> +<p>How does the repetition of "chatter" influence the melody of the +first line in the sixth stanza?</p> +<p>How does it affect the thought?</p> +<p>Find another place in the poem where an expression is repeated.</p> +<p>Was this done for the sake of the rhythm, or the thought, or for +both?</p> +<p>Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter or sound at the +beginning of two or more words in close succession.</p> +<p>Find lines in which alliteration is used e. g. "sudden sally," +"field and fallow," etc. What does this add to the poem?</p> +<p>Indicate the rhythm of the first four lines by placing them in these +curves:<br> + _______ +_______ _______ _______<br> +/ \/ \/ \/ \</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "coot and hern" (heron)<br> + "bicker"<br> + "thorps"<br> + "fairy foreland"<br> + "willow weed and mallow"<br> + "grayling"<br> + "water-break"<br> + "covers"<br> + "brambly"<br> + "shingly bars"<br> + "eddying"<br> + "fallow"<br> + "babble"<br> + "cresses"<br> + "brimming"<br> + "sharps and trebles"<br> + "skimming swallows"<br> + "netted sunbeams"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="SONG_OF_THE_CHATTAHOOCHEE"></a>SONG +OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>SIDNEY LANIER</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Out +of the hills of Habersham,<br> + Down the valleys of +Hall,<br> + I hurry amain to reach the plain,<br> + Run the rapid and leap the fall;<br> + Split at the rock and together again,<br> + Accept my bed, or narrow or wide,<br> + And flee from folly on every side<br> + With a lover's pain to attain the plain<br> + Far from the hills of +Habersham,<br> + Far from the valleys of +Hall.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> All +down the hills of Habersham,<br> + All through the valleys +of Hall,<br> + The rushes cried, "Abide, abide,"<br> + The wilful water-weeds held me thrall,<br> + The laving laurel turned my tide,<br> + The ferns and the fondling grass said, "Stay,"<br> + The dewberry dipped for to work delay,<br> + And the little reeds sighed, "Abide, abide,"<br> + Here in the hills of +Habersham,<br> + Here in the valleys of +Hall.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> High +o'er the hills of Habersham,<br> + Veiling the valleys of +Hall,<br> + The hickory told me manifold<br> + Fair tales of shade; the poplar tall<br> + Wrought me her shadowy self to hold;<br> + The chestnut, the oak, the walnut, the pine,<br> + Overleaning, with flickering meaning and sign,<br> + Said: "Pass not so +cold, these manifold<br> + Deep shades of the +hills of Habersham,<br> + These glades in the +valleys of Hall."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And +oft in the hills of Habersham,<br> + And oft in the valleys +of Hall,<br> + The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook +stone<br> + Did bar me of passage with friendly brawl;<br> + And many a luminous jewel lone<br> + (Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist,<br> + Ruby, garnet, or amethyst)<br> + Made lures with the lights of streaming stone<br> + In the clefts of the +hills of Habersham,<br> + In the beds of the +valleys of Hall.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But +oh! not the hills of Habersham,<br> + And oh! not the valleys +of Hall<br> + Avail; I am fain for to water the plain.<br> + Downward the voices of Duty call;<br> + Downward to toil and be mixed with the main.<br> + The dry fields burn and the mills are to turn,<br> + And a myriad flowers mortally yearn,<br> + And the lordly main from beyond the plain<br> + Calls o'er the hills of +Habersham,<br> + Calls through the +valleys of Hall.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> The +South has given us two most melodious singers, Poe and Lanier. When +only nineteen Sidney Lanier enlisted in the Confederate army, and the +close of the war found him broken in health, with little else in the +world than a brave wife and a brave heart. When his health permitted he +played the flute in an orchestra in Baltimore. The rhythm, the rhyme and +the melodious words of his poetry all show him the passionate lover of +music that he was. Among his prose writings, "The Boy's Froissart" and +"The Boy's King Arthur" are of especial interest to young readers.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Find the Chattahoochee river on your map with its source in the +"hills of Habersham" and its course through the "valleys of Hall."</p> +<p>Compare this poem with Tennyson's "The Brook."</p> +<p>What is peculiar in the phrases: "run the rapid," "flee from folly," +"wilful waterweeds," "loving laurel," etc.</p> +<p>Find alliteration in other lines.</p> +<p>What is added to the poem by alliteration?</p> +<p>Notice the rhythm in the third line of the first stanza.</p> +<p>What is the peculiarity of the eighth line of the first stanza?</p> +<p>Find lines in the other stanzas which contain rhymes. Notice the +last word in each of these lines. What two things have you found out?</p> +<p>Lanier believed that poetry is a kind of music. Does the rhythm in +this poem sustain this definition?</p> +<p>Point out lines that are especially musical and pleasing.</p> +<p>Habersham, Hall--Counties in northern Georgia.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "laving laurel"<br> + "fondling grass"<br> + "friendly brawl"<br> + "made lures"<br> + "lordly main"<br> + "run the rapid"<br> + "leap the fall"<br> + "hurry amain"<br> + "veiling the valleys"<br> + "flickering meaning"<br> + "the mills are to turn"<br> + "I am fain for to water the plain"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_CATARACT_OF_LODORE"></a>THE +CATARACT OF LODORE</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ROBERT SOUTHEY.</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> "How does the +water<br> + Come down at Lodore?"<br> + My little boy asked me<br> + Thus, once on a time;<br> + And, moreover, he tasked me<br> + To tell him in rhyme.<br> + Anon at the word,<br> + There first came one daughter,<br> + And then came another,<br> + To second and third<br> + The request of their +brother,<br> + And to hear how the water<br> + Comes down at Lodore,<br> + With its rush and its roar,<br> + As many a time<br> + They had seen it before.<br> + So I told them in +rhyme--<br> + For of rhymes I had store;<br> + And 'twas my vocation<br> + For their recreation<br> + That so I should sing;<br> + Because I was Laureate<br> + To them and the king.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> From its sources, +which well<br> + In the tarn on the fell;<br> + From its fountains<br> + In the mountains,<br> + Its rills and its gills;<br> + Through moss and through brake,<br> + It runs and it creeps<br> + For a while, till it +sleeps<br> + In its own little lake.<br> + And thence, at departing,<br> + Awakening and starting,<br> + It runs through the reeds,<br> + And away it proceeds,<br> + Through meadow and glade,<br> + In sun and in shade,<br> + And through the wood shelter,<br> + Among crags in its +flurry,<br> + Helter-skelter,<br> + Hurry-skurry.<br> + Here it comes sparkling,<br> + And there it lies darkling;<br> + Now smoking and frothing<br> + In tumult and wrath in,<br> + Till, in this rapid race<br> + On which it is bent,<br> + It reaches the place<br> + Of its steep descent.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The +cataract strong<br> + Then plunges along,<br> + Striking and raging,<br> + As if a war waging<br> + Its caverns and rocks among;<br> + Rising and leaping,<br> + Sinking and creeping,<br> + Swelling and sweeping,<br> + Showering and springing,<br> + Flying and flinging,<br> + Writhing and ringing,<br> + Eddying and whisking,<br> + Spouting and frisking,<br> + Turning and twisting,<br> + Around and around<br> + With endless rebound;<br> + Smiting and fighting,<br> + A sight to delight in;<br> + Confounding, astounding,<br> + Dizzying, and deafening the ear with its sound,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Collecting, +projecting,<br> + Receding and speeding,<br> + And shocking and +rocking,<br> + And darting and parting,<br> + And threading and +spreading,<br> + And whizzing and +hissing,<br> + And dripping and +skipping,<br> + And hitting and +splitting,<br> + And shining and twining,<br> + And rattling and +battling,<br> + And shaking and quaking,<br> + And pouring and roaring,<br> + And waving and raving,<br> + And tossing and +crossing,<br> + And flowing and going,<br> + And running and +stunning,<br> + And foaming and roaming,<br> + And dinning and +spinning,<br> + And dropping and +hopping,<br> + And working and jerking,<br> + And guggling and +struggling,<br> + And heaving and +cleaving,<br> + And moaning and +groaning,<br> + And glittering and +frittering,<br> + And gathering and +feathering,<br> + And whitening and +brightening,<br> + And quivering and +shivering,<br> + And hurrying and +skurrying,<br> + And thundering and +floundering;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Dividing and +gliding and sliding,<br> + And falling and brawling and sprawling,<br> + And driving and riving and striving,<br> + And sprinkling and twinkling and wrinkling,<br> + And sounding and bounding and rounding,<br> + And bubbling and troubling and doubling,<br> + And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling,<br> + And chattering and battering and shattering;<br> + Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting,<br> + Delaying and straying and playing and spraying,<br> + Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing,<br> + Recoiling, turmoiling, and toiling and boiling,<br> + And gleaming and streaming and steaming and +beaming,<br> + And rushing and flushing and brushing and +gushing,<br> + And flapping and rapping and clapping and +slapping,<br> + And curling and whirling and purling and +twirling,<br> + And thumping and plumping and bumping and +jumping.<br> + And dashing and flashing and splashing and +clashing;<br> + And so never ending, but always descending,<br> + Sounds and motions forever and ever are +blending,<br> + All at once, and all +o'er, with a mighty uproar:<br> + And this way the water +comes down at Lodore.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical</span>: Robert +Southey, 1774-1843, was a great English poet. In 1813 he was made poet +laureate.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Who was "laureate"? What is it to be "laureate"?</p> +<p>Who was the king to whom Southey was poet-laureate?</p> +<p>To whom beside the king does he say he is laureate?</p> +<p>What do you think he means by this?</p> +<p>Find this cataract on your map (Derwent River in Cumberland). What +is a cataract? Have you ever seen one?</p> +<p>Find changes in rhythm as the stream advances.</p> +<p>Where in the poem does Southey first use lines in which two words +rhyme? In which three words rhyme?</p> +<p>Why does the poet use all these rhymes?</p> +<p>Compare the first and second stanzas as to rate.</p> +<p>Point out lines that are especially pleasing to you.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "cataract"<br> + "tarn"<br> + "brake"<br> + "glade"<br> + "helter-skelter"<br> + "hurry-skurry"<br> + "vocation"<br> + "recreation"<br> + "fell"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_BELLS"></a>THE BELLS</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDGAR ALLAN POE</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Hear +the sledges with the bells--<br> + Silver +bells!<br> + What a world of merriment their melody +foretells!<br> + How they tinkle, +tinkle, tinkle,<br> + In +the icy air of night!<br> + While the stars that +oversprinkle<br> + All the heavens, seem +to twinkle<br> + With +a crystalline delight;<br> + Keeping +time, time, time,<br> + In +a sort of Runic rhyme,<br> + To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells<br> + From the bells, bells, +bells, bells,<br> + Bells, +bells, bells--<br> + From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Hear +the mellow wedding-bells,<br> + Golden +bells!<br> + What a world of happiness their harmony +foretells!<br> + Through the balmy air +of night<br> + How they ring out their +delight!<br> + From +the molten-golden notes,<br> + And +all in tune,<br> + What +a liquid ditty floats<br> + To the turtle-dove that listens, while she +gloats<br> + On +the moon!<br> + Oh, from out the +sounding cells<br> + What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!<br> + How +it swells!<br> + How +it dwells<br> + On +the Future! how it tells<br> + Of +the rapture that impels<br> + To the swinging and the +ringing<br> + Of +the bells, bells, bells--<br> + Of +the bells, bells, bells, bells,<br> + Bells, +bells, bells--<br> + To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Hear +the loud alarum bells--<br> + Brazen +bells!<br> + What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency +tells!<br> + In +the startled ear of night<br> + How +they scream out their affright!<br> + Too +much horrified to speak,<br> + They +can only shriek, shriek,<br> + Out +of tune,<br> + In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the +fire,<br> + In a mad expostulation with the deaf and +frantic fire<br> + Leaping +higher, higher, higher,<br> + With +a desperate desire,<br> + And +a resolute endeavor,<br> + Now--now +to sit or never,<br> + By +the side of the pale-faced moon.<br> + Oh, +the bells, bells, bells!<br> + What +a tale their terror tells<br> + Of +despair!<br> + How +they clang, and clash, and roar!<br> + What +a horror they outpour<br> + On +the bosom of the palpitating air!<br> + Yet +the ear it fully knows,<br> + By +the twanging<br> + And +the clanging,<br> + How +the danger ebbs and flows;<br> + Yet +the ear distinctly tells,<br> + In +the jangling,<br> + And +the wrangling,<br> + How +the danger sinks and swells,<br> + By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of +the bells--<br> + Of +the bells--<br> + Of +the bells, bells, bells, bells,<br> + Bells, +bells, bells--<br> + In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Hear +the tolling of the bells--<br> + Iron +bells!<br> + What a world of solemn thought their monody +compels!<br> + In the silence of the +night,<br> + How we shiver with +affright<br> + At the melancholy menace of their tone!<br> + For every sound that +floats<br> + From the rust within +their throats<br> + Is +a groan.<br> + And the people--ah, the +people--<br> + They that dwell up in +the steeple,<br> + All +alone,<br> + And who tolling, +tolling, tolling,<br> + In +that muffled monotone,<br> + Feel a glory in so +rolling<br> + On +the human heart a stone--<br> + They are neither man +nor woman--<br> + They are neither brute +nor human--<br> + They +are Ghouls;<br> + And their king it is +who tolls;<br> + And he rolls, rolls, +rolls,<br> + Rolls,<br> + A +paean from the bells!<br> + And his merry bosom +swells<br> + With +the paean of the bells!<br> + And he dances, and he +yells;<br> + Keeping +time, time, time,<br> + In +a sort of Runic rhyme,<br> + To the paean of the +bells--<br> + Of +the bells:<br> + Keeping time, time, +time,<br> + In a sort of Runic +rhyme,<br> + To +the throbbing of the bells--<br> + Of +the bells, bells, bells--<br> + To +the sobbing of the bells;<br> + Keeping time, time, +time,<br> + As +he knells, knells, knells,<br> + In +a happy Runic rhyme,<br> + To +the rolling of the bells--<br> + Of +the bells, bells, bells--<br> + To +the tolling of the bells,<br> + Of +the bells, bells, bells, bells--<br> + Bells, +bells, bells--<br> + To the moaning and the +groaning of the bells.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><br> +HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19th, 1809. Both his +parents were members of a theatrical troupe then playing in Boston. He +was left an orphan at the age of three years, and was adopted by a +wealthy Virginia planter and by him educated in England and elsewhere. +Owing to his erratic habits, Poe's foster-father disowned him, and after +that life for him was a constant battle with poverty. His prose tales +abound in adventure, allegory, and the supernatural. His poetry is full +of imagery, beauty, and melody.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>What kinds of bells does the poet seek to reproduce the sound of?</p> +<p>Which bells has he described best?</p> +<p>Point out words particularly suited to express the sound they +describe.</p> +<p>Which lines are especially musical and pleasing?</p> +<p>What can you say of the fire-bells of today?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "euphony"<br> + "tintinnabulation"<br> + "expostulation"<br> + "Runic"<br> + "crystalline"<br> + "palpitating"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="ANNABEL_LEE"></a>ANNABEL +LEE</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDGAR ALLAN POE</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> It was many and +many a year ago,<br> + In a kingdom by the sea,<br> + That a maiden there lived whom you may know<br> + By the name of Annabel +Lee;<br> + And this maiden she lived with no other thought<br> + Than to love and be +loved by me.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I was a child and +she was a child,<br> + In this kingdom by the +sea:<br> + But we loved with a love that was more than +love--<br> + I and my Annabel Lee;<br> + With a love that the wingèd seraphs of +heaven<br> + Coveted her and me.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And this was the +reason that, long ago,<br> + In this kingdom by the +sea,<br> + A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling<br> + My beautiful Annabel +Lee;<br> + So that her highborn kinsmen came<br> + And bore her away from +me,<br> + To shut her up in a sepulchre<br> + In this kingdom by the +sea.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The angels, not +half so happy in heaven,<br> + Went envying her and +me--<br> + Yes!--that was the reason (as all men know,<br> + In this kingdom by the +sea)<br> + That the wind came out of the cloud by night,<br> + Chilling and killing my +Annabel Lee.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But our love it +was stronger by far than the love<br> + Of those who were older +than we--<br> + Of many far wiser than +we--<br> + And neither the angels in heaven above,<br> + Nor the demons down +under the sea,<br> + Can ever dissever my soul from the soul<br> + Of the beautiful +Annabel Lee:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> For the moon +never beams, without bringing me dreams<br> + Of the beautiful +Annabel Lee;<br> + And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright +eyes<br> + Of the beautiful +Annabel Lee;<br> + And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the +side<br> + Of my darling,--my darling,--my life and my +bride,<br> + In the sepulchre there +by the sea,<br> + In her tomb by the +sounding sea.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Like "The Bells," this poem is musical and the words are chosen with +reference to this quality.</p> +<p>Notice that the repetition of the word "many" adds to the music of +the first line.</p> +<p>Find other lines in which a word is repeated for the sake of melody.</p> +<p>Find lines in which rhymes occur.</p> +<p>Mention lines that are especially pleasing to you.</p> +<p>What reason is given for the death of Annabel Lee?</p> +<p>Why did the angels "covet" and "envy" the lovers?</p> +<p>How strong was this love?</p> +<p>Why does not the lover feel separated from Annabel Lee?</p> +<p>Do you like this poem? Why?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "winged seraphs"<br> + "sounding sea"<br> + "sepulchre"<br> + "highborn kinsmen"<br> + "coveted"<br> + "envying"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="OPPORTUNITY"></a>OPPORTUNITY</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDWARD ROWLAND SILL</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> This I beheld, +or dreamed it in a dream:--<br> + There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;<br> + And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged<br> + A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords<br> + Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's +banner<br> + Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by +foes.<br> + A craven hung along the battle's edge,<br> + And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel--<br> + That blue blade that the king's son bears,--but +this<br> + Blunt thing--!" he snapt and flung it from his +hand,<br> + And lowering crept away and left the field.<br> + Then came the king's son, wounded, sore bestead,<br> + And weaponless, and saw the broken sword,<br> + Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,<br> + And ran and snatched it, and with battle-shout<br> + Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down,<br> + And saved a great cause that heroic day.</div> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> Edward Rowland +Sill was born in Connecticut in 1841. He graduated at Yale and lived +most of his life in California, being for some years professor of +English language and literature at the State University. Sill was a true +poet, but the whole of his literary output is contained in two slender +volumes. His poems are noted for their compressed thought. The selection +here given shows this quality.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>What do you learn from this poem?</p> +<p>Where was the craven when he decided his sword was useless?</p> +<p>What word shows that he was there of his own choice?</p> +<p>What kind of sword had the craven?</p> +<p>What words tell you that he was greatly needed in the thick of the +conflict?</p> +<p>What kind of sword had the king's son?</p> +<p>How long did the king's son look at the discarded sword before using +it?</p> +<p>If the battle represents life, and the craven and the king's son are +types of the people in the world, what do you think the swords represent?</p> +<p>Why is this poem called "Opportunity"?</p> +<p>Can you think of another title which might be given to it?</p> +<p>Such a story as this is called an allegory.</p> +<p>"furious"--What is a furious battle?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "craven"<br> + "bestead"<br> + "hung along the battle's edge"<br> + "shocked"<br> + "hemmed by foes"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="TO_A_WATERFOWL"></a>TO A +WATERFOWL</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Whither, +midst falling dew,<br> + While glow the heavens with the last steps of +day,<br> + Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue<br> + Thy solitary way?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Vainly +the fowler's eye<br> + Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,<br> + As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,<br> + Thy figure floats along.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Seek'st +thou the plashy brink<br> + Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,<br> + Or where the rocking billows rise and sink<br> + On the chafed +ocean-side?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> There +is a Power whose care<br> + Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,--<br> + The desert and illimitable air,--<br> + Lone wandering, but not +lost.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> All +day thy wings have fanned,<br> + At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere,<br> + Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,<br> + Though the dark night +is near.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And +soon that toil shall end;<br> + Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,<br> + And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend<br> + Soon o'er thy sheltered +nest.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Thou'rt +gone; the abyss of heaven<br> + Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart<br> + Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,<br> + And shall not soon +depart.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He +who, from zone to zone,<br> + Guides through the boundless sky thy certain +flight,<br> + In the long way that I must tread alone<br> + Will lead my steps +aright.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +William Cullen Bryant was born in 1794 in Western Massachusetts. His +education was carried on in the district school. At home he had the use +of an exceptionally fine library, for that period, and he made the most +of its opportunities. In 1816 he secured a license to practice law, and +journeyed on foot to Plainfield, Mass., to look for a place to open an +office. He felt forlorn and desolate, and the world seemed big and cold. +In this mood, while pausing on his way to contemplate the beauty of the +sunset, he saw a solitary bird wing its way along the horizon. He +watched it until it was lost in the distance. Then he pursued his +journey with new courage and on arriving at the place where he was to +stop for the night, he sat down and wrote this beautiful poem of faith +and hope.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>What lines tell you the time of day?</p> +<p>Which stanza do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>What lines give you the most beautiful picture?</p> +<p>What does the poet learn from the waterfowl?</p> +<p>Note that the rhythm gives the impression of the bird's flight.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "thy solitary way"<br> + "rosy depths"<br> + "thin atmosphere"<br> + "the fowler's eye"<br> + "long way"<br> + "welcome land"<br> + "that toil shall end"<br> + "tread alone"<br> + "boundless sky"<br> + "last steps of day"<br> + "certain flight"<br> + "lone wandering but not lost"<br> + "chafed ocean-side"<br> + "pathless coast"<br> + "the abyss of heaven hath swallowed up thy form"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_SKYLARK"></a>THE +SKYLARK</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JAMES HOGG.</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Bird +of the wilderness,<br> + Blithesome and +cumberless,<br> + Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea!<br> + Emblem of happiness,<br> + Blest is thy dwelling +place,--<br> + O to abide in the desert with thee!<br> + Wild is thy lay and +loud,<br> + Far in the downy cloud,<br> + Love gives it energy, love gave it birth.<br> + Where on thy dewy wing,<br> + Where art thou +journeying?<br> + Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> O'er +fell and fountain sheen,<br> + O'er moor and mountain +green,<br> + O'er the red streamer that heralds the day,<br> + Over the cloudlet dim,<br> + Over the rainbow's rim,<br> + Musical cherub, soar, singing, away!<br> + Then, when the gloaming +comes,<br> + Low in the heather +blooms,<br> + Sweet will thy welcome and bed of love be!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p>James Hogg was born in Ettrick, Scotland, in 1770, and was known as +"the Ettrick Shepherd," because he followed the occupation of a shepherd +until he was thirty. The beautiful selection here given was doubtless +inspired by the poet's early communion with Nature.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>From this poem what can you tell of the home of the skylark? Of its +nature?</p> +<p>Why is the lark called an emblem of happiness? Name something that +might be called an emblem of strength; of sorrow.</p> +<p>What pictures do the following words make to you: "wilderness," +"moor," "lea," "fell," "heather-bloom"?</p> +<p>What is the "red streamer that heralds the day"?</p> +<p>What does the word "dewy" suggest as to the habits of the bird?</p> +<p>What do "matin" and "gloaming" signify?</p> +<p>In the poem what tells you the nest is near the ground?</p> +<p>Why is "downy" used to describe "cloud"?</p> +<p>What makes lines 13 and 14 so musical?</p> +<p>Indicate the rhythm of the first six lines by writing them in groups +as shown in the following curves:</p> +<p> __________ ____________<br> +/ \/ \<br> + Bird of the + wil-der-ness</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="TO_A_SKYLARK"></a>TO A +SKYLARK</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Hail +to thee, blithe Spirit!<br> + Bird +thou never wert,<br> + That +from Heaven, or near it,<br> + Pourest +thy full heart<br> + In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Higher +still and higher<br> + From +the earth thou springest<br> + Like +a cloud of fire;<br> + The +blue deep thou wingest<br> + And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever +singest.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> In +the golden lightning<br> + Of +the sunken sun,<br> + O'er +which clouds are bright'ning,<br> + Thou +dost float and run;<br> + Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The +pale purple even<br> + Melts +around thy flight;<br> + Like +a star of heaven,<br> + In +the broad daylight<br> + Thou art unseen,--but yet I hear thy shrill +delight,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Keen +as are the arrows<br> + Of +that silver sphere,<br> + Whose +intense lamp narrows<br> + In +the white dawn clear<br> + Until we hardly see--we feel that it is there.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> All +the earth and air<br> + With +thy voice is loud,<br> + As, +when Night is bare,<br> + From +one lonely cloud<br> + The moon rains out her beams, and Heaven is +overflowed.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> What +thou art we know not;<br> + What +is most like thee?<br> + From +rainbow clouds there flow not<br> + Drops +so bright to see<br> + As from thy presence showers a rain of melody.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Like +a Poet hidden<br> + In +the light of thought,<br> + Singing +hymns unbidden<br> + Till +the world is wrought<br> + To sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Like +a high-born maiden<br> + In +a palace tower,<br> + Soothing +her love-laden<br> + Soul +in secret hour<br> + With music sweet as love,--which overflows her +bower:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Like +a glow-worm golden<br> + In +a dell of dew,<br> + Scattering +unbeholden<br> + Its +aërial hue<br> + Among the flowers and grass which screen it +from the view:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Like +a rose embowered<br> + In +its own green leaves,<br> + By +warm winds deflowered,<br> + Till +the scent it give<br> + Makes faint with too much sweet those +heavy-winged thieves:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Sound +of vernal showers<br> + On +the twinkling grass,<br> + Bain-awakened +flowers,<br> + All +that ever was<br> + Joyous and clear and fresh, thy music doth +surpass,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Teach +us, Sprite or Bird,<br> + What +sweet thoughts are thine;<br> + I +have never heard<br> + Praise +of love or wine<br> + That panted forth a flood of rapture so divine.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Chorus +Hymeneal,<br> + Or +triumphal chaunt,<br> + Matched +with thine, would be all<br> + But +an empty vaunt,<br> + A thing wherein we feel there is some hidden +want.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> What +objects are the fountains<br> + Of +thy happy strain?<br> + What +fields or waves or mountains?<br> + What +shapes of sky or plain?<br> + What love of thine own kind? what ignorance of +pain?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> With +thy clear keen joyance<br> + Languor +cannot be;<br> + Shadow +of annoyance<br> + Never +came near thee;<br> + Thou lovest--but ne'er knew love's sad satiety.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Waking +or asleep<br> + Thou +of death must deem<br> + Things +more true and deep<br> + Than +we mortals dream--<br> + Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal +stream?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> We +look before and after,<br> + And +pine for what is not;<br> + Our +sincerest laughter<br> + With +some pain is fraught;<br> + Our sweetest songs are those that tell of +saddest thought.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Yet +if we could scorn<br> + Hate +and pride and fear;<br> + If +we were things born<br> + Not +to shed a tear,<br> + I know not how thy joy we ever should come near.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Better +than all measures<br> + Of +delightful sound,<br> + Better +than all treasures<br> + That +in books are found,<br> + Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the +ground!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Teach +me half the gladness<br> + That +thy brain must know,<br> + Such +harmonious madness<br> + From +my lips would flow,<br> + The world should listen then--as I am listening +now.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Percy Bysshe Shelley was born in 1792. He was an English poet who +traveled much in Europe, and found Italy especially to his liking. His +life was short and full of storm and stress, although he never allowed +his personal sufferings to embitter his spirit. While only thirty, on a +pleasure cruise off the coast of Italy, he was drowned.</p> +<p>"To a Skylark" and "The Cloud" are rare poems because of their +wonderful harmony of sound.</p> +<p>The skylark is found in northern Europe. It is noted for its lofty +flights and wonderful song. Note that Shelley, Wordsworth, and James +Hogg have all written poems about the skylark.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>What country is the home of these poets? What does this fact suggest +to you?</p> +<p>Explain the simile in the fifth stanza. In the sixth.</p> +<p>In the seventh stanza what two words are contrasted?</p> +<p>Note the four comparisons--stanzas eight, nine, ten and eleven. +Which do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>In line 86 emphasize the first word and explain the stanza.</p> +<p>In line 95 emphasize the fifth word and explain the stanza.</p> +<p>In line 96 to end, what does Shelley say would be the result if a +poet could feel such joy as the little bird seems to feel?</p> +<p>If we had no dark days do you think we could appreciate the bright +days?</p> +<p>If we had no sadness could we appreciate the songs of gladness?</p> +<p>If Shelley had never experienced sadness could he have written this +beautiful poem of gladness?</p> +<p><br> +Explain the following:</p> +<p> "There is no music in the life<br> + That sounds with empty +laughter wholly;<br> + There's not a string +attuned to mirth<br> + But has its chord in +melancholy."</p> +<p><br> +What does the skylark mean to Shelley?</p> +<p>If we think only of being happy shall we be very helpful to others?</p> +<p>Make a list of all the names he gives the skylark.</p> +<p>Enumerate the expressions Shelley uses in characterizing the song.</p> +<p>Which stanza do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>"wert" rhymes with heart. (In England the sound is broad, +er=är).</p> +<p>"even"--a contraction of evening.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "profuse strains"<br> + "panted forth"<br> + "heavy-winged thieves"<br> + "unpremeditated art"<br> + "rain of melody"<br> + "harmonious madness"<br> + "shrill delight"<br> + "flood of rapture"<br> + "float and run"<br> + "rains out"<br> + "triumphant chaunt"<br> + "scattering unbeholden"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_CLOUD"></a>THE CLOUD</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> I bring fresh +showers for the thirsting flowers,<br> + From +the seas and the streams;<br> + I bear light shade for the leaves when laid<br> + In +their noon-day dreams;<br> + From my wings are shaken the dews that waken<br> + The +sweet buds every one,<br> + When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,<br> + As +she dances about the sun.<br> + I wield the flail of the lashing hail,<br> + And +whiten the green plains under;<br> + And then again I dissolve it in rain,<br> + And +laugh as I pass in thunder.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I sift the snow +on the mountains below,<br> + And +their great pines groan aghast;<br> + And all the night 'tis my pillow white,<br> + While I sleep in the +arms of the blast,<br> + Sublime on the towers of my skyey bowers,<br> + Lightning, my pilot, +sits;<br> + In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,--<br> + It struggles and howls +by fits;<br> + Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,<br> + This pilot is guiding +me,<br> + Lured by the love of the genii that move<br> + In the depths of the +purple sea;<br> + Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,<br> + Over the lakes and the +plains,<br> + Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,<br> + The spirit he loves +remains;<br> + And I, all the while, bask in heaven's blue +smile,<br> + Whilst he is dissolving +in rains.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The sanguine +sunrise, with his meteor eyes,<br> + And his burning plumes +outspread,<br> + Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,<br> + When the morning-star +shines dead,<br> + As on the jag of a mountain-crag,<br> + Which an earthquake +rocks and swings,<br> + An eagle, alit, one moment may sit,<br> + In the light of its +golden wings.<br> + And when sunset may breathe, from the lit sea +beneath,<br> + Its ardors of rest and +love,<br> + And the crimson pall of eve may fall<br> + From the depth of +heaven above,<br> + With wings folded I rest, on mine airy nest,<br> + As still as a brooding +dove.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> That orbèd +Maiden, with white fire laden,<br> + Whom mortals call the +Moon,<br> + Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,<br> + By the midnight breezes +strewn;<br> + And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,<br> + Which only the angels +hear,<br> + May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,<br> + The stars peep behind +her, and peer!<br> + And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,<br> + Like a swarm of golden +bees,<br> + When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,<br> + Till the calm rivers, +lakes, and seas,<br> + Like strips of the sky fallen through me on +high,<br> + Are each paved with the +moon and these.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I bind the sun's +throne with a burning zone,<br> + And the moon's with a +girdle of pearl;<br> + The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and +swim,<br> + When the whirlwinds my +banner unfurl.<br> + From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,<br> + Over a torrent of sea,<br> + Sun-beam proof, I hang like a roof,<br> + The mountains its +columns be.<br> + The triumphal arch through which I march<br> + With hurricane, fire, +and snow,<br> + When the powers of the air are chained to my +chair,<br> + Is the million-colored +bow;<br> + The sphere-fire above its soft colors wove,<br> + While the moist earth +was laughing below.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I am the daughter +of earth and water,<br> + And the nursling of the +sky;<br> + I pass through the pores of the ocean and +shores;<br> + I change, but I can not +die.<br> + For after the rain, when, with never a stain,<br> + The pavilion of heaven +is bare,<br> + And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex +gleams,<br> + Build up the blue dome +of air,<br> + I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,<br> + And out of the caverns +of rain,<br> + Like a sprite from the gloom, like a ghost from +the tomb,<br> + I rise and unbuild it +again.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>In this poem Shelley personifies the Cloud. Why?</p> +<p>What does the second stanza mean to you?</p> +<p>The third stanza relates to the sun; what comparisons are made?</p> +<p>What comparisons are found in the fourth stanza?</p> +<p>Read the last stanza and tell what lesson the poem teaches. What +line tells you?</p> +<p>What pictures do you get from the fifth stanza?</p> +<p>Which stanza is most musical and pleasing?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "sanguine sunrise"<br> + "pavilion of heaven"<br> + "reel and swim"<br> + "meteor eyes"<br> + "caverns of rain"<br> + "million-colored bow"<br> + "burning plumes"<br> + "fleece-like floor"<br> + "sphere-fire"<br> + "orbed maiden"<br> + "wind-built tent"<br> + "cenotaph"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="APOSTROPHE_TO_THE_OCEAN_"></a>APOSTROPHE +TO THE OCEAN <br> +<small>(From "Childe Harold," Canto IV.)</small></span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>LORD BYRON</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> There +is a pleasure in the pathless woods,<br> + There is a rapture on +the lonely shore,<br> + There is society, where +none intrudes,<br> + By the deep sea, and +music in its roar;<br> + I love not man the +less, but nature more,<br> + From these our +interviews, in which I steal<br> + From all I may be, or +have been before,<br> + To mingle with the +universe, and feel<br> + What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all +conceal.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Roll +on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean--roll!<br> + Ten thousand fleets +sweep over thee in vain;<br> + Man marks the earth +with ruin--his control<br> + Stops with the shore; +upon the watery plain<br> + The wrecks are all thy +deed, nor doth remain<br> + A shadow of man's +ravage, save his own,<br> + When, for a moment, +like a drop of rain,<br> + He sinks into thy +depths, with bubbling groan--<br> + Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and +unknown.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> His +steps are not upon thy paths--thy fields<br> + Are not a spoil for +him--thou dost arise<br> + And shake him from +thee; the vile strength he wields<br> + For earth's destruction +thou dost all despise,<br> + Spurning him from thy +bosom to the skies,<br> + And send'st him, +shivering in thy playful spray,<br> + And howling to his +gods, where haply lies<br> + His petty hope in some +near port or bay,<br> + And dashest him again to earth: there let him +lay.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The +armaments which thunder-strike the walls<br> + Of rock-built cities, +bidding nations quake,<br> + And monarchs tremble in +their capitals,<br> + The oak leviathans, +whose huge ribs make<br> + Their clay creator the +vain title take<br> + Of lord of thee, and +arbiter of war:<br> + These are thy toys, +and, as the snowy flake,<br> + They melt into thy +yeast of waves, which mar<br> + Alike the Armada's pride, or spoils of +Trafalgar.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Thy +shores are empires changed in all save thee--<br> + Assyria, Greece, Rome, +Carthage, what are they?<br> + Thy waters washed them +power while they were free,<br> + And many a tyrant +since; their shores obey<br> + The stranger, slave, or +savage; their decay<br> + Has dried up realms to +deserts; not so thou;<br> + Unchangeable save to +thy wild waves' play.<br> + Time writes no wrinkle +on thine azure brow:<br> + Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest +now.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Thou +glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form<br> + Glasses itself in +tempests; in all time,<br> + Calm or convulsed--in +breeze or gale or storm,<br> + Icing the pole, or in +the torrid clime<br> + Dark-heaving; +boundless, endless, and sublime--<br> + The image of +Eternity--the throne<br> + Of the Invisible; even +from out thy slime<br> + The monsters of the +deep are made; each zone<br> + Obeys thee; thou goest forth, dread, +fathomless, alone.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And +I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy<br> + Of youthful sports was +on thy breast to be<br> + Borne, like thy +bubbles, onward: from a boy<br> + I wantoned with thy +breakers--they to me<br> + Were a delight; and if +the freshening sea<br> + Made them a +terror--'twas a pleasing fear;<br> + For I was as it were a +child of thee,<br> + And trusted to thy +billows far and near,<br> + And laid my hand upon thy mane--as I do here.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +George Gordon Byron was born in London the year before the outbreak of +the French Revolution. At the age of ten, upon the death of his +grand-uncle he became Lord Byron. He traveled extensively through +Europe, spending much time in Italy. At Pisa he formed a warm friendship +for the poet Shelley. So deeply was he moved by his impulses toward +liberty and freedom that in the summer of 1823 he left Genoa with a +supply of arms, medicines, and money to aid the Greeks in their struggle +for independence. In the following year he became commander-in-chief at +Missolonghi, but he died of a fever before he had an opportunity to +actually engage in battle. Hearing the news, the boy Tennyson, dreaming +at Somersby on poetic greatness, crept away to weep and carve upon +sandstone the words, "Byron is dead."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>In the first stanza why "pathless woods" and "lonely shore"?</p> +<p>In the second and third stanzas Byron contrasts the ocean and the +earth in their relation to man.</p> +<p>Line 12--What two words require emphasis?</p> +<p>Line 13--With what is "watery plain" contrasted?</p> +<p>Line 14--With what is "thy" contrasted?</p> +<p>Line 22--What word requires emphasis?</p> +<p>In the fourth stanza what contrast does Byron make?</p> +<p>What does the fifth stanza tell? The sixth?</p> +<p>Which stanza do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>Which lines are the most beautiful?</p> +<p><br> +"The Invincible Armada"--an immense Spanish fleet consisting of one +hundred thirty vessels, sailed from Corunna in 1588 and attacked the +English fleet but suffered defeat. This event furnished Southey the +inspiration for a poem, "The Spanish Armada."</p> +<p>"Trafalgar"--one of Lord Nelson's great sea-fights, occurring off +Cape Trafalgar on the coast of Spain in 1805. Here he defeated the +combined fleets of France and Spain, but was himself killed.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "unknelled"<br> + "uncoffined"<br> + "unknown"<br> + "playful spray"<br> + "oak leviathans"<br> + "yeast of waves"<br> + "These are thy toys"<br> + "The Armada's pride"<br> + "spoils of Trafalgar"<br> + "rock-built"<br> + "glasses itself"<br> + "fathomless"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="THE_DESTRUCTION_OF_SENNACHERIB"></a>THE DESTRUCTION OF +SENNACHERIB<br> +</span></p> +<p><small><span style="font-weight: bold;"> LORD BYRON</span></small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> The Assyrian +came down like the wolf on the fold,<br> + And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and +gold;<br> + And the sheen of their spears was like stars on +the sea,<br> + When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep +Galilee.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Like the leaves +of the forest when summer is green,<br> + That host with their banners at sunset were +seen;<br> + Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath +flown,<br> + That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> For the Angel of +Death spread his wings on the blast,<br> + And breathed in the face of the foe as he +passed;<br> + And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and +chill,<br> + And their hearts but once heaved, and forever +grew still!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And there lay the +steed with his nostril all wide,<br> + But through it there rolled not the breath of +his pride;<br> + And the foam of his gasping lay white on the +turf,<br> + And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.<br> + And there lay the rider distorted and pale,<br> + With the dew on his brow and the rust on his +mail;<br> + And the tents were all silent, the banners +alone,<br> + The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And the widows of +Ashur are loud in their wail,<br> + And their idols are broke in the temple of Baal;<br> + And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the +sword,<br> + Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> Sennacherib was +King of Assyria. His army invaded Judea and besieged Jerusalem but was +overthrown; 185,000 of his men were destroyed in a single night. +Sennacherib returned in haste with the remnant to his own country. For +the Bible story of this event read 2 Kings XIX. 6-36.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Find Assyria and Galilee on your map.</p> +<p><br> +Note the development: <br> +1. Brilliant outset of the Assyrian cavalry. <br> +2. Their summer changes to winter. <br> +3. The angel turns their sleep into death. <br> +4. The steed and the rider. <br> +5. The mourning. <br> +6. Their idols powerless to help them. <br> +7. Their religion broken down. <br> +8. Their power "melted like snow."</p> +<p><br> +What two comparisons are found in the first stanza?</p> +<p>Note the movement and rhythm.</p> +<p>Point out the fitness of the two similes in the second stanza.</p> +<p>Find a comparison in the sixth stanza.</p> +<p>"Ashur"--Assyria.</p> +<p>"Baal"--the sun-god worshipped by the Assyrians.</p> +<p>Indicate the rhythm of the four lines of the second stanza by +writing them in groups under curves as on page 47:</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "cohorts"<br> + "sheen"<br> + "host"<br> + "unsmote"<br> + "idols are broke" (broken)<br> + "purple and gold"<br> + "withered and strown"<br> + "rock-beating surf"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_EVE_BEFORE_WATERLOO_"></a>THE +EVE BEFORE WATERLOO <br> +<small>(From "Childe Harold," Canto III.)</small></span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>LORD BYRON<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> There +was a sound of revelry by night,<br> + And Belgium's capital +had gathered then<br> + Her beauty and her +chivalry, and bright<br> + The lamps shone o'er +fair women and brave men.<br> + A thousand hearts beat +happily; and when<br> + Music arose with its +voluptuous swell,<br> + Soft eyes looked love +to eyes which spake again,<br> + And all went merry as a +marriage bell.<br> + But, hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a +rising knell!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Did +ye not hear, it?--No; 'twas but the wind,<br> + Or the car rattling +o'er the stony street.<br> + On with the dance! let +joy be unconfined;<br> + No sleep till morn, +when Youth and Pleasure meet<br> + To chase the glowing +hours with flying feet!<br> + But, hark! that heavy +sound breaks in once more,<br> + As if the clouds its +echo would repeat;<br> + And nearer, clearer, +deadlier than before!<br> + Arm! arm! it is--it is the cannon's opening +roar!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Within +a windowed niche of that high hall<br> + Sate Brunswick's fated +chieftain; he did hear<br> + That sound the first +amidst the festival,<br> + And caught its tone +with Death's prophetic ear;<br> + And when they smiled +because he deemed it near,<br> + His heart more truly +knew that peal too well<br> + Which stretched his +father on a bloody bier,<br> + And roused the +vengeance blood alone could quell;<br> + He rushed into the field, and, foremost +fighting, fell.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Ah! +then and there was hurrying to and fro,<br> + And gathering tears, +and tremblings of distress,<br> + And cheeks all pale, +which but an hour ago<br> + Blushed at the praise +of their own loveliness;<br> + And there were sudden +partings, such as press<br> + The life from out young +hearts, and choking sighs<br> + Which ne'er might be +repeated: who could guess<br> + If ever more should +meet those mutual eyes,<br> + Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could +rise!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And +there was mounting in hot haste: the steed,<br> + The mustering squadron, +and the clattering car,<br> + Went pouring forward +with impetuous speed,<br> + And swiftly forming in +the ranks of war;<br> + And the deep thunder +peal on peal afar;<br> + And near, the beat of +the alarming drum<br> + Roused up the soldier +ere the morning star;<br> + While thronged the +citizens with terror dumb,<br> + Or whispering with white lips, "The foe! They +come! they come!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And +wild and high the "Cameron's Gathering" rose!<br> + The war note of +Lochiel, which Albyn's hills<br> + Have heard--and heard, +too, have her Saxon foes:<br> + How in the noon of +night that pibroch thrills,<br> + Savage and shrill! But +with the breath which fills<br> + Their mountain pipe, so +fill the mountaineers<br> + With the fierce native +daring which instills<br> + The stirring memory of +a thousand years,<br> + And Evan's, Donald's fame rings in each +clansman's ears!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And +Ardennes waves above them her green leaves,<br> + Dewy with Nature's +tear-drops, as they pass,<br> + Grieving, if aught +inanimate e'er grieves,<br> + Over the unreturning +brave--alas!<br> + Ere evening to be +trodden like the grass<br> + Which now beneath them, +but above shall grow<br> + In its next verdure, +when this fiery mass<br> + Of living valor, +rolling on the foe,<br> + And burning with high hope, shall molder cold +and low.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Last +noon beheld them full of lusty life,<br> + Last eve in Beauty's +circle proudly gay;<br> + The midnight brought +the signal sound of strife--<br> + The morn, the +marshaling in arms--the day,<br> + Battle's magnificently +stern array!<br> + The thunderclouds close +o'er it, which when rent<br> + The earth is covered +thick with other clay,<br> + Which her own clay +shall cover, heaped and pent, <br> + Rider and horse--friend, foe--in one red burial blent!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> On the evening of +June 15, 1815, the Duchess of Richmond gave a ball at Brussels. +Wellington's officers, at his request, were present, his purpose being +to conceal the near approach of battle. Napoleon, the leader of the +French army, was the military genius of the age; Wellington, the leader +of the English forces, had, Tennyson tells us, "gained a hundred fights +nor ever lost an English gun." These two great generals now met for the +first time. The event was of supreme interest to all the world. The +engagement that followed next day was fought at Quatre Bras; the great +battle of Waterloo took place June 18th, Sunday. Read Thackeray's +"Vanity Fair" for description of this night in Brussels. This is a great +martial poem--the greatest inspired by this event.</p> +<p>Note the movement of the poem. The revelry, the beauty and the +chivalry, the music and the merry-making, the alarm, the hurrying to and +fro, the gathering tears, the mounting in hot haste, the whispering with +white lips, the Scotch music, the green leaves of Ardennes, the closing +scene.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Find Belgium's capital on your map; also Waterloo, twelve miles away.</p> +<p>What does the first stanza tell? The second stanza?</p> +<p>Note the differences between the fourth and fifth stanzas.</p> +<p>The sixth stanza describes the Scottish martial music--What purpose +does this stanza serve in the poem?</p> +<p>Which lines do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>Which is the most beautiful stanza?</p> +<p>What words seem to be especially appropriate?</p> +<p>Note the rhythm and the change in movement. "Cameron's +Gathering"--The Cameron Highlander's call to arms. "Lochiel"--Donald +Cameron of Lochiel was a famous highland chieftain. Read the poem +"Lochiel's Warning."</p> +<p>"Albyn"--name given poetically to northern Scotland, the Highland +region.</p> +<p>"Pibroch"--martial music upon the bagpipe.</p> +<p>"Evan's, Donald's fame"--Evan Cameron (another Lochiel) and his +grandson, Donald, were famous Highland chiefs.</p> +<p>"Ardennes"--Arden, a forest on the Meuse river between Brussels and +Waterloo, called Arden by Shakespeare in "As You Like It."</p> +<p>"car"--a cart.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "voluptuous swell"<br> + "rising knell"<br> + "glowing hours"<br> + "opening roar"<br> + "terror dumb"<br> + "noon of night"<br> + "stirring memory"<br> + "revelry"<br> + "chivalry"<br> + "mustering squadron"<br> + "clattering car"<br> + "pouring forward"<br> + "impetuous speed"<br> + "unreturning brave"<br> + "rolling on the foe"<br> + "magnificently stern"<br> + "clansman"<br> + "inanimate"<br> + "verdure"<br> + "blent"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="SONG_OF_THE_GREEK_BARD_"></a>SONG +OF THE GREEK BARD <br> +<small>(From "Don Juan," Canto-III.)</small></span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>LORD BYRON<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The isles of +Greece, the isles of Greece!<br> + Where burning Sappho +loved and sung,<br> + Where grew the arts of war and peace,<br> + Where Delos rose and +Phoebus sprung!<br> + Eternal summer gilds them yet,<br> + But all, except their sun, is set.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The Scian and the +Teian muse,<br> + The hero's harp, the +lover's lute,<br> + Have found the fame your shores refuse;<br> + Their place of birth +alone is mute<br> + To sounds which echo further west<br> + Than your sires' "Islands of the Blest."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The mountains +look on Marathon--<br> + And Marathon looks on +the sea;<br> + And musing there an hour alone,<br> + I dreamed that Greece +might still be free:<br> + For, standing on the Persian's grave,<br> + I could not deem myself a slave.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> A king sat on the +rocky brow<br> + Which looks o'er +sea-born Salamis;<br> + And ships by thousands lay below,<br> + And men in nations;--all were his!<br> + He counted them at break of day--<br> + And when the sun set, where were they?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And where are +they? and where art thou<br> + My country? On thy +voiceless shore<br> + The heroic lay is tuneless now--<br> + The heroic bosom beats +no more.<br> + And must thy lyre, so long divine,<br> + Degenerate into hands +like mine?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> 'Tis something in +the dearth of fame,<br> + Though linked among a +fettered race,<br> + To feel at least a patriot's shame,<br> + Even as I sing, suffuse +my face;<br> + For what is left the poet here?<br> + For Greeks a blush--for +Greece a tear.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Must we but weep +o'er days more blest?<br> + Must we but blush?--Our +fathers bled.<br> + Earth, render back from out thy breast<br> + A remnant of our +Spartan dead!<br> + Of the three hundred grant but three,<br> + To make a new Thermopylæ!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> What, silent +still? and silent all?<br> + Ah, no; the voices of +the dead<br> + Sound like a distant torrent's fall,<br> + And answer, "Let one +living head,<br> + But one, arise--we come, we come!"<br> + 'Tis but the living who are dumb.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> In vain--in vain: +strike other chords;<br> + Fill high the cup with +Samian wine!<br> + Leave battles to the Turkish hordes,<br> + And shed the blood of +Scio's vine!<br> + Hark! rising to the ignoble call--<br> + How answers each bold bacchanal!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> You have the +Pyrrhic dance as yet--<br> + Where is the Pyrrhic +phalanx gone?<br> + Of two such lessons, why forget<br> + The nobler and the +manlier one?<br> + You have the letters Cadmus gave--<br> + Think you he meant them for a slave?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The tyrant of the +Chersonese<br> + Was freedom's best and +bravest friend;<br> + That tyrant was Miltiades!<br> + O that the present hour +would lend<br> + Another despot of the kind!<br> + Such chains as his were sure to bind.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Trust not for +freedom to the Franks--<br> + They have a king who +buys and sells--<br> + In native swords and native ranks<br> + The only hope of +courage dwells;<br> + But Turkish force and Latin fraud<br> + Would break your shield, however broad.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Place me on +Sunium's marbled steep,<br> + Where nothing, save the +waves and I<br> + May hear our mutual murmurs sweep;<br> + There, swan-like, let +me sing and die;<br> + A land of slaves shall ne'er be mine--<br> + Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> The decline of +Greece is the theme of this poem. Byron represents a Greek poet as +contrasting ancient and modern Greece, showing that, in modern Greece, +"all except their sun is set."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>What does the first stanza tell?</p> +<p>What are "the arts of war and peace"?</p> +<p>What nation is meant by the Franks?</p> +<p>"I could not deem myself a slave." Why?</p> +<p>Line 19--relates to Xerxes.</p> +<p>Lines 23, 24. Explain these lines,</p> +<p>Explain lines 67, 70.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "Sappho"<br> + "Delos"<br> + "Phoebus"<br> + "Marathon"<br> + "Persian's grave"<br> + "Salamis"<br> + "eternal summer"<br> + "rocky brow"<br> + "voiceless shore"<br> + "heroic lay"<br> + "fettered race"<br> + "dearth of fame"<br> + "Of the three hundred grant but three,<br> + To make a new Thermopylæ"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="MARCO_BOZZARIS"></a>MARCO +BOZZARIS</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>FITZ-GREENE HALLECK</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> At midnight, in +his guarded tent,<br> + The Turk was dreaming +of the hour<br> + When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent,<br> + Should tremble at his +power.<br> + In dreams, through camp and court he bore<br> + The trophies of a conqueror;<br> + In dreams, his song of +triumph heard;<br> + Then wore his monarch's signet-ring;<br> + Then pressed that monarch's throne--a king:<br> + As wild his thoughts, and gay of wing,<br> + As Eden's garden-bird.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> At midnight, in +the forest shades,<br> + Bozzaris ranged his +Suliote band,<br> + True as the steel of their tried blades,<br> + Heroes in heart and +hand.<br> + There had the Persian's thousands stood,<br> + There had the glad earth drunk their blood,<br> + On old Platæa's +day:<br> + And now there breathed that haunted air,<br> + The sons of sires who conquered there,<br> + With arms to strike, and soul to dare,<br> + As quick, as far as +they.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> An hour passed +on--the Turk awoke;<br> + That bright dream was +his last:<br> + He woke--to hear his sentries shriek,<br> + "To arms! they come! the Greek! the Greek!"<br> + He woke--to die mid flames and smoke,<br> + And shout and groan, and sabre-stroke,<br> + And death-shots falling +thick and fast<br> + As lightnings from the mountain-cloud;<br> + And heard, with voice as trumpet loud,<br> + Bozzaris cheer his band:<br> + "Strike!--till the last armed foe expires;<br> + Strike!--for your altars and your fires;<br> + Strike!--for the green graves of your sires;<br> + God--and your native +land!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> They fought--like +brave men, long and well;<br> + They piled the ground +with Moslem slain;<br> + They conquered--but Bozzaris fell,<br> + Bleeding at every vein.<br> + His few surviving comrades saw<br> + His smile, when rang their proud--"Hurrah,"<br> + And the red field was +won:<br> + Then saw in death his eyelids close,<br> + Calmly as to a night's response,<br> + Like flowers at set of +sun.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But to the hero, +when his sword<br> + Has won the battle for +the free,<br> + Thy voice sounds like a prophet's word,<br> + And in its hollow tones are heard<br> + The thanks of millions +yet to be.<br> + Bozzaris! with, the storied brave<br> + Greece nurtured in her glory's time,<br> + Rest thee--there is no prouder grave,<br> + Even in her own proud +clime.<br> + We tell thy doom without a sigh;<br> + For thou art Freedom's now, and Fame's--<br> + One of the few, the immortal names<br> + That were not born to +die.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Fitz-Greene Halleck was born in Connecticut, July 8, 1790, and died +November 19, 1867. Of his poems, "Marco Bozzaris" is probably the best +known. Marco Bozzaris, leader of the Greek revolution, was, killed +August 20, 1823, in an attack upon the Turks near Missolonghi, a Greek +town. His last words were: "To die for liberty is a pleasure, not a +pain."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Over whom did the Turk dream he gained a victory?</p> +<p>What might be the "trophies of a conqueror"?</p> +<p>Upon whom would a monarch confer the privilege of wearing his signet +ring?</p> +<p>Trace the successive steps by which the Turk in his dream rises to +the summit of his ambition.</p> +<p>What other "immortal names" do you know?</p> +<p>"Suliote"--natives of Suli, a mountainous district in Albania +(European Turkey).</p> +<p>"Platæa's day" refers to the victory of the Greeks over the +Persians on this field 479 B. C.</p> +<p>"Moslem"--Mohammedans--name given the Turks.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "tried blades"<br> + "haunted air"<br> + "storied brave"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_BURIAL_OF_SIR_JOHN_MOORE"></a>THE +BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>CHARLES WOLFE<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Not a drum was +heard, not a funeral note,<br> + At his corse to the +rampart we hurried;<br> + Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot<br> + O'er the grave where +our hero we buried.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> We buried him +darkly at dead of night,<br> + The sods with our +bayonets turning,<br> + By the struggling moonbeams' misty light,<br> + And the lantern dimly +burning.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> No useless coffin +inclosed his breast,<br> + Nor in sheet nor in +shroud we wound him;<br> + But he lay like a warrior taking his rest,<br> + With his martial cloak +around him.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Few and short +were the prayers we said,<br> + And we spike not a word +of sorrow;<br> + But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the +dead,<br> + And we bitterly thought +of the morrow.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> We thought, as we +hollowed his narrow bed,<br> + And smoothed down his +lonely pillow,<br> + That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er +his head,<br> + And we far away on the +billow.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Lightly they'll +talk of the spirit that's gone,<br> + And o'er his cold ashes +upbraid him;<br> + But little he'll reck, if they let him sleep on<br> + In the grave where a +Briton has laid him.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But half of our +heavy task was done<br> + When the clock struck +the hour for retiring;<br> + And we heard the distant and random gun<br> + That the foe was +sullenly firing.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Slowly and sadly +we laid him down,<br> + From the field of his +fame fresh and gory;<br> + We carved not a line, we raised not a stone,<br> + But we left him alone +with his glory.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p>Charles Wolfe, a British clergyman, was born at Dublin, December 14, +1791, and died at Cork, February 21, 1823. His poem, "The Burial of Sir +John Moore," is the only one of his works now widely read.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> Sir John Moore, +an English general, was killed (January 16, 1809) in an engagement +between the English and the army of Napoleon at Corunna, in Spain. In +accordance with an expressed wish, he was buried at night on the +battlefield. In St. Paul's Cathedral, London, a monument was erected to +his memory, and a stone also marks the spot where he was buried on the +ramparts, at Corunna. Note that it was from this port that the Spanish +Armada sailed.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Who tells the story of the poem?</p> +<p>What is the narrator's feeling for Sir John Moore? How do you know?</p> +<p>What impressions of Sir John Moore do you get from reading this poem?</p> +<p>Which stanza or stanzas do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>Select the lines that seem to you most beautiful and memorize them.</p> +<p>Which is the greater memorial, a monument of stone or bronze, or +such a poem as this? Why?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "corse"<br> + "upbraid"<br> + "rampart"<br> + "random"<br> + "bayonets"<br> + "sullenly"<br> + "shroud"<br> + "rock"<br> + "spirit"<br> + "struggling"<br> + "Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot"<br> + "The struggling moonbeam"<br> + "We bitterly thought of the morrow"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="ABSALOM"></a>ABSALOM</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The +waters slept. Night's silvery veil hung low<br> + On Jordan's bosom, and the eddies curled<br> + Their glassy rings beneath it, like the still,<br> + Unbroken beating of the sleeper's pulse.<br> + The reeds bent down the stream; the willow +leaves,<br> + With a soft cheek upon the lulling tide,<br> + Forgot the lifting winds; and the long stems,<br> + Whose flowers the water, like a gentle nurse,<br> + Bears on its bosom, quietly gave way,<br> + And leaned in graceful attitudes to rest.<br> + How strikingly the course of nature tells,<br> + By its light heed of human suffering,<br> + That it was fashioned for a happier world!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> King +David's limbs were weary. He had fled<br> + From far Jerusalem; and now he stood,<br> + With his faint people, for a little rest,<br> + Upon the shore of Jordan. The light wind<br> + Of morn was stirring, and he bared his brow<br> + To its refreshing breath; for he had worn<br> + The mourner's covering, and he had not felt<br> + That he could see his people until now.<br> + They gathered round him on the fresh green bank,<br> + And spoke their kindly words; and as the sun<br> + Rose up in heaven, he knelt among them there,<br> + And bowed his head upon his hands to pray.<br> + Oh, when the heart is full--when bitter thoughts<br> + Come crowding thickly up for utterance,<br> + And the poor, common words of courtesy<br> + Are such an empty mockery--how much<br> + The bursting heart may pour itself in prayer!<br> + He prayed for Israel; and his voice went up<br> + Strongly and fervently. He prayed for those<br> + Whose love had been his shield; and his deep +tones.<br> + Grew tremulous. But oh! for Absalom--<br> + For his estranged, misguided Absalom--<br> + The proud, bright being who had burst away<br> + In all his princely beauty, to defy<br> + The heart that cherished him--for him he poured,<br> + In agony that would not be controlled,<br> + Strong supplication, and forgave him there,<br> + Before his God, for his deep sinfulness.<br> + The pall was settled. +He who slept beneath<br> + Was straightened for the grave; and as the folds<br> + Sunk to the still proportions, they betrayed<br> + The matchless symmetry of Absalom.<br> + His hair was yet unshorn, and silken curls<br> + Were floating round the tassels as they swayed<br> + To the admitted air, as glossy now<br> + As when, in hours of gentle dalliance, bathing<br> + The snowy fingers of Judea's daughters.<br> + His helm was at his feet; his banner, soiled<br> + With trailing through Jerusalem, was laid,<br> + Reversed, beside him; and the jeweled hilt,<br> + Whose diamonds lit the passage of his blade,<br> + Rested, like mockery, on his covered brow.<br> + The soldiers of the king trod to and fro,<br> + Clad in the garb of battle; and their chief,<br> + The mighty Joab, stood beside the bier,<br> + And gazed upon the dark pall steadfastly,<br> + As if he feared the slumberer might stir.<br> + A slow step startled him. He grasped his blade<br> + As if a trumpet rang; but the bent form<br> + Of David entered, and he gave command,<br> + In a low tone, to his few followers,<br> + And left him with his dead. The King stood still<br> + Till the last echo died; then, throwing off<br> + The sackcloth from his brow, and laying back<br> + The pall from the still features of his child,<br> + He bowed his head upon him, and broke forth<br> + In the resistless eloquence of woe:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Alas, my noble +boy, that thou shouldst die!<br> + Thou, who wert made so +beautifully fair!<br> + That death should settle in thy glorious eye,<br> + And leave his stillness +in this clustering hair!<br> + How could he mark thee for the silent tomb,<br> + My proud boy, Absalom?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Cold is thy +brow, my son, and I am chill<br> + As to my bosom I have +tried to press thee!<br> + How I was wont to feel my pulses thrill,<br> + Like a rich +harp-string, yearning to caress thee,<br> + And hear thy sweet '<i>My father!</i>' from +these dumb<br> + And cold lips, Absalom!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "But death is on +thee. I shall hear the gush<br> + Of music, and the +voices of the young;<br> + And life will pass me in the mantling blush,<br> + And the dark tresses to +the soft winds flung--<br> + But thou no more, with thy sweet voice, shalt +come<br> + To meet me, Absalom!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "And oh! when I +am stricken, and my heart,<br> + Like a bruised reed, is +waiting to be broken,<br> + How will its love for thee, as I depart,<br> + Yearn for thine ear to +drink its last deep token!<br> + It were so sweet, amid death's gathering gloom,<br> + To see thee, Absalom!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "And now, +farewell! 'Tis hard to give thee up,<br> + With death so like a +gentle slumber on thee;<br> + And thy dark sin! Oh, I could drink the cup,<br> + If from this woe its +bitterness had won thee.<br> + May God have called thee, like a wanderer, home,<br> + My lost boy, Absalom!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He covered up his +face, and bowed himself<br> + A moment on his child; then, giving him<br> + A look of melting tenderness, he clasped<br> + His hands convulsively, as if in prayer;<br> + And, as if strength were given him of God,<br> + He rose up calmly, and composed the pall<br> + Firmly and decently, and left him there,<br> + As if his rest had been a breathing sleep.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p>Nathaniel Parker Willis was born in Maine in 1806. He was a graduate +of Yale and was an early contributor to various periodicals, including +the "Youths' Companion," which magazine had been founded by his father. +The selection here given is regarded as the poet's masterpiece.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> Absalom, the son of +David, King of Israel, rebelled against his father. David sent his army +to put down the rebellion, but said to his captains, "Deal gently for my +sake with the young man, even with Absalom." In spite of this entreaty, +Absalom was slain by Joab, a captain in David's army. The first +forty-one lines relate to events preceding the battle, the remainder to +events following the battle. Read 2 Samuel XVIII.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Find the Jordan on your map.</p> +<p>Locate the Dead Sea; the wood of Ephraim where Absalom was killed.</p> +<p>Describe the picture you see when you read the first stanza.</p> +<p>What do we call such expressions as "Night's silvery veil"?</p> +<p>What is night's silvery veil?</p> +<p>"The willow leaves with a soft cheek upon the lulling tide, Forgot +the lifting winds"--What does this mean? Why "lulling tide"?</p> +<p>What flowers does the poet mean in the eighth line? Is the poet true +to nature in what he says of them? Show why.</p> +<p>Select two words or expressions that seem to you to be especially +beautiful or fit, and tell why. Do you like the selection? Why?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "waters slept"<br> + "melting tenderness"<br> + "fashioned for a happier world"<br> + "lifting winds"<br> + "mantling blush"<br> + "straightened for the grave"<br> + "estranged"<br> + "breathing sleep"<br> + "resistless eloquence"<br> + "bruised reed"<br> + "still proportions"<br> + "Whose diamonds lit the passage of his blade"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="LOCHINVAR_"></a>LOCHINVAR <small><br> +(From "Marmion.")</small></span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>SIR WALTER SCOTT</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> O, young +Lochinvar is come out of the West,--<br> + Through all the wide Border his steed was the +best;<br> + And, save his good broadsword, he weapons had +none,--<br> + He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone.<br> + So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,<br> + There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He stayed not for +brake, and he stopped not for stone,<br> + He swam the Esk river, where ford there was +none;<br> + But ere he alighted at Netherby gate,<br> + The bride had consented, the gallant came late:<br> + For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,<br> + Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So boldly he +entered the Netherby hall,<br> + 'Mong bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and +all:<br> + Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his +sword<br> + (For the poor, craven bridegroom said never a +word),<br> + "O, come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,<br> + Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord +Lochinvar?"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "I long wooed +your daughter,--my suit you denied;--<br> + Love swells like the Selway, but ebbs like its +tide;<br> + And now am I come, with this lost love of mine,<br> + To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine.<br> + There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by +far,<br> + That would gladly be bride to the young +Lochinvar!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The bride kissed +the goblet; the knight took it up,<br> + He quaffed off the wine, and he threw down the +cup.<br> + She looked down to blush, and she looked up to +sigh,<br> + With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye.<br> + He took her soft hand, ere her mother could +bar,--<br> + "Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So stately his +form, and so lovely her face,<br> + That never a hall such a galliard did grace;<br> + While her mother did fret, and her father did +fume,<br> + And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet +and plume,<br> + And the bridemaidens whispered, "'Twere better, +by far,<br> + To have matched our fair cousin with young +Lochinvar."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> One touch to her +hand, and one word in her ear,<br> + When they reached the hall-door, and the +charger stood near,<br> + So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,<br> + So light to the saddle before her he sprung!<br> + "She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and +scaur;<br> + They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth +young Lochinvar.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> There was +mounting 'mong Græmes of the Netherby clan;<br> + Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode, +and they ran;<br> + There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee,<br> + But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they +see.<br> + So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,<br> + Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young +Lochinvar?<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, in 1771. He loved the romance of +Scotland's history and legends. A collection of legendary ballads, +songs, and traditions, published by him early in life met with such +immediate success that it confirmed him in his resolution to devote +himself to literary pursuits. The two selections here given, are taken +from his second metrical romance, "Marmion." Later Scott turned his +attention to prose and became the creator of the historical novel, of +which "Ivanhoe," "Kenilworth," and "Woodstock" are conspicuous examples. +He died in 1832, and lies buried in one of the most beautiful ruins in +Scotland, Dryburgh Abbey.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Find Esk River and Solway Firth on your map.</p> +<p>Scott describes the tides of Solway Firth in Chapter IV of his +novel, "Redgauntlet." Compare the rhythm with that in "How They Brought +the Good News."</p> +<p>What impression of Lochinvar do the opening stanzas give you?</p> +<p>What purpose does the fourth stanza serve?</p> +<p>Line 20--Explain this line.</p> +<p>Line 46--What was the result?</p> +<p>What picture does the sixth stanza give you?</p> +<p>Which stanza do you like best?</p> +<p>Which lines are most pleasing?</p> +<p>"galliard"--a gay dance.</p> +<p>"scaur"--steep bank of river.</p> +<p>"clan"--a group of related families.</p> +<p>Translate into your own words: "'They'll have fleet steeds that +follow,' quoth young Lochinvar."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "laggard"<br> + "brake"<br> + "bar"<br> + "charger"<br> + "craven"<br> + "bonnet and plume"<br> + "dastard"<br> + "gallant"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="THE_PARTING_OF_MARMION_AND_DOUGLAS_"></a>THE PARTING OF MARMION +AND DOUGLAS <br> +<small>(From "Marmion.")</small></span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>SIR WALTER SCOTT</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Not far +advanced was morning day,<br> + When Marmion did his troop array,<br> + To Surrey's camp to +ride;<br> + He had safe conduct for his band,<br> + Beneath the royal seal and hand,<br> + And Douglas gave a +guide.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The train from +out the castle drew,<br> + But Marmion stopped to bid adieu:<br> + "Though something I might 'plain," he said,<br> + "Of cold respect to +stranger guest,<br> + Sent hither by your +king's behest,<br> + While in Tantallon's towers I staid;<br> + Part we in friendship +from your land,<br> + And, noble Earl, +receive my hand."<br> + But Douglas round him drew his cloak,<br> + Folded his arms, and thus he spoke:<br> + "My manors, halls, and bowers shall still<br> + Be open, at my sovereign's will,<br> + To each one whom he +lists, howe'er<br> + Unmeet to be the +owner's peer.<br> + My castles are my king's alone,<br> + From turret to foundation stone;<br> + The hand of Douglas is his own;<br> + And never shall, in +friendly grasp,<br> + The hand of such as +Marmion clasp."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Burned Marmion's +swarthy cheek like fire,<br> + And shook his very frame for ire;<br> + And "This to me," he +said;<br> + "An 'twere not for thy hoary beard,<br> + Such hand as Marmion's had not spared<br> + To cleave the Douglas' +head!<br> + And, first, I tell thee, haughty peer,<br> + He, who does England's message here,<br> + Although the meanest in her state,<br> + May well, proud Angus, be thy mate:<br> + And, Douglas, more, I tell thee here,<br> + Even in thy pitch of +pride--<br> + Here, in thy hold, thy vassals near,<br> + I tell thee, thou'rt +defied!<br> + And if thou said'st, I am not peer<br> + To any lord in Scotland here,<br> + Lowland or Highland, far or near,<br> + Lord Angus, thou hast +lied!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> On the Earl's +cheek, the flush of rage<br> + O'ercame the ashen hue of age:<br> + Fierce he broke forth; "And dar'st thou then<br> + To beard the lion in his den,<br> + The Douglas in his hall?<br> + And hopest thou hence unscathed to go?<br> + No, by Saint Bride of Bothwell, no!<br> + Up draw-bridge, grooms,--what, warder, ho!<br> + Let the portcullis +fall."<br> + Lord Marmion turned,--well was his need,<br> + And dashed the rowels in his steed,<br> + Like arrow through the archway sprung;<br> + The ponderous grate behind him rung:<br> + To pass there was such scanty room,<br> + The bars, descending, razed his plume.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The steed along +the draw-bridge flies,<br> + Just as it trembled on the rise;<br> + Nor lighter does the swallow skim<br> + Along the smooth lake's level brim;<br> + And when Lord Marmion reached his band<br> + He halts, and turns with clinched hand<br> + And shout of loud defiance pours,<br> + And shook his gauntlet at the towers.<br> + "Horse! horse!" the Douglas cried, "and chase!"<br> + But soon he reined his fury's pace:<br> + "A royal messenger he came,<br> + Though most unworthy of the name.<br> + Saint Mary mend my fiery mood!<br> + Old age ne'er cools the Douglas' blood;<br> + I thought to slay him where he stood.<br> + 'Tis pity of him, too," he cried;<br> + "Bold he can speak, and fairly ride--<br> + I warrant him a warrior tried."<br> + With this his mandate he recalls,<br> + And slowly seeks his castle halls.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> Marmion, an +English nobleman, is sent as an envoy by Henry the Eighth, King of +England, to James the Fourth, King of Scotland. The two countries are on +the eve of war with each other. Arriving in Edinburgh, Marmion is +entrusted by King James to the care and hospitality of Douglas, Earl of +Angus, who, taking him to his castle at Tantallon, treats him with the +respect due his position as representative of the king, but at the same +time dislikes him. The war approaching, Marmion leaves to join the +English camp. This sketch describes the leave-taking.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>In what part of the castle does this conversation take place? What +tells you?</p> +<p>Where are Marmion's followers during this time? Where are Douglas's +soldiery and servants? What lines tell you?</p> +<p>Notice how simply Marmion reminds Douglas of the claim he had upon +hospitality, while in Scotland. Lines 9 to 12.</p> +<p>Note the claims that have always been allowed the stranger: "And +stranger is a holy name, Guidance and rest and food and fire, In vain he +never must require."</p> +<p>What part of Marmion's claim does Douglas recognize? Which lines +show this?</p> +<p>What claim does Marmion make for one "who does England's message"?</p> +<p>What do we call one "who do England's message" at Washington?</p> +<p>Is this Marmion's personal pride or pride of country (patriotism)? +Read the lines in which Marmion's personal pride shows itself in +resentment of Douglas's insults.</p> +<p>What does Douglas forget when he threatens Marmion? Line 69.</p> +<p>Which man appears to greater advantage in this scene?</p> +<p>"train"--procession.</p> +<p>"'plain"--complain.</p> +<p>"Tantal'lon"--Douglas's castle.</p> +<p>"warder"--guard.</p> +<p>"peer"--equal.</p> +<p>"peer"--a nobleman.</p> +<p>"Saint Bride"--a saint belonging to the house of Douglas,</p> +<p>"rowel"--wheel of a spur.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "pitch of pride"<br> + "ponderous grate"<br> + "swarthy cheek"<br> + "flush of rage"<br> + "level brim"<br> + "haughty peer"<br> + "ire"<br> + "vassals"<br> + "gauntlet"<br> + "unmeet"<br> + "hold"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="FOR_A_THAT_AND_A_THAT"></a>FOR +A' THAT AND A' THAT</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ROBERT BURNS</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Is there, for +honest poverty,<br> + That hangs his head, +and a' that?<br> + The coward-slave, we pass him by;<br> + We dare be poor for a' +that!<br> + For +a' that, and a' that,<br> + Our +toils obscure, and a' that;<br> + The +rank is but the guinea stamp,<br> + The +man's the gowd for a' that.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> What though on +hamely fare we dine,<br> + Wear hodden-gray, an a' +that;<br> + Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,<br> + A man's a man for a' +that!<br> + For +a' that, and a' that,<br> + Their +tinsel show, and a' that;<br> + The +honest man, though e'er sae poor,<br> + Is +king o' men for a' that.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Ye see yon +birkie, ca'd a lord,<br> + Wha struts, and stares, +and a' that;<br> + Though hundreds worship at his word,<br> + He's but a coof for a' +that;<br> + For +a' that, and a' that,<br> + His +ribband, star, and a' that;<br> + The +man of independent mind,<br> + He +looks and laughs at a' that.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> A prince can make +a belted knight,<br> + A marquis, duke, and a' +that;<br> + But an honest man's aboon his might,<br> + Guid faith, he maunna +fa' that!<br> + For +a' that, and a' that;<br> + Their +dignities, and a' that;<br> + The +pith o' sense, and pride o' worth,<br> + Are +higher rank than a' that.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then let us pray +that come it may,<br> + As come it will for a' +that,<br> + That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth,<br> + Shall bear the gree, +and a' that.<br> + For +a' that, and a' that,<br> + It's +comin' yet, for a' that,<br> + That +man to man, the warld o'er<br> + Shall +brothers be for a' that.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> Robert Burns +was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1759. His life was short and full of +poverty and privation; but he saw poetry in all the commonplace +occurrences of every-day life. His sympathy went out to all human kind +and, as the above selection shows, he had a high regard for the real +worth of man.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Does birth or station in life determine the man?</p> +<p>Lines 7, 8. Explain these lines.</p> +<p>Lines 29-40. What do these lines mean?</p> +<p>In the following what is omitted? Man's (27); It's (38); o'er (39).</p> +<p>Why did Burns use the word "coward-slave"?</p> +<p>Does the poet say a man is "king of men" because he is poor?</p> +<p>What makes a man a king among his fellowmen?</p> +<p>Scotch words and their English equivalents: a'--all; wha--who; +gowd--gold; hamely--homely; hodden--gray--coarse gray cloth; gie--give; +sae--so; birkie--clever fellow; ca'd--called; coof--dunce; aboon--above; +guid--good; maunna fa'--must not try; gree--prize.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "toils obscure"<br> + "pith o' sense"<br> + "guinea stamp"<br> + "ribband"<br> + "star"<br> + "belted knight"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">SELECTIONS FROM SHAKESPEARE</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="1._MERCY"></a>1. MERCY</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>MERCHANT OF VENICE, ACT IV., SCENE +I.</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> The quality of +mercy is not strained;<br> + It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven<br> + Upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed;<br> + It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.<br> + 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes<br> + The thronéd monarch better than his +crown;<br> + His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,<br> + The attribute to awe and majesty,<br> + Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings:<br> + But mercy is above the sceptred sway:<br> + It is enthronéd in the hearts of kings,<br> + It is an attribute of God himself:<br> + And earthly power doth then show likest God's,<br> + When mercy seasons justice. Therefore,<br> + Jew, though justice be thy plea, consider +this,--<br> + That, in the course of justice, none of us<br> + Should see salvation; we do pray for mercy;<br> + And that same prayer doth teach us all to render<br> + The deeds of mercy.</div> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +William Shakespeare, the greatest of English poets, indeed one of the +greatest of the world's poets, was born in 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon. As +a young man of twenty-two, after his marriage with Anne Hathaway, he +went up to London, where he became connected with theaters, first, +tradition says, by holding horses at the doors. The next twenty years he +spent in London as an actor, and in writing poems and plays, later +becoming a shareholder as well as an actor. The last ten years of his +life were spent at Stratford, where he died at the age of fifty-two. +This was the time of Queen Elizabeth and is known as the Elizabethan +Age. It was the age richest in genius of all kinds, but especially in +the creation of dramatic literature.</p> +<p>In the foregoing selection, Portia, disguised as a lawyer, makes +this famous speech in pleading the cause of Antonio against Shylock.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes</span></p> +<p>"strained"--restrained "shows"--is the emblem of</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "temporal power"<br> + "sceptered sway"<br> + "Earthly power doth then show likest<br> + God's When mercy seasons justice"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="2._THE_SEVEN_AGES_OF_MAN"></a>2. +THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>AS YOU LIKE IT, ACT II, SCENE 7.</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> All +the world's a stage,<br> + And all the men and women merely players:<br> + They have their exits and their entrances;<br> + And one man in his time plays many parts,<br> + His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,<br> + Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;<br> + Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel<br> + And shining morning face, creeping like snail<br> + Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,<br> + Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad<br> + Made to his mistress' eye-brow. Then a soldier,<br> + Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the +pard,<br> + Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,<br> + Seeking the bubble reputation<br> + Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the +Justice,<br> + In fair round belly with good capon lined,--<br> + With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,<br> + Full of wise saws and modern instances;<br> + And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts<br> + Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,<br> + With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side;<br> + His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide<br> + For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,<br> + Turning again toward childish treble, pipes<br> + And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,<br> + That ends this strange eventful history,<br> + Is second childishness, and mere oblivion,<br> + Sans teeth, sans eyes, +sans taste, sans everything.<br> +<br> +</div> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes</p> +<p>"Mewling"--squalling. <br> +"sudden"--impetuous. <br> +"sans"--without. <br> +"his"--its, which was just coming into use at this time. <br> +"formal cut"--trim, near--not shaggy as that of the soldier's, <br> +"wise saws"--wise sayings. <br> +"modern instances"--everyday examples, illustrations. <br> +"strange oaths"--soldiers are proverbially profane--probably satirical +reference to the affectation of foreign oaths by soldiers who have been +abroad.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p>Comparisons:<br> + "creeping like snail"<br> + "sighing like furnace"<br> + "bearded like the pard"</p> +<p> "eyes severe"<br> + "woeful ballad"<br> + "mere oblivion"<br> + "Seeking the bubble reputation<br> + Even in the cannon's mouth"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="3._POLONIUSS_ADVICE"></a>3. +POLONIUS'S ADVICE</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HAMLET, ACT I, SCENE 3.</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Give +thy thoughts no tongue,<br> + Nor any unproportioned thought his act.<br> + Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar:<br> + The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,<br> + Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;<br> + But do not dull thy palm with entertainment<br> + Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware<br> + Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,<br> + Bear it, that the opposed may beware of thee.<br> + Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice:<br> + Take each man's censure, but reserve thy +judgment<br> + Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,<br> + But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy:<br> + For the apparel oft proclaims the man.<br> + Neither a borrower nor a lender be:<br> + For loan oft loses both itself and friend;<br> + And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.<br> + This above all,--to thine own self be true;<br> + And it must follow, as the night the day,<br> + Thou canst not then be false to any man.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>"unproportioned"--not worthy or fitting the occasion. <br> +"familiar"--courteous, friendly. <br> +"vulgar"-unduly familiar. <br> +"their adoption tried"--tested by long acquaintance. <br> +"dull thy palm"--lose discrimination. <br> +"censure"--opinion. <br> +"expressed in fancy"--loud, ostentatious. <br> +"husbandry"--thrift.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Put in your own words:</p> +<p><br> + "Give thy thoughts no tongue,<br> + Nor any unproportioned thought his act."</p> +<p> "Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice."</p> +<p> "The apparel oft proclaims the man."</p> +<p> "Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "hoops of steel"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="4._MAN"></a>4. MAN</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HAMLET, ACT II, SCENE 2.<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> What +a piece of work is man!<br> + How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties!<br> + In form and movement, how express and admirable!<br> + In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, +how like a god!<br> + The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!<br> +<br> +</div> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</p> +<p> "express"<br> + "paragon"<br> + "infinite"<br> + "apprehension"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="5._HAMLETS_SOLILOQUY"></a>5. +HAMLET'S SOLILOQUY</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HAMLET, ACT III, SCENE 1.</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> To be or not to +be: that is the question:<br> + Whether 'tis nobler in the mind, to suffer<br> + The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,<br> + Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,<br> + And by opposing end them. To die; to sleep;<br> + No more; and, by a sleep to say we end<br> + The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks<br> + That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation<br> + Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep;<br> + To sleep? Perchance to dream! ay, there's the +rub;<br> + For in that sleep of death what dreams may come<br> + When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,<br> + Must give us pause: there's the respect<br> + That makes calamity of so long life;<br> + For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,<br> + The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's +contumely,<br> + The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,<br> + The insolence of office and the spurns<br> + That patient merit of the unworthy takes<br> + When he himself might his quietus make<br> + With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,<br> + To grunt and sweat under a weary life,<br> + But that the dread of something after death,<br> + The undiseover'd country, from whose bourn<br> + No traveler returns, puzzles the will<br> + And makes us rather bear those ills we have<br> + Than fly to others that we know not of?<br> + Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;<br> + And thus the native hue of resolution<br> + Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,<br> + And enterprises of great pitch and moment,<br> + With this regard their currents turn awry,<br> + And lose the name of action.<br> +<br> +</div> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes</p> +<p>"coil"--turmoil.<br> +"respect"--consideration.<br> +"fardels"--burdens.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "shuffled off this mortal coil"<br> + "puzzles the will"<br> + "native hue of resolution"<br> + "pale cast of thought"<br> + "great pitch and moment"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="6._REPUTATION"></a>6. +REPUTATION</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>OTHELLO, ACT III, SCENE 3.<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Good name in +man and woman, dear my lord,<br> + Is the immediate jewel of their souls:<br> + Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis +something, nothing;<br> + 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to +thousands;<br> + But he, that filches from me my good name,<br> + Robs me of that which not enriches him,<br> + And makes me poor indeed.<br> +<br> +</div> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</p> +<p> "immediate jewel of their souls"<br> + "Who steals my purse steals trash"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="7._WOLSEY_AND_CROMWELL"></a>7. +WOLSEY AND CROMWELL</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>KING HENRY VIII, ACT III, SCENE 2.</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> <span + style="font-weight: bold;">WOLSEY:</span> Farewell, a long farewell, to +all my greatness!<br> + This is the state of man: Today he puts forth<br> + The tender leaves of hope; tomorrow blossoms,<br> + And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;<br> + The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,<br> + And--when he thinks, good easy man, full surely<br> + His greatness is a-ripening--nips his root;<br> + And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,<br> + Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,<br> + This many summers, in a sea of glory;<br> + But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride<br> + At length broke under me, and now has left me,<br> + Weary and old with service, to the mercy<br> + Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me.<br> + Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:<br> + I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched<br> + Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favors!<br> + There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,<br> + That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,<br> + More pangs and fears than wars or women have;<br> + And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,<br> + Never to hope again.--</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Cromwell, I did not +think to shed a tear<br> + In all my miseries; but thou hast forced me,<br> + Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.<br> + Let's dry our eyes; and thus far hear me, +Cromwell;<br> + And--when I am forgotten, as I shall be,<br> + And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention<br> + Of me more must be heard of--say, I taught thee;<br> + Say, Wolsey--that once trod the ways of glory,<br> + And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor--<br> + Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in;<br> + A sure and safe one, though thy master missed +it.<br> + Mark but my fall, and that that ruined me.<br> + Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition:<br> + By that sin fell the angels: how can man, then,<br> + The image of his Maker, hope to win by't?<br> + Love thyself last; cherish those hearts that +hate thee;<br> + Corruption wins not more than honesty:<br> + Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,<br> + To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear +not.<br> + Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy +country's,<br> + Thy God's, and truth's; then, if thou fall'st, +O Cromwell,<br> + Thou fall'st a blessed martyr! Serve the king;<br> + And--Prithee, lead me in:<br> + There take an inventory of all I have,<br> + To the last penny; 'tis the king's; my robe,<br> + And my integrity to Heaven, is all<br> + I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell,<br> + Had I but served my God with half the zeal<br> + I served my king, he would not in mine age<br> + Have left me naked to mine enemies!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes</p> +<p>"This many summers"--this nineteen years.<br> +"Like Lucifer"--See Isaiah XIV, 12.<br> +"To play the woman"--to shed tears.</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="8._CASSIO_AND_IAGO"></a>8. +CASSIO AND IAGO</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>OTHELLO. ACT II. SCENE III.</small></p> +<p><br> +<i>Iago</i>. What, are you hurt, lieutenant?</p> +<p><i>Cassio</i>. Ay, past all surgery.</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. Marry, heaven forbid!</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my +reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is +bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some +bodily wound; there is more sense in that than in reputation. Reputation +is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost +without deserving: you have lost no reputation at all, unless you repute +yourself such a loser. What, man! there are ways to recover the general +again: you are but now cast in his mood, a punishment more in policy +than in malice; even so as one would beat his offenceless dog to +affright an imperious lion: sue to him again, and he's yours.</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. I will rather sue to be despised than to deceive so good +a commander with so slight, so drunken, and so indiscreet an officer. +Drunk? and speak parrot? and squabble? swagger? swear? and discourse +fustian with one's own shadow? O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou +hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil!</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. What was he that you followed with your sword? What had +he done to you?</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. I know not.</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. Is't possible?</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. I remember a mass of things, but nothing distinctly; a +quarrel, but nothing wherefore. O God, that men should put an enemy in +their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should, with joy, +pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. Why, but you are now well enough: how came you thus +recovered?</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. It hath pleased the devil drunkenness to give place to +the devil wrath: one unperfectness shows me another, to make me frankly +despise myself.</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. Come, you are too severe a moraler: as the time, the +place, and the condition of this country stands, I could heartily wish +this had not befallen; but, since it is as it is, mend it for your own +good.</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. I will ask him for my place again; he shall tell me I am +a drunkard! Had I as many mouths as Hydra, such an answer would stop +them all. To be now a sensible man, by and by a fool, and presently a +beast! O strange! Every inordinate cup is unblessed and the ingredient +is a devil.</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. Come, come, good wine is a good familiar creature, if +it be well used: exclaim no more against it. And, good lieutenant, I +think you think I love you.</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. I have well approved it, sir. I drunk!</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. You or any man living may be drunk at a time, man. I'll +tell you what you shall do. Our general's wife is now the general: I may +say so in this respect, for that he hath devoted and given up himself to +the contemplation, mark, and denotement of her parts and graces: confess +yourself freely to her: importune her help to put you in your place +again: she is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, she +holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested: +this broken joint between you and her husband entreat her to splinter; +and my fortunes against any lay worth naming, this crack of your love +shall grow stronger than it was before.</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. You advise me well.</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. I protest in the sincerity of love and honest kindness.</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. I think it freely; and betimes in the morning I will +beseech the virtuous Desdemona to undertake for me: I am desperate of my +fortunes if they check me here.</p> +<p><i>Iago</i>. You are in the right. Good night, lieutenant; I must to +the watch.</p> +<p><i>Cas</i>. Good night, honest Iago.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</span> <br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes</p> +<p>"marry"--an exclamation--indeed!<br> +"cast"--dismissed.<br> +"fustian"--empty phrasing,<br> +"pleasance"--merriment.<br> +"moraler"--moralizer</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "immortal part of myself"<br> + "repute yourself"<br> + "as many mouths as Hydra"<br> + "crack of your love"<br> + "false imposition"<br> + "speak parrot"<br> + "denotement"<br> + "must to the watch"</p> +<hr> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><big><big><br> +<br> +</big></big></big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><big><big><a name="PART_II"></a>PART +II</big></big></big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><big><big>SELECTIONS FROM GREAT +AMERICAN AUTHORS</big></big></big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><i>"He cometh unto you with a tale +which holdeth children from play and old men from the chimney corner."</i></big></p> +<p style="text-align: right;">--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.<br> +</p> +<p style="text-align: right;"><br> +</p> +<p style="text-align: right;"><br> +<br> +</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="WASHINGTON_IRVING"></a>WASHINGTON +IRVING</p> +<p>"Washington's work is ended and the child shall be named after him," +so said the mother of Washington Irving at his birth in New York, April +3, 1783. When, six years later, all New York was enthusiastically +greeting the first President of the United States, a Scotch servant in +the Irving family followed the President into a shop with the youngest +son of the family and approaching him said, "Please, your honor, here's +a bairn was named for you." Washington, putting his hand upon the boy's +head, gave him his blessing. It seems eminently fitting that this boy, +who became known as the Father of American Letters, should write the +biography of the man whose name he bore, and whom we know as the Father +of his Country.</p> +<p>New York was then the capital of the country, a city of about +twenty-five thousand inhabitants, small enough so that it was an easy +matter for the city boy to get into the country. New York itself +retained many traces of its Dutch origin, and upon its streets could be +seen men from all parts of the world. Here the boy grew up happy, seeing +many sides of American life, both in the city and in the country. He was +fun-loving and social, and could hardly be called a student. He greatly +preferred "Robinson Crusoe" and "Sinbad" to the construing of Latin. +Best of all, he liked to go exploring down to the water front to see the +tall ships setting sail for the other side of the world, or, as he grew +older, up the Hudson and into the Catskills, or to that very Sleepy +Hollow which lives for us now because of him. Irving liked people, and +had many warm friends.</p> +<p>These three tastes--for people, for books, and for travel--his life +was destined to gratify. His health being delicate, he was sent abroad +at twenty-one, and the captain of the ship he sailed in, noting his +fragile appearance, said, "There's one who'll go overboard before we get +across," but he happily proved a mistaken prophet. Irving not only +survived the voyage, but spent two years traveling in Italy, France, +Sicily, and the Netherlands. The romantic spirit strong within him +eagerly absorbed mediæval history and tradition. "My native +country was full of youthful promise; Europe was rich in the accumulated +treasures of age."</p> +<p>Upon his return home, Irving was admitted to the bar, but he never +seriously turned his attention to law. In 1809 he published "A History +of New York by Diedrich Knickerbocker." It was a humorous history of New +Amsterdam, a delicious mingling of sense and nonsense, over which Walter +Scott said his "sides were absolutely sore with laughing." While writing +this history a great sorrow touched his life--the death of a young girl +to whom he was deeply attached.</p> +<p>Ten years later, upon his second visit to Europe, Irving published +"The Sketch Book." It rapidly won favor both in England and America. +Byron said of it: "I know it by heart; at least there is not a passage +that I cannot refer to immediately." This second visit to Europe was to +be a short business trip, but as it chanced, it lasted seventeen years. +The first five years were spent in England. Later he went to Spain, and +as a result of this visit, we have a series of books dealing with +Spanish history and tradition--"The Alhambra," "The Conquest of Granada" +and "The Life of Columbus." During all these years and in all these +places, he met and won the regard of hosts of interesting people. +Everyone praised his books, and everyone liked the likable American, +with his distinguished face and gentle manners.</p> +<p>In 1832 Irving was gladly welcomed back to America, for many had +feared that his long absence might mean permanent residence abroad. The +next ten years were spent in his beautiful home, Sunnyside, at +Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson. Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, could find +no person more gratifying to the Spanish people, than the author of the +"Life of Columbus" and, in 1842, persuaded Irving to represent us at the +Spanish court. After four years, he returned to America and passed his +time almost exclusively in writing. The work which he finished just +before his death, in November, 1859, was the "Life of Washington." He +was buried on a hill overlooking the river and a portion of the Sleepy +Hollow Valley.</p> +<p>Because of the ease and smoothness of his style, and his delicate +sense of form, Irving delighted his own and succeeding generations of +both his countrymen and his British cousins. All his work is pervaded by +the strong and winning personal quality that brought him the love and +admiration of all. Charles Dudley Warner says of him: "The author loved +good women and little children and a pure life; he had faith in his +fellow-men, a kindly sympathy with the lowest, without any subservience +to the highest. His books are wholesome, full of sweetness and charm, of +humor without any sting, of amusement without any stain; and their more +solid qualities are marred by neither pedantry nor pretension."</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="RIP_VAN_WINKLE"></a>RIP +VAN WINKLE</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>A POSTHUMOUS WRITING OF DIEDRICH +KNICKERBOCKER</small></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>FROM "THE SKETCH BOOK," BY +WASHINGTON IRVING</small></p> +<p><small> By Woden, God +of Saxons,<br> + From whence comes +Wensday, that is Wodensday.<br> + Truth is a thing that +ever I will keep<br> + Unto thylke day in +which I creep into<br> + My sepulchre.<br> +--CARTWRIGHT.</small></p> +<p>The following tale was found among the papers of the late Diedrich +Knickerbocker, an old gentleman of New York, who was very curious in the +Dutch history of the province, and the manners of the descendants from +its primitive settlers. His historical researches, however, did not lie +so much among books as among men; for the former are lamentably scanty +on his favorite topics; whereas he found the old burghers, and still +more their wives, rich in that legendary lore so invaluable to true +history. Whenever, therefore, he happened upon a genuine Dutch family, +snugly shut up in its low-roofed farmhouse under a spreading sycamore, +he looked upon it as a little clasped volume of black-letter, and +studied it with the zeal of a book worm. The result of all these +researches was a history of the province during the reign of the Dutch +governors, which he published some years since. There have been various +opinions as to the literary character of his work, and, to tell the +truth, it is not a whit better than it should be. Its chief merit is its +scrupulous accuracy, which indeed was a little questioned on its first +appearance, but has since been completely established; and it is now +admitted into all historical collections, as a book of unquestionable +authority.</p> +<p>The old gentleman died shortly after the publication of his work, +and now that he is dead and gone, it cannot do much harm to his memory +to say that his time might have been much better employed in weightier +labors. He, however, was apt to ride his hobby his own way; and though +it did now and then kick up the dust a little in the eyes of his +neighbors, and grieve the spirit of some friends, for whom he felt the +truest deference and affection; yet his errors and follies are +remembered "more in sorrow than in anger," and it begins to be suspected +that he never intended to injure or offend. But however his memory may +be appreciated by critics, it is still held dear by many folk, whose +good opinion is worth having; particularly by certain biscuit-bakers, +who have gone so far as to imprint his likeness on their new-year cakes; +and have thus given him a chance for immortality, almost equal to the +being stamped on a Waterloo Medal, or a Queen Anne's Farthing.</p> +<p>Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the Kaatskill +Mountains. They are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian +family, and are seen away to the west of the river, swelling up to a +noble height, and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change +of season, every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day, +produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains, +and they are regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as perfect +barometers. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in +blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; +but sometimes when the rest of the landscape is cloudless they will +gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last +rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory.</p> +<p>At the foot of these fairy mountains, the voyager may have descried +the light smoke curling up from a village, whose shingle-roofs gleam +among the trees, just where the blue tints of the upland melt away into +the fresh green of the nearer landscape. It is a little village of great +antiquity, having been founded by some of the Dutch colonists in the +early time of the province, just about the beginning of the government +of the good Peter Stuyvesant (may he rest in peace!), and there were +some of the houses of the original settlers standing within a few years, +built of small yellow bricks brought from Holland, having latticed +windows and gable fronts, surmounted with weathercocks.</p> +<p>In that same village, and in one of these very houses (which, to +tell the precise truth, was sadly time-worn and weather-beaten), there +lived many years since, while the country was yet a province of Great +Britain, a simple, good-natured fellow, of the name of Rip Van Winkle. +He was a descendant of the Van Winkles who figured so gallantly in the +chivalrous days of Peter Stuyvesant, and accompanied him to the siege of +Fort Christina. He inherited, however, but little of the martial +character of his ancestors. I have observed that he was a simple, +good-natured man; he was, moreover, a kind neighbor, and an obedient +henpecked husband. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be owing +that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity; for +those men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are +under the discipline of shrews at home. Their tempers, doubtless, are +rendered pliant and malleable in the fiery furnace of domestic +tribulation; and a curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world +for teaching the virtues of patience and long-suffering. A termagant +wife may, therefore, in some respects be considered a tolerable +blessing, and if so, rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed.</p> +<p>Certain it is, that he was a great favorite among all the good wives +of the village, who, as usual with the amiable sex, took his part in all +family squabbles; and never failed, whenever they talked those matters +over in their evening gossipings, to lay all the blame on Dame Van +Winkle. The children of the village, too, would shout with joy whenever +he approached. He assisted at their sports, made their playthings, +taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles, and told them long stories +of ghosts, witches, and Indians. Whenever he went dodging about the +village, he was surrounded by a troop of them, hanging on his skirts, +clambering on his back, and playing a thousand tricks on him with +impunity; and not a dog would bark at him throughout the neighborhood.</p> +<p>The great error in Rip's composition was an insuperable aversion to +all kinds of profitable labor. It could not be from the want of +assiduity or perseverance; for he would sit on a wet rock, with a rod as +long and heavy as a Tartar's lance, and fish all day without a murmur, +even though he should not be encouraged by a single nibble. He would +carry a fowling-piece on his shoulder for hours together, trudging +through woods and swamps, and up hill and down dale, to shoot a few +squirrels or wild pigeons. He would never refuse to assist a neighbor, +even in the roughest toil, and was a foremost man at all country frolics +for husking Indian corn, or building stone-fences; the women of the +village, too, used to employ him to run their errands, and to do such +little odd jobs as their less obliging husbands would not do for them. +In a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody's business but his own; +but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found it +impossible.</p> +<p>In fact, he declared it was of no use to work on his farm; it was +the most pestilent little piece of ground in the whole country; +everything about it went wrong, and would go wrong, in spite of him. His +fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go +astray or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker in his +fields than anywhere else; the rain always made a point of setting in +just as he had some out-door work to do; so that though his patrimonial +estate had dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until there +was little more left than a mere patch of Indian corn and potatoes, yet +it was the worst-conditioned farm in the neighborhood.</p> +<p>His children, too, were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to +nobody. His son Rip, an urchin begotten in his own likeness, promised to +inherit the habits, with the old clothes of his father. He was generally +seen trooping like a colt at his mother's heels, equipped in a pair of +father's cast-off galligaskins, which he had much ado to hold up with, +one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad weather.</p> +<p>Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, +well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or +brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would +rather starve on a penny than work for a pound. If left to himself, he +would have whistled life away in perfect contentment; but his wife kept +continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, +and the ruin he was bringing on his family. Morning, noon, and night her +tongue was incessantly going, and everything he said or did was sure to +produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of +replying to all lectures of the kind, and that, by frequent use, had +grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up +his eyes, but said nothing. This, however, always provoked a fresh +volley from his wife; so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and +take to the outside of the house--the only side which, in truth, belongs +to a henpecked husband.</p> +<p>Rip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much +henpecked as his master; for Dame Van Winkle regarded them as companions +in idleness, and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye, as the cause of +his master's going so often astray. True it is, in all points of spirit +befitting an honorable dog, he was as courageous an animal as ever +scoured the woods--but what courage can withstand the ever-during and +all-besetting terrors of a woman's tongue? The moment Wolf entered the +house his crest fell, his tail drooped to the ground, or curled between +his legs, he sneaked about with a gallows air, casting many a sidelong +glance at Dame Van Winkle, and at the least flourish of a broomstick or +ladle he would fly to the door with yelping precipitation.</p> +<p>Times grew worse and worse with Rip Van Winkle as years of matrimony +rolled on; a tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is +the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use. For a long +while he used to console himself, when driven from home, by frequenting +a kind of perpetual club of the sages, philosophers, and other idle +personages of the village; which held its sessions on a bench before a +small inn, designated by a rubicund portrait of His Majesty George the +Third. Here they used to sit in the shade through a long lazy summer's +day, talking listlessly over village gossip, or telling endless sleepy +stories about nothing. But it would have been worth any statesman's +money to have heard the profound discussions that sometimes took place, +when by chance an old newspaper fell into their hands from some passing +traveler. How solemnly they would listen to the contents, as drawled out +by Derrick Van Bummel, the school-master, a dapper learned little man, +who was not to be daunted by the most gigantic word in the dictionary; +and how sagely they would deliberate upon public events some months +after they had taken place.</p> +<p>The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas +Vedder, a patriarch of the village, and landlord of the inn, at the door +of which he took his seat from morning till night, just moving +sufficiently to avoid the sun and keep in the shade of a large tree; so +that the neighbors could tell the hour by his movements as accurately as +by a sun-dial. It is true he was rarely heard to speak, but smoked his +pipe incessantly. His adherents, however (for every great man has his +adherents), perfectly understood him, and knew how to gather his +opinions. When anything that was read or related displeased him, he was +observed to smoke his pipe vehemently, and to send forth short, frequent +and angry puffs; but when pleased, he would inhale the smoke slowly and +tranquilly, and emit it in light and placid clouds; and sometimes, +taking the pipe from his mouth, and letting the fragrant vapor curl +about his nose, would gravely nod his head in token of perfect +approbation.</p> +<p>From even this stronghold the unlucky Rip was at length routed by +his termagant wife, who would suddenly break in upon the tranquillity of +the assemblage and call the members all to naught; nor was that august +personage, Nicholas Vedder himself, sacred from the daring tongue of +this terrible virago, who charged him outright with encouraging her +husband in habits of idleness.</p> +<p>Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair; and his only +alternative, to escape from the labor of the farm and clamor of his +wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods. Here he +would sometimes seat himself at the foot of a tree, and share the +contents of his wallet with Wolf, with whom he sympathized, as a +fellow-sufferer in persecution. "Poor Wolf," he would say, "thy mistress +leads thee a dog's life of it; but never mind, my lad, whilst I live +thou shalt never want a friend to stand by thee!" Wolf would wag his +tail, look wistfully in his master's face, and if dogs can feel pity I +verily believe he reciprocated the sentiment with all his heart.</p> +<p>In a long ramble of the kind on a fine autumnal day, Rip had +unconsciously scrambled to one of the highest parts of the Kaatskill +Mountains. He was after his favorite sport of squirrel shooting, and the +still solitudes had echoed and re-echoed with the reports of his gun. +Panting and fatigued, he threw himself, late in the afternoon, on a +green knoll, covered with mountain herbage, that crowned the brow of a +precipice. From an opening between the trees he could overlook all the +lower country for many a mile of rich woodland. He saw at a distance the +lordly Hudson, far, far below him, moving on its silent but majestic +course, with the reflection of a purple cloud, or the sail of a lagging +bark, here and there sleeping on its glassy bosom, and at last losing +itself in the blue highlands.</p> +<p>On the other side he looked down into a deep mountain glen, wild, +lonely, and shagged, the bottom filled with fragments from the impending +cliffs, and scarcely lighted by the reflected rays of the setting sun. +For some time Rip lay musing on this scene; evening was gradually +advancing; the mountains began to throw their long blue shadows over the +valleys; he saw that it would be dark long before he could reach the +village, and he heaved a heavy sigh when he thought of encountering the +terrors of Dame Van Winkle.</p> +<p>As he was about to descend, he heard a voice from a distance, +hallooing, "Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van Winkle!" He looked round, but could +see nothing but a crow winging its solitary flight across the mountain. +He thought his fancy must have deceived him, and turned again to +descend, when he heard the same cry ring through the still evening air: +"Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van Winkle!"--at the same time Wolf bristled up his +back, and giving a low growl, skulked to his master's side, looking +fearfully down into the glen. Rip now felt a vague apprehension stealing +over him; he looked anxiously in the same direction, and perceived a +strange figure slowly toiling up the rocks, and bending under the weight +of something he carried on his back. He was surprised to see any human +being in this lonely and unfrequented place; but supposing it to be some +one of the neighborhood in need of assistance, he hastened down to yield +it.</p> +<p>On nearer approach he was still more surprised at the singularity of +the stranger's appearance. He was a short, square-built old fellow, with +thick bushy hair, and a grizzled beard. His dress was of the antique +Dutch fashion: a cloth jerkin strapped round the waist, several pair of +breeches, the outer one of ample volume, decorated with rows of buttons +down the sides, and bunches at the knees. He bore on his shoulder a +stout keg, that seemed full of liquor, and made signs for Rip to +approach and assist him with the load. Though rather shy and distrustful +of this new acquaintance, Rip complied with his usual alacrity; and +mutually relieving one another, they clambered up a narrow gully, +apparently the dry bed of a mountain torrent. As they ascended, Rip +every now and then heard long rolling peals like distant thunder, that +seemed to issue out of a deep ravine, or rather cleft, between lofty +rocks, toward which their rugged path conducted. He paused for a moment, +but supposing it to be the muttering of one of those transient +thunder-showers which often take place in mountain heights, he +proceeded. Passing through the ravine, they came to a hollow, like a +small amphitheatre, surrounded by perpendicular precipices, over the +brinks of which impending trees shot their branches, so that you only +caught glimpses of the azure sky and the bright evening cloud. During +the whole time Rip and his companion had labored on in silence; for +though the former marveled greatly what could be the object of carrying +a keg of liquor up this wild mountain, yet there was something strange +and incomprehensible about the unknown, that inspired awe and checked +familiarity.</p> +<p>On entering the amphitheatre, new objects of wonder presented +themselves. On a level spot in the centre was a company of odd-looking +personages playing at ninepins. They were dressed in a quaint outlandish +fashion; some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives in +their belts, and most of them had enormous breeches of similar style +with that of the guide's. Their visages, too, were peculiar; one had a +large beard, broad face, and small piggish eyes; the face of another +seemed to consist entirely of nose, and was surmounted by a white +sugar-loaf hat, set off with a little red cock's tail. They all had +beards, of various shapes and colors. There was one who seemed to be the +commander. He was a stout old gentleman, with a weather-beaten +countenance; he wore a laced doublet, broad belt and hanger, +high-crowned hat and feather, red stockings, and high-heeled shoes, with +roses in them. The whole group reminded Rip of the figures in an old +Flemish painting in the parlor of Dominie Van Shaick, the village +parson, which had been brought over from Holland at the time of the +settlement.</p> +<p>What seemed particularly odd to Rip was, that though these folks +were evidently amusing themselves, yet they maintained the gravest +faces, the most mysterious silence, and were, withal, the most +melancholy party of pleasure he had ever witnessed. Nothing interrupted +the stillness of the scene but the noise of the balls, which, whenever +they were rolled, echoed along the mountains like rumbling peals of +thunder.</p> +<p>As Rip and his companion approached them, they suddenly desisted +from their play, and stared at him with such fixed, statue-like gaze, +and such strange, uncouth, lack-lustre countenances, that his heart +turned within him, and his knees smote together. His companion now +emptied the contents of the keg into large flagons, and made signs to +him to wait upon the company. He obeyed with fear and trembling; they +quaffed the liquor in profound silence, and then returned to their game.</p> +<p>By degrees Rip's awe and apprehension subsided. He even ventured, +when no eye was fixed upon him, to taste the beverage, which he found +had much of the flavor of excellent Hollands. He was naturally a thirsty +soul, and was soon tempted to repeat the draught. One taste provoked +another; and he reiterated his visits to the flagon so often that at +length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam in his head, his head +gradually declined, and he fell into a deep sleep.</p> +<p>On waking, he found himself on the green knoll whence he had first +seen the old man of the glen. He rubbed his eyes--it was a bright, sunny +morning. The birds were hopping and twittering among the bushes, and the +eagle was wheeling aloft, and breasting the pure mountain breeze. +"Surely," thought Rip, "I have not slept here all night." He recalled +the occurrences before he fell asleep. The strange man with a keg of +liquor--the mountain ravine--the wild retreat among the rocks--the +woe-begone party at ninepins--the flagon--"Oh! that flagon! that wicked +flagon!" thought Rip--"what excuse shall I make to Dame Van Winkle?"</p> +<p>He looked round for his gun, but in place of the clean, well-oiled +fowling-piece, he found an old firelock lying by him, the barrel +incrusted with rust, the lock falling off, and the stock worm-eaten. He +now suspected that the grave roisterers of the mountain had put a trick +upon him, and, having dosed him with liquor, had robbed him of his gun. +Wolf, too, had disappeared, but he might have strayed away after a +squirrel or partridge. He whistled after him, and shouted his name, but +all in vain; the echoes repeated his whistle and shout, but no dog was +to be seen.</p> +<p>He determined to revisit the scene of the last evening's gambol, and +if he met with any of the party, to demand his dog and gun. As he rose +to walk, he found himself stiff in the joints, and wanting in his usual +activity. "These mountain beds do not agree with me," thought Rip, "and +if this frolic should lay me up with a fit of the rheumatism, I shall +have a blessed time with Dame Van Winkle." With some difficulty he got +down into the glen; he found the gully up which he and his companion had +ascended the preceding evening; but to his astonishment a mountain +stream was now foaming down it, leaping from rock to rock, and filling +the glen with babbling murmurs. He, however, made shift to scramble up +its sides, working his toilsome way through thickets of birch, +sassafras, and witchhazel, and sometimes tripped up or entangled by the +wild grapevines that twisted their coils or tendrils from tree to tree, +and spread a kind of network in his path.</p> +<p>At length he reached to where the ravine had opened through the +cliffs to the amphitheatre; but no traces of such opening remained. The +rocks presented a high, impenetrable wall, over which the torrent came +tumbling in a sheet of feathery foam, and fell into a broad, deep basin, +black from the shadows of the surrounding forest. Here, then, poor Rip +was brought to a stand. He again called and whistled after his dog; he +was only answered by the cawing of a flock of idle crows, sporting high +in air about a dry tree that overhung a sunny precipice; and who, secure +in their elevation, seemed to look down and scoff at the poor man's +perplexities. What was to be done? the morning was passing away, and Rip +felt famished for want of his breakfast. He grieved to give up his dog +and gun; he dreaded to meet his wife; but it would not do to starve +among the mountains. He shook his head, shouldered the rusty fire-lock, +and, with a heart full of trouble and anxiety, turned his steps homeward.</p> +<p>As he approached the village he met a number of people, but none +whom he knew, which somewhat surprised him, for he had thought himself +acquainted with every one in the country round. Their dress, too, was of +a different fashion from that to which he was accustomed. They all +stared at him with equal marks of surprise, and whenever they cast their +eyes upon him, invariably stroked their chins. The constant recurrence +of this gesture induced Rip, involuntarily, to do the same, when, to his +astonishment, he found his beard had grown a foot long!</p> +<p>He had now entered the skirts of the village. A troop of strange +children ran at his heels, hooting after him, and pointing at his gray +beard. The dogs, too, not one of which he recognized for an old +acquaintance, barked at him as he passed. The very village was altered; +it was larger and more populous. There were rows of houses which he had +never seen before, and those which had been his familiar haunts had +disappeared. Strange names were over the doors--strange faces at the +windows,--everything was strange. His mind now misgave him; he began to +doubt whether both he and the world around him were not bewitched. +Surely this was his native village, which he had left but the day +before. There stood the Kaatskill Mountains--there ran the silver Hudson +at a distance--there was every hill and dale precisely as it had always +been--Rip was sorely perplexed--"That flagon last night," thought he, +"has addled my poor head sadly!"</p> +<p>It was with some difficulty that he found the way to his own house, +which he approached with silent awe, expecting every moment to hear the +shrill voice of Dame Van Winkle. He found the house gone to decay--the +roof fallen in, the windows shattered, and the doors off the hinges. A +half-starved dog that looked like Wolf was skulking about it. Rip called +him by name, but the cur snarled, showed his teeth, and passed on. This +was an unkind cut indeed--"My very dog," sighed poor Rip, "has forgotten +me!"</p> +<p>He entered the house, which, to tell the truth, Dame Van Winkle had +always kept in neat order. It was empty, forlorn, and apparently +abandoned. This desolateness overcame all his connubial fears--he called +loudly for his wife and children--the lonely chambers rang for a moment +with his voice, and then again all was silence.</p> +<p>He now hurried forth, and hastened to his old resort, the village +inn--but it, too, was gone. A large, rickety wooden building stood in +its place, with great gaping windows, some of them broken and mended +with old hats and petticoats, and over the door was painted, "The Union +Hotel, by Jonathan Doolittle." Instead of the great tree that used to +shelter the quiet little Dutch inn of yore, there now was reared a tall +naked pole, with something on the top that looked like a red night-cap, +and from it was fluttering a flag, on which was a singular assemblage of +stars and stripes--all this was strange and incomprehensible. He +recognized on the sign, however, the ruby face of King George, under +which he had smoked so many a peaceful pipe; but even this was +singularly metamorphosed. The red coat was changed for one of blue and +buff, a sword was held in the hand instead of a sceptre, the head was +decorated with a cocked hat, and underneath was painted in large +characters, GENERAL WASHINGTON.</p> +<p>There was, as usual, a crowd of folk about the door, but none that +Rip recollected. The very character of the people seemed changed. There +was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the +accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquillity. He looked in vain for the +sage Nicholas Vedder, with his broad face, double chin, and fair long +pipe, uttering clouds of tobacco-smoke instead of idle speeches; or Van +Bummel, the schoolmaster, doling forth the contents of an ancient +newspaper. In place of these, a lean bilious-looking fellow, with his +pockets full of hand bills, was haranguing vehemently about rights of +citizens--elections--members of congress--liberty--Bunker's Hill--heroes +of seventy-six--and other words, which were a perfect Babylonish jargon +to the bewildered Van Winkle.</p> +<p>The appearance of Rip, with his long grizzled heard, his rusty +fowling-piece, his uncouth dress, and an army of women and children at +his heels, soon attracted the attention of the tavern-politicians. They +crowded round him, eying him from head to foot with great curiosity. The +orator bustled up to him, and, drawing him partly aside, inquired "on +which side he voted?" Rip stared in vacant stupidity. Another short but +busy little fellow pulled him by the arm, and, rising on tiptoe, +inquired in his ear, "Whether he was Federal or Democrat?" Rip was +equally at a loss to comprehend the question; when a knowing, +self-important old gentleman, in a sharp cocked hat, made his way +through the crowd, putting them to the right and left with his elbows as +he passed, and planting himself before Van Winkle, with one arm akimbo, +the other resting on his cane, his keen eyes and sharp hat penetrating, +as it were, into his very soul, demanded in an austere tone, "what +brought him to the election with a gun on his shoulder and a mob at his +heels, and whether he meant to breed a riot in the village?"--"Alas! +gentlemen," cried Rip, somewhat dismayed, "I am a poor quiet man, a +native of the place, and a loyal subject of the king, God bless him!"</p> +<p>Here a general shout burst from the bystanders--"A tory! a tory! a +spy! a refugee! hustle him! away with him!" It was with great difficulty +that the self-important man in the cocked hat restored order; and, +having assumed a tenfold austerity of brow, demanded again of the +unknown culprit what he came there for, and whom he was seeking? The +poor man humbly assured him that he meant no harm, but merely came there +in search of some of his neighbors, who used to keep about the tavern.</p> +<p>"Well--who are they?--name them."</p> +<p>Rip bethought himself a moment, and inquired, "Where's Nicholas +Vedder?"</p> +<p>There was a silence for a little while, when an old man replied, in +a thin, piping voice: "Nicholas Vedder! why, he is dead and gone these +eighteen years! There was a wooden tombstone in the churchyard that used +to tell all about him, but that's rotten and gone too."</p> +<p>"Where's Brom Dutcher?"</p> +<p>"Oh, he went off to the army in the beginning of the war; some say +he was killed at the storming of Stony Point--others say he was drowned +in a squall at the foot of Antony's Nose. I don't know--he never came +back again."</p> +<p>"Where's Van Bummel, the schoolmaster?"</p> +<p>"He went off to the wars too, was a great militia general, and is +now in Congress."</p> +<p>Rip's heart died away at hearing of these sad changes in his home +and friends, and finding himself thus alone in the world. Every answer +puzzled him too, by treating of such enormous lapses of time, and of +matters which he could not understand: war--Congress--Stony Point; he +had no courage to ask after any more friends, but cried out in despair, +"Does nobody here know Rip Van Winkle?"</p> +<p>"Oh, Rip Van Winkle!" exclaimed two or three, "Oh, to be sure! +that's Rip Van Winkle yonder, leaning against the tree."</p> +<p>Rip looked, and beheld a precise counterpart of himself, as he went +up the mountain: apparently as lazy, and certainly as ragged. The poor +fellow was now completely confounded. He doubted his own identity, and +whether he was himself or another man. In the midst of his bewilderment, +the man in the cocked hat demanded who he was, and what was his name?</p> +<p>"God knows," exclaimed he, at his wit's end; "I'm not myself--I'm +somebody else--that's me yonder--no--that's somebody else got into my +shoes--I was myself last night, but I fell asleep on the mountain, and +they've changed my gun, and everything's changed, and I'm changed, and I +can't tell what's my name, or who I am!"</p> +<p>The bystanders began now to look at each other, nod, wink +significantly, and tap their fingers against their foreheads. There was +a whisper, also, about securing the gun, and keeping the old fellow from +doing mischief, at the very suggestion of which the self-important man +in the cocked hat retired with some precipitation. At this critical +moment a fresh, comely woman pressed through the throng to get a peep at +the gray-bearded man. She had a chubby child in her arms, which, +frightened at his looks, began to cry. "Hush, Rip," cried she, "hush, +you little fool; the old man won't hurt you." The name of the child, the +air of the mother, the tone of her voice, all awakened a train of +recollections in his mind. "What is your name, my good woman?" asked he.</p> +<p>"Judith Gardenier."</p> +<p>"And your father's name?"</p> +<p>"Ah, poor man, Rip Van Winkle was his name, but it's twenty years +since he went away from home with his gun, and never has been heard of +since,--his dog came home without him; but whether he shot himself, or +was carried away by the Indians, nobody can tell. I was then but a +little girl."</p> +<p>Rip had but one question more to ask; and he put it with a faltering +voice:--</p> +<p>"Where's your mother?"</p> +<p>"Oh, she too had died but a short time since; she broke a +blood-vessel in a fit of passion at a New England peddler."</p> +<p>There was a drop of comfort at least, in this intelligence. The +honest man could contain himself no longer. He caught his daughter and +her child in his arms. "I am your father!" cried he--"Young Rip Van +Winkle once--old Rip Van Winkle now! Does nobody know poor Rip Van +Winkle?"</p> +<p>All stood amazed, until an old woman, tottering out from among the +crowd, put her hand to her brow, and peering under it in his face for a +moment, exclaimed, "Sure enough, it is Rip Van Winkle--it is himself! +Welcome home again, old neighbor--Why, where have you been these twenty +long years?"</p> +<p>Rip's story was soon told, for the whole twenty years had been to +him but as one night. The neighbors stared when they heard it; some were +seen to wink at each other, and put their tongues in their cheeks; and +the self-important man in the cocked hat, who, when the alarm was over, +had returned to the field, screwed down the corners of his mouth and +shook his head--upon which there was a general shaking of the head +throughout the assemblage.</p> +<p>It was determined, however, to take the opinion of old Peter +Vanderdonk, who was seen slowly advancing up the road. He was a +descendant of the historian of that name, who wrote one of the earliest +accounts of the province. Peter was the most ancient inhabitant of the +village, and well versed in all the wonderful events and traditions of +the neighborhood. He recollected Rip at once, and corroborated his story +in the most satisfactory manner. He assured the company that it was a +fact, handed down from his ancestor the historian, that the Kaatskill +Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings. That it was +affirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first discoverer of the +river and country, kept a kind of vigil there every twenty years, with +his crew of the Half-moon; being permitted in this way to revisit the +scenes of his enterprise, and keep a guardian eye upon the river and the +great city called by his name. That his father had once seen them in +their old Dutch dresses playing at ninepins in a hollow of the mountain; +and that he himself had heard, one summer afternoon, the sound of their +balls like distant peals of thunder.</p> +<p>To make a long story short, the company broke up, and returned to +the more important concerns of the election. Rip's daughter took him +home to live with her; she had a snug well-furnished house, and a stout +cheery farmer for a husband, whom Rip recollected for one of the urchins +that used to climb upon his back. As to Rip's son and heir, who was the +ditto of himself, seen leaning against the tree, he was employed to work +on the farm; but evinced an hereditary disposition to attend to anything +else but his business.</p> +<p>Rip now resumed his old walks and habits; he soon found many of his +former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of +time; and preferred making friends among the rising generation, with +whom he soon grew into great favor. Having nothing to do at home, and +being arrived at that happy age when a man can be idle with impunity, he +took his place once more on the bench at the inn door, and was +reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village, and a chronicle of +the old times "before the war." It was some time before he could get +into the regular track of gossip, or could be made to comprehend the +strange events that had taken place during his torpor. How that there +had been a revolutionary war--that the country had thrown off the yoke +of old England--and that, instead of being a subject of his Majesty +George the Third, he was now a free citizen of the United States. Rip, +in fact, was no politician; the changes of states and empires made but +little impression on him; but there was one species of despotism under +which he had long groaned, and that was--petticoat government. Happily +that was at an end; he had got his neck out of the yoke of matrimony, +and could go in and out whenever he pleased, without dreading the +tyranny of Dame Van Winkle. Whenever her name was mentioned, however, he +shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and cast up his eyes, which +might pass either for an expression of resignation to his fate, or joy +at his deliverance.</p> +<p>He used to tell his story to every stranger that arrived at Mr. +Doolittle's hotel. He was observed, at first, to vary on some points +every time he told it, which was, doubtless, owing to his having so +recently awaked. It at last settled down precisely to the tale I have +related, and not a man, woman, or child in the neighborhood but knew it +by heart. Some always pretended to doubt the reality of it, and insisted +that Rip had been out of his head, and that this was one point on which +he always remained flighty. The old Dutch inhabitants, however, almost +universally gave it full credit. Even to this day they never hear a +thunder-storm of a summer afternoon about the Kaatskill, but they say +Hendrick Hudson and his crew are at their game of ninepins; and it is a +common wish of all henpecked husbands in the neighborhood, when life +hangs heavy on their hands, that they might have a quieting draught out +of Rip Van Winkle's flagon.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p>The three stages of the story are: The sleep, the return, the +recognition. Through them all personal identity remains.<br> +<br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Rip Van Winkle--the man: his characteristics, habits, family.</p> +<p>The place: the village, the inn, the surroundings, the times.</p> +<p>The autumn ramble: the woods, the dog, the gun, the Hudson, the +stranger, the "ninepins" company, the flagon, the waking--the changed +scenes.</p> +<p>The afternoon of the day, the afternoon of the year (autumn), and +the afternoon of life (old man) are chosen by the author.</p> +<p>What is the fitness in selecting a village near the mountains? Why +choose a village at all?</p> +<p>Note the civic progress of the people--the change from a royal +dependency to an independent republic.</p> +<p>Locate on the map the scene of this selection and tell the period in +which it occurred. Point out parts of the story that tell you when it +happened.</p> +<p>Select descriptions in this selection that are especially pleasing.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases, for Discussion</span></p> +<p> "puzzled"<br> + "peddler"<br> + "self-important man"<br> + "enormous"<br> + "austere"<br> + "vacant stupidity"<br> + "fatigued"<br> + "Tory"<br> + "well-oiled disposition"<br> + "grizzled"<br> + "cocked hat"<br> + "torrent of household eloquence"<br> + "transient"<br> + "ruby face"<br> + "desolateness"<br> + "gaping windows"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_VOYAGE"></a>THE VOYAGE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>From "The Sketch Book," by</small></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>WASHINGTON IRVING</small></p> +<p> <small> Ships, +ships, I will descrie you<br> + Amidst +the main,<br> + I +will come and try you,<br> + What +you are protecting,<br> + And +projecting,<br> + What's +your end and aim.</small></p> +<p><small> One goes +abroad for merchandise and trading.<br> + Another stays to keep +his country from invading,<br> + A third is coming home +with rich and wealthy lading.<br> + Halloo! +my fancie, whither wilt thou go? <br> +--OLD POEM.</small></p> +<p><br> +To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to make is an +excellent preparative. The temporary absence of worldly scenes and +employments produces a state of mind peculiarly fitted to receive new +and vivid impressions. The vast space of waters that separates the +hemispheres is like a blank page in existence. There is no gradual +transition, by which, as in Europe, the features and population of one +country blend almost imperceptibly with those of another. From the +moment you lose sight of the land you have left, all is vacancy until +you step on the opposite shore, and are launched at once into the bustle +and novelties of another world.</p> +<p>In traveling by land there is a continuity of scene and a connected +succession of persons and incidents, that carry on the story of life, +and lessen the effect of absence and separation. We drag, it is true, "a +lengthening chain," at each remove of our pilgrimage; but the chain is +unbroken: we can trace it back link by link; and we feel that the last +still grapples us to home. But a wide sea voyage severs us at once. It +makes us conscious of being cast loose from the secure anchorage of +settled life, and sent adrift upon a doubtful world. It interposes a +gulf, not merely imaginary, but real, between us and our homes--a gulf +subject to tempest, and fear, and uncertainty, rendering distance +palpable, and return precarious.</p> +<p>Such, at least, was the case with myself. As I saw the last blue +line of my native land fade away like a cloud in the horizon, it seemed +as if I had closed one volume of the world and its concerns, and had +time for meditation, before I opened another. That land, too, now +vanishing from my view, which contained all most dear to me in life; +what vicissitudes might occur in it--what changes might take place in +me, before I should visit it again! Who can tell, when he sets forth to +wander, whither he may be driven by the uncertain currents of existence; +or when he may return; or whether it may ever be his lot to revisit the +scenes of his childhood?</p> +<p>I said that at sea all is vacancy; I should correct the expression. +To one given to day-dreaming, and fond of losing himself in reveries, a +sea voyage is full of subjects for meditation: but then they are the +wonders of the deep, and of the air, and rather tend to abstract the +mind from worldly themes. I delighted to loll over the quarter-railing, +or climb to the maintop, of a calm day, and muse for hours together on +the tranquil bosom of a summer's sea; to gaze upon the piles of golden +clouds just peering above the horizon, fancy them some fairy realms, and +people them with, a creation of my own;--to watch the gentle undulating +billows, rolling their silver volumes, as if to die away on those happy +shores.</p> +<p>There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe with +which I looked down from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at +their uncouth gambols. Shoals of porpoises tumbling about the bow of the +ship, the grampus slowly heaving his huge form above the surface; or the +ravenous shark, darting, like a spectre, through the blue waters. My +imagination would conjure up all that I had heard or read of the watery +world beneath me; of the finny herds that roam its fathomless valleys; +of the shapeless monsters that lurk among the very foundations of the +earth; and of those wild phantasms that swell the tales of fishermen and +sailors.</p> +<p>Sometimes a distant sail, gliding along the edge of the ocean, would +be another theme of idle speculation. How interesting this fragment of a +world, hastening to rejoin the great mass of existence! What a glorious +monument of human invention; which has in a manner triumphed over wind +and wave; has brought the ends of the world into communion; has +established an interchange of blessings, pouring into the sterile +regions of the north all the luxuries of the south; has diffused the +light of knowledge and the charities of cultivated life; and has thus +bound together those scattered portions of the human race, between which +nature seemed to have thrown an insurmountable barrier.</p> +<p>We one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a distance. At +sea, everything that breaks the monotony of the surrounding expanse +attracts attention. It proved to be the mast of a ship that must have +been completely wrecked; for there were the remains of handkerchiefs, by +which some of the crew had fastened themselves to this spar, to prevent +their being washed off by the waves. There was no trace by which the +name of the ship could be ascertained. The wreck had evidently drifted +about for many months; clusters of shell-fish had fastened about it, and +long sea-weeds flaunted at its sides! But where, thought I, is the crew? +Their struggle has long been over--they have gone down amidst the roar +of the tempest--their bones lie whitening among the caverns of the deep. +Silence, oblivion, like the waves, have closed over them, and no one can +tell the story of their end. What sighs have been wafted after that +ship! what prayers offered up at the deserted fireside of home! How +often has the mistress, the wife, the mother, pored over the daily news, +to catch some casual intelligence of this rover of the deep! How has +expectation darkened into anxiety--anxiety into dread--and dread into +despair! Alas! not one memento may ever return for love to cherish. All +that may ever be known, is, that she sailed from her port, "and was +never heard of more!"</p> +<p>The sight of this wreck, as usual, gave rise to many dismal +anecdotes. This was particularly the case in the evening, when the +weather, which had hitherto been fair, began to look wild and +threatening, and gave indications of one of those sudden storms which +will sometimes break in upon the serenity of a summer voyage. As we sat +round the dull light of a lamp in the cabin, that made the gloom more +ghastly, every one had his tale of shipwreck and disaster. I was +particularly struck with a short one related by the captain.</p> +<p>"As I was once sailing," said he, "in a fine stout ship across the +banks of Newfoundland, one of those heavy fogs which prevail in those +parts rendered it impossible for us to see far ahead even in the +daytime; but at night the weather was so thick that we could not +distinguish any object at twice the length of the ship. I kept lights at +the mast-head, and a constant watch forward to look out for fishing +smacks, which are accustomed to lie at anchor on the banks. The wind was +blowing a smacking breeze, and we were going at a great fate through the +water. Suddenly the watch gave the alarm of 'a sail ahead!'--it was +scarcely uttered before we were upon her. She was a small schooner, at +anchor, with her broadside towards us. The crew were all asleep, and had +neglected to hoist a light. We struck her just amidships. The force, the +size, the weight of our vessel bore her down below the waves; we passed +over her and were hurried on our course. As the crashing wreck was +sinking beneath us, I had a glimpse of two or three half-naked wretches +rushing from her cabin; they just started from their beds to be +swallowed shrieking by the waves. I heard their drowning cry mingling +with the wind. The blast that bore it to our ears swept us out of all +farther hearing. I shall never forget that cry! It was some time before +we could put the ship about, she was under such headway. We returned, as +nearly as we could guess, to the place where the smack had anchored. We +cruised about for several hours in the dense fog. We fired signal guns, +and listened if we might hear the halloo of any survivors: but all was +silent--we never saw or heard anything of them more."</p> +<p>I confess these stories, for a time, put an end to all my fine +fancies. The storm increased with the night. The sea was lashed into +tremendous confusion. There was a fearful, sullen sound of rushing +waves, and broken surges. Deep called unto deep. At times the black +column of clouds overhead seemed rent asunder by flashes of lightning +which quivered along the foaming billows, and made the succeeding +darkness doubly terrible. The thunders bellowed over the wild waste of +waters, and were echoed and prolonged by the mountain waves. As I saw +the ship staggering and plunging among these roaring caverns, it seemed +miraculous that she regained her balance, or preserved her buoyancy. Her +yards would dip into the water: her bow was almost buried beneath the +waves. Sometimes an impending surge appeared ready to overwhelm her, and +nothing but a dexterous movement of the helm preserved her from the +shock.</p> +<p>When I retired to my cabin, the awful scene still followed me. The +whistling of the wind through the rigging sounded like funereal +wailings. The creaking of the masts, the straining and groaning of +bulk-heads, as the ship labored in the weltering sea, were frightful. As +I heard the waves rushing along the sides of the ship, and roaring in my +very ear, it seemed as if Death were raging round this floating prison, +seeking for his prey: the mere starting of a nail, the yawning of a +seam, might give him entrance.</p> +<p>A fine day, however, with a tranquil sea and favoring breeze, soon +put all these dismal reflections to flight. It is impossible to resist +the gladdening influence of fine weather and fair wind at sea. When the +ship is decked out in all her canvas, every sail swelled, and careering +gayly over the curling waves, how lofty, how gallant she appears--how +she seems to lord it over the deep!</p> +<p>I might fill a volume with the reveries of a sea voyage, for with me +it is almost a continual reverie--but it is time to get to shore.</p> +<p>It was a fine sunny morning when the thrilling cry of "land!" was +given from the mast-head. None but those who have experienced it can +form an idea of the delicious throng of sensations which rush into an +American's bosom, when he first comes in sight of Europe. There is a +volume of associations with the very name. It is the land of promise, +teeming with every thing of which his childhood has heard, or on which +his studious years have pondered.</p> +<p>From that time until the moment of arrival, it was all feverish +excitement. The ships of war, that prowled like guardian giants along +the coast; the headlands of Ireland, stretching out into the channel; +the Welsh mountains, towering into the clouds; all were objects of +intense interest. As we sailed up the Mersey I reconnoitred the shores +with a telescope. My eye dwelt with delight on neat cottages, with their +trim shrubberies and green grass plots. I saw the mouldering ruin of an +abbey overrun with ivy, and the taper spire of a village church rising +from the brow of a neighboring hill--all were characteristic of England.</p> +<p>The tide and wind were so favorable that the ship was enabled to +come at once to the pier. It was thronged with people; some, idle +lookers-on, others, eager expectants of friends or relatives. I could +distinguish the merchant to whom the ship was consigned. I knew him by +his calculating brow and restless air. His hands were thrust into his +pockets; he was whistling thoughtfully, and walking to and fro, a small +space having been accorded him by the crowd, in deference to his +temporary importance. There were repeated cheerings and salutations +interchanged between the shore and the ship, as friends happened to +recognize each other. I particularly noticed one young woman of humble +dress, but interesting demeanor. She was leaning forward from among the +crowd; her eye hurried over the ship as it neared the shore, to catch +some wished-for countenance. She seemed disappointed and agitated; when +I heard a faint voice call her name. It was from a poor sailor who had +been ill all the voyage, and had excited the sympathy of every one on +board. When the weather was fine, his messmates had spread a mattress +for him on deck in the shade, but of late his illness had so increased +that he had taken to his hammock, and only breathed a wish that he might +see his wife before he died. He had been helped on deck as we came up +the river, and was now leaning against the shrouds, with a countenance +so wasted, so pale, so ghastly, that it was no wonder even the eye of +affection did not recognize him. But at the sound of his voice, her eye +darted on his features; it read, at once, a whole volume of sorrow; she +clasped her hands, uttered a faint shriek, and stood wringing them in +silent agony.</p> +<p>All now was hurry and bustle. The meetings of acquaintances--the +greetings of friends--the consultations of men of business. I alone was +solitary and idle. I had no friend to meet, no cheering to receive. I +stepped upon the land of my forefathers--but felt that I was a stranger +in the land.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Why did the author realize so clearly the extent of the journey he +had undertaken?</p> +<p>How many days do you think Irving was on the ocean?</p> +<p>What change has taken place in the method of ocean travel since he +made this voyage?</p> +<p>Find words and lines which tell you the kind of vessel in which he +crossed the ocean.</p> +<p>Had Irving greater opportunity for observing "the monsters of the +deep" than is afforded people crossing the ocean at the present day? Why +do you think so?</p> +<p>What does Irving say is a "glorious monument of human invention"?</p> +<p>Name some inventions which seem to you more worthy of this +designation.</p> +<p>Find the paragraph which describes the mast of a ship that was +wrecked.</p> +<p>How does this description compare with his description of the +"monsters of the deep"?</p> +<p>Which description in this selection do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>What do you think of Irving's powers of description?</p> +<p>What does this sketch tell you of Irving's own character?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "undulating billows"<br> + "idle speculation"<br> + "reconnoitred"<br> + "delicious sensation"<br> + "dread"<br> + "abbey"<br> + "wild phantasms"<br> + "despair"<br> + "anxiety"<br> + "monument of human invention"<br> + "prowled like guardian giants"<br> + "light of knowledge"<br> + "insurmountable barrier"<br> + "dismal anecdotes"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="NATHANIEL_HAWTHORNE"></a>NATHANIEL +HAWTHORNE</p> +<p>The ancestors of Hawthorne, unlike those of most of the New England +writers, were not of the clergy, but were seamen, soldiers, and +magistrates. Concerning one of these, a judge who dealt harshly with the +Salem witches, Hawthorne writes: "I take shame upon myself for their +sakes and yet strong traits of their nature have intertwined themselves +with mine." Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, July 4, 1804, +and when only four years old lost his father, a sea captain.</p> +<p>The happiest years of his boyhood were spent at his uncle's home in +the forests of Maine. Here he loved to wander through the woods, +afterwards recording carefully his observations. His early education was +rather irregular; however, for a time he had for schoolmaster, +Worcester, the author of the dictionary. At Bowdoin college his studies +were largely literary. His life at college is chiefly remarkable for the +friendships formed there. Both Franklin Pierce, who later became +president of the United States, and Longfellow, the poet, were members +of his class.</p> +<p>After graduation in 1825, while Longfellow was traveling in many +lands and yielding himself to the charm of mediæval history and +legend, Hawthorne drifted into a strange mode of life, virtually +disappearing from the world for a dozen years and living in actual +solitude. "I have made a captive of myself," he wrote to Longfellow, +"and put me into a dungeon; and now I cannot find the key to let myself +out." But the key was found. The appreciation of Elizabeth and Sophia +Peabody and the deep affection for the latter acted as a spur to get him +into active life. At thirty-eight he married Sophia Peabody and took up +courageously enough a life of poverty and hard literary work at Concord +in the Old Manse, which had formerly been Emerson's home. There he came +to know and value the friendship of Emerson, who we may well believe was +the inspiration of the allegory of the Great Stone Face.</p> +<p>In curious contradiction with his natural love for solitude, +Hawthorne became interested in the experiment of communal life and spent +the year before his marriage at Brook Farm, where a number of literary +men tried to live simply and happily by combining intellectual and +manual work.</p> +<p>During the years of his solitude he wrote incessantly and composed +many of those sketches of the fancy which won for him his peculiar place +in literature. Many of these sketches appeared in the collection "Twice +Told Tales." For children he has written the little stories and +biographies of "Grandfather's Chair" and the story of Greek and Roman +Myths in his "Wonder-Book" and "Tanglewood Tales." Sin and the effect of +guilt upon human conduct are the problems in his great romances.</p> +<p>Many of our literary men have held public positions, sometimes to +help out the meager financial returns of literary work, but more often +because they would bring honor to these positions. Hawthorne +successively filled the offices of weigher and gauger in the Boston +Custom House, collector of customs at Salem, and American consul at +Liverpool, having been appointed as consul by his old friend President +Pierce. After four years' residence in England he resigned his +consulship and spent several years in travel on the continent, spending +two winters in Rome. Here he conceived his "Marble Faun," which, though +given an Italian setting, embodies the same problem of conscience that +we find in his earlier "Scarlet Letter."</p> +<p>In June, 1860, he returned to America. He was deeply agitated by the +Civil War, the more so because his sympathies were not entirely with his +Northern friends. In May, 1864, his old friend General Pierce suggested +that they make a journey to the scenes of their college days. On their +way they stopped at Plymouth, New Hampshire, and there, early on the +morning of the nineteenth, he passed quietly away.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_GREAT_STONE_FACE"></a>THE +GREAT STONE FACE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE</small></p> +<p>One afternoon, when the sun was going down, a mother and her little +boy sat at the door of their cottage, talking about the Great Stone +Face. They had but to lift their eyes, and there it was plainly to be +seen, though miles away, with the sunshine brightening all its features.</p> +<p>And what was the Great Stone Face?</p> +<p>Embosomed amongst a family of lofty mountains, there was a valley so +spacious that it contained many thousand inhabitants. Some of these good +people dwelt in log-huts, with the black forest all around them, on the +steep and difficult hillsides. Others had their homes in comfortable +farm-houses, and cultivated the rich soil on the gentle slopes or level +surfaces of the valley. Others, again, were congregated into populous +villages, where some wild, highland rivulet, tumbling down from its +birthplace in the upper mountain region, had been caught and tamed by +human cunning, and compelled to turn the machinery of cotton-factories. +The inhabitants of this valley, in short, were numerous, and of many +modes of life. But all of them, grown people and children, had a kind of +familiarity with the Great Stone Face, although some possessed the gift +of distinguishing this grand natural phenomenon more perfectly than many +of their neighbors.</p> +<p>The Great Stone Face, then, was a work of Nature in her mood of +majestic playfulness, formed on the perpendicular side of a mountain by +some immense rocks, which had been thrown together in such a position +as, when viewed at a proper distance, precisely to resemble the features +of the human countenance. It seemed as if an enormous giant, or a Titan, +had sculptured his own likeness on the precipice. There was the broad +arch of the forehead, a hundred feet in height; the nose, with its long +bridge; and the vast lips, which, if they could have spoken, would have +rolled their thunder accents from one end of the valley to the other. +True it is, that if the spectator approached too near, he lost the +outline of the gigantic visage, and could discern only a heap of +ponderous and gigantic rocks, piled in chaotic ruin one upon another. +Retracing his steps, however, the wondrous features would again be seen; +and the farther he withdrew from them, the more like a human face, with +all its original divinity intact, did they appear; until, as it grew dim +in the distance, with the clouds and glorified vapor of the mountains +clustering about it, the Great Stone Face seemed positively to be alive.</p> +<p>It was a happy lot for children to grow up to manhood or womanhood +with the Great Stone Face before their eyes, for all the features were +noble, and the expression was at once grand and sweet, as if it were the +glow of a vast, warm heart, that embraced all mankind in its affections, +and had room for more. It was an education only to look at it. According +to the belief of many people, the valley owed much of its fertility to +this benign aspect that was continually beaming over it, illuminating +the clouds, and infusing its tenderness into the sunshine.</p> +<p>As we began with saying, a mother and her little boy sat at their +cottage-door, gazing at the Great Stone Face, and talking about it. The +child's name was Ernest.</p> +<p>"Mother," said he, while the Titanic visage smiled on him, "I wish +that it could speak, for it looks so very kindly that its voice must +needs be pleasant. If I were to see a man with such a face, I should +love him dearly."</p> +<p>"If an old prophecy should come to pass," answered his mother, "we +may see a man, some time or other, with exactly such a face as that."</p> +<p>"What prophecy do you mean, dear mother?" eagerly inquired Ernest. +"Pray tell me all about it!"</p> +<p>So his mother told him a story that her own mother had told to her, +when she herself was younger than little Ernest; a story, not of things +that were past, but of what was yet to come; a story, nevertheless, so +very old, that even the Indians, who formerly inhabited this valley, had +heard it from their forefathers, to whom, as they affirmed, it had been +murmured by the mountain streams, and whispered by the wind among the +tree-tops. The purport was, that, at some future day, a child should be +born hereabouts, who was destined to become the greatest and noblest +personage of his time, and whose countenance, in manhood, should bear an +exact resemblance to the Great Stone Face. Not a few old-fashioned +people, and young ones likewise, in the ardor of their hopes, still +cherished an enduring faith in this old prophecy. But others, who had +seen more of the world, had watched and waited till they were weary, and +had beheld no man with such a face, nor any man that proved to be much +greater or nobler than his neighbors, concluded it to be nothing but an +idle tale. At all events, the great man of the prophecy had not yet +appeared.</p> +<p>"O mother, dear mother!" cried Ernest, clapping his hands above his +head, "I do hope that I shall live to see him!"</p> +<p>His mother was an affectionate and thoughtful woman, and felt that +it was wisest not to discourage the generous hopes of her little boy. So +she only said to him, "Perhaps you may."</p> +<p>And Ernest never forgot the story that his mother told him. It was +always in his mind, whenever he looked upon the Great Stone Face. He +spent his childhood in the log-cottage where he was born, and was +dutiful to his mother, and helpful to her in many things, assisting her +much with his little hands, and more with his loving heart. In this +manner, from a happy yet often pensive child, he grew up to be a mild, +quiet, unobtrusive boy, and sun-browned with labor in the fields, but +with more intelligence brightening his aspect than is seen in many lads +who have been taught at famous schools. Yet Ernest had had no teacher, +save only that the Great Stone Face became one to him. When the toil of +the day was over, he would gaze at it for hours, until he began to +imagine that those vast features recognized him, and gave him a smile of +kindness and encouragement, responsive to his own look of veneration. We +must not take upon us to affirm that this was a mistake, although the +Face may have looked no more kindly at Ernest than at all the world +besides. But the secret was that the boy's tender and confiding +simplicity discerned what other people could not see; and thus the love, +which was meant for all, became his peculiar portion.</p> +<p>About this time there went a rumor throughout the valley, that the +great man, foretold from ages long ago, who was to bear a resemblance to +the Great Stone Face, had appeared at last. It seems that, many years +before, a young man had migrated from the valley and settled at a +distant seaport, where, after getting together a little money, he had +set up as a shopkeeper. His name--but I could never learn whether it was +his real one, or a nickname that had grown out of his habits and success +in life--was Gathergold. Being shrewd and active, and endowed by +Providence with that inscrutable faculty which develops itself in what +the world calls luck, he became an exceedingly rich merchant, and owner +of a whole fleet of bulky-bottomed ships. All the countries of the globe +appeared to join hands for the mere purpose of adding heap after heap to +the mountainous accumulation of this one man's wealth. The cold regions +of the north, almost within the gloom and shadow of the Arctic Circle, +sent him their tribute in the shape of furs; hot Africa sifted for him +the golden sands of her rivers, and gathered up the ivory tusks of her +great elephants out of the forests; the East came bringing him the rich +shawls, and spices, and teas, and the effulgence of diamonds, and the +gleaming purity of large pearls. The ocean, not to be behindhand with +the earth, yielded up her mighty whales, that Mr. Gathergold might sell +their oil, and make a profit on it. Be the original commodity what it +might, it was gold within his grasp. It might be said of him, as of +Midas in the fable, that whatever he touched with his finger immediately +glistened, and grew yellow, and was changed at once into sterling metal, +or, which suited him still better, into piles of coin. And, when Mr. +Gathergold had become so very rich that it would have taken him a +hundred years only to count his wealth, he bethought himself of his +native valley, and resolved to go back thither, and end his days where +he was born. With this purpose in view, he sent a skilful architect to +build him such a palace as should be fit for a man of his vast wealth to +live in.</p> +<p>As I have said above, it had already been rumored in the valley that +Mr. Gathergold had turned out to be the prophetic personage so long and +vainly looked for, and that his visage was the perfect and undeniable +similitude of the Great Stone Face. People were the more ready to +believe that this must needs be the fact, when they beheld the splendid +edifice that rose, as if by enchantment, on the site of his father's old +weather-beaten farm-house. The exterior was of marble, so dazzlingly +white that it seemed as though the whole structure might melt away in +the sunshine, like those humbler ones which Mr. Gathergold, in his young +play-days, before his fingers were gifted with the touch of +transmutation, had been accustomed to build of snow. It had a richly +ornamented portico, supported by tall pillars, beneath which was a lofty +door, studded with silver knobs, and made of a kind of variegated wood +that had been brought from beyond the sea. The windows, from the floor +to the ceiling of each stately apartment, were composed, respectively, +of but one enormous pane of glass, so transparently pure that it was +said to be a finer medium than even the vacant atmosphere. Hardly +anybody had been permitted to see the interior of this palace; but it +was reported, and with good semblance of truth, to be far more gorgeous +than the outside, insomuch that whatever was iron or brass in other +houses was silver or gold in this; and Mr. Gathergold's bedchamber, +especially, made such a glittering appearance that no ordinary man would +have been able to close his eyes there. But, on the other hand, Mr. +Gathergold was now so inured to wealth, that perhaps he could not have +closed his eyes unless where the gleam of it was certain to find its way +beneath his eyelids.</p> +<p>In due time, the mansion was finished; next came the upholsterers, +with magnificent furniture; then, a whole troop of black and white +servants, the harbingers of Mr. Gathergold, who, in his own majestic +person, was expected to arrive at sunset. Our friend Ernest, meanwhile, +had been deeply stirred by the idea that the great man, the noble man, +the man of prophecy, after so many ages of delay, was at length to be +made manifest to his native valley. He knew, boy as he was, that there +were a thousand ways in which Mr. Gathergold, with his vast wealth, +might transform himself into an angel of beneficence, and assume a +control over human affairs as wide and benignant as the smile of the +Great Stone Face. Full of faith and hope, Ernest doubted not that what +the people said was true, and that now he was to behold the living +likeness of those wondrous features on the mountain-side. While the boy +was still gazing up the valley, and fancying, as he always did, that the +Great Stone Face returned his gaze and looked kindly at him, the +rumbling of wheels was heard, approaching swiftly along the winding road.</p> +<p>"Here he comes!" cried a group of people who were assembled to +witness the arrival. "Here comes the great Mr. Gathergold!" A carriage, +drawn by four horses, dashed round the turn of the road. Within it, +thrust partly out of the window, appeared the physiognomy of the old +man, with a skin as yellow as if his own Midas-hand had transmuted it. +He had a low forehead, small, sharp eyes, puckered about with +innumerable wrinkles, and very thin lips, which he made still thinner by +pressing them forcibly together.</p> +<p>"The very image of the Great Stone Face!" shouted the people. "Sure +enough, the old prophecy is true; and here we have the great man come, +at last!"</p> +<p>And, what greatly perplexed Ernest, they seemed actually to believe +that here was the likeness which they spoke of. By the roadside there +chanced to be an old beggar-woman and two little beggar-children, +stragglers from some far-off region, who, as the carriage rolled onward, +held out their hands and lifted up their doleful voices, most piteously +beseeching charity. A yellow claw--the very same that had clawed +together so much wealth--poked itself out of the coach-window, and dropt +some copper coins upon the ground; so that, though the great man's name +seems to have been Gathergold, he might just as suitably have been +nicknamed Scattercopper. Still, nevertheless, with an earnest shout, and +evidently with as much good faith as ever, the people bellowed,--</p> +<p>"He is the very image of the Great Stone Pace!"</p> +<p>But Ernest turned sadly from the wrinkled shrewdness of that sordid +visage, and gazed up the valley, where, amid a gathering mist, gilded by +the last sun beams, he could still distinguish those glorious features +which had impressed themselves into his soul. Their aspect cheered him. +What did the benign lips seem to say?</p> +<p>"He will come! Fear not, Ernest; the man will come!"</p> +<p>The years went on, and Ernest ceased to be a boy. He had grown, to +be a young man now. He attracted little notice from the other +inhabitants of the valley; for they saw nothing remarkable in his way of +life, save that, when the labor of the day was over, he still loved to +go apart and gaze and meditate upon the Great Stone Face. According to +their idea of the matter, it was a folly, indeed, but pardonable, +inasmuch as Ernest was industrious, kind, and neighborly, and neglected +no duty for the sake of indulging this idle habit. They knew not that +the Great Stone Face had become a teacher to him, and that the sentiment +which was expressed in it would enlarge the young man's heart, and fill +it with wider and deeper sympathies than other hearts. They knew not +that thence would come a better wisdom than could be learned from books, +and a better life than could be moulded on the defaced example of other +human lives. Neither did Ernest know that the thoughts and affections +which came to him so naturally, in the fields and at the fireside, and +wherever he communed with himself, were of a higher tone than those +which all men shared with him. A simple soul,--simple as when his mother +first taught him the old prophecy,--he beheld the marvelous features +beaming adown the valley, and still wondered that their human +counterpart was so long in making his appearance.</p> +<p>By this time poor Mr. Gathergold was dead and buried; and the oddest +part of the matter was, that his wealth, which was the body and spirit +of his existence, had disappeared before his death, leaving nothing of +him but a living skeleton, covered over with a wrinkled, yellow skin. +Since the melting away of his gold, it had been very generally conceded +that there was no such striking resemblance, after all, betwixt the +ignoble features of the ruined merchant and that majestic face upon the +mountainside. So the people ceased to honor him during his lifetime, and +quietly consigned him to forgetfulness after his decease. Once in a +while, it is true, his memory was brought up in connection with the +magnificent palace which he had built, and which had long ago been +turned into a hotel for the accommodation of strangers, multitudes of +whom came, every summer, to visit that famous natural curiosity, the +Great Stone Face. Thus, Mr. Gathergold being discredited and thrown into +the shade, the man of prophecy was yet to come.</p> +<p>It so happened that a native-born son of the valley, many years +before, had enlisted as a soldier, and, after a great deal of hard +fighting, had now become an illustrious commander. Whatever he may be +called in history, he was known in camps and on the battle-field under +the nickname of Old Blood-and-Thunder. This war-worn veteran, being now +infirm with age and wounds, and weary of the turmoil of a military life, +and of the roll of the drum and the clangor of the trumpet, that had so +long been ringing in his ears, had lately signified a purpose of +returning to his native valley, hoping to find repose where he +remembered to have left it. The inhabitants, his old neighbors and their +grown-up children, were resolved to welcome the renowned warrior with a +salute of cannon and a public dinner; and all the more enthusiastically, +it being affirmed that now, at last, the likeness of the Great Stone +Face had actually appeared. An aid-de-camp of Old Blood-and-Thunder, +traveling through the valley, was said to have been struck with the +resemblance. Moreover the schoolmates and early acquaintances of the +general were ready to testify, on oath, that, to the best of their +recollection, the aforesaid general had been exceedingly like the +majestic image, even when a boy, only that the idea had never occurred +to them at that period. Great, therefore, was the excitement throughout +the valley; and many people, who had never once thought of glancing at +the Great Stone Face for years before, now spent their time in gazing at +it, for the sake of knowing exactly how General Blood-and-Thunder looked.</p> +<p>On the day of the great festival, Ernest, with all the other people +of the valley, left their work, and proceeded to the spot where the +sylvan banquet was prepared. As he approached, the loud voice of the +Rev. Dr. Battleblast was heard, beseeching a blessing on the good things +set before them, and on the distinguished friend of peace in whose honor +they were assembled. The tables were arranged in a cleared space of the +woods, shut in by the surrounding trees, except where a vista opened +eastward, and afforded a distant view of the Great Stone Face. Over the +general's chair, which was a relic from the home of Washington, there +was an arch of verdant boughs, with the laurel profusely intermixed, and +surmounted by his country's banner, beneath which he had won his +victories. Our friend Ernest raised himself on his tiptoes, in hopes to +get a glimpse of the celebrated guest; but there was a mighty crowd +about the tables anxious to hear the toasts and speeches, and to catch +any word that might fall from the general in reply; and a volunteer +company, doing duty as a guard, pricked ruthlessly with their bayonets +at any particularly quiet person among the throng. So Ernest, being of +an unobtrusive character, was thrust quite into the background, where he +could see no more of Old Blood-and-Thunder's physiognomy than if it had +been still blazing on the battle-field. To console himself, he turned +towards the Great Stone Face, which, like a faithful and long-remembered +friend, looked back and smiled upon him through the vista of the forest. +Meanwhile, however, he could overhear the remarks of various +individuals, who were comparing the features of the hero with the face +on the distant mountain-side.</p> +<p>"'Tis the same face, to a hair!" cried one man, cutting a caper for +joy.</p> +<p>"Wonderfully like, that's a fact!" responded another.</p> +<p>"Like! why, I call it Old Blood-and-Thunder himself, in a monstrous +looking-glass!" cried a third. "And why not? He's the greatest man of +this or any other age, beyond a doubt."</p> +<p>And then all three of the speakers gave a great shout, which +communicated electricity to the crowd, and called forth a roar from a +thousand voices, that went reverberating for miles among the mountains, +until you might have supposed that the Great Stone Face had poured its +thunder-breath into the cry. All these comments, and this vast +enthusiasm, served the more to interest our friend; nor did he think of +questioning that now, at length, the mountain-visage had found its human +counterpart. It is true, Ernest had imagined that this long-looked-for +personage would appear in the character of a man of peace, uttering +wisdom, and doing good, and making people happy. But, taking an habitual +breadth of view, with all his simplicity, he contended that Providence +should choose its own method of blessing mankind, and could conceive +that this great end might be effected even by a warrior and a bloody +sword, should inscrutable wisdom see fit to order matters so.</p> +<p>"The general! the general!" was now the cry. "Hush! silence! Old +Blood-and-Thunder's going to make a speech."</p> +<p>Even so; for, the cloth being removed, the general's health had been +drunk, amid shouts of applause, and he now stood upon his feet to thank +the company. Ernest saw him. There he was, over the shoulders of the +crowd, from the two glittering epaulets and embroidered collar upward, +beneath the arch of green boughs with intertwined laurel, and the banner +drooping as if to shade his brow! And there, too, visible in the same +glance, through the vista of the forest, appeared the Great Stone Face! +And was there, indeed, such a resemblance as the crowd had testified? +Alas, Ernest could not recognize it! He beheld a war-worn and +weather-beaten countenance, full of energy, and expressive of an iron +will; but the gentle wisdom, the deep, broad, tender sympathies, were +altogether wanting in Old Blood-and-Thunder's visage; and even if the +Great Stone Face had assumed his look of stern command, the milder +traits would still have tempered it.</p> +<p>"This is not the man of prophecy," sighed Ernest to himself, as he +made his way out of the throng. "And must the world wait longer yet?"</p> +<p>The mists had congregated about the distant mountain-side, and there +were seen the grand and awful features of the Great Stone Face, awful +but benignant, as if a mighty angel were sitting among the hills, and +enrobing himself in a cloud-vesture of gold and purple. As he looked, +Ernest could hardly believe but that a smile beamed over the whole +visage, with a radiance still brightening, although without motion of +the lips. It was probably the effect of the western sunshine, melting +through the thinly diffused vapors that had swept between him and the +object that he gazed at. But--as it always did--the aspect of his +marvelous friend made Ernest as hopeful as if he had never hoped in vain.</p> +<p>"Fear not, Ernest," said his heart, even as if the Great Face were +whispering him,--"fear not, Ernest; he will come." More years sped +swiftly and tranquilly away. Ernest still dwelt in his native valley, +and was now a man of middle age. By imperceptible degrees, he had become +known among the people. Now, as heretofore, he labored for his bread, +and was the same simple-hearted man that he had always been. But he had +thought and felt so much, he had given so many of the best hours of his +life to unworldly hopes for some great good to mankind, that it seemed +as though he had been talking with the angels, and had imbibed a portion +of their wisdom unawares. It was visible in the calm and well-considered +beneficence of his daily life, the quiet stream of which had made a wide +green margin all along its course. Not a day passed by, that the world +was not the better because this man, humble as he was, had lived. He +never stepped aside from his own path, yet would always reach a blessing +to his neighbor. Almost involuntarily, too, he had become a preacher. +The pure and high simplicity of his thought, which, as one of its +manifestations, took shape in the good deeds that dropped silently from +his hand, flowed also forth in speech. He uttered truths that wrought +upon and moulded the lives of those who heard him. His auditors, it may +be, never suspected that Ernest, their own neighbor and familiar friend, +was more than an ordinary man; least of all did Ernest himself suspect +it; but, inevitably as the murmur of a rivulet, came thoughts out of +his mouth that no other human lips had spoken.</p> +<p>When the people's minds had had a little time to cool, they were +ready enough to acknowledge their mistake in imagining a similarity +between General Blood-and-Thunder's truculent physiognomy and the benign +visage on the mountain-side. But now, again, there were reports and many +paragraphs in the newspapers, affirming that the likeness of the Great +Stone Face had appeared upon the broad shoulders of a certain eminent +statesman. He, like Mr. Gathergold and Old Blood-and-Thunder, was a +native of the valley, but had left it in his early days, and taken up +the trades of law and politics. Instead of the rich man's wealth and the +warrior's sword, he had but a tongue, and it was mightier than both +together. So wonderfully eloquent was he, that whatever he might choose +to say, his auditors had no choice but to believe him; wrong looked like +right, and right like wrong; for when it pleased him, he could make a +kind of illuminated fog with his mere breath, and obscure the natural +daylight with it. His tongue, indeed, was a magic instrument: sometimes +it rumbled like the thunder; sometimes it warbled like the sweetest +music. It was the blast of war,--the song of peace; and it seemed to +have a heart in it, when there was no such matter. In good truth, he was +a wondrous man; and when his tongue had acquired him all other +imaginable success,--when it had been heard in halls of state, and in +the courts of princes and potentates,--after it had made him known all +over the world, even as a voice crying from shore to shore,--it finally +persuaded his countrymen to select him for the Presidency. Before this +time,--indeed, as soon as he began to grow celebrated,--his admirers had +found out the resemblance between him and the Great Stone Face; and so +much were they struck by it, that throughout the country this +distinguished gentleman was known by the name of Old Stony Phiz. The +phrase was considered as giving a highly favorable aspect to his +political prospects; for, as is likewise the case with the Popedom, +nobody ever becomes President without taking a name other than his own.</p> +<p>While his friends were doing their best to make him President, Old +Stony Phiz, as he was called, set out on a visit to the valley where he +was born. Of course, he had no other object than to shake hands with his +fellow citizens, and neither thought nor cared about any effect which +his progress through the country might have upon the election. +Magnificent preparations were made to receive the illustrious statesman; +a cavalcade of horsemen set forth to meet him at the boundary line of +the State, and all the people left their business and gathered along the +wayside to see him pass. Among these was Ernest. Though more than once +disappointed, as we have seen, he had such a hopeful and confiding +nature, that he was always ready to believe in whatever seemed beautiful +and good. He kept his heart continually open, and thus was sure to catch +the blessing from on high when it should come. So now again, as +buoyantly as ever, he went forth to behold the likeness of the Great +Stone Face. The cavalcade came prancing along the road, with a great +clattering of hoofs and a mighty cloud of dust, which rose up so dense +and high that the visage of the mountain-side was completely hidden from +Ernest's eyes. All the great men of the neighborhood were there on +horseback; militia officers, in uniform; the member of Congress; the +sheriff of the county; the editors of newspapers; and many a farmer, +too, had mounted his patient steed, with his Sunday coat upon his back. +It really was a very brilliant spectacle, especially as there were +numerous banners flaunting over the cavalcade, on some of which were +gorgeous portraits of the illustrious statesman and the Great Stone +Face, smiling familiarly at one another, like two brothers. If the +pictures were to be trusted, the mutual resemblance, it must be +confessed, was marvelous. We must not forget to mention that there was a +band of music, which made the echoes of the mountains ring and +reverberate with the loud triumph of its strains; so that airy and +soul-thrilling melodies broke out among all the heights and hollows, as +if every nook of his native valley had found a voice, to welcome the +distinguished guest. But the grandest effect was when the far-off +mountain precipice flung back the music; for then the Great Stone Face +itself seemed to be swelling the triumphant chorus, in acknowledgment +that, at length, the man of prophecy was come.</p> +<p>All this while the people were throwing up their hats and shouting +with enthusiasm so contagious that the heart of Ernest kindled up, and +he likewise threw up his hat, and shouted, as loudly as the loudest, +"Huzza for the great man! Huzza for Old Stony Phiz!" But as yet he had +not seen him.</p> +<p>"Here he is, now!" cried those who stood near Ernest. "There! There! +Look at Old Stony Phiz and then at the Old Man of the Mountain, and see +if they are not as like as two twin-brothers!"</p> +<p>In the midst of all this gallant array came an open barouche, drawn +by four white horses; and in the barouche, with his massive head +uncovered, sat the illustrious statesman, Old Stony Phiz himself.</p> +<p>"Confess it," said one of Ernest's neighbors to him, "the Great +Stone Face has met its match at last!"</p> +<p>Now, it must be owned that, at his first glimpse of the countenance +which was bowing and smiling from the barouche, Ernest did fancy that +there was a resemblance between it and the old familiar face upon the +mountain-side. The brow, with its massive depth and loftiness, and all +the other features, indeed, were boldly and strongly hewn, as if in +emulation of a more than heroic, of a Titanic model. But the sublimity +and stateliness, the grand expression of a divine sympathy, that +illuminated the mountain visage and etherealized its ponderous granite +substance into spirit, might here be sought in vain. Something had been +originally left out, or had departed. And therefore the marvelously +gifted statesman had always a weary gloom in the deep caverns of his +eyes, as of a child that has outgrown its playthings or a man of mighty +faculties and little aims, whose life, with all its high performances, +was vague and empty, because no high purpose had endowed it with reality.</p> +<p>Still, Ernest's neighbor was thrusting his elbow into his side, and +pressing him for an answer.</p> +<p>"Confess! confess! Is not he the very picture of your Old Man of the +Mountain?"</p> +<p>"No!" said Ernest, bluntly, "I see little or no likeness."</p> +<p>"Then so much the worse for the Great Stone Face!" answered his +neighbor; and again he set up a shout for Old Stony Phiz.</p> +<p>But Ernest turned away, melancholy, and almost despondent: for this +was the saddest of his disappointments, to behold a man who might have +fulfilled the prophecy, and had not willed to do so. Meantime, the +cavalcade, the banners, the music, and the barouches swept past him, +with the vociferous crowd in the rear, leaving the dust to settle down, +and the Great Stone Face to be revealed again, with the grandeur that it +had worn for untold centuries.</p> +<p>"Lo, here I am, Ernest!" the benign lips seemed to say. "I have +waited longer than thou, and am not yet weary. Fear not; the man will +come."</p> +<p>The years hurried onward, treading in their haste on one another's +heels. And now they began to bring white hairs, and scatter them over +the head of Ernest; they made reverend wrinkles across his forehead, and +furrows in his cheeks. He was an aged man. But not in vain had he grown +old: more than the white hairs on his head were the sage thoughts in his +mind; his wrinkles and furrows were inscriptions that Time had graved, +and in which he had written legends of wisdom that had been tested by +the tenor of a life. And Ernest had ceased to be obscure. Unsought for, +undesired, had come the fame which so many seek, and made him known in +the great world, beyond the limits of the valley in which he had dwelt +so quietly. College professors, and even the active men of cities, came +from far to see and converse with Ernest; for the report had gone abroad +that this simple husbandman had ideas unlike those of other men, not +gained from books, but of a higher tone,--a tranquil and familiar +majesty, as if he had been talking with the angels as his daily friends. +Whether it were sage, statesman, or philanthropist, Ernest received +these visitors with the gentle sincerity that had characterized him from +boyhood, and spoke freely with them of whatever came uppermost, or lay +deepest in his heart or their own. While they talked together, his face +would kindle, unawares, and shine upon them, as with a mild evening +light. Pensive with the fulness of such discourse, his guests took leave +and went their way; and passing up the valley, paused to look at the +Great Stone Face, imagining that they had seen its likeness in a human +countenance, but could not remember where.</p> +<p>While Ernest had been growing up and growing old, a bountiful +Providence had granted a new poet to this earth. He, likewise, was a +native of the valley, but had spent the greater part of his life at a +distance from that romantic region, pouring out his sweet music amid the +bustle and din of cities. Often, however, did the mountains which had +been familiar to him in his childhood lift their snowy peaks into the +clear atmosphere of his poetry. Neither was the Great Stone Face +forgotten, for the poet had celebrated it in an ode, which was grand +enough to have been uttered by its own majestic lips. This man of +genius, we may say, had come down from heaven with wonderful endowments. +If he sang of a mountain, the eyes of all mankind beheld a mightier +grandeur reposing on its breast, or soaring to its summit, than had +before been seen there. If his theme were a lovely lake, a celestial +smile had now been thrown over it, to gleam forever on its surface. If +it were the vast old sea, even the deep immensity of its dread bosom +seemed to swell the higher, as if moved by the emotions of the song. +Thus the world assumed another and a better aspect from the hour that +the poet blessed it with his happy eyes. The Creator had bestowed him, +as the last best touch to his own handiwork. Creation was not finished +till the poet came to interpret, and so complete it.</p> +<p>The effect was no less high and beautiful, when his human brethren +were the subject of his verse. The man or woman, sordid with the common +dust of life, who crossed his daily path, and the little child who +played in it, were glorified if he beheld them in his mood of poetic +faith. He showed the golden links of the great chain that intertwined +them with an angelic kindred; he brought out the hidden traits of a +celestial birth that made them worthy of such kin. Some, indeed, there +were, who thought to show the soundness of their judgment by affirming +that all the beauty and dignity of the natural world existed only in the +poet's fancy. Let such men speak for themselves, who undoubtedly appear +to have been spawned forth by Nature with a contemptuous bitterness; she +having plastered them up out of her refuse stuff, after all the swine +were made. As respects all things else, the poet's ideal was the truest +truth.</p> +<p>The songs of this poet found their way to Ernest. He read them after +his customary toil, seated on the bench before his cottage-door, where +for such a length of time he had filled his repose with thought, by +gazing at the Great Stone Face. And now as he read stanzas that caused +the soul to thrill within him, he lifted his eyes to the vast +countenance beaming on him so benignantly.</p> +<p>"O majestic friend," he murmured, addressing the Great Stone Face, +"is not this man worthy to resemble thee?"</p> +<p>The Face seemed to smile, but answered not a word.</p> +<p>Now it happened that the poet, though he dwelt so far away, had not +only heard of Ernest, but had meditated much upon his character, until +he deemed nothing so desirable as to meet this man, whose untaught +wisdom walked hand in hand with the noble simplicity of his life. One +summer morning, therefore, he took passage by the railroad, and, in the +decline of the afternoon, alighted from the cars at no great distance +from Ernest's cottage. The great hotel, which had formerly been the +palace of Mr. Gathergold, was close at hand, but the poet, with his +carpetbag on his arm, inquired at once where Ernest dwelt, and was +resolved to be accepted as his guest.</p> +<p>Approaching the door, he there found the good old man, holding a +volume in his hand, which alternately he read, and then, with a finger +between the leaves, looked lovingly at the Great Stone Face.</p> +<p>"Good evening," said the poet. "Can you give a traveler a night's +lodging?"</p> +<p>"Willingly," answered Ernest; and then he added, smiling, "Methinks +I never saw the Great Stone Face look so hospitably at a stranger."</p> +<p>The poet sat down on the bench beside him, and he and Ernest talked +together. Often had the poet held intercourse with the wittiest and the +wisest, but never before with a man like Ernest, whose thoughts and +feelings gushed up with such a natural freedom, and who made great +truths so familiar by his simple utterance of them. Angels, as had been +so often said, seemed to have wrought with him at his labor in the +fields; angels seemed to have sat with him by the fireside; and, +dwelling with angels as friend with friends, he had imbibed the +sublimity of their ideas, and imbued it with the sweet and lowly charm +of household words. So thought the poet. And Ernest, on the other hand, +was moved and agitated by the living images which the poet flung out of +his mind, and which peopled all the air about the cottage-door with +shapes of beauty, both gay and pensive. The sympathies of these two men +instructed them with a profounder sense than either could have attained +alone. Their minds accorded into one strain, and made delightful music +which neither of them could have claimed as all his own, nor +distinguished his own share from the other's. They led one another, as +it were, into a high pavilion of their thoughts, so remote, and hitherto +so dim, that they had never entered it before, and so beautiful that +they desired to be there always.</p> +<p>As Ernest listened to the poet, he imagined that the Great Stone +Face was bending forward to listen too. He gazed earnestly into the +poet's glowing eyes.</p> +<p>"Who are you, my strangely gifted guest?" he said. The poet laid his +finger on the volume that Ernest had been reading.</p> +<p>"You have read these poems," said he. "You know me, then,--for I +wrote them."</p> +<p>Again, and still more earnestly than before, Ernest examined the +poet's features; then turned towards the Great Stone Face; then back, +with an uncertain aspect, to his guest. But his countenance fell; he +shook his head, and sighed.</p> +<p>"Wherefore are you sad?" inquired the poet.</p> +<p>"Because," replied Ernest, "all through life I have awaited the +fulfilment of a prophecy; and, when I read these poems, I hoped that it +might be fulfilled in you."</p> +<p>"You hoped," answered the poet, faintly smiling, "to find in me the +likeness of the Great Stone Face. And you are disappointed, as formerly +with Mr. Gathergold, and Old Blood-and-Thunder, and Old Stony Phiz. Yes, +Ernest, it is my doom. You must add my name to the illustrious three, +and record another failure of your hopes. For--in shame and sadness do I +speak it, Ernest--I am not worthy to be typified by yonder benign and +majestic image."</p> +<p>"And why?" asked Ernest. He pointed to the volume. "Are not those +thoughts divine?"</p> +<p>"They have a strain of the Divinity," replied the poet. "You can +hear in them the far-off echo of a heavenly song. But my life, dear +Ernest, has not corresponded with my thought. I have had grand dreams, +but they have been only dreams, because I have lived--and that, too, by +my own choice--among poor and mean realities. Sometimes even--shall I +dare to say it?--I lack faith in the grandeur, the beauty, and the +goodness, which my own works are said to have made more evident in +nature and in human life. Why, then, pure seeker of the good and true, +shouldst thou hope to find me, in yonder image of the divine?"</p> +<p>The poet spoke sadly, and his eyes were dim with tears. So, +likewise, were those of Ernest.</p> +<p>At the hour of sunset, as had long been his frequent custom, Ernest +was to discourse to an assemblage of the neighboring inhabitants in the +open air. He and the poet, arm in arm, still talking together as they +went along, proceeded to the spot. It was a small nook among the hills, +with a gray precipice behind, the stern front of which was relieved by +the pleasant foliage of many creeping plants that made a tapestry for +the naked rock, by hanging their festoons from all its rugged angles. At +a small elevation above the ground, set in a rich framework of verdure, +there appeared a niche, spacious enough to admit a human figure, with +freedom for such gestures as spontaneously accompany earnest thought and +genuine emotion. Into this natural pulpit Ernest ascended, and threw a +look of familiar kindness around upon his audience. They stood, or sat, +or reclined upon the grass, as seemed good to each, with the departing +sunshine falling obliquely over them, and mingling its subdued +cheerfulness with the solemnity of a grove of ancient trees, beneath and +amid the boughs of which the golden rays were constrained to pass. In +another direction was seen the Great Stone Face, with the same cheer, +combined with the same solemnity, in its benignant aspect.</p> +<p>Ernest began to speak, giving to the people of what was in his heart +and mind. His words had power, because they accorded with his thoughts; +and his thoughts had reality and depth, because they harmonized with the +life which he had always lived. It was not mere breath that this +preacher uttered; they were the words of life, because a life of good +deeds and holy love was melted into them. Pearls, pure and rich, had +been dissolved into this precious draught. The poet, as he listened, +felt that the being and character of Ernest were a nobler strain of +poetry than he had ever written. His eyes glistening with tears, he +gazed reverentially at the venerable man, and said within himself that +never was there an aspect so worthy of a prophet and a sage as that +mild, sweet, thoughtful countenance, with the glory of white hair +diffused about it. At a distance, but distinctly to be seen, high up in +the golden light of the setting sun, appeared the Great Stone Face, with +hoary mists around it, like the white hairs around the brow of Ernest. +Its look of grand beneficence seemed to embrace the world.</p> +<p>At that moment, in sympathy with a thought which he was about to +utter, the face of Ernest assumed a grandeur of expression, so imbued +with benevolence, that the poet, by an irresistible impulse, threw his +arms aloft, and shouted,--</p> +<p>"Behold! Behold! Ernest is himself the likeness of the Great Stone +Face!"</p> +<p>Then all the people looked, and saw that what the deep-sighted poet +said was true. The prophecy was fulfilled. But Ernest, having finished +what he had to say, took the poet's arm, and walked slowly homeward, +still hoping that some wiser and better man than himself would by and by +appear, bearing a resemblance to the GREAT STONE FACE.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What part of the description of the Great Stone Face do you like the +best?</p> +<p>What influence had this Face upon the valley? Upon the clouds? Upon +the sunshine?</p> +<p>Show how each of the four characters failed to realize the ideal.</p> +<p>What purpose do you think Hawthorne had in creating these characters?</p> +<p>Why did so many people think that each of these men was the image of +the Great Stone Face?</p> +<p>Why did not Ernest think so?</p> +<p>What were the characteristics of the ideal? What words name them?</p> +<p>What does the Great Stone Face symbolize?</p> +<p>What words tell you the source of Ernest's power?</p> +<p>What lines tell you of his humility?</p> +<p>Summarize his characteristics.</p> +<p>What pictures do you find in the selection?</p> +<p>Point out sentences that contain examples of alliteration.</p> +<p>Find a humorous sentence.</p> +<p>Who were the Titans?</p> +<p>Who was Midas?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "infusing its tenderness into the sunshine"<br> + "transform himself into an angel of beneficence"<br> + "the mountain visage had found its human +counterpart"<br> + "a kind of illuminated fog"<br> + "the prophecy was fulfilled"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="MY_VISIT_TO_NIAGARA"></a>MY +VISIT TO NIAGARA</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE</small></p> +<p>Never did a pilgrim approach Niagara with deeper enthusiasm than +mine. I had lingered away from it, and wandered to other scenes, because +my treasury of anticipated enjoyments, comprising all the wonders of the +world, had nothing else so magnificent, and I was loath to exchange the +pleasures of hope for those of memory so soon. At length the day came. +The stage-coach, with a Frenchman and myself on the back seat, had +already left Lewiston, and in less than an hour would set us down in +Manchester. I began to listen for the roar of the cataract, and trembled +with a sensation like dread, as the moment drew nigh, when its voice of +ages must roll, for the first time, on my ear. The French gentleman +stretched himself from the window, and expressed loud admiration, while, +by a sudden impulse, I threw myself back and closed my eyes. When the +scene shut in, I was glad to think, that for me the whole burst of +Niagara was yet in futurity. We rolled on, and entered the village of +Manchester, bordering on the falls.</p> +<p>I am quite ashamed of myself here. Not that I ran like a madman to +the falls, and plunged into the thickest of the spray,--never stopping +to breathe, till breathing was impossible; not that I committed this, or +any other suitable extravagance. On the contrary, I alighted with +perfect decency and composure, gave my cloak to the black waiter, +pointed out my baggage, and inquired, not the nearest way to the +cataract, but about the dinner-hour. The interval was spent in arranging +my dress. Within the last fifteen minutes, my mind had grown strangely +benumbed, and my spirits apathetic, with a slight depression, not +decided enough to be termed sadness. My enthusiasm was in a deathlike +slumber. Without aspiring to immortality, as he did, I could have +imitated that English traveller, who turned back from the point where he +first heard the thunder of Niagara, after crossing the ocean to behold +it. Many a Western trader, by the by, has performed a similar act of +heroism with more heroic simplicity, deeming it no such wonderful feat +to dine at the hotel and resume his route to Buffalo or Lewiston, while +the cataract was roaring unseen.</p> +<p>Such has often been my apathy, when objects, long sought, and +earnestly desired, were placed within my reach. After dinner--at which +an unwonted and perverse epicurism detained me longer than usual--I +lighted a cigar and paced the piazza, minutely attentive to the aspect +and business of a very ordinary village. Finally, with reluctant step, +and the feeling of an intruder, I walked towards Goat Island. At the +toll-house, there were farther excuses for delaying the inevitable +moment. My signature was required in a huge ledger, containing similar +records innumerable, many of which I read. The skin of a great sturgeon, +and other fishes, beasts, and reptiles; a collection of minerals, such +as lie in heaps near the falls; some Indian moccasins, and other +trifles, made of deer-skin and embroidered with beads; several +newspapers, from Montreal, New York, and Boston,--all attracted me in +turn. Out of a number of twisted sticks, the manufacture of a Tuscarora +Indian, I selected one of curled maple, curiously convoluted, and +adorned with the carved images of a snake and a fish. Using this as my +pilgrim's staff, I crossed the bridge. Above and below me were the +rapids, a river of impetuous snow, with here and there a dark rock amid +its whiteness, resisting all the physical fury, as any cold spirit did +the moral influences of the scene. On reaching Goat Island, which +separates the two great segments of the falls, I chose the right-hand +path, and followed it to the edge of the American cascade. There, while +the falling sheet was yet invisible, I saw the vapor that never +vanishes, and the Eternal Rainbow of Niagara.</p> +<p>It was an afternoon of glorious sunshine, without a cloud, save +those of the cataracts. I gained an insulated rock, and beheld a broad +sheet of brilliant and unbroken foam, not shooting in a curbed line from +the top of the precipice, but falling, headlong down from height to +depth. A narrow stream diverged from the main branch, and hurried over +the crag by a channel of its own, leaving a little pine-clad island and +a streak of precipice between itself and the larger sheet. Below arose +the mist, on which was painted a dazzling sunbow with two concentric +shadows,--one, almost as perfect as the original brightness; and the +other, drawn faintly round the broken edge of the cloud.</p> +<p>Still I had not half seen Niagara. Following the verge of the +island, the path led me to the Horseshoe, where the real, broad St. +Lawrence, rushing along on a level with its banks, pours its whole +breadth over a concave line of precipice, and thence pursues its course +between lofty crags towards Ontario. A sort of bridge, two or three feet +wide, stretches out along the edge of the descending sheet, and hangs +upon the rising mist, as if that were the foundation of the frail +structure. Here I stationed myself in the blast of wind, which the +rushing river bore along with it. The bridge was tremulous beneath me, +and marked the tremor of the solid earth. I looked along the whitening +rapids, and endeavored to distinguish a mass of water far above the +falls, to follow it to their verge, and go down with it, in fancy, to +the abyss of clouds and storm. Casting my eyes across the river, and +every side, I took in the whole scene at a glance, and tried to +comprehend it in one vast idea. After an hour thus spent, I left the +bridge, and by a staircase, winding almost interminably round a post, +descended to the base of the precipice. From that point, my path lay +over slippery stones, and among great fragments of the cliff, to the +edge of the cataract, where the wind at once enveloped me in spray, and +perhaps dashed the rainbow round me. Were my long desires fulfilled? And +had I seen Niagara?</p> +<p>Oh that I had never heard of Niagara till I beheld it! Blessed were +the wanderers of old, who heard its deep roar, sounding through the +woods, as the summons to an unknown wonder, and approached its awful +brink, in all the freshness of native feeling. Had its own mysterious +voice been the first to warn me of its existence, then, indeed, I might +have knelt down and worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted with a +vision of foam and fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down +out of the sky,--a scene, in short, which nature had too much good taste +and calm simplicity to realize. My mind had struggled to adapt these +false conceptions to the reality, and finding the effort vain, a +wretched sense of disappointment weighed me down. I climbed the +precipice, and threw myself on the earth, feeling that I was unworthy to +look at the Great Falls, and careless about beholding them again.</p> +<p>All that night, as there has been and will be for ages past and to +come, a rushing sound was heard, as if a great tempest were sweeping +through the air. It mingled with my dreams, and made them full of storm +and whirlwind. Whenever I awoke, and heard this dread sound in the air, +and the windows rattling as with a mighty blast, I could not rest again, +till looking forth, I saw how bright the stars were, and that every leaf +in the garden was motionless. Never was a summer night more calm to the +eye, nor a gale of autumn louder to the ear. The rushing sound proceeds +from the rapids, and the rattling of the casements is but an effect of +the vibration of the whole house, shaken by the jar of the cataract. The +noise of the rapids draws the attention from the true voice of Niagara, +which is a dull, muffled thunder, resounding between the cliffs. I spent +a wakeful hour at midnight, in distinguishing its reverberations, and +rejoiced to find that my former awe and enthusiasm were reviving.</p> +<p>Gradually, and after much contemplation, I came to know, by my own +feelings, that Niagara is indeed a wonder of the world, and not the less +wonderful, because time and thought must be employed in comprehending +it. Casting aside all preconceived notions, and preparation to be +dire-struck or delighted, the beholder must stand beside it in the +simplicity of his heart, suffering the mighty scene to work its own +impression. Night after night, I dreamed of it, and was gladdened every +morning by the consciousness of a growing capacity to enjoy it. Yet I +will not pretend to the all-absorbing enthusiasm of some more fortunate +spectators, nor deny that very trifling causes would draw my eyes and +thoughts from the cataract.</p> +<p>The last day that I was to spend at Niagara, before my departure for +the Far West, I sat upon the Table Rock. This celebrated station did not +now, as of old, project fifty feet beyond the line of the precipice, but +was shattered by the fall of an immense fragment, which lay distant on +the shore below. Still, on the utmost verge of the rock, with my feet +hanging over it, I felt as if suspended in the open air. Never before +had my mind been in such perfect unison with the scene. There were +intervals, when I was conscious of nothing but the great river, lolling +calmly into the abyss, rather descending than precipitating itself, and +acquiring tenfold majesty from its unhurried motion. It came like the +march of Destiny. It was not taken by surprise, but seemed to have +anticipated, in all its course through the broad lakes, that it must +pour their collected waters down this height. The perfect foam of the +river, after its descent, and the ever-varying shapes of mist, rising +up, to become clouds in the sky, would be the very picture of confusion, +were it merely transient, like the rage of a tempest. But when the +beholder has stood awhile, and perceives no lull in the storm, and +considers that the vapor and the foam are as everlasting as the rocks +which produce them, all this turmoil assumes a sort of calmness. It +soothes, while it awes the mind.</p> +<p>Leaning over the cliff, I saw the guide conducting two adventurers +behind the falls. It was pleasant, from that high seat in the sunshine, +to observe them struggling against the eternal storm of the lower +regions, with heads bent down, now faltering, now pressing forward, and +finally swallowed up in their victory. After their disappearance, a +blast rushed out with an old hat, which it had swept from one of their +heads. The rock, to which they were directing their unseen course, is +marked, at a fearful distance on the exterior of the sheet, by a jet of +foam. The attempt to reach it appears both poetical and perilous to a +looker-on, but may be accomplished without much more difficulty or +hazard than in stemming a violent northeaster. In a few moments, forth +came the children of the mist. Dripping and breathless, they crept along +the base of the cliff, ascended to the guide's cottage, and received, I +presume, a certificate of their achievement, with three verses of +sublime poetry on the back.</p> +<p>My contemplations were often interrupted by strangers who came down +from Forsyth's to take their first view of the falls. A short, ruddy, +middle-aged gentleman, fresh from Old England, peeped over the rock, and +evinced his approbation by a broad grin. His spouse, a very robust lady, +afforded a sweet example of maternal solicitude, being so intent on the +safety of her little boy that she did not even glance at Niagara. As for +the child,--he gave himself wholly to the enjoyment of a stick of candy. +Another traveller, a native American, and no rare character among us, +produced a volume of Captain Hall's tour, and labored earnestly to +adjust Niagara to the captain's description, departing, at last, without +one new idea or sensation of his own. The next comer was provided, not +with a printed book, but with a blank sheet of foolscap, from top to +bottom of which, by means of an ever-pointed pencil, the cataract was +made to thunder. In a little talk which we had together, he awarded his +approbation to the general view, but censured the position of Goat +Island, observing that it should have been thrown farther to the right, +so as to widen the American falls, and contract those of the Horseshoe. +Next appeared two traders of Michigan, who declared, that, upon the +whole, the sight was worth looking at; there certainly was an immense +water-power here; but that, after all, they would go twice as far to see +the noble stone-works of Lockport, where the Grand Canal is locked down +a descent of sixty feet. They were succeeded by a young fellow, in a +homespun cotton dress, with a staff in his hand, and a pack over his +shoulders. He advanced close to the edge of the rock, where his +attention, at first wavering among the different components of the +scene, finally became fixed in the angle of the Horseshoe falls, which +is, indeed the central point of interest. His whole soul seemed to go +forth and be transported thither, till the staff slipped from his +relaxed grasp, and falling down--down--down--struck upon the fragment of +the Table Rock.</p> +<p>In this manner I spent some hours, watching the varied impression, +made by the cataract, on those who disturbed me, and returning to +unwearied contemplation, when left alone. At length my time came to +depart. There is a grassy footpath through the woods, along the summit +of the bank, to a point whence a causeway, hewn in the side of the +precipice, goes winding down to the Ferry, about half a mile below the +Table Rock. The sun was near setting, when I emerged from the shadow of +the trees, and began the descent. The indirectness of my downward road +continually changed the point of view, and showed me, in rich and +repeated succession, now, the whitening rapids and majestic leap of the +main river, which appeared more deeply massive as the light departed; +now, the lovelier picture, yet still sublime, of Goat Island, with its +rocks and grove, and the lesser falls, tumbling over the right bank of +the St. Lawrence, like a tributary stream; now, the long vista of the +river, as it eddied and whirled between the cliffs, to pass through +Ontario toward the sea, and everywhere to be wondered at, for this one +unrivalled scene. The golden sunshine tinged the sheet of the American +cascade, and painted on its heaving spray the broken semi-circle of a +rainbow, heaven's own beauty crowning earth's sublimity. My steps were +slow, and I paused long at every turn of the descent, as one lingers and +pauses who discerns a brighter and brightening excellence in what he +must soon behold no more. The solitude of the old wilderness now reigned +over the whole vicinity of the falls. My enjoyment became the more +rapturous, because no poet shared it, nor wretch devoid of poetry +profaned it; but the spot so famous through the world was all my own!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Why was Hawthorne's first impression of Niagara a disappointment?</p> +<p>How did Hawthorne come to know that Niagara is a wonder of the world?</p> +<p>What feelings did Niagara produce in Hawthorne?</p> +<p>What effect on the reader did Hawthorne seek in this story?</p> +<p>What does Hawthorne say is necessary in order to appreciate nature?</p> +<p>What relation has Niagara to the geography of the country, its +animal and vegetable life, its trade and industry?</p> +<p>What is the effect on one's feelings when he "considers that the +vapor and the foam are as everlasting as the rocks which produce them"?</p> +<p>Niagara <i>grew</i> on Hawthorne. Justify this.</p> +<p>Note the comments of other observers based upon their interpretation +of Niagara.</p> +<p>Do you think one who sees nothing in Niagara except a mass of rock +and water, vapor and sunshine, could appreciate its beauty, grandeur, +and sublimity?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "insulated"<br> + "rapturous"<br> + "abyss of clouds"<br> + "eddied and whirled"<br> + "epicurism"<br> + "convoluted"<br> + "voice of ages"<br> + "mysterious voice"<br> + "unrivaled scene"<br> + "Eternal Rainbow"<br> + "majestic leap"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="EDGAR_ALLAN_POE"></a>EDGAR +ALLAN POE</span></p> +<p>So irregular was the life of Edgar Allan Poe and so strong were the +prejudices of his critics that not only his character and habits of +life, but even the simplest facts of his biography, are surrounded with +mystery and are subjects of doubt and dispute.</p> +<p>By everything, but the accident of birth, Poe belongs to the South. +His father was from Baltimore and his mother was of English birth. They +were both members of a theatrical company playing in Boston at the time +of Poe's birth, January 19, 1809. At the age of three he was left an +orphan by the death of his mother. A wealthy Scotchman of Virginia, Mr. +John Allan, adopted him and brought him up in luxury--a much spoiled +child, everywhere petted for his beauty and precocity.</p> +<p>He was sent to school in a suburb of London and upon his return to +America entered the University of Virginia, a proud, reserved, and +self-willed youth. Here he led an irregular life, so that Mr. Allan was +forced to withdraw him from school and gave him work in his office. The +routine of office work was very distasteful to Poe and he ran away to +Boston, where he published his first volume of poems. Here he enlisted +in the army, but when Mr. Allan heard of his whereabouts he secured his +discharge and obtained an appointment for him, as a cadet, at West +Point. The severe discipline of that school proved irksome to his +restless nature and after a few months he brought upon himself his +dismissal. At the age of twenty-two he found himself adrift with nothing +further to expect from Mr. Allan.</p> +<p>Literature presented itself as his most natural vocation. He had +written poetry from the pure love of it, but now actual poverty drove +him to the more remunerative prose writing. He engaged in journalistic +work in Baltimore, living with his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, and her daughter, +Virginia. Two years later he married Virginia Clemm, a mere child; but +Poe, whose reverence for women was his noblest trait, loved her and +cared for her through poverty and ill-health, until her death eleven +years later, a short time before his own. His life was a melancholy one, +a fierce struggle and final defeat. In 1849, on his way to New York from +Richmond, chance brought him and election day together in the city of +Baltimore. He was found in an election booth, delirious, and died a few +days later.</p> +<p>Poe was a keen critic of the literary men of his day, but he applied +the same standards to himself. He was constantly re-writing and +polishing what he had written. Poe's greatness lay in his imaginative, +work--his tales and his poems. The tales may be said to constitute a +distinct addition to the world's literature. From time immemorial, there +have been tales in prose and in verse, tales legendary, romantic, and +humorous, but never any quite like Poe's.</p> +<p>The appeal of his poetry is to the sentiment of beauty--the one +appeal, which according to his theory is the final justification of any +poem. Language is made to yield its utmost of melody. "The Raven" was +first published in January, 1845, and immediately became and remains one +of the most widely known of English poems. It can be mentioned anywhere, +without apology or explanation and there is scarcely a lover of +melodious verse who cannot repeat many of its lines and stanzas.</p> +<p>Every reader of Poe's prose will be impressed with the charm of the +language itself, the fascination of the vivid scenes and the magic touch +like the Necromancer's wand, which removes these scenes into the +uncharted realm of the supernatural and invests them with a kind of +sacred awe.</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="A_DESCENT_INTO_THE_MAELSTRÖM"></a>A DESCENT INTO THE +MAELSTRÖM</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDGAR ALLAN POE</small></p> +<p>We had now reached the summit of the loftiest crag. For some minutes +the old man seemed too much exhausted to speak.</p> +<p>"Not long ago," said he at length, "and I could have guided you on +this route as well as the youngest of my sons; but, about three years +past, there happened to me an event such as never happened before to +mortal man--or at least such as no man ever survived to tell of--and the +six hours of deadly terror which I then endured have broken me up body +and soul. You suppose me a <i>very</i> old man--but I am not. It took +less than a single day to change these hairs from a jetty black to +white, to weaken my limbs, and to unstring my nerves, so that I tremble +at the least exertion, and am frightened at a shadow. Do you know I can +scarcely look over this little cliff without getting giddy?"</p> +<p>The "little cliff," upon whose edge he had so carelessly thrown +himself down to rest that the weightier portion of his body hung over +it, while he was only kept from falling by the tenure of his elbow on +its extreme and slippery edge--this "little cliff" arose, a sheer +unobstructed precipice of black shining rock, some fifteen or sixteen +hundred feet from the world of crags beneath us. Nothing would have +tempted me to within half a dozen yards of its brink. In truth so deeply +was I excited by the perilous position of my companion, that I fell at +full length upon the ground, clung to the shrubs around me, and dared +not even glance upward at the sky--while I struggled in vain to divest +myself of the idea that the very foundations of the mountain were in +danger from the fury of the winds. It was long before I could reason +myself into sufficient courage to sit up and look out into the distance.</p> +<p>"You must get over these fancies," said the guide, "for I have +brought you here that you might have the best possible view of the scene +of that event I mentioned--and to tell you the whole story with the spot +just under your eye.</p> +<p>"We are now," he continued, in that particularizing manner which +distinguished him--"we are now close upon the Norwegian coast--in the +sixty-eighth degree of latitude--in the great province of Nordland--and +in the dreary district of Lofoden. The mountain upon whose top we sit is +Helseggen, the Cloudy. Now raise yourself up a little higher--hold on to +the grass if you feel giddy--so--and look out, beyond the belt of vapor +beneath us, into the sea."</p> +<p>I looked dizzily, and beheld a wide expanse of ocean, whose waters +wore so inky a hue as to bring at once to my mind the Nubian +geographer's account of the <i>Mare Tenebrarum</i>. A panorama more +deplorably desolate no human imagination can conceive. To the right and +left, as far as the eye could reach, there lay outstretched, like +ramparts of the world, lines of horridly black and beetling cliff, whose +character of gloom was but the more forcibly illustrated by the surf +which reared high up against it its white and ghastly crest, howling and +shrieking forever. Just opposite the promontory upon whose apex we were +placed, and at a distance of some five or six miles out at sea, there +was visible a small, bleak-looking island; or, more properly, its +position was discernible through the wilderness of surge in which it was +enveloped. About two miles nearer the land arose another of smaller +size, hideously craggy and barren, and encompassed at various intervals +by a cluster of dark rocks.</p> +<p>The appearance of the ocean, in the space between the more distant +island and the shore, had something very unusual about it. Although, at +the time, so strong a gale was blowing landward that a brig in the +remote offing lay to under a double-reefed trysail, and constantly +plunged her whole hull out of sight, still there was here nothing like a +regular swell, but only a short, quick, angry cross-dashing of water in +every direction--as well in the teeth of the wind as otherwise. Of foam +there was little except in the immediate vicinity of the rocks.</p> +<p>"The island in the distance," resumed the old man, "is called by the +Norwegians Vurrgh. The one midway is Moskoe. That a mile to the +northward is Ambaaren. Yonder are Iflesen, Hoeyholm, Kieldholm, Suarven, +and Buckholm. Farther off--between Moskoe and Vurrgh--are Otterholm, +Flimen, Sandflesen, and Skarholm. These are the true names of the +places--but why it has been thought necessary to name them at all is +more than either you or I can understand. Do you hear anything? Do you +see any change in the water?"</p> +<p>We had now been about ten minutes upon the top of Helseggen, to +which we had ascended from the interior of Lofoden, so that we had +caught no glimpse of the sea until it had burst upon us from the summit. +As the old man spoke, I became aware of a loud and gradually increasing +sound, like the moaning of a vast herd of buffaloes upon an American +prairie; and at the same moment I perceived that what seamen term the <i>chopping</i> +character of the ocean beneath us, was rapidly changing into a current +which set to the eastward. Even while I gazed, this current acquired a +monstrous velocity. Each moment added to its speed--to its headlong +impetuosity. In five minutes the whole sea, as far as Vurrgh, was lashed +into ungovernable fury; but it was between Moskoe and the coast that the +main uproar held its sway. Here the vast bed of the waters, seamed and +scarred into a thousand conflicting channels, burst suddenly into +frenzied convulsion--heaving, boiling, hissing--gyrating in gigantic and +innumerable vortices, and all whirling and plunging on to the eastward +with a rapidity which water never elsewhere assumes, except in +precipitous descents.</p> +<p>In a few minutes more there came over the scene another radical +alteration. The general surface grew somewhat more smooth, and the +whirlpools, one by one, disappeared, while prodigious streaks of foam +became apparent where none had been seen before. These streaks, at +length, spreading out to a great distance, and entering into +combination, took unto themselves the gyratory motion of the subsided +vortices, and seemed to form the germ of another more vast. +Suddenly--very suddenly--this assumed a distinct and definite existence, +in a circle of more than a mile in diameter. The edge of the whirl was +represented by a broad belt of gleaming spray; but no particle of this +slipped into the mouth of the terrific funnel, whose interior, as far as +the eye could fathom it, was a smooth, shining and jet-black wall of +water, inclined to the horizon at an angle of some forty-five degrees, +speeding dizzily round and round with a swaying and sweltering motion, +and sending forth to the winds an appalling voice, half shriek, half +roar, such as not even the mighty cataract of Niagara ever lifts up in +its agony to Heaven.</p> +<p>The mountain trembled to its very base, and the rock rocked. I threw +myself upon my face, and clung to the scant herbage in an excess of +nervous agitation.</p> +<p>"This," said I at length, to the old man--"this <i>can</i> be +nothing else than the great whirlpool of the Maelström."</p> +<p>"So it is sometimes termed," said he. "We Norwegians call it the +Moskoe-ström, from the island of Moskoe in the midway."</p> +<p>The ordinary accounts of this vortex had by no means prepared me for +what I saw. That of Jonas Ramus, which, is perhaps the most +circumstantial of any, cannot impart the faintest conception either of +the magnificence or of the horror of the scene--or of the wild +bewildering sense of <i>the novel</i> which confounds the beholder. I am +not sure from what point of view the writer in question surveyed it, nor +at what time; but it could neither have been from the summit of +Helseggen, nor during a storm. There are some passages of his +description, nevertheless, which may be quoted for their details, +although their effect is exceedingly feeble in conveying an impression +of the spectacle.</p> +<p>"Between Lofoden and Moskoe," he says, "the depth of the water is +between thirty-six and forty fathoms; but on the other side, toward Ver +(Vurrgh) this depth decreases so as not to afford a convenient passage +for a vessel, without the risk of splitting on the rocks, which happens +even in the calmest weather. When it is flood, the stream runs up the +country between Lofoden and Moskoe with a boisterous rapidity; but the +roar of its impetuous ebb to the sea is scarce equaled by the loudest +and most dreadful cataracts, the noise being heard several leagues off; +and the vortices or pits are of such an extent and depth that if a ship +comes within its attraction it is inevitably absorbed and carried down +to the bottom, and there beat to pieces against the rocks; and when the +water relaxes, the fragments thereof are thrown up again. But these +intervals of tranquillity are only at the turn of the ebb and flood, and +in calm weather, and last but a quarter of an hour, its violence +gradually returning. When the stream is most boisterous, and its fury +heightened by a storm, it is dangerous to come within a Norway mile of +it. Boats, yachts, and ships have been carried away by not guarding +against it before they were within its reach. It likewise happens +frequently that whales come too near the stream, and are overpowered by +its violence; and then it is impossible to describe their howling and +bellowings in their fruitless struggles to disengage themselves. A bear +once, attempting to swim from Lofoden to Moskoe, was caught by the +stream and borne down, while he roared terribly, so as to be heard on +shore. Large stocks of firs and pine trees, after being absorbed by the +current, rise again broken and torn to such a degree as if bristles grew +upon them. This plainly shows the bottom to consist of craggy rocks, +among which they are whirled to and fro. This stream is regulated by the +flux and reflux of the sea--it being constantly high and low water every +six hours. In the year 1645, early in the morning of Sexagesima Sunday, +it raged with such noise and impetuosity that the very stones of the +houses on the coast fell to the ground."</p> +<p>In regard to the depth of the water, I could not see how this could +have been ascertained at all in the immediate vicinity of the vortex. +The "forty fathoms" must have reference only to portions of the channel +close upon the shore either of Moskoe or Lofoden. The depth in the +center of the Moskoe-ström must be immeasurably greater; and no +better proof of this fact is necessary than can be obtained from even +the sidelong glance into the abyss of the whirl which may be had from +the highest crag of Helseggen. Looking down from this pinnacle upon the +howling Phlegethon below, I could not help smiling at the simplicity +with which the honest Jonas Ramus records, as a matter difficult of +belief, the anecdotes of the whales and the bears; for it appeared to +me, in fact, a self-evident thing that the largest ships of the line in +existence, coming within the influence of that deadly attraction, could +resist it as little as a feather the hurricane, and must disappear +bodily and at once.</p> +<p>The attempts to account for the phenomenon--some of which, I +remember, seemed to me sufficiently plausible in perusal--now wore a +very different and unsatisfactory aspect. The idea generally received is +that this, as well as three smaller vortices among the Feroe Islands, +"have no other cause than the collision of waves rising and falling, at +flux and reflux, against a ridge of rocks and shelves, which confines +the water so that it precipitates itself like a cataract; and thus the +higher the flood rises, the deeper must the fall be, and the natural +result of all is a whirlpool or vortex, the prodigious suction of which +is sufficiently known by lesser experiments."--These are the words of +the "Encyclopaedia Brittanica." Kircher and others imagine that in the +center of the channel of the Maelström is an abyss penetrating the +globe, and issuing in some very remote part--the Gulf of Bothnia being +somewhat decidedly named in one instance. This opinion, idle in itself, +was the one to which, as I gazed, my imagination most readily assented; +and, mentioning it to the guide, I was rather surprised to hear him say +that, although it was the view almost universally entertained of the +subject by the Norwegians, it nevertheless was not his own. As to the +former notion he confessed his inability to comprehend it; and here I +agreed with him--for, however conclusive on paper, it becomes altogether +unintelligible, and even absurd, amid the thunder of the abyss.</p> +<p>"You have had a good look at the whirl now," said the old man, "and +if you will creep round this crag, so as to get in its lee, and deaden +the roar of the water, I will tell you a story that will convince you I +ought to know something of the Moskoe-ström."</p> +<p>I placed myself as desired, and he proceeded.</p> +<p>"Myself and my two brothers once owned a schooner-rigged smack of +about seventy tons burden, with which we were in the habit of fishing +among the islands beyond Moskoe, nearly to Vurrgh. In all violent eddies +at sea there is good fishing, at proper opportunities, if one has only +the courage to attempt it; but among the whole of the Lofoden coastmen +we three were the only ones who made a regular business of going out to +the islands, as I tell you. The usual grounds are a great way lower down +to the southward. There fish can be got at all hours, without much risk, +and therefore these places are preferred. The choice spots over here +among the rocks, however, not only yield the finest variety, but in far +greater abundance; so that we often got in a single day what the more +timid of the craft could not scrape together in a week. In fact, we made +it a matter of desperate speculation--the risk of life standing instead +of labor, and courage answering for capital.</p> +<p>"We kept the smack in a cove about five miles higher up the coast +than this; and it was our practice, in fine weather, to take advantage +of the fifteen minutes' slack to push across the main channel of the +Moskoe-ström, far above the pool, and then drop down upon anchorage +somewhere near Otterholm, or Sandflesen, where the eddies are not so +violent as elsewhere. Here we used to remain until nearly time for +slack-water again, when we weighed and made for home. We never set out +upon this expedition without a steady side wind for going and +coming--one that we felt sure would not fail us before our return--and +we seldom made a miscalculation upon this point. Twice, during six +years, we were forced to stay all night at anchor on account of a dead +calm, which is a rare thing indeed just about here; and once we had to +remain on the grounds nearly a week, starving to death, owing to a gale +which blew up shortly after our arrival, and made the channel too +boisterous to be thought of. Upon this occasion we should have been +driven out to sea in spite of everything (for the whirlpools threw us +round and round so violently that, at length, we fouled our anchor and +dragged it) if it had not been that we drifted into one of the +innumerable cross currents--here to-day and gone to-morrow--which drove +us under the lee of Flimen, where, by good luck, we brought up.</p> +<p>"I could not tell you the twentieth part of the difficulties we +encountered 'on the ground'--it is a bad spot to be in, even in good +weather--but we made shift always to run the gauntlet of the +Moskoe-ström itself without accident; although at times my heart +has been in my mouth when we happened to be a minute or so behind or +before the slack. The wind sometimes was not as strong as we thought it +at starting, and then we made rather less way than we could wish, while +the current rendered the smack unmanageable. My eldest brother had a son +eighteen years old, and I had two stout boys of my own. These would have +been of great assistance at such times, in using the sweeps, as well as +afterward in fishing--but, somehow, although we ran the risk ourselves, +we had not the heart to let the young ones get into the danger--for, +after all said and done, it <i>was</i> a horrible danger, and that is +the truth.</p> +<p>"It is now within a few days of three years since what I am going to +tell you occurred. It was on the tenth of July, 18--, a day which the +people of this part of the world will never forget--for it was one in +which blew the most terrible hurricane that ever came out of the +heavens. And yet all the morning, and indeed until late in the +afternoon, there was a gentle and steady breeze from the southwest, +while the sun shone brightly, so that the oldest seaman among us could +not have foreseen what was to follow.</p> +<p>"The three of us--my two brothers and myself--had crossed over to +the islands about two o'clock P.M., and soon nearly loaded the smack +with fine fish, which, we all remarked, were more plenty that day than +we had ever known them. It was just seven, <i>by my watch</i>, when we +weighed and started for home, so as to make the worst of the Ström +at slack water, which we knew would be at eight.</p> +<p>"We set out with a fresh wind on our starboard quarter, and for some +time spanked along at a great rate, never dreaming of danger, for indeed +we saw not the slightest reason to apprehend it. All at once we were +taken aback by a breeze from over Helseggen. This was most +unusual--something that had never happened to us before--and I began to +feel a little uneasy, without exactly knowing why. We put the boat on +the wind, but could make no headway at all for the eddies, and I was +upon the point of proposing to return to the anchorage, when, looking +astern, we saw the whole horizon covered with a singular copper-colored +cloud that rose with the most amazing velocity.</p> +<p>"In the meantime the breeze that had headed us off fell away, and we +were dead becalmed, drifting about in every direction. This state of +things, however, did not last long enough to give us time to think about +it. In less than a minute the storm was upon us--in less than two the +sky was entirely overcast--and what with this and the driving spray, it +became suddenly so dark that we could not see each other in the smack.</p> +<p>"Such a hurricane as then blew it is folly to attempt describing. +The oldest seaman in Norway never experienced anything like it. We had +let our sails go by the run before it cleverly took us; but, at the +first puff, both our masts went by the board as if they had been sawed +off--the mainmast taking with it my youngest brother, who had lashed +himself to it for safety.</p> +<p>"Our boat was the lightest feather of a thing that ever sat upon +water. It had a complete flush deck, with only a small hatch near the +bow, and this hatch it had always been our custom to batten down when +about to cross the Ström, by way of precaution against the chopping +seas. But for this circumstance we should have foundered at once--for we +lay entirely buried for some moments. How my elder brother escaped +destruction I cannot say, for I never had an opportunity of +ascertaining. For my part, as soon as I had let the foresail run, I +threw myself flat on deck, with my feet against the narrow gunwale of +the bow, and with my hands grasping a ringbolt near the foot of the +foremast. It was mere instinct that prompted me to do this--which was +undoubtedly the very best thing I could have done--for I was too much +flurried to think.</p> +<p>"For some moments we were completely deluged, as I say, and all this +time I held my breath, and clung to the bolt. When I could stand it no +longer I raised myself upon my knees, still keeping hold with my hands, +and thus got my head clear. Presently our little boat gave herself a +shake, just as a dog does in coming out of the water, and thus rid +herself, in some measure, of the seas. I was now trying to get the +better of the stupor that had come over me, and to collect my senses so +as to see what was to be done, when I felt somebody grasp my arm. It was +my elder brother, and my heart leaped for joy, for I had made sure that +he was overboard--but the next moment all this joy was turned into +horror--for he put his mouth close to my ear, and screamed out the word '<i>Moskoe-ström!</i>'</p> +<p>"No one will ever know what my feelings were at that moment. I shook +from head to foot as if I had had the most violent fit of the ague. I +knew what he meant by that one word well enough--I knew what he wished +to make me understand. With the wind that now drove us on, we were bound +for the whirl of the Ström, and nothing could save us!</p> +<p>"You perceive that in crossing the Ström <i>channel</i>, we +always went a long way up above the whirl, even in the calmest weather, +and then had to wait and watch carefully for the slack--but now we were +driving right upon the pool itself, and in such a hurricane as this! 'To +be sure,' I thought, 'we shall get there just about the slack--there is +some little hope in that'--but in the next moment I cursed myself for +being so great a fool as to dream of hope at all. I knew very well that +we were doomed, had we been ten times a ninety-gun ship.</p> +<p>"By this time the first fury of the tempest had spent itself, or +perhaps we did not feel it so much as we scudded before it; but at all +events the seas, which at first had been kept down by the wind, and lay +flat and frothing, now got up into absolute mountains. A singular +change, too, had come over the heavens. Around in every direction it was +still as black as pitch, but nearly overhead there burst out, all at +once, a circular rift of clear sky--as clear as I ever saw--and of a +deep bright blue--and through it there blazed forth the full moon with a +luster that I never before knew her to wear. She lit up everything about +us with the greatest distinctness--but, oh God, what a scene it was to +light up!</p> +<p>"I now made one or two attempts to speak to my brother--but, in some +manner which I could not understand, the din had so increased that I +could not make him hear a single word, although I screamed at the top of +my voice in his ear. Presently he shook his head, looking as pale as +death, and held up one of his fingers, as if to say <i>listen!</i></p> +<p>"At first I could not make out what he meant--but soon a hideous +thought flashed upon me. I dragged my watch from its fob. It was not +going. I glanced at its face by the moonlight, and then burst into tears +as I flung it far away into the ocean. <i>It had run down at seven +o'clock! We were behind the time of the slack, and the whirl of the +Ström was in full fury!</i></p> +<p>"When a boat is well built, properly trimmed, and not deep laden, +the waves in a strong gale, when she is going large, seem always to slip +from beneath her--which appears very strange to a landsman--and this is +what is called <i>riding</i>, in sea phrase.</p> +<p>"Well, so far we had ridden the swells very cleverly; but presently +a gigantic sea happened to take us right under the counter, and bore us +with it as it rose--up--up--as if into the sky. I would not have +believed that any wave could rise so high. And then down we came with a +sweep, a slide, and a plunge, that made me feel sick and dizzy, as if I +was falling from some lofty mountain-top in a dream. But while we were +up I had thrown a quick glance around--and that one glance was +all-sufficient. I saw our exact position in an instant. The +Moskoe-ström whirlpool was about a quarter of a mile dead +ahead--but no more like the everyday Moskoe-ström, than the whirl +as you now see it is like a mill-race. If I had not known where we were, +and what we had to expect, I should not have recognized the place at +all. As it was, I involuntarily closed my eyes in horror. The lids +clenched themselves together as if in a spasm.</p> +<p>"It could not have been more than two minutes afterwards until we +suddenly felt the waves subside, and were enveloped in foam. The boat +made a sharp half turn to larboard, and then shot off in its new +direction like a thunderbolt. At the same moment the roaring noise of +the water was completely drowned in a kind of shrill shriek--such a +sound as you might imagine given out by the waterpipes of many thousand +steam vessels, letting off their steam all together. We were now in the +belt of surf that always surrounds the whirl; and I thought, of course, +that another moment would plunge us into the abyss--down which we could +only see indistinctly on account of the amazing velocity with which we +were borne along. The boat did not seem to sink into the water at all, +but to skim like an air-bubble upon the surface of the surge. Her +starboard side was next the whirl, and on the larboard arose the world +of ocean we had left. It stood like a huge writhing wall between us and +the horizon.</p> +<p>"It may appear strange, but now, when we were in the very jaws of +the gulf, I felt more composed than when we were only approaching it. +Having made up my mind to hope no more, I got rid of a great deal of +that terror which unmanned me at first. I suppose it was despair that +strung my nerves.</p> +<p>"It may look like boasting--but what I tell you is truth--I began to +reflect how magnificent a thing it was to die in such a manner, and how +foolish it was in me to think of so paltry a consideration as my own +individual life, in view of so wonderful a manifestation of God's power. +I do believe that I blushed with shame when this idea crossed my mind. +After a little while I became possessed with the keenest curiosity about +the whirl itself. I positively felt a <i>wish</i> to explore its depths, +even at the sacrifice I was going to make; and my principal grief was +that I should never be able to tell my old companions on shore about the +mysteries I should see. These, no doubt, were singular fancies to occupy +a man's mind in such extremity--and I have often thought since, that the +revolutions of the boat around the pool might have rendered me a little +light-headed.</p> +<p>"There was another circumstance which tended to restore my +self-possession; and this was the cessation of the wind, which could not +reach us in our present situation--for, as you saw yourself, the belt of +surf is considerably lower than the general bed of the ocean, and this +latter now towered above us, a high, black, mountainous ridge. If you +have never been at sea in a heavy gale, you can form no idea of the +confusion of mind occasioned by the wind and spray together. They blind, +deafen, and strangle you, and take away all power of action or +reflection. But we were now, in a great measure, rid of these +annoyances--just as death-condemned felons in prisons are allowed petty +indulgences, forbidden them while their doom is yet uncertain.</p> +<p>"How often we made the circuit of the belt it is impossible to say. +We careered round and round for perhaps an hour, flying rather than +floating, getting gradually more and more into the middle of the surge, +and then nearer and nearer to its horrible inner edge. All this time I +had never let go of the ringbolt. My brother was at the stern, holding +on to a small empty water-cask which had been securely lashed under the +coop of the counter, and was the only thing on deck that had not been +swept overboard when the gale first took us. As we approached the brink +of the pit he let go his hold upon this, and made for the ring, from +which, in the agony of his terror, he endeavored to force my hands, as +it was not large enough to afford us both a secure grasp. I never felt +deeper grief than when I saw him attempt this act--although I knew he +was a madman when he did it--a raving maniac through sheer fright. I did +not care, however, to contest the point with him. I knew it could make +no difference whether either of us held on at all; so I let him have the +bolt, and went astern to the cask. This there was no great difficulty in +doing; for the smack flew round steadily enough, and upon an even +keel--only swaying to and fro, with the immense sweeps and swelters of +the whirl. Scarcely had I secured myself in my new position, when we +gave a wild lurch to starboard, and rushed headlong into the abyss. I +muttered a hurried prayer to God, and thought all was over.</p> +<p>"As I felt the sickening sweep of the descent, I had instinctively +tightened my hold upon the barrel, and closed my eyes. For some seconds +I dared not open them--while I expected instant destruction, and +wondered that I was not already in my death-struggles with the water. +But moment after moment elapsed. I still lived. The sense of falling had +ceased; and the motion of the vessel seemed much as it had been before, +while in the belt of foam, with the exception that she now lay more +along. I took courage and looked once again upon the scene.</p> +<p>"Never shall I forget the sensations of awe, horror, and admiration +with which I gazed about me. The boat appeared to be hanging, as if by +magic, midway down, upon the interior surface of a funnel vast in +circumference, prodigious in depth, and whose perfectly smooth sides +might have been mistaken for ebony, but for the bewildering rapidity +with which they spun around, and for the gleaming and ghastly radiance +they shot forth, as the rays of the full moon, from that circular rift +amid the clouds which I have already described, streamed in a flood of +golden glory along the black walls, and far away down into the inmost +recesses of the abyss.</p> +<p>"At first I was too much confused to observe anything accurately. +The general burst of terrific grandeur was all that I beheld. When I +recovered myself a little, however, my gaze fell instinctively downward. +In this direction I was able to obtain an unobstructed view, from the +manner in which the smack hung on the inclined surface of the pool. She +was quite upon an even keel--that is to say, her deck lay in a plane +parallel with that of the water--but this latter sloped at an angle of +more than forty-five degrees, so that we seemed to be lying upon our +beam-ends. I could not help observing, nevertheless, that I had scarcely +more difficulty in maintaining my hold and footing in this situation, +than if we had been upon a dead level; and this, I suppose, was owing to +the speed at which we revolved.</p> +<p>"The rays of the moon seemed to search the very bottom of the +profound gulf; but still I could make out nothing distinctly, on account +of a thick mist in which everything there was enveloped, and over which +there hung a magnificent rainbow, like that narrow and tottering bridge +which Mussulmans say is the only pathway between Time and Eternity. This +mist, or spray, was no doubt occasioned by the clashing of the great +walls of the funnel, as they all met together at the bottom--but the +yell that went up to the heavens from out of that mist, I dare not +attempt to describe.</p> +<p>"Our first slide into the abyss itself, from the belt of foam above, +had carried us to a great distance down the slope; but our farther +descent was by no means proportionate. Round and round we swept--not +with any uniform movement, but in dizzying swings and jerks, that sent +us sometimes only a few hundred yards--sometimes nearly the complete +circuit of the whirl. Our progress downward, at each revolution, was +slow, but very perceptible.</p> +<p>"Looking about me upon the wide waste of liquid ebony on which we +were thus borne, I perceived that our boat was not the only object in +the embrace of the whirl. Both above and below us were visible fragments +of vessels, large masses of building timber and trunks of trees, with +many smaller articles, such as pieces of house furniture, broken boxes, +barrels, and staves. I have already described the unnatural curiosity +which had taken the place of my original terrors. It appeared to grow +upon me as I drew nearer and nearer to my dreadful doom. I now began to +watch, with a strange interest, the numerous things that floated in our +company. I <i>must</i> have been delirious--for I even sought <i>amusement</i> +in speculating upon the relative velocities of their several descents +toward the foam below. 'This fir tree,' I found myself at one time +saying, 'will certainly be the next thing that takes the awful plunge +and disappears,'--and then I was disappointed to find that the wreck of +a Dutch merchant ship overtook it and went down before. At length, after +making several guesses of this nature, and being deceived in all--this +fact--the fact of my invariable miscalculation, set me upon a train of +reflection that made my limbs again tremble, and my heart beat heavily +once more.</p> +<p>"It was not a new terror that thus affected me, but the dawn of a +more exciting <i>hope</i>. This hope arose partly from memory, and +partly from present observation. I called to mind the great variety of +buoyant matter that strewed the coast of Lofoden, having been absorbed +and then thrown forth by the Moskoe-ström. By far the greater +number of the articles were shattered in the most extraordinary way--so +chafed and roughened as to have the appearance of being stuck full of +splinters--but then I distinctly recollected that there were <i>some</i> +of them which were not disfigured at all. Now I could not account for +this difference except by supposing that the roughened fragments were +the only ones which had been <i>completely absorbed</i>--that the +others had entered the whirl at so late a period of the tide, or, from +some reason, had descended so slowly after entering, that they did not +reach the bottom before the turn of the flood came, or of the ebb, as +the case might be. I conceived it possible, in either instance, that +they might thus be whirled up again to the level of the ocean, without +undergoing the fate of those which had been drawn in more early or +absorbed more rapidly. I made, also, three important observations. The +first was, that as a general rule, the larger the bodies were, the more +rapid their descent; the second, that, between two masses of equal +extent, the one spherical, and the other of <i>any other shape</i>, the +superiority in speed of descent was with the sphere; the third, that, +between two masses of equal size, the one cylindrical, and the other of +any other shape, the cylinder was absorbed the more slowly. Since my +escape, I have had several conversations on this subject with an old +schoolmaster of the district; and it was from him that I learned the use +of the words 'cylinder' and 'sphere.' He explained to me--although I +have forgotten the explanation--how what I observed was, in fact, the +natural consequence of the forms of the floating fragments, and showed +me how it happened that a cylinder, swimming in a vortex, offered more +resistance to its suction, and was drawn in with greater difficulty, +than an equally bulky body, of any form whatever.</p> +<p>"There was one startling circumstance which went a great way in +enforcing these observations, and rendering me anxious to turn them to +account, and this was that, at every revolution, we passed something +like a barrel, or else the yard or the mast of a vessel, while many of +these things, which had been on our level when I first opened my eyes +upon the wonders of the whirlpool, were now high up above us, and seemed +to have moved but little from their original station.</p> +<p>"I no longer hesitated what to do. I resolved to lash myself +securely to the water-cask upon which I now held, to cut it loose from +the counter, and to throw myself with it into the water. I attracted my +brother's attention by signs, pointed to the floating barrels that came +near us, and did everything in my power to make him understand what I +was about to do. I thought at length that he comprehended my +design--but, whether this was the case or not, he shook his head +despairingly, and refused to move from his station by the ringbolt. It +was impossible to reach him; the emergency admitted of no delay; and so, +with a bitter struggle, I resigned him to his fate, fastened myself to +the cask by means of the lashings which secured it to the counter, and +precipitated myself with it into the sea, without another moment's +hesitation.</p> +<p>"The result was precisely what I had hoped it might be. As it is +myself who now tell you this tale--as you see that I <i>did</i> +escape--and as you are already in possession of the mode in which this +escape was effected, and must therefore anticipate all that I have +farther to say-I will bring my story quickly to conclusion. It might +have been an hour, or thereabout, after my quitting the smack, when, +having descended to a vast distance beneath me, it made three or four +wild gyrations in rapid succession, and, bearing my loved brother with +it, plunged headlong, at once and forever, into the chaos of foam below. +The barrel to which I was attached sunk very little farther than half +the distance between the bottom of the gulf and the spot at which I +leaped overboard, before a great change took place in the character of +the whirlpool. The slope of the sides of the vast funnel became momently +less and less steep. The gyrations of the whirl grew, gradually, less +and less violent. By degrees, the froth and the rainbow disappeared, and +the bottom of the gulf seemed slowly to uprise. The sky was clear, the +winds had gone down, and the full moon was setting radiantly in the +west, when I found myself on the surface of the ocean, in full view of +the shores of Lofoden, and above the spot where the pool of the +Moskoe-ström <i>had been.</i> It was the hour of the slack, but the +sea still heaved in mountainous waves from the effects of the hurricane. +I was borne violently into the channel of the Ström, and in a few +minutes was hurried down the coast into the 'grounds' of the fishermen. +A boat picked me up--exhausted from fatigue--and (now that the danger +was removed) speechless from the memory of its horror. Those who drew me +on board were my old mates and daily companions, but they knew me no +more than they would have known a traveler from the spirit-land. My +hair, which had been raven-black the day before, was as white as you see +it now. They say, too, that the whole expression of my countenance had +changed. I told them my story--they did not believe it. I now tell it to +you--and I can scarcely expect you to put more faith in it than did the +merry fishermen of Lofoden."<br> +<br> +</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</span><br> +<br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Locate the scene of this story on your map.</p> +<p>How does the hero account for his apparent age?</p> +<p>What do you learn from Jonas Ramus's description of the whirlpool?</p> +<p>How does the "Encyclopedia Britannica" account for the vortex?</p> +<p>What was the theory of Kircher?</p> +<p>Briefly relate in your own words the hero's story of his experience +in the Maelström.</p> +<p>What tempted him into the whirlpool?</p> +<p>Account for his miscalculation as to the time of the slack.</p> +<p>What three observations did the hero make?</p> +<p>How did he make his escape?</p> +<p>From this story what do you think of Poe's powers of imagination and +description?</p> +<p>What other authors have you read that have similar powers?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "circumstantial"<br> + "bleak-looking"<br> + "double-reefed"<br> + "gyrating"<br> + "prodigious"<br> + "impetuosity"<br> + "promontory"<br> + "encompassed"<br> + "inevitably"<br> + "deplorably desolate"<br> + "gleaming spray"<br> + "boisterous rapidity"<br> + "fruitless struggles"<br> + "desperate speculation"<br> + "terrific grandeur"<br> + "frenzied convulsions"<br> + "precipitous descents"<br> + "sufficiently plausible"<br> + "belt of foam"<br> + "collision of waves"<br> + "flood of golden glory"<br> + "wild waste of liquid ebony"<br> + "chaos of foam"<br> + "the gyrations of the whirl"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_RAVEN"></a>THE RAVEN</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDGAR ALLAN POE</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Once upon a +midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,<br> + Over many a quaint and curious volume of +forgotten lore,--<br> + While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there +came a tapping,<br> + As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my +chamber door.<br> + "'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my +chamber door:<br> + Only +this and nothing more."</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Ah, distinctly I +remember it was in the bleak December,<br> + And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost +upon the floor.<br> + Eagerly I wished the morrow;--vainly I had +sought to borrow<br> + From my books surcease of sorrow--sorrow for +the lost Lenore,<br> + For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels +name Lenore:<br> + Nameless +here for evermore.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And the silken +sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain<br> + Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic terrors +never felt before;<br> + So that now, to still the beating of my heart, +I stood repeating<br> + "'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my +chamber door,<br> + Some late visitor entreating entrance at my +chamber door:<br> + This +it is and nothing more."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Presently my soul +grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,<br> + "Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your +forgiveness I implore;<br> + But the fact is I was napping, and so gently +you came rapping,<br> + And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my +chamber door,<br> + That I scarce was sure I heard you"--here I +opened wide the door:--<br> + Darkness +there and nothing more.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Deep into that +darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,<br> + Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared +to dream before;<br> + But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness +gave no token,<br> + And the only word there spoken was the +whispered word, "Lenore?"<br> + This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the +word, "Lenore":<br> + Merely +this and nothing more.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Back into the +chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,<br> + Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder +than before.<br> + "Surely," said I, "surely that is something at +my window lattice;<br> + Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this +mystery explore;<br> + Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery +explore:<br> + 'Tis +the wind and nothing more."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Open here I flung +the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,<br> + In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly +days of yore.<br> + Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute +stopped or stayed he;<br> + But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above +my chamber door,<br> + Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my +chamber door:<br> + Perched, +and sat, and nothing more.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then this ebony +bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling<br> + By the grave and stern decorum of the +countenance it wore,--<br> + "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I +said, "art sure no craven,<br> + Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from +the Nightly shore:<br> + Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's +Plutonian shore!"<br> + Quoth +the Raven, "Nevermore."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Much I marveled +this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,<br> + Though its answer little meaning--little +relevancy bore;<br> + For we cannot help agreeing that no living +human being<br> + Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his +chamber door,<br> + Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above +his chamber door,<br> + With +such name as "Nevermore."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But the Raven, +sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only<br> + That one word, as if his soul in that one word +he did outpour,<br> + Nothing further then he uttered, not a feather +then he fluttered,<br> + Till I scarcely more than muttered,--"Other +friends have flown before;<br> + On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes +have flown before."<br> + Then +the bird said, "Nevermore."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Startled at the +stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,<br> + "Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its +only stock and store,<br> + Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful +Disaster<br> + Followed fast and followed faster till his +songs one burden bore:<br> + Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy +burden bore<br> + Of +'Never--nevermore.'"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But the Raven +still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,<br> + Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of +bird and bust and door;<br> + Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself +to linking<br> + Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous +bird of 'yore,<br> + What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and +ominous bird of yore<br> + Meant +in croaking "Nevermore."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> This I sat +engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing<br> + To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my +bosom's core;<br> + This and more I sat divining, with my head at +ease reclining<br> + On the cushion's velvet lining that the +lamp-light gloated o'er,<br> + But whose velvet violet lining with the +lamp-light gloating o'er<br> + She +shall press,' ah, nevermore!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then, methought, +the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer<br> + Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on +the tufted floor.<br> + "Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee by +these angels he hath sent thee<br> + Respite--respite and nepenthe from thy memories +of Lenore!<br> + Quaff, oh, quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget +this lost Lenore!"<br> + Quoth +the Raven, "Nevermore."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Prophet!" said +I, "thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil!<br> + Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed +thee here ashore,<br> + Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land +enchanted<br> + On this home by Horror haunted--tell me truly, +I implore:<br> + Is there, is there balm in Gilead?--tell +me--tell me, I implore!"<br> + Quoth +the Raven, "Nevermore."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Prophet!" said +I, "thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil!<br> + By that Heaven that bends above us, by that God +we both adore,<br> + Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the +distant Aidenn,<br> + It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels +name Lenore:<br> + Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels +name Lenore!"<br> + Quoth +the Raven, "Nevermore."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Be that word our +sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting:<br> + "Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's +Plutonian shore!<br> + Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy +soul hath spoken!<br> + Leave my loneliness unbroken! quit the bust +above my door!<br> + Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy +form from off my door!"<br> + Quoth +the Raven, "Nevermore."</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> And the Raven, +never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting<br> + On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my +chamber door;<br> + And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's +that is dreaming,<br> + And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws +his shadow on the floor:<br> + And my soul from out that shadow that lies +floating on the floor<br> + Shall +be lifted--nevermore!<br> +</div> +<p><br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What is the theme of this poem?</p> +<p>What gives it its musical quality?</p> +<p>Mention parts that you think are especially beautiful.</p> +<p>Find examples of alliteration.</p> +<p>What does the refrain add to this poem?</p> +<p>What is the meaning of "Night's Plutonian shore"?</p> +<p>Of what is the raven a symbol?</p> +<p>Why does the poet call the bust of Pallas "pallid"?</p> +<p>What is the significance of the last stanza?</p> +<p>From this poem, in what would you say Poe's poetry excels?</p> +<p>Which stanza do you like best?</p> +<p>Why?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "ghost"<br> + "surcease"<br> + "entreating"<br> + "obeisance"<br> + "craven"<br> + "ominous"<br> + "censer"<br> + "seraphim"<br> + "nepenthe"<br> + "dying ember"<br> + "fantastic terrors"<br> + "saintly days"<br> + "tufted floor"<br> + "pallid bust"<br> + "radiant maiden"<br> + "dirges of his Hope"<br> + "bird of yore"<br> + "balm in Gilead"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="HENRY_WADSWORTH_LONGFELLOW"></a>HENRY +WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW</span></p> +<p>In "The Courtship of Miles Standish" Longfellow has made us +acquainted with his ancestors, John Alden and Priscilla Mullens, +passengers of the Mayflower. Of such ancestry Henry Wadsworth Longfellow +was born in Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. His birthplace was at +that time a beautiful and busy town, a forest city with miles of sea +beach and a port where merchant vessels from the West Indies exchanged +sugar and rum for the products of the forest and the fisheries of Maine.</p> +<p>We are told that he was a boy "true, high-minded and noble"; +"active, eager, often impatient"; "handsome in appearance" and the +"sunlight of the home." His conduct at school was "very correct and +amiable"--he read much and was always studious and thoughtful. The first +book which fascinated his imagination was Irving's "Sketch-Book." Indeed +there is a resemblance between the gentle Irving and the gentle +Longfellow which is expressed in the prose of one and the poetry of the +other.</p> +<p>Longfellow's education was obtained in Portland and at Bowdoin +College, Brunswick, Maine, where he had for classmates several youths +who afterward became famous, Nathaniel Hawthorne, J. S. C. Abbott, and +Franklin Pierce. Upon Longfellow's graduation, the trustees of the +college, having decided to establish a chair of modern languages, +proposed that this young graduate, of scholarly and literary tastes, +should fit himself for this position. Three years, therefore, he spent +in delightful study and travel in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. +Here was laid the foundation for his scholarship, and, as in Irving on +his first European trip, there was kindled that passion for romantic +lore which followed him through life and which gave color and direction +to much of his work. He mastered the language of each country visited in +a remarkably short time, and many of the choicer poems found in these +languages he has given to us in the English.</p> +<p>After five years at Bowdoin, Longfellow was invited in 1834 to the +chair of modern languages in Harvard College. Again he was given an +opportunity to prepare himself by a year of study abroad. In 1836 he +began his active work at Harvard and took up his residence in the +historic Craigie House, overlooking the Charles River--a house in which +Washington had been quartered for some months when he came to Cambridge +in 1775 to take command of the Continental forces. Longfellow was +thenceforth one of the most prominent members of that group of men +including Sumner, Hawthorne, Agassiz, Lowell, and Holmes, who gave +distinction to the Boston and Cambridge of earlier days.</p> +<p>For twenty years Longfellow filled the professorship of modern +languages at Harvard and was one of the best beloved instructors at the +university. He resigned that he might devote himself to writing and was +succeeded at Harvard by James Russell Lowell.</p> +<p>Though Longfellow wrote in prose and is the author of many shorter +poems, his reputation is mainly based upon his longer poems. Longfellow +was a great admirer of the German poet, Goethe, to whose "Hermann and +Dorothea" we are indebted for much of the form and no doubt some of the +story of Evangeline. The story of Acadie was told first to Hawthorne by +a friend of both authors; but the tale was hardly dark enough to suit +the fancy of Hawthorne, whereas to Longfellow it seemed to have in it +precisely those elements of faith and devotion that make the widest +appeal. In a collection of poems published in 1850 appeared the poem of +Longfellow's highest patriotic reach, the allegory of "The Building of +the Ship." A friend of Lincoln recited this poem to him, and when the +lines of its closing apostrophe to the ship of state were reached, with +tears in his eyes the president said, "It is a great gift to be able to +stir men like that." In his poem, "Hiawatha," Longfellow chose the metre +of the Finnish epic "Kalevala," which is peculiarly suited to the tales +of primitive people. The worthiest and most picturesque traditions of +the American Indian are woven into a connected story whose charm is +greatly heightened by the novel melody of the verse.</p> +<p>In 1861 the happiness of Longfellow's home life was broken by the +death of his wife, who was fatally burned. He turned from this sorrow +and the anxieties of the Civil War to the more mechanical work of +writing tales and making translations. The "Tales of a Wayside Inn" +appeared in 1863, and seven years later he published his translation of +Dante's "Divine Comedy."</p> +<p>On Longfellow's seventy-second birthday the children of Cambridge +presented him with a chair made from the wood of the "Village +Blacksmith's" chestnut tree. He died March 24, 1882, aged seventy-five. +In 1884 a bust of him was placed in the Poets' Corner of Westminster +Abbey--England's gracious tribute to the renown of America's best loved +poet.</p> +<hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="EVANGELINE:_A_TALE_OF_ACADIE"></a>EVANGELINE: A TALE OF ACADIE</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW</small></p> +<p>PRELUDE</p> +<p><br> + This is the forest primeval. The murmuring +pines and the hemlocks,<br> + Bearded with moss, and in garments green, +indistinct in the twilight,<br> + Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and +prophetic,<br> + Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest +on their bosoms.<br> + Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced +neighboring ocean<br> + Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the +wail of the forest.</p> +<p> This is the forest primeval; but where are +the hearts that beneath it<br> + Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the +woodland the voice of the huntsman?<br> + Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of +Acadian farmers,--<br> + Men whose lives glided on like rivers that +water the woodlands,<br> + Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an +image of heaven?<br> + Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers +forever departed!<br> + Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty +blasts of October<br> + Seize them, and whirl them aloft, and sprinkle +them far o'er the ocean.<br> + Naught but tradition remains of the beautiful +village of Grand-Pré.</p> +<p> Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and +endures, and is patient,<br> + Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of +woman's devotion,<br> + List to the mournful tradition still sung by +the pines of the forest;<br> + List to a Tale of Love in Acadie, home of the +happy.</p> +<p><br> +PART THE FIRST.</p> +<p>I.</p> +<p> In the Acadian land, on the shores of the +Basin of Minas,<br> + Distant, secluded, still, the little village of +Grand-Pré<br> + Lay in the fruitful valley. Vast meadows +stretched to the eastward,<br> + Giving the village its name, and pasture to +flocks without number.<br> + Dikes, that the hands of the farmers had raised +with labor incessant,<br> + Shut out the turbulent tides; but at stated +seasons the floodgates<br> + Opened and welcomed the sea to wander at will +o'er the meadows.<br> + West and south there were fields of flax, and +orchards and cornfields<br> + Spreading afar and unfenced o'er the plain; and +away to the northward<br> + Blomidon rose, and the forests old, and aloft +on the mountains<br> + Sea-fogs pitched their tents, and mists from +the mighty Atlantic<br> + Looked on the happy valley, but ne'er from +their station descended.<br> + There, in the midst of its farms, reposed the +Acadian village.<br> + Strongly built were the houses, with frames of +oak and of chestnut,<br> + Such as the peasants of Normandy built in the +reign of the Henries.<br> + Thatched were the roofs, with dormer-windows; +and gables projecting<br> + Over the basement below protected and shaded +the doorway.<br> + There in the tranquil evenings of summer, when +brightly the sunset<br> + Lighted the village street, and gilded the +vanes on the chimneys,<br> + Matrons and maidens sat in snow-white caps and +in kirtles<br> + Scarlet and blue and green, with distaffs +spinning the golden<br> + Flax for the gossiping looms, whose noisy +shuttles within doors<br> + Mingled their sound with the whir of the wheels +and the songs of the maidens.<br> + Solemnly down the street came the parish +priest, and the children<br> + Paused in their play to kiss the hand he +extended to bless them.<br> + Reverend walked he among them; and up rose +matrons and maidens,<br> + Hailing his slow approach with words of +affectionate welcome.<br> + Then came the laborers home from the field, and +serenely the sun sank<br> + Down to his rest, and twilight prevailed. Anon +from the belfry<br> + Softly the Angelus sounded, and over the roofs +of the village<br> + Columns of pale blue smoke, like clouds of +incense ascending,<br> + Rose from a hundred hearths, the homes of peace +and contentment.<br> + Thus dwelt together in love these simple +Acadian farmers,--<br> + Dwelt in the love of God and of man. Alike were +they free from<br> + Fear, that reigns with the tyrant, and envy, +the vice of republics.<br> + Neither locks had they to their doors, nor, +bars to their windows;<br> + But their dwellings were open as day and the +hearts of the owners;<br> + There the richest was poor, and the poorest +lived in abundance.</p> +<p> Somewhat apart from the village, and nearer +the Basin of Minas,<br> + Benedict Bellefontaine, the wealthiest farmer +of Grand-Pré,<br> + Dwelt on his goodly acres; and with him, +directing his household,<br> + Gentle Evangeline lived, his child, and the +pride of the village.<br> + Stalworth and stately in form was the man of +seventy winters;<br> + Hearty and hale was he, an oak that is covered +with snow-flakes;<br> + White as the snow were his locks, and his +cheeks as brown as the oak-leaves.<br> + Fair was she to behold, that maiden of +seventeen summers;<br> + Black were her eyes as the berry that grows on +the thorn by the wayside,<br> + Black, yet how softly they gleamed beneath the +brown shade of her tresses!<br> + Sweet was her breath as the breath of kine that +feed in the meadows.<br> + When in the harvest heat she bore to the +reapers at noontide<br> + Flagons of home-brewed ale, ah! fair in sooth +was the maiden.<br> + Fairer was she when, on Sunday morn, while the +bell from its turret<br> + Sprinkled with holy sounds the air, as the +priest with his hyssop<br> + Sprinkles the congregation, and scatters +blessings upon them,<br> + Down the long street she passed, with her +chaplet of beads and her missal,<br> + Wearing her Norman cap and her kirtle of blue, +and the ear-rings<br> + Brought in the olden time from France, and +since, as an heir-loom,<br> + Handed down from mother to child, through long +generations.<br> + But a celestial brightness--a more ethereal +beauty--<br> + Shone on her face and encircled her form, when, +after confession,<br> + Homeward serenely she walked with God's +benediction upon her.<br> + When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing +of exquisite music.</p> +<p> Firmly builded with rafters of oak, the +house of the farmer<br> + Stood on the side of a hill commanding the sea; +and a shady<br> + Sycamore grew by the door, with a woodbine +wreathing around it.<br> + Rudely carved was the porch, with seats +beneath; and a footpath<br> + Led through an orchard wide, and disappeared in +the meadow.<br> + Under the sycamore-tree were hives overhung by +a penthouse,<br> + Such as the traveler sees in regions remote by +the roadside,<br> + Built o'er a box for the poor, or the blessed +image of Mary.<br> + Farther down, on the slope of the hill, was the +well with its moss-grown<br> + Bucket, fastened with iron, and near it a +trough for the horses.<br> + Shielding the house from storms, on the north, +were the barns and the farm-yard;<br> + There stood the broad-wheeled wains and the +antique ploughs and the harrows;<br> + There were the folds for the sheep; and there, +in his feathered seraglio,<br> + Strutted the lordly turkey, and crowed the +cock, with the self-same<br> + Voice that in ages of old had startled the +penitent Peter.<br> + Bursting with hay were the barns, themselves a +village. In each one<br> + Far o'er the gable projected a roof of thatch; +and a staircase,<br> + Under the sheltering eaves, led up to the +odorous cornloft.<br> + There too the dove-cot stood, with its meek and +innocent inmates<br> + Murmuring ever of love; while above in the +variant breezes<br> + Numberless noisy weathercocks rattled and sang +of mutation.</p> +<p> Thus, at peace with God and the world, the +farmer of Grand-Pré<br> + Lived on his sunny farm, and Evangeline +governed his house-hold.<br> + Many a youth, as he knelt in the church and +opened his missal,<br> + Fixed his eyes upon her as the saint of his +deepest devotion;<br> + Happy was he who might touch her hand or the +hem of her garment!<br> + Many a suitor came to her door, by the darkness +befriended,<br> + And, as he knocked and waited to hear the sound +of her foot-steps,<br> + Knew not which beat the louder, his heart or +the knocker of iron;<br> + Or, at the joyous feast of the Patron Saint of +the village,<br> + Bolder grew, and pressed her hand in the dance +as he whispered<br> + Hurried words of love, that seemed a part of +the music.<br> + But among all who came young Gabriel only was +welcome;<br> + Gabriel Lajeunesse, the son of Basil the +blacksmith,<br> + Who was a mighty man in the village, and +honored of all men;<br> + For since the birth of time, throughout all +ages and nations,<br> + Has the craft of the smith been held in repute +by the people.<br> + Basil was Benedict's friend--Their children +from earliest child-hood<br> + Grew up together as brother and sister; and +Father Felician,<br> + Priest and pedagogue both in the village, had +taught them their letters<br> + Out of the selfsame book, with the hymns of the +church and the plain-song.<br> + But when the hymn was sung, and the daily +lesson completed,<br> + Swiftly they hurried away to the forge of Basil +the blacksmith.<br> + There at the door they stood, with wondering +eyes to behold him<br> + Take in his leathern lap the hoof of the horse +as a plaything,<br> + Nailing the shoe in its place; while near him +the tire of the cartwheel<br> + Lay like a fiery snake, coiled round in a +circle of cinders.<br> + Oft on autumnal eyes, when without in the +gathering darkness<br> + Bursting with light seemed the smithy, through +every cranny and crevice,<br> + Warm by the forge within they watched the +laboring bellows,<br> + And as its panting ceased, and the sparks +expired in the ashes,<br> + Merrily laughed, and said they were nuns going +into the chapel.<br> + Oft on sledges in winter, as swift as the swoop +of the eagle,<br> + Down the hillside bounding, they glided away +o'er the meadow.<br> + Oft in the barns they climbed to the populous +nests on the rafters,<br> + Seeking with eager eyes that wondrous stone, +which the swallow<br> + Brings from the shore of the sea to restore the +sight of its fledglings;<br> + Lucky was he who found that stone in the nest +of the swallow!<br> + Thus passed a few swift years, and they no +longer were children.<br> + He was a valiant youth, and his face, like the +face of the morning,<br> + Gladdened the earth with its light, and ripened +thought into action.<br> + She was a woman now, with the heart and hopes +of a woman.<br> + "Sunshine of Saint Eulalie" was she called; for +that was the sunshine<br> + Which, as the farmers believed, would load +their orchards with apples;<br> + She too would bring to her husband's house +delight and abundance,<br> + Filling it full of love and the ruddy faces of +children.</p> +<p><br> +II.</p> +<p><br> + Now had the season returned, when the nights grow colder +and longer,<br> + And the retreating sun the sign of the Scorpion +enters.<br> + Birds of passage sailed through the leaden air, +from the icebound,<br> + Desolate northern bays to the shores of +tropical islands.<br> + Harvests were gathered in; and wild with the +winds of September<br> + Wrestled the trees of the forest, as Jacob of +old with the angel.<br> + All the signs foretold a winter long and +inclement.<br> + Bees, with prophetic instinct of want, had +hoarded their honey<br> + Till the hives overflowed; and the Indian +hunters asserted<br> + Cold would the winter be, for thick was the fur +of the foxes.<br> + Such was the advent of autumn. Then followed +that beautiful season,<br> + Called by the pious Acadian peasants the Summer +of All-Saints!<br> + Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical +light; and the landscape<br> + Lay as if new-created in all the freshness of +childhood.<br> + Peace seemed to reign upon earth, and the +restless heart of the ocean<br> + Was for a moment consoled. All sounds were in +harmony blended.<br> + Voices of children at play, the crowing of +cocks in the farmyards,<br> + Whir of wings in the drowsy air, and the cooing +of pigeons,<br> + All were subdued and low as the murmurs of +love, and the great sun<br> + Looked with the eye of love through the golden +vapors around him;<br> + While arrayed in its robes of russet and +scarlet and yellow,<br> + Bright with the sheen of the dew, each +glittering tree of the forest<br> + Flashed like the plane-tree the Persian adorned +with mantles and jewels.</p> +<p> Now recommenced the reign of rest and +affection and stillness.<br> + Day with its burden and heat had departed, and +twilight descending<br> + Brought back the evening star to the sky, and +the herds to the homestead.<br> + Pawing the ground they came, and resting their +necks on each other,<br> + And with their nostrils distended inhaling the +freshness of evening.<br> + Foremost, bearing the bell, Evangeline's +beautiful heifer,<br> + Proud of her snow-white hide, and the ribbon +that waved from her collar,<br> + Quietly paced and slow, as if conscious of +human affection.<br> + Then came the shepherd back with his bleating +flocks from the seaside,<br> + Where was their favorite pasture. Behind them +followed the watch-dog,<br> + Patient, full of importance, and grand in the +pride of his instinct,<br> + Walking from side to side with a lordly air, +and superbly<br> + Waving his bushy tail, and urging forward the +stragglers;<br> + Regent of flocks was he when the shepherd +slept; their protector,<br> + When from the forest at night, through the +starry silence, the wolves howled.<br> + Late, with the rising moon, returned the wains +from the marshes,<br> + Laden with briny hay, that filled the air with +its odor.<br> + Cheerily neighed the steeds, with dew on their +manes and their fetlocks,<br> + While aloft on their shoulders the wooden and +ponderous saddles,<br> + Painted with brilliant dyes, and adorned with +tassels of crimson<br> + Nodded in bright array, like hollyhocks heavy +with blossoms.<br> + Patiently stood the cows meanwhile, and yielded +their udders<br> + Unto the milkmaid's hand; whilst loud and in +regular cadence<br> + Into the sounding pails the foaming streamlets +descended.<br> + Lowing of cattle and peals of laughter were +heard in the farmyard,<br> + Echoed back by the barns. Anon they sank into +stillness;<br> + Heavily closed, with a jarring sound, the +valves of the barn doors,<br> + Battled the wooden bars, and all for a season +was silent.</p> +<p> In-doors, warm by the wide-mouthed +fireplace, idly the farmer<br> + Sat in his elbow-chair, and watched how the +flames and the smoke-wreaths<br> + Struggled together like foes in a burning city. +Behind him,<br> + Nodding and mocking along the wall with +gestures fantastic,<br> + Darted his own huge shadow, and vanished away +into darkness.<br> + Faces, clumsily carved in oak, on the back of +his arm-chair<br> + Laughed in the nickering light, and the pewter +plates on the dresser<br> + Caught and reflected the flame, as shields of +armies the sunshine.<br> + Fragments of song the old man sang, and carols +of Christmas,<br> + Such as at home, in the olden time, his fathers +before him<br> + Sang in their Norman orchards and bright +Burgundian vineyards.<br> + Close at her father's side was the gentle +Evangeline seated,<br> + Spinning flax for the loom that stood in the +corner behind her.<br> + Silent awhile were its treadles, at rest was +its diligent shuttle,<br> + While the monotonous drone of the wheel, like +the drone of a bagpipe,<br> + Followed the old man's song, and united the +fragments together.<br> + As in a church, when the chant of the choir at +intervals ceases,<br> + Footfalls are heard in the aisles, or words of +the priest at the altar,<br> + So, in each pause of the song, with measured +motion the clock clicked.</p> +<p> Thus as they sat, there were footsteps +heard, and, suddenly lifted,<br> + Sounded the wooden latch, and the door swung +back on its hinges.<br> + Benedict knew by the hob-nailed shoes it was +Basil the blacksmith,<br> + And by her beating heart Evangeline knew who +was with him.<br> + "Welcome!" the farmer exclaimed, as their +footsteps paused on the threshold,<br> + "Welcome, Basil, my friend! Come, take thy +place on the settle<br> + Close by the chimney-side, which is always +empty without thee;<br> + Take from the shelf overhead thy pipe and the +box of tobacco;<br> + Never so much thyself art thou as when, through +the curling<br> + Smoke of the pipe or the forge, thy friendly +and jovial face gleams<br> + Round and red as the harvest moon through the +mist of the marshes."<br> + Then, with a smile of content, thus answered +Basil the blacksmith,<br> + Taking with easy air the accustomed seat by the +fireside:--<br> + "Benedict Bellefontaine, thou hast ever thy +jest and thy ballad!<br> + Ever in cheerfullest mood art thou, when others +are filled with<br> + Gloomy forebodings of ill, and see only ruin +before them.<br> + Happy art thou, as if every day thou hadst +packed up a horseshoe."<br> + Pausing a moment, to take the pipe that +Evangeline brought him,<br> + And with a coal from the embers had lighted, he +slowly continued:--<br> + "Four days now are passed since the English +ships at their anchors<br> + Ride in the Gaspereau's mouth, with their +cannon pointed against us.<br> + What their design may be is unknown; but all +are commanded<br> + On the morrow to meet in the church, where his +Majesty's mandate<br> + Will be proclaimed as law in the land. Alas! in +the meantime<br> + Many surmises of evil alarm the hearts of the +people."<br> + Then made answer the farmer:--"Perhaps some +friendlier purpose<br> + Brings these ships to our shores. +Perhaps the harvests in England<br> + By the untimely rains or untimelier heat have +been blighted,<br> + And from our bursting barns they would feed +their cattle and children."<br> + "Not so thinketh the folk in the village," said +warmly the blacksmith,<br> + Shaking his head as in doubt; then, heaving a +sigh, he continued:--<br> + "Louisburg is not forgotten, nor Beau +Séjour, nor Port Royal.<br> + Many already have fled to the forest, and lurk +on its outskirts,<br> + Waiting with anxious hearts the dubious fate of +tomorrow.<br> + Arms have been taken from us, and warlike +weapons of all kinds;<br> + Nothing is left but the blacksmith's sledge and +the scythe of the mower."<br> + Then with a pleasant smile made answer the +jovial farmer:--<br> + "Safer are we unarmed, in the midst of our +flocks and our cornfields,<br> + Safer within these peaceful dikes besieged by +the ocean,<br> + Than were our fathers in forts, besieged by the +enemy's cannon.<br> + Fear no evil, my friend, and tonight may no +shadow of sorrow<br> + Fall on this house and hearth; for this is the +night of the contract.<br> + Built are the house and the barn. The merry +lads of the village<br> + Strongly have built them and well; and, +breaking the glebe round about them,<br> + Filled the barn with hay, and the house with +food for a twelvemonth.<br> + Bené Leblanc will be here anon, with his +papers and inkhorn.<br> + Shall we not then be glad, and rejoice in the +joy of our children?"<br> + As apart by the window she stood, with her hand +in her lover's,<br> + Blushing Evangeline heard the words that her +father had spoken,<br> + And, as they died on his lips, the worthy +notary entered.</p> +<p>III</p> +<p> Bent like a laboring oar, that toils in the +surf of the ocean,<br> + Bent, but not broken, by age was the form of +the notary public;<br> + Shocks of yellow hair, like the silken floss of +the maize, hung<br> + Over his shoulders; his forehead was high; and +glasses with horn bows<br> + Sat astride on his nose, with a look of wisdom +supernal.<br> + Father of twenty children was he, and more than +a hundred<br> + Children's children rode on his knee, and heard +his great watch tick.<br> + Four long years in the times of the war had he +languished a captive,<br> + Suffering much in an old French fort as the +friend of the English.<br> + Now, though warier grown, without all guile or +suspicion,<br> + Ripe in wisdom was he, but patient, and simple, +and childlike.<br> + He was beloved by all, and most of all by the +children;<br> + For he told them tales of the Loup-garou in the +forest,<br> + And of the goblin that came in the night to +water the horses,<br> + And of the white Létiche, the ghost of a +child who unchristened<br> + Died, and was doomed to haunt unseen the +chambers of children;<br> + And how on Christmas eve the oxen talked in the +stable,<br> + And how the fever was cured by a spider shut up +in a nutshell,<br> + And of the marvelous powers of four-leaved +clover and horseshoes,<br> + With whatsoever else was writ in the lore of +the village.<br> + Then up rose from his seat by the fireside +Basil the blacksmith,<br> + Knocked from his pipe the ashes, and slowly +extending his right hand,<br> + "Father Leblanc," he exclaimed, "thou hast +heard the talk in the village,<br> + And, perchance, canst tell us some news of +these ships and their errand."<br> + Then with modest demeanor made answer the +notary public,--<br> + "Gossip enough have I heard, in sooth, yet am +never the wiser;<br> + And what their errand may be I know not better +than others.<br> + Yet am I not of those who imagine some evil +intention<br> + Brings them here, for we are at peace; and why +then molest us?"<br> + "God's name!" shouted the hasty and somewhat +irascible blacksmith;<br> + "Must we in all things look for the how, and +the why, and the wherefore?<br> + Daily injustice is done, and might is the right +of the strongest!"<br> + But, without heeding his warmth, continued the +notary public,--<br> + "Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally +justice<br> + Triumphs; and well I remember a story, that +often consoled me,<br> + When as a captive I lay in the old French fort +at Port Royal."<br> + This was the old man's favorite tale, and he +loved to repeat it<br> + When his neighbors complained that any +injustice was done them.<br> + "Once in an ancient city, whose name I no +longer remember,<br> + Raised aloft on a column, a brazen statue of +Justice<br> + Stood in the public square, upholding the +scales in its left hand,<br> + And in its right a sword, as an emblem that +justice presided<br> + Over the laws of the land, and the hearts and +homes of the people.<br> + Even the birds had built their nests in the +scales of the balance,<br> + Having no fear of the sword that flashed in the +sunshine above them.<br> + But in the course of time the laws of the land +were corrupted;<br> + Might took the place of right, and the weak +were oppressed, and the mighty<br> + Ruled with an iron rod. Then it chanced in a +nobleman's palace<br> + That a necklace of pearls was lost, and ere +long a suspicion<br> + Fell on an orphan girl who lived as maid in the +household.<br> + She, after form of trial condemned to die on +the scaffold,<br> + Patiently met her doom at the foot of the +statue of Justice.<br> + As to her Father in heaven her innocent spirit +ascended,<br> + Lo! o'er the city a tempest rose; and the bolts +of the thunder<br> + Smote the statue of bronze, and hurled in wrath +from its left hand<br> + Down on the pavement below the clattering +scales of the balance,<br> + And in the hollow thereof was found the nest of +a magpie,<br> + Into whose clay-built walls the necklace of +pearls was inwoven."<br> + Silenced, but not convinced, when the story was +ended, the blacksmith<br> + Stood like a man who fain would speak, but +findeth no language;<br> + All his thoughts were congealed into lines on +his face, as the vapors<br> + Freeze in fantastic shapes on the window-panes +in the winter.</p> +<p> Then Evangeline lighted the Brazen lamp on +the table,<br> + Filled, till it overflowed, the pewter tankard +with home-brewed<br> + Nut-brown ale, that was famed for its strength +in the village of Grand-Pré;<br> + While from his pocket the notary drew his +papers and inkhorn,<br> + Wrote with a steady hand the date and the age +of the parties,<br> + Naming the dower of the bride in flocks of +sheep and in cattle.<br> + Orderly all things proceeded, and duly and well +were completed,<br> + And the great seal of the law was set like a +sun on the margin.<br> + Then from his leathern pouch the farmer threw +on the table<br> + Three times the old man's fee in solid pieces +of silver;<br> + And the notary rising, and blessing the bride +and the bridegroom,<br> + Lifted aloft the tankard of ale and drank to +their welfare.<br> + Wiping the foam from, his lip, he solemnly +bowed and departed,<br> + While in silence the others sat and mused by +the fireside,<br> + Till Evangeline brought the draught-board out +of its corner.<br> + Soon was the game begun. In friendly contention +the old men<br> + Laughed at each lucky hit, or unsuccessful +manoeuvre,<br> + Laughed when a man was crowned, or a breach was +made in the king-row.<br> + Meanwhile apart, in the twilight gloom of a +window's embrasure,<br> + Sat the lovers and whispered together, +beholding the moon rise<br> + Over the pallid sea and the silvery mist of the +meadows.<br> + Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of +heaven,<br> + Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots +of the angels.</p> +<p> Thus was the evening passed. Anon the bell +from the belfry<br> + Rang out the hour of nine, the village curfew, +and straightway<br> + Rose the guests and departed; and silence +reigned in the household.<br> + Many a farewell word and sweet good-night on +the door-step<br> + Lingered long in Evangeline's heart, and filled +it with gladness.<br> + Carefully then were covered the embers that +glowed on the hearth-stone,<br> + And on the oaken stairs resounded the tread of +the farmer.<br> + Soon with a soundless step the foot of +Evangeline followed.<br> + Up the staircase moved a luminous space in the +darkness,<br> + Lighted less by the lamp than the shining face +of the maiden.<br> + Silent she passed through the hall, and entered +the door of her chamber.<br> + Simple that chamber was, with its curtains of +white, and its clothes-press<br> + Ample and high, on whose spacious shelves were +carefully folded<br> + Linen and woollen stuffs, by the hand of +Evangeline woven.<br> + This was the precious dower she would bring to +her husband in marriage,<br> + Better than flocks and herds, being proofs of +her skill as a house-wife.<br> + Soon she extinguished her lamp, for the mellow +and radiant moonlight<br> + Streamed through the windows, and lighted the +room, till the heart of the maiden<br> + Swelled and obeyed its power, like the +tremulous tides of the ocean.<br> + Ah! she was fair, exceeding fair to behold, as +she stood with<br> + Naked snow-white feet on the gleaming floor of +her chamber!<br> + Little she dreamed that below, among the trees +of the orchard,<br> + Waited her lover and watched for the gleam of +her lamp and her shadow.<br> + Yet were her thoughts of him, and at times a +feeling of sadness<br> + Passed o'er her soul, as the sailing shade of +clouds in the moonlight<br> + Flitted across the floor and darkened the room +for a moment.<br> + And, as she gazed from the window, she saw +serenely the moon pass<br> + Forth from the folds of a cloud, and one star +follow her footsteps,<br> + As out of Abraham's tent young Ishmael wandered +with Hagar.</p> +<p>IV.</p> +<p> Pleasantly rose next morn the sun on the +village of Grand-Pré.<br> + Pleasantly gleamed in the soft, sweet air the +Basin of Minas,<br> + Where the ships, with their wavering shadows, +were riding at anchor.<br> + Life had long been astir in the village, and +clamorous labor<br> + Knocked with its hundred hands at the golden +gates of the morning.<br> + Now from the country around, from the farms and +neighboring hamlets,<br> + Came in their holiday dresses the blithe +Acadian peasants.<br> + Many a glad good-morrow and jocund laugh from +the young folk<br> + Made the bright air brighter, as up from the +numerous meadows,<br> + Where no path could be seen but the track of +wheels in the greensward,<br> + Group after group appeared, and joined, or +passed on the highway.<br> + Long ere noon, in the village all sounds of +labor were silenced.<br> + Thronged were the streets with people; and +noisy groups at the house-doors<br> + Sat in the cheerful sun, and rejoiced and +gossiped together.<br> + Every house was an inn, where all were welcomed +and feasted;<br> + For with this simple people, who lived like +brothers together,<br> + All things were held in common, and what one +had was another's<br> + Yet under Benedict's roof hospitality seemed +more abundant:<br> + For Evangeline stood among the guests of her +father;<br> + Bright was her face with smiles, and words of +welcome and gladness<br> + Fell from her beautiful lips, and blessed the +cup as she gave it.</p> +<p> Under the open sky, in the odorous air of +the orchard,<br> + Bending with golden fruit, was spread the feast +of betrothal.<br> + There in the shade of the porch were the priest +and the notary seated;<br> + There good Benedict sat, and sturdy Basil the +blacksmith.<br> + Not far withdrawn from these, by the +cider-press and the beehives,<br> + Michael the fiddler was placed, with the gayest +of hearts and of waistcoats.<br> + Shadow and light from the leaves alternately +played on his snow-white<br> + Hair, as it waved in the wind; and the jolly +face of the fiddler<br> + Glowed like a living coal when the ashes are +blown from the embers.<br> + Gayly the old man sang to the vibrant sound of +his fiddle,<br> + <i>Tous les Bourgeois de Chartres,</i> and <i>Le +Carillon de Dunkerque,</i><br> + And anon with his wooden, shoes beat time to +the music.<br> + Merrily, merrily whirled the wheels of the +dizzying dances<br> + Under the orchard-trees and down the path to +the meadows;<br> + Old folk and young together, and children +mingled among them.<br> + Fairest of all the maids was Evangeline, +Benedict's daughter!<br> + Noblest of all the youths was Gabriel, son of +the blacksmith.</p> +<p> So passed the morning away. And lo! with a +summons sonorous<br> + Sounded the bell from its tower, and over the +meadows a drum beat.<br> + Thronged ere long was the church with men. +Without, in the churchyard,<br> + Waited the women. They stood by the graves, and +hung on the headstones<br> + Garlands of autumn-leaves and evergreens fresh +from the forest.<br> + Then came the guard from the ships, and +marching proudly among them<br> + Entered the sacred portal. With loud and +dissonant clangor<br> + Echoed the sound of their brazen drums from +ceiling and casement,--<br> + Echoed a moment only, and slowly the ponderous +portal<br> + Closed, and in silence the crowd awaited the +will of the soldiers.<br> + Then uprose their commander, and spake from the +steps of the altar,<br> + Holding aloft in his hands, with its seals, the +royal commission.<br> + "You are convened this day," he said, "by his +Majesty's orders.<br> + Clement and kind has he been; but how you have +answered his kindness<br> + Let your own hearts reply! To my natural make +and my temper<br> + Painful the task is I do, which to you I know +must be grievous.<br> + Yet must I bow and obey, and deliver the will +of our monarch:<br> + Namely, that all your lands, and dwellings, and +cattle of all kinds<br> + Forfeited be to the crown; and that you +yourselves from this province<br> + Be transported to other lands. God grant you +may dwell there<br> + Ever as faithful subjects, a happy and +peaceable people!<br> + Prisoners now I declare you, for such is his +Majesty's pleasure!"<br> + As, when the air is serene in the sultry +solstice of summer,<br> + Suddenly gathers a storm, and the deadly sling +of the hailstones<br> + Beats down the farmer's corn in the field, and +shatters his windows,<br> + Hiding the sun, and strewing the ground with +thatch from the house-roofs,<br> + Bellowing fly the herds, and seek to break +their enclosures;<br> + So on the hearts of the people descended the +words of the speaker.<br> + Silent a moment they stood in speechless +wonder, and then rose<br> + Louder and ever louder a wail of sorrow and +anger,<br> + And, by one impulse moved, they madly rushed to +the door-way.<br> + Vain was the hope of escape; and cries and +fierce imprecations<br> + Bang through the house of prayer; and high o'er +the heads of the others<br> + Rose, with his arms uplifted, the figure of +Basil the blacksmith,<br> + As, on a stormy sea, a spar is tossed by the +billows.<br> + Flushed was his face and distorted with +passion; and wildly he shouted,--<br> + "Down with the tyrants of England! we never +have sworn them allegiance!<br> + Death to these foreign soldiers, who seize on +our homes and our harvests!"<br> + More he fain would have said, but the merciless +hand of a soldier<br> + Smote him upon the mouth, and dragged him down +to the pavement.</p> +<p> In the midst of the strife and tumult of +angry contention,<br> + Lo! the door of the chancel opened, and Father +Felician<br> + Entered, with serious mien, and ascended the +steps of the altar.<br> + Raising his reverend hand, with a gesture he +awed into silence<br> + All that clamorous throng; and thus he spake to +his people;<br> + Deep were his tones and solemn; in accents +measured and mournful<br> + Spake he, as, after the tocsin's alarum, +distinctly the clock strikes.<br> + "What is this that ye do, my children? what +madness has seized you?<br> + Forty years of my life have I labored among +you, and taught you,<br> + Not in word alone, but in deed, to love one +another!<br> + Is this the fruit of my toils, of my vigils and +prayers and privations?<br> + Have you so soon forgotten all lessons of love +and forgiveness?<br> + This is the house of the Prince of Peace, and +would you profane it<br> + Thus with violent deeds and hearts overflowing +with hatred?<br> + Lo! where the crucified Christ from His cross +is gazing upon you!<br> + See! in those sorrowful eyes what meekness and +holy compassion!<br> + Hark! how those lips still repeat the prayer, +'O Father, forgive them!'<br> + Let us repeat that prayer in the hour when the +wicked assail us,<br> + Let us repeat it now, and say, 'O Father, +forgive them!'"<br> + Few were his words of rebuke, but deep in the +hearts of his people<br> + Sank they, and sobs of contrition succeeded the +passionate outbreak,<br> + And they repeated his prayer, and said, "O +Father, forgive them!"<br> + Then came the evening service. The tapers +gleamed from the altar;<br> + Fervent and deep was the voice of the priest, +and the people responded,<br> + Not with their lips alone, but their hearts; +and the Ave Maria<br> + Sang they, and fell on their knees, and their +souls, with devotion translated,<br> + Rose on the ardor of prayer, like Elijah +ascending to heaven.</p> +<p> Meanwhile had spread in the village the +tidings of ill, and on all sides<br> + Wandered, wailing, from house to house the +women and children.<br> + Long at her father's door Evangeline stood, +with her right hand<br> + Shielding her eyes from the level rays of the +sun, that, descending,<br> + Lighted the village street with mysterious +splendor and roofed each<br> + Peasant's cottage with golden thatch, and +emblazoned its windows.<br> + Long within had been spread the snow-white +cloth on the table;<br> + There stood the wheaten loaf, and the honey +fragrant with wild flowers;<br> + There stood the tankard of ale, and the cheese +fresh brought from the dairy;<br> + And at the head of the board the great +arm-chair of the farmer:<br> + Thus did Evangeline wait at her father's door, +as the sunset<br> + Threw the long shadows of trees o'er the broad +ambrosial meadows.<br> + Ah! on her spirit within a deeper shadow had +fallen,<br> + And from the fields of her soul a fragrance +celestial ascended,--<br> + Charity, meekness, love, and hope, and +forgiveness, and patience!<br> + Then, all forgetful of self, she wandered into +the village,<br> + Cheering with looks and words the disconsolate +hearts of the women,<br> + As o'er the darkening fields with lingering +steps they departed,<br> + Urged by their household cares, and the weary +feet of their children.<br> + Down sank the great red sun, and in golden, +glimmering vapors<br> + Veiled the light of his face, like the Prophet +descending from Sinai.<br> + Sweetly over the village the bell of the +Angelus sounded.</p> +<p> Meanwhile, amid the gloom, by the church +Evangeline lingered.<br> + All was silent within; and in vain at the door +and the windows<br> + Stood she, and listened and looked, until, +overcome by emotion,<br> + "Gabriel!" cried she aloud with tremulous +voice; but no answer<br> + Came from the graves of the dead, nor the +gloomier grave of the living.<br> + Slowly at length she returned to the tenantless +house of her father.<br> + Smouldered the fire on the hearth, on the board +stood the supper untasted.<br> + Empty and drear was each room, and haunted with +phantoms of terror.<br> + Sadly echoed her step on the stair and the +floor of her chamber.<br> + In the dead of the night she heard the +whispering rain fall<br> + Loud on the withered leaves of the +sycamore-tree by the window.<br> + Keenly the lightning flashed; and the voice of +the echoing thunder<br> + Told her that God was in heaven, and governed +the world He created!<br> + Then she remembered the tale she had heard of +the justice of Heaven;<br> + Soothed was her troubled soul, and she +peacefully slumbered till morning.</p> +<p>V.</p> +<p> Four times the sun had risen and set; and now on the +fifth day<br> + Cheerily called the cock to the sleeping maids +of the farm-house.<br> + Soon o'er the yellow fields, in silent and +mournful procession,<br> + Came from the neighboring hamlets and farms the +Acadian women,<br> + Driving in ponderous wains their household +goods to the sea-shore,<br> + Pausing and looking back to gaze once more on +their dwellings,<br> + Ere they were shut from sight by the winding +road and the wood-land.<br> + Close at their sides their children ran, and +urged on the oxen,<br> + While in their little hands they clasped some +fragments of playthings.</p> +<p> Thus to the Gaspereau's mouth they hurried; +and there on the sea-beach<br> + Piled in confusion lay the household goods of +the peasants.<br> + All day long between the shore and the ships +did the boats ply;<br> + All day long the wains came laboring down from +the village.<br> + Late in the afternoon, when the sun was near to +his setting,<br> + Echoing far o'er the fields came the roll of +drums from the churchyard.<br> + Thither the women and children thronged. On a +sudden the church-doors<br> + Opened, and forth came the guard, and marching +in gloomy procession<br> + Followed the long-imprisoned, but patient, +Acadian farmers,<br> + Even as pilgrims, who journey afar from their +homes and their country,<br> + Sing as they go, and in singing forget they are +weary and wayworn,<br> + So with songs on their lips the Acadian +peasants descended<br> + Down from the church to the shore, amid their +wives and their daughters.<br> + Foremost the young men came; and, raising +together their voices,<br> + Sang they with tremulous lips a chant of the +Catholic Missions:--<br> + "Sacred heart of the Saviour! O inexhaustible +fountain!<br> + Fill our hearts this day with strength and +submission and patience!"<br> + Then the old men, as they marched, and the +women that stood by the wayside<br> + Joined in the sacred psalm, and the birds in +the sunshine above them<br> + Mingled their notes therewith, like voices of +spirits departed.</p> +<p> Half-way down to the shore Evangeline waited +in silence,<br> + Not overcome with grief, but strong in the hour +of affliction,--<br> + Calmly and sadly waited, until the procession +approached her,<br> + And she beheld the face of Gabriel pale with +emotion.<br> + Tears then rilled her eyes, and, eagerly +running to meet him,<br> + Clasped she his hands, and laid her head on his +shoulder, and whispered,--<br> + "Gabriel! be of good cheer! for if we love one +another<br> + Nothing, in truth, can harm us, whatever +mischances may happen!"<br> + Smiling she spake these words; then suddenly +paused, for her father<br> + Saw she, slowly advancing. Alas! how changed +was his aspect!<br> + Gone was the glow from his cheek, and the fire +from his eye, and his footstep<br> + Heavier seemed with the weight of the weary +heart in his bosom.<br> + But with a smile and a sigh, she clasped his +neck and embraced him,<br> + Speaking words of endearment where words of +comfort availed not.<br> + Thus to the Gaspereau's mouth moved on that +mournful procession.</p> +<p> There disorder prevailed, and the tumult and +stir of embarking.<br> + Busily plied the freighted boats; and in the +confusion<br> + Wives were torn from their husbands, and +mothers, too late, saw their children<br> + Left on the land, extending their arms, with +wildest entreaties.<br> + So unto separate ships were Basil and Gabriel +carried,<br> + While in despair on the shore Evangeline stood +with her father.<br> + Half the task was not done when the sun went +down, and the twilight<br> + Deepened and darkened around; and in haste the +refluent ocean'<br> + Fled away from the shore, and left the line of +the sand-beach<br> + Covered with waifs of the tide, with kelp and +the slippery seaweed.</p> +<p> Farther back in the midst of the household +goods and the wagons,<br> + Like to a gypsy camp, or a leaguer after a +battle,<br> + All escape cut off by the sea, and the +sentinels near them,<br> + Lay encamped for the night the houseless +Acadian farmers.<br> + Back to its nethermost caves retreated the +bellowing ocean,<br> + Dragging adown the beach the rattling pebbles, +and leaving<br> + Inland and far up the shore the stranded boats +of the sailors.<br> + Then, as the night descended, the herds +returned from their pastures;<br> + Sweet was the moist still air with the odor of +milk from their udders;<br> + Lowing they waited, and long, at the well-known +bars of the farm-yard,--<br> + Waited and looked in vain for the voice and the +hand of the milkmaid.<br> + Silence reigned in the streets; from the church +no Angelus sounded,<br> + Rose no smoke from the roofs, and gleamed no +lights from the windows.</p> +<p> But on the shores meanwhile the evening +fires had been kindled,<br> + Built of the drift-wood thrown on the sands +from wrecks in the tempest.<br> + Found them shapes of gloom and sorrowful faces +were gathered,<br> + Voices of women were heard, and of men, and the +crying of children.<br> + Onward from fire to fire, as from hearth to +hearth in his parish,<br> + Wandered the faithful priest, consoling and +blessing and cheering,<br> + Like unto shipwrecked Paul on Melita's desolate +seashore.<br> + Thus he approached the place where Evangeline +sat with her father,<br> + And in the flickering light beheld the face of +the old man,<br> + Haggard and hollow and wan, and without either +thought or emotion,<br> + E'en as the face of a clock from which the +hands have been taken.<br> + Vainly Evangeline strove with words and +caresses to cheer him,<br> + Vainly offered him food; yet he moved not, he +looked not, he spake not,</p> +<p> But, with a vacant stare, ever gazed at the +flickering fire-light.<br> + <i>"Benedicite!"</i> murmured the priest, in +tones of compassion.<br> + More he fain would have said, but his heart was +full, and his accents<br> + Faltered and paused on his lips, as the feet of +a child on a threshold,<br> + Hushed by the scene he beholds, and the awful +presence of sorrow.<br> + Silently, therefore, he laid his hand on the +head of the maiden,<br> + Raising his eyes full of tears to the silent +stars that above them<br> + Moved on their way, unperturbed by the wrongs +and sorrows of mortals.<br> + Then sat he down at her side, and they wept +together in silence.</p> +<p> Suddenly rose from the south a light, as in +autumn the blood-red<br> + Moon climbs the crystal walls of heaven, and +o'er the horizon<br> + Titan-like stretches its hundred hands upon +mountain, and meadow,<br> + Seizing the rocks and the rivers, and piling +huge shadows together.<br> + Broader and ever broader it gleamed on the +roofs of the village,<br> + Gleamed on the sky and the sea, and the ships +that lay in the roadstead.<br> + Columns of shining smoke uprose, and flashes of +flame were<br> + Thrust through their folds and withdrawn, like +the quivering hands of a martyr.<br> + Then as the wind seized the gleeds and the +burning thatch, and, uplifting,<br> + Whirled them aloft through the air, at once +from, a hundred house-tops<br> + Started the sheeted smoke with flashes of flame +intermingled.</p> +<p> These things beheld in dismay the crowd on +the shore and on shipboard.<br> + Speechless at first they stood, then cried +aloud in their anguish,<br> + "We shall behold no more our homes in the +village of Grand-Pré!"<br> + Loud on a sudden the cocks began to crow in the +farmyards,<br> + Thinking the day had dawned; and anon the +lowing of cattle<br> + Came on the evening breeze, by the barking of +dogs interrupted.<br> + Then rose a sound of dread, such as startles +the sleeping encampments<br> + Far in the western prairies of forests that +skirt the Nebraska,<br> + When the wild horses affrighted sweep by with +the speed of the whirlwind,<br> + Or the loud bellowing herds of buffaloes rush +to the river.<br> + Such was the sound that arose on the night, as +the herds and the horses<br> + Broke through their folds and fences, and madly +rushed o'er the meadows.</p> +<p> Overwhelmed with the sight, yet speechless, +the priest and the maiden<br> + Gazed on the scene of terror that reddened and +widened before them;<br> + And as they turned at length to speak to their +silent companion,<br> + Lo! from his seat he had fallen, and stretched +abroad on the seashore<br> + Motionless lay his form, from which the soul +had departed.<br> + Slowly the priest uplifted the lifeless head, +and the maiden<br> + Knelt at her father's side, and wailed aloud in +her terror.<br> + Then in a swoon she sank, and lay with her head +on his bosom.<br> + Through the long night she lay in deep, +oblivious slumber;<br> + And when she woke from the trance, she beheld a +multitude near her.<br> + Faces of friends she beheld, that were +mournfully gazing upon her,<br> + Pallid, with tearful eyes, and looks of saddest +compassion.<br> + Still the blaze of the burning village +illumined the landscape,<br> + Reddened the sky overhead, and gleamed on the +faces around her,<br> + And like the day of doom it seemed to her +wavering senses.<br> + Then a familiar voice she heard, as it said to +the people,--<br> + "Let us bury him here by the sea. When a +happier season<br> + Brings us again to our homes from the unknown +land of our exile,<br> + Then shall his sacred dust be piously laid in +the churchyard."<br> + Such were the words of the priest. And there in +haste by the sea-side,<br> + Having the glare of the burning village for +funeral torches,<br> + But without bell or book, they buried the +farmer of Grand-Pré.<br> + And as the voice of the priest repeated the +service of sorrow,<br> + Lo! with, a mournful sound like the voice of a +vast congregation,<br> + Solemnly answered the sea, and mingled its roar +with the dirges.<br> + 'Twas the returning tide, that afar from the +waste of the ocean,<br> + With the first dawn of the day, came heaving +and hurrying landward.<br> + Then recommenced once more the stir and noise +of embarking;<br> + And with the ebb of that tide the ships sailed +out of the harbor,<br> + Leaving behind them the dead on the shore, and +the village in ruins.</p> +<p>PART THE SECOND.</p> +<p> I.</p> +<p> Many a weary year had passed since the burning of +Grand-Pré,<br> + When on the falling tide the freighted vessels +departed,<br> + Bearing a nation, with all its household goods, +into exile,<br> + Exile without an end, and without an example in +story.<br> + Far asunder, on separate coasts, the Acadians +landed;<br> + Scattered were they, like flakes of snow, when +the wind from the northeast<br> + Strikes aslant through the fogs that darken the +Banks of Newfoundland.<br> + Friendless, homeless, hopeless, they wandered +from city to city,<br> + From the cold lakes of the North to sultry +Southern savannas,--<br> + From the bleak shores of the sea to the lands +where the Father of Waters<br> + Seizes the hills in his hands, and drags them +down to the ocean,<br> + Deep in their sands to bury the scattered bones +of the mammoth.<br> + Friends they sought and homes; and many, +despairing, heart-broken,<br> + Asked of the earth but a grave, and no longer a +friend nor a fireside.<br> + Written their history stands on tablets of +stone in the churchyards.<br> + Long among them was seen a maiden who waited +and wandered,<br> + Lowly and meek in spirit, and patiently +suffering all things.<br> + Fair was she and young; but, alas! before her +extended,<br> + Dreary and vast and silent, the desert of life, +with its pathway<br> + Marked by the graves of those who had sorrowed +and suffered before her,<br> + Passions long extinguished, and hopes long dead +and abandoned,<br> + As the emigrant's way o'er the Western desert +is marked by<br> + Camp-fires long consumed, and bones that bleach +in the sunshine.<br> + Something there was in her life incomplete, +imperfect, unfinished;<br> + As if a morning of June, with all its music and +sunshine,<br> + Suddenly paused in the sky, and, fading, slowly +descended<br> + Into the east again, from whence it late had +arisen.<br> + Sometimes she lingered in towns, till, urged by +the fever within her,<br> + Urged by a restless longing, the hunger and +thirst of the spirit,<br> + She would commence again her endless search and +endeavor;<br> + Sometimes in churchyards strayed, and gazed on +the crosses and tombstones,<br> + Sat by some nameless grave, and thought that +perhaps in its bosom<br> + He was already at rest, and she longed to +slumber beside him.<br> + Sometimes a rumor, a hearsay, an inarticulate +whisper,<br> + Came with its airy hand to, point and beckon +her forward.<br> + Sometimes she spake with those who had seen her +beloved and known him,<br> + But it was long ago, in some far-off place or +forgotten.<br> + "Gabriel Lajeunesse!" said they; "Oh, yes! we +have seen him.<br> + He was with Basil the blacksmith, and both have +gone to the prairies;<br> + <i>Coureurs-des-bois</i> are they, and famous +hunters and trappers."<br> + "Gabriel Lajeunesse!" said others; "Oh; yes! we +have seen him.<br> + He is a <i>voyageur</i> in the lowlands of +Louisiana."<br> + Then would they say, "Dear child! why dream and +wait for him longer?<br> + Are there not other youths as fair as Gabriel? +others<br> + Who have hearts as tender and true, and spirits +as loyal?<br> + Here is Baptiste Leblanc, the notary's son, who +has loved thee<br> + Many a tedious year; come, give him thy hand +and be happy!<br> + Thou art too fair to be left to braid St. +Catherine's tresses."<br> + Then would Evangeline answer, serenely but +sadly, "I cannot!<br> + Whither my heart has gone, there follows my +hand, and not elsewhere.<br> + For when the heart goes before, like a lamp, +and illumines the pathway,<br> + Many things are made clear, that else lie +hidden in darkness."<br> + And thereupon the priest, her friend and father +confessor,<br> + Said, with a smile, "O daughter! thy God thus +speaketh within thee!<br> + Talk not of wasted affection, affection never +was wasted;<br> + If it enrich not the heart of another, its +waters, returning<br> + Back to their springs, like the rain, shall +fill them full of refreshment;<br> + That which the fountain sends forth returns +again to the fountain.<br> + Patience; accomplish thy labor; accomplish thy +work of affection!<br> + Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient +endurance is godlike.<br> + Therefore accomplish thy labor of love, till +the heart is made godlike,<br> + Purified, strengthened, perfected, and rendered +more worthy of heaven!"<br> + Cheered by the good man's words, Evangeline +labored and waited.<br> + Still in her heart she heard the funeral dirge +of the ocean,<br> + But with its sound there was mingled a voice +that whispered, "Despair not!"<br> + Thus did that poor soul wander in want and +cheerless discomfort,<br> + Bleeding, barefooted, over the shards and +thorns of existence.<br> + Let me essay, O Muse! to follow the wanderer's +footsteps;--<br> + Not through each devious path, each changeful +year of existence;<br> + But as a traveler follows a streamlet's course +through the valley:<br> + Far from its margin at times, and seeing the +gleam of its water<br> + Here and there, in some open space, and at +intervals only;<br> + Then drawing nearer its bank, through sylvan +glooms that conceal it,<br> + Though he behold it not, he can hear its +continuous murmur;<br> + Happy, at length, if he find a spot where it +reaches an outlet.</p> +<p>II.</p> +<p> It was the month of May. Far down the +Beautiful River,<br> + Past the Ohio shore and past the mouth of the +Wabash,<br> + Into the golden stream of the broad and swift +Mississippi,<br> + Floated a cumbrous boat, that was rowed by +Acadian boatmen.<br> + It was a band of exiles: a raft, as it were, +from the shipwrecked<br> + Nation, scattered along the coast, now floating +together,<br> + Bound by the bonds of a common belief and a +common misfortune;<br> + Men and women and children, who, guided by hope +or by hearsay,<br> + Sought for their kith and their kin among the +few-acred farmers<br> + On the Acadian coast, and the prairies of fair +Opelousas.<br> + With them Evangeline went, and her guide, the +Father Felician<br> + Onward o'er sunken sands, through a wilderness +sombre with forests,<br> + Day after day they glided adown the turbulent +river;<br> + Night after night, by their blazing fires, +encamped on its borders.<br> + Now through rushing chutes, among green +islands, where plumelike<br> + Cotton-trees nodded their shadowy crests, they +swept with the current,<br> + Then emerged into broad lagoons, where silvery +sandbars<br> + Lay in the stream, and along the wimpling waves +of their margin,<br> + Shining with snow-white plumes, large flocks of +pelicans waded.<br> + Level the landscape grew, and along the shores +of the river,<br> + Shaded by china-trees, in the midst of +luxuriant gardens,<br> + Stood the houses of planters, with negro cabins +and dove-cots.<br> + They were approaching the region where reigns +perpetual summer,<br> + Where through the Golden Coast, and groves of +orange and citron,<br> + Sweeps with majestic curve the river away to +the eastward.<br> + They, too, swerved from their course; and, +entering the Bayou of Plaquemine,<br> + Soon were lost in a maze of sluggish and +devious waters,<br> + Which, like a network of steel, extended in +every direction.<br> + Over their heads the towering and tenebrous +boughs of the cypress<br> + Met in a dusky arch, and trailing mosses in +midair<br> + Waved like banners that hang on the walls of +ancient cathedrals.<br> + Deathlike the silence seemed, and unbroken, +save by the herons<br> + Home to their roosts in the cedar-trees +returning at sunset,<br> + Or by the owl, as he greeted the moon with +demoniac laughter.<br> + Lovely the moonlight was as it glanced and +gleamed on the water,<br> + Gleamed on the columns of cypress and cedar +sustaining the arches,<br> + Down through whose broken vaults it fell as +through chinks in a ruin.<br> + Dreamlike, and indistinct, and strange were all +things around them;<br> + And o'er their spirits there came a feeling of +wonder and sadness,--<br> + Strange forebodings of ill, unseen, and that +cannot be compassed.<br> + As, at the tramp of a horse's hoof on the turf +of the prairies,<br> + Far in advance are closed the leaves of the +shrinking mimosa,<br> + So, at the hoof-beats of fate, with sad +forebodings of evil,<br> + Shrinks and closes the heart, ere the stroke of +doom has attained it.<br> + But Evangeline's heart was sustained by a +vision, that faintly<br> + Floated before her eyes, and beckoned her on +through the moonlight.<br> + It was the thought of her brain that assumed +the shape of a phantom.<br> + Through those shadowy aisles had Gabriel +wandered before her,<br> + And every stroke of the oar now brought him +nearer and nearer.</p> +<p> Then in his place, at the prow of the boat, +rose one of the oarsmen,<br> + And, as a signal sound, if others like them +peradventure<br> + Sailed on those gloomy and midnight streams, +blew a blast on his bugle.<br> + Wild through the dark colonnades and corridors +leafy the blast rang,<br> + Breaking the seal of silence and giving tongues +to the forest.<br> + Soundless above them the banners of moss just +stirred to the music.<br> + Multitudinous echoes awoke and died in the +distance,<br> + Over the watery floor, and beneath the +reverberant branches;<br> + But not a voice replied; no answer came from +the darkness;<br> + And when the echoes had ceased, like a sense of +pain was the silence.<br> + Then Evangeline slept; but the boatmen rowed +through the midnight,<br> + Silent at times, then singing familiar Canadian +boat-songs,<br> + Such as they sang of old on their own Acadian +rivers,<br> + And through the night were heard the mysterious +sounds of the desert,<br> + Far off,--indistinct,--as of wave or wind in +the forest,<br> + Mixed with the whoop of the crane and the roar +of the grim alligator.</p> +<p> Thus ere another noon they emerged from +those shades; and before them<br> + Lay, in the golden sun, the lakes of the +Atchafalaya.<br> + Water-lilies in myriads rocked on the slight +undulations<br> + Made by the passing oars, and, resplendent in +beauty, the lotus<br> + Lifted her golden crown above the heads of the +boatmen.<br> + Faint was the air with the odorous breath of +magnolia blossoms,<br> + And with the heat of noon; and numberless +sylvan islands,<br> + Fragrant and thickly embowered with blossoming +hedges of roses,<br> + Near to whose shores they glided along, invited +to slumber.<br> + Soon by the fairest of these their weary oars +were suspended.<br> + Under the boughs of Wachita willows, that grew +by the margin,<br> + Safely their boat was moored; and scattered +about on the greensward,<br> + Tired with their midnight toil, the weary +travelers slumbered.<br> + Over them vast and high extended the cope of a +cedar.<br> + Swinging from its great arms, the +trumpet-flower and the grapevine<br> + Hung their ladder of ropes aloft like the +ladder of Jacob,<br> + On whose pendulous stairs the angels ascending, +descending,<br> + Were the swift humming-birds, that flitted from +blossom to blossom.<br> + Such was the vision Evangeline saw as she +slumbered beneath it.<br> + Filled was her heart with love, and the dawn of +an opening heaven<br> + Lighted her soul in sleep with the glory of +regions celestial.</p> +<p> Nearer and ever nearer, among the numberless +islands,<br> + Darted a light, swift boat, that sped away o'er +the water,<br> + Urged on its course by the sinewy arms of +hunters and trappers.<br> + Northward its prow was turned, to the land of +the bison and beaver.<br> + At the helm sat a youth, with countenance +thoughtful and careworn.<br> + Dark and neglected locks overshadowed his brow, +and a sadness<br> + Somewhat beyond his years on his face was +legibly written.<br> + Gabriel was it, who, weary with waiting, +unhappy and restless,<br> + Sought in the Western wilds oblivion of self +and of sorrow.<br> + Swiftly they glided along, close under the lee +of the island,<br> + But by the opposite bank, and behind a screen +of palmettos;<br> + So that they saw not the boat, where it lay +concealed in the willows;<br> + And undisturbed by the dash of their oars, and +unseen, were the sleepers;<br> + Angel of God was there none to awaken the +slumbering maiden.<br> + Swiftly they glided away, like the shade of a +cloud on the prairie.<br> + After the sound of their oars on the tholes had +died in the distance,<br> + As from a magic trance the sleepers awoke, and +the maiden<br> + Said with a sigh to the friendly priest, "O +Father Felician!<br> + Something says in my heart that near me Gabriel +wanders.<br> + Is it a foolish dream, an idle and vague +superstition?<br> + Or has an angel passed, and revealed the truth +to my spirit?"<br> + Then, with a blush, she added, "Alas for my +credulous fancy!<br> + Unto ears like thine such words as these have +no meaning."<br> + But made answer the reverend man, and he smiled +as he answered,--<br> + "Daughter, thy words are not idle; nor are they +to me without meaning,<br> + Feeling is deep and still; and the word that +floats on the surface<br> + Is as the tossing buoy, that betrays where the +anchor is hidden.<br> + Therefore trust to thy heart, and to what the +world calls illusions.<br> + Gabriel truly is near thee; for not far away to +the southward,<br> + On the banks of the Têche, are the towns +of St. Maur and St. Martin.<br> + There the long-wandering bride shall be given +again to her bridegroom,<br> + There the long-absent pastor regain his flock +and his sheepfold.<br> + Beautiful is the land, with its prairies and +forests of fruit-trees;<br> + Under the feet a garden of flowers, and the +bluest of heavens<br> + Bending above, and resting its dome on the +walls of the forest.<br> + They who dwell there have named it the Eden of +Louisiana."</p> +<p> And with these words of cheer they arose and +continued their journey.<br> + Softly the evening came. The sun from the +western horizon<br> + Like a magician extended his golden wand o'er +the landscape;<br> + Twinkling vapors arose; and sky and water and +forest<br> + Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and +mingled together.<br> + Hanging between two skies, a cloud with edges +of silver,<br> + Floated the boat, with its dripping oars, on +the motionless water.<br> + Filled was Evangeline's heart with +inexpressible sweetness.<br> + Touched by the magic spell, the sacred fountain +of feeling<br> + Glowed with the light of love, as the skies and +waters around her.<br> + Then from a neighboring thicket the +mocking-bird, wildest of singers,<br> + Swinging aloft on a willow spray that hung o'er +the water,<br> + Shook from his little throat such floods of +delirious music,<br> + That the whole air and the woods and the waves +seemed silent to listen.<br> + Plaintive at first were the tones and sad; then +soaring to madness<br> + Seemed they to follow or guide the revel of +frenzied Bacchantes.<br> + Single notes were then heard, in sorrowful, low +lamentation;<br> + Till, having gathered them all, he flung them +abroad in derision,<br> + As when, after a storm, a gust of wind through +the tree-tops<br> + Shakes down the rattling rain in a crystal +shower on the branches.<br> + With such a prelude as this, and hearts that +throbbed with emotion,<br> + Slowly they entered the Têche, where it +flows through the green Opelousas,<br> + And, through the amber air, above the crest of +the woodland,<br> + Saw the column of smoke that arose from a +neighboring dwelling;--<br> + Sounds of a horn they heard, and the distant +lowing of cattle.</p> +<p>III.</p> +<p> Near to the bank of the river, o'ershadowed by +oaks from whose branches<br> + Garlands of Spanish moss and of mystic +mistletoe flaunted,<br> + Such as the Druids cut down with golden +hatchets at Yule-tide,<br> + Stood, secluded and still, the house of the +herdsman. A garden<br> + Girded it round about with a belt of luxuriant +blossoms,<br> + Filling the air with fragrance. The house +itself was of timbers<br> + Hewn from the cypress-tree, and carefully +fitted together.<br> + Large and low was the roof; and on slender +columns supported,<br> + Rose-wreathed, vine-encircled, a broad and +spacious veranda,<br> + Haunt of the humming-bird and the bee, extended +around it.<br> + At each end of the house, amid the flowers of +the garden,<br> + Stationed the dove-cots were, as love's +perpetual symbol,<br> + Scenes of endless wooing, and endless +contentions of rivals.<br> + Silence reigned o'er the place. The line of +shadow and sunshine<br> + Ran near the tops of the trees; but the house +itself was in shadow,<br> + And from its chimney-top, ascending and slowly +expanding<br> + Into the evening air, a thin blue column of +smoke rose.<br> + In the rear of the house, from the garden gate, +ran a pathway<br> + Through the great groves of oak to the skirts +of the limitless prairie,<br> + Into whose sea of flowers the sun was slowly +descending.<br> + Full in his track of light, like ships with +shadowy canvas<br> + Hanging loose from their spars in a motionless +calm in the tropics,<br> + Stood a cluster of trees, with tangled cordage +of grapevines.</p> +<p> Just where the woodlands met the flowery +surf of the prairie,<br> + Mounted upon his horse, with Spanish saddle and +stirrups,<br> + Sat a herdsman, arrayed in gaiters and doublet +of deerskin.<br> + Broad and brown was the face that from under +the Spanish sombrero<br> + Gazed on the peaceful scene, with the lordly +look of its master.<br> + Round about him were numberless herds of kine +that were grazing<br> + Quietly in the meadows, and breathing the +vapory freshness<br> + That uprose from the river, and spread itself +over the landscape.<br> + Slowly lifting the horn that hung at his side, +and expanding<br> + Fully his broad, deep chest, he blew a blast, +that resounded<br> + Wildly and sweet and far, through the still +damp air of the evening.<br> + Suddenly out of the grass the long white horns +of the cattle<br> + Rose like flakes of foam on the adverse +currents of ocean.<br> + Silent a moment they gazed, then bellowing +rushed o'er the prairie,<br> + And the whole mass became a cloud, a shade in +the distance.<br> + Then, as the herdsman turned to the house, +through the gate of the garden<br> + Saw he the forms of the priest and the maiden +advancing to meet him.<br> + Suddenly down from his horse he sprang in +amazement, and forward<br> + Rushed with extended arms and exclamations of +wonder;<br> + When they beheld his face, they recognized +Basil the blacksmith.<br> + Hearty his welcome was, as he led his guests to +the garden.<br> + There in an arbor of roses with endless +question and answer<br> + Gave they vent to their hearts, and renewed +their friendly embraces,<br> + Laughing and weeping by turns, or sitting +silent and thoughtful.<br> + Thoughtful, for Gabriel came not; and now dark +doubts' and misgivings<br> + Stole o'er the maiden's heart; and Basil, +somewhat embarrassed,<br> + Broke the silence and said, "If you came by the +Atchafalaya,<br> + How have you nowhere encountered my Gabriel's +boat on the bayous?"<br> + Over Evangeline's face at the words of Basil a +shade passed.<br> + Tears came into her eyes, and she said, with a +tremulous accent,<br> + "Gone? is Gabriel gone?" and, concealing her +face on his shoulder,<br> + All her o'erburdened heart gave way, and she +wept and lamented.<br> + Then the good Basil said,--and his voice grew +blithe as he said it,--<br> + "Be of good cheer, my child; it is only to-day +he departed.<br> + Foolish boy! he has left me alone with my herds +and my horses,<br> + Moody and restless grown, and tired and +troubled, his spirit<br> + Could no longer endure the calm of this quiet +existence.<br> + Thinking ever of thee, uncertain and sorrowful +ever,<br> + Ever silent, or speaking only of thee and his +troubles,<br> + He at length had become so tedious to men and +to maidens,<br> + Tedious even to me, that at length I bethought +me, and sent him<br> + Unto the town of Adayes to trade for mules with +the Spaniards.<br> + Thence he will follow the Indian trails to the +Ozark Mountains,<br> + Hunting for furs in the forests, on rivers +trapping the beaver.<br> + Therefore be of good cheer; we will follow the +fugitive lover;<br> + He is not far on his way, and the Fates and the +streams are against him.<br> + Up and away to-morrow, and through the red dew +of the morning,<br> + We will follow him fast, and bring him back to +his prison."</p> +<p> Then glad voices were heard, and up from the +banks of the river,<br> + Borne aloft on his comrades' arms, came Michael +the fiddler.<br> + Long under Basil's roof had he lived, like a +god on Olympus,<br> + Having no other care than dispensing music to +mortals.<br> + Far renowned was he for his silver locks and +his fiddle.<br> + "Long live Michael," they cried, "our brave +Acadian minstrel!"<br> + As they bore him aloft in triumphal procession; +and straightway<br> + Father Felician advanced with Evangeline, +greeting the old man<br> + Kindly and oft, and recalling the past, while +Basil, enraptured,<br> + Hailed with hilarious joy his old companions +and gossips,<br> + Laughing loud and long, and embracing mothers +and daughters.<br> + Much they marveled to see the wealth of the +ci-devant blacksmith,<br> + All his domains and his herds, and his +patriarchal demeanor;<br> + Much they marveled to hear his tales of the +soil and the climate,<br> + And of the prairies, whose numberless herds +were his who would take them;<br> + Each one thought in his heart, that he, too, +would go and do likewise.<br> + Thus they ascended the steps, and, crossing the +breezy veranda,<br> + Entered the hall of the house, where already +the supper of Basil<br> + Waited his late return; and they rested and +feasted together.</p> +<p> Over the joyous feast the sudden darkness +descended.<br> + All was silent without, and, illuming the +landscape with silver,<br> + Fair rose the dewy moon and the myriad stars; +but within doors,<br> + Brighter than these, shone the faces of friends +in the glimmering lamplight.<br> + Then from his station aloft, at the head of the +table, the herdsman<br> + Poured forth his heart and his wine together in +endless profusion.<br> + Lighting his pipe, that was filled with sweet +Natchitoches tobacco,<br> + Thus he spake to his guests, who listened, and +smiled as they listened:--<br> + "Welcome once more, my friends, who so long +have been friendless and homeless,<br> + Welcome once more to a home, that is better +perchance than the old one!<br> + Here no hungry winter congeals our blood like +the rivers;<br> + Here no stony ground provokes the wrath of the +farmer;<br> + Smoothly the ploughshare runs through the soil, +as a keel through the water.<br> + All the year round the orange-groves are in +blossom; and grass grows<br> + More in a single night than a whole Canadian +summer.<br> + Here, too, numberless herds run wild and +unclaimed in the prairies;<br> + Here, too, lands may he had for the asking, and +forests of timber<br> + With a few blows of the axe are hewn and framed +into houses.<br> + After your houses are built, and your fields +are yellow with harvests,<br> + No King George of England shall drive you away +from your homesteads,<br> + Burning your dwellings and barns, and stealing +your farms and your cattle."<br> + Speaking these words, he blew a wrathful cloud +from his nostrils,<br> + And his huge, brawny hand came thundering down +on the table,<br> + So that the guests all started; and Father +Felician, astounded,<br> + Suddenly paused, with a pinch of snuff half-way +to his nostrils.<br> + But the brave Basil resumed, and his words were +milder and gayer:--<br> + "Only beware of the fever, my friends, beware +of the fever!<br> + For it is not like that of our cold Acadian +climate,<br> + Cured by wearing a spider hung round one's neck +in a nutshell!"<br> + Then there were voices heard at the door, and +footsteps approaching<br> + Sounded upon the stairs and the floor of the +breezy Veranda.<br> + It was the neighboring Creoles and small +Acadian planters,<br> + Who had been summoned all to the house of Basil +the herdsman.<br> + Merry the meeting was of ancient comrades and +neighbors:<br> + Friend clasped friend in his arms; and they who +before were as strangers,<br> + Meeting in exile, became straightway as friends +to each other,<br> + Drawn by the gentle bond of a common country +together.<br> + But in the neighboring hall a strain of music, +proceeding<br> + From the accordant strings of Michael's +melodious fiddle,<br> + Broke up all further speech. Away, like +children delighted,<br> + All things forgotten beside, they gave +themselves to the maddening<br> + Whirl of the dizzy dance, as it swept and +swayed to the music,<br> + Dreamlike, with beaming eyes and the rush of +fluttering garments.</p> +<p> Meanwhile, apart, at the head of the hall, +the priest and the herdsman<br> + Sat, conversing together of past and present +and future;<br> + While Evangeline stood like one entranced, for +within her<br> + Olden memories rose, and loud in the midst of +the music<br> + Heard she the sound of the sea, and an +irrepressible sadness<br> + Came o'er her heart, and unseen she stole forth +into the garden.<br> + Beautiful was the night. Behind the black wall +of the forest,<br> + Tipping its summit with silver, arose the moon. +On the river<br> + Fell here and there through the branches a +tremulous gleam of the moonlight,<br> + Like the sweet thoughts of love on a darkened +and devious spirit.<br> + Nearer and round about her, the manifold +flowers of the garden<br> + Poured out their souls in odors, that were +their prayers and confessions<br> + Unto the night, as it went its way, like a +silent Carthusian.<br> + Fuller of fragrance than they, and as heavy +with shadows and night-dews,<br> + Hung the heart of the maiden. The calm and the +magical moonlight<br> + Seemed to inundate her soul with indefinable +longings,<br> + As, through the garden gate, beneath the brown +shade of the oak-trees,<br> + Passed she along the path to the edge of the +measureless prairie.<br> + Silent it lay, with a silvery haze upon it, and +fire-flies<br> + Gleaming and floating away in mingled and +infinite numbers.<br> + Over her head the stars, the thoughts of God in +the heavens,<br> + Shone on the eyes of man, who had ceased to +marvel and worship,<br> + Save when a blazing comet was seen on the walls +of that temple,<br> + As if a hand had appeared and written upon +them, "Upharsin."<br> + And the soul of the maiden, between the stars +and the fire-flies,<br> + Wandered alone, and she cried, "O Gabriel! O my +beloved!<br> + Art thou so near unto me, and yet I cannot +behold thee?<br> + Art thou so near unto me, and yet thy voice +does not reach me?<br> + Ah! how often thy feet have trod this path to +the prairie!<br> + Ah! how often thine eyes have looked on the +woodlands around me!<br> + Ah! how often beneath this oak, returning from +labor,<br> + Thou hast lain, down to rest, and to dream of +me in thy slumbers!<br> + When shall these eyes behold, these arms be +folded about thee?"<br> + Loud and sudden and near the note of a +whippoorwill sounded<br> + Like a flute in the woods; and anon, through +the neighboring thickets,<br> + Farther and farther away it floated and dropped +into silence.<br> + "Patience!" whispered the oaks from oracular +caverns of darkness;<br> + And, from the moonlit meadow, a sigh responded, +"To-morrow!"</p> +<p> Bright rose the sun next day; and all the +flowers of the garden<br> + Bathed his shining feet with their tears, and +anointed his tresses<br> + With the delicious balm that they bore in their +vases of crystal.<br> + "Farewell!" said the priest, as he stood at the +shadowy threshold;<br> + "See that you bring us the Prodigal Son from +his fasting and famine,<br> + And, too, the Foolish Virgin, who slept when +the bridegroom was coming."<br> + "Farewell!" answered the maiden, and, smiling, +with Basil descended<br> + Down to the rivers brink, where the boatmen +already were waiting.<br> + Thus beginning their journey with morning, and +sunshine, and gladness,<br> + Swiftly they followed the flight of him who was +speeding before them,<br> + Blown by the blast of fate like a dead leaf +over the desert.<br> + Not that day, nor the next, nor yet the day +that succeeded,<br> + Found they trace of his course, in lake or +forest or river,<br> + Nor, after many days, had they found him; but +vague and uncertain<br> + Rumors alone were their guides through a wild +and desolate country;<br> + Till, at the little inn of the Spanish town of +Adayes,<br> + Weary and worn, they alighted, and learned from +the garrulous landlord<br> + That on the day before, with horses and guides +and companions,<br> + Gabriel left the village, and took the road of +the prairies.</p> +<p>IV.</p> +<p> Far in the West there lies a desert land, +where the mountains<br> + Lift, through perpetual snows, their lofty and +luminous summits.<br> + Down from their jagged, deep ravines, where the +gorge, like a gateway,<br> + Opens a passage rude to the wheels of the +emigrant's wagon,<br> + Westward the Oregon flows and the Walleway and +Owyhee.<br> + Eastward, with devious course, among the +Wind-river Mountains,<br> + Through the Sweet-water Valley precipitate +leaps the Nebraska;<br> + And to the south, from Fontaine-qui-bout and +the Spanish sierras,<br> + Fretted with sands and rocks, and swept by the +wind of the desert,<br> + Numberless torrents, with ceaseless sound, +descend to the ocean,<br> + Like the great chords of a harp, in loud and +solemn vibrations.<br> + Spreading between these streams are the +wondrous, beautiful prairies,<br> + Billowy bays of grass ever rolling in shadow +and sunshine,<br> + Bright with luxuriant clusters of roses and +purple amorphas.<br> + Over them wander the buffalo herds, and the elk +and the roebuck;<br> + Over them wander the wolves, and herds of +riderless horses;<br> + Fires that blast and blight, and winds that are +weary with travel;<br> + Over them wander the scattered tribes of +Ishmael's children,<br> + Staining the desert with blood; and above their +terrible wartrails<br> + Circles and sails aloft, on pinions majestic, +the vulture,<br> + Like the implacable soul of a chieftain +slaughtered in battle,<br> + By invisible stairs ascending and scaling the +heavens.<br> + Here and there rise smokes from the camps of +these savage marauders;<br> + Here and there rise groves from the margins of +swift-running rivers;<br> + And the grim, taciturn bear, the anchorite monk +of the desert,<br> + Climbs down their dark ravines to dig for roots +by the brookside,<br> + And over all is the sky, the clear and +crystalline heaven,<br> + Like the protecting hand of God inverted above +them.</p> +<p> Into this wonderful land, at the base of the +Ozark Mountains,<br> + Gabriel far had entered, with hunters and +trappers behind him.<br> + Day after day, with their Indian guides, the +maiden and Basil<br> + Followed his flying steps, and thought each day +to o'ertake him.<br> + Sometimes they saw, or thought they saw, the +smoke of his camp-fire<br> + Rise in the morning air from the distant plain; +but at nightfall,<br> + When they had reached the place, they found +only embers and ashes.<br> + And, though their hearts were sad at times and +their bodies were weary,<br> + Hope still guided them on, as the magic Fata +Morgana<br> + Showed them her lakes of light, that retreated +and vanished before them.</p> +<p> Once, as they sat by their evening fire, +there silently entered<br> + Into the little camp an Indian woman, whose +features<br> + Wore deep traces of sorrow, and patience as +great as her sorrow.<br> + She was a Shawnee woman returning home to her +people,<br> + From the far-off hunting grounds of the cruel +Comanches,<br> + Where her Canadian husband, a coureur-des-bois, +had been murdered.<br> + Touched were their hearts at her story, and +warmest and friendliest welcome<br> + Gave they, with words of cheer, and she sat and +feasted among them<br> + On the buffalo-meat and the venison cooked on +the embers.<br> + But when their meal was done, and Basil and all +his companions,<br> + Worn with the long day's march and the chase of +the deer and the bison,<br> + Stretched themselves on the ground, and slept +where the quivering fire-light<br> + Flashed on their swarthy cheeks, and their +forms wrapped up in their blankets,<br> + Then at the door of Evangeline's tent she sat +and repeated<br> + Slowly, with soft, low voice, and the charm of +her Indian accent,<br> + All the tale of her love, with its pleasures, +and pains, and reverses.<br> + Much Evangeline wept at the tale, and to know +that another<br> + Hapless heart like her own had loved and had +been disappointed.<br> + Moved to the depths of her soul by pity and +woman's compassion,<br> + Yet in her sorrow pleased that one who had +suffered was near her,<br> + She in turn related her love and all its +disasters.<br> + Mute with wonder the Shawnee sat, and when she +had ended<br> + Still was mute; but at length, as if a +mysterious horror<br> + Passed through her brain, she spake, and +repeated the tale of the Mowis;<br> + Mowis, the bridegroom of snow, who won and +wedded a maiden,<br> + But, when the morning came, arose and passed +from the wigwam,<br> + Fading and melting away and dissolving into the +sunshine,<br> + Till she beheld him no more, though she +followed far into the forest.<br> + Then, in those sweet, low tones, that seemed +like a weird incantation,<br> + Told she the tale of the fair Lilinau, who was +wooed by a phantom,<br> + That, through the pines o'er her father's +lodge, in the hush of the twilight,<br> + Breathed like the evening wind, and whispered +love to the maiden,<br> + Till she followed his green and waving plume +through the forest,<br> + And nevermore returned, nor was seen again by +her people.<br> + Silent with wonder and strange surprise, +Evangeline listened<br> + To the soft flow of her magical words, till the +region around her<br> + Seemed like enchanted ground, and her swarthy +guest the enchantress.<br> + Slowly over the tops of the Ozark Mountains the +moon rose,<br> + Lighting the little tent, and with a mysterious +splendor<br> + Touching the sombre leaves, and embracing and +filling the woodland.<br> + With a delicious sound the brook rushed by, and +the branches<br> + Swayed and sighed overhead in scarcely audible +whispers.<br> + Filled with the thoughts of love was +Evangeline's heart, but a secret,<br> + Subtile sense crept in of pain and indefinite +terror,<br> + As the cold, poisonous snake creeps into the +nest of the swallow.<br> + It was no earthly fear. A breath from the +region, of spirits<br> + Seemed to float in the air of night; and she +felt for a moment<br> + That, like the Indian maid, she, too, was +pursuing a phantom.<br> + And with this thought she slept, and the fear +and the phantom had vanished.</p> +<p> Early upon the morrow the march was resumed, +and the Shawnee<br> + Said, as they journeyed along,--"On the western +slope of these mountains<br> + Dwells in his little village the Black Robe +chief of the Mission.<br> + Much he teaches the people, and tells them of +Mary and Jesus;<br> + Loud laugh their hearts with joy, and weep with +pain, as they hear him."<br> + Then, with a sudden and secret emotion, +Evangeline answered,<br> + "Let us go to the Mission, for there good +tidings await us!"<br> + Thither they turned their steeds; and behind a +spur of the mountains,<br> + Just as the sun went down, they heard a murmur +of voices,<br> + And in a meadow green and broad, by the bank of +a river,<br> + Saw the tents of the Christians, the tents of +the Jesuit Mission.<br> + Under a towering oak, that stood in the midst +of the village,<br> + Knelt the Black Robe chief with his children. A +crucifix fastened<br> + High on the trunk of the tree, and overshadowed +by grapevines,<br> + Looked with its agonized face on the multitude +kneeling beneath it.<br> + This was their rural chapel. Aloft, through the +intricate arches<br> + Of its aerial roof, arose the chant of their +vespers,<br> + Mingling its notes with the soft susurrus and +sighs of the branches.<br> + Silent, with heads uncovered, the travelers, +nearer approaching,<br> + Knelt on the swarded floor, and joined in the +evening devotions.<br> + But when the service was done, and the +benediction had fallen<br> + Forth from the hands of the priest, like seed +from the hands of the sower,<br> + Slowly the reverend man advanced to the +strangers, and bade them<br> + Welcome; and when they replied, he smiled with +benignant expression,<br> + Hearing the homelike sounds of his +mother-tongue in the forest,<br> + And, with words of kindness, conducted them +into his wigwam.<br> + There upon mats and skins they reposed, and on +cakes of the maize-ear<br> + Feasted, and slaked their thirst from the +water-gourd of the teacher.<br> + Soon was their story told; and the priest with +solemnity answered:--<br> + "Not six suns have risen and set since Gabriel, +seated<br> + On this mat by my side, where now the maiden +reposes,<br> + Told me this same sad tale; then arose and +continued his journey!"<br> + Soft was the voice of the priest, and he spake +with an accent of kindness;<br> + But on Evangeline's heart fell his words as in +winter the snowflakes<br> + Fall into some lone nest from which the birds +have departed.<br> + "Far to the north he has gone," continued the +priest; "but in autumn,<br> + When the chase is done, will return again to +the Mission."<br> + Then Evangeline said, and her voice was meek +and submissive,<br> + "Let me remain with thee, for my soul is sad +and afflicted."<br> + So seemed it wise and well unto all; and +betimes on the morrow,<br> + Mounting his Mexican steed, with his Indian +guides and companions,<br> + Homeward Basil returned, and Evangeline stayed +at the Mission.</p> +<p> Slowly, slowly, slowly the days succeeded +each other,--<br> + Days and weeks and months; and the fields of +maize that were springing<br> + Green from the ground when a stranger she came, +now waving about her,<br> + Lifted their slender shafts, with leaves +interlacing, and forming<br> + Cloisters for mendicant crows and granaries +pillaged by squirrels.<br> + Then in the golden weather the maize was +husked, and the maidens<br> + Blushed at each blood-red ear, for that +betokened a lover,<br> + But at the crooked laughed, and called it a +thief in the cornfield.<br> + Even the blood-red ear to Evangeline brought +not her lover.<br> + "Patience!" the priest would say; "have faith, +and thy prayer will be answered!<br> + Look at this delicate plant that lifts its head +from the meadow,<br> + See how its leaves all point to the north, as +true as the magnet;<br> + It is the compass-flower, that the finger of +God has suspended<br> + Here on its fragile stalk to direct the +traveler's journey<br> + Over the sea-like, pathless, limitless waste of +the desert.<br> + Such in the soul of man is faith. The blossoms +of passion,<br> + Gay and luxuriant flowers, are brighter and +fuller of fragrance,<br> + But they beguile us, and lead us astray, and +their odor is deadly.<br> + Only this humble plant can guide us here, and +hereafter<br> + Crown us with asphodel flowers, that are wet +with the dews of nepenthe."</p> +<p> So came the autumn, and passed, and the +winter--yet Gabriel came not;<br> + Blossomed the opening spring, and the notes of +the robin and bluebird<br> + Sounded sweet upon wold and in wood, yet +Gabriel came not.<br> + But on the breath of the summer winds a rumor +was wafted<br> + Sweeter than song of bird, or hue or odor of +blossom.<br> + Far to the north and east, it said, in the +Michigan forests,<br> + Gabriel had his lodge by the banks of the +Saginaw River.<br> + And, with returning guides, that sought the +lakes of St. Lawrence,<br> + Saying a sad farewell, Evangeline went from the +Mission.<br> + When over weary ways, by long and perilous +marches,<br> + She had attained at length the depths of the +Michigan forests,<br> + Found she the hunter's lodge deserted and +fallen to ruin!</p> +<p> Thus did the long sad years glide on, and in +seasons and places<br> + Divers and distant far was seen the wandering +maiden;--<br> + Now in the Tents of Grace of the meek Moravian +Missions,<br> + Now in the noisy camps and the battle-fields of +the army,<br> + Now in secluded hamlets, in towns and populous +cities.<br> + Like a phantom she came, and passed away +unremembered.<br> + Fair was she and young, when in hope began the +long journey;<br> + Faded was she and old, when in disappointment +it ended.<br> + Each succeeding year stole something away from +her beauty,<br> + Leaving behind it, broader and deeper, the +gloom and the shadow.<br> + Then there appeared and spread faint streaks of +gray o'er her forehead,<br> + Dawn of another life, that broke o'er her +earthly horizon,<br> + As in the eastern sky the first faint streaks +of the morning.</p> +<p> V.</p> +<p> In that delightful land which is washed by the +Delaware's waters,<br> + Guarding in sylvan shades the name of Penn the +apostle,<br> + Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream the +city he founded.<br> + There all the air is balm, and the peach is the +emblem of beauty,<br> + And the streets still re-echo the names of the +trees of the forest,<br> + As if they fain would appease the Dryads whose +haunts they molested.<br> + There from the troubled sea had Evangeline +landed, an exile,<br> + Finding among the children of Penn a home and a +country.<br> + There old René Leblanc had died; and +when he departed,<br> + Saw at his side only one of all his hundred +descendants.<br> + Something at least there was in the friendly +streets of the city,<br> + Something that spake to her heart, and made her +no longer a stranger;<br> + And her ear was pleased with the Thee and Thou +of the Quakers,<br> + For it recalled the past, the old Acadian +country,<br> + Where all men were equal, and all were brothers +and sisters.<br> + So, when the fruitless search, the disappointed +endeavor,<br> + Ended, to recommence no more upon earth, +uncomplaining,<br> + Thither, as leaves to the light, were turned +her thoughts and her footsteps.<br> + As from a mountain's top the rainy mists of the +morning<br> + Roll away, and afar we behold the landscape +below us,<br> + Sun-illumined, with shining rivers and cities +and hamlets,<br> + So fell the mists from her mind, and she saw +the world far below her,<br> + Dark no longer, but all illumined with love; +and the pathway<br> + Which she had climbed so far, lying smooth and +fair in the distance.<br> + Gabriel was not forgotten. Within her heart was +his image,<br> + Clothed in the beauty of love and youth, as +last she beheld him,<br> + Only more beautiful made by his deathlike +silence and absence.<br> + Into her thoughts of him time entered not, for +it was not.<br> + Over him years had no power; he was not +changed, but transfigured;<br> + He had become to her heart as one who is dead, +and not absent;<br> + Patience and abnegation of self, and devotion +to others,<br> + This was the lesson a life of trial and sorrow +had taught her.<br> + So was her love diffused, but, like to some +odorous spices,<br> + Suffered no waste nor loss, though filling the +air with aroma.<br> + Other hope had she none, nor wish in life, but +to follow,<br> + Meekly with reverent steps, the sacred feet of +her Saviour.<br> + Thus many years she lived as a Sister of Mercy; +frequenting<br> + Lonely and wretched roofs in the crowded lanes +of the city,<br> + Where distress and want concealed themselves +from the sunlight.<br> + Where disease and sorrow in garrets languished +neglected.<br> + Night after night when the world was asleep, as +the watchman repeated<br> + Loud, through the gusty streets, that all was +well in the city,<br> + High at some lonely window he saw the light of +her taper.<br> + Day after day, in the gray of the dawn, as slow +through the suburbs<br> + Plodded the German farmer, with flowers and +fruits for the market,<br> + Met he that meek, pale face, returning home +from its watchings.</p> +<p> Then it came to pass that a pestilence fell +on the city,<br> + Presaged by wondrous signs, and mostly by +flocks of wild pigeons,<br> + Darkening the sun in their flight, with naught +in their craws but an acorn.<br> + And, as the tides of the sea arise in the month +of September,<br> + Flooding some silver stream, till it spreads to +a lake in the meadow,<br> + So death flooded life, and, o'erflowing its +natural margin,<br> + Spread to a brackish lake the silver stream of +existence.<br> + Wealth had no power to bribe, nor beauty to +charm, the oppressor;<br> + But all perished alike beneath the scourge of +his anger;--<br> + Only, alas! the poor, who had neither friends +nor attendants,<br> + Crept away to die in the almshouse, home of the +homeless.<br> + Then in the suburbs it stood, in the midst of +meadows and woodlands;--<br> + Now the city surrounds it; but still, with its +gateway and wicket<br> + Meek, in the midst of splendor, its humble +walls seem to echo<br> + Softly the words of the Lord:--"The poor ye +always have with you."<br> + Thither, by night and by day, came the Sister +of Mercy. The dying<br> + Looked up into her face, and thought, indeed, +to behold there<br> + Gleams of celestial light encircle her forehead +with splendor,<br> + Such as the artist paints o'er the brows of +saints and apostles,<br> + Or such as hangs by night o'er a city seen at a +distance.<br> + Unto their eyes it seemed the lamps of the city +celestial,<br> + Into whose shining gates erelong their spirits +would enter.</p> +<p> Thus, on a Sabbath morn, through the +streets, deserted and silent,<br> + Wending her quiet way, she entered the door of +the almshouse.<br> + Sweet on the summer air was the odor of flowers +in the garden,<br> + And she paused on her way to gather the fairest +among them,<br> + That the dying once more might rejoice in their +fragrance and beauty.<br> + Then, as she mounted the stairs to the +corridors, cooled by the east-wind,<br> + Distant and soft on her ear fell the chimes +from the belfry of Christ Church,<br> + While, intermingled with these, across the +meadows were wafted<br> + Sounds of psalms, that were sung by the Swedes +in their church at Wicaco.<br> + Soft as descending wings fell the calm of the +hour on her spirit;<br> + Something within her said, "At length thy +trials are ended;"<br> + And, with light in her looks, she entered the +chambers of sickness.<br> + Noiselessly moved about the assiduous, careful +attendants,<br> + Moistening the feverish lip, and the aching +brow, and in silence<br> + Closing the sightless eyes of the dead, and +concealing their faces,<br> + Where on their pallets they lay, like drifts of +snow by the roadside.<br> + Many a languid head, upraised as Evangeline +entered,<br> + Turned on its pillow of pain to gaze while she +passed, for her presence<br> + Fell on their hearts like a ray of the sun on +the walls of a prison.<br> + And, as she looked around, she saw how Death, +the consoler,<br> + Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed +it forever.<br> + Many familiar forms had disappeared in the +night time;<br> + Vacant their places were, or filled already by +strangers.</p> +<p> Suddenly, as if arrested by fear or a +feeling of wonder,<br> + Still she stood, with her colorless lips apart, +while a shudder<br> + Ran through her frame, and, forgotten, the +flowerets dropped from her fingers,<br> + And from her eyes and cheeks the light and +bloom of the morning.<br> + Then there escaped from her lips a cry of such +terrible anguish,<br> + That the dying heard it, and started up from +their pillows.<br> + On the pallet before her was stretched the form +of an old man.<br> + Long, and thin, and gray were the locks that +shaded his temples;<br> + But, as he lay in the morning light, his face +for a moment<br> + Seemed to assume once more the forms of its +earlier manhood;<br> + So are wont to be changed the faces of those +who are dying.<br> + Hot and red on his lips still burned the flush +of the fever,<br> + As if life, like the Hebrew, with blood had +besprinkled its portals,<br> + That the Angel of Death might see the sign, and +pass over.<br> + Motionless, senseless, dying, he lay, and his +spirit exhausted<br> + Seemed to be sinking down through infinite +depths in the darkness,<br> + Darkness of slumber and death, forever sinking +and sinking.<br> + Then through those realms of shade, in +multiplied reverberations,<br> + Heard he that cry of pain, and through the hush +that succeeded<br> + Whispered a gentle voice, in accents tender and +saintlike,<br> + "Gabriel! O my beloved!" and died away into +silence.<br> + Then he beheld, in a dream, once more the home +of his childhood;<br> + Green Acadian meadows, with sylvan rivers among +them,<br> + Village, and mountain, and woodlands; and, +walking under their shadow,<br> + As in the days of her youth, Evangeline rose in +his vision.<br> + Tears came into his eyes; and as slowly he +lifted his eyelids,<br> + Vanished the vision away, but Evangeline knelt +by his bedside.<br> + Vainly he strove to whisper her name, for the +accents unuttered<br> + Died on his lips, and their motion revealed +what his tongue would have spoken.<br> + Vainly he strove to rise; and Evangeline, +kneeling beside him,<br> + Kissed his dying lips, and laid his head on her +bosom.<br> + Sweet was the light of his eyes; but it +suddenly sank into darkness,<br> + As when a lamp is blown out by a gust of wind +at a casement.</p> +<p> All was ended now, the hope, and the fear, +and the sorrow,<br> + All the aching of heart, the restless, +unsatisfied longing,<br> + All the dull, deep pain, and constant anguish +of patience!<br> + And, as she pressed once more the lifeless head +to her bosom,<br> + Meekly she bowed her own, and murmured, +"Father, I thank thee!"</p> +<p> Still stands the forest primeval; but far +away from its shadow,<br> + Side by side, in their nameless graves, the +lovers are sleeping.<br> + Under the humble walls of the little Catholic +churchyard,<br> + In the heart of the city, they lie, unknown and +unnoticed.<br> + Daily the tides of life go ebbing and flowing +beside them,<br> + Thousands of throbbing hearts, where theirs are +at rest and forever,<br> + Thousands of aching brains, where theirs no +longer are busy,<br> + Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have +ceased from their labors,<br> + Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have +completed their journey!</p> +<p> Still stands the forest primeval; but under +the shade of its branches<br> + Dwells another race, with other customs and +language.<br> + Only along the shore of the mournful and misty +Atlantic<br> + Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers +from exile<br> + Wandered back to their native land to die in +its bosom.<br> + In the fisherman's cot the wheel and the loom +are still busy;<br> + Maidens still wear their Norman caps and their +kirtles of homespun,<br> + And by the evening fire repeat Evangeline's +story,<br> + While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, +neighboring ocean<br> + Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the +wail of the forest.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> The early history +of Nova Scotia records the conflict for supremacy between the French and +the English. By the French the country was called Acadie, The Acadians +were essentially French in blood and in their sympathies, though the +English were from time to time in authority over the country. At one +time the English demanded an oath of allegiance from the Acadians. This +they refused unless it should be so modified as to exempt them from +bearing arms against France. It was finally decided to remove the +Acadians from the country, scattering them throughout the colonies in +such a way as to prevent their concerted action in attempting to return +to their homes. Accordingly they were driven on board the English +transports and three thousand of them sent out of the country. In the +confusion incident to their removal, families and friends were +separated, in many cases never to meet again. The story of Evangeline is +a recital of such separation.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Into what parts is the poem divided?</p> +<p>With what does Part First deal? Part Second?</p> +<p>What purpose do the introductory lines to Part First serve?</p> +<p>Which lines give you the best picture of Acadie?</p> +<p>Which lines best describe the Acadians?</p> +<p>Explain: "There the richest was poor, and the poorest lived in +abundance."</p> +<p>What characteristics had Evangeline? Find lines that tell you.</p> +<p>What picture does the poem give you of the home of Evangeline?</p> +<p>Who was Gabriel?</p> +<p>Describe the visit of Basil and Gabriel.</p> +<p>What were the characteristics of Father Leblanc?</p> +<p>Which lines in Longfellow's description of the contract and the +evening scene at the farmer's are the most beautiful?</p> +<p>Describe the betrothal feast in your own words.</p> +<p>What message did the voice of the thunder convey to Evangeline?</p> +<p>Describe in your own words the embarkation, and the death of +Evangeline's father.</p> +<p>Note the devotion of Evangeline as shown in her wanderings in search +of Gabriel in the United States: The visit of Evangeline to the Acadian +settlement in Louisiana, the southern home of Basil; Evangeline and +Basil follow Gabriel to the West; Evangeline as a Sister of Mercy in +Philadelphia; Gabriel found dying; The concluding stanza of the poem.</p> +<p>Which of the above descriptions impressed you most? Which is most +pathetic? Which do you like best?</p> +<p>Trace the journeyings of Evangeline on your map.</p> +<p>Find the lines that describe the burning of Grand-Pré. What +can you say about this description?</p> +<p>In this poem there are many beautiful descriptions. What kinds of +scenery are described? What kinds of people are described?</p> +<p>What had a life of sorrow taught Evangeline? Which lines tell you?</p> +<p>What led her to devote herself to the service of others?</p> +<p>What finally became her sole hope and wish?</p> +<p>Why does this poem endure? Do you like it? Why?</p> +<p>Which lines do you think are most beautiful?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p>"This is the forest primeval"</p> +<p>"Naught but tradition remains of Grand Pre"</p> +<p>"List to a Tale of Love in Acadie, home of the happy"</p> +<p>"Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven"</p> +<p>"Under the open sky, in the odorous air of the orchard"</p> +<p>"Fairest of all the maids was Evangeline, Benedict's daughter +Noblest of all the youths was Gabriel, son of the blacksmith"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_BUILDING_OF_THE_SHIP"></a>THE +BUILDING OF THE SHIP</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Build me +straight, O worthy Master!<br> + Staunch and strong, a +goodly vessel,<br> + That shall laugh at all disaster,<br> + And with wave and +whirlwind wrestle!"</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The merchant's +word<br> + Delighted the Master heard;<br> + For his heart was in his work, and the heart<br> + Giveth grace unto every Art.<br> + A quiet smile played round his lips,<br> + As the eddies and dimples of the tide<br> + Play round the bows of ships,<br> + That steadily at anchor ride.<br> + And with a voice that was full of glee,<br> + He answered, "Ere long we will launch<br> + A vessel as goodly, and strong, and staunch,<br> + As ever weathered a wintry sea!"<br> + And first with nicest skill and art,<br> + Perfect and finished in every part,<br> + A little model the Master wrought,<br> + Which should be to the larger plan<br> + What the child is to the man,<br> + Its counterpart in miniature;<br> + That with a hand more swift and sure<br> + The greater labor might be brought<br> + To answer to his inward thought.<br> + And as he labored his mind ran o'er<br> + The various ships that were built of yore,<br> + And above them all, and strangest of all,<br> + Towered the Great Harry, crank and tall,<br> + Whose picture was hanging on the wall,<br> + With bows and stern raised high in air,<br> + And balconies hanging here and there,<br> + And signal lanterns and flags afloat,<br> + And eight round towers, like those that frown<br> + From some old castle, looking down<br> + Upon the drawbridge and the moat,<br> + And he said, with a smile, "Our ship, I wis,<br> + Shall be of another form than this!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> It was of another +form, indeed;<br> + Built for freight, and yet for speed,<br> + A beautiful and gallant craft;<br> + Broad in the beam, that the stress of the blast,<br> + Pressing down upon sail and mast,<br> + Might not the sharp bows overwhelm;<br> + Broad in the beam, but sloping aft<br> + With graceful curve and slow degrees,<br> + That she might be docile to the helm,<br> + And that the currents of parted seas,<br> + Closing behind, with mighty force,<br> + Might aid and not impede her course.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> In the ship-yard +stood the Master,<br> + With the model of the +vessel,<br> + That should laugh at all disaster,<br> + And with wave and +whirlwind wrestle!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Covering many a +rood of ground,<br> + Lay the timber piled around;<br> + Timber of chestnut, and elm, and oak,<br> + And scattered here and there, with these,<br> + The knarred and crooked cedar knees;<br> + Brought from regions far away,<br> + From Pascagoula's sunny bay,<br> + And the banks of the roaring Roanoke!<br> + Ah! what a wondrous thing it is<br> + To note how many wheels of toil<br> + One thought, one word, can set in motion!<br> + There's not a ship that sails the ocean,<br> + But every climate, every soil,<br> + Must bring its tribute, great or small,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And help to build +the wooden wall!<br> + The sun was rising o'er the sea,<br> + And long the level shadows lay,<br> + As if they, too, the beams would be<br> + Of some great, airy argosy,<br> + Framed and launched in a single day,<br> + That silent architect, the sun,<br> + Had hewn and laid them every one,<br> + Ere the work of man was yet begun.<br> + Beside the Master, when he spoke,<br> + A youth, against an anchor leaning,<br> + Listened, to catch his slightest meaning.<br> + Only the long waves, as they broke<br> + In ripples on the pebbly beach,<br> + Interrupted the old man's speech.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Beautiful they +were, in sooth,<br> + The old man and the fiery youth!<br> + The old man, in whose busy brain<br> + Many a ship that sailed the main<br> + Was modelled o'er and o'er again;--<br> + The fiery youth, who was to be<br> + The heir of his dexterity,<br> + The heir of his house, and his daughter's hand,<br> + When he had built and launched from land<br> + What the elder head had planned.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Thus," said he, +"will we build this ship!<br> + Lay square the blocks upon the slip,<br> + And follow well this plan of mine.<br> + Choose the timbers with greatest care;<br> + Of all that is unsound beware;<br> + For only what is sound and strong<br> + To this vessel shall belong.<br> + Cedar of Maine and Georgia pine<br> + Here together shall combine.<br> + A goodly frame, and a goodly fame,<br> + And the UNION be her name!<br> + For the day that gives her to the sea<br> + Shall give my daughter unto thee!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The Master's word<br> + Enraptured the young man heard;<br> + And as he turned his face aside,<br> + With a look of joy and a thrill of pride,<br> + Standing before<br> + Her father's door,<br> + He saw the form of his promised bride.<br> + The sun shone on her golden hair,<br> + And her cheek was glowing fresh and fair,<br> + With the breath of morn and the soft sea air.<br> + Like a beauteous barge was she,<br> + Still at rest on the sandy beach,<br> + Just beyond the billow's reach;<br> + But he<br> + Was the restless, seething, stormy sea!<br> + Ah, how skilful grows the hand<br> + That obeyeth Love's command!<br> + It is the heart, and not the brain,<br> + That to the highest doth attain,<br> + And he who followeth Love's behest<br> + Far exceedeth all the rest!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Thus with the +rising of the sun<br> + Was the noble task begun,<br> + And soon throughout the ship-yard's bounds<br> + Were heard the intermingled sounds<br> + Of axes and of mallets, plied<br> + With vigorous arms on every side;<br> + Plied so deftly and so well,<br> + That, ere the shadows of evening fell,<br> + The keel of oak for a noble ship,<br> + Scarfed and bolted, straight and strong,<br> + Was lying ready, and stretched along<br> + The blocks, well placed upon the slip.<br> + Happy, thrice happy, every one<br> + Who sees his labor well begun,<br> + And not perplexed and multiplied,<br> + By idly waiting for time and tide!<br> + And when the hot, long day was o'er,<br> + The young man at the Master's door<br> + Sat with the maiden calm and still,<br> + And within the porch, a little more<br> + Removed beyond the evening chill,<br> + The father sat, and told them tales<br> + Of wrecks in the great September gales,<br> + Of pirates upon the Spanish Main,<br> + And ships that never came back again,<br> + The chance and change of a sailor's life,<br> + Want and plenty, rest and strife,<br> + His roving fancy, like the wind,<br> + That nothing can stay and nothing can bind,<br> + And the magic charm of foreign lands,<br> + With shadows of palms, and shining sands,<br> + Where the tumbling surf,<br> + O'er the coral reefs of Madagascar,<br> + Washes the feet of the swarthy Lascar,<br> + As he lies alone and asleep on the turf.<br> + And the trembling maiden held her breath<br> + At the tales of that awful, pitiless sea,<br> + With all its terror and mystery,<br> + The dim dark sea, so like unto Death,<br> + That divides and yet unites mankind!<br> + And whenever the old man paused, a gleam<br> + From the bowl of his pipe would awhile illume<br> + The silent group in the twilight gloom,<br> + And thoughtful faces, as in a dream;<br> + And for a moment one might mark<br> + What had been hidden by the dark,<br> + That the head of the maiden lay at rest<br> + Tenderly, on the young man's breast!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Day by day the +vessel grew,<br> + With timbers fashioned strong and true,<br> + Sternson and keelson and sternson-knee,<br> + Till, framed with perfect symmetry,<br> + A skeleton ship rose up to view!<br> + And around the bows and along the side<br> + The heavy hammers and mallets plied,<br> + Till after many a week, at length,<br> + Wonderful for form and strength,<br> + Sublime in its enormous bulk,<br> + Loomed aloft the shadowy hulk!<br> + And around it columns of smoke, upwreathing,<br> + Rose from the boiling, bubbling, seething,<br> + Cauldron, that glowed,<br> + And overflowed,<br> + With the black tar, heated for the sheathing.<br> + And amid the clamors<br> + Of clattering hammers,<br> + He who listened heard now and then<br> + The song of the Master and his men:--</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Build me +straight, O worthy Master,<br> + Staunch and strong, a +goodly vessel,<br> + That shall laugh at all disaster,<br> + And with wave and +whirlwind wrestle!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> With oaken brace +and copper band,<br> + Lay the rudder on the sand,<br> + That, like a thought, should have control<br> + Over the movement of the whole;<br> + And near it the anchor, whose giant hand<br> + Would reach down and grapple with the land,<br> + And immovable and fast<br> + Hold the great ship against the bellowing blast!<br> + And at the bows an image stood,<br> + By a cunning artist carved in wood,<br> + With robes of white, that far behind<br> + Seemed to be fluttering in the wind.<br> + It was not shaped in a classic mould,<br> + Not like a Nymph or Goddess of old,<br> + Or Naiad rising from the water,<br> + But modeled from the Master's daughter.<br> + On many a dreary and misty night,<br> + 'T will be seen by the rays of the signal light,<br> + Speeding along through the rain and the dark,<br> + Like a ghost in its snow-white sark,<br> + The pilot of some phantom hark,<br> + Guiding the vessel, in its flight,<br> + By a path none other knows aright!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Behold, at last,<br> + Each tall and tapering mast<br> + Is swung into its place;<br> + Shrouds and stays<br> + Holding it firm and fast!<br> + Long ago,<br> + In the deer-haunted forests of Maine,<br> + When upon mountain and plain<br> + Lay the snow,<br> + They fell,--those lordly pines!<br> + Those grand, majestic pines!<br> + 'Mid shouts and cheers<br> + The jaded steers,<br> + Panting beneath the goad,<br> + Dragged down the weary, winding road<br> + Those captive kings so straight and tall,<br> + To be shorn of their streaming hair,<br> + And, naked and bare,<br> + To feel the stress and the strain<br> + Of the wind and the reeling main,<br> + Whose roar<br> + Would remind them for evermore<br> + Of their native forests they should not see +again.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And everywhere<br> + The slender, graceful spars<br> + Poise aloft in the air,<br> + And at the mast-head,<br> + White, blue, and red,<br> + A flag unrolls the Stripes and Stars.<br> + Ah! when the wanderer, lonely, friendless,<br> + In foreign harbors shall behold<br> + That flag unrolled,<br> + 'T will be as a friendly hand<br> + Stretched out from his native land,<br> + Filling his heart with memories sweet and +endless!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> All is finished! +and at length<br> + Has come the bridal day<br> + Of beauty and of strength.<br> + To-day the vessel shall be launched!<br> + With fleecy clouds the sky is blanched,<br> + And o'er the bay,<br> + Slowly, in all his splendors dight,<br> + The great sun rises to behold the sight.<br> + The ocean old,<br> + Centuries old,<br> + Strong as youth, and as uncontrolled,<br> + Paces restless to and fro,<br> + Up and down the sands of gold.<br> + His beating heart is not at rest;<br> + And far and wide,<br> + With ceaseless flow,<br> + His beard of snow<br> + Heaves with the heaving of his breast.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> He waits +impatient for his bride.<br> + There she stands,<br> + With her foot upon the sands,<br> + Decked with flags and streamers gay,<br> + In honor of her marriage day,<br> + Her snow-white signals fluttering, blending,<br> + Bound her like a veil descending,<br> + Ready to be<br> + The bride of the gray old sea.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> On the deck +another bride<br> + Is standing by her lover's side.<br> + Shadows from the flags and shrouds,<br> + Like the shadows cast by clouds,<br> + Broken by many a sunny fleck,<br> + Fall around them on the deck.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The prayer is +said,<br> + The service read,<br> + The joyous bridegroom bows his head;<br> + And in tears the good old Master<br> + Shakes the brown hand of his son,<br> + Kisses his daughter's glowing cheek<br> + In silence, for he cannot speak,<br> + And ever faster<br> + Down his own the tears begin to run.<br> + The worthy pastor--<br> + The shepherd of that wandering flock,<br> + That has the ocean for its wold,<br> + That has the vessel for its fold,<br> + Leaping ever from rock to rock--<br> + Spake, with accents mild and clear,<br> + Words of warning, words of cheer,<br> + But tedious to the bridegroom's ear.<br> + He knew the chart<br> + Of the sailor's heart,<br> + All its pleasures and its griefs,<br> + All its shallows and rocky reefs,<br> + All those secret currents, that flow<br> + With such resistless undertow,<br> + And lift and drift, with terrible force,<br> + The will from its moorings and its course.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Therefore he +spake, and thus said he:--<br> + "Like unto ships far off at sea,<br> + Outward or homeward bound, are we,<br> + Before, behind, and all around,<br> + Floats and swings the horizon's bound,<br> + Seems at its distant rim to rise<br> + And climb the crystal wall of the skies,<br> + And then again to turn and sink,<br> + As if we could slide from its outer brink.<br> + Ah! it is not the sea,<br> + It is not the sea that sinks and shelves,<br> + But ourselves<br> + That rock and rise<br> + With endless and uneasy motion,<br> + Now touching the very skies,<br> + Now sinking into the depths of ocean.<br> + Ah! if our souls but poise and swing<br> + Like the compass in its brazen ring,<br> + Ever level and ever true<br> + To the toil and the task we have to do,<br> + We shall sail securely, and safely reach<br> + The Fortunate Isles, on whose shining beach<br> + The sights we see, and the sounds we hear,<br> + Will be those of joy and not of fear!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then the Master,<br> + With a gesture of command,<br> + Waved his hand;<br> + And at the word,<br> + Loud and sudden there was heard,<br> + All around them and below,<br> + The sound of hammers, blow on blow,<br> + Knocking away the shores and spurs.<br> + And see! she stirs!<br> + She starts,--she moves,--she seems to feel<br> + The thrill of life along her keel,<br> + And, spurning with her foot the ground,<br> + With one exulting, joyous bound,<br> + She leaps into the ocean's arms!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And lo! from the +assembled crowd<br> + There rose a shout, prolonged and loud,<br> + That to the ocean seemed to say,<br> + "Take her, Oh bridegroom, old and gray,<br> + Take her to thy protecting arms,<br> + With all her youth and all her charms!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> How beautiful she +is! How fair<br> + She lies within those arms, that press<br> + Her form with many a soft caress<br> + Of tenderness and watchful care!<br> + Sail forth into the sea, O ship!<br> + Through wind and wave, right onward steer!<br> + The moistened eye, the trembling lip,<br> + Are not the signs of doubt or fear.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Sail forth into +the sea of life,<br> + O gentle, loving, trusting wife,<br> + And safe from all adversity<br> + Upon the bosom of that sea<br> + Thy comings and thy goings be!<br> + For gentleness and love and trust<br> + Prevail o'er angry wave and gust;<br> + And in the wreck of noble lives<br> + Something immortal still survives!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Thou, too, sail +on, O Ship of State!<br> + Sail on, O UNION, strong and great!<br> + Humanity with all its fears,<br> + With all the hopes of future years,<br> + Is hanging breathless on thy fate!<br> + We know what Master laid thy keel,<br> + What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,<br> + Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,<br> + What anvils rang, what hammers beat,<br> + In what a forge and what a heat<br> + Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!<br> + Fear not each sudden sound and shock,<br> + 'T is of the wave and not the rock;<br> + 'T is but the flapping of the sail,<br> + And not a rent made by the gale!<br> + In spite of rock and tempest's roar,<br> + In spite of false lights on the shore,<br> + Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!<br> + Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,<br> + Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,<br> + Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,<br> + Are all with thee,--are all with thee!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Quote the lines that tell the kind of ship the Master is to build.</p> +<p>What comparison does the Master use in speaking of the model?</p> +<p>What does Longfellow say that one thought can do?</p> +<p>Explain lines 84 to 93.</p> +<p>Account for the name given the ship by the Master.</p> +<p>Describe the daughter in your own words.</p> +<p>Explain: "It is the heart, and not the brain, That to the highest +doth attain."</p> +<p>Quote the song of the Master and his men.</p> +<p>What uses are assigned to each of the following: "the rudder," "the +anchor," "the image at the bows."</p> +<p>Read the description of "those lordly pines."</p> +<p>What does Longfellow say the flag of the ship will be to the +wanderer?</p> +<p>Longfellow comments on the marriage of the ship with the sea. +Explain the figure of speech.</p> +<p>Memorize the pastor's words.</p> +<p>Describe the launching in your own words.</p> +<p>Have you ever seen a ship launched?</p> +<p>What does the building of the ship symbolize?</p> +<p>Memorize the apostrophe to the ship of state and explain the symbol +in detail.</p> +<p>Find examples of alliteration.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "airy argosy"<br> + "heir of his dexterity"<br> + "slip"<br> + "scarfed"<br> + "Like a beauteous barge was she"<br> + "moat"<br> + "knarred"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="JOHN_GREENLEAF_WHITTIER"></a>JOHN +GREENLEAF WHITTIER</p> +<p>The year 1807 was the birth year of both Whittier and +Longfellow--two poets in whom the love of human nature is a marked +trait. Little of the scholar, however, is to be found in the New England +Quaker whose lot it was to pass from plow to politics, and from politics +to literature. John Greenleaf Whittier was born in East Haverhill, a +rugged, hilly section of Essex County, Massachusetts. In the southern +part of this same county lies Salem, where three years earlier Hawthorne +was born.</p> +<p>The home of Whittier was in a country district, and to this day no +roof is in sight from the old homestead. The house, considerably more +than a hundred years old at the time of the poet's birth, was built by +his great-great-grandfather. The Whittiers were mostly stalwart men, six +feet in height, who lived out their three-score years and ten; but the +poet, though his years were more than any of his immediate ancestors, +fell a little short of the family stature, and was of slender frame. +"Snow-bound" gives us a faithful picture of the Whittier homestead and +household, as they were eighty years ago.</p> +<p>The life they lived there was one utterly without luxury, and with +few means of culture. There were perhaps thirty hooks in the house, +largely Quaker tracts and journals. Of course there was the Bible, and +through all his poetry Whittier reverts to the Bible for phrases and +images as naturally as Longfellow turns to mediaeval legend. Memorable +were the evenings when the school teacher came and read to the family +from books he brought with him,--one most memorable, when the book was a +copy of Burns. On Whittier's first visit to Boston, an occasion honored +by his wearing "boughten buttons" on his homespun coat, and a broad-brim +hat made by his aunt out of pasteboard covered with drab velvet, he +purchased a copy of Shakespeare.</p> +<p>He attended the district school a few weeks each winter, and when he +was nineteen he completed his scanty education with a year at an academy +at Haverhill. From the time when the reading of Burns woke the poet in +him, he was constantly writing rhymes, covering his slate with them, and +sometimes copying them out painstakingly on paper.</p> +<p>Without Whittier's knowledge, his sister sent one of his poems to a +paper in a neighboring town. The Editor became interested in his +contributor and, as the story goes, drove out to the country home and +Whittier was called in from the field to meet the smart young newspaper +man. Thus began his literary career.</p> +<p>He became an Editor in Boston and later in Hartford, but the work +proving too trying for his delicate health, he returned to the farm. +Meanwhile, he was contributing verse to the newspapers.</p> +<p>During this time he was elected to the Legislature of Massachusetts +and had some prospects of being nominated for Congress.</p> +<p>Later in life he returned again and again to the purely lyrical +notes which he had taken up in his youth.</p> +<p>Two subjects always appealed strongly to Whitter's poetic +imagination. One is the slender body of legendary lore that has come +down to us from the colonial days of New England, including a few tales +of the trials and persecutions of the early Quaker. "Skipper Ireson's +Ride" belongs to this group of ballads. The other favorite field of +Whittier's poetic fancy was the humble rural life of his own +childhood--"In School-Days" and "Snow-Bound" belong to this class of New +England idyls. The latter will always be a favorite with American +readers, both for its simple rustic pictures, and for its deep religious +faith.</p> +<p>Whittier never married. The little romances of his youth slipped +quietly into memories, and imparted a finer tone to the poetry of his +maturer years. He died at Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, in the +eighty-fifth year of his age. Holmes was the only one of the New England +singers left to mourn his departure:</p> +<p> "Best loved and +saintliest of our singing train,<br> + Earth's noblest +tributes to thy name belong.<br> + A lifelong record +closed without a stain,<br> + A blameless memory +shrined in deathless song."</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="SNOW-BOUND"></a>SNOW-BOUND</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">A WINTER IDYL</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JOHN G. WHITTIER</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> The Sun that +brief December day<br> + Rose cheerless over hills of gray,<br> + And, darkly circled, gave at noon<br> + A sadder light than +waning moon.<br> + Slow tracing down the +thickening sky<br> + Its mute and ominous prophecy,<br> + A portent seeming less than threat,<br> + It sank from sight before it set.<br> + A chill no coat, however stout,<br> + Of homespun stuff could quite shut out.<br> + A hard, dull bitterness of cold,<br> + That checked, mid-vein, the circling race<br> + Of life-blood in the sharpened face,<br> + The coming of the snow-storm told.<br> + The wind blew east; we heard the roar<br> + Of Ocean on his wintry shore,<br> + And felt the strong pulse throbbing there<br> + Beat with low rhythm our inland air.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Meanwhile we did +our nightly chores,--<br> + Brought in the wood from out of doors,<br> + Littered the stalls, and from the mows<br> + Raked down the herd's-grass for the cows:<br> + Heard the horse whinnying for his corn;<br> + And, sharply clashing horn on horn,<br> + Impatient down the stanchion rows<br> + The cattle shake their walnut bows;<br> + While, peering from his early perch<br> + Upon the scaffold's pole of birch,<br> + The cock his crested helmet bent<br> + And down his querulous challenge sent<br> + Unwarmed by any sunset light<br> + The gray day darkened into night,<br> + A night made hoary with the swarm<br> + And whirl-dance of the blinding storm,<br> + As zigzag wavering to and fro<br> + Crossed and recrossed the winged snow:<br> + And ere the early bedtime came<br> + The white drift piled the window-frame,<br> + And through the glass the clothes-line posts<br> + Looked in like tall and sheeted ghosts.<br> + So all night long the storm roared on:<br> + The morning broke without a sun;<br> + In tiny spherule traced with lines<br> + Of Nature's geometric signs,<br> + In starry flake and pellicle<br> + All day the hoary meteor fell;<br> + And, when the second morning shone,<br> + We looked upon a world unknown,<br> + On nothing we could call our own.<br> + Around the glistening wonder bent<br> + The blue walls of the firmament,<br> + No cloud above, no earth below,--<br> + A universe of sky and snow!<br> + The old familiar sights of ours<br> + Took marvelous shapes; strange domes and towers<br> + Rose up where sty or corn-crib stood,<br> + Or garden-wall or belt of wood;<br> + A smooth white mound the brush-pile showed,<br> + A fenceless drift what once was road;<br> + The bridle-post an old man sat<br> + With loose-flung coat and high cocked hat;<br> + The well-curb had a Chinese roof;<br> + And even the long sweep, high aloof,<br> + In its slant splendor, seemed to tell<br> + Of Pisa's leaning miracle.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> A prompt, +decisive man, no breath<br> + Our father wasted: "Boys, a path!"<br> + Well pleased, (for when did farmer boy<br> + Count such a summons less than joy?)<br> + Our buskins on our feet we drew;<br> + With mittened hands, +and caps drawn low,<br> + To guard our necks and +ears from snow,<br> + We cut the solid whiteness through;<br> + And, where the drift was deepest, made<br> + A tunnel walled and overlaid<br> + With dazzling crystal: we had read<br> + Of rare Aladdin's wondrous cave,<br> + And to our own his name we gave,<br> + With many a wish the luck were ours<br> + To test his lamp's supernal powers.<br> + We reached the barn with merry din,<br> + And roused the prisoned brutes within.<br> + The old horse thrust his long head out,<br> + And grave with wonder gazed about;<br> + The cock his lusty greeting said,<br> + And forth his speckled harem led;<br> + The oxen lashed their tails, and hooked,<br> + And mild reproach of hunger looked;<br> + The hornèd patriarch of the sheep,<br> + Like Egypt's Amun roused from sleep,<br> + Shook his sage head with gesture mute,<br> + And emphasized with stamp of foot.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> All day the gusty +north-wind bore<br> + The loosened drift its breath before;<br> + Low circling round its southern zone,<br> + The sun through dazzling snow-mist shone.<br> + No church-bell lent its Christian tone<br> + To the savage air, no social smoke<br> + Curled over woods of snow-hung oak.<br> + A solitude made more intense<br> + By dreary-voicèd elements,<br> + The shrieking of the mindless wind,<br> + The moaning tree-boughs swaying blind,<br> + And on the glass the unmeaning beat<br> + Of ghostly finger-tips of sleet.<br> + Beyond the circle of our hearth<br> + No welcome sound of toil or mirth<br> + Unbound the spell, and testified<br> + Of human life and thought outside.<br> + We minded that the sharpest ear<br> + The buried brooklet could not hear,<br> + The music of whose liquid lip<br> + Had been to us companionship,<br> + And, in our lonely life, had grown<br> + To have an almost human tone.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> As night drew on, +and, from the crest<br> + Of wooded knolls that ridged the west,<br> + The sun, a snow-blown traveler, sank<br> + From sight beneath the smothering bank,<br> + We piled with care our nightly stack<br> + Of wood against the chimney-back,--<br> + The oaken log, green, huge, and thick,<br> + And on its top the stout back-stick;<br> + The knotty forestick laid apart,<br> + And filled between with curious art<br> + The ragged brush; then, hovering near,<br> + We watched the first red blaze appear,<br> + Heard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam<br> + On whitewashed wall and sagging beam,<br> + Until the old, rude-furnished room<br> + Burst, flower-like, into rosy bloom;<br> + While radiant with a mimic flame<br> + Outside the sparkling drift became<br> + And through the bare-boughed lilac-tree<br> + Our own warm hearth seemed blazing free.<br> + The crane and pendent trammels showed,<br> + The Turk's heads on the andirons glowed;<br> + While childish fancy, prompt to tell<br> + The meaning of the miracle,<br> + Whispered the old rhyme: <i>"Under the tree,<br> + When fire outdoors burns merrily,<br> + There the witches are making tea."</i></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The moon above +the eastern wood<br> + Shone at its full; the hill-range stood<br> + Transfigured in the silver flood,<br> + Its blown snows flashing cold and keen,<br> + Dead white, save where some sharp ravine<br> + Took shadow, or the sombre green<br> + Of hemlocks turned to pitchy black<br> + Against the whiteness of their back.<br> + For such a world and such a night<br> + Most fitting that unwarming light,<br> + Which only seemed where'er it fell<br> + To make the coldness visible.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Shut in from all +the world without,<br> + We sat the clean-winged hearth about,<br> + Content to let the north-wind roar<br> + In baffled rage at pane and door,<br> + While the red logs before us beat<br> + The frost-line back with tropic heat;<br> + And ever, when a louder blast<br> + Shook beam and rafter as it passed,<br> + The merrier up its roaring draught<br> + The great throat of the chimney laughed,<br> + The house-dog on his paws outspread<br> + Laid to the fire his drowsy head,<br> + The cat's dark silhouette on the wall<br> + A couchant tiger's seemed to fall;<br> + And, for the winter fireside meet,<br> + Between the andirons' straddling feet,<br> + The mug of cider simmered slow,<br> + The apples sputtered in a row,<br> + And, close at hand, the basket stood<br> + With nuts from brown October's wood.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> What matter how +the night behaved?<br> + What matter how the north-wind raved?<br> + Blow high, blow low, not all its snow<br> + Could quench our hearth-fire's ruddy glow.<br> + O Time and Change!--with hair as gray<br> + As was my sire's that winter day,<br> + How strange it seems, with so much gone<br> + Of life and love, to still live on!<br> + Ah, brother! only I and thou<br> + Are left of all that circle now,--<br> + The dear home faces whereupon<br> + That fitful firelight paled and shone.<br> + Henceforward, listen as we will,<br> + The voices of that hearth are still;<br> + Look where we may, the wide earth o'er,<br> + Those lighted faces smile no more.<br> + We tread the paths their feet have worn,<br> + We sit beneath their +orchard trees,<br> + We hear, like them, the +hum of bees<br> + And rustle of the bladed corn;<br> + We turn the pages that they read,<br> + Their written words we +linger o'er,<br> + But in the sun they cast no shade,<br> + No voice is heard, no sign is made,<br> + No step is on the +conscious floor!<br> + Yet Love will dream and Faith will trust<br> + (Since He who knows our need is just)<br> + That somehow, somewhere, meet we must.<br> + Alas for him who never sees<br> + The stars shine through his cypress-trees!<br> + Who, hopeless, lays his dead away,<br> + Nor looks to see the breaking day<br> + Across the mournful marbles play!<br> + Who hath not learned, in hours of faith,<br> + The truth to flesh and +sense unknown,<br> + That Life is ever lord of Death,<br> + And Love can never lose +its own!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> We sped the time +with stories old,<br> + Wrought puzzles out, and riddles told,<br> + Or stammered from our school-book lore<br> + "The chief of Gambia's golden shore."<br> + Our father rode again his ride<br> + On Memphremagog's wooded side;<br> + Sat down again to moose and samp<br> + In trapper's hut and Indian camp;<br> + Lived o'er the old idyllic ease<br> + Beneath St. François' hemlock trees;<br> + Again for him the moonlight shone<br> + On Norman cap and bodiced zone;<br> + Again he heard the violin play<br> + Which led the village dance away,<br> + And mingled in its merry whirl<br> + The grandam and the laughing girl.<br> + Or, nearer home, our steps he led<br> + Where Salisbury's level marshes spread<br> + Mile-wide as flies the +laden bee;<br> + Where merry mowers, hale and strong,<br> + Swept, scythe on scythe, their swaths along<br> + The low green prairies +of the sea.<br> + We shared the fishing off Boar's Head,<br> + And round the rocky +Isles of Shoals<br> + The hake-broil on the +driftwood coals;<br> + The chowder on the sand-beach made,<br> + Dipped by the hungry, steaming hot,<br> + With spoons of clam-shell from the pot.<br> + We heard the tales of witchcraft old,<br> + And dream and sign and marvel told<br> + To sleepy listeners as they lay<br> + Stretched idly on the salted hay,<br> + Adrift along the winding shores,<br> + When favoring breezes +deigned to blow<br> + The square sail of the +gundalow,<br> + And idle lay the useless oars.<br> + Our mother, while she turned her wheel<br> + Or run the new-knit stocking-heel,<br> + Told how the Indian hordes came down<br> + At midnight on Cochecho town,<br> + And how her own great-uncle bore<br> + His cruel scalp-mark to fourscore.<br> + Recalling, in her fitting phrase,<br> + So rich and picturesque +and free<br> + (The common unrhymed poetry<br> + Of simple life and country ways),<br> + The story of her early days,--<br> + She made us welcome to her home;<br> + Old hearths grew wide to give us room;<br> + We stole with her a frightened look<br> + At the gray wizard's conjuring-book,<br> + The fame whereof went far and wide<br> + Through all the simple country-side;<br> + We heard the hawks at twilight play,<br> + The boat-horn on Piscataqua,<br> + The loon's weird laughter far away;</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> We fished her +little trout-brook, knew<br> + What flowers in wood and meadow grew,<br> + What sunny hillsides autumn-brown<br> + She climbed to shake the ripe nuts down,<br> + Saw where in sheltered cove and bay<br> + The ducks' black squadron anchored lay,<br> + And heard the wild geese calling loud<br> + Beneath the gray November cloud.<br> + Then, haply, with a look more grave,<br> + And soberer tone, some tale she gave<br> + From painful Sewel's ancient tome,<br> + Beloved in every Quaker home,<br> + Of faith fire-winged by martyrdom,<br> + Or Chalkley's Journal, old and quaint,--<br> + Gentlest of skippers, rare sea-saint!--<br> + Who, when the dreary calms prevailed,<br> + And water-butt and bread-cask failed,<br> + And cruel, hungry eyes pursued<br> + His portly presence, mad for food,<br> + With dark hints muttered under breath<br> + Of casting lots for life or death,<br> + Offered, if Heaven withheld supplies,<br> + To be himself the sacrifice.<br> + Then, suddenly, as if to save<br> + The good man from his living grave,<br> + A ripple on the water grew,<br> + A school of porpoise flashed in view.<br> + "Take, eat," he said, "and be content;<br> + These fishes in my stead are sent<br> + By Him who gave the tangled ram<br> + To spare the child of Abraham."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Our uncle, +innocent of books,<br> + Was rich in lore of fields and brooks,<br> + The ancient teachers never dumb<br> + Of Nature's unhoused lyceum.<br> + In moons and tides and weather wise,<br> + He read the clouds as prophecies,<br> + And foul or fair could well divine,<br> + By many an occult hint and sign,<br> + Holding the cunning-warded keys<br> + To all the woodcraft mysteries;<br> + Himself to Nature's heart so near<br> + That all her voices in his ear<br> + Of beast or bird had meanings clear,<br> + Like Apollonius of old,<br> + Who knew the tales the sparrows told,<br> + Or Hermes, who interpreted<br> + What the sage cranes of Nilus said;<br> + A simple, guileless, childlike man,<br> + Content to live where life began;<br> + Strong only on his native grounds,<br> + The little world of sights and sounds<br> + Whose girdle was the parish bounds,<br> + Whereof his fondly partial pride<br> + The common features magnified,<br> + As Surrey hills to mountains grew<br> + In White of Selborne's loving view,--<br> + He told how teal and loon he shot,<br> + And how the eagle's eggs he got,<br> + The feats on pond and river done,<br> + The prodigies of rod and gun;<br> + Till, warming with the tales he told,<br> + Forgotten was the outside cold,<br> + The bitter wind unheeded blew,<br> + From ripening corn the pigeons flew,<br> + The partridge drummed i' the wood, the mink<br> + Went fishing down the river-brink.<br> + In fields with bean or clover gay,<br> + The woodchuck, like a hermit gray,<br> + Peered from the doorway +of his cell;<br> + The muskrat plied the mason's trade,<br> + And tier by tier his mud-walls laid;<br> + And from the shagbark overhead<br> + The grizzled squirrel +dropped his shell.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Next, the dear +aunt, whose smile of cheer<br> + And voice in dreams I see and hear,--<br> + The sweetest woman ever Fate<br> + Perverse denied a household mate,<br> + Who, lonely, homeless, not the less<br> + Found peace in love's unselfishness,<br> + And welcome whereso'er she went,<br> + A calm and gracious element,<br> + Whose presence seemed the sweet income<br> + And womanly atmosphere of home,--<br> + Called up her girlhood memories,<br> + The huskings and the apple-bees,<br> + The sleigh-rides and the summer sails,<br> + Weaving through all the poor details<br> + And homespun warp of circumstance<br> + A golden woof-thread of romance.<br> + For well she kept her genial mood<br> + And simple faith of maidenhood;<br> + Before her still a cloud-land lay,<br> + The mirage loomed across her way;<br> + The morning dew, that dried so soon<br> + With others, glistened at her noon;<br> + Through years of toil and soil and care,<br> + From glossy tress to thin gray hair,<br> + All unprofaned she held apart<br> + The virgin fancies of the heart.<br> + Be shame to him of woman born<br> + Who had for such but thought of scorn.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> There, too, our +elder sister plied<br> + Her evening task the stand beside;<br> + A full, rich nature, free to trust,<br> + Truthful and almost sternly just,<br> + Impulsive, earnest, prompt to act,<br> + And make her generous thought a fact,<br> + Keeping with many a light disguise<br> + The secret of self-sacrifice.<br> + O heart sore-tried! thou hast the best<br> + That Heaven itself could give thee,--rest,<br> + Rest from all bitter thoughts and things!<br> + How many a poor one's +blessing went<br> + With thee beneath the +low green tent<br> + Whose curtain never outward swings!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> As one who held +herself a part<br> + Of all she saw, and let her heart<br> + Against the household +bosom lean,<br> + Upon the motley-braided mat<br> + Our youngest and our dearest sat,<br> + Lifting her large, sweet, asking eyes,<br> + Now bathed within the fadeless green<br> + And holy peace of Paradise.<br> + Oh, looking from some heavenly hill,<br> + Or from the shade of +saintly palms,<br> + Or silver reach of +river calms,<br> + Do those large eyes behold me still?<br> + With me one little year ago:--<br> + The chill weight of the winter snow<br> + For months upon her +grave has lain;<br> + And now, when summer south-winds blow<br> + And brier and harebell +bloom again,<br> + I tread the pleasant paths we trod,<br> + I see the violet-sprinkled sod,<br> + Whereon she leaned, too frail and weak<br> + The hillside flowers she loved to seek,<br> + Yet following me where'er I went<br> + With dark eyes full of love's content.<br> + The birds are glad; the brier-rose fills<br> + The air with sweetness; all the hills<br> + Stretch green to June's unclouded sky;<br> + But still I wait with ear and eye<br> + For something gone which should be nigh,<br> + A loss in all familiar things,<br> + In flower that blooms, and bird that sings.<br> + And yet, dear heart! remembering thee,<br> + Am I not richer than of +old?<br> + Safe in thy immortality,<br> + What change can reach +the wealth I hold?<br> + What chance can mar the +pearl and gold<br> + Thy love hath left in trust with me?<br> + And while in life's late afternoon,<br> + Where cool and long the +shadows grow,<br> + I walk to meet the night that soon<br> + Shall shape and shadow +overflow,<br> + I cannot feel that thou art far,<br> + Since near at need the angels are;<br> + And when the sunset gates unbar,<br> + Shall I not see thee +waiting stand,<br> + And, white against the evening star,<br> + The welcome of thy beckoning hand?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Brisk wielder of +the birch and rule,<br> + The master of the district school<br> + Held at the fire his favored place;<br> + Its warm glow lit a laughing face<br> + Fresh-hued and fair, where scarce appeared<br> + The uncertain prophecy of beard.<br> + He teased the mitten-blinded cat,<br> + Played cross-pins on my uncle's hat,<br> + Sang songs, and told us what befalls<br> + In classic Dartmouth's college halls.<br> + Born the wild Northern hills among,<br> + From whence his yeoman father wrung<br> + By patient toil subsistence scant,<br> + Not competence and yet not want,<br> + He early gained the power to pay<br> + His cheerful, self-reliant way;<br> + Could doff at ease his scholar's gown<br> + To peddle wares from town to town;<br> + Or through the long vacation's reach<br> + In lonely lowland districts teach,<br> + Where all the droll experience found<br> + At stranger hearths in boarding round,<br> + The moonlit skater's keen delight,<br> + The sleigh-drive through the frosty night,<br> + The rustic party, with its rough<br> + Accompaniment of blind-man's-buff,<br> + And whirling plate, and forfeits paid,<br> + His winter task a pastime made.<br> + Happy the snow-locked homes wherein<br> + He tuned his merry violin,<br> + Or played the athlete in the barn,<br> + Or held the good dame's winding yarn,<br> + Of mirth-provoking versions told<br> + Of classic legends rare and old,<br> + Wherein the scenes of Greece and Rome<br> + Had all the commonplace of home,<br> + And little seemed at best the odds<br> + 'Twixt Yankee peddlers and old gods;<br> + Where Pindus-born Arachthus took<br> + The guise of any grist-mill brook,<br> + And dread Olympus at his will<br> + Became a huckleberry hill.<br> + A careless boy that night he seemed;<br> + But at his desk he had +the look<br> + And air of one who wisely schemed,<br> + And hostage from the +future took<br> + In trainèd +thought and lore of book.<br> + Another guest that winter night<br> + Flashed back from lustrous eyes the light.<br> + Unmarked by time, and yet not young,<br> + The honeyed music of her tongue<br> + And words of meekness scarcely told<br> + A nature passionate and bold,<br> + Strong, self-concentred, spurning guide,<br> + Its milder features dwarfed beside<br> + Her unbent will's majestic pride.<br> + She sat among us, at the best,<br> + A not unfeared, half-welcome guest,<br> + Rebuking with her cultured phrase<br> + Our homeliness of words and ways.<br> + A certain pard-like, treacherous grace<br> + Swayed the lithe limbs +and dropped the lash,<br> + Lent the white teeth +their dazzling flash;<br> + And under low brows, +black with night,<br> + Rayed out at times a +dangerous light;<br> + The sharp heat-lightnings of her face<br> + Presaging ill to him whom Fate<br> + Condemned to share her love or hate.<br> + A woman tropical, intense<br> + In thought and act, in soul and sense,<br> + She blended in a like degree<br> + The vixen and the devotee,<br> + Revealing with each freak or feint<br> + The temper of Petruchio's Kate,<br> + The raptures of Siena's saint.<br> + Her tapering hand and rounded wrist<br> + Had facile power to form a fist;<br> + The warm, dark languish of her eyes<br> + Was never safe from wrath's surprise.<br> + Brows saintly calm and lips devout<br> + Knew every change of scowl and pout;<br> + And the sweet voice had notes more high<br> + And shrill for social battle-cry.<br> + Since then what old cathedral town<br> + Has missed her pilgrim staff and gown,<br> + What convent-gate has held its lock<br> + Against the challenge of her knock!<br> + Through Smyrna's plague-hushed thoroughfares,<br> + Up sea-set Malta's rocky stairs,<br> + Gray olive slopes of hills that hem<br> + Thy tombs and shrines, Jerusalem,<br> + Or startling on her desert throne<br> + The crazy Queen of Lebanon<br> + With claims fantastic as her own,<br> + Her tireless feet have held their way;<br> + And still, unrestful, bowed and gray,<br> + She watches under Eastern skies,<br> + With hope each day +renewed and fresh,<br> + The Lord's quick coming in the flesh,<br> + Whereof she dreams and prophesies!<br> + Where'er her troubled path may be,<br> + The Lord's sweet pity +with her go!<br> + The outward wayward life we see,<br> + The hidden springs we +may not know.<br> + Nor is it given us to discern<br> + What threads the fatal +sisters spun,<br> + Through what ancestral +years has run<br> + The sorrow with the woman born,<br> + What forged her cruel chain of moods,<br> + What set her feet in solitudes,<br> + And held the love +within her mute,<br> + What mingled madness in the blood,<br> + A lifelong discord and +annoy,<br> + Water of tears with oil +of joy,<br> + And hid within the folded bud<br> + Perversities of flower +and fruit.<br> + It is not ours to separate<br> + The tangled skein of will and fate,<br> + To show what metes and bounds should stand<br> + Upon the soul's debatable land,<br> + And between choice and Providence<br> + Divide the circle of events;<br> + But He who knows our +frame is just,<br> + Merciful and compassionate,<br> + And full of sweet assurances<br> + And hope for all the language is,<br> + That He remembereth we +are dust!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> At last the great +logs, crumbling low,<br> + Sent out a dull and duller glow,<br> + The bull's-eye watch, that hung in view,<br> + Ticking its weary circuit through,<br> + Pointed with mutely-warning sign<br> + Its black hand to the hour of nine.<br> + That sign the pleasant circle broke:<br> + My uncle ceased his pipe to smoke,<br> + Knocked from its bowl the refuse gray,<br> + And laid it tenderly away,<br> + Then roused himself to safely cover<br> + The dull red brand with ashes over.<br> + And while, with care, our mother laid<br> + The work aside, her steps she stayed<br> + One moment, seeking to express<br> + Her grateful sense of happiness<br> + For food and shelter, warmth and health,<br> + And love's contentment more than wealth,<br> + With simple wishes (not the weak,<br> + Vain prayers which no fulfilment seek,<br> + But such as warm the generous heart,<br> + O'er-prompt to do with Heaven its part)<br> + That none might lack, that bitter night,<br> + For bread and clothing, warmth and light.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Within our beds +awhile we heard<br> + The wind that round the gables roared,<br> + With now and then a ruder shock,<br> + Which made our very bedsteads rock.<br> + We heard the loosened clapboards tost,<br> + The board-nails snapping in the frost;<br> + And on us, through the unplastered wall,<br> + Felt the lightsifted snow-flakes fall;<br> + But sleep stole on, as sleep will do<br> + When hearts are light and life is new;<br> + Faint and more faint the murmurs grew,<br> + Till in the summer-land of dreams<br> + They softened to the sound of streams,<br> + Low stir of leaves, and dip of oars,<br> + And lapsing waves on quiet shores.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Next morn we +wakened with the shout<br> + Of merry voices high and clear;<br> + And saw the teamsters drawing near<br> + To break the drifted highways out.<br> + Down the long hillside treading slow<br> + We saw the half-buried oxen go,<br> + Shaking the snow from heads uptost,<br> + Their straining nostrils white with frost.<br> + Before our door the straggling train<br> + Drew up, an added team to gain.<br> + The elders threshed their hands a-cold,<br> + Passed, with the +cider-mug, their jokes<br> + From lip to lip; the +younger folks<br> + Down the loose snow-banks, wrestling, rolled,<br> + Then toiled again the cavalcade<br> + O'er windy hill, +through clogged ravine,<br> + And woodland paths that +wound between<br> + Low drooping-pine-boughs winter-weighed.<br> + From every barn a team afoot,<br> + At every house a new recruit,<br> + Where, drawn by Nature's subtlest law,<br> + Haply the watchful young men saw<br> + Sweet doorway pictures of the curls<br> + And curious eyes of merry girls,<br> + Lifting their hands in mock defense<br> + Against the snow-balls' compliments,<br> + And reading in each missive tost<br> + The charm which Eden never lost.<br> + We heard once more the sleigh-bells' sound;<br> + And, following where the teamsters led,<br> + The wise old Doctor went his round,<br> + Just pausing at our door to say,<br> + In the brief autocratic way<br> + Of one who, prompt at Duty's call,<br> + Was free to urge her claim on all,<br> + That some poor neighbor +sick abed<br> + At night our mother's aid would need.<br> + For, one in generous thought and deed,<br> + What mattered in the +sufferer's sight<br> + The Quaker matron's +inward light,<br> + The Doctor's mail of Calvin's creed?<br> + All hearts confess the saints elect<br> + Who, twain, in faith, +in love agree,<br> + And melt not in an acid sect<br> + The Christian pearl of +charity!<br> + So days went on: a week +had passed<br> + Since the great world was heard from last.<br> + The Almanac we studied o'er,<br> + Read and reread our little store<br> + Of books and pamphlets, scarce a score;<br> + One harmless novel, mostly hid<br> + From younger eyes, a book forbid,<br> + And poetry, (or good or bad,<br> + A single book was all we had,)<br> + Where Ellwood's meek, drab-skirted Muse,<br> + A stranger to the +heathen Nine,<br> + Sang, with a somewhat +nasal whine,<br> + The wars of David and the Jews.<br> + At last the floundering carrier bore<br> + The village paper to our door.<br> + Lo! broadening outward as we read,<br> + To warmer zones the horizon spread;<br> + In panoramic length unrolled<br> + We saw the marvel that it told.<br> + Before us passed the painted Creeks,<br> + And daft McGregor on +his raids<br> + In Costa Rica's +everglades.<br> + And up Taygetus winding slow<br> + Rode Ypsilanti's Mainote Greeks,<br> + A Turk's head at each saddle bow!<br> + Welcome to us its week-old news,<br> + Its corner for the rustic Muse,<br> + Its monthly gauge of +snow and rain,<br> + Its record, mingling in a breath<br> + The wedding bell and dirge of death;<br> + Jest, anecdote, and love-lorn tale,<br> + The latest culprit sent to jail;<br> + Its hue and cry of stolen and lost,<br> + Its vendue sales and goods at cost,<br> + And traffic calling +loud for gain.<br> + We felt the stir of hall and street,<br> + The pulse of life that round us beat;<br> + The chill embargo of the snow<br> + Was melted in the genial glow;<br> + Wide swung again our ice-locked door,<br> + And all the world was ours once more!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Clasp, Angel of +the backward look<br> + And folded wings of +ashen gray<br> + And voice of echoes far +away,<br> + The brazen covers of thy book;<br> + The weird palimpsest old and vast,<br> + Wherein thou hid'st the spectral past;<br> + Where, closely mingling, pale and glow<br> + The characters of joy and woe;<br> + The monographs of outlived years,<br> + Or smile-illumined or dim with tears,<br> + Green hills of life +that slope to death,<br> + And haunts of home, whose vistaed trees<br> + Shade off to mournful cypresses<br> + With the white +amaranths underneath.<br> + Even while I look, I can but heed<br> + The restless sands' +incessant fall,<br> + Importunate hours that hours succeed,<br> + Each clamorous with its own sharp need,<br> + And duty keeping pace +with all.<br> + Shut down and clasp the heavy lids;<br> + I hear again the voice that bids<br> + The dreamer leave his dream midway<br> + For larger hopes and graver fears:<br> + Life greatens in these later years,<br> + The century's aloe flowers today!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Yet, haply, in +some lull of life,<br> + Some Truce of God which breaks its strife,<br> + The worldling's eyes shall gather dew,<br> + Dreaming in throngful +city ways<br> + Of winter joys his boyhood knew;<br> + And dear and early friends--the few<br> + Who yet remain--shall pause to view<br> + These Flemish pictures +of old days;<br> + Sit with me by the homestead hearth,<br> + And stretch the hands of memory forth<br> + To warm them at the +wood-fire's blaze!<br> + And thanks untraced to lips unknown<br> + Shall greet me like the odors blown<br> + From unseen meadows newly mown,<br> + Or lilies floating in some pond,<br> + Wood-fringed, the wayside gaze beyond;<br> + The traveler owns the grateful sense<br> + Of sweetness near, he knows not whence,<br> + And, pausing, takes with forehead bare<br> + The benediction of the air.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What does "snow-bound" mean?</p> +<p>Find a line in the poem which explains the title.</p> +<p>Where is the scene of the poem laid? Find lines in the poem that +tell you this.</p> +<p>Of whom did the circle gathered around the fire consist?</p> +<p>What members of the family are not described in the poem? Why?</p> +<p>Which one of the group can you see most plainly? Why?</p> +<p>Select the lines which please you most in the description of each.</p> +<p>Read four lines which show that the evening's pleasure was not +disturbed by the storm.</p> +<p>In what respects does the room described differ from one in your +home?</p> +<p>How long was the family "snow-bound"?</p> +<p>Of what did their library consist?</p> +<p>What does Whittier tell us about the brook?</p> +<p>What other poem have you read which describes a brook in Winter? By +whom was it written?</p> +<p>What messenger put the household again in touch with the outside +world? What did he bring?</p> +<p>Explain, what Whittier means by saying the family looked on nothing +they could call their own after the heavy snow?</p> +<p>What is the meaning of the reference to "Pisa's leaning miracle"?</p> +<p>Who was Aladdin?</p> +<p>What were his "lamp's supernal powers"?</p> +<p>What effect did the moonlight have upon the night?</p> +<p>Of what are cypress trees a symbol?</p> +<p>What do the stars shining through the cypress trees symbolize?</p> +<p>What is the voice which Whittier says bids the dreamer leave his +dream!</p> +<p>What lines do you think best show the poet's appreciation of beauty +in nature?</p> +<p>Choose the lines which you like best as showing his deep affections.</p> +<p>Read lines which show his faith.</p> +<p>Of what is the poet thinking when he speaks of the "restless sands' +incessant fall"?</p> +<p>To what mythological characters does he refer when he speaks of the +"threads the fatal sisters spun"?</p> +<p>What mythological characters are meant by "the heathen Nine"?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "Apollonius"<br> + "Hermes"<br> + "Egypt's Amun"<br> + "Surrey hills"<br> + "silhouette"<br> + "White of Selborne"<br> + "clean-winged hearth."<br> + "Petruchio'a Kate"<br> + "Siena's saint"<br> + "cranes of Nilua"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_SHIP-BUILDERS"></a>THE +SHIP-BUILDERS</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> The sky is +ruddy in the east,<br> + The earth is gray below,<br> + And, spectral in the river-mist,<br> + The ship's white +timbers show.<br> + Then let the sounds of +measured stroke<br> + And grating saw begin;<br> + The broad-axe to the gnarled oak,<br> + The mallet to the pin!</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Hark!--roars the +bellows, blast on blast,<br> + The sooty smithy jars,<br> + And fire-sparks, rising far and fast,<br> + Are fading with the +stars.<br> + All day for us the smith shall stand<br> + Beside that flashing +forge;<br> + All day for us his heavy hand<br> + The groaning anvil +scourge.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> From far-off +hills, the panting team<br> + For us is toiling near;<br> + For us the raftsmen down the stream<br> + Their island barges +steer.<br> + Rings out for us the axe-man's stroke<br> + In forests old and +still,--<br> + For us the century-circled oak<br> + Falls crashing down his +hill.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Up!--up!--in +nobler toil than ours<br> + No craftsmen bear a +part:<br> + We make of Nature's giant powers<br> + The slaves of human Art.<br> + Lay rib to rib and beam to beam,<br> + And drive the treenails +free;<br> + Nor faithless joint nor yawning seam<br> + Shall tempt the +searching sea!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Where'er the keel +of our good ship<br> + The sea's rough field +shall plough,--<br> + Where'er her tossing spars shall drip<br> + With salt-spray caught +below--<br> + That ship must heed her master's beck,<br> + Her helm obey his hand,<br> + And seamen tread her reeling deck<br> + As if they trod the +land.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Her oaken ribs +the vulture-beak<br> + Of Northern ice may +peel;<br> + The sunken rock and coral peak<br> + May grate along her +keel;<br> + And know we well the painted shell<br> + We give to wind and +wave,<br> + Must float, the sailor's citadel,<br> + Or-sink, the sailor's +grave!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Ho!--strike away +the bars and blocks,<br> + And set the good ship +free!<br> + Why lingers on these dusty rocks<br> + The young bride of the +sea?<br> + Look! how she moves adown the grooves,<br> + In graceful beauty now!<br> + How lowly on the breast she loves<br> + Sinks down her virgin +prow!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> God bless her! +wheresoe'er the breeze<br> + Her snowy wing shall +fan,<br> + Aside the frozen Hebrides,<br> + Or sultry Hindostan!<br> + Where'er, in mart or on the main,<br> + With peaceful flag +unfurled,<br> + She helps to wind the silken chain<br> + Of commerce round the +world!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Be hers the +Prairie's golden grain,<br> + The Desert's golden +sand,<br> + The clustered fruits of sunny Spain,<br> + The spice of +Morning-land!<br> + Her pathway on the open main<br> + May blessings follow +free,<br> + And glad hearts--welcome back again<br> + Her white sails from +the sea!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What time of day is indicated in the first and second stanzas?</p> +<p>What tells you this?</p> +<p>How does the smith "scourge" the anvil?</p> +<p>What effect does the poet fancy this has upon the anvil?</p> +<p>Which of these two thoughts do you suppose first occurred to the +poet?</p> +<p>What are the "island barges"?</p> +<p>What is a "century-circled oak"? Did you ever see one?</p> +<p>What is Whittier's idea of a shipbuilder's work?</p> +<p>In what way would a "yawning seam" tempt the sea?</p> +<p>What is the "painted shell"?</p> +<p>How is a ship launched?</p> +<p>What other poem have you read which describes the launching of a +ship? Who wrote it?</p> +<p>Which poem do you like better? Why?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "gnarled oak"<br> + "faithless joint"<br> + "coral peak"<br> + "the sailor's citadel"<br> + "snowy wing"<br> + "Desert's golden sand"<br> + "spice of Morningland"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="OLIVER_WENDELL_HOLMES"></a>OLIVER +WENDELL HOLMES</p> +<p>Oliver Wendell Holmes's birth year, 1809, was made memorable on both +sides of the Atlantic by the births of Lincoln, Tennyson, Poe, and +Gladstone. His father, of colonial descent, was a Congregational +minister at Cambridge. On his mother's side--the Wendells or Vondels--he +was of Dutch descent.</p> +<p>Holmes was brought up very simply in the old gambrel-roofed house, +half parsonage and half farm house. He read the "New England Primer," +"Pilgrim's Progress" and such poems as were to be found in the early +school books. Later he was a student at Harvard, a member of the class +of 1829, which, while not to be compared for literary genius with the +Bowdoin class of 1825, was one of Harvard's most famous classes. Not +long after his graduation, the class of 1829 began to held annual +dinners and Holmes was regularly called upon to furnish an ode for the +occasion. It was on the thirtieth anniversary that he wrote and recited +"The Boys." In 1889, at the sixtieth anniversary, he wrote the last +class poem, "After the Curfew."</p> +<p>It was in the first year after his graduation that his verses went +into type and then he says he had his first attack of "lead poisoning." +After leaving Harvard he studied law for a while and then turned to +medicine and surgery, spending two years in study in Paris. It is a +singular coincidence and shows his double work in life, that in 1836 +when he published his first volume of poems he also took his degree as +doctor of medicine. As a physician he was always deeply interested in +the problems of heredity and he wrote several novels in which inherited +characteristics play an important part.</p> +<p>It was in September, 1830, that Holmes chanced to read in a +newspaper of the proposal of the Navy Department to dismantle the +frigate Constitution, which had done such good service in 1812 but which +was then lying, old and unseaworthy, in the navy yard at Charleston. He +wrote at once with a lead pencil on a scrap of paper the stirring verses +"Old Ironsides" and sent them to the Boston Daily Advertiser, from which +they were copied in all the papers of the country. The frigate was +converted into a school-ship, and Oliver Wendell Holmes became known as +a poet.</p> +<p>On every public occasion which could be enlivened or dignified by a +special poem, Dr. Holmes was called upon. Such a position is a trying +one and one to which only men with a sense of humor are often called. +The doctor rarely refused to respond; so that nearly one-half of his +verse is of this occasional character. Much of his verse is in lighter +vein, but of the serious, surest in their hold upon his readers are "The +Last Leaf" and "The Chambered Nautilus." But Holmes, while he had a +genuine gift of song, was no persistent singer like Longfellow or +Whittier, and so he reached almost the age of fifty without feeling that +the reading public had any special interest in him. Then in 1857, when +the Atlantic Monthly was established, and Lowell took the editorship +only on condition that Holmes would be a contributor, he wrote the +"Autocrat of the Breakfast Table." In this role of talker, comfortable, +brilliant, and witty, Holmes made friends wherever the Autocrat was read.</p> +<p>Holmes's intellect remained bright and he continued an active worker +into extreme old age. In 1890 he published his last volume, "Over the +Teacups." As one by one this brilliant company of New England writers +left the world, Holmes sang to each a farewell song. When his own time +came he was really "The Last Leaf upon the Tree." The end came +peacefully as he was talking to his son, October 7, 1894.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_CHAMBERED_NAUTILUS"></a>THE +CHAMBERED NAUTILUS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> This is the +ship of pearl, which, poets feign,<br> + Sails +the unshadowed main--<br> + The +venturous bark that flings<br> + On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings,<br> + In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,<br> + And +coral reefs lie bare,<br> + Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their +streaming hair.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Its webs of +living gauze no more unfurl;<br> + Wrecked +is the ship of pearl!<br> + And +every chambered cell,<br> + Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,<br> + As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,<br> + Before +thee lies revealed--<br> + Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt +unsealed!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Year after year +beheld the silent toil<br> + That +spread his lustrous coil;<br> + Still, +as the spiral grew,<br> + He left the past year's dwelling for the new,<br> + Stole with soft step its shining archway +through,<br> + Built +up its idle door,<br> + Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the +old no more.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Thanks for the +heavenly message brought by thee,<br> + Child +of the wandering sea,<br> + Cast +from her lap, forlorn!<br> + Prom thy dead lips a clearer note is born<br> + Than ever Triton blew from wreathed horn!<br> + While +on mine ear it rings,<br> + Through the deep caves of thought I hear a +voice that sings:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Build thee more +stately mansions, O my soul,<br> + As +the swift seasons roll!<br> + Leave +thy low-vaulted past!<br> + Let each new temple, nobler than the last,<br> + Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,<br> + Till +thou at length art free,<br> + Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's +unresting sea!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What does the word nautilus mean?</p> +<p>What thought must have been in the mind of those who gave the +chambered nautilus this name?</p> +<p>Who does Holmes tell us have given expression to this fancy?</p> +<p>Can you think of any bodies of water which might be called +"enchanted gulfs"?</p> +<p>Give reasons for your answer.</p> +<p>What are coral reefs? Where are they found?</p> +<p>What kind of beings--were "sea-maids" supposed to be?</p> +<p>What are they more commonly called?</p> +<p>To whom is the poet speaking?</p> +<p>What name do we give to such a speech?</p> +<p>How does the soul build mansions?</p> +<p>In what directions must a dome be extended to make it "more vast"?</p> +<p>What does the poet mean by the "outgrown shell" of the soul?</p> +<p>What is the lesson of the poem?</p> +<p>Which stanza do you like best? Why?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl"<br> + "dim dreaming life"<br> + "sunless crypt"<br> + "caves of thought"<br> + "lustrous coil"<br> + "cast from her lap forlorn"<br> + "low-vaulted past"<br> + "irised ceiling"<br> + "life's unresting sea"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_DEACONS_MASTERPIECE:_OR_THE"></a>THE +DEACON'S MASTERPIECE: OR THE WONDERFUL "ONE-HOSS SHAY"</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>A LOGICAL STORY</small></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Have you heard +of the wonderful one-hoss shay,<br> + That was built in such a logical way<br> + It ran a hundred years to a day,<br> + And then, of a sudden, it----ah, but stay,<br> + I'll tell you what happened without delay,<br> + Scaring the parson into fits,<br> + Frightening people out of their wits,--<br> + Have you ever heard of that, I say?</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Seventeen hundred +and fifty-five.<br> + <i>Georgius Secundus</i> was then alive,--<br> + Snuffy old drone from the German hive.<br> + That was the year when Lisbon-town<br> + Saw the earth open and gulp her down,<br> + And Braddock's army was done so brown,<br> + Left without a scalp to its crown.<br> + It was on the terrible Earthquake-day<br> + That the Deacon finished the one-hoss shay.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Now in building +of chaises, I tell you what,<br> + There is always <i>somewhere</i> a weakest +spot,--<br> + In hub, tire, felloe, in spring or thill,<br> + In panel, or crossbar, or floor, or sill,<br> + In screw, bolt, thoroughbrace,--lurking, still,<br> + Find it somewhere you must and will,--<br> + Above or below, or within or without,--<br> + And that's the reason, beyond a doubt,<br> + A chaise <i>breaks down</i>, but doesn't <i>wear +out</i>.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But the Deacon +swore, (as Deacons do,<br> + With an "I dew vum," or an "I tell <i>yeou</i>,")<br> + He would build one shay to beat the taown<br> + 'N' the keounty 'n' all the kentry raoun';<br> + It should be so built that it <i>couldn</i>' +break daown.<br> + --"Fur," said the Deacon, "'t's mighty plain<br> + Thut the weakes' place mus' stan' the strain;<br> + 'N' the way t' fix it, uz I maintain, is only +jest<br> + T' make that place uz strong uz the rest."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So the Deacon +inquired of the village folk<br> + Where he could find the strongest oak,<br> + That couldn't be split nor bent nor broke,--<br> + That was for spokes and floor and sills;<br> + He sent for lancewood to make the thills;<br> + The crossbars were ash, from the straightest +trees,<br> + The panels of white-wood, that cuts like cheese,<br> + But lasts like iron for things like these;<br> + The hubs of logs from the "Settler's ellum,"--<br> + Last of its timber,--they couldn't sell 'em,<br> + Never an axe had seen their chips,<br> + And the wedges flew from between their lips,<br> + Their blunt ends frizzled like celery-tips;<br> + Step and prop-iron, bolt and screw,<br> + Spring, tire, axle, and linchpin too,<br> + Steel of the finest, bright and blue;<br> + Thoroughbrace, bison-skin, thick and wide;<br> + Boot, top, dasher, from tough old hide<br> + Found in the pit when the tanner died.<br> + That was the way he "put her through."--<br> + "There!" said the Deacon, "naow she'll dew."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Do! I tell you, I +rather guess<br> + She was a wonder, and nothing less!<br> + Colts grew horses, beards turned gray,<br> + Deacon and deaconess dropped away,<br> + Children and grandchildren--where were they?<br> + But there stood the stout old one-hoss shay<br> + As fresh as on Lisbon-earthquake-day!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> EIGHTEEN +HUNDRED;--it came and found<br> + The Deacon's masterpiece strong and sound.<br> + Eighteen hundred increased by ten;--<br> + "Hahnsum kerridge" they called it then.<br> + Eighteen hundred and twenty came;--<br> + Running as usual; much the same.<br> + Thirty and forty at last arrive,<br> + And then came fifty, and FIFTY-FIVE.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Little of all we +value here<br> + Wakes on the morn of its hundredth year<br> + Without both feeling and looking queer.<br> + In fact, there's nothing that keeps its youth,<br> + So far as I know, but a tree and truth.<br> + (This is a moral that runs at large;<br> + Take it.--You're welcome.--No extra charge.)</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> First of +November,--the Earthquake-day.--<br> + There are traces of age in the one-hoss shay,<br> + A general flavor of mild decay,<br> + But nothing local, as one may say.<br> + There couldn't be--for the Deacon's art<br> + Had made it so like in every part<br> + That there wasn't a chance for one to start.<br> + For the wheels were just as strong as the +thills,<br> + And the floor was just as strong as the sills,<br> + And the panels just as strong as the floor,<br> + And the whippletree neither less nor more,<br> + And the back-crossbar as strong as the fore,<br> + And spring and axle and hub <i>encore</i>.<br> + And yet, <i>as a whole</i>, it is past a doubt<br> + In another hour it will be <i>worn out</i>!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> First of +November, fifty-five!<br> + This morning the parson takes a drive.<br> + Now, small boys, get out of the way!<br> + Here comes the wonderful one-hoss shay,<br> + Drawn by a rat-tailed, ewe-necked bay.<br> + "Huddup!" said the parson.--Off went they.<br> + The parson was working his Sunday's text,--<br> + Had got to <i>fifthly</i>, and stopped +perplexed<br> + At what the--Moses--was coming next.<br> + All at once the horse stood still,<br> + Close by the meet'n'-house on the hill.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> First a shiver, +and then a thrill,<br> + Then something decidedly like a spill,--<br> + And the parson was sitting upon a rock,<br> + At half-past nine by the meet'n'-house clock--<br> + Just the hour of the Earthquake shock!<br> + What do you think the parson found,<br> + When he got up and stared around?<br> + The poor old chaise in a heap or mound,<br> + As if it had been to the mill and ground.<br> + You see, of course, if you're not a dunce,<br> + How it went to pieces all at once,--<br> + All at once, and nothing first,--<br> + Just as bubbles do when they burst.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> End of the +wonderful one-hoss shay,<br> + Logic is logic. That's all I say.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>How does Holmes account for the fact "that a chaise breaks down, but +doesn't wear out"?</p> +<p>What kind of chaise did the Deacon decide to build?</p> +<p>On what principle did he expect to do this?</p> +<p>Read the lines in which the Deacon states the result of his +experience with chaises.</p> +<p>What do you think of his reasoning?</p> +<p>To what besides the building of a chaise might this principle be +applied?</p> +<p>To what does the poet compare the breaking down of the chaise?</p> +<p>Read lines which show the serious side of the poet's nature.</p> +<p>Read the lines by means of which he passes from seriousness to jest.</p> +<p>Do you think Holmes expects his readers to believe this story? Give +reason for your answer.</p> +<p>What was his purpose in writing it?</p> +<p>What has the reading of this poem done for you?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "Georgius Secundus"<br> + "Lisbon earthquake day"<br> + "from the German hive"<br> + "Braddock's army"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="OLD_IRONSIDES"></a>OLD +IRONSIDES</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Ay, tear her +tattered ensign down!<br> + Long has it waved on +high,<br> + And many an eye has danced to see<br> + That banner in the sky:<br> + Beneath it rung the battle shout,<br> + And burst the cannon's +roar:--<br> + The meteor of the ocean air<br> + Shall sweep the clouds +no more!</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Her deck, once +red with heroes' blood,<br> + Where knelt the +vanquished foe,<br> + When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,<br> + And waves were white +below,<br> + No more shall feel the victor's tread,<br> + Or know the conquered +knee;--<br> + The harpies of the shore shall pluck<br> + The eagle of the sea!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> O better that her +shattered hulk<br> + Should sink beneath the +wave;<br> + Her thunders shook the mighty deep,<br> + And there should be her +grave:<br> + Nail to the mast her holy flag,<br> + Set every threadbare +sail,<br> + And give her to the god of storms,<br> + The lightning and the +gale!<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> Old Ironsides was +the name given the frigate Constitution. It was proposed by the +Secretary of the Navy to dispose of the ship as it had become unfit for +service. Popular sentiment did not approve of this. It was said a ship +which was the pride of the nation should continue to be the property of +the Navy and be rebuilt for service when needed. Holmes wrote this poem +at the time of this discussion.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</span></p> +<p>Of what does the first stanza treat?</p> +<p>The second?</p> +<p>What does the third stanza tell you?</p> +<p>To what does "tattered ensign" refer?</p> +<p>What is "The meteor of the ocean air"?</p> +<p>What is meant by lines 15 and 16?</p> +<p>Where does Holmes say should be the grave of Old Ironsides? Why?</p> +<p>Explain lines 23 and 24.</p> +<p>Which lines do you like best? Why?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "sweep the clouds"<br> + "conquered knee"<br> + "mighty deep"<br> + "vanquished foe"<br> + "The god of storms"<br> + "threadbare sail"<br> + "victor's tread"<br> + "shattered hulk"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_BOYS"></a>THE BOYS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Has there any +old fellow got mixed with the boys?<br> + If there has, take him out, without making a +noise.<br> + Hang the Almanac's cheat and the Catalogue's +spite!<br> + Old Time is a liar! We're twenty tonight!</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> We're twenty! +We're twenty! Who says we are more?<br> + He's tipsy,--young jackanapes!--show him the +door!<br> + "Gray temples at twenty?"--Yes! <i>white</i> if +we please;<br> + Where the snow-flakes fall thickest there's +nothing can freeze!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Was it snowing I +spoke of? Excuse the mistake!<br> + Look close,--you will see not a sign of a flake!<br> + We want some new garlands for those we have +shed,--<br> + And these are white roses in place of the red.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> We've a trick, we +young fellows, you may have been told,<br> + Of talking (in public) as if we were old:--<br> + That boy we call "Doctor," and this we call +"Judge";<br> + It's a neat little fiction,--of course it's all +fudge.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> That fellow's the +"Speaker,"--the one on the right;<br> + "Mr. Mayor," my young one, how are you tonight?<br> + That's our "Member of Congress," we say when we +chaff;<br> + There's the "Reverend" What's his name?--don't +make me laugh.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> That boy with the +grave mathematical look<br> + Made believe he had written a wonderful book,<br> + And the ROYAL SOCIETY thought it was <i>true!</i><br> + So they chose him right in; a good joke it was, +too!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> There's a boy, we +pretend, with a three-decker brain,<br> + That could harness a team with a logical chain;<br> + When he spoke for our manhood in syllabled fire,<br> + We called him "The Justice," but now he's "The +Squire."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And there's a +nice youngster of excellent pith,--<br> + Fate tried to conceal him by naming him Smith;<br> + But he shouted a song for the brave and the +free,--<br> + Just read on his medal, "My country, ... of +thee!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> You hear that boy +laughing?--You think he's all fun;<br> + But the angels laugh, too, at the good he has +done;<br> + The children laugh loud as they troop to his +call,<br> + And the poor man that knows him laughs loudest +of all!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Yes, we're +boys,--always playing with tongue or with pen,--<br> + And I sometimes have asked,--Shall we ever be +men?<br> + Shall we always be youthful, and laughing, and +gay,<br> + Till the last dear companion drops smiling away?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then here's to +our boyhood, its gold and its gray!<br> + The stars of its winter, the dews of its May!<br> + And when we have done with our life-lasting +toys,<br> + Dear Father, take care of thy children, THE +BOYS.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> This poem was +read by Oliver Wendell Holmes at a reunion of his college class thirty +years after their graduation.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><br> +Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Who were "the boys"?</p> +<p>What was the "Almanac's cheat"?</p> +<p>What catalogue do you think Holmes meant?</p> +<p>How could it be interpreted as showing spite against "the boys"?</p> +<p>How did the poet defend "gray temples at twenty"?</p> +<p>What was the significance in early times of the garland or wreath +upon the head?</p> +<p>What do you think the garlands which the poet imagines his +classmates "have shed" represent?</p> +<p>Of what does Holmes say their new garlands were made?</p> +<p>What might the "new garlands" represent?</p> +<p>What fancy does the poet carry out in the next stanza?</p> +<p>What song did the "nice youngster" write?</p> +<p>What is his full name?</p> +<p>What word is omitted from the line of the song quoted by Holmes?</p> +<p>How do you think Holmes felt toward the laughing "boy"? Why do you +think so?</p> +<p>Can you name anything besides, "tongue and pen" with which men may +be said to play?</p> +<p>What time of life is meant by the "gold"? By the "gray"?</p> +<p>How much of this poem is fun?</p> +<p>Which stanza do you like best? Why?</p> +<p>What do you know about Oliver Wendell Holmes from this poem?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "Royal Society"<br> + "three-decker brain"<br> + "excellent pith"<br> + "life-lasting toys"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_LAST_LEAF"></a>THE LAST LEAF</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> I saw him once +before,<br> + As he passed by the door,<br> + And again<br> + The pavement stones resound,<br> + As he totters o'er the ground<br> + With his cane.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> They say that in +his prime,<br> + Ere the pruning-knife of Time<br> + Cut him down,<br> + Not a better man was found<br> + By the Crier on his round<br> + Through the town.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But now he walks +the streets,<br> + And he looks at all he meets<br> + Sad and wan,<br> + And he shakes his feeble head,<br> + That it seems as if he said,<br> + "They are gone."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The mossy marbles +rest<br> + On the lips that he has prest<br> + In their bloom,<br> + And the names he loved to hear<br> + Have been carved for many a year<br> + On the tomb.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> My grandmamma has +said,--<br> + Poor old lady, she is dead<br> + Long ago,--<br> + That he had a Roman nose<br> + And his cheek was like a rose<br> + In the snow.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But now his nose +is thin,<br> + And it rests upon his chin<br> + Like a staff,<br> + And a crook is in his back,<br> + And a melancholy crack<br> + In his laugh.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> I know it is a sin<br> + For me to sit and grin<br> + At him here;<br> + But the old three-cornered hat,<br> + And the breeches, and all that,<br> + Are so queer!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And if I should +live to be<br> + The last leaf upon the tree<br> + In the spring,<br> + Let them smile, as I do now,<br> + At the old forsaken bough<br> + Where I cling.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What was the office of the Crier?</p> +<p>What has done away with the necessity for such service?</p> +<p>At what time was the costume described in the seventh stanza worn?</p> +<p>What great men can you mention who are pictured in this dress?</p> +<p>What makes the description of the old man so vivid?</p> +<p>How does he resemble "the last leaf on the tree"?</p> +<p>Of whom is Holmes thinking when he says "Let them smile"?</p> +<p>What is added to the picture of the last leaf by the words "Is the +spring"?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "pruning knife of Time"<br> + "mossy marbles"</p> +<hr> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="JAMES_RUSSELL_LOWELL"></a>JAMES +RUSSELL LOWELL</span></p> +<p>JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL was born at Cambridge in the beautiful house +known as Elmwood. He was more fortunate than most Americans, for in this +same house he lived and died. The dwelling at Elmwood was like Craigie +House, an historic place of Revolutionary memories. The secluded, ample +grounds made a fine rural refuge for a youth of poetic fancies. Nor was +there only wealth for the nature-lover of outdoors; there were also +treasures for the lover of books within. The Lowell library was the +accumulation of several generations of scholarly men, and Lowell from +early youth was familiar with books which Whittier even in the studious +leisure of old age never looked into.</p> +<p>Lowell was twelve years younger than Longfellow and was a sophomore +when Longfellow went to Harvard as professor of Romance languages. At +Harvard Lowell distinguished himself especially in literary matters. In +the last year of his residence he was one of the editors of the college +magazine and was also elected class poet. Although he studied law, he +was never attracted to the practice of it.</p> +<p>Lowell, like Whittier, could turn from the heat and strife of public +affairs to the solace of pure poetry. Inspired by the legend of the Holy +Grail, he wrote within forty-eight hours, so we are told, the poem of +knightly aspiration and brotherly love, "The Vision of Sir Launfal."</p> +<p>In 1856, upon Longfellow's resignation, Lowell was appointed +professor of Romance Languages at Harvard, and, like Longfellow, he +remained for twenty years. In 1857 a new magazine to which Holmes had +given the name "Atlantic Monthly" was established and Lowell was its +first editor.</p> +<p>In 1877 Lowell was appointed minister to Spain, where Irving had +been sent more than thirty years before; and in 1880 he was transferred +to the court of St. James. Here he distinguished himself by tact, +courtesy, and wisdom and won the admiration of the English people.</p> +<p>Returning to America in 1885 Lowell continued to write, and +delivered addresses when his strength would permit. He spent his time +among his books and lived peacefully at Elmwood, where he died in 1891 +at the age of seventy-two.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_VISION_OF_SIR_LAUNFAL"></a>THE +VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">PRELUDE TO PART FIRST</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Over his keys the +musing organist.<br> + Beginning doubtfully +and far away,<br> + First lets his fingers wander as they list,<br> + And builds a bridge +from Dreamland for his lay:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then, as the +touch of his loved instrument<br> + Gives hope and fervor, +nearer draws his theme,<br> + First guessed by faint auroral flushes sent<br> + Along the wavering +vista of his dream.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Not +only around our infancy<br> + Doth +heaven with all its splendors lie;<br> + Daily, +with souls that cringe and plot,<br> + We +Sinais climb and know it not.<br> + Over our manhood bend the skies;<br> + Against our fallen and +traitor lives<br> + The great winds utter prophecies;<br> + With our faint hearts +the mountain strives;<br> + Its arms outstretched, the Druid wood<br> + Waits with its +benedicite;<br> + And to our age's drowsy blood<br> + Still shouts the +inspiring sea.<br> + Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us;<br> + The beggar is taxed for +a corner to die in,<br> + The priest hath his fee who comes and shrives +us.<br> + We bargain for the +graves we lie in;<br> + At the Devil's booth are all things sold,<br> + Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold;<br> + For a cap and bells our +lives we pay,<br> + Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking:<br> + 'Tis heaven alone that +is given away,<br> + 'Tis only God may be had for the asking;<br> + No price is set on the lavish summer;<br> + June may be had by the poorest comer.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And what is so +rare as a day in June?<br> + Then, if ever, come +perfect days;<br> + Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,<br> + And over it softly her +warm ear lays;<br> + Whether we look, or whether we listen,<br> + We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;<br> + Every clod feels a stir of might,<br> + An instinct within it +that reaches and towers,<br> + And, groping blindly above it for light,<br> + Climbs to a soul in +grass and flowers;<br> + The flush of life may well be seen<br> + Thrilling back over +hills and valleys;<br> + The cowslip startles in meadows green,<br> + The buttercup catches +the sun in its chalice,<br> + And there's never a leaf or a blade too mean<br> + To be some happy +creature's palace;<br> + The little bird sits at his door in the sun,<br> + Atilt like a blossom +among the leaves,<br> + And lets his illumined being o'errun<br> + With the deluge of +summer it receives;<br> + His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,<br> + And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and +sings;<br> + He sings to the wide world, and she to her +nest,--<br> + In the nice ear of Nature which song is the +best?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Now is the +high-tide of the year,<br> + And whatever of life +hath ebbed away<br> + Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,<br> + Into every bare inlet +and creek and bay;<br> + Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills +it,<br> + We are happy now because God wills it;<br> + No matter how barren the past may have been,<br> + 'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are +green;<br> + We sit in the warm shade and feel right well<br> + How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell;<br> + We may shut our eyes, but we cannot help knowing<br> + That skies are clear and grass is growing;<br> + The breeze comes whispering in our ear,<br> + That dandelions are blossoming near,<br> + That maize has +sprouted, that streams are flowing,<br> + That the river is bluer than the sky,<br> + That the robin is plastering his house hard by;<br> + And if the breeze kept the good news back,<br> + For other couriers we should not lack;<br> + We could guess it all +by yon heifer's lowing,--<br> + And hark! how clear bold chanticleer,<br> + Warmed with the new wine of the year,<br> + Tells all in his lusty +crowing!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Joy comes, grief +goes, we know not how:<br> + Everything is happy now,<br> + Everything is upward +striving;<br> + 'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true<br> + As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,--<br> + 'Tis the natural way of +living:<br> + Who knows whither the clouds have fled?<br> + In the unscarred heaven +they leave no wake;<br> + And the eyes forget the tears they have shed,<br> + The heart forgets its +sorrow and ache;<br> + The soul partakes the season's youth,<br> + And the sulphurous +rifts of passion and woe<br> + Lie deep 'neath a silence pure and smooth,<br> + Like burnt-out craters +healed with snow.<br> + What wonder if Sir Launfal now<br> + Remembered the keeping of his vow?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">PART FIRST</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">I.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "My golden spurs +now bring to me,<br> + And bring to me my +richest mail,<br> + For tomorrow I go over land and sea<br> + In search of the Holy +Grail;<br> + Shall never a bed for me be spread,<br> + Nor shall a pillow be under my head,<br> + Till I begin my vow to keep;<br> + Here on the rushes will I sleep,<br> + And perchance there may come a vision true<br> + Ere day create the world anew."<br> + Slowly Sir Launfal's +eyes grew dim,<br> + Slumber fell like a +cloud on him,<br> + And into his soul the vision flew.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">II.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The crows flapped +over by twos and threes,<br> + In the pool drowsed the cattle up to their +knees,<br> + The little birds sang +as if it were<br> + The one day of summer +in all the year,<br> + And the very leaves seemed to sing on the trees;<br> + The castle alone in the landscape lay<br> + Like an outpost of winter, dull and gray:<br> + 'Twas the proudest hall in the North Countree,<br> + And never its gates might opened be,<br> + Save to lord or lady of high degree;<br> + Summer besieged it on every side,<br> + But the churlish stone her assaults defied;<br> + She could not scale the chilly wall,<br> + Though around it for leagues her pavilions tall<br> + Stretched left and right,<br> + Over the hills and out of sight;<br> + Green and broad was +every tent,<br> + And out of each a +murmur went<br> + Till the breeze fell off at night.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">III.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The drawbridge +dropped with a surly clang,<br> + And through the dark arch a charger sprang,<br> + Bearing Sir Launfal, the maiden knight,<br> + In his gilded mail, that flamed so bright<br> + It seemed the dark castle had gathered all<br> + Those shafts the fierce sun had shot over its +wall<br> + In his siege of three +hundred summers long,<br> + And, binding them all in one blazing sheaf,<br> + Had cast them forth: +so, young and strong,<br> + And lightsome as a locust-leaf,<br> + Sir Launfal flashed forth in his unscarred mail,<br> + To seek in all climes +for the Holy Grail.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">IV.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> It was morning on +hill and stream and tree,<br> + And morning in the +young knight's heart;<br> + Only the castle moodily<br> + Rebuffed the gifts of the sunshine free,<br> + And gloomed by itself +apart;<br> + The season brimmed all other things up<br> + Full as the rain fills the pitcher-plant's cup.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">V.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> As Sir Launfal +made morn through the darksome gate,<br> + He was 'ware of a +leper, crouched by the same,<br> + Who begged with his hand and moaned as he sate;<br> + And a loathing over Sir +Launfal came;<br> + The sunshine went out of his soul with a thrill,<br> + The flesh 'neath his +armor did shrink and crawl,<br> + And midway its leap his heart stood still<br> + Like a frozen waterfall;<br> + For this man, so foul and bent of stature,<br> + Rasped harshly against his dainty nature,<br> + And seemed the one blot on the summer morn,--<br> + So he tossed him a piece of gold in scorn.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">VI.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The leper raised +not the gold from the dust:<br> + "Better to me the poor man's crust,<br> + Better the blessing of the poor,<br> + Though I turn me empty from his door;<br> + That is no true alms which the hand can hold;<br> + He gives nothing but worthless gold<br> + Who gives from a sense +of duty;<br> + But he who gives but a slender mite,<br> + And gives to that which is out of sight,<br> + That thread of the +all-sustaining Beauty<br> + Which runs through all and doth all unite,--<br> + The hand cannot clasp the whole of his alms,<br> + The heart outstretches its eager palms,<br> + For a god goes with it and makes it store<br> + To the soul that was starving in darkness +before."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">PRELUDE TO PART SECOND</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Down swept the +chill wind from the mountain peak,<br> + From the snow five +thousand summers old;<br> + On open wold and hilltop bleak<br> + It had gathered all the +cold,<br> + And whirled it like sleet on the wanderer's +cheek;<br> + It carried a shiver everywhere<br> + From the unleafed boughs and pastures bare;<br> + The little brook heard it and built a roof<br> + 'Neath which he could house him, winter-proof;<br> + All night by the white stars' frosty gleams<br> + He groined his arches and matched his beams;<br> + Slender and clear were his crystal spars<br> + As the lashes of light that trim the stars;<br> + He sculptured every summer delight<br> + In his halls and chambers out of sight;<br> + Sometimes his tinkling waters slipt<br> + Down through a frost-leaved forest-crypt,<br> + Long, sparkling aisles of steel-stemmed trees<br> + Bending to counterfeit a breeze;<br> + Sometimes the roof no fretwork knew<br> + But silvery mosses that downward grew;<br> + Sometimes it was carved in sharp relief<br> + With quaint arabesques of ice-fern leaf;<br> + Sometimes it was simply smooth and clear<br> + For the gladness of heaven to shine through, +and here<br> + He had caught the nodding bulrush-tops<br> + And hung them thickly with diamond-drops,<br> + That crystalled the beams of moon and sun,<br> + And made a star of every one:<br> + No mortal builder's most rare device<br> + Could match this winter-palace of ice;<br> + 'Twas as if every image that mirrored lay<br> + In his depths serene +through the summer day,<br> + Each fleeting shadow of earth and sky,<br> + Lest the happy model +should be lost,<br> + Had been mimicked in fairy masonry<br> + By the elfin builders +of the frost.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Within the hall +are song and laughter,<br> + The cheeks of Christmas +grow red and jolly,<br> + And sprouting is every corbel and rafter<br> + With lightsome green of +ivy and holly;<br> + Through the deep gulf of the chimney wide<br> + Wallows the Yule-log's roaring tide;<br> + The broad flame-pennons droop and flap<br> + And belly and tug as a +flag in the wind;<br> + Like a locust shrills the imprisoned sap,<br> + Hunted to death in its +galleries blind;<br> + And swift little troops of silent sparks,<br> + Now pausing, now +scattering away as in fear,<br> + Go threading the soot-forest's tangled darks<br> + Like herds of startled +deer.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> But the wind +without was eager and sharp,<br> + Of Sir Launfal's gray hair it makes a harp,<br> + And +rattles and wrings<br> + The +icy strings,<br> + Singing, in dreary +monotone,<br> + A Christmas carol of +its own,<br> + Whose burden still, as +he might guess,<br> + Was "Shelterless, +shelterless, shelterless!"<br> + The voice of the seneschal flared like a torch<br> + As he shouted the wanderer away from the porch,<br> + And he sat in the gateway and saw all night<br> + The great hall-fire, so +cheery and bold,<br> + Through the +window-slits of the castle old,<br> + Build out its piers of ruddy light<br> + Against the drift of +the cold.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">PART SECOND</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">I.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> There was never a +leaf on bush or tree,<br> + The bare boughs rattled shudderingly;<br> + The river was dumb and could not speak,<br> + For the weaver Winter +its shroud had spun;<br> + A single crow on the tree-top bleak<br> + From his shining +feathers shed off the cold sun;<br> + Again it was morning, but shrunk and cold.<br> + As if her veins were sapless and old,<br> + And she rose up decrepitly<br> + For a last dim look at earth and sea.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">II.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Sir Launfal +turned from his own hard gate,<br> + For another heir in his earldom sate;<br> + An old, bent man, worn out and frail,<br> + He came back from seeking the Holy Grail;<br> + Little he recked of his earldom's loss,<br> + No more on his surcoat was blazoned the cross,<br> + But deep in his soul the sign he wore,<br> + The badge of the suffering and the poor.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">III.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Sir Launfal's +raiment thin and spare<br> + Was idle mail 'gainst the barbed air,<br> + For it was just at the Christmas time;<br> + So he mused, as he sat, of a sunnier clime,<br> + And sought for a shelter from cold and snow<br> + In the light and warmth of long ago;<br> + He sees the snake-like caravan crawl<br> + O'er the edge of the desert, black and small,<br> + Then nearer and nearer, till, one by one,<br> + He can count the camels in the sun,<br> + As over the red-hot sands they pass<br> + To where, in its slender necklace of grass,<br> + The little spring laughed and leapt in the +shade,<br> + And with its own self like an infant played,<br> + And waved its signal of palms.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">IV.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "For Christ's +sweet sake, I beg an alms;"--<br> + The happy camels may reach the spring,<br> + But Sir Launfal sees naught save the grewsome +thing,<br> + The leper, lank as the rain-blanched bone,<br> + That cowers beside him, a thing as lone<br> + And white as the ice-isles of Northern seas<br> + In the desolate horror of his disease.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">V.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> And Sir Launfal +said, "I behold in thee<br> + An image of Him who died on the tree;<br> + Thou also hast had thy crown of thorns,<br> + Thou also hast had the world's buffets and +scorns,<br> + And to thy life were not denied<br> + The wounds in the hands and feet and side:<br> + Mild Mary's Son, acknowledge me;<br> + Behold, through him, I give to Thee!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">VI.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then the soul of +the leper stood up in his eyes<br> + And looked at Sir +Launfal, and straightway he<br> + Remembered in what a haughtier guise<br> + He had flung an alms to +leprosie,<br> + When he caged his young life up in gilded mail<br> + And set forth in search of the Holy Grail.<br> + The heart within him was ashes and dust;<br> + He parted in twain his single crust,<br> + He broke the ice on the streamlet's brink,<br> + And gave the leper to eat and drink:<br> + 'Twas a mouldy crust of coarse brown bread,<br> + 'Twas water out of a +wooden bowl,--<br> + Yet with fine wheaten bread was the leper fed,<br> + And 'twas red wine he +drank with his thirsty soul.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">VII.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> As Sir Launfal +mused with a downcast face,<br> + A light shone round about the place;<br> + The leper no longer crouched at his side,<br> + But stood before him glorified,<br> + Shining and tall and fair and straight<br> + As the pillar that stood by the Beautiful +Gate,--<br> + Himself the Gate whereby men can<br> + Enter the temple of God in Man.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">VIII.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> His words were +shed softer than leaves from the pine,<br> + And they fell on Sir Launfal as snows on the +brine,<br> + That mingle their softness and quiet in one<br> + With the shaggy unrest they float down upon;<br> + And the voice that was calmer than silence said,<br> + "Lo, it is I, be not afraid!<br> + In many climes, without avail,<br> + Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail;<br> + Behold, it is here,--this cup which thou<br> + Didst fill at the streamlet for Me but now;<br> + This crust is My body broken for thee;<br> + This water His blood that died on the tree;<br> + The Holy Supper is kept, indeed,<br> + In whatso we share with another's need:<br> + Not what we give, but what we share,--<br> + For the gift without the giver is bare;<br> + Who gives himself with his alms feeds three,--<br> + Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">IX.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Sir Launfal awoke +as from a swound:--<br> + "The Grail in my castle here is found!<br> + Hang my idle armor up on the wall,<br> + Let it be the spider's banquet-hall;<br> + He must be fenced with stronger mail<br> + Who would seek and find the Holy Grail."</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;">X.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The castle gate +stands open now,<br> + And the wanderer is +welcome to the hall<br> + As the hangbird is to the elm-tree bough;<br> + No longer scowl the +turrets tall,<br> + The Summer's long siege at last is o'er;<br> + When the first poor outcast went in at the door,<br> + She entered with him in disguise,<br> + And mastered the fortress by surprise;<br> + There is no spot she loves so well on ground,<br> + She lingers and smiles there the whole year +round;<br> + The meanest serf on Sir Launfal's land<br> + Has hall and bower at his command;<br> + And there's no poor man in the North Countree<br> + But is lord of the earldom as much as he.<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Into what two parts does the poem divide?</p> +<p>What purpose does the prelude to each part serve?</p> +<p>What were the conditions under which Sir Launfal set out in search +of the Holy Grail?</p> +<p>How did the sight of the leper affect the young knight when he +"flashed forth" from his castle?</p> +<p>How did the leper explain his refusal of the alms tossed him?</p> +<p>What picture does the prelude to Part Second give you? Contrast it +with that of the prelude to Part First.</p> +<p>Describe Sir Launfal's appearance on his return from his quest.</p> +<p>What had he lost while on his search?</p> +<p>What had he gained?</p> +<p>Describe the second meeting with the leper.</p> +<p>How much of this story was a dream? Explain why you think so.</p> +<p>With what line does Lowell begin the account of Sir Launfal's vision?</p> +<p>What effect did the dream or vision have upon Sir Launfal?</p> +<p>What do you think is the great lesson of this poem?</p> +<p>Of whom is Sir Launfal a type?</p> +<p>What does the cold grim castle represent?</p> +<p>Find lines in the prelude to Part First which show the first +stirring of Sir Launfal's spiritual nature. What influences prompted +this?</p> +<p>Why did Lowell choose a leper to confront Sir Launfal?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "We Sinais climb and know it not"<br> + "Behold it is here--the Grail in my castle here +is found"<br> + "With our faint hearts the mountain strives"<br> + "Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune"<br> + "For a god goes with it"<br> + "Himself the Gate whereby men can Enter the +temple of God in Man"<br> + "She entered with him in disguise"<br> + "He must be fenced with stronger mail"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="YUSSOUF"></a>YUSSOUF</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> A stranger came +one night to Yussouf's tent,<br> + Saying, "Behold one outcast and in dread,<br> + Against whose life the bow of power is bent,<br> + Who flies, and hath not where to lay his head;<br> + I come to thee for shelter and for food,<br> + To Yussouf, called through all our tribes 'The +Good.'"</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "This tent is +mine," said Yussouf, "but no more<br> + Than it is God's; come in, and be at peace;<br> + Freely shalt thou partake of all my store<br> + As I of His who buildeth over these<br> + Our tents His glorious roof of night and day,<br> + And at whose door none ever yet heard 'Nay.'"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So Yussouf +entertained his guest that night,<br> + And, waking him ere day, said: "Here is gold;<br> + My swiftest horse is saddled for thy flight;<br> + Depart before the prying day grow bold."<br> + As one lamp lights another, nor grows less,<br> + So nobleness enkindleth nobleness.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> That inward light +the stranger's face made grand,<br> + Which shines from all self-conquest; kneeling +low,<br> + He bowed his forehead upon Yussouf's hand,</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Sobbing: "O, +Sheik, I cannot leave thee so;<br> + I will repay thee; all this thou hast done<br> + Unto that Ibrahim who slew thy son!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "Take thrice the +gold," said Yussouf, "for with thee<br> + Into the desert, never to return,<br> + My one black thought shall ride away from me;<br> + First-born, for whom by day and night I yearn,<br> + Balanced and just are all of God's decrees;<br> + Thou art avenged, my first-born, sleep in +peace!"<br> +<br> +</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>Where do you think the scene of this poem was laid? Give the reason +for your answer.</p> +<p>What do you know of the habits of people who live in tents?</p> +<p>What virtues would men living in this way most admire? Why?</p> +<p>How do you think Yussouf had won his title of "The Good"?</p> +<p>To what does the stranger compare himself?</p> +<p>What does the bending of the bow signify?</p> +<p>To what tribes does the stranger refer?</p> +<p>What do you learn of Yussouf's character from the second and third +stanzas?</p> +<p>What emotions made the stranger's face "grand"?</p> +<p>What do you suppose Yussouf's "one black thought" had been?</p> +<p>How did he avenge his son?</p> +<p>When does Yussouf show himself most noble?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "prying day"<br> + "self-conquest"<br> + "nobleness enkindleth nobleness"<br> + "for whom by day and night I yearn"</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="SIDNEY_LANIER"></a>SIDNEY LANIER</p> +<p>Sidney Lanier is a poet of the South who year by year appeals to a +larger number of lovers of good literature. He was born in Georgia of +Huguenot and Scotch ancestry and when only a small lad showed great +talent and love for music. His mother encouraged him in this, and from +beginning with clapping bones it was not long before he learned to play +on the guitar, banjo, violin, and flute. On the Christmas when he was +seven years old he was given a small one-keyed flute, and from that time +on the flute became his favorite instrument. When he grew to manhood he +became first flutist in the Baltimore orchestra. So passionately fond +was he of music that he could scarcely decide between that and poetry as +his choice for a profession.</p> +<p>He was graduated from a Georgia college at the age of eighteen, and +in the following year, 1861, he enlisted in the Southern army. His +younger brother, Clifford, of whom he was very fond, also enlisted, and +when opportunities for promotion came to both they declined rather than +be separated. They engaged in many battles, but Sidney Lanier found +time, even during the war, to continue his study. In 1864 he was taken +prisoner, while doing duty as a signal officer, and spent five months in +Point Lookout prison. He came home from the hardships of war broken in +health, so that from that time on his life was one fierce struggle +against disease.</p> +<p>From the time when as a boy he spent hours in his father's library +reading the tales of King Arthur, the stories of romantic chivalry were +of absorbing interest to him. He understood and loved boys, for he had +four of his own, and for these he has written "The Boy's Froissart," +"The Boy's King Arthur" and the "Knightly Legends of Wales."</p> +<p>In 1879 he was appointed lecturer on English literature at the Johns +Hopkins University, and his prospects were at last brightening when two +years later he died. During the last seven years of his life, struggling +ever with poverty and pain, he wrote his one volume of poetry. His poems +show his great faith--indeed, his poem, "The Marshes of Glynn," is +religion set to music.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_MARSHES_OF_GLYNN"></a>THE +MARSHES OF GLYNN</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>SIDNEY LANIER<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> O braided dusks +of the oak and woven shades of the vine,<br> + While the riotous noonday sun of the June day +long did shine<br> + Ye held me fast in your heart and I held you +fast in mine;<br> + But now when the noon is no more, and riot is +rest,<br> + And the sun is a-wait at the ponderous gate of +the West,<br> + And the slant yellow beam down the wood aisle +doth seem<br> + Like a lane into heaven that leads from a +dream,--<br> + Aye, now, when my soul all day hath drunken the +soul of the oak,<br> + And my heart is at ease from men, and the +wearisome sound of the stroke<br> + Of the scythe of time +and the trowel of trade is low,<br> + And belief overmasters +doubt, and I know that I know,<br> + And my spirit is grown +to a lordly great compass within,<br> + That the length and the breadth and the sweep +of the marshes of Glynn<br> + Will work me no fear like the fear they have +wrought me of yore<br> + When length was fatigue, and when breadth was +but bitterness sore,<br> + And when terror and shrinking and dreary +unnamable pain<br> + Drew over me out of the merciless miles of the +plain,--<br> + Oh, now, unafraid, I am fain to face<br> + The vast, sweet visage +of space.<br> + To the edge of the wood I am drawn, I am drawn,<br> + Where the gray beach glimmering runs, as a belt +of the dawn,<br> + For a mete and a mark<br> + To +the forest dark:--<br> + So:<br> + Affable live oak, leaning low,--<br> + Thus--with your favor--soft, with a reverent +hand,<br> + (Not lightly touching your person, lord of the +land!)<br> + Bending your beauty aside, with a step I stand<br> + On the firm-packed sand,<br> + Free<br> + By a world of marsh, that borders a world of +sea.<br> + Sinuous southward and sinuous northward the +shimmering band<br> + Of the sand beach fastens the fringe of the +marsh to the folds of the land.<br> + Vanishing, swerving, evermore curving again +into sight,<br> + Softly the sand beach wavers away to a dim gray +looping of light.<br> + And what if behind me to westward the wall of +the woods stands high?<br> + The world lies east: how ample the marsh and +the sea and the sky!<br> + A league and a league of marsh grass, +waist-high, broad in the blade,<br> + Green, and all of a height, and unflecked with +a light or a shade,<br> + Stretch leisurely off, in a pleasant plain,<br> + To the terminal blue of the main.<br> + Oh, what is abroad in the marsh and the +terminal sea?<br> + Somehow my soul seems +suddenly free<br> + From the weighing of fate and the sad +discussion of sin,<br> + By the length and the breadth and the sweep of +the marshes of Glynn.<br> + Ye marshes, how candid and simple and +nothing-withholding and free<br> + Ye publish yourselves to the sky and offer +yourselves to the sea!<br> + Tolerant plains, that suffer the sea and the +rains and the sun,<br> + Ye spread and span like the catholic man who +hath mightily won<br> + God out of knowledge and good out of infinite +pain<br> + And sight out of blindness and purity out of a +stain.<br> + As the marsh hen secretly builds on the watery +sod,<br> + Behold I will build me a nest on the greatness +of God!<br> + I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh +hen flies<br> + In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt +the marsh and the skies:<br> + By so many roots as the marsh grass sends in +the sod<br> + I will heartily lay me a-hold on the greatness +of God:<br> + Oh, like to the greatness of God is the +greatness within<br> + The range of the marshes, the liberal marshes +of Glynn.<br> + And the sea lends large, as the marsh: lo, out +of his plenty the sea<br> + Pours fast: full soon the time of the flood +tide must be:<br> + Look how the grace of the sea doth go<br> + About and about through the intricate channels +that flow<br> + Here +and there,<br> + Everywhere,<br> + Till his waters have flooded the uttermost +creeks and the low-lying lanes,<br> + And the marsh is meshed with a million veins,<br> + That like as with rosy and silvery essences flow<br> + In the rose-and-silver +evening glow.<br> + Farewell, +my lord Sun!<br> + The creeks overflow: a thousand rivulets run<br> + 'Twixt the roots of the sod; the blades of the +marsh grass stir;<br> + Passeth a hurrying sound of wings that westward +whir;<br> + Passeth, and all is still; and the currents +cease to run;<br> + And the sea and the marsh are one.<br> + How still the plains of the waters be!<br> + The tide is in his ecstasy;<br> + The tide is at its highest height:<br> + And +it is night.<br> + And now from the Vast of the Lord will the +waters of sleep<br> + Roll in on the souls of men,<br> + But who will reveal to our waking ken<br> + The forms that swim and the shapes that creep<br> + Under +the waters of sleep?<br> + And I would I could know what swimmeth below +when the tide comes in<br> + On the length and the breadth of the marvelous +marshes of Glynn.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">HELPS TO STUDY.</span></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">Notes and Questions.</p> +<p>What can you tell of the coastal plain in Georgia?</p> +<p>What effect on the poet had the "dusks of the oak" at noon?</p> +<p>At sunset what appealed more strongly to him?</p> +<p>How does the poet account for his lack of fear of the marshes now?</p> +<p>In the marsh region what is "lord of the land"?</p> +<p>What characteristics of the marshes does the poet point out?</p> +<p>What comparisons are found in lines fifty to fifty-five?</p> +<p>To what does the poet compare the extent of the marshes of Glynn?</p> +<p>In this region when does the flood tide come? What tells you?</p> +<p>Which picture in the poem do you like best?</p> +<p>Explain: "Passeth a hurrying sound of wings that westward whir."</p> +<p>What is the meaning of the last nine lines?</p> +<p>Do you like this poem? Why? What can you tell of the author?</p> +<p>Point out parts that you like best.</p> +<p>Find examples of alliteration.</p> +<p>Why does the poet repeat "I am drawn"?</p> +<p>Select lines that are especially beautiful.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Words and Phrases for Discussion.</span></p> +<p> "glimmering"<br> + "Vanishing"<br> + "swerving"<br> + "Like a lane into heaven that leads from a +dream"<br> + "Bending your beauty aside"<br> + "intricate channels"<br> + "uttermost creeks"</p> +<p>"Glynn"--a county in Georgia which borders on the Atlantic.</p> +<p>"live oak"--a species of oak found along the coasts of the southern +states.</p> +<p>"catholic man"--a broad-minded man.</p> +<p>"braided dusks"--shadows of branches crossing one another.</p> +<p>"woven shades"--shadows interlacing.</p> +<p>"riotous noonday sun"--beating down hard.</p> +<p>"ye held me fast in your heart"--attracted and delighted me.</p> +<p>"I held you fast in mine"--loved, enjoyed.</p> +<p>"riot is rest"--the heat of the day is past, all is quiet.</p> +<p>"a-wait"--waiting.</p> +<p>"ponderous gate"--vast western horizon at sunset.</p> +<p>"wood aisle"--path of sun's rays in the woods at sunset.</p> +<p>"drunken the soul of the oak"--absorbed its strength.</p> +<p>"scythe of time"--symbol of death.</p> +<p>"trowel of trade"--symbol of industry.</p> +<p>"belief overmasters doubt"--inner confidence, faith takes the place +of uncertainty.</p> +<p>"I know that I know"--become self-confident thro' a Power greater +than self.</p> +<p>"My spirit grows to a lordly great compass within"--My soul becomes +its own confident guide, relying on a Power greater than self.</p> +<p>"When length was fatigue"--tiresome to look at--he was unable to +understand it.</p> +<p>"breadth was but bitterness sore"--so vast as to be disappointing +and beyond his ability to know and control.</p> +<p>"drew over me out of the merciless miles of the plain"--The vastness +of the marshes filled him with fear and awe.</p> +<p>"sweet visage of space"--He came to love the view of the marshes.</p> +<p>"belt of the dawn"--the line where the gray beach and the woods come +together is like the horizon at daybreak.</p> +<p>"For a mete and a mark"--a line to measure and distinguish the +limits of the marsh.</p> +<p>"affable live oak"--friendly, kindly.</p> +<p>"lord of the land"--the oak tree.</p> +<p>"sinuous southward"--irregular line connecting wood and marsh.</p> +<p>"fastens the fringe of the marsh to the folds of the land"--the line +which marks the coming together of the marsh and the land--"the +shimmering band."</p> +<p>"gray looping of light"--the light reflected or thrown back from the +woods in the dim distance.</p> +<p>"terminal blue of the main"--the sea coast, the coast line.</p> +<p>"weighing of fate"--serious thoughts of the future.</p> +<p>"publish yourselves"--to show or to expose.</p> +<p>"offer yourselves"--the sea overruns the marsh.</p> +<p>"Tolerant plains"--generous, broad, liberal.</p> +<p>"mightily won God out of Knowledge"--won thro' kindness and love, +and broad-mindedness.</p> +<p>"good out of infinite pain"--was helped by suffering to become noble +and true.</p> +<p>"build me a nest on the greatness of God"--to establish himself on +the principles of the great Power.</p> +<p>"lay me a-hold on the greatness of God"--to lay hold of this +Heavenly beauty and goodness and greatness.</p> +<p>"liberal marshes"--great, broad. Thro' these he learned the beauty +of greatness and of broad-mindedness in man, and from that to the +greatness of God was but a natural step.</p> +<p>"sea lends large"--sends its waters out in tides over the marsh +country twice a day.</p> +<p>"grace of the sea"--the generous waters of the sea.</p> +<p>"rosy and silvery essences"--relates to the color of the water in +the channel, as determined by the setting sun's rays.</p> +<p>"passeth a hurrying sound of wings"--a sound of wings hurrying past.</p> +<p>"is in his ecstasy"--the tide has reached its highest point--it is +the moment of accomplishment; the task is finished.</p> +<p>"Vast of the Lord"--The influence of God upon men is compared to +that of the tides of the sea upon the marshes.</p> +<p>"waking ken"--Who can tell us the meaning of our dreams?</p> +<hr> +<p><br> +</p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="text-align: center;"><big><big><big><a name="PART_III"></a>PART +III</big></big></big></div> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><big><big>ORATIONS AND PATRIOTIC +SELECTIONS</big></big></big></p> +<p style="text-align: center;"><big><i>"Stirred up with high hopes of +living to be brave men and worthy patriots, dear to God and famous to +all ages."</i></big></p> +<p style="text-align: right;">--JOHN MILTON.<br> +</p> +<p style="text-align: right;"><br> +</p> +<p style="text-align: right;"><br> +</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="REGULUS_BEFORE_THE_ROMAN_SENATE"></a>REGULUS +BEFORE THE ROMAN SENATE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EPES SARGENT</small></p> +<p>It ill becomes me, Senators of Rome, me, Regulus, after having so +often stood in this venerable assembly, clothed with the supreme dignity +of the republic, to stand before you to-day, a captive,--the captive of +Carthage. Though outwardly free, yet the heaviest of chains, the pledge +of a Roman Consul, makes me the bondsman of the Carthaginians. They have +my promise to return to them in the event of the failure of this their +embassy.</p> +<p>But, Conscript Fathers, Senators, there is but one course to be +pursued. Abandon all thought of peace! Reject the overtures of Carthage! +Reject them wholly and unconditionally! What? What? Give back to her a +thousand able-bodied men, and receive in return this one, attenuated, +war-worn, fever-wasted frame,--this weed, whitened in a dungeon's +darkness, pale and sapless, which no kindness of the sun, no softness of +the summer breeze, can ever restore to life and vigor? It must not, +shall not be! Oh, were Regulus what he was once, before captivity had +unstrung his sinews and enervated his limbs, he might pause; he might +think he were worth a thousand of the foe; he might say, "Make the +exchange, Rome shall not lose by it!" But now, alas, 'tis gone,--that +impetuosity of strength which could once make him a leader indeed, to +penetrate a phalanx, or guide a pursuit. His very armor would be a +burden now! His battlecry would be drowned in the din of onset! His +sword would fall harmless upon his opponents shield!</p> +<p>But if he cannot live, he can at least die, for his country. Do not +deny him this supreme consolation. Consider! Every indignity, every +torture which Carthage shall heap on his dying hours, will be better +than a trumpet's call to your armies. They will remember only Regulus, +their fellow-soldier and their leader. They will forget his defeats. +They will regard only his services to the Republic. Tunis, Sicily, +Sardinia, every well-fought field, won by his blood and theirs, will +flash on their remembrance and kindle their avenging wrath!</p> +<p>And so shall Regulus, though dead, fight as he never fought before +against the foe.</p> +<p>Conscript Fathers, there is another theme,--my family. Forgive the +thought. To you and to Rome, I commit them. I leave no legacy but my +name, no testament but my example.</p> +<p>And you, ambassadors of Carthage, now in this august presence, I +have spoken, not as you expected. I am your captive. Lead me back to +whatever fate may await me. Doubt not that you shall find that to Roman +hearts country is dearer than life, and integrity more precious than +freedom.</p> +<p><br> +Epes Sargent, 1812-1880, was an American author and journalist. For a +number of years he was editor of the "Boston Evening Transcript."</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> Regulus was a +celebrated Roman general. As consul he led the Roman forces against the +Carthaginians and defeated them in a number of engagements, but finally +was himself defeated and taken prisoner by the Carthaginians. After five +years of captivity he was sent to Rome to negotiate for peace and an +exchange of prisoners. Though he had been promised his liberty, if the +Romans should accept the treaty, yet when he appeared before the Roman +senate, he denounced the terms most emphatically. Accordingly he +returned to Carthage, where he suffered a cruel death.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_RETURN_OF_REGULUS"></a>THE +RETURN OF REGULUS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ELIJAH KELLOGG</small></p> +<p>The beams of the rising sun had gilded the lofty domes of Carthage, +and given, with its rich and mellow light, a tinge of beauty even to the +frowning ramparts of the outer harbor. Sheltered by the verdant shores, +a hundred triremes were riding proudly at their anchors, their brazen +beaks glittering in the sun, their streamers dancing in the morning +breeze, while many a shattered plank and timber gave evidence of +desperate conflict with the fleets of Rome.</p> +<p>No murmur of business or of revelry arose from the city. The artisan +had forsaken his shop, the judge his tribunal, the priest the sanctuary, +and even the stern stoic had come forth from his retirement to mingle +with the crowd that, anxious and agitated, were rushing toward the +senate-house, startled by the report that Regulus had returned to +Carthage.</p> +<p>Onward, still onward, trampling each other under foot, they rushed, +furious with anger, and eager for revenge. Fathers were there, whose +sons were groaning in fetters; maidens, whose lovers, weak and wounded, +were dying in the dungeons of Rome, and gray-haired men and matrons, +whom the Roman sword had left childless.</p> +<p>But when the stern features of Regulus were seen, and his colossal +form towering above the ambassadors who had returned with him from Rome; +when the news passed from lip to lip that the dreaded warrior, so far +from advising the Roman senate to consent to an exchange of prisoners, +had urged them to pursue, with exterminating vengeance, Carthage and +Carthaginians,--the multitude swayed to and fro like a forest beneath a +tempest, and the rage and hate of that tumultuous throng vented itself +in groans, and curses, and yells of vengeance.</p> +<p>But calm, cold, and immovable as the marble walls around him, stood +the Roman; and he stretched out his hand over that frenzied crowd, with +gesture as proudly commanding as though he still stood at the head of +the gleaming cohorts of Rome. The tumult ceased; the curse, half +muttered, died upon the lip; and so intense was the silence, that the +clanking of the brazen manacles upon the wrists of the captive fell +sharp and full upon every ear in that vast assembly, as he thus +addressed them:--</p> +<p>"Ye doubtless thought--for ye judge of Roman virtue by your +own--that I would break my plighted oath, rather than, returning, brook +your vengeance. I might give reasons for this, in Punic comprehension, +most foolish act of mine. I might speak of those eternal principles +which make death for one's country a pleasure, not a pain. But, by great +Jupiter! methinks I should debase myself to talk of such high things to +you; to you, expert in womanly inventions; to you, well-skilled to drive +a treacherous trade with simple Africans for ivory and gold!</p> +<p>"If the bright blood that fills my veins, transmitted free from +godlike ancestry, were like that slimy ooze which stagnates in your +arteries, I had remained at home, and broke my plighted oath to save my +life. I am a Roman citizen; therefore have I returned, that ye might +work your will upon this mass of flesh and bones, that I esteem no +higher than the rags that cover them.</p> +<p>"Here, in your capital, do I defy you. Have I not conquered your +armies, fired your towns, and dragged your generals at my chariot +wheels, since first my youthful arms could wield a spear? And do you +think to see me crouch and cower before a tamed and shattered senate? +The tearing of flesh and rending of sinews is but pastime compared with +the mental agony that heaves my frame.</p> +<p>"The moon has scarce yet waned since the proudest of Rome's proud +matrons, the mother upon whose breast I slept, and whose fair brow so +oft had bent over me before the noise of battle had stirred my blood, or +the fierce toil of war nerved my sinews, did, with fondest memory of +bygone hours, entreat me to remain. I have seen her, who, when my +country called me to the field, did buckle on my harness with trembling +hands, while the tears fell thick and fast down the hard corselet +scales--I have seen her tear her gray locks and beat her aged breast, as +on her knees she begged me not to return to Carthage! and all the +assembled senate of Rome, grave and reverend men, proffered the same +request. The puny torments which ye have in store to welcome me withal, +shall be, to what I have endured, even as the murmur of a summer's brook +to the fierce roar of angry surges on a rocky beach.</p> +<p>"Last night, as I lay fettered in my dungeon, I heard a strange, +ominous sound; it seemed like the distant march of some vast army, their +harness clanging as they marched, when suddenly there stood by me +Xanthippus, the Spartan general, by whose aid you conquered me, and, +with a voice as low as when the solemn wind moans through the leaflless +forest, he thus addressed me:--</p> +<p>"'Roman, I come to bid thee curse, with thy dying breath, this fated +city: know that in an evil moment, the Carthaginian generals, furious +with rage that I had conquered thee, their conqueror, did basely murder +me. And then they thought to stain my brightest honor. But, for this +foul deed, the wrath of Jove shall rest upon them here and hereafter.' +And then he vanished.</p> +<p>"And now, go bring your sharpest torments. The woes I see impending +over this guilty realm shall be enough to sweeten death, though every +nerve and artery were a shooting pang. I die! but my death shall prove a +proud triumph; and, for every drop of blood ye from my veins do draw, +your own shall flow in rivers.</p> +<p>"Woe to thee, Carthage! Woe to the proud city of the waters! I see +thy nobles wailing at the feet of Roman senators! thy citizens in +terror! thy ships in flames! I hear the victorious shouts of Rome! I see +her eagles glittering on thy ramparts. Proud city, thou art doomed! The +curse of God is on thee--a clinging, wasting curse. It shall not leave +thy gates till hungry flames shall lick the fretted gold from off thy +proud palaces, and every brook runs crimson to the sea."</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="SPARTACUS_TO_THE_GLADIATORS"></a>SPARTACUS +TO THE GLADIATORS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ELIJAH KELLOGG</small></p> +<p>It had been a day of triumph in Capua. Lentulus, returning with +victorious eagles, had amused the populace with the sports of the +amphitheatre to an extent hitherto unknown even in that luxurious city. +The shouts of revelry had died away; the roar of the lion had ceased; +the last loiterer had retired from the banquet, and the lights in the +palace of the victor were extinguished. The moon, piercing the tissue of +fleecy clouds, silvered the dewdrop on the corselet of the Roman +sentinel, and tipped the dark waters of Volturnus with wavy, tremulous +light. It was a night of holy calm, when the zephyr sways the young +spring leaves, and whispers among the hollow reeds its dreamy music. No +sound was heard but the last sob of some weary wave, telling its story +to the smooth pebbles of the beach, and then all was still as the breast +when the spirit has departed.</p> +<p>In the deep recesses of the amphitheatre a band of gladiators were +crowded together,--their muscles still knotted with the agony of +conflict, the foam upon their lips, and the scowl of battle yet +lingering upon their brows,--when Spartacus, rising in the midst of that +grim assemblage, thus addressed them:--</p> +<p>"Ye call me chief, and ye do well to call him chief who, for twelve +long years, has met upon the arena every shape of man or beast that the +broad Empire of Rome could furnish, and yet never has lowered his arm. +And if there be one among you who can say that, ever, in public fight or +private brawl, my actions did belie my tongue, let him step forth and +say it. If there be three in all your throng dare face me on the bloody +sand, let them come on!</p> +<p>"Yet, I was not always thus, a hired butcher, a savage chief of +savage men. My father was a reverent man, who feared great Jupiter, and +brought to the rural deities his offerings of fruits and flowers. He +dwelt among the vineclad rocks and olive groves at the foot of Helicon. +My early life ran quiet as the brook by which I sported. I was taught to +prune the vine, to tend the flock; and then, at noon, I gathered my +sheep beneath the shade, and played upon the shepherd's flute. I had a +friend, the son of our neighbor; we led our flocks to the same pasture, +and shared together our rustic meal.</p> +<p>"One evening, after the sheep were folded, and we were all seated +beneath the myrtle that shaded our cottage, my grandsire, an old man, +was telling of Marathon and Leuctra, and how, in ancient times, a little +band of Spartans, in a defile of the mountains, withstood a whole army. +I did not then know what war meant; but my cheeks burned. I knew not +why; and I clasped the knees of that venerable man, till my mother, +parting the hair from off my brow, kissed my throbbing temples, and bade +me go to rest, and think no more of those old tales and savage wars.</p> +<p>"That very night the Romans landed on our shore, and the clash of +steel was heard within our quiet vale. I saw the breast that had +nourished me trampled by the iron hoof of the warhorse; the bleeding +body of my father flung amid the blazing rafters of our dwelling. To-day +I killed a man in the arena, and when I broke his helmet clasps, behold! +he was my friend! He knew me,--smiled faintly,--gasped,--and died; the +same sweet smile that I had marked upon his face when, in adventurous +boyhood, we scaled some lofty cliff to pluck the first ripe grapes, and +bear them home in childish triumph. I told the praetor he was my friend, +noble and brave, and I begged his body, that I might burn it upon the +funeral-pile, and mourn over him. Ay, on my knees, amid the dust and +blood of the arena, I begged that boon, while all the Roman maids and +matrons, and those holy virgins they call vestal, and the rabble, +shouted in mockery, deeming it rare sport, forsooth, to see Rome's +fiercest gladiator turn pale, and tremble like a very child, before that +piece of bleeding clay; but the praetor drew back as if I were +pollution, and sternly said, 'Let the carrion rot! There are no noble +men but Romans!' And he, deprived of funeral rites, must wander, a +hapless ghost, beside the waters of that sluggish river, and look--and +look--and look in vain to the bright Elysian Fields where dwell his +ancestors and noble kindred. And so must you, and so must I, die like +dogs!</p> +<p>"O Rome! Rome! thou hast been a tender nurse to me! Ay, thou hast +given to that poor, gentle, timid shepherd-lad, who never knew a harsher +sound than a flute-note, muscles of iron and a heart of flint; taught +him to drive the sword through rugged brass and plaited mail, and warm +it in the marrow of his foe! to gaze into the glaring eyeballs of the +fierce Numidian lion, even as a smooth-cheeked boy upon a laughing girl. +And he shall pay thee back till thy yellow Tiber is red as frothing +wine, and in its deepest ooze thy life-blood lies curdled!</p> +<p>"Ye stand here now like giants, as ye are! the strength of brass is +in your toughened sinews; but to-morrow some Roman Adonis, breathing +sweet odors from his curly locks, shall come, and with his lily fingers +pat your brawny shoulders, and bet his sesterces upon your blood! Hark! +Hear ye yon lion roaring in his den? 'Tis three days since he tasted +meat; but to-morrow he shall break his fast upon your flesh; and ye +shall be a dainty meal for him.</p> +<p>"If ye are brutes, then stand here like fat oxen waiting for the +butcher's knife; if ye are men, follow me! strike down yon sentinel, and +gain the mountain passes, and there do bloody work as did your sires at +old Thermopylæ! Is Sparta dead? Is the old Grecian spirit frozen +in your veins, that you do crouch and cower like base-born slaves +beneath your master's lash? O comrades! warriors! Thracians! if we must +fight, let us fight for ourselves; if we must slaughter, let us +slaughter our oppressors; if we must die, let us die under the open sky, +by the bright waters, in noble, honorable battle."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +This is a supposed speech of Spartacus written by Elijah Kellogg, a New +England clergyman. Spartacus was a Thracian by birth, who served in the +Roman army. Having deserted, he was taken prisoner, sold as a slave, and +trained as a gladiator at Capua. He escaped and gathered about him a +large army of slaves and gladiators, with whom he intended to push +northward and allow them all to return to their homes. They, however, +after attacking many towns, were finally overcome. Spartacus himself +died in battle, and six thousand slaves were crucified on the road from +Capua to Rome.</p> +<p>Capua was a city of great luxury, containing an amphitheater nearly +as large as the Coliseum at Rome. The ancients attached great importance +to the rites of burial, and believed that the soul could not reach the +Elysian Fields unless the body had been buried.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="MERIT_BEFORE_BIRTH"></a>MERIT +BEFORE BIRTH</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>TRANSLATED FROM SALLUST</small></p> +<p>You have committed to my conduct, O Romans, the war against +Jugurtha. The patricians take offence. They say, "Why, he has no family +statues. He can point to no illustrious ancestors." What of that? Will +dead ancestors or motionless statues fight battles? Can your general +appeal to them in the hour of extremest danger? How wise it would be, +surely, to intrust your army to some untried person without a single +scar, but with any number of ancestral statues,--who knows not the +simplest rudiments of military service, but is very perfect in pedigree! +I have known such holiday heroes, raised, because of family, to +positions for which they had no fitness. But, then, in the moment of +action they were obliged, in their ignorance and trepidation, to intrust +every movement, even the most simple, to some subaltern, some despised +plebeian.</p> +<p>What they have seen in books, I have seen written on battlefields, +with steel and blood. They sneer at my mean origin. Where,--and may the +gods bear witness,--where, but in the spirit of man, is nobility lodged? +Tell these despicable railers that their haughty lineage cannot make +them noble, nor will my humble birth make me base. I profess no +indifference to noble descent; but when a descendant is dwarfed in the +comparison, it should be a shame, and not a matter to boast of! I can +show the standards, the armor, and the spoils which I have in person +wrested from the vanquished. I can show the scars of many wounds +received in combating the enemies of Rome. These are my statues! These +are my honors, to boast of; not inherited by accident, but earned by +toil, by abstinence, by valor, amid clouds of dust and seas of blood. +Their titles date from similar acts of their ancestors; but these +detractors did not even dare to appear on the field as spectators. These +are my credentials! These, O Romans, are my titles of nobility! Tell me, +are they not as deserving of your confidence and reward as those of +which any patrician of them all can boast?</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> Sallust, +the author of this selection, was a famous Roman historian of the first +century B. C. Caius Marius was the son of a small farmer and worked his +way up from this humble origin to the highest position, that of consul, +in spite of the determined opposition of the senate, and the +aristocracy. By the vote of the Roman people, he was given command of +the army in the campaign against Jugurtha, a prince who had usurped the +Numidian throne.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="RIENZIS_ADDRESS_TO_THE_ROMANS"></a>RIENZI'S +ADDRESS TO THE ROMANS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>MARY RUSSELL MITFORD</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> +Friends!<br> + I come not here to talk. You know too well<br> + The story of our thralldom. We are slaves!<br> + The bright sun rises to his course, and lights<br> + A race of slaves! he sets, and his last beam<br> + Falls on a slave!--not such as, swept along<br> + By the full tide of power, the conqueror leads<br> + To crimson glory and undying fame,<br> + But base, ignoble slaves--slaves to a horde<br> + Of petty tyrants; feudal despots; lords,<br> + Rich in some dozen paltry villages,<br> + Strong in some hundred spearmen; only great<br> + In that strange spell--a name.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> +Each hour dark fraud,<br> + Or open rapine, or protected murder,<br> + Cry out against them. But this very day,<br> + An honest man, my neighbor--there he stands--<br> + Was struck--struck like a dog, by one who wore<br> + The badge of Ursini, because, forsooth,<br> + He tossed not high his ready cap in air,<br> + Nor lifted up his voice in servile shouts<br> + At sight of that great ruffian! Be we men,<br> + And suffer such dishonor?--Men, and wash not<br> + The stain away in blood?</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Such +shames are common.<br> + I have known deeper wrongs. I that speak to you,<br> + I had a brother once, a gracious boy,<br> + Full of gentleness, of calmest hope,<br> + Of sweet and quiet joy: there was the look<br> + Of heaven upon his face, which limners give<br> + To the beloved disciple. How I loved<br> + That gracious boy! Younger by fifteen years,<br> + Brother at once and son! He left my side,<br> + A summer bloom on his fair cheek, a smile<br> + Parting his innocent lips: in one short hour,<br> + The pretty, harmless boy was slain! I saw<br> + The corse, the mangled corse, and then I cried<br> + For vengeance!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> + Rouse ye, +Romans! rouse ye, slaves!<br> + Have ye brave sons? Look in the next fierce +brawl<br> + To see them die. Have ye fair daughters? Look<br> + To see them live, torn from your arms, +distained,<br> + Dishonored; and, if ye dare call for justice,<br> + Be answered by the lash!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> +Yet this is Rome,<br> + That sat on her seven hills, and from her throne<br> + Of beauty ruled the world! Yet we are Romans!<br> + Why, in that elder day, to be a Roman<br> + Was greater than a king! And, once again,--<br> + Hear me, ye walls, that echoed to the tread<br> + Of either Brutus!--once again, I swear,<br> + The Eternal City shall be free!</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> Mary +Russell Mitford, born in 1787, was an English writer of miscellaneous +works. Among her most noted productions is the tragedy "Rienzi," which +was presented in London in 1828. It is the story of the Roman patriot, +Rienzi, who led a revolution at Rome in 1347. He overthrew the power of +the aristocracy and introduced many reforms in the government. After +establishing himself in power, however, he is said to have become in +turn haughty and arbitrary.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="EMMETS_VINDICATION"></a>EMMET'S +VINDICATION</p> +<p>MY LORDS: What have I to say why sentence of death should not be +pronounced on me, according to law? I have nothing to say that can alter +your predetermination, nor that it will become me to say with any view +to the mitigation of that sentence which you are here to pronounce, and +I must abide by. But I have that to say which interests me more than +life, and which you have labored to destroy. I have much to say why my +reputation should be rescued from the load of false accusation and +calumny which has been heaped upon it.</p> +<p>Were I only to suffer death, after being adjudged guilty by <i>your</i> +tribunal, I should bow in silence, and meet the fate that awaits me +without a murmur; but the sentence of law which delivers my body to the +executioner will, through the ministry of that law, labor, in its own +vindication, to consign my character to obloquy; for there must be guilt +somewhere--whether in the sentence of the court, or in the catastrophe, +posterity must determine. The man dies, but his memory lives. That mine +may not perish--that it may live in the respect of my countrymen--I +seize upon this opportunity to vindicate myself from some of the charges +alleged against me.</p> +<p>When my spirit shall be wafted to a more friendly port; when my +shade shall have joined the bands of those martyred heroes who have shed +their blood, on the scaffold and in the field, in defense of their +country and virtue; this is my hope--I wish that my memory and name may +animate those who survive me, while I look down with complacency on the +destruction of that perfidious government which upholds its domination +by blasphemy of the Most High, which displays its powers over man as +over the beasts of the forest, which sets man upon his brother, and +lifts his hand, in the name of God, against the throat of his fellow who +believes or doubts a little more or less than the government standard--a +government which is steeled to barbarity by the cries of the orphans and +the tears of the widows which its cruelty has made.</p> +<p>I swear by the throne of Heaven, before which I must shortly +appear--by the blood of the murdered patriots who have gone before +me--that my conduct has been, through all this peril and all my +purposes, governed only by the convictions which I have uttered, and no +other view than that of the emancipation of my country from the +superinhuman oppression under which she has so long and too patiently +travailed; and that I confidently and assuredly hope, wild and +chimerical as it may appear, that there is still union and strength in +Ireland to accomplish this noble enterprise.</p> +<p>My country was my idol. To it I sacrificed every selfish, every +endearing sentiment; and for it I now offer up my life! I acted as an +Irishman, determined on delivering my country from the yoke of a foreign +and unrelenting tyranny, and from the more galling yoke of a domestic +faction, its joint partner and perpetrator in the patricide, whose +reward is the ignominy of existing with an exterior of splendor and a +consciousness of depravity. It was the wish of my heart to extricate my +country from this doubly riveted despotism. I wished to place her +independence beyond the reach of any power on earth. I wished to exalt +her to that proud station in the world which Providence had fitted her +to fill.</p> +<p>Let no man dare, when I am dead, to charge me with dishonor; let no +man attaint my memory by believing that I could have engaged in any +cause but that of my country's liberty and independence, or that I could +have become the pliant minion of power in the oppression or the miseries +of my countrymen. I would not have submitted to a foreign oppressor, for +the same reason that I would resist the domestic tyrant; in the dignity +of freedom I would have fought upon the threshold of my country, and her +enemies should enter only by passing over my lifeless corpse. Am I, who +lived but for my country, and who have subjected myself to the vengeance +of the jealous and wrathful oppressor, and to the bondage of the grave, +only to give my countrymen their rights and my country her +independence--am I to be loaded with calumny, and not to be suffered to +resent or repel it? No! God forbid!</p> +<p>If the spirits of the illustrious dead participate in the concerns +and cares of those who are dear to them in this transitory life, O ever +dear and venerated shade of my departed father, look down with scrutiny +on the conduct of your suffering son, and see if I have even for a +moment deviated from those principles of morality and patriotism which +it was your care to instill into my youthful mind, and for an adherence +to which I am now to offer up my life!</p> +<p>My Lords, you are all impatient for the sacrifice. The blood which +you seek is not congealed by the artificial terrors which surround your +victim; it circulates warmly and unruffled through the channels which +God created for noble purposes, but which you are bent to destroy, for +purposes so grievous that they cry to Heaven!</p> +<p>Be ye patient; I have but a few words more to say. I am going to my +silent grave; my lamp of life is nearly extinguished; my race is run; +the grave opens to receive me, and I sink into its bosom. I have but one +request to ask at my departure from this world--it is the charity of its +silence. Let no man write my epitaph; for, as no one who knows my +motives dare now vindicate them, let not prejudice or ignorance asperse +them. Let them and me repose in obscurity and peace, and my tomb remain +uninscribed, until other times and other men can do justice to my +character. When my country shall take her place among the nations of the +earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written! I have done.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> During +the latter part of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the +nineteenth, the spirit of independence was abroad. The American +Revolution was followed by the French Revolution, and in 1803 Robert +Emmet, an Irish patriot, headed a band to gain independence for Ireland. +After an unsuccessful attempt to take the arsenal and castle at Dublin, +he fled to the Wicklow mountains, whence he planned to escape to the +continent. Contrary to the advice of his friends, he determined to have +a last interview with his sweetheart, but the delay proved fatal to him. +He was seized and condemned to death. This extract is from the +remarkably eloquent speech with which he vainly defended himself.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="KING_PHILIP_TO_THE_WHITE_SETTLER"></a>KING +PHILIP TO THE WHITE SETTLER</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDWARD EVERETT<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>Think of the country for which the Indians fought. Who can blame +them? As Philip looked down from his seat on Mount Hope, that glorious +eminence, that</p> +<p> "----throne of royal +state, which far<br> + Outshone the wealth of Ormus and of Ind,<br> + Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand,<br> + Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold,"--</p> +<p>as he looked down, and beheld the lovely scene which spread beneath, +at a summer sunset, the distant hill-tops glittering as with fire, the +slanting beams streaming across the waters, the broad plains, the island +groups, the majestic forest,--could he be blamed, if his heart burned +within him, as he beheld it all passing, by no tardy process, from +beneath his control, into the hands of the stranger?</p> +<p>As the river chieftains--the lords of the waterfalls and the +mountains--ranged this lovely valley, can it be wondered at, if they +beheld with bitterness the forest disappearing beneath the settler's +ax--the fishing-place disturbed by his saw-mills? Can we not fancy the +feelings with which some strong-minded savage, the chief of the +Pocomtuck Indians, who should have ascended the summit of the Sugar-loaf +Mountain (rising as it does before us, at this moment, in all its +loveliness and grandeur),--in company with a friendly +settler,--contemplating the progress already made by the white man, and +marking the gigantic strides with which he was advancing into the +wilderness, should fold his arms and say, "White man, there is eternal +war between me and thee! I quit not the land of my fathers, but with my +life. In those woods, where I bent my youthful bow, I will still hunt +the deer; over yonder waters I will still glide, unrestrained, in my +bark canoe. By those dashing waterfalls I will still lay up my winter's +store of food; on these fertile meadows I will still plant my corn.</p> +<p>"Stranger, the land is mine! I understand not these paper rights. I +gave not my consent, when, as thou sayest, these broad regions were +purchased, for a few baubles, of my fathers. They could sell what was +theirs; they could sell no more. How could my fathers sell that which +the Great Spirit sent me into the world to live upon? They knew not what +they did.</p> +<p>"The stranger came, a timid suppliant,--few and feeble, and asked to +lie down on the red man's bear-skin, and warm himself at the red man's +fire, and have a little piece of land to raise corn for his women and +children; and now he is become strong, and mighty, and bold, and spreads +out his parchments over the whole, and says, 'It is mine.'</p> +<p>"Stranger! there is not room for us both. The Great Spirit has not +made us to live together. There is poison in the white man's cup; the +white man's dog barks at the red man's heels. If I should leave the land +of my fathers, whither shall I fly? Shall I go to the south, and dwell +among the graves of the Pequots? Shall I wander to the west, the fierce +Mohawk,--the man-eater,--is my foe. Shall I fly to the east, the great +water is before me. No, stranger; here I have lived, and here will I +die; and if here thou abidest, there is eternal war between, me and thee.</p> +<p>"Thou hast taught me thy arts of destruction; for that alone I thank +thee. And now take heed to thy steps; the red man is thy foe. When thou +goest forth by day, my bullet shall whistle past thee; when thou liest +down by night, my knife is at thy throat. The noonday sun shall not +discover thy enemy, and the darkness of midnight shall not protect thy +rest. Thou shalt plant in terror, and I will reap in blood; thou shalt +sow the earth with corn, and I will strew it with ashes; thou shalt go +forth with the sickle, and I will follow after with the scalping-knife; +thou shalt build, and I will burn,--till the white man or the Indian +perish from the land. Go thy way for this time in safety,--but remember, +stranger, <i>there is eternal war between me and thee!</i>"</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> Edward +Everett was a celebrated American orator and statesman. His career was +varied, but he will be remembered chiefly through his essays and +orations. He was in turn clergyman, professor of Greek at Harvard, +representative in Congress, governor of Massachusetts, minister to +England, president of Harvard, and secretary of state. He died at the +close of the Civil War.</p> +<p>This extract is from an address delivered at Bloody Brook, South +Deerfield, Mass., September 30, 1835, in commemoration of the death of +many colonists in that spot during King Philip's War, September 18, +1675. King Philip, son of Massasoit, was an Indian chief who resented +the coming of the white man and, gathering many Indian tribes about him, +waged bitter war against the colonists. He himself was killed at Mount +Hope, Rhode Island.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_CAPTURE_OF_QUEBEC_"></a>THE +CAPTURE OF QUEBEC <br> +<small>(From "Montcalm and Wolfe.")</small></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>FRANCIS PARKMAN<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>The sun rose, and, from the ramparts of Quebec, the astonished +people saw the Plains of Abraham glittering with arms, and the dark-red +lines of the English forming in array of battle. Breathless messengers +had borne the evil tidings to Montcalm, and far and near his +wide-extended camp resounded with the rolling of alarm drums and the din +of startled preparation.</p> +<p>He, too, had had his struggles and his sorrows. The civil power had +thwarted him; famine, discontent, and disaffection were rife among his +soldiers; and no small portion of the Canadian militia had dispersed +from sheer starvation. In spite of all, he had trusted to hold out till +the winter frosts should drive the invaders from before the town; when, +on that disastrous morning, the news of their successful temerity fell +like a cannon-shot upon his ear.</p> +<p>Still he assumed a tone of confidence. "They have got to the weak +side of us at last," he is reported to have said, "and we must crush +them with our numbers." With headlong haste, his troops were pouring +over the bridge of the St. Charles, and gathering in heavy masses under +the western ramparts of the town. Could numbers give assurance of +success, their triumph would have been secure; for five French +battalions and the armed colonial peasantry amounted in all to more than +seven thousand five hundred men.</p> +<p>Full in sight before them stretched the long, thin lines of the +British forces, the half-wild Highlanders, the steady soldiery of +England, and the hardy levies of the provinces,--less than five thousand +in number, but all inured to battle, and strong in the full assurance of +success.</p> +<p>Yet, could the chiefs of that gallant army have pierced the secrets +of the future, could they have foreseen that the victory which they +burned to achieve would have robbed England of her proudest boast, that +the conquest of Canada would pave the way for the independence of +America, their swords would have dropped from their hands, and the +heroic fire have gone out within their hearts.</p> +<p>It was nine o'clock, and the adverse armies stood motionless, each +gazing on the other. The clouds hung low, and, at intervals, warm light +showers descended, besprinkling both alike. The coppice and cornfields +in front of the British troops were filled with French sharp-shooters, +who kept up a distant, spattering fire. Here and there a soldier fell in +the ranks, and the gap was filled in silence.</p> +<p>At a little before ten, the British could see that Montcalm was +preparing to advance, and, in a few moments, all his troops appeared in +rapid motion. They came on in three divisions, shouting after the manner +of their nation, and firing heavily as soon as they came within range.</p> +<p>In the British ranks, not a trigger was pulled, not a soldier +stirred; and their ominous composure seemed to damp the spirits of the +assailants. It was not till the French were within forty yards that the +fatal word was given, and the British muskets blazed forth at once in +one crashing explosion. Like a ship at full career, arrested with sudden +ruin on a sunken rock, the ranks of Montcalm staggered, shivered, and +broke before that wasting storm of lead.</p> +<p>The smoke, rolling along the field, for a moment shut out the view; +but when the white wreaths were scattered on the wind, a wretched +spectacle was disclosed; men and officers tumbled in heaps, battalions +resolved into a mob, order and obedience gone; and when the British +muskets were leveled for a second volley, the masses of the militia were +seen to cower and shrink with uncontrollable panic.</p> +<p>For a few minutes, the French regulars stood their ground, returning +a sharp and not ineffectual fire. But now, echoing cheer on cheer, +redoubling volley on volley, trampling the dying and the dead, and +driving the fugitives in crowds, the British troops advanced and swept +the field before them. The ardor of the men burst all restraint. They +broke into a run, and with unsparing slaughter chased the flying +multitude to the gates of Quebec. Foremost of all, the light-footed +Highlanders dashed along in furious pursuit, hewing down the Frenchmen +with their broadswords, and slaying many in the very ditch of the +fortifications. Never was victory more quick or more decisive.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Francis Parkman is one of America's greatest historians. He took for his +theme the great conflict between the English, the French, and the +Indians on the frontiers of the northern new world. He was not only a +historian of genius, but was gifted with a delightful style. His books +are full of the fragrance of woods and streams and the fresh, free air +of the plains and the mountains.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="ENGLAND_AND_HER_COLONIES"></a>ENGLAND +AND HER COLONIES</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDMUND BURKE<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>England's hold of the colonies is in the close affection which grows +from common names, from kindred blood, from similar privileges, and +equal protection. These are ties which, though light as air, are as +strong as links of iron. Let the colonies always keep the idea of their +civil rights associated with your government; they will cling and +grapple to you, and no force under heaven will be of power to tear them +from their allegiance. But let it once be understood that your +government may be one thing, and their privileges another; that these +two things may exist without any mutual relation--the cement is gone; +the cohesion is loosened; and everything hastens to decay and +dissolution. As long as you have the wisdom to keep the sovereign +authority of this country as the sanctuary of liberty, the sacred temple +consecrated to our common faith; wherever the chosen race and sons of +England worship freedom, they will turn their faces toward you. The more +they multiply, the more friends you will have; the more ardently they +love liberty, the more perfect will be their obedience. Slavery they can +have anywhere. It is a weed that grows in every soil. They may have it +from Spain; they may have it from Prussia; but, until you become lost to +all feelings of your true interest and your natural dignity, freedom +they can have from none but you. This is the commodity of price of which +you have the monopoly. This is the true Act of Navigation, which binds +to you the commerce of the colonies, and through them secures to you the +wealth of the world. Deny them this participation of freedom, and you +break that sole bond which originally made, and must still preserve, the +unity of the empire. Do not entertain so weak an imagination as that +your registers and your bonds, your affidavits and your sufferances, +are what form the great securities of your commerce. Do not dream that +your letters of office, and your instructions, and your suspending +clauses, are the things that hold together the great contexture of this +mysterious whole. These things do not make your government. Dead +instruments, passive tools as they are, it is the spirit of the English +communion that gives all their life and efficacy to them. It is the +spirit of the English constitution, which, infused through the mighty +mass, pervades, feeds, unites, invigorates, vivifies every part of the +empire, even down to the minutest member. Is it not the same virtue +which does everything for us here in England?</p> +<p>Do you imagine, then, that it is the land tax which raises your +revenue? That it is the annual vote in the committee of supply which +gives you your army? Or that it is the mutiny bill which inspires it +with bravery and discipline? No! surely no! It is the love of the +people; it is their attachment to their government, from the sense of +the deep stake they have in such a glorious institution, which gives you +your army and your navy, and infuses into both that liberal obedience +without which your army would be a base rabble and your navy nothing but +rotten timber.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> Edmund +Burke was a British statesman of Irish birth, who lived at the time of +the American Revolution. While William Pitt opposed, in the House of +Lords, the policy of the British government, Edmund Burke delivered, in +the House of Commons, his famous speech on the Conciliation of the +Colonies, March 22, 1775. This extract is taken from the closing +paragraphs of this celebrated speech.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_WAY_TO_WEALTH"></a>THE WAY +TO WEALTH</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>BENJAMIN FRANKLIN<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>COURTEOUS READER: I have heard that nothing gives an author so great +pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by others. Judge, +then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to +relate to you.</p> +<p>I stopped my horse, lately, where a great number of people were +collected at an auction of merchants' goods. The hour of the sale not +being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of +the company called to a plain, clean old man, with white locks: "Pray, +Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes +quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What +would you advise us to do?"</p> +<p>Father Abraham stood up and replied: "If you would have my advice, I +will give it to you in short; for 'a word to the wise is enough,' as +Poor Richard says." They joined in desiring him to speak his mind, and, +gathering around him, he proceeded as follows: "Friends," said he, "the +taxes are indeed very heavy; and, if those laid on by the Government +were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; +but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us.</p> +<p>"We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by +our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and of these taxes the +commissioners can not ease or deliver us by allowing an abatement. +However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for +us. 'Heaven helps them that help themselves,' as Poor Richard says.</p> +<p>"It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people +one tenth part of their time to be employed in its service; but idleness +taxes many of us much more; sloth, by bringing on diseases, absolutely +shortens life. 'Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears; +while the used key is always bright,' as Poor Richard says. How much +more than is necessary do we spend in sleep! forgetting that 'the +sleeping fox catches no poultry,' and that there will be sleeping enough +in the grave.</p> +<p>"'Lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, +always proves little enough.' Let us, then, be up and doing, and doing +to the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity. +'Drive thy business, and let not that drive thee'; and 'early to bed, +and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,' as Poor +Richard says.</p> +<p>"So, what signifies wishing and hoping for better times? We may make +these times better if we bestir ourselves. 'Industry need not wish, and +he that lives upon hopes will die fasting.' 'There are no gains without +pains; then help hands, for I have no lands.' 'He that hath a trade, +hath an estate; and he that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and +honor'; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well +followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our +taxes. Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may +be hindered to-morrow. 'One to-day is worth two to-morrows,' as Poor +Richard says; and further, 'Never leave that till to-morrow which you +can do to-day.'</p> +<p>"If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master +should catch you idle? Are you, then, your own master? Be ashamed to +catch yourself idle, when there is so much to be done for yourself, your +family, and your country. It is true, there is much to be done, and +perhaps you are weak-handed; but stick to it steadily, and you will see +great effects; for 'constant dropping wears away stones,' and 'little +strokes fell great oaks.'</p> +<p>"But with our industry we must likewise be steady, settled, and +careful, and oversee our own affairs with our own eyes, and not trust +too much to others; for, as Poor Richard says, 'Three removes are as bad +as a fire'; and again, 'Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee'; and +again, 'If you would have your business done, go; if not, send'; and +again, 'The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands'; +and again, 'Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge.'</p> +<p>"So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one's own +business; but to these we must add frugality, if we would make our +industry more certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not how to +save as he gets, keep his nose to the grindstone all his life, and die +not worth a groat at last. 'If you would be wealthy, think of saving as +well as of getting.'</p> +<p>"Away with your expensive follies, and you will not then have so +much cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable +families; for 'what maintains one vice would bring up two children.' +Beware of little expenses. 'Many a little makes a mickle'; 'A small leak +will sink a great ship.' Here you are all got together at this sale of +fineries and knickknacks. You call them goods, but, if you do not take +care, they will prove evils to some of you.</p> +<p>"You expect they will be sold cheap, and perhaps they may be, for +less than cost; but, if you have no occasion for them, they must be dear +to you. Remember what Poor Richard says: 'Buy what thou hast no need of, +and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessaries.' 'Silks, satins, scarlet, +and velvets put out the kitchen fire.' These are not the necessaries of +life; they can scarcely be called the conveniences; and yet, only +because they look pretty, how many want to have them!</p> +<p>"By these and other extravagances, the greatest are reduced to +poverty, and forced to borrow of those whom they formerly despised, but +who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing. 'If +you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; for he +that goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing'; and, indeed, so does he that +lends to such people, when he goes to get it again.</p> +<p>"It is as truly folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog +to swell in order to equal the ox. After all, this pride of appearance +can not promote health, nor ease pain; it makes no increase of merit in +the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortunes.</p> +<p>"But what madness it must be to run in debt for superfluities! Think +what you do when you run in debt: you give to another power over your +liberty. If you can not pay at the time, you will be ashamed to see your +creditor; you will be in fear when you speak to him; you will make poor, +pitiful, sneaking excuses, and by degrees come to lose your veracity, +and sink into base, downright lying; for 'the second vice is lying, the +first is running in debt,' as Poor Richard says; and again, 'Lying rides +upon debt's back.'</p> +<p>"This doctrine, my friends, is reason and wisdom; but industry, and +frugality, and prudence may all be blasted without the blessing of +Heaven. Therefore ask that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to +those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them."</p> +<p>The old gentleman ended his harangue. The people heard it, and +approved the doctrine, and immediately practiced the contrary, just as +if it had been a common sermon; for the auction opened, and they began +to buy extravagantly. I found the good man had thoroughly studied my +almanac, and digested all I had dropped on these topics during the +course of twenty-five years. The frequent mention he made of me must +have tired any one else; but my vanity was wonderfully delighted with +it, though I was conscious that not a tenth part of the wisdom was my +own which he ascribed to me, but rather the gleanings that I had made of +the sense of all ages and nations.</p> +<p>However, I resolved to be the better for the echo of it; and, +although I had at first determined to buy stuff for a new coat, I went +away resolved to wear my old one a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt +do the same, thy profit will be as great as mine.--I am, as ever, thine +to serve thee.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> These +are paragraphs selected from Benjamin Franklin's "Way to Wealth," about +which he has the following to say in his Autobiography: "In 1732, I +first published my Almanac, under the name of 'Richard Saunders'; it was +continued by me about twenty-five years, and commonly called 'Poor +Richard's Almanac.' I filled all the little spaces that occurred between +the remarkable days in the calendar with proverbial sentences, chiefly +such as inculcated industry and frugality as the means of procuring +wealth, and thereby securing virtue. These proverbs, which contained the +wisdom of many ages and nations, I assembled and formed into a connected +discourse, prefixed to the Almanac of 1757 as the harangue of a wise old +man to the people attending an auction. The bringing all these scattered +counsels thus into a focus enabled them to make greater impression."</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="SPEECH_ON_A_RESOLUTION_TO_PUT_VIRGINIA"></a>SPEECH ON A +RESOLUTION TO PUT VIRGINIA INTO A STATE OF DEFENCE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>BY PATRICK HENRY<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>MR. PRESIDENT,--No man thinks more highly than I do of the +patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have +just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject +in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought +disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining, as I do, opinions of +a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments +freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question +before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own +part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or +slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be +the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to +arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to +God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, +through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of +treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the +Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.</p> +<p>Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of +hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to +the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the +part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? +Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, +and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their +temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, +I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide +for it.</p> +<p>I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the +lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the +past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the +conduct of the British Ministry for the last ten years to justify those +hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and +the House? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been +lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. +Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how +this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike +preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and +armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown +ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to +win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the +implements of war and subjugation--the last arguments to which kings +resort. I ask, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not +to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible +motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the +world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, +she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. +They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the +British Ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose +to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the +last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. +We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but +it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble +supplication? What terms shall we find, which have not been already +exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. +Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which +is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have +supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have +implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the +Ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our +remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our +supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with +contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may +we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer +any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to preserve +inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long +contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which +we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never +to abandon, until the glorious abject of our contest shall be +obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to +arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!</p> +<p>They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so +formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the +next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, +and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we +gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means +of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the +delusive phantom of hope until our enemies shall have bound us hand and +foot?</p> +<p>Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means which +the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, +armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which +we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against +us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just +God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up +friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the +strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, +sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now +too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in +submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be +heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I +repeat it, sir, let it come!</p> +<p>It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, +Peace, peace!--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The +next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of +resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we +here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life +so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains +and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may +take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> Patrick +Henry was an American patriot and orator whose eloquent speech was a +powerful force in moulding public opinion at the time of the Revolution. +This famous speech was made in the Virginia Convention, March 28, 1775, +and is an appeal to place the colonies in a state of defence.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_MAN_WITHOUT_A_COUNTRY"></a>THE +MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDWARD EVERETT HALE<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>I first came to understand anything about "the man without a +country" one day when we over-hauled a dirty little schooner which had +slaves on board. An officer was sent to take charge of her, and, after a +few minutes, he sent back his boat to ask that someone might be sent him +who could talk Portuguese. But none of the officers did; and just as the +captain was sending forward to ask if any of the people could, Nolan +stepped out and said he should be glad to interpret, if the captain +wished, as he understood the language. The captain thanked him, fitted +out another boat with him, and in this boat it was my luck to go.</p> +<p>There were not a great many of the negroes; most of them were out of +the hold and swarming all round the dirty deck, with a central throng +surrounding Vaughan. "Tell them they are free, Nolan," said Vaughan; +"and tell them that I will take them all to Cape Palmas."</p> +<p>Cape Palmas was practically as far from the homes of most of them as +New Orleans or Rio Janeiro was; that is, they would be eternally +separated from home there. And their interpreters, as we could +understand, instantly said, "Ah, non Palmas." The drops stood on poor +Nolan's white forehead, as he hushed the men down, and said:</p> +<p>"He says, 'Not Palmas.' He says, 'Take us home, take us to our own +country, take us to our own house, take us to our own pickaninnies and +our own women.' He says he has an old father and mother who will die if +they do not see him. And this one says," choked out Nolan, "that he has +not heard a word from, his home in six months."</p> +<p>Even the negroes stopped howling, as they saw Nolan's agony, and +Vaughan's almost equal agony of sympathy. As quick as he could get +words, Vaughan said:</p> +<p>"Tell them, yes, yes, yes; tell them they shall go to the Mountains +of the Moon, if they will."</p> +<p>And after some fashion Nolan said so. And then they all fell to +kissing him again.</p> +<p>But he could not stand it long; and getting Vaughan to say he might +go back, he beckoned me down into our boat. As we lay back in the +stern-sheets and the men gave way, he said to me: "Youngster, let that +show you what it is to be without a family, without a home, and without +a country. And if you are ever tempted to say a word or to do a thing +that shall put a bar between you and your family, your home, and your +country, pray God in his mercy to take you that instant home to his own +heaven. Think of your home, boy; write and read, and talk about it. Let +it be nearer and nearer to your thought, the farther you have to travel +from it; and rush back to it when you are free, as that poor black slave +is doing now. And for your country, boy," and the words rattled in his +throat, "and for that flag," and he pointed to the ship, "never dream a +dream but of serving her as she bids you, though the service carry you +through a thousand terrors. No matter what happens to you, no matter who +flatters you or who abuses you, never look at another flag. Remember, +that behind all these men you have to do with,--behind officers, and +government, and people even--there is the Country Herself, your Country, +and that you belong to Her as you belong to your own mother."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> This +is an extract from "The Man Without a Country," a book written by +Edward Everett Hale, a clergyman and author (1822-1909). He was a +grand-nephew of Nathan Hale, of Revolutionary fame.</p> +<p>"The Man without a Country" is the story of Philip Nolan, a young +officer of the United States army. On account of his intimacy with Aaron +Burr, he was court-martialed and, having expressed the wish never to +hear the name of his country again, was banished and sentenced to live +upon a government boat, where no one was allowed to mention his country.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="LOVE_OF_COUNTRY_"></a>LOVE OF +COUNTRY <br> +<small>(From "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," Canto VI.)</small></p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>SIR WALTER SCOTT</small></p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"><br> + Breathes there the man with soul so dead,<br> + Who never to himself hath said:--<br> + "This is my own, my native land!"<br> + Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned,<br> + As home his footsteps he hath turned<br> + From wandering on a foreign strand?<br> + If such there breathe, go, mark him well;<br> + For him no minstrel raptures swell;<br> + High though his titles, proud his name,<br> + Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;<br> + Despite those titles, power, and pelf,<br> + The wretch concentered all in self,<br> + Living, shall forfeit fair renown,<br> + And, doubly dying, shall go down<br> + To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,<br> + Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.</div> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="NAPOLEON_BONAPARTE"></a>NAPOLEON +BONAPARTE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>CHARLES PHILLIPS<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>He is fallen! We may now pause before that splendid prodigy, which +towered among us like some ancient ruin, whose frown terrified the +glance its magnificence attracted. Grand, gloomy, and peculiar, he sat +upon the throne, a sceptered hermit, wrapt in the solitude of his own +originality. A mind, bold, independent, and decisive,--a will despotic +in its dictates--an energy that distanced expedition, and a conscience +pliable to every touch of interest, marked the outline of this +extraordinary character--the most extraordinary, perhaps, that, in the +annals of this world, ever rose, or reigned, or fell.</p> +<p>Flung into life in the midst of a revolution that quickened every +energy of a people who acknowledge no superior, he commenced his course, +a stranger by birth, and a scholar by charity! With no friend but his +sword, and no fortune but his talents, he rushed into the lists where +rank and wealth and genius had arrayed themselves, and competition fled +from him as from the glance of destiny. He knew no motive but +interest--he acknowledged no criterion but success--he worshiped no God +but ambition, and, with an Eastern devotion, he knelt at the shrine of +his idolatry.</p> +<p>Subsidiary to this, there was no creed that he did not profess, +there was no opinion that he did not promulgate; in the hope of a +dynasty, he upheld the Crescent; for the sake of a divorce, he bowed +before the Cross; the orphan of St. Louis, he became the adopted child +of the Republic; and, with a parricidal ingratitude, on the ruins both +of the throne and tribune, he reared the throne of his despotism.</p> +<p>A professed Catholic, he imprisoned the Pope; a pretended patriot, +he impoverished the country; and, in the name of Brutus, he +grasped--without remorse and wore without shame the diadem of the +Caesars. Through this pantomime of policy, fortune played the clown to +his caprices. At his touch, crowns crumbled, beggars reigned, systems +vanished, the wildest theories took the color of his whim, and all that +was venerable, and all that was novel, changed places with the rapidity +of a drama.</p> +<p>Even apparent defeat assumed the appearance of victory,--his flight +from Egypt confirmed his destiny,--ruin itself only elevated him to +empire. But, if his fortune was great, his genius was transcendent; +decision flashed upon his counsels; and it was the same to decide and to +perform. To inferior intellects his combinations appeared perfectly +impossible, his plans perfectly impracticable; but, in his hands, +simplicity marked their development, and success vindicated their +adoption. His person partook the character of his mind,--if the one +never yielded in the cabinet, the other never bent in the field. Nature +had no obstacle that he did not surmount--space no opposition that he +did not spurn: and whether amid Alpine rocks, Arabian sands, or Polar +snows, he seemed proof against peril, and empowered with ubiquity.</p> +<p>The whole continent trembled at beholding the audacity of his +designs, and the miracle of their execution. Skepticism bowed to the +prodigies of his performance; romance assumed the air of history; nor +was there aught too incredible for belief, or too fanciful for +expectation, when the world saw a subaltern of Corsica waving his +imperial flag over her most ancient capitals. All the visions of +antiquity became commonplace in his contemplation; kings were his +people--nations were his outposts; and he disposed of courts, and +crowns, and camps, and churches, and cabinets, as if they were titular +dignitaries of the chess-board. Amid all these changes, he stood +immutable as adamant.</p> +<p>It mattered little whether in the field or in the drawing-room, with +the mob or the levee--wearing the Jacobin bonnet or the iron +crown--banishing a Braganza, or espousing a Hapsburg--dictating peace on +a raft to the Czar of Russia, or contemplating defeat at the gallows of +Leipsic--he was still the same military despot.</p> +<p>In this wonderful combination, his affectations of literature must +not be omitted. The jailer of the press, he affected the patronage of +letters; the proscriber of books, he encouraged philosophy; the +persecutor of authors and the murderer of printers, he yet pretended to +the protection of learning. Such a medley of contradictions, and at the +same time, such an individual consistency, were never united in the same +character. A royalist--a republican and an emperor--a Mohammedan--a +Catholic and a patron of the synagogue--a subaltern and a sovereign--a +traitor and a tyrant--a Christian and an infidel--he was, through all +his vicissitudes, the same stern, impatient, inflexible original--the +same mysterious, incomprehensible self--a man without a model and +without a shadow.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_TRUE_GRANDEUR_OF_NATIONS"></a>THE +TRUE GRANDEUR OF NATIONS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>BY CHARLES SUMNER<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>The flowers of gentleness, of kindliness, of fidelity, of humanity, +which flourish in unregarded luxuriance in the rich meadows of peace, +receive unwonted admiration when we discern them in war, like violets +shedding their perfume on the perilous edges of the precipice, beyond +the smiling borders of civilization. God be praised for all the examples +of magnanimous virtue which he has vouchsafed to mankind! God be praised +that the Roman emperor, about to start on a distant expedition of war, +encompassed by squadrons of cavalry and by golden eagles which moved in +the winds, stooped from his saddle to listen to the prayer of the humble +widow, demanding justice for the death of her son! God be praised that +Sidney, on the field of battle, gave with dying hand the cup of cold +water to the dying soldier! That single act of self-forgetful sacrifice +has consecrated the fenny field of Zutphen far, oh, far beyond its +battle; it has consecrated thy name, gallant Sidney, beyond any feat of +thy sword, beyond any triumph of thy pen. But there are hands +out-stretched elsewhere than on fields of blood for so little as a cup +of cold water; the world is full of opportunities for deeds of kindness. +Let me not be told, then, of the virtues of war. Let not the acts of +generosity and sacrifice which have triumphed on its fields be invoked +in its defense. In the words of Oriental imagery, the poisonous tree, +though watered by nectar, can produce only the fruit of death.</p> +<p>As we cast our eyes over the history of nations, we discern with +horror the succession of murderous slaughters by which their progress +has been marked. As the hunter traces the wild beast, when pursued to +his lair, by the drops of blood on the earth, so we follow man, faint, +weary, staggering with wounds, through the black forest of the past, +which he has reddened with his gore. Oh, let it not be in the future +ages as in those which we now contemplate. Let the grandeur of man be +discerned in the blessings which he has secured; in the good he has +accomplished; in the triumphs of benevolence and justice; in the +establishment of perpetual peace.</p> +<p>And peace has its own peculiar victories, in comparison with which +Marathon and Bannockburn and Bunker Hill, fields held sacred in the +history of human freedom, shall lose their lustre. Our own Washington +rises to a truly heavenly stature--not when we follow him over the ice +of the Delaware to the capture of Trenton--not when we behold him +victorious over Cornwallis at Yorktown--but when we regard him, in noble +deference to justice, refusing the kingly crown which a faithless +soldiery proffered, and at a later day upholding the peaceful neutrality +of the country, while he received unmoved the clamor of the people +wickedly crying for war....</p> +<p>To this great work let me summon you. That future which filled the +lofty visions of the sages and bards of Greece and Rome, which was +foretold by the prophets and heralded by the evangelists, when man in +happy isles or in a new paradise shall confess the loveliness of peace, +may be secured by your care, if not for yourselves, at least for your +children. Believe that you can do it, and you can do it. The true golden +age is before you, not behind you.</p> +<p>Let it not be said that the age does not demand this work. The +mighty conquerors of the past from their fiery sepulchres demand it; the +blood of millions unjustly shed in war crying from the ground demands +it; the voices of all good men demand it; the conscience even of the +soldier whispers "peace." There are considerations springing from our +situation and condition which fervently invite us to take the lead in +this great work. To this should bend the patriotic ardor of the land; +the ambition of the statesman; the efforts of the scholar; the pervasive +influence of the press; the mild persuasion of the sanctuary; the early +teachings of the school. Here, in ampler ether and diviner air, are +untried fields for exalted triumphs, more truly worthy the American name +than any snatched from rivers of blood. War is known as the last reason +of kings. Let it be no reason of our republic. Let us renounce and throw +off forever the yoke of a tyranny more oppressive than any in the annals +of the world. As those standing on the mountain tops first discern the +coming beams of morning, let us, from the vantage-ground of liberal +institutions, first recognize the ascending sun of a new era. Lift high, +the gates and let the King of glory in--the King of true glory, of +peace. I catch the last words of music from the lips of innocence and +beauty--</p> +<p>"And let the whole earth be filled with his glory!"</p> +<p>It is a beautiful picture in Grecian story that there was at least +one spot, the small island of Delos, dedicated to the gods, and kept at +all times sacred from war, where the citizens of hostile countries met +and united in a common worship. So let us dedicate our broad country. +The temple of honor shall be surrounded by the temple of concord, so +that the former can be entered only through the portals of the latter; +the horn of abundance shall overflow at its gates; the angel of religion +shall be the guide over its steps of flashing adamant; while within, +Justice, returned to the earth from her long exile in the skies, shall +rear her serene and majestic front. And the future chiefs of the +republic, destined to uphold the glories of a new era, unspotted by +human blood, shall be "the first in peace, and the first in the hearts +of their countrymen."</p> +<p>But while we seek these blissful glories for ourselves, let us +strive to extend them to other lands. Let the bugles sound the truce of +God to the whole world forever. Let the selfish boast of the Spartan +women become the grand chorus of mankind, that they have never seen the +smoke of an enemy's camp. Let the iron belt of martial music which now +encompasses the earth be exchanged for the golden cestus of peace, +clothing all with celestial beauty. And now, on this Sabbath of our +country, let us lay a new stone in the grand temple of universal peace, +whose dome shall be as lofty as the firmament of heaven, as broad and +comprehensive as the earth itself.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> Charles +Samuer was an American statesman noted for his oratory. His speeches +were marked by soundness of reason, and the fifteen published volumes of +them make an imposing addition to our literature. This selection is +taken from his address "The True Grandeur of Nations," which was +delivered in Tremont Temple, Boston, July 4, 1845.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_EVILS_OF_WAR"></a>THE EVILS +OF WAR</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HENRY CLAY</small></p> +<p><br> + "The drying up a single tear has more<br> + Of honest fame, than shedding seas of gore."--<i>Byron</i>.</p> +<p><br> +War, pestilence, and famine, by the common consent of mankind, are the +three greatest calamities which can befall our species; and war, as the +most direful, justly, stands foremost and in front. Pestilence and +famine, no doubt for wise although inscrutable purposes, are inflictions +of Providence, to which it is our duty, therefore, to bow with +obedience, humble submission, and resignation. Their duration is not +long, and their ravages are limited. They bring, indeed, great +affliction, while they last, but society soon recovers from their +effects.</p> +<p>War is the voluntary work of our own hands, and whatever reproaches +it may deserve, should be directed to ourselves. When it breaks out, its +duration is indefinite and unknown,--its vicissitudes are hidden from +our view. In the sacrifice of human life, and in the waste of human +treasure,--in its losses and in its burdens,--it affects both +belligerent nations, and its sad effects of mangled bodies, of death, +and of desolation, endure long after its thunders are hushed in peace.</p> +<p>War unhinges society, disturbs its peaceful and regular industry, +and scatters poisonous seeds of disease and immorality, which continue +to germinate and diffuse their baneful influence long after it has +ceased. Dazzling by its glitter, pomp, and pageantry, it begets a spirit +of wild adventure and romantic enterprise, and often disqualifies those +who embark in it, after their return from the bloody fields of battle, +for engaging in the industrious and peaceful vocations of life.</p> +<p>History tells the mournful tale of conquering nations and +conquerors. The three most celebrated conquerors, in the civilized +world, were Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon. The first, after ruining a +large portion of Asia, and sighing and lamenting that there were no more +worlds to subdue, met a premature and ignoble death. His lieutenants +quarreled and warred with each other as to the spoils of his victories, +and finally lost them all.</p> +<p>Cæsar, after conquering Gaul, returned with his triumphant +legions to Rome, passed the Rubicon, won the battle of Pharsalia, +trampled upon the liberties of his country, and expired by the patriot +hand of Brutus. But Rome ceased to be free. War and conquest had +enervated and corrupted the masses. The spirit of true liberty was +extinguished, and a long line of emperors succeeded, some of whom were +the most execrable monsters that ever existed in human form.</p> +<p>And Napoleon, that most extraordinary man, perhaps, in all history, +after subjugating all continental Europe, occupying almost all its +capitals,--seriously threatening proud Albion itself,--and decking the +brows of various members of his family with crowns torn from the heads +of other monarchs, lived to behold his own dear France itself in +possession of his enemies, was made himself a wretched captive, and far +removed from country, family, and friends, breathed his last on the +distant and inhospitable rock of St. Helena.</p> +<p>The Alps and the Rhine had been claimed, as the natural boundaries +of France, but even these could not be secured in the treaties, to which +she was reduced to submit. Do you believe that the people of Macedon or +Greece, of Rome, or of France, were benefited, individually or +collectively, by the triumphs of their captains? Their sad lot was +immense sacrifice of life, heavy and intolerable burdens, and the +ultimate loss of liberty itself.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> Henry Clay was one +of the most prominent statesmen of his time, serving as speaker of the +House for ten years, as secretary of state for four years, and as +senator from Kentucky for twenty years. He was the author of the +compromise measures in 1850, and was known as the "Great Pacificator," +and the "Great Compromiser."</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="PEACE_THE_POLICY_OF_A_NATION"></a>PEACE, +THE POLICY OF A NATION</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JOHN C. CALHOUN<br> +<br> +</small></p> +<p>I am opposed to war, as a friend to human improvement, to human +civilization, to human progress and advancement. Never, in the history +of the world, has there occurred a period so remarkable. The chemical +and mechanical powers have been investigated and applied to advance the +comforts of human life, in a degree far beyond all that was ever known +before. Civilization has been spreading its influence far and wide, and +the general progress of human society has outstripped all that had been +previously witnessed.</p> +<p>The invention of man has seized upon, and subjugated two great +agencies of the natural world, which never before were made the servants +of man. I refer to steam and to electricity, under which I include +magnetism in all its phenomena. We have been distinguished by Providence +for a great and noble purpose, and I trust we shall fulfill our high +destiny.</p> +<p>Again, I am opposed to war, because I hold that it is now to be +determined whether two such nations as these shall exist for the future, +as friends or enemies. A declaration of war by one of them against the +other, must be pregnant with miseries, not only to themselves, but to +the world.</p> +<p>Another reason is, that mighty means are now put into the hands of +both, to cement and secure a perpetual peace, by breaking down the +barriers of commerce, and uniting them more closely in an intercourse +mutually beneficial. If this shall be accomplished, other nations will, +one after another, follow the fair example, and a state of general +prosperity, heretofore unknown, will gradually unite and bless the +nations of the world.</p> +<p>And far more than all. An intercourse like this points to that +inspiring day which philosophers have hoped for, which poets have seen +in their bright dreams of fancy, and which prophecy has seen in holy +vision,--when men shall learn war no more. Who can contemplate a state +of the world like this, and not feel his heart exult at the prospect? +And who can doubt that, in the hand of an Omnipotent Providence, a free +and unrestricted commerce shall prove one of the greatest agents in +bringing it about?</p> +<p>Finally, I am against war, because peace--peace is preëminently +our policy. Our great mission, as a people, is to occupy this vast +domain,--there to level forests, and let in upon their solitude the +light of day; to clear the swamps and morasses, and redeem them to the +plow and the sickle; to spread over hill and dale the echoes of human +labor, and human happiness, and contentment; to fill the land with +cities and towns; to unite its opposite extremities by turnpikes and +railroads; to scoop out canals for the transmission of its products, and +open rivers for its internal trade. War can only impede the fulfillment +of this high mission of Heaven; it absorbs the wealth and diverts the +energy which might be so much better devoted to the improvement of our +country. All we want is peace,--established peace; and then time, under +the guidance of a wise and cautious policy, will soon effect for us all +the rest. Where we find that natural causes will of themselves work out +good, our wisdom is to let them work; and all our task is to remove +impediments. In the present case, one of the greatest of these +impediments is found in our impatience.</p> +<p>Yes; time--ever-laboring time--will effect everything for us. Our +population is now increasing at the annual average of six hundred +thousand. Let the next twenty-five years elapse, and our increase will +have reached a million a year, and, at the end of that period, we shall +count a population of forty-five millions. Before that day it will have +spread from ocean to ocean. The coast of the Pacific will then be as +densely populated and as thickly settled with villages and towns as is +now the coast of the Atlantic. If we can preserve peace, who shall set +bounds to our prosperity, or to our success? With one foot planted on +the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific, we shall occupy a position +between the two old continents of the world,--a position eminently +calculated to secure to us the commerce and the influence of both. If we +abide by the counsels of common sense,--if we succeed in preserving our +constitutional liberty, we shall then exhibit a spectacle such, as the +world never saw.</p> +<p>I know that this one great mission is encompassed with difficulties; +but such is the inherent energy of our political system, and such its +expansive capability, that it may be made to govern the widest space. If +by war we become great, we can not be free; if we will be both great and +free, our policy is peace.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> John C. Calhoun +was a distinguished American statesman. He is noted for his advocacy of +the annexation of Texas and his maintenance of the cause of peace, when +war with Great Britain was threatened by the claims of the United States +to Oregon. This selection is from one of his speeches in the Senate on +that subject.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="THE_FIRST_SETTLEMENT_OF_NEW_ENGLAND"></a>THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF +NEW ENGLAND</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>DANIEL WEBSTER</small></p> +<p><br> +The hours of this day are rapidly flying, and this occasion will soon +be passed. Neither we nor our children can expect to behold its return. +They are in the distant regions of futurity, they exist only in the +all-creating power of God, who shall stand here, a hundred years hence, +to trace, through us, their descent from the Pilgrims, and to survey, as +we have now surveyed, the progress of the country during the lapse of a +century. We would anticipate their concurrence with us in our sentiments +of deep regard for our common ancestors. We would anticipate and partake +of the pleasure with which they will then recount the steps of New +England's advancement. On the morning of that day, although it will not +disturb us in our repose, the voice of acclamation and gratitude, +commencing on the rock of Plymouth, shall be transmitted through +millions of the sons of the Pilgrims, till it lose itself in the murmurs +of the Pacific seas.</p> +<p>We would leave for the consideration of those who shall occupy our +places, some proof that we hold the blessings transmitted from our +fathers in just estimation; some proof of our attachment to the cause of +good government, and ardent desire to promote everything which may +enlarge the understandings and improve the hearts of men. And when, from +the long distance of a hundred years, they shall look back upon us, they +shall know, at least, that we possessed affections which, running +backward and warming with gratitude for what our ancestors have done for +our happiness, run forward also to our posterity, and meet them with +cordial salutation, ere yet they have arrived on the shore of being.</p> +<p>Advance, then, ye future generations! We would hail you, as you rise +in your long succession, to fill the places which we now fill, and to +taste the blessings of existence, where we are passing, and soon shall +have passed, our human duration. We bid you welcome to the healthful +skies and the verdant fields of New England. We greet your accession to +the great inheritance which we have enjoyed. We welcome you to the +blessings of good government and religious liberty. We welcome you to +the treasures of science and the delights of learning. We welcome you to +the transcendent sweets of domestic life, to the happiness of kindred, +and parents, and children. We welcome you to the immeasurable blessings +of rational existence, the immortal hope of Christianity, and the light +of everlasting truth!</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> Daniel +Webster stands out as America's foremost orator. His eloquence, +enhanced by the force of his personality, was equally great whether +answering an opponent in the Senate, pleading a case as a lawyer, or in +the more dispassionate orations of anniversary occasions. He was the +champion of the national idea and of complete union, and therefore +bitterly opposed Hayne and Calhoun. He supported Clay in the compromise +measures of 1850. His supremacy in American statesmanship, as senator, +and as secretary of state, makes him "the notablest of our +notabilities." These are the closing paragraphs from his oration +delivered at Plymouth, December 22, 1820, on the two hundredth +anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="SUPPOSED_SPEECH_OF_JOHN_ADAMS"></a>SUPPOSED +SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>DANIEL WEBSTER</small></p> +<p><br> +Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my +heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that in the beginning we aimed +not at independence. But there is a divinity which shapes our ends. The +injustice of England has driven us to arms; and, blinded to her own +interest, she has obstinately persisted, till independence is now within +our grasp. We have but to reach forth to it, and it is ours. Why, then, +should we defer the declaration? If we postpone independence, do we mean +to carry on or to give up the war? Do we mean to submit, and consent +that we shall be ground to powder, and our country and its rights +trodden down in the dust? I know we do not mean to submit. We never +shall submit!</p> +<p>The war, then, must go on; we must fight it through. And if the war +must go on, why put off the declaration of independence? That measure +will strengthen us. It will give us character abroad. Nations will then +treat with us, which they never can do while we acknowledge ourselves +subjects in arms against our sovereign.</p> +<p>If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. The +cause will raise up armies; the cause will create navies. The +people--the people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will +carry themselves, gloriously through this struggle. I care not how +fickle other people have been found. I know the people of these +colonies; and I know that resistance to British aggression is deep and +settled in their hearts, and cannot be eradicated. Sir, the declaration +of independence will inspire the people with increased courage. Instead +of a long and bloody war for the restoration of privileges, for redress +of grievances, set before them the glorious object of entire +independence, and it will breathe into them anew the spirit of life.</p> +<p>Read this declaration at the head of the army; every sword will be +drawn, and the solemn vow uttered to maintain it or perish on the bed of +honor. Publish it from the pulpit; religion will approve it, and the +love of religious liberty will cling around it, resolved to stand with +it, or fall with it. Send it to the public halls; proclaim it there; let +them see it, who saw their brothers and their sons fall on the field of +Bunker Hill, and in the streets of Lexington and Concord, and the very +walls will cry out in its support.</p> +<p>O Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see, I see +clearly through this day's business. You and I, indeed, may rue it. We +may not live to see the time this declaration shall be made good. We may +die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be ignominiously, and on the +scaffold. Be it so: be it so. If it be the pleasure of Heaven that my +country shall require the poor offering of my life, the victim shall be +ready at the appointed hour of sacrifice, come when that hour may. But +while I do live, let me have a country, or at least the hope of a +country, and that a free country.</p> +<p>But whatever may be our fate, be assured--be assured that this +declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood; but +it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. Through the thick +gloom of the present I see the brightness of the future, as the sun in +heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we are in +our graves, our children will honor it. They will celebrate it with +thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, and illuminations. On its +annual return they will shed tears, copious, gushing tears; not of +subjection and slavery, not of agony and distress, but of exultation, of +gratitude, and of joy.</p> +<p>Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My judgment approves +the measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that +I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready here to stake +upon it; and I leave off as I began, that, live or die, survive or +perish, I am for the declaration. It is my living sentiment, and, by the +blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment; independence now, and +independence forever.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> Boston was +deeply moved, on July 4, 1826, by the news of the death of John Adams, +just fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. +He was not only conscious of the significance of the day, but had spoken +of his colleague, Thomas Jefferson, and the fact that Jefferson would +survive him. A few days later, news came from Virginia that Jefferson +had died on the same day, a few hours earlier than Adams. The whole +country was deeply affected by this remarkable coincidence. On the +second of August a public memorial meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, +Boston, at which Daniel Webster delivered an oration on "Adams and +Jefferson." In this speech, merely a part of the oration, Webster +represents what Adams might have said at the time of the Declaration of +Independence.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="SOUTH_CAROLINA_AND_THE_UNION"></a>SOUTH +CAROLINA AND THE UNION</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ROBERT HAYNE</small></p> +<p><br> +I shall make no profession of zeal for the interests and honor of South +Carolina. If there be one state in the Union that may challenge +comparison with any other, for a uniform, zealous, ardent, and +uncalculating devotion to the Union, that state is South Carolina. From +the very commencement of the Revolution up to this hour, there is no +sacrifice, however great, she has not cheerfully made, no service she +has ever hesitated to perform. She has adhered to you in your +prosperity; but in your adversity she has clung to you with more than +filial affection. No matter what was the condition of her domestic +affairs, though deprived of her resources, divided by parties, or +surrounded with difficulties, the call of the country has been to her as +the voice of God. Domestic discord ceased at the sound; every man became +at once reconciled to his brethren, and the sons of Carolina were all +seen crowding together to the temple, bringing gifts to the altar of +their common country.</p> +<p>What was the conduct of the South during the Revolution? I honor New +England for her conduct in that glorious struggle. But great as is the +praise which belongs to her, I think at least equal honor is due the +South. They espoused the quarrel of their brethren with a generous zeal +which did not suffer them to stop to calculate their interest in the +dispute. Favorites of the mother country, possessed of neither ships nor +seamen to create a commercial rivalship, they might have found in their +situation a guaranty that their trade would be forever fostered and +protected by Great Britain. But, trampling on all considerations either +of interest or of safety, they rushed into the conflict, and, fighting +for principle, periled all in the sacred cause of freedom. Never were +there exhibited in the history of the world higher examples of noble +daring, dreadful suffering, and heroic endurance than by the Whigs of +Carolina during the Revolution. The whole state, from the mountains to +the sea, was overrun by an overwhelming force of the enemy. The fruits +of industry perished on the spot where they were produced, or were +consumed by the foe.</p> +<p>The "plains of Carolina" drank up the most precious blood of her +citizens. Black and smoking ruins marked the places which had been the +habitations of her children. Driven from their homes into the gloomy and +almost impenetrable swamps, even there the spirit of liberty survived, +and South Carolina, sustained by the example of her Sumters and her +Marions, proved, by her conduct, that, though her soil might be overrun, +the spirit of her people was invincible.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> In January of +1830, Senator Foote of Connecticut introduced into the Senate a +resolution regarding the sale of public lands. The subject of state +rights being uppermost in their minds, the debaters wandered off into a +discussion of the Constitution. Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South +Carolina, in a brilliant speech set forth the doctrine of nullification, +and Daniel Webster answered him in one of the greatest speeches ever +delivered. This extract and the following are taken from this memorable +debate, when for the first time the two opposing theories of the +Constitution, the "state" and he "national," were clearly set forth.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="REPLY_TO_HAYNE"></a>REPLY TO +HAYNE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>DANIEL WEBSTER</small></p> +<p><br> +I shall not acknowledge that the honorable member goes before me in +regard for whatever of distinguished talent or distinguished character +South Carolina has produced. I claim part of the honor, I partake in the +pride, of her great name. I claim them for countrymen, one and all. The +Laurenses, the Rutledges, the Pinckneys, the Sumters, the +Marions--Americans all--whose fame is no more to be hemmed in by state +lines than their talents and patriotism were capable of being +circumscribed within the same narrow limits. In their day and +generation, they served and honored the country, and the whole country; +and their renown is of the treasures of the whole country.</p> +<p>Mr. President, I shall enter upon no encomium upon Massachusetts; +she needs none. There she is. Behold her, and judge for yourselves. +There is her history; the world knows it by heart. The past, at least, +is secure. There is Boston, and Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill; +and there they will remain forever. The bones of her sons, fallen in the +great struggle for independence, now lie mingled with the soil of every +state from New England to Georgia; and there they will lie forever. And, +sir, where American liberty raised its first voice, and where its youth +was nurtured and sustained, there it still lives, in the strength of its +manhood, and full of its original spirit. If discord and disunion shall +wound it; if party strife and blind ambition shall hawk and tear it; if +folly and madness, if uneasiness under salutary and necessary restraint, +shall succeed in separating it from that Union by which alone its +existence is made sure,--it will stand, in the end, by the side of that +cradle in which its infancy was rocked; it will stretch forth its arm, +with whatever vigor it may still retain, over the friends who gather +round it; and it will fall at last, if fall it must, amidst the proudest +monuments of its own glory and on the very spot of its origin.</p> +<p>I cannot persuade myself to relinquish this subject without +expressing my deep conviction, that, since it respects nothing less than +THE UNION OF THE STATES, it is of most vital and essential importance to +the public happiness. I profess, sir, in my career hitherto, to have +kept steadily in view the prosperity and honor of the whole country and +the preservation of our federal Union. It is to that Union we owe our +safety at home and our consideration and dignity abroad. It is to that +Union that we are chiefly indebted for whatever makes us most proud of +our country.</p> +<p>That Union we reached only by the discipline of our virtues in the +severe school of adversity. It had its origin in the necessities of +disordered finance, prostrate commerce, and ruined credit, Under its +benign influences, these great interests immediately awoke, as from the +dead, and sprang forth with newness of life.</p> +<p>Every year of its duration has teemed with fresh proofs of its +utility and its blessings; and, although our territory has stretched out +wider and wider, and our population spread farther and farther, they +have not outrun its protection or its benefits. It has been to us a +copious fountain of national, social, and personal happiness.</p> +<p>I have not allowed myself to look beyond the Union, to see what +might lie hidden in the dark recess behind. I have not coolly weighed +the chances of preserving liberty, when the bonds that unite us together +shall be broken asunder. I have not accustomed myself to hang over the +precipice of disunion, to see whether, with my short sight, I can fathom +the depth of the abyss below; nor could I regard him as a safe counselor +in the affairs of this government, whose thoughts should be mainly bent +on considering, not how the Union should be best preserved, but how +tolerable might be the condition of the people when it shall be broken +up and destroyed.</p> +<p>While the Union lasts, we have high, exciting, gratifying prospects +spread out before us, for us and our children. Beyond that, I seek not +to penetrate the veil. God grant that, in my day, at least, that curtain +may not rise,--that on my vision never may be opened what lies behind.</p> +<p>When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun +in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored +fragments of a once glorious Union--on States dissevered discordant, +belligerent,--on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, +in fraternal blood! Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather +behold the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and honored +throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies +streaming in their original luster, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor +a single star obscured, bearing for its motto, no such miserable +interrogatory as, "What is all this worth?" nor those other words of +delusion and folly, "Liberty first and Union afterward"; but everywhere, +spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample +folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind +under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true +American heart,--LIBERTY AND UNION, NOW AND FOREVER, ONE AND INSEPARABLE!</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="DEDICATION_SPEECH_AT_GETTYSBURG."></a>DEDICATION +SPEECH AT GETTYSBURG.</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>ABRAHAM LINCOLN.</small></p> +<p><br> +Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this +continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the +proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a +great civil war; testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived +and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of +that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final +resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might +live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.</p> +<p>But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not +consecrate--we can not hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and +dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to +add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we +say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the +living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they +who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to +be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these +honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they +gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that +these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, +shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by +the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical:</span> At the dedication +of the national cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863, President +Lincoln was asked to be present and say a few words. This address has +become a classic. Edward Everett, the orator who had delivered the long +address of the day wrote to Mr. Lincoln, "I should be glad if I could +flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion in +two hours as you did in two minutes."</p> +<p>Several versions of the speech have appeared, but the one here +printed was given out by President Lincoln himself as the authorized +version. See "Lincoln's Gettysburg Address," Century Magazine, Feb., +1894.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="LINCOLN_THE_GREAT_COMMONER"></a>LINCOLN, +THE GREAT COMMONER</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>EDWIN MARKHAM</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> When the +Norn-Mother saw the Whirlwind Hour,<br> + Greatening and darkening as it hurried on,<br> + She bent the strenuous Heavens and came down<br> + To make a man to meet the mortal need.<br> + She took the tried clay of the common road--<br> + Clay warm yet with the genial heat of Earth,<br> + Dashed through it all a strain of prophecy;<br> + Then mixed a laughter with the serious stuff.<br> + It was a stuff to wear for centuries,<br> + A man that matched the mountains, and compelled<br> + The stars to look our way and honor us.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The color of the +ground was in him, the red earth;<br> + The tang and odor of the primal things--<br> + The rectitude and patience of the rocks;<br> + The gladness of the wind that shakes the corn;<br> + The courage of the bird that dares the sea;<br> + The justice of the rain that loves all leaves;<br> + The pity of the snow that hides all scars;<br> + The loving kindness of the wayside well;<br> + The tolerance and equity of light<br> + That gives as freely to the shrinking weed<br> + As to the great oak flaring to the wind--<br> + To the grave's low hill as to the Matterhorn<br> + That shoulders out the sky.<br> + And so he came.<br> + From prairie cabin up to capitol<br> + One fair ideal led our chieftain on.<br> + Forevermore he burned to do his deed<br> + With the fine stroke and gesture of a king.<br> + He built the rail-pile as he built the State,<br> + Pouring his splendid strength through every +blow,<br> + The conscience of him testing every stroke,<br> + To make his deed the measure of a man.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> So came the +Captain with the mighty heart:<br> + And when the step of Earthquake shook the house<br> + Wrenching the rafters from their ancient hold,<br> + He held the ridge-pole up, and spiked again<br> + The rafters of the Home. He held his place--<br> + Held the long purpose like a growing tree--<br> + Held on through blame and faltered not at +praise.<br> + And when he fell in whirlwind, he went down<br> + As when a kingly cedar green with boughs<br> + Goes down with a great shout upon the hills,<br> + And leaves a lonesome place against the sky.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> Edwin Markham was +born in Oregon, taught school in California, and more recently has been +a resident of Brooklyn. His poem "The Man with the Hoe" brought him +immediate fame.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="O_CAPTAIN_MY_CAPTAIN"></a>O +CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>WALT WHITMAN</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> O Captain! my +Captain! our fearful trip is done,<br> + The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we +sought is won,<br> + The port is near, the bells I hear, the people +all exulting,<br> + While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel +grim and daring;<br> + But O heart! heart! +heart!<br> + O +the bleeding drops of red,<br> + Where +on the deck my Captain lies,<br> + Fallen +cold and dead.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> O Captain! my +Captain! rise up and hear the bells;<br> + Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the +bugle trills,<br> + For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you +the shores a-crowding,<br> + For you they call, the swaying mass, their +eager faces turning;<br> + Here, Captain! dear +father!<br> + This +arm beneath your head!<br> + It +is some dream that on the deck<br> + You've +fallen cold and dead.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> My Captain does +not answer, his lips are pale and still,<br> + My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse +nor will,<br> + The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage +closed and done,<br> + From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with +object won;<br> + Exult, O shores! and +ring, O bells!<br> + But +I with mournful tread,<br> + Walk +the deck my Captain lies,<br> + Fallen +cold and dead.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Walt Whitman will always be remembered as the author of this poem. It +differs from his other poems in that it shows a great deal of attention +to form, to metre, and rhyme. He wrote not so much with the aim to +please as to arouse and uplift. He was very democratic in his taste, and +loved to mingle with the crowds on the ferries and omnibuses. At +different times he was school teacher, carpenter, and journalist. This +poem was written in appreciation of Lincoln, at the time of his death.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="EXTRACTS_FROM_WASHINGTONS_FAREWELL"></a>EXTRACTS FROM +WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE</p> +<p><br> +Friends and Fellow-Citizens,</p> +<p>The period for a new election of a Citizen, to administer the +Executive Government of the United States, being not far distant, and +the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed in +designating the person, who is to be clothed with that important trust, +it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct +expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the +resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number +of those, out of whom a choice is to be made....</p> +<p>The unity of government, which constitutes you one people, is also +now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice +of your real independence,--the support of your tranquillity at home and +your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very +liberty which you so highly prize.</p> +<p>But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from +different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, +to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the +point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal +and external enemies will be most constantly and actively, though often +covertly and insidiously, directed,--it is of infinite moment that you +should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to +your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a +cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourself +to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety +and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; +discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can, in +any event, be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning +of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, +or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.</p> +<p>To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the +whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts +can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the +infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have +experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved your +essay, by the adoption of the constitution of a government better +calculated than your former for an intimate union, and for the +efficacious management of your common concerns.</p> +<p>This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and +unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, +completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, +uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision +for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your +support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, +acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental +maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right +of the people to make and to alter their constitution of government; but +the constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit +and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. +The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish +government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the +established government.</p> +<p>All obstructions to the executions of the laws, all combinations and +associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design +to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and +action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this +fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize +faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in +the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, +often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; +and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make +the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and +incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and +wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual +interests.</p> +<p>However combinations or associations of the above description may +now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time +and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and +unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and +to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterward +the very engines which had lifted them to unjust dominion.</p> +<p>Toward the preservation of your government and the permanency of +your present happy state, it is requisite not only that you steadily +discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but +also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its +principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be +to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations which will +impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be +directly overthrown.</p> +<p>In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time +and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of +governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the +surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing +constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of +mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the +endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember especially that +for the efficient management of your common interest in a country so +extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with +the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will +find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and +adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name +where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of +faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits +prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil +enjoyment of the rights of person and property.</p> +<p>It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free +country should inspire caution, in those intrusted with its +administration, to confine themselves within their respective +constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one +department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to +consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to +create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just +estimate of that love of power and proneness to abuse it, which +predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the +truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the +exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into +different depositories, and constituting each the guardian of the public +weal against invasion by the others, has been evinced by experiments +ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. +To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them.</p> +<p>If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification +of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be +corrected by an amendment in the way which the constitution designates. +But let there be no change by usurpation; for, though this, in one +instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by +which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly +overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which +the use can at any time yield.</p> +<p>Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political +prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain +would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to +subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of +the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the +pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not +trace all their connections with private and public felicity.</p> +<p>Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for +reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the +oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? +And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be +maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence +of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and +experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail +in exclusion of religious principle.</p> +<p>It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary +spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or +less force to every species of free government. Who, that is a sincere +friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the +foundation of the fabric?</p> +<p>Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for +the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a +government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public +opinion should be enlightened.</p> +<p>In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and +affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and +lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual +current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, +which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even +flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, +some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the +fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, +to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will +be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they +have been dictated.</p> +<p>How far in the discharge of my official duties, I have been guided +by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and +other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To +myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least +believed myself to be guided by them.</p> +<p>Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am +unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my +defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. +Whatever they may be I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or +mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me +the hope, that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence; +and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service +with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be +consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.</p> +<p>Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by +that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man, who views in +it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several +generations; I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat, in +which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of +partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of +good laws under a free government, the ever favorite object of my heart, +and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and +dangers.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_MEMORY_OF_OUR_FATHERS"></a>THE +MEMORY OF OUR FATHERS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>HENRY WARD BEECHER</small></p> +<p><br> +We are called upon to cherish with high veneration and grateful +recollections the memory of our fathers. Both the ties of nature and the +dictates of policy demand this. And surely no nation had ever less +occasion to be ashamed of its ancestry, or more occasion for +gratification in that respect; for, while most nations trace their +origin to barbarians, the foundations of our nation were laid by +civilized men, by Christians. Many of them were men of distinguished +families, of powerful talents, of great learning and of preeminent +wisdom, of decision of character, and of most inflexible integrity. And +yet not unfrequently they have been treated as if they had no virtues; +while their sins and follies have been sedulously immortalized in +satirical anecdote.</p> +<p>The influence of such treatment of our fathers is too manifest. It +creates and lets loose upon their institutions the vandal spirit of +innovation and overthrow; for, after the memory of our fathers shall +have been rendered contemptible, who will uphold and sustain their +institutions? The memory of our fathers should be the watch-word of +liberty throughout the land; for, imperfect as they were, the world +before had not seen their like, nor will it soon, we fear, behold their +like again. Such models of moral excellence, such apostles of civil and +religious liberty, such shades of the illustrious dead looking down upon +their descendants with approbation or reproof, according as they follow +or depart from the good way, constitute a censorship inferior only to +the eye of God; and to ridicule them is a national suicide.</p> +<p>The doctrines of our fathers have been represented as gloomy, +superstitious, severe, irrational, and of a licentious tendency. But +when other systems shall have produced a piety as devoted, a morality as +pure, a patriotism as disinterested, and a state of society as happy, as +have prevailed where their doctrines have been most prevalent, it may be +in season to seek an answer to this objection.</p> +<p>The persecutions instituted by our fathers have been the occasion of +ceaseless obloquy upon their fame. And, truly, it was a fault of no +ordinary magnitude, that sometimes they did persecute. But let him whose +ancestors were not ten times more guilty cast the first stone, and the +ashes of our fathers will no more be disturbed. Theirs was the fault of +the age, and it will be easy to show that no class of men had, at that +time, approximated so nearly to just apprehensions of religious liberty; +and that it is to them that the world is now indebted for the more just +and definite views which now prevail.</p> +<p>The superstition and bigotry of our fathers are themes on which some +of their descendants, themselves far enough from superstition, if not +from bigotry, have delighted to dwell. But when we look abroad and +behold the condition of the world, compared with the condition of New +England, we may justly exclaim, "Would to God that the ancestors of all +the nations had been not only almost, but altogether such bigots as our +fathers were."</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> Henry Ward Beecher +was a noted preacher, orator, and writer. For forty years he was pastor +of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn. He lectured extensively throughout the +country, taking up the great issues of his time. He died in 1887 at the +age of seventy-four.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="THE_AMERICAN_FLAG"></a>THE +AMERICAN FLAG</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;">J. E. DRAKE</p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> When Freedom, +from her mountain height,<br> + Unfurled her standard +to the air,<br> + She tore the azure robe of night,<br> + And set the stars of +glory there;<br> + She mingled with its gorgeous dyes<br> + The milky baldric of the skies,<br> + And striped its pure celestial white<br> + With streakings of the morning light;<br> + Then, from his mansion in the sun,<br> + She called her eagle-bearer down,<br> + And gave into his mighty hand<br> + The symbol of her chosen land!</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Majestic monarch +of the cloud,<br> + Who rear'st aloft thy +regal form,<br> + To hear the tempest-trumpings loud,<br> + And see the lightning lances driven,<br> + When strive the +warriors of the storm,<br> + And rolls the thunder-drum of heaven--<br> + Child of the sun! to thee 'tis given<br> + To guard the banner of +the free,<br> + To hover in the sulphur smoke,<br> + To ward away the battle-stroke,<br> + And bid its blendings shine afar,<br> + Like rainbows on the cloud of war,<br> + The harbingers of +victory!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Flag of the +brave! thy folds shall fly,<br> + The sign of hope and triumph high,<br> + When speaks the signal trumpet tone,<br> + And the long line comes gleaming on,<br> + Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,<br> + Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,<br> + Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn<br> + To where thy sky-born glories burn;<br> + And as his springing steps advance,<br> + Catch war and vengeance from the glance.<br> + And when the cannon's mouthings loud,<br> + Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,<br> + And gory sabres rise and fall,<br> + Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall;<br> + Then shall thy meteor glances glow,<br> + And cowering foes shall sink below<br> + Each gallant arm that strikes beneath<br> + That awful messenger of death.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Flag of the seas! +on ocean's wave<br> + Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave;<br> + When death, careering on the gale,<br> + Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,<br> + And frighted waves rush wildly back<br> + Before the broadside's reeling rack,<br> + Each dying wanderer of the sea,<br> + Shall look at once to heaven and thee,<br> + And smile to see thy splendors fly<br> + In triumph o'er his closing eye.</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Flag of the free +heart's hope and home!<br> + By angel hands to valor +given;<br> + Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,<br> + And all thy hues were +born in heaven.<br> + Forever float that standard sheet!<br> + Where breathes the foe +but falls before us,<br> + With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,<br> + And Freedom's banner +streaming o'er us?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> The +name of Joseph Rodman Drake is inseparably associated with that of his +friend, Fitz-Greene Halleck. Together they contributed a series of forty +poems to the New York Evening Post. Among these was "The American Flag," +the last four lines of which were written by Halleck, to replace those +written by Drake:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "As fixed as +yonder orb divine,<br> + That saw thy bannered blaze unfurled,<br> + Shall thy proud stars resplendent shine,<br> + The guard and glory of the world."</p> +<p>Drake was a youth of many graces of both mind and body, who wrote +verses as a bird sings--for the pure joy of it. His career was cut short +by death when he was only twenty-five years old. Of him Halleck wrote:</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "None knew thee +but to love thee,<br> + Nor named thee but to praise."</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a + name="WARRENS_ADDRESS_AT_THE_BATTLE_OF_BUNKER"></a>WARREN'S ADDRESS AT +THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JOHN PIERPONT</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Stand! the +ground's your own, my braves!<br> + Will ye give it up to slaves?<br> + Will ye look for greener graves?<br> + Hope ye mercy still?<br> + What's the mercy despots feel?<br> + Hear it in that battle peal!<br> + Read it on yon bristling steel!<br> + Ask it--ye who will.</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Fear ye foes who +kill for hire?<br> + Will ye to your <i>homes</i> retire?<br> + Look behind you! they're afire!<br> + And, before you, see<br> + Who have done it!--From the vale<br> + On they come!--and will ye quail?--<br> + Leaden rain and iron hail<br> + Let their welcome be!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> In the God of +battles trust!<br> + Die we may--and die we must:<br> + But, O where can dust to dust<br> + Be consigned so well,<br> + As where heaven its dews shall shed,<br> + On the martyred patriot's bed,<br> + And the rocks shall raise their head,<br> + Of his deeds to tell?</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +John Pierpont was a Unitarian clergyman of Connecticut, who published +several volumes of poetry. General Joseph Warren was one of the generals +in command of the patriot army at the battle of Bunker Hill, and was +killed in the battle. He was counted one of the bravest and most +unselfish patriots of the Revolutionary War. In this poem we have the +poet's idea of how General Warren inspired his men.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="COLUMBUS"></a>COLUMBUS</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>JOAQUIN MILLER</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> Behind him lay +the gray Azores,<br> + Behind the Gates of +Hercules;<br> + Before him not the ghosts of shores,<br> + Before him only +shoreless seas.<br> + The good mate said: "Now must we pray,<br> + For lo! the very stars +are gone.<br> + Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?"<br> + "Why, say 'sail on! +sail on! and on!'"</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> "My men grow +mutinous day by day;<br> + My men grow ghastly wan +and weak."<br> + The stout mate thought of home; a spray<br> + Of salt wave washed his +swarthy cheek.<br> + "What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,<br> + If we sight naught but +seas at dawn?"<br> + "Why, you shall say at break of day,<br> + 'Sail on! sail on! and +on!'"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> They sailed and +sailed, as winds might blow.<br> + Until at last the +blanched mate said:<br> + "Why, now not even God would know<br> + Should I and all my men +fall dead.<br> + These very winds forget their way,<br> + For God from these +dread seas is gone,<br> + Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say"--<br> + He said: "Sail on! sail +on! and on!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> They sailed. They +sailed. Then spake the mate;<br> + "This mad sea shows his +teeth to-night.<br> + He curls his lip, he lies in wait,<br> + With lifted teeth, as +if to bite!<br> + Brave Admiral, say but one good word:<br> + What shall we do when +hope is gone?"<br> + The words leapt like a leaping sword;<br> + "Sail on! sail on! and +on!"</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Then, pale and +worn, he kept his deck,<br> + And peered through +darkness. Ah, that night<br> + Of all dark nights! And then a speck--<br> + A light! A light! A +light! A light!<br> + It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!<br> + It grew to be Time's +burst of dawn.<br> + He gained a world; he gave that world<br> + Its grandest lesson: +"On! sail on!"</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Cincinnatus Heine Miller (Joaquin [hoa'kin] Miller) was born in Indiana +in 1841. Joining the general movement to the West after the discovery of +gold, his parents moved to the Pacific coast in 1850. He died in 1914.</p> +<p>"In point of power, workmanship, and feeling, among all the poems +written by Americans, we are inclined to give first place to 'The Port +of Ships,' or 'Columbus,' by Joaquin Miller."--London Athenaeum.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="RECESSIONAL--A_VICTORIAN_ODE"></a>RECESSIONAL--A +VICTORIAN ODE</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>RUDYARD KIPLING</small></p> +<p><br> +</p> +<div style="margin-left: 80px;"> God of our +fathers, known of old--<br> + Lord of our far-flung +battle line--<br> + Beneath whose awful hand we hold<br> + Dominion over palm and +pine--<br> + Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,<br> + Lest we forget--lest we forget!</div> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> The tumult and +the shouting dies--<br> + The Captains and the +Kings depart--<br> + Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,<br> + An humble and a +contrite heart.<br> + Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,<br> + Lest we forget--lest we forget!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> Far-called, our +navies melt away--<br> + On dune and headland +sinks the fire--<br> + Lo, all our pomp of yesterday<br> + Is one with Nineveh and +Tyre!<br> + Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,<br> + Lest we forget--lest we forget!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> If, drunk with +sight of power, we loose<br> + Wild tongues that have +not Thee in awe--<br> + Such boasting as the Gentiles use,<br> + Or lesser breeds +without the Law--<br> + Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,<br> + Lest we forget--lest we forget!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> For heathen heart +that puts her trust<br> + In reeking tube and +iron shard--<br> + All valiant dust that builds on dust,<br> + And guarding calls not +Thee to guard.<br> + For frantic boast and foolish word,<br> + Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!</p> +<p style="margin-left: 80px;"> <i>Amen</i>.</p> +<p><br> +<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical and Historical:</span> +Rudyard Kipling was born Christmas Week, 1865, in Bombay. After school +life in England, he returned to India at the age of seventeen, to do +journalistic work. His tales of Indian. life and his ballads describing +the life of the British soldier won immediate favor. Perhaps he is best +known to the boys and girls as the author of the Jungle Books. From 1892 +to 1896 he lived in the United States. This poem, which appeared in +1897, at the time of the Queen's Jubilee, struck a warning note against +the arrogance of power.</p> +<hr> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="A_DEFINITION_OF_A_GENTLEMAN"></a>A +DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN</p> +<p style="font-weight: bold;"><small>CARDINAL NEWMAN</small></p> +<p><br> +It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never +inflicts pain. This description is both refined and, as far as it goes, +accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which +hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him; and he +concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself. +His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called comforts +or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature: like an easy-chair +or a good fire, which do their part in dispelling cold and fatigue, +though nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without them. +The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may cause a +jar or a jolt in the minds of those with whom he is cast;--all clashing +of opinion, or collision of feeling, all restraint, or suspicion, or +gloom, or resentment; his great concern being to make every one at their +ease and at home. He has his eyes on all his company; he is tender +toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the +absurd; he can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against +unseasonable allusions, or topics which may irritate; he is seldom +prominent in conversation, and never wearisome. He makes light of favors +while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring. He +never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by +a mere retort; he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in +imputing motives to those who interfere with him, and interprets +everything for the best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, +never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp +sayings for arguments, or insinuates evil which he dare not say out. +From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, +that we should ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy as if he were one +day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be affronted at +insults; he is too well employed to remember injuries, and too indolent +to bear malice. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned, on +philosophical principles; he submits to pain because it is inevitable, +to bereavement because it is irreparable, and to death because it is his +destiny. If he engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined +intellect preserves him from the blundering discourtesy of better, +perhaps, but less educated minds; who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack +instead of cutting clean, who mistake the point in argument, waste their +strength on trifles, misconceive their adversary, and leave the question +more involved than they find it. He may be right or wrong in his +opinion, but he is too clear-headed to be unjust; he is as simple as he +is forcible, and as brief as he is decisive. Nowhere shall we find +greater candor, consideration, indulgence: he throws himself into the +minds of his opponents, he accounts for their mistakes. He knows the +weakness of human reason as well as its strength, its province, and its +limits.</p> +<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical:</span> John Henry +Newman, 1801-1890, a distinguished Prelate was born in London. He +graduated from Trinity College, Oxford, and became noted both as a +scholar and a writer. "Lead, Kindly Light," a poem of rare beauty, was +written by him while on a voyage in the Mediterranean Sea. This +selection is from his book, "The Idea of a University". He was made a +cardinal in 1879.</p> +<hr> +<p><br> +<big><big><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="GLOSSARY"></a>GLOSSARY</span></big></big></p> +<p><br> +abandon (a-ban'dun), give up.</p> +<p>abatement (a-bat'ment), putting an end to.</p> +<p>abbey (ab'i), monastery; convent.</p> +<p>abnegation (ab'ne-ga'shun), denial.</p> +<p>aboon (a-boon'), Scotch for above.</p> +<p>Absalom (ab'sa-lom),</p> +<p>absolute (ab'so-lut), without any limits or conditions.</p> +<p>abstinence (ab'sti-nens), refraining from certain kinds of pleasures.</p> +<p>abstract (ab-strakt'), separate.</p> +<p>abyss (a-bis'), a bottomless gulf.</p> +<p>Acadie (a'ka'de'),</p> +<p>accession (ak-sesh'un), coming into possession of.</p> +<p>acord (a-kord'), blend.</p> +<p>acost (a'kost'), approach; speak to.</p> +<p>acumulate (a-ku'mu-lat), collect; store up.</p> +<p>acuracy (ak'u-ra-si), exactness.</p> +<p>acurately (ak'u-rat-li), precisely.</p> +<p>acquiescence (ak'wi-es'ens), a yielding or agreeing.</p> +<p>Act of Navigation (act of nav'i-ga'shun), an ordinance passed by the +British Parliament for the American colonies by which goods were to be +imported to the colonies free of duty for a period of years, provided +all goods were sent out of the colonies in British ships.</p> +<p>adamant (ad'a-mant), a stone of extreme hardness.</p> +<p>adapt (a-dapt), fit; change to suit.</p> +<p>Adayes (a-da'yes), an early settlement in southwestern United States.</p> +<p>addled (ad'ld), rotten; confused,</p> +<p>adequate (ad'e-kwat), fully sufficient.</p> +<p>adherence (ad-her'ens), steady attachment.</p> +<p>adherent (ad-her'ent), clinging; a follower.</p> +<p>adieu (a-du'), good-by, farewell.</p> +<p>adjust (a-just'), fit; to put in order.</p> +<p>administer (ad-min'is-ter), manage or conduct (public affairs); +tender an oath.</p> +<p>admiral (ad'mi-ral), a naval officer of the highest rank.</p> +<p>ado (a-doo'), trouble, fuss.</p> +<p>Adonis (a-do'nis), in Greek mythology, a youth of marvelous beauty.</p> +<p>adoption (a-dop'shun), acceptance</p> +<p>adrift (a-drift'), floating at the mercy of the wind and waves.</p> +<p>advent (ad'vent), coming, approach</p> +<p>adversary (ad'ver-sa-ri), one opposed, a foe.</p> +<p>adverse (ad'vers), contrary.</p> +<p>aerial (a-e'ri-al), pertaining to the air; lofty.</p> +<p>Aershot (ar'skot), the town Aerschot in Belgium, 23 miles northeast +of Brussels.</p> +<p>affable (af'a-bl), friendly, gracious.</p> +<p>affectation, (af'ek-ta'shun), an attempt to assume what is not +natural or real.</p> +<p>affidavit (af'i-da'vit), a sworn statement in writing.</p> +<p>aft (aft), near or towards the stern of a vessel.</p> +<p>Agassiz (ag'a-se), a celebrated Swiss-American naturalist who came +to the United States in 1846. He was professor of geology at Harvard.</p> +<p>aggression (a-gresh'un), attack.</p> +<p>aghast (a-gasf), terrified.</p> +<p>agitate (aj'i-tat), stir up; discuss.</p> +<p>agog (a-gog'), eager.</p> +<p>agony (ag'o-ni), great pain.</p> +<p>aid de camp (ad'de-kamp'; ad'de-kan'), an officer who assists a +general in correspondence and in directing movements.</p> +<p>Aidenn (a'den), paradise (from the Arabic word for Eden, used by Poe +for the sake of the rhyme).</p> +<p>Aix (aks), a city in Prussia, founded by the Romans and a favorite +residence of Charlemagne.</p> +<p>Aix-la-Chapelle (aks'la-sha'pel), is the French name and Aachen the +German.</p> +<p>akimbo (a-kim'bo), with hand on the hip and elbow turned outward.</p> +<p>alacrity (a-lak'ri-ti), cheerful readiness.</p> +<p>Aladdin (a-lad'in), in the "Arabian Nights' Entertainments," the +possessor of a wonderful lamp with magic charms.</p> +<p>alarum (a-lar'um), an old form for alarm.</p> +<p>Albion (al'bi-un), an ancient name of England,</p> +<p>Albyn (al'bin),</p> +<p>Alexander (al'eg-zan'der), surnamed "the Great," was a famous +conqueror who lived in the fourth century B. C.; founder of Alexandria +in Egypt.</p> +<p>alienate (al'yen-at), make strange; take away.</p> +<p>all-absorbing (ol-ab-sorb'ing), taking up completely.</p> +<p>Allah (al'la), in the Mohammedan faith, the name for God.</p> +<p>Allahu (al-la'hoo), probably a Persian ejaculation.</p> +<p>all-besetting (ol-be-set'ing), surrounding on all sides.</p> +<p>allege (a-lej'), declare; affirm.</p> +<p>allegiance (a-le-jans), loyalty.</p> +<p>allegory (al'e-go-ri), description of one thing under the image of +another; parable.</p> +<p>alliance (a-li'ans), union of interests; league.</p> +<p>alloy (a-loi'), a baser metal mixed with a finer.</p> +<p>aloe (al'e), a fragrant plant growing in warm climates; the American +aloe is the century plant.</p> +<p>alteration (ol'ter-a'shun), making different; change.</p> +<p>alternately (al-ter'nat-li) by turns.</p> +<p>alternative (al-tur'na-tiv), a choice between two or more things.</p> +<p>amain (a-man'), with full force.</p> +<p>amaranth (am'a-ranth), an imaginary flower supposed never to fade.</p> +<p>Ambaaren (am'ba-ar'en),</p> +<p>ambassador (am-bas'a-der), a minister representing his ruler or +country at a foreign court.</p> +<p>ambition (am-bish'un), desire for honor or power.</p> +<p>ambrosial (am-bro'zhi-al), pertaining to the fabled food of the +gods, which immortalized them.</p> +<p>amendment (a-mend'ment), a change for the better; a change in a bill +or motion by adding or omitting.</p> +<p>amiable (a'mi-a-b'l), lovable, goodnatured.</p> +<p>amidships (a-mid'ships), in the middle of a ship.</p> +<p>amorpha (a-mor'fa), a plant belonging to the pea family and having +blue-violet flowers.</p> +<p>amphitheatre (am'fi-the'a-ter), an oval or circular building with +rising tiers of seats about an open space.</p> +<p>ample (am'p'l), abundant; full.</p> +<p>Amun (a'mon), an Egyptian deity generally represented as a ram.</p> +<p>anchorite (an'ko-rit), one who renounces the world and secludes +himself, a hermit.</p> +<p>andirons (and'i'urnz), metallic stands to support wood in a +fireplace.</p> +<p>anecdote (an'ek-dot), a short narrative of some particular incident.</p> +<p>Angel of Death. See Exodus, chapter 12</p> +<p>Angel of the backward look; memory</p> +<p>Angelus (an'je-lus), the bell tolled in the morning, at noon, and in +the evening to tell the faithful the time for prayer.</p> +<p>Angus (an'gus),</p> +<p>annals (an'alz), historical records.</p> +<p>anon (a-non'), in a little while.</p> +<p>anticipate (an-tis'i-pat), count upon in advance; foresee.</p> +<p>antique (an-tek'), old.</p> +<p>antiquity (an-tik'wi-ti), great age</p> +<p>apathetic (ap'a-thet'ik), without feeling.</p> +<p>apathy (ap'a-thi), lack of feeling.</p> +<p>apex (a'peks), summit; point.</p> +<p>apology (a-pol'e-ji), an acknowledgment for some injurious act; an +excuse.</p> +<p>Apolonius (ap-po-lo'ni-us), a philosopher and wonder-worker who +lived at about the same time as Christ.</p> +<p>apostrophe (a-pos'tro-fe), a speech or address to some person or +thing absent or present. Apostrophe to the Ocean,</p> +<p>appalling (a-pol'ing), terrifying.</p> +<p>apparel (a-par'el), clothing.</p> +<p>apparent (a-par'ent), clear, plainly to be seen.</p> +<p>appealing (a-pel'ing), calling for aid or sympathy.</p> +<p>apprehension (ap're-hen'shun), a taking hold of; anxiety.</p> +<p>apprise (a-priz'), inform.</p> +<p>approbation (ap'ro-ba'shun), liking; consent.</p> +<p>approximate (a-prok'si-mat), approach; nearly exact.</p> +<p>arabesque (ar'a-besk'), a kind of ornament, brought to high +perfection by Arabian artists and consisting of lines, figures, fruits, +flowers, and men variously grouped.</p> +<p>Arachthus (a-rak'thus), the ancient name of a river in Greece; +modern Arta.</p> +<p>arbiter (ar'bi-ter), one appointed to determine a controversy; +umpire.</p> +<p>architect (ar'ki-tekt), one who is skilled in planning, designing, +and constructing buildings.</p> +<p>Ardennes (ar-den'),</p> +<p>ardent (ar'dent), burning; passionate.</p> +<p>ardor (ar'der), heat; zeal.</p> +<p>arduous (ar'du-us), hard, difficult.</p> +<p>arena (a-re'na), the sanded area in the central part of a Roman +amphitheater.</p> +<p>argosy (ar'go-si), a large merchant vessel.</p> +<p>argument (ar'gu-ment), proof or reasons in a controversy.</p> +<p>Armada (ar-ma'da),</p> +<p>armament (ar'ma-ment), arms, ships and other equipment for war.</p> +<p>aroma (a-ro'ma), fragrance; a spicy perfume.</p> +<p>array (a-ra'), clothe; an orderly collection.</p> +<p>arrogance (ar'e-gans), pride with contempt of others.</p> +<p>artifice (ar'ti-fis), workmanship; artful trick.</p> +<p>artisan (ar'ti-zan), one skilled in some art or trade.</p> +<p>ascertain (as'er-tan'), learn for certain.</p> +<p>Ashur (a'shoor),</p> +<p>askance (a-skans'), sideways.</p> +<p>aspect (as'pekt), look.</p> +<p>asperse (as-purs'), sprinkle; defame.</p> +<p>asphodel (as'fo-del), a lily, in Greek mythology the special flower +of the dead. The English daffodil is derived from this Greek word.</p> +<p>aspiration (as'pi-ra'shun), strong wish, high desire.</p> +<p>assail (a-sal'), attack violently.</p> +<p>assailant (a-sal'ant), one who attacks.</p> +<p>assault (a-solt'), a violent attack.</p> +<p>assemblage (a-sem'blaj), a company of people gathered together.</p> +<p>assiduity (as'i-du'i-ti), constant attention; industry.</p> +<p>assiduous (a-sid'u-us), busy; persevering.</p> +<p>assign (a-sin'), give over.</p> +<p>Assyria (a-sir'i-a), an ancient state in Asia, east of the Tigris +river.</p> +<p>astern (a-sturn'), in the rear part of the ship.</p> +<p>astounding (as-tound'mg), astonishing.</p> +<p>asunder (a-sun'der), apart.</p> +<p>Atchafalaya (ach'a-fa-li'a), an outlet of the Red and Mississippi +rivers in southern Louisiana.</p> +<p>atilt (a-tilf), balanced lightly.</p> +<p>Atlantic Monthly, a magazine first published in 1857, with Lowell as +editor.</p> +<p>attain (a-tan'), reach; accomplish.</p> +<p>attaint (a-tant'), corrupt; disgrace.</p> +<p>attenuated (a-ten'u-at'ed), thinned, slender.</p> +<p>attitude (at'i-tud), position; feeling.</p> +<p>attribute (a-trib'ut), give; refer.</p> +<p>attribute (at'ri-but), characteristic; quality.</p> +<p>audacity (o-das'i-ti), boldness.</p> +<p>audible (o'di-b'l), capable of being heard.</p> +<p>auditor (o'di-ter), a hearer.</p> +<p>august (o-gust'), majestic; solemn.</p> +<p>auroral (o-ro'ral), pertaining to the dawn, rosy.</p> +<p>austere (es-ter'), severe.</p> +<p>austerity (os-ter'i-ti), severity; severe simplicity.</p> +<p>authentic (o-then'tik), true; genuine.</p> +<p>autocrat (e'to-krat), an absolute ruler.</p> +<p>avail (a-val'), help; be of use.</p> +<p>Ave Maria (a'va ma-re'a), Hail Mary, first words of a Roman Catholic +prayer to the Virgin Mary. The words are those of the Angel Gabriel, +hence the prayer is called the Angelus.</p> +<p>avenge (a-venj'), punish in order to execute justice.</p> +<p>aversion (a-vur'shun), dislike.</p> +<p>avert (a-vurt'), turn aside.</p> +<p>awry (a-ri'), turned or twisted: crooked.</p> +<p>aye and anon (a and a-non'), continually.</p> +<p>Azores (a-zorz'), a group of islands in the Atlantic belonging to +Portugal, and 800 miles west of it.</p> +<p>azure (azh'ur), the clear blue color of the sky.</p> +<p>Baal (ba'al), the supreme god o! the Assyrians,</p> +<p>Babylonish jargon (bab'ilo'nish), unintelligible language. See story +of the "tower of Babel." Gen. XI.</p> +<p>bacchanal (bak'a-nal), a carouser; a follower of Bacchus, the god of +wine.</p> +<p>Bacchantes (ba-kan'tez), priestesses of Bacchus, the god of wine.</p> +<p>bairn (barn), Scottish name for a child.</p> +<p>Balaklava (ba'la-kla'va), a city in the Crimea on the Black Sea.</p> +<p>baldric (bol'drik), a broad belt worn over the shoulder and under +the opposite arm.</p> +<p>ballad (bal'ad), a short poem telling a story.</p> +<p>balm (bam), anything that soothes pain.</p> +<p>balm in Gilead (bam in gil'e-ad), a biblical expression meaning +comfort or healing,</p> +<p>balmy (bam'i), mild; soothing; fragrant.</p> +<p>bandit (ban'dit), an outlaw.</p> +<p>baneful (ban'fool), injurious.</p> +<p>Bannockburn (ban'uk-burn), a battlefield in Scotland upon which +Robert Bruce defeated the English.</p> +<p>Baptiste Le-blanc (ba'tesf le blan'),</p> +<p>bar (bar), the legal profession.</p> +<p>bard (bard), a poet.</p> +<p>barge (barj), a boat.</p> +<p>barometer (ba-rom'e-ter), an instrument for determining the weight +or pressure of the atmosphere.</p> +<p>barouche (ba-robsh'), four-wheeled carriage, with a falling top, and +two double seats on the inside.</p> +<p>barrack (bar'ak), a building for soldiers, especially when in +garrison,</p> +<p>barrier (bar'i-er), an obstruction or limit.</p> +<p>bask (bask), warm; lie comfortably,</p> +<p>baste (bast), drip fat on meat in roasting.</p> +<p>battery (bat'er-i), two or more pieces of artillery in the field.</p> +<p>bayonet (ba'e-net), a dagger fitted on the muzzle of a musket.</p> +<p>bayou (bi'oo), an inlet from a gulf, lake, or large river.</p> +<p>Beau Se-jour (bo-sa-zhoer'), a French fort upon the neck of land +connecting Acadia and the mainland. It had just been taken by the +British,</p> +<p>"beard the lion," defy.</p> +<p>Beautiful Gate, an entrance to the temple in Jerusalem. See Acts +III-2 and John X-7.</p> +<p>Beautiful River, the Ohio.</p> +<p>beck (bek), call.</p> +<p>beetling (be'tling), projecting, jutting out.</p> +<p>Beg (bag),</p> +<p>begotten (be-got'n), caused to exist; born.</p> +<p>beguile (be-gil'), relieve the tedium or weariness of, entertain.</p> +<p>belfry (bel'fri), a bell tower.</p> +<p>Bell, name of an inn.</p> +<p>Belle Aurore (bel e-ror'), the dawn.</p> +<p>"bell or book," religious ceremony.</p> +<p>Belle-fontaine (bel-fon-tan'),</p> +<p>belligerent (be-lij'er-ent), waging war.</p> +<p>bellows (bel'oz), an instrument for driving air through a tube.</p> +<p>"belted knight," girt with a belt as an honorary distinction.</p> +<p>benedicite (ben'e-d'is'i-te), a chant or hymn, the Latin version of +which begins with this word; an exclamation corresponding to "Bless you!"</p> +<p>benediction (ben'e-dik'shun), a blessing.</p> +<p>beneficence (be-nef'i-sens), goodness or charity.</p> +<p>benign (be-nin'), of a kind disposition.</p> +<p>benignant (be-nig'nant), kind.</p> +<p>beseech (be-sech'), entreat.</p> +<p>bestead (be-sted'), put in peril.</p> +<p>bestial (bes'chal), beastly; vile.</p> +<p>bestow (be-sto'), give; grant.</p> +<p>betrothal (be-troth'al), contract to anyone for a marriage.</p> +<p>beverage (bev'er-aj), drink.</p> +<p>bicker (bik'er), move quickly with a pattering noise,</p> +<p>bier (her), a frame on which a corpse is borne to the grave.</p> +<p>bigot (big'ut), one blindly devoted to his own opinion; +narrow-minded.</p> +<p>bigotry (big'ut-ri), narrow-mindedness.</p> +<p>biography (bi-eg'ra-fi), the written history of a person's life.</p> +<p>birkie (bur'ki),</p> +<p>blanch (blanch), take the color out of; whiten.</p> +<p>blasphemy (blas'fe-mi), impious speech against God or sacred things.</p> +<p>blast (blast), a violent gust of wind.</p> +<p>blazoned (bla'z'nd), adorned, depicted in color.</p> +<p>blithe (blith), gay, joyous.</p> +<p>blithesome (blitn'sum), happy, gay,</p> +<p>Blomidon (blo'mi-dun), a mountain in Nova Scotia.</p> +<p>bodkin (bod'km), a pointed implement for making holes in cloth.</p> +<p>bondsman (bondz'man), one who gives security for another.</p> +<p>"bonnet and plume," a soft cap worn by men in Scotland.</p> +<p>Boom (bom), a town in Belgium.</p> +<p>boon (boon), a gift; bountiful; gay.</p> +<p>bootless (bpot'les), useless.</p> +<p>Border (bor'der), the frontier between England and Scotland,</p> +<p>"bore the bell," carried off the prize. A bell was formerly used as +a prize in races.</p> +<p>bosky (bos'ki), woody or bushy.</p> +<p>bosom (booz'um), the breast.</p> +<p>Bothnia (both'nr-a), Gulf of the northern arm of the Baltic Sea +between Finland and Sweden.</p> +<p>bountiful (boun'ti-fobl), liberal.</p> +<p>bourn (born), a boundary; limit.</p> +<p>bow (bou), the forward part of a ship, (bo) to rhyme with tow.</p> +<p>Bowdoin (bo'd'n), in Brunswick, Maine, college from which Longfellow +graduated in 1825.</p> +<p>Bozzaris, Marco (bo-zar'is. Mar'ko),</p> +<p>brackish (brak'ish), saltish; distasteful.</p> +<p>Braddock (brad'uk), a British general who met defeat and was killed +in 1755.</p> +<p>Braganza (bra-gan'za), a reigning family of Portugal.</p> +<p>brake (brak), a fern; a thicket.</p> +<p>brawl (brol), noise: quarrel.</p> +<p>breach (brech), an opening in; a break.</p> +<p>breakers (brak'erz), waves breaking into foam against the shore.</p> +<p>breeches (brich'ez), trousers.</p> +<p>Breton, (bret'un), a province of France.</p> +<p>brig (brig), a two-masted vessel.</p> +<p>brigade (bri-gad'), a body of troops larger than a regiment.</p> +<p>brink (brink), verge or edge.</p> +<p>British Ministry, the British Government.</p> +<p>Briton (brit'un), a native of England.</p> +<p>broadside (brod'sid'), the side of a ship above the water line, from +bow to quarter.</p> +<p>broadsword (brod'sord'), a sword with a broad blade and cutting edge.</p> +<p>Brook Farm, a farm near Boston, where an experiment in agriculture +and education was tried by a group of literary people.</p> +<p>Brunswick (brunz-wik), Duke of Brunswick (Frederick William) was +killed in the engagement described,</p> +<p>Brutus (broq'tus), a Roman politician who joined in the +assassination of Caesar.</p> +<p>Buckholm (buk'hom),</p> +<p>buffcoat (buf'kot), a military coat made of buff leather.</p> +<p>buffet (buf'et), a blow.</p> +<p>bulkhead (bulk'hed'), a wall to resist pressure of earth or water.</p> +<p>Bunker Hill, a hill near Boston where a famous battle was fought.</p> +<p>bouyancy (bou'an-si), lightness.</p> +<p>burger (bur'get), an inhabitant of a borough.</p> +<p>burgesses (bur'jes-es), citizens of a borough.</p> +<p>Burgundian (bur-gun'di-an), pertaining to Burgundy, a province of +France on the Rhone river.</p> +<p>buskin (bus'kin), a covering for the foot and leg, worn by tragic +actors.</p> +<p>cad (ca'd), Scotch for called.</p> +<p>cadence (ka'dens), a fall of the voice; rhythm.</p> +<p>Cadmus (kad'mus), in Greek legend the founder of Thebes and +introducer of the letters of the Greek alphabet.</p> +<p>Caesar. Julius (se'zar), (l00 B. C.-44 B. C.), a famous Roman +general, statesman and writer.</p> +<p>Caius Marius (ka'yus ma're-us),</p> +<p>calamity (ka-lam'i-ti), misfortune; disaster.</p> +<p>calender (kal'en-der), one whose business it is to press cloth or +paper between cylindrical rollers.</p> +<p>calumny (kal'um-ni), slander.</p> +<p>"Calvin's creed." Calvin was a celebrated reformer whose doctrines +are noted for their severity.</p> +<p>Cameron (kam'er-eri),</p> +<p>candid (kan'did), frank; open.</p> +<p>Cannobie Lee (kan'e-be le), a lea or large open space in Scotland.</p> +<p>cannonade (kan'un-ad'), a discharging of cannon.</p> +<p>capacity (ka-pas'i-ti), power.</p> +<p>"cap and bells," the tokens or signs of a jester or clown, +therefore, foolish pleasures.</p> +<p>Cape Palmas (pal'mas), a promontory on the coast of Liberia, western +Africa.</p> +<p>caper (ka'per), "cutting a caper," to leap about in a frolicsome +manner.</p> +<p>capon (ka'pon), choice chicken.</p> +<p>caprice (ka-pres'), whim, fancy.</p> +<p>Capua (cap'u-a), an ancient city in Italy near Naples, famous for +its wealth and luxury.</p> +<p>career (ka-rer'), move rapidly.</p> +<p>carrion (kar'i-un), dead and decaying flesh of an animal.</p> +<p>Carthage (kar'thaj), an ancient city in northern Africa. Its wars +with Rome are known as the Punic Wars.</p> +<p>casement (kas'ment), a hinged window sash.</p> +<p>casual (kazh'u-al), happening without regularity.</p> +<p>catholic (kath'e-lik), liberal</p> +<p>cauldron (kol'drun), a large kettle</p> +<p>causeway (koz wa), raised road over wet ground.</p> +<p>cavalcade (kav'al-kad'), a procession of persons on horseback.</p> +<p>celestial (se-les'chal), heavenly, divine.</p> +<p>cenotaph (sen'o-taf), a monument to one buried elsewhere.</p> +<p>censer (sen'ser), a vessel in which incense is burned.</p> +<p>censorship (sen'sor-ship), office or power to examine papers for the +press and suppress what is thought harmful.</p> +<p>censure (sen'shfir), blame.</p> +<p>century-circled (sen'tu-ri-sur'k'ld), having a hundred circles, +indicating its age.</p> +<p>cessation (se-sa'shun), pause, stop.</p> +<p>cestus (ses'tus), girdle.</p> +<p>chaise (shaz), a two-wheeled carriage.</p> +<p>chalice (chal'is), a cup.</p> +<p>Chalkley's Journal. Thomas Chalkley was a traveling Quaker preacher. +His journal, published in 1747, told of his many wonderful experiences.</p> +<p>Chambered Nautilus (cham'berd no'ti-lus), a shellfish belonging to +the highest class of mollusks.</p> +<p>chancel (chan'sel), that part of a church containing the altar.</p> +<p>chanticleer (chan'ti-kler), a cock, so called from his clear voice +in crowing.</p> +<p>chaos (ka-os), disorder.</p> +<p>chaotic (ka-ot'ik), confused.</p> +<p>chaplet (chap'let), wreath.</p> +<p>characterize (char'ak-ter-iz), describe.</p> +<p>chasm (kaz'm), deep opening, gap.</p> +<p>Chattahoochee (chat'a-hoo'chi), a river in Georgia which forms part +of its western boundary.</p> +<p>chaunt (chant), song, especially one that is solemn and slow.</p> +<p>Cheapside (chep'sid), the central east-and-west street of London, +formerly a market. "Chepe" is the old English word for market.</p> +<p>Chersonese (kur'so-nez), Athenians who had colonized the peninsula +between the Hellespont and the Gulf of Melos. Miltiades ruled over them.</p> +<p>chimerical (ki-mer'i-kal), unreal, fantastic.</p> +<p>chivalry (shiv'al-ri), manners of knighthood, courtesy.</p> +<p>chowder (chou'der), a dish made of fresh fish or clams, biscuit, +etc., stewed together.</p> +<p>chronicle (kron'i-k'l), historical record.</p> +<p>churlish (chur'lish), rough, ill bred.</p> +<p>ci devant (se'de-van'), former.</p> +<p>circuit (sur'kit), a regular journey from place to place; the +district journeyed over.</p> +<p>circumscribe (sur'kum-skrib') inclose, encircle.</p> +<p>citadel ( sit'a-del), fortress.</p> +<p>"civil feuds" (siv'il fuds), quarrels within one's own country.</p> +<p>clamor (klam'er), an outcry; uproar.</p> +<p>clan (klan),</p> +<p>clang (klang), strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic +sound.</p> +<p>clangor (klanger), a sharp, harsh, ringing sound.</p> +<p>clapboard (klap'bord), a narrow board, thicker at one edge than at +the other, for weatherboarding houses.</p> +<p>cleave (klev), cling; open or crack.</p> +<p>cleft (kleft), crack, crevice.</p> +<p>clement (klem'ent), mild.</p> +<p>clergy (klur'ji), a body of ministers of the gospel.</p> +<p>cloud-vesture (kloud-ves'tur), clothing of clouds.</p> +<p>Cochecho (ko-che'cho), Indian name for Dover, N. H.</p> +<p>cocked hat (kokt), a hat with the brim turned up.</p> +<p>cohesion (ko-he'zhun), close union.</p> +<p>cohort (ko'hort), in the ancient Roman army, a body of about 500 +soldiers.</p> +<p>coil (koil), trouble; the body.</p> +<p>coincidence (ko-in'si-dens), a happening at the same time.</p> +<p>colossal (ko-los'al), of enormous size.</p> +<p>Comanches (ko-man'chez), a tribe of Indians noted for their warlike +character.</p> +<p>comely (kum'li), pleasing.</p> +<p>comment (kom'ent), meditate upon; a remark or criticism.</p> +<p>commissioner (ko-mish'un-er) an officer having charge of some +department of public service.</p> +<p>commodity (ko-mod'i-ti), goods, wares.</p> +<p>communal (kom'u-nal), having property in common.</p> +<p>commune (ko-mun'), take counsel.</p> +<p>communicate (ko-mu'm-kat), make known.</p> +<p>communion (ko-mun'yun), intercourse.</p> +<p>compass (kum'pas), size, capacity.</p> +<p>compensate (kom'pen-sat), recompense or reward.</p> +<p>compete (kom-pet'), seek or strive for the same thing.</p> +<p>competence (kom'pe-tens), property sufficient for comfort.</p> +<p>complacency (kom-pla'sen-si), self-satisfaction.</p> +<p>compliance (kom-pli'ans), yielding.</p> +<p>comply (kom-pli'), yield, assent.</p> +<p>component (kom-po'nent), composing; an ingredient.</p> +<p>comport (kom-port'), agree or suit conduct.</p> +<p>compose (kom-poz'), put together: quiet.</p> +<p>composition (kom'po-zish'un), combination, make-up.</p> +<p>composure (kom-po'zhur), calm.</p> +<p>comprehend (kom'pre-hend'), understand.</p> +<p>comprehension (kom'pre-hen'shun), perception, understanding.</p> +<p>comprehensive (Kom'pre-hen'siv), including much.</p> +<p>compressed (kom-prest') pressed together.</p> +<p>comprise (kom-priz'), include.</p> +<p>compromise (kom'pro-miz), an agreement in which all parties +concerned give up something.</p> +<p>concave (kon'kav), hollow and curved in.</p> +<p>conceal (kon-sel'), hide from observation.</p> +<p>concede (kon-sed'), grant or allow.</p> +<p>conceive (kon-sev'), understand: think.</p> +<p>concenter (kon-sen'ter), bring to, or meet in a common center; +condense,</p> +<p>concentrate (kon'sen-trat), bring to, or meet in a common center; +condense.</p> +<p>concentric (kon-sen'trik), having a common center.</p> +<p>conception (kon-sep'shun), formation in the mind of an image or +notion.</p> +<p>conciliate (kon-sil'i-at), reconcile, pacify.</p> +<p>conclusive (kon-kloo'siv), convincing; final.</p> +<p>concord (kon'kord), state of agreement; harmony.</p> +<p>concurrence (kon-kur'ens), agreement in opinion.</p> +<p>conduce (kon-dus') lead or tend.</p> +<p>confound (kon-found') confuse; blend.</p> +<p>congeal, (kon-jel'), freeze; thicken.</p> +<p>congregate (kon'gre-gat), assemble.</p> +<p>conjure (kon-joor'), call on solemnly.</p> +<p>conjure (kun'jer), call forth or expel by magic arts.</p> +<p>conjuring book (kun'jer-ing), a copy of Cornelius' Agrippa's +"Magic," printed in 1657.</p> +<p>connubial (ko-nu'bi-al), pertaining to marriage.</p> +<p>Conscript Fathers (kon'skript), a translation of a certain form used +in addressing the senate of ancient Rome.</p> +<p>consecrate (kon'se-krat), dedicate, hallow.</p> +<p>conservative (kon-sur'va-tiv), opposed to change; safe.</p> +<p>consign (kon-sin'), intrust; deliver.</p> +<p>consistent (koti-Sis'tent), not contradictory; having harmony among +its parts.</p> +<p>construe (kon'stroo), interpret, explain.</p> +<p>consul (kon'sul), commercial agent of a government in a foreign +country; a magistrate.</p> +<p>consume (kon-sum') destroy; swallow up.</p> +<p>consummation (kon's'u-ma'shun), achievement; end.</p> +<p>contagious (kon-ta'jus), catching.</p> +<p>contemplate (kon'tem-plat), view; study.</p> +<p>contemptible (kon-temp'ti-b'l), deserving disdain; despised.</p> +<p>contemptuous (kon-temp'tu-us), scornful.</p> +<p>contention (kon-ten'shun), strife.</p> +<p>contexture (kon-teks'tur), system, texture.</p> +<p>continuity (kon'ti-nu'i-ti), the being continuous.</p> +<p>contrite (kon'trit), humbly penitent.</p> +<p>contrition (kon-trish'un), self reproach.</p> +<p>contumely (kon'tu-me-li), disdain, scorn.</p> +<p>convene (kon-ven'), assemble.</p> +<p>convex (kon'veks), rising or swelling into a rounded form; opposite +from concave.</p> +<p>convoluted (kon'vo-lut'ed), rolled together, one part upon another.</p> +<p>convulse (kon-vuls') contract violently and irregularly.</p> +<p>coof (koof),</p> +<p>coot (koot), a kind of duck.</p> +<p>copious (ko'pi-us), plentiful.</p> +<p>coppice (kop is), a grove of growth.</p> +<p>corbel (kor'bel), a bracket.</p> +<p>cordage (kor'daj), anything made of rope or cord.</p> +<p>corroborate (ko-rob'o-rat), make more certain, confirm.</p> +<p>corrupt (ko-rupt'), change from good to bad.</p> +<p>corse (kors), a corpse.</p> +<p>corselet (kors'let), breastplate.</p> +<p>Corsica (kor'si-ka), an island in the Mediterranean, belonging to +France, the birthplace of Napoleon.</p> +<p>Cossacks (kos'aks), a military people inhabiting the steppes of +Russia.</p> +<p>council (koun'sil), assembly or meeting, assembly for advice.</p> +<p>counsel (koun'sel), interchange of opinions; advise.</p> +<p>countenance (koun'ti-nans), appearance of the face, the features.</p> +<p>counterfeit (koun'ter-fit), that which resembles another thing; +carry on a deception.</p> +<p>counterpart (koun'ter-part'), a copy, duplicate.</p> +<p>Coureur-de-bois (koo'rur'de-bwa'), a class of +men, French by birth, who, through long association with the Indians +were only half civilized. Their chief occupation was conducting the +canoes of the traders along the lakes and rivers of the interior.</p> +<p>courier (koo'rl-er), a messenger.</p> +<p>Court of St. James, the official name of the British court. St. +James's Palace was formerly the royal residentce.</p> +<p>courteous (kur'te-us), polite.</p> +<p>courtesy (kur'te-si), good breeding.</p> +<p>cove (kov), a small inlet or bay.</p> +<p>covertly (kuv'ert-li), secretly.</p> +<p>covet (kuv'et), long for.</p> +<p>craft (kraft), art or skill; a vessel.</p> +<p>crag (krag), steep, rugged rock.</p> +<p>Craigie House (krag'i), the house in Cambridge in which Longfellow +lived from 1836 until his death. During the Revolution, it had been +Washington's headquarters.</p> +<p>crane (kran), an iron arm fastened to a fireplace and used for +supporting kettles over the fire,</p> +<p>cranny (kran'i), a chink.</p> +<p>crank (krank), top-heavy.</p> +<p>craven (kra'v'n), coward; faint-hearted.</p> +<p>craw (kro), crop or stomach.</p> +<p>credentials (kre-den'shalz), testimonies of the bearer's right to +recognition.</p> +<p>creditor (kred'i-ter), one to whom money is due.</p> +<p>credulous (kred'e-lus), apt to believe on slight evidence.</p> +<p>Creeks (krekz), a powerful confederation of Indians who occupied the +greater part of Alabama and Georgia.</p> +<p>crescent (kres'ent), the increasing moon; anything shaped like a new +moon; emblem of the Turkish Empire.</p> +<p>crest (krest), upper curve of a horse's neck.</p> +<p>crevice (krev'is), a narrow crack.</p> +<p>crier (kri'er), one who gives notice by proclamation.</p> +<p>criterion (kri-te'ri-un), standard of judging.</p> +<p>critic (krit'Ik), one skilled in judging.</p> +<p>critical (krit'i-kal), decisive; important.</p> +<p>Croisickese (kroiz'i-kez), an inhabitant of Croisic, a small +fishing-village near the mouth of the Loire. Here Browning wrote Herve +Riel.</p> +<p>Cromwell, Oliver (1599-1658), commander-in-chief of the +parliamentary forces in the struggle with Charles I of England.</p> +<p>cronies (kro'niz), intimate companions.</p> +<p>cross (kros), emblem of the Roman Catholic church.</p> +<p>croupe (kroop), the place on the horse behind the saddle.</p> +<p>crucifix (kroo'si'fiks), a representation of the figure of Christ +upon the cross.</p> +<p>cruise (krooz), a voyage in various directions.</p> +<p>crypt (kript), a vault; cell for burial purposes.</p> +<p>crystaline (kris'tal-in), pure; transparent; consisting of crystal.</p> +<p>culprit (kul'prit), a criminal.</p> +<p>cumberless (kum'ber-les), without care.</p> +<p>cumbrous (kum'brus), burdensome.</p> +<p>cunning (kun'ing), skill.</p> +<p>"cunning-warded keys," knowledge which comes only from close +observation and which is hidden from the less observant.</p> +<p>curb (kurb), to keep in check.</p> +<p>curfew (kur'fu), an evening bell, originally to cover fires and +retire to rest.</p> +<p>curlew (kur'lu), a wading bird, having a long, curved bill.</p> +<p>custom (kus'tum), duty or toll imposed by law on commodities +imported or exported.</p> +<p>cylindrical (si-lin'dri-kal), having the form of a cylinder.</p> +<p>Dalhem (dal'em), town in Belgium.</p> +<p>dalliance (dal'i-ans), delay; interchange of caresses.</p> +<p>Damfreville (dam'fre-vil), commander of the fleet.</p> +<p>Dante's Divine Comedy (dan'te), celebrated Italian poem in three +parts, "Hell," "Purgatory," "Paradise."</p> +<p>dapper (dap'er), little and active; trim.</p> +<p>darkling (dark'ling), gloomy.</p> +<p>Dartmouth (dart'muth), college at Hanover, N. H.</p> +<p>dastard (das'tard), coward.</p> +<p>daunted (dant'ed), dismayed.</p> +<p>dauntless (dant'les), fearless.</p> +<p>David.</p> +<p>"dead of night," middle of the night.</p> +<p>dearth (durth), want, lack.</p> +<p>debatable (de-bat'a-b'l), open to question or dispute.</p> +<p>decease (de-ses'), death.</p> +<p>decisive (de-si'siv), positive, final.</p> +<p>decorum (de-ko'rum), proper conduct.</p> +<p>decree (de-kre'), law; decision given by a court or umpire.</p> +<p>decrepit (de-krep'it), worn out with age.</p> +<p>deeming (dem'mg), thinking.</p> +<p>defaced (de-fast'), disfigured, marred.</p> +<p>defer (de-fur'), postpone; yield to the wishes of another.</p> +<p>deference (def'er-ens), respect.</p> +<p>defiance (de-fi'ans), disposition to resist.</p> +<p>defile (de-fil'), pass between hills.</p> +<p>deflower (de-flou'er), deprive of flowers; take away the beauty of.</p> +<p>defy (de-fi'), dare.</p> +<p>degenerate (de-jen'er-at), grow worse or meaner.</p> +<p>deities (de'i-tiz), heathen gods.</p> +<p>delegate (del'e-gat), send as one's representative.</p> +<p>deliberate (de-lib'er-at), not hasty; (de-lib'er-at), weigh in one's +mind.</p> +<p>delineate (de-lin'e-at), represent by sketch; describe.</p> +<p>delirious (de-lir'i-us), wild with feeling.</p> +<p>Delos (de'los), the smallest island of the Cyclades, according to +legend originally a floating island and the birthplace of Apollo.</p> +<p>deluge (del'uj), flood.</p> +<p>delusion (de-lu'zhun), deception for want of knowledge.</p> +<p>delusive (de-lu'siv), deceptive.</p> +<p>demeanor (de-men'er), behavior.</p> +<p>demon (de'mon), evil spirit.</p> +<p>demoniac (de-mo'ni-ak), like a demon.</p> +<p>denotement (de-not'ment), sign or indication.</p> +<p>deplorably (de-plor'a-bli), grievously.</p> +<p>depositories (de-poz'i-to-riz), place where anything is stored for +keeping.</p> +<p>depravity (de-prav'i-ti), corruption, wickedness.</p> +<p>derision (de-rizh'un), insult.</p> +<p>descent (de-sent'), a passing downward.</p> +<p>descried (de-skrid'), saw, beheld.</p> +<p>desert (dez'ert), solitary; empty.</p> +<p>designate (des'ig-nat), point out.</p> +<p>desist (de-zist'), stop.</p> +<p>desolateness (des'e-lat-nes), state of being desolate or lonely.</p> +<p>despair (de-spar'), give up hope.</p> +<p>desperate (des'per-at), hopeless, reckless.</p> +<p>despicable (des'pi-ka-b'l), fit to be despised; mean.</p> +<p>despondent (de-spon'dent), low spirited.</p> +<p>despotism (des'pot-iz'm), tyranny.</p> +<p>destined (des'tind), marked out.</p> +<p>destiny (des'ti-ni), doom, fate.</p> +<p>detained (de-tand'), kept back or from; delayed.</p> +<p>detract (de-trakt'), take away.</p> +<p>detractor (de-trak'ter), one who slanders.</p> +<p>deviate (de'vi-at), go put of the way.</p> +<p>device (de-vis'), design; invention.</p> +<p>devious (de'vi-us), wandering.</p> +<p>devoid (de-void'), destitute.</p> +<p>devotee (dev'o-te'), one wholly devoted.</p> +<p>devoutly (de-vout'li), earnestly.</p> +<p>dexterity (deks-ter'i-ti), skill.</p> +<p>dexterous (deks'ter-us), skillful, artful.</p> +<p>diffuse (di-fuz'), spread.</p> +<p>dight (dit), adorn.</p> +<p>dignities (dig-'ni-tiz), honors.</p> +<p>dike (dik), embankment to prevent flooding.</p> +<p>diligence (dil'i-jens), industry.</p> +<p>dinning (din'ing), incessant talking.</p> +<p>"dire-struck," struck with terror.</p> +<p>dirge (durj), funeral hymn.</p> +<p>discern (di-zurn'), see, detect.</p> +<p>discipline (dis'i-plin), training; punishment.</p> +<p>disconsolate (dis-kon'so-lat), sorrowful, comfortless.</p> +<p>discordant (dis-kor'dant), not harmonious.</p> +<p>discountenance (dis-koun'te-nans), not approve of; discourage.</p> +<p>discourse (dis-kors'), conversation.</p> +<p>discredit (dis-kred'it), disbelief.</p> +<p>disembogue (dis'em-bog'), discharge; flow out.</p> +<p>disguise (dis-giz'), change the appearance of.</p> +<p>dismember (dis-mem'ber), disjoint.</p> +<p>disperse (dis-purs'), scatter.</p> +<p>disputation (dis'pu-ta'shun), dispute, a reasoning on opposite sides.</p> +<p>disqualify (dis-kwol'i-fi), render unfit.</p> +<p>dissever (di-sev'er), part in two.</p> +<p>dissolution (dis'o-lu'shun), separating into parts.</p> +<p>dissonant (dis'o-nant), sounding harshly, discordant.</p> +<p>distaff (dis'taf), a staff holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, +from which thread is spun by hand.</p> +<p>distended (dis-tend'ed), lengthened out.</p> +<p>distorted (dis-tort'ed), twisted, wrested.</p> +<p>ditto (dit'o), exact copy.</p> +<p>diverge (di-vurj'), extend from a common point in different +directions.</p> +<p>divers (di'verz), several, different.</p> +<p>divert (di-vurt'), turn aside.</p> +<p>divest (di-vest'), deprive; strip.</p> +<p>divine (di-vin'), godlike; foretell.</p> +<p>divinity (di-vin'i-ty), deity, God.</p> +<p>docile (dos'il), easily managed.</p> +<p>doctrine (dok'trin), principle of faith.</p> +<p>doff (dof), put off (dress).</p> +<p>doling (dol'n'g), giving out scantily or grudgingly.</p> +<p>domestic (do-mes'tik), pertaining to one's home.</p> +<p>domination (dom'i-na'shun), exercise of power in ruling; authority.</p> +<p>dormer-window (dor'mer), a vertical window in a sloping roof.</p> +<p>"double-reefed trysail," a sail reduced in extent doubly to adapt it +to the force of the wind.</p> +<p>doublet (dub'let), a close-fitting coat, formerly worn.</p> +<p>dower (dou'er), that with which one is gifted or endowed.</p> +<p>drama (dra'ma), a picture of human life, especially for +representation on the stage.</p> +<p>draught (draft), act of drinking.</p> +<p>drawbridge, a bridge which may be raised or let down.</p> +<p>"drink the cup," a biblical expression meaning endure.</p> +<p>dross (dros), waste matter, dregs.</p> +<p>Druids (droo'idz), ancient Celtic priests.</p> +<p>dubious (du'bi-us), doubtful, questionable.</p> +<p>dune (dun), a low hill of drifting sand.</p> +<p>dynasty (di'nas-ti), sovereignty, dominion.</p> +<p>ebony (eb'un-i), a hard wood capable of a fine polish; black</p> +<p>ecstasy (ek'sta-si), a state of over-mastering feeling; height.</p> +<p>eddy (ed'i), move in a circle; whirling.</p> +<p>edifice (ed'i-fis), splendid building.</p> +<p>effected (e-fekt'ed), accomplished,</p> +<p>efficacious (ef'i-ka'shus), capable of producing a desired effect.</p> +<p>efficacy (ef'i-ka-si), force.</p> +<p>efficient (e-fish'ent), active, helpful.</p> +<p>effulgence (e-ful'jens), great luster or brightness.</p> +<p>eke (ek), also.</p> +<p>election (e-lek'shun), choice</p> +<p>elevation (el'e-va'shun), height.</p> +<p>elfin (el'fin), relating to little elves or fairies.</p> +<p>Elfland (elf'land), fairy land.</p> +<p>Elijah (e-li'ja), II Kings, 2, 11.</p> +<p>eloquence (el'o-kwens), effective speech.</p> +<p>Ellwond, Thomas, a Quaker, who was a friend of Milton, and wrote a +long poem on King David.</p> +<p>Elysian Fields (e-lizh'an), the fabled dwelling place of happy souls +after death.</p> +<p>emancipation (e-man'si-pa'shun), freedom.</p> +<p>embargo (em-bar'go), restraint</p> +<p>embassy (em'ba-si), a solemn message.</p> +<p>ember (em'ber), a lighted coal, smoldering amid ashes.</p> +<p>emblazon (em-bla'z'n), illuminate, make light and beautiful.</p> +<p>emblem (em'blem), visible sign of an idea.</p> +<p>embosomed (em-booz'und), sheltered.</p> +<p>embrasure (em-bra'zhur), a window having its sides slanted on the +inside.</p> +<p>emerge (e-murj'), appear.</p> +<p>emergency (e-mur'jen-si), necessity.</p> +<p>eminence (em'i-nens), height.</p> +<p>eminently (em'i-nent-li), highly.</p> +<p>emulation (em'u-la'shun), great desire to excel,</p> +<p>enchantress (en-chan'tres), a wicked fairy, who weaves spells over +her victims.</p> +<p>encomium (en-ko'mi-um), high praise.</p> +<p>encompass (en-kum'pas), surround,</p> +<p>encore (an-kor', an'kor), again; the same.</p> +<p>encounter (en-koun'ter), a meeting face to face.</p> +<p>encroach (en-kroch'), enter gradually into anothers rights.</p> +<p>Encyclopaedia Britannica (en-si'klo-pe'di-a bri-tan'i-ka), a +dictionary of the arts, sciences, and literature.</p> +<p>endeavor (en-dev'er), effort.</p> +<p>endow (en-dou'), enrich.</p> +<p>enervate (en'er-vat), weaken.</p> +<p>enhance (en-hans'), increase.</p> +<p>enjoin (en-join'), urge.</p> +<p>enraptured (en-rap'turd), delighted beyond measure.</p> +<p>ensign (en'sin), banner; national flag.</p> +<p>entreaty (en-tret'i), an earnest request.</p> +<p>envelop (en-vel'up), wrap in.</p> +<p>epaulet (ep'o-let), a shoulder ornament worn by military and naval +officers, and indicating differences of rank.</p> +<p>epic (ep'ik), an heroic poem.</p> +<p>epicurism (ep'i-kur-iz'm), pleasures of the table.</p> +<p>epitaph (ep'i-taf), inscription on a tomb.</p> +<p>equip (e-kwip'), furnish or fit out.</p> +<p>equity (ek'wi-ti), fairness, impartial justice.</p> +<p>era (e'ra), a period of time.</p> +<p>eradicate (e-rad'i-kat), destroy utterly.</p> +<p>Erzeroum (erz'room'), the principal city of Turkish Armenia.</p> +<p>Esk (esk), a river in Scotland flowing into the Solway Firth.</p> +<p>espouse (es-pouz'), make one's own; marry.</p> +<p>essay (e-sa'), try,</p> +<p>essence (es'ens), substance.</p> +<p>essential (e-sen'shal), indispensably necessary.</p> +<p>estate (es-tat'), possession; wealth.</p> +<p>estranged (es-tranjd'), indifferent.</p> +<p>eternal (e-tur'nal), endless; perpetual.</p> +<p>Eternal City, Rome.</p> +<p>ether (e'ther), an extremely fine fluid, lighter than air, supposed +to pervade all space beyond the atmosphere of the earth.</p> +<p>ethereal (e-the're-al), spiritlike; heavenly.</p> +<p>Evan (e'van),</p> +<p>Evangeline (e-van'je-len), the gentle Acadian maiden, and subject of +the poem.</p> +<p>evangelists (e-van'jel-istz), writers of the gospels.</p> +<p>evince (e-vins'), show clearly.</p> +<p>ewe-necked (u'nekt'), having a thin, hollow neck.</p> +<p>excess (ek-ses'), that which exceeds the ordinary limit, +extravagance.</p> +<p>exclusive (eks-kloo'siv), shutting out others.</p> +<p>execration (ek'se-kra'shun), a cursing;</p> +<p>execution (ek'se-ku'shun), carrying to effect.</p> +<p>executive (eg-zek'u-tiv), a chief magistrate or officer who +administers the government; the governing person.</p> +<p>exempt (eg-zempt'), free.</p> +<p>exertion (eg-zur'shun), effort.</p> +<p>exhausted (eg-zos'ted), tired out, wearied.</p> +<p>exit (ek'sit), departure of a player from the stage after performing +his part.</p> +<p>expanse (eks-pans'), extent, a continuous area.</p> +<p>expedition (eks'pe-dish'un), excursion, voyage.</p> +<p>expert (eks-purt'), skillful.</p> +<p>expire (ek-spir'), die.</p> +<p>explicit (eks-plis'it), distinctly stated, clear.</p> +<p>expostulation (eks-pos'tu-la'shun), earnest reasoning or +remonstrance.</p> +<p>express (eks-pres'), exact, clear,</p> +<p>exterior (eks-te'ri-er), outside.</p> +<p>exterminate (eks-tur'mi-nat), drive away, root out.</p> +<p>external (eks-tur'nal), outside, foreign.</p> +<p>extract (eks'trakt), a selection; short part of a book or writing.</p> +<p>extravagance (eks-trav'a-gans), want of moderation, lavishness.</p> +<p>extremity (eks-trem'i-ti), greatest peril.</p> +<p>extricate (eks'tri-kat), free.</p> +<p>exult (eg-zult'), be in high spirits; triumph.</p> +<p>facile (fas'il), ready.</p> +<p>faculty (fak'ul-ti), mental power.</p> +<p>fain (fan), willingly.</p> +<p>fallow (fal'o), land plowed but not seeded.</p> +<p>Faneuil Hall (fan'l), a building in Boston, Massachusetts, where +Revolutionary orators frequently addressed public meetings.</p> +<p>fantastic (fan-tas'tik), grotesque; imaginary.</p> +<p>"fatal sisters," this refers to the three Fates of Greek mythology, +"spinners of the thread of life." The first, Clotho, spins the thread of +life, the second, Lachesis, determines its length, and the third, +Atropos, cuts it. The Greek Fates have their counterpart in the Norse +Norns.</p> +<p>Fata Morgana (fa'ta mor-ga'na), a mirage at sea. The spectator on +shore sees images of men, houses, and ships, sometimes on the sea; +so-called because formerly regarded as the work of a fairy of this name.</p> +<p>Father of Waters, a fanciful name given by the Indians to the +Mississippi River.</p> +<p>fathom (fath'um), find the depth of; measure of length containing +six feet.</p> +<p>Fatigue (fa-teg'), weariness from labor or exertion.</p> +<p>Federal (fed'er-al), a friend of the Constitution of the United +States at its adoption.</p> +<p>feign (fan), pretend.</p> +<p>feint (fant), pretense.</p> +<p>Felician, Father (fe-lish'an),</p> +<p>felicity (fe-lis'i-ti), happiness.</p> +<p>fell (fel), a rocky hill.</p> +<p>felloe (fel'o), the outside rim of a wheel supported by the spokes.</p> +<p>felon (fel'un) one guilty of a crime.</p> +<p>Fenwick (fen wik), a Scotch family.</p> +<p>Feroe (fer'o), a group of islands in the North Sea between the +Shetlands and Iceland.</p> +<p>fervently (fur'_vent-li), earnestly.</p> +<p>festoons (fes-toonz'), green vines or leaves hanging in a curve, +garlands.</p> +<p>fettered (fet'erd), bound.</p> +<p>feudal (fu'dal), the feudal ystem, by which the holding of land +depended upon rendering military service to the king or feudal lord +during the Middle Ages.</p> +<p>filch (filch), steal.</p> +<p>filial (fil'yal), dutiful as a child to his parent.</p> +<p>film (film), a thin, slight covering.</p> +<p>finance (fi-nans'), public money.</p> +<p>"finny herd," a school of fish.</p> +<p>firmament (fur'ma-ment), heavens.</p> +<p>"fishing smack," a small sloop-rigged vessel used for fishing along +the coast.</p> +<p>flag-bird, a poetic word for standard.</p> +<p>flagon (flag'un), a vessel with a narrow mouth for holding liquor.</p> +<p>flail (flal), a wooden instrument for threshing out grain by hand.</p> +<p>"flame pennons," (flam-pen'un), swallow-tailed flags.</p> +<p>flank (flank), the side of an animal, between the ribs and hip.</p> +<p>flaunt (riant), display with pride or in a showy manner.</p> +<p>Flemish (flem'ish), pertaining to Flanders, One of the provinces of +Belgium. A favorite subject of Flemish painters was the family group +around the fireside.</p> +<p>Flimen (flim''n),</p> +<p>floundering (floun'der-ing), tossing and tumbling.</p> +<p>flurry (flur'i), hurry.</p> +<p>flux (fluks), the setting in of the tide toward the shore.</p> +<p>fondling (fond'ling), caressing.</p> +<p>Fontaine quibout (fon-tan'ke-boo),</p> +<p>Foolish Virgins, this refers to the parable of the Ten Virgins, +Matthew 25; 1-13.</p> +<p>foolscap (foolz'kap), long folio writing paper named from its +watermark, the fool's cap and bells.</p> +<p>ford (ford), a place where water may be crossed on foot by wading.</p> +<p>forebode (for-bod'), foretell despondingly.</p> +<p>forfeit (for'fit), lose the right to a thing by some error or crime.</p> +<p>formidable (for'mi-da-b'l), alarming, dangerous.</p> +<p>Forsters (for'sterz), a Scotch family.</p> +<p>Fortunate Isles, imaginary isles where the souls of the good are +made happy.</p> +<p>foster (fos'ter), encourage; support</p> +<p>fouled (fould), entangled.</p> +<p>fowler (foul'er), one who hunts wild fowl.</p> +<p>fragile (fraj'il), frail, weak.</p> +<p>Franks, a Germanic people on the Rhine river, who afterward founded +the French monarchy.</p> +<p>fraternal (fra-tur'nal), brotherly</p> +<p>fraught (frot), mixed.</p> +<p>frenzied (fren'zid), furious, wild.</p> +<p>frequent (fre-kwent'), visit often.</p> +<p>fret work (fret'wurk'), ornamental raised work, as carving.</p> +<p>frigate (frig'ate), formerly a warship.</p> +<p>Froissart (froi'sart), a celebrated French chronicler who wrote a +history of the fourteenth century.</p> +<p>frontier (fron'ter), the boundary or limits of a country.</p> +<p>frugal (froo'gal), thrifty.</p> +<p>fudge (fuj), nonsense.</p> +<p>"funeral pile," a pile of wood upon which the dead are burned.</p> +<p>funereal (fu-ne're-al), mournful.</p> +<p>furrows (fur'oz), wrinkles.</p> +<p>fustian (fus'chan), See note</p> +<p>futurity (fu-tu'ri-ti), time to come.</p> +<p>Gabriel La jeunesse (ga'bri-el la-zhu-nes'),</p> +<p>Galilee (gal'i-le), a lake in the northern province of Palestine.</p> +<p>gall (gol), chafe, annoy.</p> +<p>gallant (ga-lant'), a man attentive to ladies. In "Lochinvar" +pronounced gal'lant on account of meter.</p> +<p>galliard (gal'yard),</p> +<p>galligas'kins (gal'i-gas'kinz), loose hose; leather leg guards.</p> +<p>gallows (gal'oz), guilty, ready to be executed.</p> +<p>Gambia (gam'bi-a), an English colony in western Africa along the +river Gambia. "The chief of Gambia's golden shore" is a line in a school +book, "The American Preceptor," which was used when Whittier was a boy.</p> +<p>gambol (gam'bol), a sportive prank; a frolic.</p> +<p>gambrel-roofed (gam'brel), a curved roof.</p> +<p>gaping (gap'ing), yawning.</p> +<p>garrulous (gar'oo-lus), wordy; chattering.</p> +<p>Gaspereau (gas-per-o'), a river in King's county, Nova Scotia, +flowing into the Basin of Minas.</p> +<p>Gates of Hercules (hur'ku-lez), the Strait of Gibraltar.</p> +<p>gauge (gaj), estimate; a measure.</p> +<p>gauger (gaj'er), an officer, whose business it is to find the +contents of casks.</p> +<p>gauntlet (gant'let), a long glove covering the wrist.</p> +<p>genial (je'ni-al; jen'yal), cheerful, kindly.</p> +<p>genie (je'ni), a good or evil spirit. Pl. genii.</p> +<p>genius (jen'yus), one who has high mental powers.</p> +<p>Gentile (jen'tll), one who is not a Jew.</p> +<p>geometric (je'e-met'trik), referring to the figures used in +geometry, the branch of mathematics which treats of the measurement of +lines, angles, surfaces, and solids.</p> +<p>Georgius Secundus (jor'jus sek-und'us), George the Second, king of +Great Britain.</p> +<p>germinate (jur'mi nat), bud, sprout.</p> +<p>gesture (jes'tur), a movement of the face, body, or limbs to express +ideas.</p> +<p>Ghent (gent), capital of province of east Flanders, Belgium.</p> +<p>ghoul (gool), an oriental demon, supposed to feed upon dead human +bodies. In "The Bells" pronounced gol on account of rhyme.</p> +<p>gigantic (ji-gan-tik), large.</p> +<p>gill (gil), a deep narrow valley through which a river flows.</p> +<p>glade (glad), a cleared space in a forest.</p> +<p>gladiator (glad'i-a'ter), in ancient Rome a swordsman who fought in +the arena with other men or animals.</p> +<p>glebe (gleb), turf, sod.</p> +<p>gleed (gled), a burning coal.</p> +<p>gloaming (glom'ing), twilight.</p> +<p>gloat (glot), stare or gaze earnestly often with a feeling of +cruelty.</p> +<p>Glynn (glin), a county in southeastern Georgia.</p> +<p>goad (god), a pointed instrument to urge on a beast.</p> +<p>gorgeous (gor'jus), showy, magnificent.</p> +<p>gory (gor'i), bloody.</p> +<p>gowd (god: good), the Scotch name for gold.</p> +<p>Graemes (gramz), the name of a Scotch clan, sometimes spelled Graham.</p> +<p>grampus (gram'pus), a large toothed fish, valued for its oil.</p> +<p>granary (gran'a-ri), a storehouse for grain.</p> +<p>grandeur (gran'dur), majesty, loftiness.</p> +<p>Grand Pre' (gran-pra'), a village in King's county, Nova Scotia. The +woll means "great meadow."</p> +<p>grapple (grap'l), seize.</p> +<p>grave (grav), cut letters or figures on a hard substance with a +chisel.</p> +<p>grayling (gray'ling), a fish somewhat like a trout.</p> +<p>Great Harry, the name of a ship.</p> +<p>grenadier (gren'a-der'), in olden times a soldier armed with +grenades, iron shells filled with powder and thrown among the enemy. The +word is now applied to a member of the Grenadier Guards.</p> +<p>Greve (grav),</p> +<p>grewsome (groo'sum), frightful.</p> +<p>groat (grot), an old English silver coin worth four pence.</p> +<p>groin (groin), bring together in a curve.</p> +<p>guaranty (gar'an-ti), security.</p> +<p>guid (giid),</p> +<p>guinea stamp (gin'i), the mark or impress upon a guinea-an old +English coin worth about five dollars.</p> +<p>guise (giz), shape; cloak.</p> +<p>gundalow (gun'da-le), another form for gondola (gon'do-la).</p> +<p>gyratory (ji'ra-te-ri), winding, whirling around a central point.</p> +<p>Habersham (hab'er-sham), a county in northeast Georgia. The +Chattahoochee rises in this county.</p> +<p>habit (hab'it), a garment; behavior,</p> +<p>Hagar (ha'gar), See Genesis 21, 14-21.</p> +<p>hake-broil (hak-broil), a seafish like the cod, cooked over a beach +fire.</p> +<p>Half-Moon, name of a boat on which Henry Hudson entered New York bay +and explored the Hudson river.</p> +<p>Hall, a county in northern Georgia intersected by the Chattahoochee +river.</p> +<p>halloo (ha-loo'), call.</p> +<p>hallow (hal'e), consecrate, make holy.</p> +<p>Hampton Falls (hamp'tun), a town in Rockingham county, New +Hampshire, seven miles north of Newburyport, Massachusetts.</p> +<p>hapless (hap'les), unfortunate.</p> +<p>Hapsburg (haps'burg), a princely German family to which Maria +Louise, wife of Napoleon, belonged.</p> +<p>harangue (ha-rang'), an address or speech to a crowd.</p> +<p>harbinger (har'bm-jer), a forerunner; usher in.</p> +<p>harem (ha'rem), a family of wives belonging to one man.</p> +<p>harpy (har'pi), one of the three daughters of Neptune and Terra, +having a woman's face and body and sharp claws like a vulture; a buzzard.</p> +<p>Hasselt (has'elt), a town in Belgium. haunch (hanch), the hip, part +of body between the ribs and thigh.</p> +<p>Haverhill (ha'ver-il), city in Essex county, Massachusetts.</p> +<p>hazard (haz'ard), chance; danger, risk.</p> +<p>heather (heth'er), a small, evergreen flowering shrub with +rose-colored flowers native to Scotland and northern Europe.</p> +<p>heave (hev), force from the breast, as a sigh.</p> +<p>Hebrides (heb'ri-dez), islands off the western coast of Scotland.</p> +<p>Helicon (hel'i-kon), a famous mountain in Greece.</p> +<p>Helseggen (hel-seg 'n),</p> +<p>helter-skelter (hel'ter-skel'ter), in hurry and confusion.</p> +<p>henpecked (hen'pekt'), governed by one's wife.</p> +<p>herald (her'ald), usher in; announce.</p> +<p>herbage (ur'baj; hur'baj), grass, pasture.</p> +<p>hereditary (he-red'i-ta-ri), passing from an ancestor to a +descendant.</p> +<p>Hermes (hur'mez), an ancient Egyptian wiseman, "the scribe of the +gods," who interpreted the truth of the gods to the people. In Greek +mythology, the messenger of the gods.</p> +<p>hermit (hur'mit), one who has retired from society and lives in +solitude.</p> +<p>hern (hern), short form for heron, a water bird.</p> +<p>Herve Riel (hur-va're-el')</p> +<p>hilarious (hi-la'ri-us), noisy; merry.</p> +<p>hilt (hilt), the handle of a sword.</p> +<p>Hindostan (hin'doo-stan), the central peninsula of Asia.</p> +<p>hoary (hor'i), gray with age.</p> +<p>Hoeyholm (ho'a-hom)</p> +<p>Hogue (hog), See note.</p> +<p>hold (hold), a castle, stronghold.</p> +<p>hollas (ho-loz'), calls out.</p> +<p>holster (hol'ster), a horseman's case for a pistol.</p> +<p>Holy Grail (ho'li gral), the cup or bowl from which Christ drank at +the Last Supper.</p> +<p>Holy Supper, Christ's last supper with His disciples.</p> +<p>horde (hord), a wandering tribe; a vast multitude.</p> +<p>hospitality (hos'pi-tal'i-ti), the practice of entertaining friends +and strangers with kindness.</p> +<p>hostage (hos'taj), a person who remains in the hands of another for +the fulfilment of certain conditions; pledge.</p> +<p>housings (houz'ingz), pl. trappings; a cover for a horse's saddle.</p> +<p>hover (huv'er), hang fluttering in the air.</p> +<p>Huddup (hu-dup'), a New England interjection addressed to a horse +meaning "Get along."</p> +<p>hue (hu), color; "hue and cry," a loud outcry with which thieves +were anciently pursued.</p> +<p>Huguenot (hu'ge-not), a French Protestant of the sixteenth century.</p> +<p>hurry-skurry (hur'ri-skur'ri), confused bustle.</p> +<p>husbandman (huz'band-man), a tiller of the soil, a farmer.</p> +<p>Hydra (hi'dra), in classical mytholology, the water serpent with +nine heads slain by Hercules: each head, on being cut off, became two.</p> +<p>Hymeneal (hi'me-ne'al), referring to marriage; from Hymen, the Greek +god of marriage.</p> +<p>hypothesis (hi-poth'e-sis), something not proved, but taken for +granted for the purpose of argument.</p> +<p>hyssop (his'up), a fragrant plant whose leaves have a strong taste.</p> +<p>Ibrahim (e'bra-hem), the Arabic for Abraham.</p> +<p>ideal (i-de'al), an imaginary standard of perfection; faultless.</p> +<p>identity (i-den'ti-ti), sameness, the being the same.</p> +<p>"I dew vum," a mild New England oath, "I do vow."</p> +<p>idyl (i-dil), a short poem describing country life.</p> +<p>Iflesen (ef-la'sen)</p> +<p>ignoble (ig-no'b'l), not noble, low.</p> +<p>ignominy (ig'no-min-i), dishonor.</p> +<p>Illah (e'la), the Arabic for "the God." "La illah illa Allah" means +"Allah is the God."</p> +<p>illconcerted (il-kon-sur'ted), poorly-planned and executed.</p> +<p>illimitable (i-lim'it-a-b'l), vast, immeasurable.</p> +<p>illuminate (i-lu'mi-nat), brighten with light.</p> +<p>illusion (i-lu'zhun), an unreality.</p> +<p>imbibe (im-bib'), receive, absorb.</p> +<p>imbue (im-bu'), tinge deeply.</p> +<p>immemorial (im'e-mo'ri-al), extending beyond reach of memory or +record.</p> +<p>immortal (i-mor'tal), lasting forever.</p> +<p>immutable (i-mu'ta-b'l), unchangeable.</p> +<p>impede (im-ped'), hinder.</p> +<p>impediment (im-ped'i-ment), hindrance.</p> +<p>impel (im-pel'), urge on, drive.</p> +<p>impending (im-pend'ing), overhanging, threatening.</p> +<p>impenetrable (im-pen'e-tra-b'l), cannot be entered.</p> +<p>imperceptible (im'per-sep'ti-b'l), not easily seen or noticed.</p> +<p>imperious (im-pe'ri-us), haughty, kingly.</p> +<p>impetuous (im-pet'u-us), rushing violently; hasty.</p> +<p>implacable (im-pla'ka-b'l), not to be pacified; unforgiving.</p> +<p>importtune (im'por-tun'), urge constantly.</p> +<p>imposition (im'po'-zish'un), deceit; fraud.</p> +<p>imposture (im-pos'tur), cheat; trick.</p> +<p>imprecation (im'pre-ka'shun), a curse; an evil wish.</p> +<p>impulse (im'puls), a mental force directly urging to action.</p> +<p>impunity (im-pu'ni-ti), freedom from punishment or injury.</p> +<p>inanimate (in-an'i-mat), without life.</p> +<p>inarticulate (in'ar-tik'u-lat), without voice, indistinct.</p> +<p>incantation (in'kan-ta'shun), a magical charm said or sung.</p> +<p>incessant (in-ses'ant), continuing without interruption.</p> +<p>incident (in'si-dent), event.</p> +<p>incident to, in connection with.</p> +<p>inclement (in-klem'ent), severe; stormy.</p> +<p>incompetent (in-kom'pe-tent), unfit; incapable.</p> +<p>incomprehensible (in-kom'pre-hen'si-b'l), cannot be understood.</p> +<p>incongruous (in-kon'grob-us), unsuitable, unfit.</p> +<p>incredible (in-kred'i-b'l), hard to believe.</p> +<p>inculcate (in-kul'kat), teach; instill.</p> +<p>Ind (ind), short form for India.</p> +<p>indefinable (in'de-fin'a-b'l), cannot be described.</p> +<p>independent (in'de-pen'dent), free; self-reliant.</p> +<p>indiscreet (in'dis-kret'), foolish.</p> +<p>indispensable (in'dis-pen'sa-b'l), absolutely necessary.</p> +<p>induced (in-dust'), caused, lead into.</p> +<p>indulgence (in-dul'jens), a favor granted.</p> +<p>inevitable (in-ev'i-ta-b'l), certain, unavoidable.</p> +<p>inexhaustible (in'eg-zos'ti-b'l), cannot be emptied; unfailing.</p> +<p>infidel (in'fi-del), an unbeliever.</p> +<p>infinite (in'fi-nit), immeasurable, perfect.</p> +<p>infraction (in-frak'shun), a breaking, especially of the law.</p> +<p>infuse (in-fuz'), pour into, shed.</p> +<p>ingredient (in-gre'di-ent), a part of a mixture.</p> +<p>inhale (in-hal'), draw into the lungs.</p> +<p>inherent (in-her'ent), inborn, natural.</p> +<p>innovation (in'e-va'shun), something new or contrary to custom.</p> +<p>innumerable (i-nu'mer-a-b'l), cannot be numbered.</p> +<p>inscrutable (in-skroo'ta-b'l), not able to be understood.</p> +<p>insidious (in-sid'i-us), sly, deceitful.</p> +<p>insolence (in'so-lens), impudence.</p> +<p>inspire (in-spir'), to fill with hope.</p> +<p>instance (in'stans),</p> +<p>instill (in-stil'), bring to mind,</p> +<p>insulated (in'su-latf ed), separated.</p> +<p>insuperable (in-su'per-a-b'l), cannot be overcome.</p> +<p>insurmountable (in'sur-moun'ta-b'l), impassable.</p> +<p>intact (in-takt'), untouched; whole</p> +<p>integrity (in-teg'ri-ti), honesty.</p> +<p>intelligence (in-tel'i-jens), news,</p> +<p>intercourse (in'ter-kors), interchange of thought and feeling; trade.</p> +<p>interminably (in-tur'mi-na-bli), endlessly.</p> +<p>internal (in-tur'nal), inland; inside.</p> +<p>interpose (in-ter-poz'), place between.</p> +<p>interpret (in-tur'pret), tell the meaning of.</p> +<p>interrogatory (in'te-rog'a-to-ri), a question.</p> +<p>interval (in'ter-val), a space of time between any two events.</p> +<p>interview (in'ter-vu), a meeting face to face.</p> +<p>intolerable (in-tol'er-a-b'l), not capable of being endured.</p> +<p>intricate (in'tri-kat), entangled.</p> +<p>intrigue (in-treg'), a plot or conspiracy.</p> +<p>intruder (in-trood'er), one who enters without invitation.</p> +<p>inundate (in'un-dat), cover with a flood.</p> +<p>inured (in-urd'), accustomed.</p> +<p>invade (in-vad'), enter for conquest or plunder.</p> +<p>invariably (in-va'ri-a-bli), constantly.</p> +<p>inventory (in'ven-to-ri), catalogue or list of goods, furniture, +etc., with cost attached.</p> +<p>invigorate (in-vig'or-at), refresh, give life to.</p> +<p>invincible (in-vin'si-b'l), not able to be overcome or conquered.</p> +<p>inviolate (in-vl'e-lat), uninjured.</p> +<p>involuntarily (in-vorun-ta-ri-li), not under control of the will; +unwillingly.</p> +<p>irascible (i-ras'i-b'l; i-ras'), easily angered.</p> +<p>ire (ir), anger.</p> +<p>irised (i'rist), having beautiful colors, like the rainbow.</p> +<p>irksome (urk'sum), tedious, tiresome.</p> +<p>irrational (i-rash'un-al), without reason.</p> +<p>Ishmael (ish'ma-el), Genesis 21.14-21.</p> +<p>"Islands of the Blest," mythical islands supposed to be in the +Western Ocean where the favorites of the gods were conveyed at death and +dwelt in ever-lasting joy.</p> +<p>Islington (iz'ling-tun), a district in the north of London.</p> +<p>Israel (iz'ra-el), the descendants of Israel, or Jacob.</p> +<p>"I wis" (i-wis'), surely, certainly.</p> +<p>jackanapes', a short form of "Jack of Apes," an impertinent fellow.</p> +<p>Jacob's Ladder (ja'kub), Genesis 28, 12.</p> +<p>jaded (jad'eti), tired by overwork.</p> +<p>jargon (jar'gon), a confused, unintelligible language.</p> +<p>jerkin (jur'kin), a jacket or short coat.</p> +<p>Jerusalem (je-roo'sa-lem), the capital of the Jewish people.</p> +<p>Jesuit (jez'u-it), one of a Roman Catholic religious order called +"The Society of Jesus," founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1543.</p> +<p>Joab (jo'ab), the "captain of the host" of the army during nearly +the whole of David's reign.</p> +<p>jocund (jok'und), merry, gay.</p> +<p>Johns Hopkins University, a university in Baltimore, Maryland.</p> +<p>Joris (jor'is), the Flemish word for George.</p> +<p>journalistic (jur'nal-is'tik), referring to journalism, newspaper, +or magazine articles.</p> +<p>Jove (jov), the short form for Jupiter.</p> +<p>jovial (jo'vi-al), merry, jolly.</p> +<p>Jugurtha (joo-gur'tha),</p> +<p>junto (jun'to), a secret council to talk over affairs of government.</p> +<p>Jupiter (joo'pi-ter), in Roman mythology, the supreme god of heaven. +In Greek mythology, known as Zeus.</p> +<p>justification (jus'ti-fi-ka'shun), defense; support by proof.</p> +<p>Kaatskill (kats'kil), a group of mountains of the Appalachian system +in New York state.</p> +<p>Kalevala (ka'la-va'la), "The land of heroes," the title of the +national epic of Finland.</p> +<p>keel (kel), the lowest timber of a vessel, to which the ribs are +attached.</p> +<p>keelson (kel'sun), a beam laid on the middle of the floor timbers +over the keel to strengthen it.</p> +<p>kelp (kelp), a large, coarse seaweed.</p> +<p>ken (ken), knowledge,</p> +<p>khan (kan; kan), an Asiatic prince; an Eastern inn.</p> +<p>Kieldholm (keld'hom),</p> +<p>kine (kin), cattle.</p> +<p>King Arthur, a mythical British king, founder of the Knights of the +Round Table, made famous in Tennyson's "Idylls of the King."</p> +<p>kinsman (kmz'man), a relative.</p> +<p>kirtle (kur't'l), a garment.</p> +<p>"kith and kin," friends and relatives.</p> +<p>knarred (nard), the poetic form of gnarled, knotted.</p> +<p>Knickerbocker Dietrich (nik'er-bok'er de'trik),</p> +<p>knoll (nol), a little, round hill.</p> +<p>Koordistan (koor'di-stan), a region of western Asia, mostly in +Turkey, but partly in Persia.</p> +<p>Kurroglou (koor'e-glou),</p> +<p>Kyrat (ke'rat),</p> +<p>lacklustre (lak'lus'ter), wanting brightness.</p> +<p>lade (lad), draw water; put load on or in.</p> +<p>lading (lad'ing), that which makes a load or cargo.</p> +<p>laggard (lag'ard), a slow person.</p> +<p>lagoon (la-goon'), a shallow channel or lake.</p> +<p>lamentably (lam'en-ta-bli), sadly.</p> +<p>lance (lans), a long spear carried by a horseman.</p> +<p>languor (lan'ger), a state of mind or body caused by exhaustion, +weariness.</p> +<p>Lanier, Sydney (la-ner'),</p> +<p>Lannes (Ian), one of Napoleon's generals.</p> +<p>lapse (laps), a passing away slowly.</p> +<p>larboard (lar'bord), the left-hand side of a ship to one on board +facing the bow, port.</p> +<p>Lascar (las'kar), a native sailor or cooly of India.</p> +<p>lashing (lash'ing), cord; strike quickly or cut.</p> +<p>Latin (lat'in) Latium, a country of Italy in which Rome was +situated, hence Roman, the language of the ancient Romans.</p> +<p>latticed window (lat'ist), crossed open work of wood or metal, +forming a window.</p> +<p>laureate (le're-it), the English court poet.</p> +<p>laurel (le'rel), an evergreen shrub having sweet-smelling leaves,</p> +<p>Laurens (lo'rens), the name of an old southern family. John and +Henry Laurens are famous statesmen of Revolutionary times.</p> +<p>laving (lav'ing), bathing.</p> +<p>lavish (lav'ish), extravagant.</p> +<p>lay (la), song.</p> +<p>lea (le), a grassy field.</p> +<p>league (leg), a measure of distance equal to about three miles.</p> +<p>leaguer (le'ger), a camp.</p> +<p>Lebanon (leb'a-non), a mountain range in Syria.</p> +<p>"Le Carillon de Dunkerque" (le kar'i-lon-de-dun'kurk), a popular +song, the tune of which was played on the Dunkirk chimes.</p> +<p>ledger (lej'er), the principal account book of a business firm.</p> +<p>lee (le), the calm, sheltered side.</p> +<p>legacy (leg'a-si), a gift, by will, of money or property.</p> +<p>legend (lej'end), a wonderful story of the past having no historical +proof.</p> +<p>legibly (lej'i-bli), plainly</p> +<p>Lentulus (len'tu-lus), a Roman politician who lived in the first +century, B. C.</p> +<p>leper (lep'er), one afflicted with leprosy.</p> +<p>leprosy (lep'ro-si), a loathsome skin disease.</p> +<p>Letiche (la-tesh'),</p> +<p>Leuctra (luk'tra), a Spartan pass.</p> +<p>levee (lev'e), a morning reception held by a person of rank.</p> +<p>leviathan (le-vi'a-than), a large water animal described in the Book +of Job, hence anything huge.</p> +<p>levy (lev'i), collect troops by authority.</p> +<p>liberal (lib'er-al), wide, spacious.</p> +<p>licentious (li-sen'shus), unrestrained, both morally and legally.</p> +<p>lieutenant (lu-ten'ant), an officer ranking just below a captain in +the army and a commander in the navy.</p> +<p>Lilinau (lil'i-no'),</p> +<p>limner (lim'ner), a painter who illumines books or parchments.</p> +<p>linchpin (linch'pin'), the pin which goes through the end of the +axle of a wheel and keeps it in place.</p> +<p>lineage (lin'e-aj), family.</p> +<p>linendraper (lin'en-dra'per), one who deals in linen.</p> +<p>list (list), will. pl. n. an enclosing for a tournament.</p> +<p>listlessly (list'les-li), in an indifferent manner.</p> +<p>literature (lit'er-a-tur), the written or printed literary +productions of a country or period of time.</p> +<p>lithe (lith), easily bent, pliable.</p> +<p>livery (liv'er-i), a uniform.</p> +<p>loath (loth), unwilling.</p> +<p>local (lo'kal), belonging to a particular place.</p> +<p>Lochiel (lok-el'),</p> +<p>Lodore (lo-dor'), a cataract in the Derwent river in England.</p> +<p>Lofoden (lo-fo'den), a group of islands off the coast of northern +Norway.</p> +<p>logical (loj'i-kal), according to reason.</p> +<p>Lokeren (lo'ker-en), a town in Belgium.</p> +<p>loon (loon), a northern web-footed water bird whose note sounds like +a laugh.</p> +<p>looping (loop'ing), fold.</p> +<p>loose (loos), unbind.</p> +<p>Looz (looz), a town in Belgium.</p> +<p>lore (lor), knowledge.</p> +<p>Loupgaroo (loo'ga'roo'), meaning a "Were-wolf," a person who, +according to the superstition of the Middle Ages, became a wolf in order +to devour children.</p> +<p>Lucifer (lu'si-fer),</p> +<p>luminous (lu'mi-nus), giving out light.</p> +<p>lure (lur), anything used as an enticement; entice.</p> +<p>lusty (lus'ti), healthy, vigorous.</p> +<p>luxuriant (luks-u'ri-ant), very abundant.</p> +<p>lyceum (li-se'um), originally the grove at Athens where Aristotle +taught; an academy.</p> +<p>Maelström (mal'strom), a whirlpool on the coast of Norway.</p> +<p>magnanimous (mag-nan'i-mus) great of mind; heroic.</p> +<p>magpie (mag'pi), a chattering bird belonging to the crow family.</p> +<p>main (man), ocean,</p> +<p>Mainote (mi'not), Maina was the gathering place for the Greek troops +who, under the Greek general, Ypsilanti, fought for Greek independence.</p> +<p>maintop (man'top'), a platform at the head of the main-mast of a +square-rigged vessel.</p> +<p>malice (mal'is), wicked intention to injure others.</p> +<p>malleable (mal'e-a-b'l), capable of being shaped by beating or by +pressure.</p> +<p>mallow (mal'o), a weed.</p> +<p>Malo (ma'lo),</p> +<p>Malouins (mal'e-wins),</p> +<p>Malta (mol'ta), a rocky fortified island belonging to Great Britain, +and situated in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily.</p> +<p>manacles (man'a-k'lz), chains for the hand or wrist.</p> +<p>mandate (man'dat), command.</p> +<p>manifest (man'i-fest), known.</p> +<p>manifestation (man'i-fes-ta'shun), sign.</p> +<p>manifold (man'i-fold), many in number.</p> +<p>manoeuvre (ma-noo'ver), a skillful movement with a certain aim or +plan.</p> +<p>manor (man'er), a district over which a feudal lord ruled subject to +the commands of his court-baron or lord.</p> +<p>"mantling blush," color or glow of youth spreading over the face.</p> +<p>manual (man'u-al), made or performed by the hand.</p> +<p>Marathon (mar'-a-thon), a plain in Greece 18 miles northeast of +Athens, the scene of a famous battle between the Greeks and the Persians.</p> +<p>marauders (ma-rod'erz), rovers in search of plunder.</p> +<p>Mare Ten'ebra'rum (mar ten'e-bra'-rum), Latin words meaning "sea of +darkness."</p> +<p>marge (marj), poetic form for margin or edge.</p> +<p>Marion (mar'i-on), the name of an old southern family, to which +Francis Marion, a Revolutionary general, belonged.</p> +<p>Marmion (mar'mi-on),</p> +<p>marquis (mar'kwis), a nobleman of England, France, and Germany next +in rank below a duke.</p> +<p>marshal (mar'shal), direct or lead; in the French army, the highest +military officer.</p> +<p>mart (mart), short form for market.</p> +<p>martial (mar'shal), suited for war.</p> +<p>marveled (mar'veld), to be astonished.</p> +<p>maternal (ma-tur'nal), motherly.</p> +<p>mathematical (math'e-mat'i-kal), precise.</p> +<p>matin (mat'in), morning worship, prayers or songs.</p> +<p>Matterhorn (mat'er-horn), a high mountain peak in the Swiss Alps.</p> +<p>maxim (mak'sim), a true saying, proverb.</p> +<p>McGregor (mak-greg'er), a Scotch nobleman who tried to establish a +colony in Porto Rico.</p> +<p>meager (me'ger), scanty, poor.</p> +<p>Mecheln (mek'lin), a town in Belgium.</p> +<p>Medford (med'ferd), a small town near Boston, Massachusetts.</p> +<p>mediaeval (me'di-e'val; med'i), belonging to the Middle Ages, eighth +to fifteenth centuries, A. D.</p> +<p>meditate (med'i-tat), muse or ponder.</p> +<p>medium (me'di-um), substance.</p> +<p>meet (met), fit.</p> +<p>melancholy (mel'an-kol-i), gloomy.</p> +<p>Melita (mel'i-ta), an island, where the apostle Paul, a prisoner on +the way to Rome, was shipwrecked, modern Malta.</p> +<p>mellow (mel'o), softened by years; tender.</p> +<p>memento (me-men'to), a hint or relic to awaken memory.</p> +<p>Memphremagog (mem'fre-ma'gog), a lake on the border of Vermont and +Canada.</p> +<p>menace (men'as), threaten, danger.</p> +<p>mendicant (men'di-kant), practicing beggary.</p> +<p>Mersey (mur'zi), a river in England, on which Liverpool is situated.</p> +<p>metamorphose (met'a-mor'foz), change into a different form.</p> +<p>mete (met), measure; limit.</p> +<p>methinks (me-thinks'), it seems to me.</p> +<p>mewling (mul'mg),</p> +<p>mickle (mik'l), much, great.</p> +<p>Midas (mi'das), a king, in fable, whose touch turned things to gold.</p> +<p>mien (men), outward appearance or look.</p> +<p>militia (mi-lish'a), the whole military force of a nation; citizens +enrolled and trained for the protection of a state.</p> +<p>Miller, Joaquin' (mil'er wa-ken'),</p> +<p>Miltiades (mil-ti'a-dez), commander of the Athenian army who +conquered the Persians at Marathon.</p> +<p>mimosa (mi-mo'sa), plants with pods including the sensitive plants.</p> +<p>Minas, Basin of (mi-nas), a bay in the northwestern part of the Bay +of Fundy.</p> +<p>miniature (min'i-a-tur), done on a very small scale.</p> +<p>minion (min'yun), a flattering servant or dependent.</p> +<p>miraculous (mi-rak'u-lus), wonderful.</p> +<p>mirage (me-razh'), an illusion of the eye by which objects like +ships at sea are seen inverted or oases appear to travelers in the +desert.</p> +<p>miscalculation (mis-kal'ku-la'-shun), a wrong judgment.</p> +<p>missal (mis'al), a mass-book.</p> +<p>mitigate (mit'i-gat), make less severe or painful.</p> +<p>mitigation (mit'i-ga'shun), relief; lessening.</p> +<p>moccasin (mok'a-sin), a shoe made of soft leather worn by the +American Indian.</p> +<p>mockery (mok'er-i), imitating reality, but not real; sham.</p> +<p>mode (mod), manner of doing or being; custom.</p> +<p>Mohawk (mo'hok), a tribe of Indians.</p> +<p>molder (mol'der), turn into dust by natural decay.</p> +<p>moment (mo'ment), importance; consequence,</p> +<p>monody (mon'e-di), a mournful poem or song for one voice.</p> +<p>monograph (mon'o-graf), a paper written on one particular subject or +on some branch of it.</p> +<p>monopoly (mo-nop'o-li), possession of the whole of anything.</p> +<p>monotone (mon'o-ton), a single unvaried tone or sound.</p> +<p>monotony (mo-not'o-ni), a tiresome sameness.</p> +<p>Montcalm (mont-kam'), an officer commanding the French troops at +Quebec.</p> +<p>moorings (mobr'ingz), the place where a vessel is anchored.</p> +<p>moorland (moor'land), a waste land covered with patches of heather, +a low shrub.</p> +<p>moraler (mor'al-er),</p> +<p>Moravian (mo-ra'vi-an), one of a sect called United Brethren, +organized in Moravia in the fifteenth century.</p> +<p>Moskoe (mos'ko), Probably Poe had in mind the Mos'kenaso island.</p> +<p>Moslem (moz'lem; mos),</p> +<p>motive (mo'tiv), the reason for actions.</p> +<p>motley-braided (mot'li-brad'ed), interlaced with many colors.</p> +<p>mouldering (mol'der-ing), crumbling.</p> +<p>multitudinous (mul'tl-tu'di-nus), numerous.</p> +<p>Muse (muz), the goddess who is supposed to inspire poets.</p> +<p>muse (muz), think.</p> +<p>Musgraves (mus'gravz), a clan or family of Scotland.</p> +<p>Mussulmans (mus'ul-manz), Mohammedans, The "tottering bridge which +Mussulmans say is the only pathway between Time and Eternity" is the +bridge which extends over hell and which has been described as being +"finer than a hair and sharper than the edge of a sword."</p> +<p>muster (mus'ter), the gathering of troops or ships for war.</p> +<p>mutation (mu-ta'shun), change.</p> +<p>mutiny (mu'ti-ni), a revolt against one's superior officers or any +rightful authority, especially applied to sailors or soldiers.</p> +<p>mutual (mu'tu-al), having something in common.</p> +<p>Mystic (mis'tik), a river in Massachusetts.</p> +<p>naiad (na'yad; ni'ad), a water nymph, fabled to preside over some +lake, river, brook, or fountain.</p> +<p>necromancer (nek'ro-man'ser), one who foretells future events by +pretending to communicate with the dead.</p> +<p>nectar (nek'tar), in Greek mythology, the divine wine of the gods +served in golden drinking-cups by Hebe, the goddess of Youth.</p> +<p>nepenthe (ne-pen'the), a drug supposed, by the ancient Greeks, to +have the power of causing forgetfulness of sorrow.</p> +<p>Netherby (neth'er-bi), the name of a Scotch family or clan.</p> +<p>niche (nich), a hollow, generally within the thickness of a wall, +for a statue or other erect ornament.</p> +<p>night-tide, night-time.</p> +<p>Nilus (nil'us), the Latin word for Nile.</p> +<p>"Nine," referring to the nine Muses of Greek mythology, goddesses of +Song, Dance, Music, and Poetry, companions of Apollo, who, in their +light flowing draperies, danced and sang on Olympus.</p> +<p>nine-pins (nin'pinz), a game played with ninepins or pieces of wood +set on end at which a wooden ball is bowled to knock them down.</p> +<p>Nineveh (nin'e-ve), the famous capital of the Assyrian empire, which +was entirely destroyed in the fall of the empire.</p> +<p>Normandy (nor'man-di), an ancient province of France occupied by the +Northmen or Normans during their invasion.</p> +<p>Norn-Mother (norn), in Norse mythology, the Norns corresponded to +the Fates in Greek myths.</p> +<p>notary (no'ta-ri), a public officer who examines legal papers to +make certain that they are genuine or true and sets the seal of his +office upon the same.</p> +<p>Nubian geographer (nu'bi-an je-og'ra-fer), Poe, in all probability, +refers to the African geographer, Ptolemy. 150 A. D.</p> +<p>nullification (nul'i-fi-ka'shun), an act giving the State the right +to cancel a law of Congress.</p> +<p>Numidian lion (nu-mid'i-an), the fierce animals which attacked the +gladiators in the arena were brought from Numidia, a country in northern +Africa.</p> +<p>nurtured (nur'turd), nourished, trained.</p> +<p>nymph (nimf), a goddess presiding over mountains, forests, meadows, +or waters.</p> +<p>obeisance (e-ba'sans; e-be'), a sign of respect; a bow.</p> +<p>obligatory (ob'li-ga-to-ri; ob-lig'-a-to-ri), required, binding in +law or conscience.</p> +<p>obliquely (ob-lek'li), in a slanting manner.</p> +<p>oblivion (eb-liv'i-un), a forgetting or being forgotten.</p> +<p>obloquy (ob'lo-kwi), slander, reproach.</p> +<p>obsequious (ob-se'kwi-us), promptly obedient to the will of others; +cringing.</p> +<p>obstacle (ob'sta-k'l), a hindrance.</p> +<p>occult (o-kult'), secret.</p> +<p>ode (od), a short poem, which might be sung.</p> +<p>odorous (o'der-us), fragrant.</p> +<p>offenceless (o-fens'les), harmless.</p> +<p>offing (of'ing), that part of the sea where there is deep water and +no need of a pilot.</p> +<p>Olympus (o-lim'pus), a mountain in Thessaly, fabled as the home of +the gods.</p> +<p>ominous (om'i-nus), foreboding evil.</p> +<p>omnipotent (om-nip'e-tent), all powerful.</p> +<p>Opelou'sas (op'e-loo'sas), an early settlement in south central +Louisiana.</p> +<p>opponent (o-po'nent), foe.</p> +<p>opposed (o-pozd'), enemy,</p> +<p>oppressive (o-pres'iv), heavy, burdensome.</p> +<p>oracular (e-rak'u-lar), like oracles or answers of the gods to +questions about future events.</p> +<p>orb (orb), a poetical word for sun, moon, or star.</p> +<p>Oregon (or'e-go-n), a name by which the Columbia river was first +known.</p> +<p>Ormus (or'mus), an ancient Persian city, noted for its wealth.</p> +<p>Othello (e-thel'o), a Moorish general in the service of the +Venetians.</p> +<p>Otterholm (ot'er-hom),</p> +<p>overture (e'ver-tur), an offer</p> +<p>Owyhee (e-wi'he), a river in northern Nevada.</p> +<p>paean (pe'an), a song of triumph.</p> +<p>pageant (paj'ent; pa'jent), spectacular exhibition or display.</p> +<p>palimpsest (pal'imp-sest), a parchment written upon twice, the first +writing having been erased.</p> +<p>pall (pol), a black cloth thrown over a coffin at a funeral.</p> +<p>palladium (pa-la'di-um), the statue of Pallas, on the preservation +of which depended the safety of Troy, hence an effectual safeguard.</p> +<p>Pallas (pal'as), Pallas Athene, the Grecian goddess of Wisdom, +called also Athene, and identified at a later period with the Roman +Minerva.</p> +<p>pallet (pal'et), a small and mean bed.</p> +<p>pallid (pal'id), wan.</p> +<p>palpable (pal'pa-b'l), capable of being touched and felt; plain, +evident.</p> +<p>palpitate (pal'pi-tat), beat rapidly and strongly.</p> +<p>paltry' (pol'tri), small, worthless, trifling.</p> +<p>panorama (pan'e-ra'ma), a complete view in every direction.</p> +<p>pantomime (pan'to-mim), a dramatic representation by actors who use +only dumb show.</p> +<p>paragon (par'a-gon), a model pattern of perfection.</p> +<p>parchment (parch'ment), skin of sheep or goat, etc., prepared for +writing.</p> +<p>pard (pard), a leopard.</p> +<p>parricide (par'i-sid), one who murders his own father, or any +ancestor.</p> +<p>participate (par-tis'i-pat), have a share in common with others; to +take part.</p> +<p>particularize (par-tik'u-lar-iz), to state in detail.</p> +<p>Pascagoula (pas'ka-goo'la), a river in Mississippi flowing into the +Gulf of Mexico.</p> +<p>patriarch (pa'tri-ark), Father and ruler of a family; a venerable +old man.</p> +<p>patrician (pa-trish'an), one of high birth; a nobleman.</p> +<p>patricide (pat'ri-sid), murder of one's father; the crime of +murdering one's father.</p> +<p>patrimonial (pat'ri-mo'ni-al), inherited from an ancestor.</p> +<p>pavilion (pa-vil'yun), a tent, a large temporary building.</p> +<p>peasant (pez'ant), tiller of the soil in European countries.</p> +<p>peasantry (pez'ant-ri), peasants, collectively.</p> +<p>pedagogue (ped'a-gog), teacher of children; a schoolmaster.</p> +<p>pedantry (ped'ant-ri), vain display of learning.</p> +<p>pedigree (ped'i-gre), a line of ancestors; descent.</p> +<p>peer (per), one of the same rank; an equal; member of the British +nobility.</p> +<p>pellicle (pel'i-k'l), a crystallized film.</p> +<p>pell-mell (pel'-mel'), in utter confusion.</p> +<p>pendent (pen'dent), something which hangs, depends, or is suspended.</p> +<p>penetrate (pen'e-trat), enter into: understand.</p> +<p>penitent (pen'i-tent), feeling sorrow on account of offence. +Penitent Peter, Luke 22, 54-62.</p> +<p>pensive (pen'siv), thoughtful; sad.</p> +<p>pent (pent), penned or shut up.</p> +<p>penthouse (pent'hous'), a shed sloping from the main wall or +building, as over a door or window.</p> +<p>Pequot (pe'kwot), a former tribe of North American Indians, the most +dreaded of all in southern New England.</p> +<p>peradventure (per'ad-ven'tur), by chance; perhaps.</p> +<p>perceive (per-sev'), obtain knowledge of through the senses; see.</p> +<p>perceptible (per-sep'ti-b'l), capable of being perceived.</p> +<p>perfidious (per-fid'i-us), false to a trust reposed.</p> +<p>perpetrator (pur'pe-tra'ter), one who does or performs.</p> +<p>perpetual (per-pet'u-al), continuing forever, endless.</p> +<p>perplexity (per-plek'si-ti), bewilderment; doubt.</p> +<p>persecution (pur'se-ku'shun), pursuing to injure; injury.</p> +<p>perseverance (pur'se-ver'ans), continuing in a given cause; +persistence.</p> +<p>perusal (pe-rooz'al), a careful reading through.</p> +<p>pervade (per-vad'), spread through-out; pass through.</p> +<p>pervasive (per-va'siv), having the power to spread throughout.</p> +<p>perverse (per-vurs'), turned aside or away from the right, contrary.</p> +<p>perversity (per-vur'si-ti), the quality of being perverse.</p> +<p>pestilence (pes'ti-lens), any contagious disease that is devastating.</p> +<p>pestilent (pes'ti-lent), destructive; troublesome.</p> +<p>Petruchio's Kate (pe-troo'chi-o), Petruchio--a character in +Shakespeare's play, "Taming the Shrew." His wife, Kate, is called a +shrew on account of her ill-temper.</p> +<p>petty (pet'i), small, trifling.</p> +<p>pewter (pu'ter), a hard, tough, but easily fusible alloy of tin with +lead.</p> +<p>phalanx (fa'lanks), a body of troops in close array; combination of +people firmly united.</p> +<p>phantom (fan'tum), that which has only apparent existence, a ghost.</p> +<p>phenomenon (fe-nom'e-non), pl. phenomena, that which strikes one as +strange, unusual, or unaccountable; an appearance.</p> +<p>philanthropist (fi-lan'thro-pist), one who loves mankind, and seeks +to promote the good of others.</p> +<p>philosopher (fi-los'o-fer), one who lives according to the rules of +practical wisdom; one devoted to the search after wisdom.</p> +<p>phiz (fiz), the face; a humorous abbreviation for physiognomy.</p> +<p>Phlegethon (fleg'e-thon), in Greek mythology, a river of fire in the +lower world.</p> +<p>phlegm (flem), sluggishness of temperament; dullness.</p> +<p>Phoebus (fe'bus), or Phoebus Apollo in Greek and Roman mythology, +one of the great Olympian gods and giver of light and life. Leader of +the Muses and God of music.</p> +<p>physical (fiz'i-kal), pertaining to nature; relating to the bodily +structure as opposed to things mental.</p> +<p>physiognomy (fiz'i-og'no-mi), the face or countenance.</p> +<p>pibroch (pe'brok), a Highland air; air played on bagpipes when +Highlanders go to battle.</p> +<p>picturesque (pik'tur-esk'), forming a pleasing picture.</p> +<p>pillage (pil'aj), something taken by force; plunder.</p> +<p>pin (pin), mood,</p> +<p>Pinckney, William (pink'ni), an American lawyer and diplomatist of a +fine old southern family.</p> +<p>"Pindusborn Aracthus" (pin'dus, a-rak'thus), a river in Greece, +Pindus-born because it rises in the Pindus mountains.</p> +<p>pinion (pin'yun), a feather; quill; a wing.</p> +<p>pinnacle (pin'a-k'l), a lofty peak; the very topmost point.</p> +<p>Pisa (pe'za), small town in Italy, famous for its leaning tower.</p> +<p>Piscataqua (pis-kit'a-kwa), a river in New Hampshire.</p> +<p>"pitch and moment," impetus or speed.</p> +<p>"pitch of pride," in the very place where Douglas's pride is +centered.</p> +<p>pitcher plant, a plant with leaves shaped like pitchers.</p> +<p>"pith o' sense," the force, strength, or essence of sense.</p> +<p>plain (plan), complain.</p> +<p>Plains of Abraham, an elevated plain just beyond Quebec to the +southwest; the scene of the battle of Quebec.</p> +<p>plain-song, a short, comprehensive prayer, adapted to a particular +day or occasion, recited in one tone.</p> +<p>Plaquemine (plak'men), Bayou of (bi'oo) an inlet from the +Mississippi river in Louisiana.</p> +<p>planetree, an Oriental tree, rising with a straight, smooth +branching Stem to a great height; the sycamore or buttonwood.</p> +<p>plashy (plash'i), watery; splashy</p> +<p>Plataea's day (pla-te'a),</p> +<p>plausible (plo'zi-b'l), praiseworthy; reasonable.</p> +<p>pleasance (plez'ans), pleasure; merriment.</p> +<p>plebeian (ple-be'yan), of or pertaining to the common people.</p> +<p>pliant (pli'ant), capable of plying or bending; flexible.</p> +<p>policy (pol'i-si), prudence or wisdom in the management of public +and private affairs.</p> +<p>pollute (po-lut'), make foul, impure, or unclean.</p> +<p>pomp (pomp), show of magnificence or splendor.</p> +<p>ponder (pon'der), think or deliberate.</p> +<p>ponderous (pon'der-us), very heavy; weighty.</p> +<p>Popedom (pop'dum), place, office, or dignity of the pope.</p> +<p>populous (pop'u-lus), containing many inhabitants.</p> +<p>porpoise (por'pus), a sea fish closely allied to the dolphin.</p> +<p>port (port), the left side of a ship, looking forward.</p> +<p>portal (por'tal), a door or gate.</p> +<p>portcullis (port-kul'is), a grating of iron or of timbers pointed +with iron, hung over the gateway of a fortress.</p> +<p>portent (por'tent), a sign of coming calamity.</p> +<p>portico (por'ti-ko), a colonnade; covered space before a building.</p> +<p>postern (pos'tern), back door or gate, especially of a castle.</p> +<p>potent (po'tent), powerful, having great authority.</p> +<p>potentate (po'ten-tat), monarch.</p> +<p>praetor (pre'tor), a civil officer among the ancient Romans,</p> +<p>precarious (pre-ka'ri-us), riot to be depended on; dangerous.</p> +<p>precedent (pre-sed'ent), going before.</p> +<p>precedent (pres'e-dent), a decision serving as a rule for future +determination in similar cases.</p> +<p>precipitate (pre-sip'i-tat), overhasty, rash; to fall with steep +descent.</p> +<p>precocity (pre-kos'i-ti), development more than is natural at a +given age.</p> +<p>preconceive (pre'kon-sev'), form an idea or opinion in the mind +beforehand.</p> +<p>predetermination (pre'de-tur'mi-na'shun), a decision reached +beforehand.</p> +<p>preeminent (pre-em'i-nent), above other things of exalted station.</p> +<p>pregnant (preg'nant), heavy with important contents or significance.</p> +<p>prejudice (prej'oo-dis), judgment formed without due examination; to +bias the mind of.</p> +<p>prelude (prel'ud), introductory performance.</p> +<p>premature (pre'ma-tur'), ripe before the proper time.</p> +<p>presage (pre'saj), n. sign, presentiment.</p> +<p>presage (pre-saj'), foretell.</p> +<p>presuppose (pre'su-poz'), take for granted.</p> +<p>pretension (pre-ten'shun), laying claim to more than is due.</p> +<p>prevalent (prev'a-lent), generally existing; widespread.</p> +<p>primal (pri'mal), first; original.</p> +<p>prithee (prith'e), a corruption of "pray thee," generally used +without the "I."</p> +<p>privation (pri-va'shun), depriving or taking away; getting along +without.</p> +<p>proclaim (pro-klam'), make known by public announcement.</p> +<p>prodigal (prod'i-gal), given to extravagant spending. Prodigal Son, +Luke 15, 11-32.</p> +<p>prodigious (pro-dij'us), very great; immense.</p> +<p>prodigy (prod'i-ji), a marvel or wonder.</p> +<p>profess (por-fes) admit freely.</p> +<p>proffer (prof-er), offer for acceptance.</p> +<p>profound (pro-found') reaching too the bottom of a matter; deep.</p> +<p>profuse (pre-fus'), pouring forth bountifully; lavish.</p> +<p>progenitor (pro-jen'i-ter), ancestor; forefather.</p> +<p>projecting (pro-jekt'ing), planning; throwing forward.</p> +<p>promontory (prom'un-to-ri), high point of land projecting into the +sea.</p> +<p>promulgate (pro-mul'gat), make known, proclaim.</p> +<p>prone (pron), prostrate, flat; inclined, disposed.</p> +<p>proportionate (pro-por'shun-at), at the same rate.</p> +<p>proscribe (pro-skrib'), doom to destruction; denounce.</p> +<p>prostrate (pros'trat), lying at length with the body extended on the +ground.</p> +<p>provoke (pre-vok'), call forth, irritate.</p> +<p>prudence (proo'dens), wisdom in the way of caution and provision.</p> +<p>puke (puk), vomit.</p> +<p>Punic (pu'nik), pertaining to the Carthaginians, whom the Romans +considered unworthy of trust, hence, faithless.</p> +<p>purling (pur'ling), eddy; also, to make a murmuring sound as water +does in running over an obstruction.</p> +<p>purport (pur'port), meaning.</p> +<p>pursue (pur-su'), follow with a view to overtake; chase.</p> +<p>Pyrrhic (pir'ik), Pyrrhic dance, a Greek martial dance. Pyrrhic +phalanx, a phalanx such as was used by Pyrrhus, king of Epirus.</p> +<p>quaff (kwaf), drink.</p> +<p>Queen of Lebanon (Leba-nen), Lady Hester Stanhope, niece of William +Pitt. She established herself in the Lebanon hills near Jerusalem, +awaiting the second coming of Christ.</p> +<p>quell (kwel), subdue; repress.</p> +<p>querulous (kwer'oo-lus), apt to find fault.</p> +<p>quick (kwik), vital part.</p> +<p>quietus (kwi-e'tus), that which silences claim; death.</p> +<p>rack (rak), danger.</p> +<p>radical (rad'i-kal), proceeding directly from the root.</p> +<p>railer (ral'er), one who scoffs.</p> +<p>raiment (ra'ment), clothing.</p> +<p>rampart (ram'part), defense.</p> +<p>rampire (ram'pir), same as rampart.</p> +<p>Rance (rans), a river in France.</p> +<p>random (ran'dum), want of direction: chance.</p> +<p>rapine (rap'Tn), a plundering,</p> +<p>rapture (rap'tur), pleasure, delight.</p> +<p>Ratisbon (rat'is-bon), town in Bavaria, Germany, called Regensburg +by the Germans.</p> +<p>ravage (rav'aj), desolation by violence.</p> +<p>ravenous (rav''n-us), devouring with great eagerness.</p> +<p>raze (raz), lay level with the ground.</p> +<p>rebuff (re-buf), sudden check.</p> +<p>rebuke (re-buk'), check or silence with reproof; chide.</p> +<p>recall (re-kol'), call back; remember.</p> +<p>recede (re-sed'), retreat; move back.</p> +<p>recess (re-ses'), part of a room formed by the receding of a wall.</p> +<p>recessional (re-sesh'un-al), a hymn sung while the choir and clergy +are leaving the church at the close of a service.</p> +<p>reciprocate (re-sip'ro-kat), a mutual giving and returning.</p> +<p>reck (rek), heed.</p> +<p>recoil (re-koil'), drawing back.</p> +<p>recollection (rek'o-lek'shun), something called to mind.</p> +<p>reconcile (rek'on-sil), pacify, settle.</p> +<p>reconnoiter (rek'o-noi'ter) examine with the eye, survey.</p> +<p>recreation (rek're-a'shun), amusement.</p> +<p>recruit (re-kroot'), repair by fresh supplies; reinforcement.</p> +<p>rectitude (rek'ti-tud), honesty.</p> +<p>recurrence (re-kur'ens), the act of returning from time to time.</p> +<p>redress (re-dres'), set right a wrong.</p> +<p>reek (rek), send forth vapor or smoke, "reeking tube," guns and +cannons.</p> +<p>reel (rel), stagger.</p> +<p>refluent (ref'loo-ent), flowing back.</p> +<p>reflux (re'fluks), ebb.</p> +<p>refugee (ref'u-je'), one who flees to a place of safety.</p> +<p>refuse (ref'us), waste matter.</p> +<p>regal (re'gal), royal.</p> +<p>regent (re'jent), ruler.</p> +<p>Regulus (reg'u-lus),</p> +<p>reiterate (re-it'er-at), repeat again and again.</p> +<p>relax (re-laks'), slacken.</p> +<p>relevant (rel'e-vant), bearing upon the case in hand.</p> +<p>relief (re-lef), in art, projection of a figure above the ground on +which it is formed.</p> +<p>reluctant (re-luk'tant), unwilling.</p> +<p>remnant (rem'nant), that which remains after a part is removed.</p> +<p>remonstrate (re-mon'strat), present and urge reasons in opposition +to an act.</p> +<p>removes (re-moovz'), a transfer of one's business or belongings from +one place to another.</p> +<p>remuneration (re-mu'ner-a'shun), payment.</p> +<p>renown (re-noun'), fame.</p> +<p>rent (rent), broken.</p> +<p>repair (re-par'), go.</p> +<p>reputation (rep'u-ta'shun), estimation in which one is held.</p> +<p>repute (re-put'), estimate.</p> +<p>requisite (rek'wi-zit), something required.</p> +<p>research (re-surch'), continued search after truth.</p> +<p>reserve (re-surv'), withhold from present use for another purpose or +time.</p> +<p>resignation (rez'ig-na'shun), a giving up a claim, possession or +office, etc.</p> +<p>resistless (re-zist'les), powerless to withstand; helpless.</p> +<p>resolute (rez'e-lut), determined.</p> +<p>respectively (re-spek'tiv-li), relating to each.</p> +<p>respite (res'pit), a putting off.</p> +<p>restoration (res'to-ra'shun), a bringing back to a former condition.</p> +<p>retain (re-tan'), keep.</p> +<p>retreat (re-tret'), departure; shelter.</p> +<p>reveal (re-vel'), disclose.</p> +<p>revelry (rev'el-ri), noisy festivity.</p> +<p>reverberate (re-vur'ber-at), echo.</p> +<p>reverence (rev'er-ens), a mingled feeling of awe and admiration.</p> +<p>reverend (rev'er-end), worthy of respect.</p> +<p>revery (rev'er-i), day dream.</p> +<p>reviving (re-viv'ing), returning to life.</p> +<p>Reyhan (ra-han'),</p> +<p>ribband (rib'band'), a ribbon.</p> +<p>rife (rif), prevailing.</p> +<p>rift (rift), an opening made by splitting.</p> +<p>riot (ri ut), tumult.</p> +<p>rise (riz; ris), cause; occasion.</p> +<p>rite (rit), solemn observance.</p> +<p>rivet (riv'et), fasten firmly.</p> +<p>riving (riv'ing), splitting.</p> +<p>roan (ron), brown or black color, with gray or white interspersed.</p> +<p>roister (rois'ter), a blustering, noisy fellow.</p> +<p>romance (ro-mans'), tale or novel.</p> +<p>"Romance languages," the languages which were originally dialects of +Latin, as French, Spanish, Italian.</p> +<p>Roos (roos),</p> +<p>Roushan Beg (roo'shan-bag),</p> +<p>routed (rout'ed), overpowered.</p> +<p>routine (roo-ten'), a round of business or pleasure frequently +returning.</p> +<p>Royal Society, a society of London for improving natural knowledge.</p> +<p>rub (rub), hindrance.</p> +<p>rubicund (roo'bi-kund), ruddy, red.</p> +<p>rudiment (roo'di-ment), a beginning or first step.</p> +<p>rumor (roo'mer), hearsay, common talk.</p> +<p>runic (roo'nik), pertaining to the written language of the ancient +Norsemen.</p> +<p>rural (roo'ral), pertaining to the country.</p> +<p>rustic (rus'tik), unpolished.</p> +<p>ruthlessly (rooth'les-li), in a cruel manner.</p> +<p>Rutledge (rut'lej), the name of an illustrious family in South +Carolina--one of them was a signer of the declaration of Independence +and governor of the state.</p> +<p>sabre (sa'ber), a sword with a broad, heavy blade, usually curved.</p> +<p>sackcloth (sak'kloth'), a garment worn in mourning or penitence.</p> +<p>saddle-girth (sad'l-gurth), that which fastens on the saddle.</p> +<p>saddletree, frame of a saddle.</p> +<p>sage (saj), wise.</p> +<p>Saint (sant),<br> + Catherine's tresses (kath'er-in) in the Roman +church, St. Catherine is noted for her vows never to marry. To braid St. +Catherine's tresses applies to one who does not marry.</p> +<p> Eulalie (u-la'li), St. Eulalie's day is the +12th of February. If the sun shines on that day, there will be a +plentiful apple harvest.</p> +<p> Francois (fran'swa'), a small river in +Quebec.</p> +<p> Helena (he-le'na), island off the coast of +Africa; the place of Napoleon's exile.</p> +<p> Louis (loo'i), Louis IX, king of France. +Napoleon received his education at his country's expense.</p> +<p> Malo (ma'le), city in France noted for its +high tides.</p> +<p> Maur (mor), town on the Teche river in +Louisiana.</p> +<p>Salamis (sal'a-mis), an island in the Gulf of Aegina, Greece, famous +for a great naval battle, 480 B. C.</p> +<p>Salisbury (solz'ber-i), a town in northeastern Massachusetts near +Whittier's home.</p> +<p>Sallust (sal'ust), a Roman historian who accompanied Caesar on his +African campaign.</p> +<p>sally (sal'i), an excursion from the usual course.</p> +<p>salutary (sal'u-ta-ri), wholesome.</p> +<p>salutation (sal'u-ta'shun), greeting.</p> +<p>Samian (sa'mi-an), pertaining to the island of Samos.</p> +<p>sanctuary (sank'tu-a-ri), a sacred place; a place of refuge.</p> +<p>Sandflesen (sand-fla'sen),</p> +<p>sanguine (san'gwin), hopeful.</p> +<p>Sappho (saf'o), a Greek woman who lived about 600 B. C., famous for +her lyric poetry.</p> +<p>sark (sark), a skirt.</p> +<p>sassafras (sas'a-fras), an American tree of the Laurel family.</p> +<p>satiety (sa-ti'e-ti), fullness beyond desire.</p> +<p>satirical (sa-tir'i-kal), cutting or sarcastic.</p> +<p>savanna (sa-van'a), tract of level land covered with grass or reeds, +but without trees.</p> +<p>Saxon (sak'sun), English,</p> +<p>scar (skar), a bare place on a mountain side.</p> +<p>scarf (skarf), in carpentry a certain kind of joint forming a +continuous piece.</p> +<p>scaur (skar), </p> +<p>sceptic (skep'tik), a doubter of fact.</p> +<p>schooner (skoon'er), a vessel with three, four, and even with six +masts similarly rigged.</p> +<p>Scian (si'an), pertaining to Scio, claimed by some to be the +birth-place of Homer, who is called the "Scian muse,"</p> +<p>Scio (si'e), an island in the Aegean Sea noted for its wine.</p> +<p>scoff (skof), sneer.</p> +<p>score (skor), furrow.</p> +<p>Scorpion (skor'pi-un), a constellation; the eighth sign of the +zodiac.</p> +<p>scrupulous (skroo'pu-lus), exact.</p> +<p>scrutiny (skroo'ti-ni), close examination.</p> +<p>scud (skud), move swiftly.</p> +<p>sculpture (skulp'tur), carve.</p> +<p>"seal and hand," a letter with the seal and signature of the king,</p> +<p>season (se'z'n), temper.</p> +<p>sedulous (sed'u-lus), diligent, earnest.</p> +<p>seethe (seth), boil.</p> +<p>segment (seg'ment), a part cut off.</p> +<p>Selborne (sel'born), a parish in England, noted on account of +Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne.</p> +<p>semblance (sem'blans), likeness.</p> +<p>seneschal (sen'e-shal), officer in a prince's house.</p> +<p>Sennacherib (se-nak'er-ib),</p> +<p>sensation (sen-sa'shun), feeling obtained through the senses; state +of excited feeling or that which causes.</p> +<p>sentiment (sen'ti-ment), opinion</p> +<p>sentinel (sen'ti-nel), soldier set to guard an army or camp.</p> +<p>sentry (sen'tri), guard.</p> +<p>sepulchre (sep'ul-ker), grave; bury.</p> +<p>seraglio (se-ral'yo), a harem.</p> +<p>seraph (ser'af), an angel.</p> +<p>serenity (se-ren'i-ti), calmness.</p> +<p>serf (surf), a slave bound to work on a certain estate and sold with +it.</p> +<p>servile (sur'vil), like a slave; cringing.</p> +<p>session (sesh'un), meeting.</p> +<p>sesterce (ses'ters), an ancient Roman coin.</p> +<p>settie (set''l), a high-backed bench.</p> +<p>Sewel (su'al), William Sewel wrote a ponderous history of the +Quakers.</p> +<p>Sexagesima (sek'sa-jes'i-ma), the second Sunday before Lent.</p> +<p>sever (sev'er), disjoin.</p> +<p>shade (shad), ghost.</p> +<p>shard (shard), a fragment of any hard substance.</p> +<p>"sharps and trebles," musical notes.</p> +<p>Shawnee (sho-ne'), a tribe of Indians. Their name means +"Southerners."</p> +<p>sheathe (sheth), cover with something which protects.</p> +<p>sheen (shen), brightness.</p> +<p>Sheik (shek), chief magistrate of an Arabian village.</p> +<p>shelves (shelvz), slopes.</p> +<p>shifty (shif'ti), changable.</p> +<p>shingly (shm'gli), covered with gravel or pebbles.</p> +<p>shoal (shol), a bar which makes the water shallow.</p> +<p>shrew (shroo), a scold.</p> +<p>shrewdness (shrood'nes), sharp-wittedness.</p> +<p>shrive (shriv), to hear confession and pardon.</p> +<p>shroud (shroud), set of ropes staying a ship's masts.</p> +<p>shuffle (shuf'l), to rid one's self of.</p> +<p>sicklied (sik'lid), made sickly.</p> +<p>Sidney (sid'ni), Sir Philip, an English author and general of +exceptionally fine feeling.</p> +<p>Sienas saint (sye'na), St. Catherine, the patron saint of Siena.</p> +<p>silhouette (sil'oo-et'), profile portrait in black.</p> +<p>similitude (si-mil'i-tud), resemblance.</p> +<p>Sinai (si'ni), the mountain near, which the Israelites encamped, and +where the law was given to Moses.</p> +<p>Sinbad (sin'bad), or Sindbad, a character in the "Arabian Nights," +who made seven wonderful voyages.</p> +<p>sinew (sin'u), that which supplies strength or power; a tendon or +tissue.</p> +<p>sinuous (sin'u-us), winding, curving in and out.</p> +<p>sire (sir), a father.</p> +<p>Siren (si'ren), one of the three fabled sea nymphs, whose singing +lured mariners to destruction.</p> +<p>site (sit), situation.</p> +<p>Skarholm (skar'hom),</p> +<p>skepticism (skep'ti-siz'm), doubt or uncertainty.</p> +<p>skirt (skurt), surround.</p> +<p>skulk (skulk), hide sneakingly.</p> +<p>slack (slak), loosen; not pressing.</p> +<p>sledge (slej), a sleigh.</p> +<p>Sleepy Hollow, a locality in Tarrytown, New York.</p> +<p>slip (slip), an inclined plane on which a vessel is built.</p> +<p>sloth (sloth), slowness.</p> +<p>smack (smak), small coasting vessel.</p> +<p>smelt (smelt), melt ore so as to separate and refine metal.</p> +<p>solace (sol'as), comfort in grief.</p> +<p>solicitude (so-lis'i-tud), concern.</p> +<p>Solidor (sol'i-dor), a fortress on the Rance river.</p> +<p>soliloquy (se-lil'e-kwi), a talking to one's self.</p> +<p>solstice (sol'stis), point in the earth's orbit at which the sun is +farthest from the equator; winter solstice at about December 22, summer +solstice about June 21.</p> +<p>Solway (sol'wa), an arm of the Irish Sea between England and +Scotland, noted for the rapidity of its tides.</p> +<p>sombre (som'ber), sad.</p> +<p>sombrero (som-bra'ro), broad-brimmed hat worn in Spain and Spanish +America.</p> +<p>sonorous (so-no'rus), loud sounding.</p> +<p>sophomore (sof'o-mor), one belonging to the second of the four +classes in an American college.</p> +<p>sordid (sor'did), base.</p> +<p>sorebestead (sor-be-sted'), being put in great peril.</p> +<p>Southey, Robert (south'i), (1774-1843), an English poet of the Lake +School. He was made poet-laureate in 1813.</p> +<p>sovereign (sov'er-in), monarch.</p> +<p>spacious (spa'shus), vast in extent.</p> +<p>Spanish Main, the name formerly given to the southern part of the +Caribbean Sea and the adjoining coast, covering the route of the Spanish +treasure ships.</p> +<p>spar (spar), round timber used on a mast.</p> +<p>Spartan (spar'tan), an inhabitant of Sparta; one of great endurance.</p> +<p>spawn (spon), bring forth.</p> +<p>species (spe'shez), a kind.</p> +<p>specious (spe'shus), showy.</p> +<p>spectacle (spek'ta-k'l), something exhibited to view.</p> +<p>spectre (spek'ter), ghost.</p> +<p>spherule (sfer'ool), a little sphere.</p> +<p>spiral (spi'ral), winding like the thread of a screw.</p> +<p>spontaneous (spon-ta'ne-us), proceeding from a natural feeling, not +forced.</p> +<p>spouse (spouz), husband or wife.</p> +<p>sprite (sprit), fairy.</p> +<p>spume-flakes (spum), flakes of froth or foam.</p> +<p>spur (spur), a pricking implement fastened to a rider's heel.</p> +<p>spurn (spurn), scorn.</p> +<p>squadron (skwod'run), a detachment of war vessels under command of a +flag-officer.</p> +<p>squall (skwol), sudden and violent gust of wind.</p> +<p>stagnate (stag'nat), cease to flow, become dull.</p> +<p>stalwart (stol'wert), brave, strong.</p> +<p>stalworth (stol'wurth), brave, strong.</p> +<p>stanchion (stan'shun), bar for confining cattle in a stall.</p> +<p>starboard (star'bord), side of a vessel on the right hand of one on +board facing the bow.</p> +<p>staunch (stanch), stop the flow of.</p> +<p>stemson (stem'sun), a piece of curved timber bolted to the stem in a +ship's frame.</p> +<p>sterile (ster'il), barren.</p> +<p>sterling (stur'ling), genuine.</p> +<p>stern (sturn), after end of a vessel.</p> +<p>sternsonknee (sturn'sun-ne), the continuation of a vessel's keelson +to which the stern-post is secured by bolts.</p> +<p>stirrup (stir'up), a ring for supporting a horseman's foot.</p> +<p>stoic (sto'ik), one who appears to be indifferent to pleasure or +pain.</p> +<p>Stony Point, a fort on the west bank of the Hudson, captured by the +British in 1779 and retaken by the American forces under Anthony Wayne.</p> +<p>storied (sto'rid), having an interesting history.</p> +<p>strained (strand), forced.</p> +<p>strenuous (stren'u-us), earnest; active, vigorous.</p> +<p>sturgeon (stur'jun), a large fish common on the coasts and in large +rivers and lakes.</p> +<p>Suarven (swar'ven),</p> +<p>subaltern (sub-pi'tern), an officer of inferior position, usually +below the rank of a captain.</p> +<p>subjugation (sub'joo-ga'shun), the act of conquering or subduing.</p> +<p>sublime (sub-lim'), majestic.</p> +<p>submission (sub-mish'un), a yielding to power or authority.</p> +<p>subservience (sub-sur'vi-ens), the state of being subordinate; +yielding.</p> +<p>subside (sub-sid'), cease from action, be calm.</p> +<p>subsidiary (sub-sid'i-a-ri), assisting.</p> +<p>subsistence (sub-sis'tens), means of support.</p> +<p>substantial (sub-stan'shal), real; firm.</p> +<p>subtile (sub'til; sut'l), difficult of understanding.</p> +<p>suburb (sub'urb), an outlying part of a city.</p> +<p>subvert (sub-vurt'), overthrow.</p> +<p>suction (suk'shun), a sucking in.</p> +<p>sue (su), seek after; plead.</p> +<p>sufferance (suf'er-ans), endurance.</p> +<p>suffuse (su-fus'), overspread.</p> +<p>Suliote (soo'li-et),</p> +<p>sultry (sul'tri), very hot and moist.</p> +<p>summons (sum'unz), call by authority to appear at a place named.</p> +<p>Sumter (sum'ter), an illustrious family of South Carolina. Thomas +Sumter was a Revolutionary general.</p> +<p>sunder (sun'der), sever.</p> +<p>Sunium (su'ni-um), an ancient city on a promontory in southeastern +Greece. It contains the white marble ruins of a temple to Athene, a +famous landmark from the sea.</p> +<p>superb (su-purb'), magnificent.</p> +<p>superfluity (su'per-floo'i-ti), a greater quantity than is wanted.</p> +<p>superinhuman (su'per-in-hu'man), attended with cruelty to a very +great degree.</p> +<p>supernal (su-pur'nal), being in a higher place; heavenly.</p> +<p>supernatural (su'per-nat'u-ral), being beyond the powers or law of +nature.</p> +<p>superstition (su'per-stish'un), a reverence for or fear of what is +unknown or mysterious.</p> +<p>supine (su-pin'), indolent; inattentive.</p> +<p>suppliance (sup'li-ans), entreaty.</p> +<p>surcease (sur'ses'), end.</p> +<p>surcoat (sur'kot'), a coat worn over the other garments, especially +the long, flowing coat of the knights worn over the armor.</p> +<p>surf (surf), swell of the sea breaking upon the shore.</p> +<p>surge (surj), a large wave or billow; rise high and roll.</p> +<p>surgery (sur'jer-i), art of healing by manual operation.</p> +<p>surly (sur'li), ill-natured, sullen.</p> +<p>surmise (sur-miz'), suspicion; imagine without certain knowledge.</p> +<p>surmount (stir-mount'), rise above; conquer.</p> +<p>Surrey (sur'i), an English nobleman, Earl of Surrey, lieutenant of +the northern counties, a county in England.</p> +<p>survive (sur-viv'), outlive; continue to live.</p> +<p>suspect (sus-pekt'), an object of suspicion; mistrust.</p> +<p>susurrus (su-sur'us), a whisper or murmur.</p> +<p>swanlike (swon'lik), referring to the tradition that the swan sings +a most beautiful song just before death.</p> +<p>swarthy (swor'thi), being of a dark hue or dusky complexion.</p> +<p>swath (swoth; swoth), whole sweep of a scythe or machine.</p> +<p>sweep (swep), a pole swinging on a tall post, to raise and lower a +bucket for drawing water.</p> +<p>swoon (swoon), faint.</p> +<p>sylvan (sil'van), forestlike; rustic.</p> +<p>symbol (sim'bol), emblem.</p> +<p>symmetry (sim'e-tri), due proportion of several parts of a body to +each other; beauty and balance of form.</p> +<p>symptom (simp'tum), sign; token.</p> +<p>synagogue (sin'a-gog), Jewish congregation or place for worship.</p> +<p>taciturn (tas'i-turn), habitually silent.</p> +<p>tang (tang), a strong taste.</p> +<p>tankard (tank'ard), large drinking vessel.</p> +<p>Tantallon (tan-tal'on), a castle in Scotland, the stronghold of the +Douglas family.</p> +<p>taper (ta'per), gradually growing smaller.</p> +<p>tapestry (tap'es-tri), hangings of wool or silk with gold or silver +threads producing a pattern or picture.</p> +<p>tarn (tarn), a small mountain lake.</p> +<p>Tartar (tar'tar), an inhabitant of Tartary, central Asia; an +irritable or violent person.</p> +<p>Taygetus (ta'ge-tus), (p. 283, pronounced ta-ge'tus on account of +rhythm), highest mountain range in southern Greece.</p> +<p>Teche (tesh), a small stream in Louisiana.</p> +<p>teeming (tem'ing), bringing forth, abounding.</p> +<p>"teeth of the wind," grasp of the wind.</p> +<p>Teian (te'yan), pertaining to Te'os, an ancient Greek city in Asia +Minor, the birthplace of the Greek poet Anac'reon, who is called "the +Teian Muse."</p> +<p>temerity (te-mer'i-ti), contempt of danger; boldness.</p> +<p>temper (tem'per), soften.</p> +<p>temporal (tem'po-ral), pertaining to time or this world; not lasting.</p> +<p>temporary (tem'po-ra-ri), lasting for a time only.</p> +<p>tenant (ten'ant), occupant.</p> +<p>tenantless (ten'ant-les), unoccupied.</p> +<p>tendril (ten'dril), a slender leafless portion of a plant which +attaches itself to a supporting body.</p> +<p>tenebrous (ten'e-brus), dark, gloomy.</p> +<p>tenor (ten'er), general course; conduct.</p> +<p>tenure (ten'ur), a holding.</p> +<p>termagant (tur'ma-gant), scolding; violent; a scold.</p> +<p>terminal (tur'mi-nal), boundary, end.</p> +<p>testament (tes'ta-ment), a will or bequest.</p> +<p>thatch (thach), straw, rushes, etc.</p> +<p>theme (them), a topic on which one writes or speaks. In music, a +short melody from which a set of variations is developed.</p> +<p>theory (the'o-ri), an idea; a plan.</p> +<p>thereat (thar-at'), on that account.</p> +<p>Thermopylae (ther-mop'i-le), a narrow pass in Greece, the scene of a +famous conflict in the Persian wars. A small army of Greeks defended the +pass against a vast army of Persians under Xerxes.</p> +<p>thill (thil), shaft of a carriage.</p> +<p>thole (thol), pin set in the gunwale of a boat to serve as a fulcrum +for the oar in rowing.</p> +<p>thorough-brace (thur'o-bras'), a leather strap supporting the body +of a carriage.</p> +<p>thorp (thorp), a small village.</p> +<p>Thracian (thra'shan), pertaining to Thrace, in early times the +entire region north of Greece.</p> +<p>thrall (throl), slave, bondman.</p> +<p>thylke (thilk), the same.</p> +<p>tinsel (tin'sel), something shiny and gaudy, more showy than +valuable.</p> +<p>tintinnabulation (tin'ti-nab'u-la'shun), a word coined by Poe to +represent the sound of bells.</p> +<p>Titan (ti'tan), enormous, like the ancient giants in Greek mythology.</p> +<p>titular (tit'u-lar), existing in title or name only.</p> +<p>tocsin (tok'sin), an alarm bell.</p> +<p>tolerable (tol'er-a-b'l), capable of being endured.</p> +<p>tolerant (tol'er-ant), indulgent, allowing.</p> +<p>tollmen (tol'men), men who gather toll or tax.</p> +<p>tome (tom), a large book.</p> +<p>Tongres (ton'gr'), a town in Belgium.</p> +<p>torpor (tor'por), dullness.</p> +<p>torrent (tor'ent), a violent stream as of water or lava.</p> +<p>Tory (to'ri), a supporter of the king.</p> +<p>Tourville (toor'vel),</p> +<p>"Tous les Bourgeois' de Chartres" (too la boor-zhwa' de shartr), the +title of an old French song.</p> +<p>tradition (tra-dish'un), custom or practice long observed; oral +delivery of information from father to son.</p> +<p>Trafalgar (tra-fal'gar),</p> +<p>traffic (traf'ik), commerce.</p> +<p>trainband (tran'band), a band or company of an organized military +force instituted by James I dissolved by Charles II but reorganized +later.</p> +<p>trait (trat), distinguishing mark or feature.</p> +<p>traitor (tra'ter), one who betrays a trust.</p> +<p>tranquil (tran'kwil), calm.</p> +<p>transcendent (tran-sen'dent), very excellent, surpassing others.</p> +<p>transfigure (trans-fig'ur), change the appearance of; make more +beautiful.</p> +<p>transient (tran'shent), not lasting; staying for a short time.</p> +<p>transition (tran-sizh'un), passing from one condition or place to +another.</p> +<p>transitory (tran'si-to-ri), fleeting.</p> +<p>transmutation (trans'mu-ta'shun), the changing from one form or +condition to another.</p> +<p>travail (trav'al), toil; produce with severe exertion.</p> +<p>treacherous (trech'er-us), faithless.</p> +<p>Trebizond (treb'i-zond'), province in northeastern Asia Minor.</p> +<p>treble, (treb'l), increase threefold.</p> +<p>treenails (tre'nalz), long wooden pins used in fastening planks of a +vessel to the timbers or to each other.</p> +<p>tremor (tre'mor; trem'or), a trembling.</p> +<p>tremulous (trem'u-lus), quivering; affected with fear or timidity.</p> +<p>trepidation (trep'i-da'shun), fear.</p> +<p>tribulashun (trib'u-la'shun), that which causes distress.</p> +<p>tribunal (tri-bu'nal), a court; seat of a judge.</p> +<p>tributary (trib'u-ta-ri), inferior; contributing.</p> +<p>trice (tris), a very short time.</p> +<p>trireme (tri'rem), an ancient galley or vessel with three tiers of +oars.</p> +<p>Triton (tri'ton), a sea god, son of Neptune and his trumpeter.</p> +<p>triumphal (tri-um'fal), in honor of a victory.</p> +<p>trophy (tro'fi), anything preserved as a memorial.</p> +<p>"Truce of God," in 1040 the church drew up a compact which forbade +any fighting between sunset on Wednesday and sunrise on the following +Monday.</p> +<p>truculent (truk'u-lent), fierce.</p> +<p>trysail (tri'sal'), a fore-and-aft sail, bent to a gaff, and hoisted +on a lower mast--used chiefly as a storm sail.</p> +<p>tumultuous (tu-mul'tu-us), boisterous, riotous.</p> +<p>Tunis (tu'nls), a country in N. Africa, one of the Barbary states.</p> +<p>turbulent (tur'bu-lent), producing commotion; restless.</p> +<p>turf (turf), sod.</p> +<p>turmoil (tur'moil), worrying confusion.</p> +<p>turnpike (turn'pik'), tollgate; a turnpike road.</p> +<p>turret (tur'et), a small tower at the angle of a large building.</p> +<p>Tuscarora (tus-ka-ro'ra), a tribe of Indians who, when first known, +lived in North Carolina. After years of warfare with the colonists, the +remnant joined the Iroquois in New York.</p> +<p>twang (twang), sound with a quick, harsh noise.</p> +<p>typify (tip'i-fi), represent by a type, model, or resemblance.</p> +<p>tyranny (tir'a-ni), cruel government or discipline; severity.</p> +<p>Tyre (tir), a famous maritime city of Phoenicia.</p> +<p>ubiquity (u-blk'wi-ti), existence everywhere at the same time.</p> +<p>ultimate (ul'ti-mat), incapable of further analysis; final.</p> +<p>unbeholden (un'be-hol'd'n), not indebted.</p> +<p>uncalculating (un-kal'ku-lat'ing), not estimating.</p> +<p>unconditional (un'kon-dish'un-al), made without conditions.</p> +<p>unconfined (un-kon-find'), not bound or limited.</p> +<p>uncouth (un-kooth'), awkward.</p> +<p>undulating (un'du-lat'ing), moving backward and forward, or up and +down in waves.</p> +<p>unfledged (un-flejd'), not feathered, hence not fully developed.</p> +<p>unfurl (un-furl'), unfold.</p> +<p>unison (u'ni-sun), harmony.</p> +<p>universal (u'ni-vur'sal), including the whole number, quantity, or +space; all-reaching.</p> +<p>unknelled (un-neld'), having no bell tolled at funeral or death.</p> +<p>unmeet (un-met'), not suitable.</p> +<p>unobtrusive (un'ob-troo'siv), modest.</p> +<p>unperturbed (un-per-turbd'), not troubled or confused.</p> +<p>unpremeditated (un-pre-med'i-tat'ed), not thought out beforehand.</p> +<p>unprofaned (un-pro-fand'), not violated, as anything sacred.</p> +<p>unproportioned (un-pro-por'shund), not having the right relation of +one portion to another.</p> +<p>unrestrained (un-re-strand'), not kept in check or curbed.</p> +<p>unrivalled (un-ri'vald), having competitor.</p> +<p>unscathed (un-skathd'), not injured.</p> +<p>unwonted (un-wun'ted), unaccustomed.</p> +<p>upbraid (tip-brad'), reproach or blame.</p> +<p>Upharsin (u-far'sin), See Daniel 5, 25.</p> +<p>upholsterer (up-hol'ster-er), one who provides curtains, coverings, +hangings, etc.</p> +<p>urchin (ur'chin), a roguish child.</p> +<p>Ursini (ur-se'ne), a prominent noble family in Rome.</p> +<p>usurp (u-zurp'), seize and hold a possession by force.</p> +<p>utterance (ut'er-ans), the act of speech.</p> +<p>vague (vag), uncertain.</p> +<p>valiant (val'yant), courageous.</p> +<p>valor (val'er), personal bravery.</p> +<p>van (van), the front of an army</p> +<p>vandal (van'dal), one who wilfully destroys any work of art or +literature.</p> +<p>vane (van), weathercock.</p> +<p>vanquish (van'kwish), conquer or get the better of.</p> +<p>vantage-ground (van'taj-ground), condition which gives one advantage +over another.</p> +<p>variant (va'ri-ant), different.</p> +<p>variegated (va'ri-e-gat'ed), having marks of different colors.</p> +<p>vassal (vas'al), a subject or servant.</p> +<p>vaunt (vant), boast.</p> +<p>vehement (ve'he-ment), acting with great force; violent.</p> +<p>velocity (ve'-los'i-ti), speed.</p> +<p>vendue (ven-du'), an auction.</p> +<p>venerable (ven'er-a-b'l), deserving honor and respect.</p> +<p>venerate (ven'er-at), regard with respect and awe.</p> +<p>vengeance (ven'jans), punishment inflicted in return for injury; +revenge.</p> +<p>vent (vent), outlet.</p> +<p>venture (ven'tur), risk.</p> +<p>veracity (ve-ras'i-ti), truthfulness.</p> +<p>verdant (vur'dant), green.</p> +<p>verdure (vur'dur), greenness.</p> +<p>verge (vurj), edge, brink.</p> +<p>verily (ver'i-li), beyond doubt or question, truly.</p> +<p>vernal (vur'nal), pertaining to the spring.</p> +<p>version (vur'shun), a translation, account.</p> +<p>vestal (ves'tal), a virgin consecrated to Vesta; nun.</p> +<p>veteran (vet'er-an), one grown old in service.</p> +<p>vibrant (vi'brant), tremulous.</p> +<p>vibration (vi-bra'shun), quick motion to and fro.</p> +<p>vicinity (vi-sin'i-ti), neighborhood.</p> +<p>vicissitude (vi-sis'i-tud), regular change or succession from one +thing to another.</p> +<p>vigil (vij'il), watch.</p> +<p>vindicate (vin'di-kat), justify.</p> +<p>virago (vi-ra'go), a woman of extraordinary size, strength, and +courage.</p> +<p>virtually (vur'tu-al-li), being in essence or effect, not in fact.</p> +<p>visage (viz'aj), the face.</p> +<p>vision (vizh'un), that which is seen.</p> +<p>vista (vis'ta), view between intervening objects.</p> +<p>vivid (viv'id), true to life; bright.</p> +<p>vivify (viv'i-fi), make alive.</p> +<p>vixen (vik's'n), a cross, ill-tempered woman.</p> +<p>vocation (vo-ka'shun), occupation.</p> +<p>vociferous (vo-sif'er-us), noisy.</p> +<p>void (void), empty; being without.</p> +<p>volley (vol'i), a burst of many things at once.</p> +<p>Volturnus (vol-toor'nus), a river in <i>Italy</i>.</p> +<p>voluminous (vo-lu'mi-nus), of great volume or bulk.</p> +<p>voluptuous (ve-lup'tu-us), full of pleasure; luxurious.</p> +<p>vortices (vor'ti-sez), whirlpools.</p> +<p>vouchsafe (vouch-saf'), condescend to grant; assure.</p> +<p>voyageur (vwa'ya'zhur'), a traveler; Canadian term used for one +employed in transporting goods to the Northwest.</p> +<p>vulture (vul'tur), a bird which feeds on dead flesh of animals or +birds.</p> +<p>Vurrgh (vurg),</p> +<p>Wachita (wa'shi-ta),</p> +<p>wafted (waft'ed), floated along lightly on air or water.</p> +<p>wail (wal), weep.</p> +<p>wain (wan), wagon.</p> +<p>wake (wak), trace.</p> +<p>wallet (wol'et), knapsack; pocket-book.</p> +<p>Walleway (wal'e-wa), probably Longfellow had reference to the +Wallowa river in northeastern Oregon.</p> +<p>wan (won), pale.</p> +<p>wanton (won'tun), reckless.</p> +<p>wantoned (won'tund), played.</p> +<p>warder (wor'der), guard.</p> +<p>Ware (war), a town in England about 20 miles north of London.</p> +<p>warld (warld), world.</p> +<p>warp (worp), the threads extending lengthwise in a loom, and crossed +by the woof.</p> +<p>wary (wa'ri; war'i), cautious, watchful.</p> +<p>wash (wosh), bog or marsh.</p> +<p>watch (woch), period during which one serves as a sentinel or guard.</p> +<p>water-butt (wo'ter-but), a large, open-headed cask, set up on end to +contain water.</p> +<p>Waterloo (wo'ter-loo'), a village near Brussels where Napoleon met +defeat. So complete and so decisive was the disaster that Waterloo has +come to mean defeat.</p> +<p>waver (wa'ver), totter; unsettled.</p> +<p>weather-cock, figure often in the form of a cock, turning with the +wind and showing its direction.</p> +<p>weird (werd), pertaining to witchcraft; wild.</p> +<p>welkin (wel'kin), vault of heaven; sky.</p> +<p>welter (wel'ter), roll or tumble about.</p> +<p>Wert (wurt), were (pronounce to rhyme with "art").</p> +<p>Westminster Abbey (west'min-ster), a former church in London, the +burial place of many kings, statesmen, and authors.</p> +<p>whig (h'wig), one of a political party in England, also in America; +opposed to Tories.</p> +<p>whipple-tree (hwip'l-tre'), bar to which the traces of a harness are +fastened for drawing a carriage.</p> +<p>whisking (hwisk'ing), moving nimbly and with velocity.</p> +<p>whit (hwit), the smallest part imaginable.</p> +<p>White, Gilbert (hwit), an eminent English naturalist, who was born +in Selborne and was the author of "Natural History of Selborne."</p> +<p>Wicaco (we-ka'ko),</p> +<p>wimpling (wim'pling), rippling.</p> +<p>wis (wis), think.</p> +<p>wistful (wist'fool), longing.</p> +<p>witchhazel (wich'-ha-z'l), American tree or shrub which blossoms +late in Autumn.</p> +<p>withhold (with-hold'), keep back.</p> +<p>wizard (wiz'ard), a magician.</p> +<p>woebegone (wo'be-gon'), distressed with grief.</p> +<p>wold (wold), a plain or low hill.</p> +<p>Wolfe, Charles (woolf), an Irish clergyman and poet, born 1791.</p> +<p>Wolsey, Thomas (wool'si), a celebrated English statesman and +cardinal. He gained the ill-will of Henry VIII by his conduct in the +matter of the King's divorce.</p> +<p>wont (wunt), custom or habit.</p> +<p>woof (woof), the threads crossing the warp in a woven fabric.</p> +<p>Worcester, Joseph Emerson (woos'ter),</p> +<p>wrack (rak), ruin.</p> +<p>writhe (rith), twist.</p> +<p>wrought (rot), made.</p> +<p>Xanthippus (zan-thip'us), a Spartan commander who won a victory over +Regulus in 255 B.C.</p> +<p>yacht (yot), light vessel for pleasure trips.</p> +<p>yard (yard), a long, slender timber to support and extend a ship's +sail.</p> +<p>yeoman (yo'man), a common man of a reputable class.</p> +<p>Ypsilanti (ip'se-lan'te), a celebrated Greek patriot who in 1820 +became a leader in the movement for Greek independence.</p> +<p>Yulelog (yool'-log') a large log of wood, formerly put on the hearth +on Christmas Eve, as the foundation of the fire. It was brought in with +much ceremony.</p> +<p>zeal (zel), enthusiasm.</p> +<p>zone (zon), girdle.</p> +<p>Zutphen (zut'fen), a town in the Netherlands. Sir Philip Sidney was +wounded before it in 1586.</p> +<p><br> +</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Elson Grammer School Literature, Book +Four., by William H. Elson and Christine Keck + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ELSON GRAMMER SCHOOL LIT. 4 *** + +This file should be named elsnw10h.htm or elsnw10h.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, elsnw11h.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, elsnw10ha.txt + +This eBook was produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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