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Title: Reading Made Easy for Foreigners - Third Reader

Author: John Ludwig Hülshof

Release date: May 2, 2005 [eBook #15747]
Most recently updated: December 14, 2020

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Al Haines

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK READING MADE EASY FOR FOREIGNERS - THIRD READER ***

Produced by Al Haines

READING MADE EASY FOR FOREIGNERS

Third Reader

BY

JOHN L. HÜLSHOF

TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

OF NEW YORK CITY

HINDS, NOBLE & ELDREDGE

31-33-35 West 15th Street, New York City

COPYRIGHT, 1909,

BY

HINDS, NOBLE & ELDREDGE

PREFACE

This Reader is intended more particularly for pupils in Class A of the public evening schools.

The pupils of this class may be considered as having passed the transition stage of which mention was made in the Second Reader, and as having entered upon the last stage in acquiring the English language.

They have not only acquired a considerable vocabulary, but have now a practical mastery of our vernacular. They use English in their conversation; in short, they have acquired the power of expressing their feelings and thoughts in the English language. Notwithstanding all this, they are conscious of the fact that their language is less idiomatic than that of the native born, and their power over the written expression is wofully weak.

To remedy these defects, they flock to the evening schools. They have decided to make this country their permanent home, and they are deeply interested in everything appertaining to our government, our institutions, our literature, in fact our civilization.

A glance at the contents of this reader will convince the experienced teacher that the reading material is many-sided enough to satisfy the demands of both teacher and pupils.

That this series of readers may become a powerful incentive in implanting right ideals of social conduct, and lay the foundation of true American citizenship, is the heartfelt wish of

THE AUTHOR.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

REMARKS TO THE TEACHER

LESSONS.

I. FLAG DAY II. BREATHE PURE AIR III. COFFEE IV. OUR NATIONAL FLAG V. PRESS ON VI. RESIGNATION VII. STATUE OF LIBERTY IN NEW YORK HARBOR VIII. INDEPENDENCE IX. NEWFOUNDLAND X. THE USE OF TRIFLES XI. ROSA BONHEUR XII. ALEXANDER AND THE ROBBER XIII. THE AMERICAN INDIAN XIV. THE FIRST STEAMBOAT XV. KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION XVI. TACT AND TALENT XVII. GEORGE WASHINGTON, PART I XVIII. BEHAVIOR XIX. ESSENCE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES XX. THE ART OF OBSERVATION XXI. LETTERS XXII. REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES XXIII. ALI BABA XXIV. BIRDS XXV. SLEEP XXVI. CURIOUS BIRDS' NESTS XXVII. BUSINESS QUALIFICATIONS XXVIII. ABBREVIATIONS OF NAMES OF STATES XXIX. THE SUN XXX. IVORY XXXI. FLOWERS XXXII. THE MOSQUITO XXXIII. SELF-RELIANCE XXXIV. FRANKLIN'S TOAST XXXV. HUMANITY REWARDED XXXVI. WORK PROCLAIMS A WORKMAN XXXVII. REPUBLICS XXXVIII. FALSE NOTIONS OF LIBERTY XXXIX. THE VOICE XL. THE INTREPID YOUTH XLI. AUTUMN XLII. WORDS AND THEIR MEANING XLIII. HOW TO SELECT A BOY XLIV. SALT XLV. STUDIES XLVI. RULES OF BEHAVIOR XLVII. USING THE EYES XLVIII. THE AFFECTION AND REVERENCE DUE A MOTHER XLIX. WHEAT L. COUNTENANCE AND CHARACTER LI. THE VALUE OF TIME LII. THE STUDY OF CIVICS LIII. THE SEA AND ITS USES LIV. WONDERLAND LV. OUR COUNTRY TO-DAY, PART I LVI. OUR COUNTRY TO-DAY, PART II LVII. PICTURES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY LVIII. THOMAS A. EDISON LIX. ABRAHAM LINCOLN LX. ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG LXI. WAGES LXII. LOVE FOR THE DEAD LXIII. ECONOMY OF TIME LXIV. GEORGE STEPHENSON, THE ENGINEER LXV. GEORGE WASHINGTON, PART II LXVI. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LXVII. NOBILITY REWARDED

POETRY

SELECTION.

I. A CITY STREET II. THE SHIP OF STATE III. BE TRUE IV. BRING BACK MY FLOWERS V. "OLD IRONSIDES" VI. TREASURE TROVE VII. THE HERITAGE VIII. THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER IX. THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL X. THE HUNTERS XI. MY FATHERLAND XII. WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE XIII. PRAYER IN BATTLE XIV. THE RETORT XV. A PSALM OF LIFE XVI. THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET XVII. OFT IN THE STILLY NIGHT XVIII. THE PICKET OF THE POTOMAC XIX. COLUMBIA, THE GEM OF THE OCEAN; OR, RED, WHITE, AND BLUE XX. RECESSIONAL XXI. HUMAN PROGRESS XXII. GIVE ME THE PEOPLE

MISCELLANEOUS

CHARACTERISTIC OF HEROISM CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FREEDOM OF THOUGHT USEFUL INFORMATION WISE SAYINGS

REMARKS TO THE TEACHER

Complete answers should be given by the pupils. The simple words "yes" or "no" do not constitute an answer in these exercises; such expressions give no practice in the use of the language.

The teacher should prepare himself thoroughly for each lesson in order to ask many pointed questions relative to the reading matter.

The entire time spent in reading the lesson and questioning the class should not exceed thirty minutes. Too much detail will only confuse and fatigue the pupils. Five or six words that present any difficulty either in spelling or pronunciation may be selected from the reading lesson for dictation. Such words should not be given singly, but rather in short sentences.

These sentences may first be read by the class from the blackboard and then copied. After new slips have been distributed, the same sentences should then be written from dictation (the writing on the blackboard being covered or erased in the meantime). The pupils are afterwards required to compare their work with that on the board and make the necessary corrections themselves.

READING MADE EASY FOR FOREIGNERS

THIRD READER

LESSON I

FLAG DAY

In this fair land of ours you can see the Stars and Stripes floating over every public school. This beautiful flag stands for our country. Every American is proud of his country's flag. It stands for all that is good and dear to an American. It stands for Liberty. It proclaims liberty to all. Every star stands for liberty. Every stripe stands for liberty. It stands for liberty of thought and liberty of speech as well.

The first American flag was made in June, 1777, by Mrs. Ross, in the city of Philadelphia. When General Washington saw the flag, he was delighted with it. Every American is not only delighted with it, but he loves the dear old flag. The fourteenth day of June of each year is set apart as Flag Day.

"I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ABOVE LESSON ACCORDING TO THE RATIONAL METHOD.

See Remarks to the Teacher, Page vii.

What kind of a land is ours? What is meant by the stars and stripes? Over what buildings do we see the flag floating? What kind of a flag is it? For what does our flag stand? For what else does it stand? What does our flag proclaim? Who is proud of the flag? What does our flag tell to all the people? How many stars are there in the flag? For what does each star stand? When was the first American flag made? By whom was it made? In what city was it made? What did Washington think of it when he saw it? How do we Americans look upon the flag? When is Flag Day? etc., etc.

DICTATION EXERCISES

See Remarks to the Teacher, Page vii.

Our country has a beautiful flag. This flag proclaims or declares liberty to the people. I am delighted with my country's flag. I pledge allegiance or fidelity to my flag. Our nation is indivisible; it cannot be parted.

SELECTION I

A CITY STREET

  I love the woods, the fields, the streams,
    The wild flowers fresh and sweet,
  And yet I love no less than these
    The crowded city street;
  For haunts of men, where'er they be,
  Awake my deepest sympathy.

  I see within the city street
    Life's most extreme estates;
  The gorgeous domes of palaces;
    The dismal prison gates;
  The hearths by household virtues blest,
  The dens that are the serpent's nest.

  I see the rich man, proudly fed
    And richly clothed, pass by;
  I see the shivering, houseless wretch
    With hunger in his eye;
  For life's severest contrasts meet
  Forever in the city street.

  Hence is it that a city street
    Can deepest thoughts impart,
  For all its people, high and low,
    Are kindred to my heart;
  And with a yearning love I share
  In all their joy, their pain, their care.

Mary Howitt.

Questions: Can you put this little poem in prose? Tell what you admire in nature. Then tell what you observe in the city. Tell about the rich and where they live. Also about the poor and how they are housed and clothed. Let us write a composition together.

LESSON II

BREATHE PURE AIR

Some boys were playing hide-and-seek one day, when one of their number thought it would be good sport to hide little Robert in a large empty trunk. He did so and then turned the key in the lock. The little fellow in the chest was very quiet indeed, and they almost forgot about him. After some time they thought of him and some one went to the trunk and asked: "Hello, Robert. Do you want to come out now?" No answer came. They opened the trunk and found poor little Robert nearly dead. The doctor had to be called, and he worked long and hard to restore the poor boy to health.

The air which we breathe out is not fit to be breathed in again. We soon use up, in this way, all the pure air about us. So we must have a fresh supply. As soon as Robert had breathed in all the good air that was in the trunk, there was nothing left but poisoned air. If fresh air had not been given to him by opening the trunk, he could not have lived three minutes longer.

Nothing is so needful to health as good, pure air. Whether you are in the schoolroom or in the house, remember this. Bad air is so much poison, and the more we breathe it the worse it gets. The poison is carbonic acid, and to breathe it long is certain death.

Not many years ago, during a storm at sea, a stupid sea-captain ordered his passengers to go below in the hold of the vessel. Then he covered up the hold, so that no fresh air could enter. When the storm was over he opened the hold, and found that seventy human beings had died for want of pure air.

Through his gross ignorance of the laws of life, he had done all this mischief. Remember what I say: insist on having good air; for impure air, though it may not always kill you, is always bad for your health.

LESSON III

COFFEE

Coffee is made from the berries of a tree called the coffee plant, or coffee tree. This tree grows in some of the hot countries of the world, as Brazil, Cuba, Arabia, and Java. The best coffee comes from Arabia. But most of the coffee that is used in this country comes from Brazil.

When first known, the coffee tree was a wild shrub growing among the hills of Caffa, in the northeastern part of Africa. But when people learned what a pleasant drink could be made from its berries, they began to take it into other countries, where they cultivated it with much care.

There is an old story told of a shepherd who, it is said, was the first to use this drink. He noticed that after his goats had fed on the leaves of a certain tree—the coffee plant—they were always very lively and wakeful. So he took some of the leaves and berries of the plant, and boiling them in water, he made a drink for himself. He found it so pleasant to the taste that he told some of his neighbors about it. They tried it and were as much pleased as himself. And so, little by little, the drink came, after a while, into common use.

The coffee plant is a beautiful little tree, growing sometimes to the height of twenty feet. It has smooth, dark leaves, long and pointed. It has pretty, white blossoms, which grow in thick clusters close to the branches. Its fruit looks a little like a cherry; and within it are the coffee berries, two in each cherry.

When ripe, the red fruit turns to a deep purple and is sweet to the taste. In Arabia the fruit is allowed to fall on mats placed under the trees; but in other countries it is commonly gathered as soon as it is ripe, and it is then dried by being placed on mats in the sun.

After the outside part has been removed the berries are again dried. They are then put in sacks and boxes to be sent into other parts of the world.

LESSON IV

OUR NATIONAL FLAG

There is a national flag. He must be cold indeed who can look upon its folds rippling in the breeze without pride of country. If he be in a foreign land, the flag is companionship and country itself with all its endearments. Who, as he sees it, can think of a state merely? Whose eyes, once fastened upon it, can fail to recognize the image of the whole nation? It has been called a "floating piece of poetry."

Its highest beauty is in what it symbolizes. It is because it represents all, that all gaze at it with delight and reverence. It is a piece of bunting lifted in the air, but it speaks sublimely, and every part has a voice. Its stripes of alternate red and white proclaim the original union of thirteen states. Its stars of white on a field of blue proclaim the union of the states. A new star is added with every new state. The very colors have a language, which was understood by our fathers.

White is for purity, red for valor, blue for justice. Thus the bunting, stripes and stars together, make the flag of our country—loved by all our hearts and upheld by all our hands.

SELECTION II

THE SHIP OF STATE

  Thou, too, sail on, O ship of State!
  Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
  Humanity, with all its fears,
  With all the hopes of future years,
  Is hanging breathless on thy fate.

  We know what Master laid thy keel,
  What Workman wrought thy ribs of steel,
  Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
  What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
  In what forge and what a heat
  Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!

  Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
  'Tis of the wave, and not the rock;
  'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
  And not a rent made by the gale.
  In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
  In spite of false lights on the shore,
  Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea.
  Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee;
  Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
  Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
  Are all with thee,—are all with thee.

H. W. Longfellow.

LESSON V

"PRESS ON"

This is a speech, brief, but full of inspiration, and opening the way to all victory. The secret of Napoleon's career was this,—under all difficulties and discouragements, "Press on." It solves the problem of all heroes; it is the rule by which to weigh rightly all wonderful successes and triumphal marches to fortune and genius. It should be the motto of all, old and young, high and low, fortunate and unfortunate, so called.

"Press on." Never despair; never be discouraged, however stormy the heavens, however dark the way; however great the difficulties, and repeated the failures, "Press on."

If fortune hath played false with thee today, do thou play true for thyself to-morrow. If thy riches have taken wings and left thee, do not weep thy life away; but be up and doing, and retrieve the loss by new energies and action. If an unfortunate bargain has deranged thy business, do not fold thy arms, and give up all as lost; but stir thyself and work the more vigorously.

If those whom thou hast trusted have betrayed thee, do not be discouraged, do not idly weep, but "Press on." Find others: or, what is better, learn to live within thyself. Let the foolishness of yesterday make thee wise to-day.

LESSON VI

RESIGNATION

Rabbi Meir, the great teacher, sat one Sabbath day in the school of the holy law, and taught the people. The rabbi had two sons, who were youths of great promise and well instructed in the law. On that Sabbath day they both died.

Tenderly their mother bore them to an upper chamber, laid them on her bed, and spread a white sheet over their bodies.

In the evening Rabbi Meir came home. "Where are my sons," asked he, "that I may give them my blessing?"

"They are gone into the school of the law," was his wife's reply.

"I looked around me," said he, "and I did not see them."

She set before him a cup; he praised the Lord for the close of the Sabbath, drank, and then asked again, "Where are my sons, that they may also drink of the wine of blessing?"

"They cannot be far off," said his wife, as she placed food before him and begged him to eat.

When he had given thanks after the meal, she said, "Rabbi, allow me a question."

"Speak, my beloved," answered he.

"Some time ago," said she, "a certain one gave me jewels to keep for him, and now he asks them back. Shall I give him them?"

"My wife should not need to ask such a question," said Rabbi Meir.
"Would you hesitate to give anyone back his own?"

"Oh, no," replied she, "but I did not like to give them back without your knowing beforehand." Then she led him to the upper chamber, stepped in, and took the covering off the bodies.

"Oh, my sons," sobbed the father, "my sons, my sons!" The mother turned herself away and wept.

Soon, however, his wife took him by the hand and said: "Rabbi, have you not taught me that we must not refuse to give back what was intrusted to us to keep? See, the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: the name of the Lord be blessed."

And Rabbi Meir repeated the words, and said from the depths of his heart, "Amen."

LESSON VII

STATUE OF LIBERTY IN NEW YORK HARBOR

"Liberty," or Bartholdi's statue, was presented to the United States by the French people in 1885. It is the largest statue ever built. The great French sculptor Bartholdi made it after the likeness of his mother. Eight years were consumed in the construction of this gigantic image. Its size is really enormous. The height of the figure alone is fully one hundred and fifty feet. Forty persons can find standing room within the mighty head, which is fifteen feet in diameter. A six-foot man, standing upon the lower lip, can hardly reach the eyes of the colossal head. The index finger is eight feet long, and the nose is over three feet long. Yet the proportion of all the parts of the figure is so well preserved that the whole statue is in perfect harmony.

The materials of which the statue is composed are copper and steel. The immense torch which is held in the hand of the giantess is three hundred feet above tidewater.

The Colossus of Rhodes was a pigmy compared with this huge wonder.

LESSON VIII

INDEPENDENCE

Scholars, who are enjoying the priceless blessings of that liberty which cost our forefathers so much treasure and so much blood,—have you read the Declaration of Independence? If you have not, read it; if you have, read it again; study it; make its noble sentiments your own, and do not fail to grave deep in your memories these immortal lines:—

"We hold these truths to be self-evident; That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such forms, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

SELECTION III

BE TRUE

  Thou must be true thyself,
    If thou the truth wouldst teach;
  Thy soul must overflow, if thou
    Another's soul would'st reach;
  It needs the overflow of hearts
    To give the lips full speech.

  Think truly, and thy thoughts
    Shall the world's famine feed;
  Speak truly, and each word of thine
    Shall be a fruitful seed;
  Live truly, and thy life shall be
    A great and noble creed.

Anonymous.

LESSON IX

NEWFOUNDLAND

Newfoundland is an island about the size of New York State. It belongs to England. The cod fisheries there are very extensive.

The people of Newfoundland are strong, healthy and industrious. They are law-abiding, and serious; crime is very rare among them. Their kindness and hospitality to strangers who visit the country are proverbial. Kindness to the poor and unfortunate is a marked feature in the character of the people. When business is poor they are ready to share their last morsel with those in distress.

The fishermen are the working classes of the country. During the height of the fishery season, and when fish are abundant, their labors are severe; but during winter they are for the most part in a condition of enforced idleness. Much of the work of curing the fish is done by women and girls, and their labors are often very heavy. When the fisheries are over, there are boats, nets, etc., to repair, stages to look after, and fuel to be cut in the woods and hauled over the snow.

If the fishery has been successful, then the fisherman has a balance coming to him after paying for his summer supplies, and is enabled to lay in a stock of provisions for the winter.

Winter is the season for enjoyment among the fishermen. This season for fireside enjoyments, home-born pleasures, is welcome. They have their simple social enjoyments of various kinds. Dancing is a favorite winter amusement among the fishermen and their families. Weddings are celebrated with great festivity.

Newfoundland is often regarded as the very paradise of sportsmen. Its countless lakes and ponds abound with trout of the finest description, and these bodies of water are the abodes of the wild goose, the wild duck, and other fresh-water fowl.

The pine forests are the home of numerous wild animals. The fox, the bear and the caribou furnish the highest prizes for the hunter.

SELECTION IV

BRING BACK MY FLOWERS

  A child sat by a limpid stream,
    And gazed upon the tide beneath;
  Upon her cheek was joy's bright beam,
    And on her brow a blooming wreath.
  Her lap was filled with fragrant flowers,
    And, as the clear brook babbled by,
  She scattered down the rosy showers,
    With many a wild and joyous cry,
  And laughed to see the mingling tide
  Upon its onward progress glide.

  And time flew on, and flower by flower
    Was cast upon the sunny stream;
  But when the shades of eve did lower,
    She woke up from her blissful dream.
  "Bring back my flowers!" she wildly cried;
    "Bring back the flowers I flung to thee!"
  But echo's voice alone replied,
    As danced the streamlet down the lea;
  And still, amid night's gloomy hours,
  In vain she cried, "Bring back my flowers!"

  O maiden, who on time's swift stream
    Dost gayly see the moments flee,
  In this poor child's delusive dream
    An emblem may be found of thee.
  Each moment is a perfumed rose,
    Into thy hand by mercy given,
  That thou its fragrance might dispose
    And let its incense rise to heaven;
  Else when death's shadow o'er thee lowers,
  Thy heart will wail, "Bring back my flowers!"

Lucy Larcom.

LESSON X

THE USE OF TRIFLES

A certain painter once said he had become great in his art by never neglecting trifles. It would be well for all of us to follow that simple and easy rule. No man's house but would be more comfortable, and no family but would be more cheerful, if the value of trifles and the art of using them were better understood. Attention to trifles is the true art of economy.

We must, however, take care not to confound economy with parsimony. The former means a frugal and judicious use of things without waste, the latter a too close and sparing use of things needed. Now a person who understands the use of little things is economical; for instance. If you wipe a pen before you put it away it will last twice as long as if you do not.

Generally the habits we acquire in our youth we carry with us into old age; hence the necessity of proper training in childhood. A woman who attends to trifles and has habits of economy will not hastily throw away bits of cotton or worsted, nor will she waste soap by letting it lie in the water. She will keep an eye to the pins and matches, knowing that the less often such things are bought, the more is saved. She will not think it above her care to mend the clothes or darn the stockings, remembering that "a stitch in time saves nine."

LESSON XI

ROSA BONHEUR

Rosa Bonheur was born at Bordeaux, France, the daughter of a painter.
Her father was her first teacher in art.

At an early age, when most children draw in an aimless way, her father guided his little girl's efforts with his own experienced hand. He taught her to study and sketch from nature instead of relying on copies.

As a child she cared nothing for dolls and toys, but loved animals dearly. Is it any wonder, then, that she took them for her subject when she began to paint?

In her childhood she had two dogs and a goat for pets, and later on kept a sheep in her Parisian apartment. Still later, when she had become a distinguished woman, her studio included a farmyard.

Her animal paintings are so real and life-like that a study of the faces of all the horses in that wonderful picture, "The Horse Fair," will reveal distinctly different expressions in each face.

Although most simple in her personal habits and in her life, Rosa
Bonheur was the greatest woman artist that ever lived.

"The Horse Fair," Rosa Bonheur's most famous painting, was bought by an
American gentleman and presented by him to the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, in New York.

LESSON XII

ALEXANDER AND THE ROBBER

Alexander—What! art thou that Thracian robber, of whose exploits I have heard so much?

Robber—I am a Thracian, and a soldier.

Alexander—A soldier!—a thief, a plunderer, an assassin, the pest of the country; but I must detest and punish thy crimes.

Robber—What have I done of which you can complain?

Alexander—Hast thou not set at defiance my authority, violated the public peace and passed thy life in injuring the persons and properties of thy fellow-subjects?

Robber—Alexander, I am your captive. I must hear what you please to say, and endure what you please to inflict. But my soul is unconquered; and if I reply at all to your reproaches, I will reply like a free man.

Alexander—Speak freely. Far be it from me to take advantage of my power, to silence those with whom I deign to converse.

Robber—I must, then, answer your question by another. How have you passed your life?

Alexander—Like a hero. Ask Fame, and she will tell you. Among the brave, the bravest; among sovereigns, the noblest; among conquerors, the mightiest.

Robber—And does not Fame speak of me too? Was there ever a bolder captain of a more valiant band? Was there ever—but I scorn to boast. You yourself know that I have not been easily subdued.

Alexander—Still, what are you but a robber,—a base, dishonest robber?

Robber—And what is a conqueror? Have not you too gone about the earth like an evil genius, plundering, killing without law, without justice, merely to gratify your thirst for dominion? What I have done in a single province with a hundred followers, you have done to whole nations with a hundred thousand. What; then, is the difference, but that you were born a king, and I a private man; you have been able to become a mightier robber than I.

Alexander—But if I have taken like a king, I have given like a king. If I have overthrown empires, I have founded greater. I have cherished arts, commerce, and philosophy.

Robber—I too have freely given to the poor what I took from the rich. I know, indeed, very little of the philosophy you speak of, but I believe neither you nor I shall ever atone to the world for the mischief we have done it.

Alexander—Leave me. Take off his chains, and use him well. Are we, then, so much alike? Alexander like a robber? Let me reflect.

LESSON XIII

THE AMERICAN INDIAN

Not many generations ago, where you now sit, surrounded with all that makes life happy, the rank thistle nodded in the wind, and the wild fox dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another race of beings. Beneath the same sun that rolls over your heads, the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer; he gazed on the same moon that smiles for you, and here too the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate.

Here the wigwam blaze beamed on the tender and helpless, the council fire glared on the wise and daring. Here they warred; and when the strife was over, here curled the smoke of peace.

Here, too, they worshiped; and from many a dark bosom went up a pure prayer to the Great Spirit. He had written His laws for them, not on tables of stone, but He had traced them on the tables of their hearts. The poor child of nature knew not the God of revelation, but the God of the Universe he acknowledged in everything around.

He beheld Him in the star that sunk in beauty behind his lonely dwelling; in the flower that swayed in the morning breeze; in the lofty trees as well as in the worm that crawled at his feet.

All this has passed away. Four hundred years have changed the face of this great continent, and this peculiar race has been well-nigh blotted out. Art has taken the place of simple nature, and civilization has been too strong for the savage tribes of the red man.

Here and there a few Indians remain; but these are merely the degraded offspring of this once noble race of men.

SELECTION XI

MY FATHERLAND

  There is a land, of every land the pride,
  Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside,
  Where brighter suns dispense serener light,
  And milder moons imparadise the night.
  O land of beauty, virtue, valor, truth,
  Time-tutored age, and love-exalted youth!
  The wandering mariner, whose eye explores
  The wealthiest isles, the most enchanting shores,
  Views not a realm so bountiful and fair,
  Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air.
  In every clime, the magnet of his soul,
  Touched by remembrance, trembles to that pole;
  For, in this land of Heaven's peculiar race,
  The heritage of nature's noblest grace,
  There is a spot of earth supremely blest,
  A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest,
  Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
  His sword and scepter, pageantry and pride,
  While, in his softened looks, benignly blend
  The sire, the son, the husband, brother, friend.
  Here woman reigns; the mother, daughter, wife,
  Strew with fresh flowers the narrow way of life;
  In the clear heaven of her delightful eye,
  An angel guard of love and graces lie;
  Around her knees domestic duties meet,
  And fireside pleasures gambol at her feet.
  "Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found?"
  Art thou a man?—a patriot?—look round;
  Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,
  That land thy country, and that spot thy home.

James Montgomery.

LESSON XXIX

THE SUN

How far away from us is the sun? Are we to answer just as we think, or just as we know? On a fine summer day, when we can see him clearly, it looks as if a short trip in a balloon might take us to his throne in the sky, yet we know—because the astronomers tell us so—that he is more than ninety-one millions of miles distant from our earth.

Ninety-one millions of miles! It is not easy even to imagine this distance; but let us fancy ourselves in an express-train going sixty miles an hour without making a single stop. At that flying rate we could travel from the earth to the sun in one hundred and seventy-one years,—that is, if we had a road to run on and time to spare for the journey.

Arriving at the palace of the sun, we might then have some idea of his size. A learned Greek who lived more than two thousand years ago thought the sun about as large as the Peloponnesus; if he had lived in our country, he might have said, "About as large as Massachusetts."

As large as their peninsula! The other Greeks laughed at him for believing that the shining ball was so vast. How astonished they would have been—yes, and the wise man too—if they had been told that the brilliant lord of the day was more than a million times as large as the whole world!

LESSON XXX

IVORY

How many articles are made of ivory! Here is a polished knife-handle, and there a strangely-carved paper-cutter. In the same shop may be found albums and prayer-books with ivory covers; and, not far away, penholders, curious toys, and parasol-handles, all made of the glossy white material.

Where ivory is abundant, chairs of state, and even thrones are made of it; and in Russia, in the palaces of the great, floors inlaid with ivory help to beautify the grand apartments. One African sultan has a whole fence of elephants' tusks around his royal residence; the residence itself is straw-roofed and barbarous enough, both in design and in structure. Yet imagine that ivory fence!

The elephants slain in Africa and India in the course of a year could not furnish half the ivory used in the great markets of the world during that time. Vienna, Paris, London and St. Petersburg keep the elephant-hunters busy, yet it is impossible for them to satisfy all the demands made upon them, and the ivory-diggers must be called upon to add to the supply.

Every spring, when the ice begins to thaw, new mines or deposits of fossil ivory—a perfect treasure of mammoths' tusks—are discovered in the marsh-lands of Eastern Siberia. There are no mammoths now—unless we call elephants by that name; yet their remains have been found upon both continents. In the year 1799, the perfect skeleton of one of these animals was found in an ice-bank near the mouth of a Siberian river. As the vast ice-field thawed, the remains of the huge animal came to light.

The traders who search for mammoths' tusks around the Arctic coasts of Asia make every effort to send off, each year, at least fifty thousand pounds of fossil ivory to the west along the great caravan road. So great is the demand, however, that this quantity, added to that sent by the elephant-hunters, is not large enough to make ivory cheap in trade or in manufacture.

SELECTION XII

WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE

  Woodman, spare that tree!
    Touch not a single bough!
  In youth it sheltered me,
    And I'll protect it now.
  'Twas my forefather's hand
    That placed it near his cot:
  There, woodman, let it stand;
    Thy ax shall harm it not.

  That old familiar tree,
    Whose glory and renown
  Are spread o'er land and sea,—
    And wouldst thou hew it down?
  Woodman, forbear thy stroke!
    Cut not its earthbound ties!
  Oh, spare that aged oak,
    Now towering to the skies!

  When but an idle boy
    I sought its grateful shade;
  In all their gushing joy,
    Here, too, my sisters played.
  My mother kissed me here,
    My father pressed my hand:
  Forgive this foolish tear,
    But let that old oak stand.

  My heart-strings round thee cling,
    Close as thy bark, old friend;
  Here shall the wild bird sing,
    And still thy branches bend.
  Old tree, the storm still brave!
    And, woodman, leave the spot!
  While I've a hand to save,
    Thy ax shall harm it not.

George P. Morris.

LESSON XXXI

FLOWERS

He who cannot appreciate floral beauty is to be pitied, like any other man who is born imperfect. It is a misfortune not unlike blindness. But men who reject flowers as effeminate and unworthy of manhood reveal a positive coarseness.

Many persons lose all enjoyment of many flowers by indulging false associations. There are some who think that no weed can be of interest as a flower. But all flowers are weeds where they grow wild and in abundance; and somewhere our rarest flowers are somebody's commonest.

And generally there is a disposition to undervalue common flowers. There are few that will trouble themselves to examine minutely a blossom that they have often seen and neglected; and yet if they would question such flowers and commune with them, they would often be surprised to find extreme beauty where it had long been overlooked.

It is not impertinent to offer flowers to a stranger. The poorest child can proffer them to the richest. A hundred persons turned into a meadow full of flowers would be drawn together in a transient brotherhood.

It is affecting to see how serviceable flowers often are to the necessities of the poor. If they bring their little floral gift to you, it cannot but touch your heart to think that their grateful affection longed to express itself as much as yours.

You have books, or gems, or services that you can render as you will. The poor can give but little and can do but little. Were it not for flowers, they would be shut out from those exquisite pleasures which spring from such gifts. I never take one from a child, or from the poor, without thanking God, in their behalf, for flowers.

CHARACTERISTIC OF HEROISM

The characteristic of heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have chosen your part, abide by it, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.

R. W. Emerson.

LESSON XVIII

BEHAVIOR

There is always a best way of doing everything, if it be to open a book. Manners are the happy ways of doing things. They form at last a rich varnish, with which the routine of life is washed, and its details adorned. Manners are very communicable; men catch them from each other.

The power of manners is incessant,—an element as unconcealable as fire. The nobility cannot in any country be disguised, and no more in a republic or a democracy than in a kingdom. No man can resist their influence. There are certain manners which are learned in good society, and if a person have them, he or she must be considered, and is everywhere welcome, though without beauty, or wealth, or genius. Give a boy address and accomplishments, and you give him the mastery of palaces and fortune wherever he goes.

Bad behavior the laws cannot reach. Society is infested with rude, restless, and frivolous persons who prey upon the rest. Bad manners are social inflictions which the magistrate cannot cure or defend you from, and which must be intrusted to the restraining force of custom. Familiar rules of behavior should be impressed on young people in their school-days.

LESSON XIX

ESSENCE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

1. Congress must meet at least once a year.

(Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.)

2. One State cannot undo the acts of another.

3. Congress may admit any number of new States.

4. One State must respect the laws and legal decisions of another.

5. Every citizen is guaranteed a speedy trial by jury.

6. Congress cannot pass a law to punish a crime already committed.

7. Bills of revenue can originate only in the House of Representatives.

8. A person committing a crime in one State cannot find refuge in another.

9. The Constitution forbids excessive bail or cruel punishment.

10. Treaties with foreign countries are made by the President and ratified by the Senate.

11. Writing alone does not constitute treason against the United States. There must be an overt act.

12. An Act of Congress cannot become law over the vote of the President except by a two-thirds vote of both Houses.

13. The Territories each send one delegate to Congress, who has the right to debate, but not the right to vote.

14. An officer of the Government cannot accept any title of nobility, order or gift without the permission of Congress.

15. Only a natural-born citizen of the United States can become President or Vice-President of the United States.

SELECTION VIII

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

1. Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
   What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
   Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
   O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
   And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
   Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
   Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
   O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

2. On that shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
   Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
   What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
   As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
   Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
   In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
   'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner; oh, long may it wave
   O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

3. And where are the foes who so vauntingly swore
   That the havoc of war, and the battle's confusion,
   A home and a country should leave us no more?
   Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
   No refuge could save the hireling and slave
   From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
   And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
   O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

4. Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
   Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
   Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
   Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
   Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
   And this be our motto, "In God is our trust";
   And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
   O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Francis Scott Key.

USEFUL INFORMATION

To obtain a good knowledge of pronunciation, it is advisable for the reader to listen to the examples given by educated persons. We learn the pronunciation of words, to a great extent, by imitation. It must never be forgotten, however, that the dictionary alone can give us absolute certainty in doubtful cases.

"If the riches of the Indies," says Fenelon, "or the crowns of all the kingdoms of the world, were laid at my feet in exchange for my love for reading, I would despise them all."

That writer does the most good who gives his reader the greatest amount of knowledge and takes from him the least time. A tremendous thought may be packed into a small compass, and as solid as a cannon ball.

"Read much, but not many works," is the advice of a great writer.

LESSON XX

THE ART OF OBSERVATION

The Indian trapper is a man of close observation, quick perception and prompt action. As he goes along, nothing escapes him. Often not another step is taken until some mystery that presents itself is fairly solved. He will stand for hours in succession to account for certain signs, and he may even spend days and weeks upon that same mystery until he solves it.

I rode once several hundred miles in the company of such an experienced trailer, and asked him many questions about his art. Near the bank of a small river in Dakota we crossed the track of a pony. The guide followed the track for some distance and then said: "It is a stray black horse, with a long bushy tail, nearly starved to death; it has a broken hoof on the left fore foot and goes very lame; he has passed here early this morning."

I could scarcely believe what was said, and asked for an explanation. The trailer replied: "It is a stray horse, because he did not go in a straight line; his tail is long, for he dragged it over the ground; in brushing against a bush he left some of his black hair; he is very hungry, because he nipped at the dry weeds which horses seldom eat; the break of his left fore foot can be seen in its track, and the slight impression of the one foot shows that he is lame. The tracks are as yet fresh, and that shows that he passed only this morning, when the earth was soft."

In this manner the whole story was accounted for, and late in the afternoon we really did come across a riderless horse of that description wandering aimlessly in the prairies.

SELECTION IX

THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL

  He lay upon his dying bed,
    His eye was growing dim,
  When, with a feeble voice, he called
    His weeping son to him:
  "Weep not, my boy," the veteran said,
    "I bow to Heaven's high will;
  But quickly from yon antlers bring
    The sword of Bunker Hill."

  The sword was brought; the soldier's eye
    Lit with a sudden flame;
  And, as he grasped the ancient blade,
    He murmured Warren's name;
  Then said: "My boy, I leave you gold,
    But what is richer still,
  I leave you,—mark me, mark me, now,—
    The sword of Bunker Hill.

  "'Twas on that dread immortal day,
    I dared the Britons' band;
  A captain raised his blade on me,
    I tore it from his hand;
  And while the glorious battle raged,
    It lightened Freedom's will;
  For, boy, the God of Freedom blessed
    The sword of Bunker Hill.

  "Oh, keep this sword,"—his accents broke,—
    A smile—and he was dead;
  But his wrinkled hand still grasped the blade,
    Upon the dying bed.
  The son remains, the sword remains,
    Its glory growing still,
  And eighty millions bless the sire
    And sword of Bunker Hill.

William R. Wallace.

The battle of Bunker Hill was fought on the 17th of June, 1775, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The Americans, after having twice repulsed double their number of the English, were compelled to retreat for want of ammunition. This was the first actual battle of the Revolutionary War.

NOTE:—Joseph Warren, a distinguished American general and patriot, born in Massachusetts in 1741, graduated at Harvard College in 1759. He was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.

LESSON XXI

LETTERS

Notes of Invitation.

FORMAL NOTE.

March 8, 1909.

Mr. Joseph H. Curtis:—

The pupils of Class A, Public School No. — most cordially invite Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Curtis to attend the Closing Exercises to be held in the school on Thursday evening, March eleventh, at eight o'clock.

INFORMAL NOTE.

February 2, 1909.

My dear Mr. Curtis:—

May we have the pleasure of your company at dinner Tuesday evening,
February ninth, at seven o'clock?

Sincerely yours,

CHARLES STORY.

406 Elm Street.

INFORMAL REPLY TO ABOVE INVITATION.

February 4, 1909.

My dear Mr. Story:—

I thank you for your kind invitation to dine with you Tuesday evening, but a previous business engagement makes it impossible for me to be present. I am very sorry.

Cordially yours,

HENRY CURTIS.

215 Cedar Street.

FORMAL NOTE.

Mr. and Mrs. George H. Baldwin request the pleasure of the company of Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Gray on Thursday evening, March fourth, at eight o'clock.

315 Madison Avenue.

FORMAL REPLY TO ABOVE INVITATION.

Mr. Henry S. Gray regrets that he is unable to accept the invitation of
Mr. and Mrs. George H. Baldwin for Thursday evening, at eight o'clock.

506 Myrtle Avenue.

INFORMAL LETTER.

ROCHESTER, N. Y., March 1, 1909.

My dear Friend:—

I arrived here yesterday afternoon in the best of spirits. I am staying here at a nice, quiet hotel, and expect to remain here for the next few days. Rochester is so different from the great Metropolis. This morning I went to see the University and some other public buildings. I am delighted with my trip. From here I intend to proceed to Buffalo and to Niagara Falls. From there I shall write you a much longer letter.

Please give my kindest regards to all the family.

Cordially yours,

HENRY FIELD.

LESSON XXII

REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES

The rapid settlement and improvement of many parts of our country have been greatly aided by the invention of various kinds of machinery. The work of many hands can now be done by one machine, and thus a great saving of human labor is effected.

In former times, the crops of wheat and oats, rye and barley, were gathered with a sickle; the grain was thrashed with a flail; the grass in the meadows was cut with a scythe. But, now, all this is changed; on the great prairies of the West, the wheat, rye and oats are cut by the reaper, and with a steady hum the thrashing-machine does its work of cleaning the grain.

The scythe has given place to the mowing machine, and the sickle and flail have been laid away as relics of other times. Thus the machinery invented by the genius and skill of man, not only lightens the labor of the farmer, but it performs the work which formerly required the united effort of many men. Many foreign countries send to the United States for mowers and reapers, because it is here these machines have reached their highest perfection.

LESSON XXIII

ALI BABA

Ali Baba was a poor Persian wood carrier, who accidentally learned the magic words "Open Sesame," "Shut Sesame," by which he gained entrance into a vast cavern, in which forty thieves had stored their stolen treasures. He made himself rich by plundering these stores of wealth, and through the cunning of Morgiana, his female slave, Ali Baba succeeded in destroying the whole band of thieves. He then gave Morgiana her freedom and married her to his own son.

LESSON XXIV

BIRDS

In the United States there are a great many birds. Many of them live in the woods; others are found in the fields. Some are seen in the gardens, and a few are kept in our houses. The eagle builds her nest upon the highest rock, while the wren forms her snug and tiny nest in the way-side hedge. The swallow plasters her nest upon the gable of the house or under the eaves of the barn. Out in the wheat-field we hear the whistle of the quail. The noise of the ducks and geese comes to us from the pond. The birds of prey dart downward through the air. Everywhere we find the birds.

In autumn the migratory birds leave us, but they return in the spring. Even in March we hear the call of the robin. At the same time the bold and saucy blue-jay pays us his first visit. One hears the sweet songs of the birds from May until October. Some of them remain with us during the winter.

There are many things that birds can do. The swallows fly with the greatest ease. The ostrich runs rapidly. Swimming birds dive with much skill. The owl moves noiselessly through the night air. Birds of prey search out their victims with keen vision.

Nearly all birds build skillfully made nests with their bills and feet. Some make them out of straw, and the little birds usually line them with wool. The large birds of prey build theirs from small sticks and twigs. For the most part they hatch the eggs with the warmth of the body. Many birds are highly valued on account of their eggs, while others are prized for their flesh and feathers. Still others charm us with their songs.

LESSON XXV

SLEEP

Of all the wonderful things about us, sleep is one of the most wonderful. How it comes, why it comes, how it does its kind, helpful work, not even the wisest people are able to tell. We do not have much trouble in seeking it, it comes to us of itself. It takes us in its kindly arms, quiets and comforts us, repairs and refreshes us, and turns us out in the morning quite like new people.

Sleep is necessary to life and health. We crave it as urgently as we do food or drink. In our waking hours, rest is obtained only at short intervals; the muscles, the nerves, and the brain are in full activity. Repair goes on every moment, whether we are awake or asleep; but during the waking hours the waste of the tissues is far ahead of the repair, while during sleep the repair exceeds the waste. Hence a need of rest which at regular intervals causes all parts of the bodily machinery to be run at their lowest rate. In other words, we are put to sleep.

Sleep is more or less sound, according to circumstances. Fatigue, if not too great, aids it; idleness lessens it. Anxious thought, and pain, and even anticipated pleasure, may keep us awake. Hence we should not go to bed with the brain excited or too active. We should read some pleasant book, laugh, talk, sing, or take a brisk walk, or otherwise rest the brain for half an hour before going to bed.

The best time for sleep is during the silence and darkness of night. People who have to work nights, and to sleep during the day, have a strained and wearied look.

The amount of sleep needed depends upon the temperament of each individual. Some require little sleep, while others need a great deal.

Eight hours of sleep for an adult, and from ten to twelve hours for children and old people is about the average amount required.

Some of the greatest men in history are known to have been light sleepers. Most of the world's great workers took a goodly amount of sleep, however. Sir Walter Scott, the great writer, took eight hours of sleep, and so did the famous philosopher Emanuel Kant. Children need more sleep than grown people. They should retire early and sleep until they awake in the morning.

When fairly awake we should get up. Dozing is unhealthful, especially for young people.

  "Early to bed and early to rise,
  Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

LESSON XXVI

CURIOUS BIRDS' NESTS

Among the most curious nests are those made by the birds called weavers. These feathered workmen serve no apprenticeship; their trade comes to them by nature; and how well they work at it! But then you must admit that Nature is a skillful teacher and birds are apt scholars.

The Baltimore oriole is a weaver, and it makes its nest out of bark, fine grass, moss, and wool, strengthening it, when circumstances permit, with pieces of string or horse-hair. This nest, pouch-shaped, and open at the top, is fastened to the branch of a tree, and sometimes is interwoven with the twigs of a waving bough. The threads of grass and long fibers of moss are woven together, in and out, as if by machinery; and it seems hard to believe that the little birds can do such work without help.

The tailor-bird of India makes a still more curious nest: it actually sews, using its long, slender bill as a needle. Birds that fly, birds that run, birds that swim, and birds that sing are by no means rare; but birds that sew, seem like the wonderful birds in the fairy-tales. Yet they really exist, and make their odd nests with great care and skill. They pick out a leaf large enough for their nest, and pierce rows of holes along the edges with their sharp bill; then, with the fibers of a plant or long threads of grass, they sew the leaf up into a bag. Sometimes it is necessary to sew two leaves together, that the space within may be large enough.

This kind of sewing resembles shoemakers' or saddlers' work; but, the leaf being like fine cloth and not like leather, perhaps the name "tailor-bird" is the most appropriate for the little worker. The bag is lined with soft, downy material, and in this the tiny eggs are laid—tiny indeed, for the tailor-bird is no larger than the hummingbird. The weight of the little creature does not even draw down the nest, and the leaf in which the eggs or young birds are hidden looks like the other leaves on the trees; so that there is nothing to attract the attention of the forest robbers.

Another bird, called the Indian sparrow, makes her nest of grass-woven cloth and shaped like a bottle. The neck of the bottle hangs downward, and the bird enters from below. This structure, swinging from a high tree, over a river, is safe from the visits of mischievous animals.

Is it any wonder, then, that birds and their nests have always been a source of delight to thinking man?

With no tools but their tiny feet and sharp little bills, these feathered songsters build their habitat, more cunningly and artfully than any artisan could hope to do even after a long apprenticeship.

SELECTION X

THE HUNTERS

  In the bright October morning
    Savoy's Duke had left his bride.
  From the Castle, past the drawbridge,
    Flowed the hunters' merry tide.

  Steeds are neighing, gallants glittering
    Gay, her smiling lord to greet,
  From her splendid chamber casement
    Smiles the Duchess Marguerite.

  From Vienna by the Danube
    Here she came, a bride, in spring,
  Now the autumn crisps the forest;
    Hunters gather, bugles ring.

  Hark! the game's on foot; they scatter;
    Down the forest riding lone,
  Furious, single horsemen gallop.
    Hark! a shout—a crash—a groan!

  Pale and breathless, came the hunters;
    On the turf, dead lies the boar,
  But the Duke lies stretched beside him,
    Senseless, weltering in his gore.

  In the dull October evening,
    Down the leaf-strewn forest road,
  To the Castle, past the drawbridge,
    Came the hunters with their load.

  In the hall, with torches blazing,
    Ladies waiting round her seat,
  Clothed in smiles, beneath the dais
    Sat the Duchess Marguerite.

  Hark! below the gates unbarring,
    Tramp of men and quick commands.
  "'Tis my lord come back from hunting,"
    And the Duchess claps her hands.

  Slow and tired, came the hunters;
    Stopped in darkness in the court.—
  "Ho! this way, ye laggard hunters.
    To the hall! What sport, what sport?"

  Slow they entered with their Master;
    In the hall they laid him down;
  On his coat were leaves and blood-stains,
    On his brow an angry frown.

  Dead her princely, youthful husband
    Lay before his youthful wife;
  Bloody 'neath the flaring torches:
    And the sight froze all her life.

  In Vienna by the Danube
    Kings hold revel, gallants meet;
  Gay of old amid the gayest
    Was the Duchess Marguerite.

  In Vienna by the Danube
    Feast and dance her youth beguiled.
  Till that hour she never sorrowed;
    But from then she never smiled.

Matthew Arnold.

WISE SAYINGS

A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts.

  A fig for your bill of fare.
  Show me your bill of company.

Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair.

No evil can befall a good man, either in life or death.

It is well to think well; it is divine to act well.

They are never alone who are accompanied with noble, true thoughts.

We find in life exactly what we put into it.

Too much rest is rust.

Order is heaven's first law.

The difference between one boy and another is not so much in talent as in energy.

LESSON XXVII

BUSINESS QUALIFICATIONS

Attention, application, accuracy, method, punctuality and dispatch are the principal qualities required for the efficient conduct of business of any sort. It is the precept of every day's experience that steady attention to matters of detail lies at the root of human progress, and that diligence, above all, is the mother of what is erroneously called "good luck."

A French statesman, being asked how he contrived to accomplish so much work, and at the same time attend to his social duties, replied, "I do it simply by never postponing till to-morrow what should be done to-day." It was said of an unsuccessful public man that he used to reverse this process, his maxim being, "never to transact to-day what could be postponed till to-morrow."

But bear in mind this: there may be success in life without success in business. The merchant who failed, but who afterward recovered his fortune, and then spent it in paying his creditors their demands in full, principal and interest, thus leaving himself a poor man, had a glorious success: while he who failed, paid his creditors ten cents only on a dollar, and afterward rode in his carriage and occupied a magnificent mansion, was sorrowfully looked on by angels and by honest men as lamentably unsuccessful.

True success in life is success in building up a pure, honest, energetic character—in so shaping our habits, our thoughts, and our aspirations as to best qualify us for a higher life.

LESSON XXVIII

ABBREVIATIONS OF NAMES OF STATES

  Ala. Alabama, Mont. Montana,
  Alaska. Alaska, Nebr. Nebraska,
  Ariz. Arizona, Nev. Nevada,
  Ark. Arkansas (sa), N. H. New Hampshire,
  Cal. California, N. J. New Jersey,
  Colo. Colorado, N. Mex. New Mexico,
  Conn. Connecticut, N. Y. New York,
  Del. Delaware, N. C. North Carolina,
  Fla. Florida, N. Dak. North Dakota,
  Ga. Georgia, O. Ohio,
  Idaho. Idaho, Okla. Oklahoma,
  Ill. Illinois (noi), Ore. Oregon,
  Ind. Indiana, Pa. Pennsylvania,
  Ind. T. Indian Ter., R. I. Rhode Island,
  Ia. Iowa, S. C. South Carolina,
  Kans. Kansas, S. Dak. South Dakota,
  Ky. Kentucky, Tenn. Tennessee,
  La. Louisiana, Tex. Texas,
  Me. Maine, Utah. Utah,
  Md. Maryland (mer) Vt. Vermont,
  Mass. Massachusetts Va. Virginia,
  Mich. Michigan, Wash. Washington,
  Minn. Minnesota, W. Va. West Virginia,
  Miss. Mississippi, Wis. Wisconsin,
  Mo. Missouri, Wyo. Wyoming.

*The words Utah, Idaho and Alaska are not abbreviated.

SELECTION XI

MY FATHERLAND

  There is a land, of every land the pride,
  Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside,
  Where brighter suns dispense serener light,
  And milder moons imparadise the night.
  O land of beauty, virtue, valor, truth,
  Time-tutored age, and love-exalted youth!
  The wandering mariner, whose eye explores
  The wealthiest isles, the most enchanting shores,
  Views not a realm so bountiful and fair,
  Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air.
  In every clime, the magnet of his soul,
  Touched by remembrance, trembles to that pole;
  For, in this land of Heaven's peculiar race,
  The heritage of nature's noblest grace,
  There is a spot of earth supremely blest,
  A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest,
  Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
  His sword and scepter, pageantry and pride,
  While, in his softened looks, benignly blend
  The sire, the son, the husband, brother, friend.
  Here woman reigns; the mother, daughter, wife,
  Strew with fresh flowers the narrow way of life;
  In the clear heaven of her delightful eye,
  An angel guard of love and graces lie;
  Around her knees domestic duties meet,
  And fireside pleasures gambol at her feet.
  "Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found?"
  Art thou a man?—a patriot?—look round;
  Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,
  That land thy country, and that spot thy home.

James Montgomery.

LESSON XXIX

THE SUN

How far away from us is the sun? Are we to answer just as we think, or just as we know? On a fine summer day, when we can see him clearly, it looks as if a short trip in a balloon might take us to his throne in the sky, yet we know—because the astronomers tell us so—that he is more than ninety-one millions of miles distant from our earth.

Ninety-one millions of miles! It is not easy even to imagine this distance; but let us fancy ourselves in an express-train going sixty miles an hour without making a single stop. At that flying rate we could travel from the earth to the sun in one hundred and seventy-one years,—that is, if we had a road to run on and time to spare for the journey.

Arriving at the palace of the sun, we might then have some idea of his size. A learned Greek who lived more than two thousand years ago thought the sun about as large as the Peloponnesus; if he had lived in our country, he might have said, "About as large as Massachusetts."

As large as their peninsula! The other Greeks laughed at him for believing that the shining ball was so vast. How astonished they would have been—yes, and the wise man too—if they had been told that the brilliant lord of the day was more than a million times as large as the whole world!

LESSON XXX

IVORY

How many articles are made of ivory! Here is a polished knife-handle, and there a strangely-carved paper-cutter. In the same shop may be found albums and prayer-books with ivory covers; and, not far away, penholders, curious toys, and parasol-handles, all made of the glossy white material.

Where ivory is abundant, chairs of state, and even thrones are made of it; and in Russia, in the palaces of the great, floors inlaid with ivory help to beautify the grand apartments. One African sultan has a whole fence of elephants' tusks around his royal residence; the residence itself is straw-roofed and barbarous enough, both in design and in structure. Yet imagine that ivory fence!

The elephants slain in Africa and India in the course of a year could not furnish half the ivory used in the great markets of the world during that time. Vienna, Paris, London and St. Petersburg keep the elephant-hunters busy, yet it is impossible for them to satisfy all the demands made upon them, and the ivory-diggers must be called upon to add to the supply.

Every spring, when the ice begins to thaw, new mines or deposits of fossil ivory—a perfect treasure of mammoths' tusks—are discovered in the marsh-lands of Eastern Siberia. There are no mammoths now—unless we call elephants by that name; yet their remains have been found upon both continents. In the year 1799, the perfect skeleton of one of these animals was found in an ice-bank near the mouth of a Siberian river. As the vast ice-field thawed, the remains of the huge animal came to light.

The traders who search for mammoths' tusks around the Arctic coasts of Asia make every effort to send off, each year, at least fifty thousand pounds of fossil ivory to the west along the great caravan road. So great is the demand, however, that this quantity, added to that sent by the elephant-hunters, is not large enough to make ivory cheap in trade or in manufacture.

SELECTION XII

WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE

  Woodman, spare that tree!
    Touch not a single bough!
  In youth it sheltered me,
    And I'll protect it now.
  'Twas my forefather's hand
    That placed it near his cot:
  There, woodman, let it stand;
    Thy ax shall harm it not.

  That old familiar tree,
    Whose glory and renown
  Are spread o'er land and sea,—
    And wouldst thou hew it down?
  Woodman, forbear thy stroke!
    Cut not its earthbound ties!
  Oh, spare that aged oak,
    Now towering to the skies!

  When but an idle boy
    I sought its grateful shade;
  In all their gushing joy,
    Here, too, my sisters played.
  My mother kissed me here,
    My father pressed my hand:
  Forgive this foolish tear,
    But let that old oak stand.

  My heart-strings round thee cling,
    Close as thy bark, old friend;
  Here shall the wild bird sing,
    And still thy branches bend.
  Old tree, the storm still brave!
    And, woodman, leave the spot!
  While I've a hand to save,
    Thy ax shall harm it not.

George P. Morris.

LESSON XXXI

FLOWERS

He who cannot appreciate floral beauty is to be pitied, like any other man who is born imperfect. It is a misfortune not unlike blindness. But men who reject flowers as effeminate and unworthy of manhood reveal a positive coarseness.

Many persons lose all enjoyment of many flowers by indulging false associations. There are some who think that no weed can be of interest as a flower. But all flowers are weeds where they grow wild and in abundance; and somewhere our rarest flowers are somebody's commonest.

And generally there is a disposition to undervalue common flowers. There are few that will trouble themselves to examine minutely a blossom that they have often seen and neglected; and yet if they would question such flowers and commune with them, they would often be surprised to find extreme beauty where it had long been overlooked.

It is not impertinent to offer flowers to a stranger. The poorest child can proffer them to the richest. A hundred persons turned into a meadow full of flowers would be drawn together in a transient brotherhood.

It is affecting to see how serviceable flowers often are to the necessities of the poor. If they bring their little floral gift to you, it cannot but touch your heart to think that their grateful affection longed to express itself as much as yours.

You have books, or gems, or services that you can render as you will. The poor can give but little and can do but little. Were it not for flowers, they would be shut out from those exquisite pleasures which spring from such gifts. I never take one from a child, or from the poor, without thanking God, in their behalf, for flowers.

LESSON XXXII

THE MOSQUITO

Mosquitoes are found in many parts of the world where there are pools of water. They swarm along the rivers of the sunny south and by the lakes of the far north. The life of one of these troublesome little fellows is well worth some attention.

Did you ever hear about the little boats that they build? They lay their eggs on the water, in which the sun's warmth hatches them out. The insect leaves the water a full-fledged mosquito ready to annoy man and beast with its sting.

The eyes of this insect are remarkable. They are so large that they cover the larger part of the head. Its feelers are very delicate, and look as if they were made of the finest feathers. Its wings are very pretty, and with them it makes a humming noise.

The organ, which the female mosquito alone employs on her victims, is called a trunk, or proboscis. This trunk is a tube, inside of which is a bundle of stings with very sharp points. When she settles on your face or hands, she pierces the skin, extracts some blood, and at the same time injects a little poison; this produces the feeling which proves so annoying.

LESSON XXXIII

SELF-RELIANCE

Of all the elements of success none is more vital than self-reliance,—a determination to be one's own helper, and not to look to others for support. It is the secret of all individual growth and vigor, the master-key that unlocks all difficulties in every profession or calling. "Help yourself, and Heaven will help you," should be the motto of every man who would make himself useful in the world. He who begins with crutches will generally end with crutches. Help from within always strengthens, but help from without invariably enfeebles.

It is said that a lobster, when left high and dry among the rocks, has not instinct and energy enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves. The world is full of human lobsters,—men stranded on the rocks of business, who, instead of putting forth their energy, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them afloat.

There are many young men, who, instead of carrying their own burdens, are always dreaming of some Hercules, in the shape of a rich uncle, or some other benevolent relative, coming to give them a "lift." In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, pecuniary help to a beginner is not a blessing, but a calamity. Under the appearance of aiding, it weakens its victims, and keeps them in perpetual slavery and degradation.

Let every young man have faith in himself, and take an earnest hold of life, scorning all props and buttresses, all crutches and life-preservers. Instead of wielding the rusted swords of valorous forefathers, let him forge his own weapons; and, mindful of the Providence over him, let him fight his own battles with his own good lance.

SELECTION XIII

PRAYER IN BATTLE

      Father, I call to Thee.
  Roaring enshrouds me, the din of the battle,
  Round me like lightning the leaping shots rattle.
    Leader of battles, I call to Thee.
      Father, Thou lead me.

      Father, Thou lead me.
  Lead me to victory, lead me to death;
  Lord, at Thy pleasure I offer my breath.
    Lord, as Thou wilt, so lead me.
      God, I acknowledge Thee.

      God, I acknowledge Thee.
  So when the thunders of battle are breaking,
  As when the leaves of the autumn are shaking,
    Fountain of grace, I acknowledge Thee.
      Father, Thou bless me.

      Father, Thou bless me.
  Into Thine hand I my being resign;
  Thou didst bestow it—to take it be Thine.
    Living and dying, O bless me.
      Father, I honor Thee.

      Father, I honor Thee.
  Not for earth's riches unsheath we the sword;
  'Tis our hearts we protect; 'tis Thy temples, O Lord;
    So railing or conquering, I honor Thee.
      To Thee, God, I yield me.

      To thee, God, I yield me.
  Round me when death's fiery tempest is rushing,
  When from my veins the red currents are gushing,
    To Thee, O my God, do I yield me.
      Father, I call to Thee.

Theo. Körner.

LESSON XXXIV

FRANKLIN'S TOAST

Long after Washington's judicious and intrepid conduct in respect to the French and English had made his name familiar to all Europe, Dr. Franklin chanced to dine with the English and French ambassadors, when the following toasts were given:—

The British ambassador, rising, said: "England,—the sun whose bright beams enlighten and fertilize the remotest corners of the earth."

The French ambassador, glowing with national pride, but too polite to dispute the previous toast, said: "France,—the moon whose mild, steady, and cheering rays are the delight of all nations, consoling them in darkness, and making their dreariness beautiful."

Dr. Franklin then arose, and, with his usual dignified simplicity, said: "George Washington,—the Joshua who commanded the sun and moon to stand still, and they obeyed him."

LESSON XXXV

HUMANITY REWARDED

Joseph the Second, Emperor of Germany, once received a petition in favor of a poor old officer, with a family of ten children, who was reduced to the utmost poverty.

After making inquiries respecting the man, and satisfying himself of his worth, the Emperor determined to judge of his necessities by personal observation.

Accordingly he went alone to the house of the officer, whom he found seated at table, with eleven children around him, dining upon vegetables of his own planting.

The Emperor, who was disguised as a private citizen, after some general conversation with the officer, said: "I heard you had ten children, but I see here eleven."

"This," replied the officer, pointing to one, "is a poor orphan, whom I found at my door. I have endeavored to obtain for him the assistance of persons who could better afford to provide for him, but have not been able to succeed; and of course, I could do no better than share my little portion with him."

The Emperor, admiring the generous humanity of the poor man, immediately made himself known to him, and said, "I desire that all these children may be my pensioners, and that you will continue to give them examples of virtue and honor.

"I grant you one hundred florins per annum. for each, and also, an addition of two hundred florins to your pension. Go tomorrow to my treasurer, where you will receive the first quarter's payment, together with a lieutenant's commission for your eldest son. Henceforth I will be the father of all the family."

LESSON XXXVI

WORK PROCLAIMS A WORKMAN

A certain baron had an only son, who was not only a comfort to his father, but a blessing to all who lived on his father's land. Once, when the young man was away from home, a gentleman called to see his father, and using the name of God irreverently, the good old baron reproved him.

"Are you not afraid," said he, "of offending the great Being who reigns above, by thus using His name in vain?" The gentleman said he neither feared nor believed in a being he could not see.

The next morning the baron showed the gentleman a beautiful painting that adorned his hall. The gentleman admired the picture very much, and, when told by the baron that his son painted it, said: "Your son is an excellent painter."

The baron then took his visitor into the garden, and showed him many beautiful flowers, arranged in the most perfect order. "Who has the direction of this garden?" said the gentleman. "My son," said the baron. "Indeed," said the gentleman; "I begin to think he is something uncommon."

The baron then took him into the village, and showed him a small, neat cottage, where his son had established a school, in which a hundred orphans were fed and taught at his expense. "What a happy man you are," said the gentleman, "to have so good a son!"

"How do you know that I have so good a son?" replied the baron. "Because I have seen his works," said the gentleman, "and I know he must be talented and good." "But you have never seen him," said the baron. "I have seen what he has done, and am disposed to love him, without having seen him," said the gentleman.

"Can you see anything from that window?" asked the baron. "The landscape is beautiful," said the gentleman; "the golden sun, the mighty river, the vast forest, are admirable. How lovely, and pleasant and cheerful, every object appears!"

"How happens it," said the baron, "that you could see such proof of my son's existence, in the imperfect work of his hands, and yet you can see no proof of the existence of a Creator, in the wonders and beauties which are now before you? Let me never hear you say again that you believe not in the existence of God, unless you would have me think that you have lost the use of your reason."

LESSON XXXVII

REPUBLICS

The name Republic is written upon the oldest monuments of mankind. It has been connected in all ages with the noble and the great in art and letters.

It might be asked, what land has ever felt the influence of liberty, that has not flourished like the spring? With regard to ourselves, we can truly say that we live under a form of government the equal of which the world has never seen. Is it, then, nothing to be free? How many nations in the history of the world have proved themselves worthy of being so?

Were all men as enlightened, as brave and as self-respecting as they ought to be, would they suffer themselves to be insulted by any other form of government than a republic? Can anything be more striking or more sublime, than the idea of a republic like ours; which spreads over a territory far more extensive than that of the ancient Roman empire?

And upon what is this great and glorious combination of states, so admirably united, really founded? It is founded upon the maxims of common sense and reason, without military despotism or monarchical domination of any kind. The people simply govern themselves, and the government is of the people, by the people and for the people.

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

We must have an end of all persecution of ideas.

I condemn the government of France and Prussia when they oppress the
Jesuits.

I condemn the government of Russia when it oppresses the Jews.

I affirm that to persecute ideas is like persecuting light, air, electricity, or the magnetic fluid.

Ideas escape all persecution. When repressed they explode like powder.

LESSON XXXVIII

FALSE NOTIONS OF LIBERTY

People talk of liberty as if it meant the liberty of doing what a man likes. The only liberty that a man should ask for is the privilege of removing all restrictions that prevent his doing what he ought to do.

I call that man free who is able to rule himself. I call him free who has his flesh in subjection to his spirit; who fears doing wrong, but who fears nothing else.

I call that man free who has learned that liberty consists in obedience to the power and to the will and to the law that his higher soul approves. He is not free because he does what he likes, but he is free because he does what he ought.

Some people think there is no liberty in obedience. I tell you there is no liberty except in loyal obedience. Did you ever see a mother kept at home, a kind of prisoner, by her sick child, obeying its every wish and caprice? Will you call that mother a slave? Or is this obedience the obedience of slavery? I call it the obedience of the highest liberty—the liberty of love.

We hear in these days a great deal respecting rights: the rights of private judgment, the rights of labor, the rights, of property, and the rights of man.

I cannot see anything manly in the struggle between rich and poor; the one striving to take as much, and the other to keep as much, as he can. The cry of "My rights, your duties," we should change to something nobler. If we can say "My duties, your rights," we shall learn what real liberty is.

LESSON XXXIX

THE VOICE

A good voice has a charm in speech as in song. The voice, like the face, betrays the nature and disposition, and soon indicates what is the range of the speaker's mind.

Many people have no ear for music; but everyone has an ear for skillful reading. Every one of us has at some time been the victim of a cunning voice, and perhaps been repelled once for all by a harsh, mechanical speaker.

The voice, indeed, is a delicate index of the state of mind.

What character, what infinite variety, belongs to the voice! Sometimes it is a flute, sometimes a trip-hammer; what a range of force! In moments of clearer thought or deeper sympathy, the voice will attain a music and penetration which surprise the speaker as much as the hearer.

LESSON XL

THE INTREPID YOUTH

It was a calm, sunny day in the year 1750; the scene a piece of forest land in the north of Virginia, near a noble stream of water. Implements for surveying were lying about, and several men composed a party engaged in laying out the wild lands of the country.

These persons had apparently just finished their dinner. Apart from the group walked a young man of a tall and compact frame. He moved with the elastic tread of one accustomed to constant exercise in the open air. His countenance wore a look of decision and manliness not usually found in one so young.

Suddenly there was a shriek, then another, and several in rapid succession. The voice was that of a woman, and seemed to proceed from the other side of a dense thicket. At the first scream, the youth turned his head in the direction of the sound. When it was repeated, he pushed aside the undergrowth and, quickening his footsteps, he soon dashed into an open space on the bank of the stream, where stood a rude log cabin.

It was but the work of a moment for the young man to make his way through the crowd and confront the woman. The instant her eye fell on him, she exclaimed: "Oh, sir, you will do something for me. Make them release me, for the love of God. My boy, my poor boy is drowning, and they will not let me go." "It would be madness; she will jump into the river," said one, "and the rapids would dash her to pieces in a moment."

The youth scarcely waited for these words, for he recollected the child, a fine little boy of four years old, who was a favorite with all who knew him. He had been accustomed to play in the little inclosure before the cabin, but the gate having been left open, he had stolen out, reached the edge of the bank, and was in the act of looking over, when his mother saw him.

The shriek she uttered only hastened the catastrophe she feared; for the child lost its balance, and fell into the stream. Scream now followed scream in rapid succession, as the agonized mother rushed to the bank.

One glance at the situation was enough. To take off his coat and plunge in after the drowning child were but the actions of a moment.

On went the youth and child; and it was miraculous how each escaped being dashed to pieces against the rocks. Twice the boy went out of sight, and a suppressed shriek escaped the mother's lips; but twice he reappeared, and with great anxiety she followed his progress, as his tiny form was hurried onward with the current.

The youth now appeared to redouble his exertions, for they were approaching the most dangerous part of the river. The rush of the waters at this spot was tremendous, and no one ventured to approach, even in a canoe, lest he should be dashed in pieces. What, then, would be the youth's fate, unless he soon overtook the child? He urged his way through the foaming current with desperate strength.

Three times he was on the point of grasping the child, when the waters whirled the prize from him. The third effort was made above the fall; and when it failed, the mother groaned, fully expecting the youth to give up his task. But no; he only pressed forward the more eagerly.

And now, like an arrow from the bow, pursuer and pursued shot to the brink of the precipice. An instant they hung there, distinctly visible amid the foaming waters. Every brain grew dizzy at the sight. But a shout of exultation burst from the spectators, when they saw the boy held aloft by the right arm of the young hero. And thus he brought the child back to the distracted mother.

With a most fervent blessing, she thanked the young man for his heroic deed. And was this blessing heard? Most assuredly; for the self-sacrificing spirit which characterized the life of this youth was none other than that of George Washington, the First President of the United States.

LESSON XLI

AUTUMN

September has come. The fierce heat of summer is gone. Men are at work in the fields cutting down the yellow grain, and binding it up into sheaves. The fields of corn stand in thick ranks, heavy with ears.

The boughs of the orchard hang low with the red and golden fruit. Laughing boys are picking up the purple plums and the red-cheeked peaches that have fallen in the high grass. Large, rich melons are on the garden vines, and sweet grapes hang in clusters by the wall.

The larks with their black and yellow breasts stand watching you on the close-mown meadow. As you come near, they spring up, fly a little distance, and light again. The robins, that long ago left the gardens, feed in flocks upon the red berries of the sumac, and the soft-eyed pigeons are with them to claim their share. The lazy blackbirds follow the cows and pick up crickets and other insects.

At noon, the air is still, mild, and soft. You see blue smoke off by the distant wood and hills. The brook is almost dry. The water runs over the pebbles with a soft, low murmur. The goldenrod is on the hill, the aster by the brook, and the sunflower in the garden.

The twitter of the birds is still heard. The sheep graze upon the brown hillside. The merry whistle of the plowboy comes up from the field, and the cow lows in the distant pasture.

As the sun sinks in the October haze, the low, south wind creeps over the dry tree-tops, and the leaves fall in showers upon the ground. The sun sinks lower, and lower, and is gone; but his bright beams still linger in the west. Then the evening star is seen shining with a soft, mellow light, and the moon rises slowly in the still and hazy air.

November comes. The flowers are all dead. The grass is pale and white. The wind has blown the dry leaves into heaps. The timid rabbit treads softly on the dry leaves. The crow calls from the high tree-top. The sound of dropping nuts is heard in the wood. Children go out morning and evening to gather nuts for the winter. The busy little squirrels will be sure to get their share.

SELECTION XIV

THE RETORT

  One day, a rich man, flushed with pride and wine,
    Sitting with guests at table, all quite merry,
  Conceived it would be vastly fine
    To crack a joke upon his secretary.

  "Young man," said he, "by what art, craft, or trade
    Did your good father earn his livelihood?"
  "He was a saddler, sir," the young man said;
    "And in his line was always reckoned good."

  "A saddler, eh? and had you stuffed with Greek,
    Instead of teaching you like him to sew?
  And pray, sir, why did not your father make
    A saddler, too, of you?"
  At this each flatterer, as in duty bound,
    The joke applauded, and the laugh went round.

  At length the secretary, bowing low,
    Said (craving pardon if too free he made),
  "Sir, by your leave I fain would know
    Your father's trade."

  "My father's trade? Why, sir, but that's too bad!
    My father's trade? Why, blockhead, art thou mad?
  My, father, sir, was never brought so low:
    He was a gentleman, I'd have you know."

  "Indeed! excuse the liberty I take;
    But if your story's true,
  How happened it your father did not make
    A gentleman of you?"

G. P. Morris.

LESSON XLII

WORDS AND THEIR MEANING

I tell you earnestly, you must get into the habit of looking intensely at words, and assuring yourself of their meaning, syllable by syllable, nay, letter by letter. You might read all the books in the British Museum, if you could live long enough, and remain an utterly illiterate, uneducated person; but if you read ten pages of a good book, letter by letter,—that is to say, with real accuracy,—you are forevermore, in some measure, an educated person.

The entire difference between education and non-education (as regards the merely intellectual part of it) consists in this accuracy. A well-educated gentleman may not know many languages, may not be able to speak any but his own, may have read very few books; but whatever word he pronounces, he pronounces rightly.

An ordinarily clever and sensible seaman will be able to make his way ashore at most ports; yet he has only to speak a sentence to be known for an illiterate person; so also the accent, or turn of expression of a single sentence, will at once mark a scholar.

Let the accent of words be watched, and closely; let their meaning be watched more closely still. A few words, well chosen, will do the work that a thousand cannot do, when every one of those few is acting properly, in the function of one another.

LESSON XLIII

HOW TO SELECT A BOY

A gentleman advertised for a boy, and nearly fifty applicants presented themselves to him. Out of the whole number he selected one and dismissed the rest.

"I should like to know," said a friend, "on what ground you selected that boy, who had not a single recommendation?"

"You are mistaken," said the gentleman; "he has a great many. He wiped his feet when he came in, and closed the door after him, showing that he was careful. He gave his seat instantly to that lame old man, showing that he was thoughtful. He took off his cap when he came in and answered my questions promptly, showing that he was gentlemanly.

"He picked up the book which I had purposely laid on the floor and replaced it on the table, and he waited quietly for his turn, instead of pushing and crowding; showing that he was honorable and orderly. When I talked to him I noticed that his clothes were brushed and his hair in order. When he wrote his name I noticed that his finger-nails were clean.

"Don't you call those things letters of recommendation? I do; and I would give more for what I can tell about a boy by using my eyes ten minutes than for all the letters he can bring me."

LESSON XLIV

SALT

Salt is an every-day article, so common that we rarely give it a thought; yet, like most common things, it is useful enough to be ranked among the necessaries of life. "I could not live without salt," would sound to us exaggerated in the mouth of any one. Have you ever fancied that you could do without it?

How would meat taste without salt? Would not much of our vegetable food be insipid, if we neglected this common seasoning? And even the "daily bread" demands its share.

Where is this salt found, that we prize so little, yet need so much? The sea furnishes some, and salt-mines and salt-springs give the rest. Most of the salt used in this country is obtained from the water of certain springs. Among the richest of these springs are those at Salina, now a part of the city of Syracuse, New York. Forty gallons of water from these wells yield one bushel of salt.

LESSON XLV

STUDIES

Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness; for ornament, in discourse; and for ability in the judgment and disposition of business.

To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar.

Crafty men contemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men use them. Read not to contradict and confute, or to believe and take for granted, or to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

Reading makes a full man; conference, a ready man; and writing, an exact man.

SELECTION XV

A PSALM OF LIFE

  Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
    "Life is but an empty dream!"
  For the soul is dead that slumbers,
    And things are not what they seem.

  Life is real! Life is earnest!
    And the grave is not its goal;
  "Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"
    Was not spoken of the soul.

  Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
    Is our destined end or way,
  But to act, that each to-morrow
    Find us farther than to-day.

  Art is long, and Time is fleeting;
    And our hearts, though strong and brave,
  Still, like muffled drums, are beating
    Funeral marches to the grave.

  In the world's broad field of battle,
    In the bivouac of life,
  Be not like dumb, driven cattle,
    Be a hero in the strife.

  Trust no future, however pleasant;
    Let the dead past bury its dead:
  Act,—act in the living present,
    Heart within, and God o'erhead.

  Lives of great men all remind us
    We can make our lives sublime,
  And, departing, leave behind us
    Footprints on the sands of time.

  Footprints, that perhaps another,
    Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
  A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
    Seeing, shall take heart again.

  Let us then be up and doing,
    With a heart for any fate;
  Still achieving, still pursuing,
    Learn to labor and to wait.

H. W. Longfellow.

LESSON XLVI

RULES OF BEHAVIOR

Every action in company ought to be done with some sign of respect to those present.

In presence of others, sing not to yourself with a humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet.

Speak not when others speak; sit not when others stand; speak not when you should hold your peace; walk not when others stop.

Turn not your back to others, especially in speaking; jog not the table or desk on which another reads or writes; lean not on any one.

Be no flatterer; neither play with any one that delights not to be played with.

Read no letters, books, or papers, in company; but when there is a necessity for doing it, you must ask leave. Come not near the books or writings of any one so as to read them, unless desired.

When another speaks, be attentive yourself, and disturb not the audience. If any one hesitates in his words, help him not, nor prompt him, without being desired; interrupt him not, nor answer him till his speech is ended.

Be not curious to know the affairs of others, neither approach to those that speak in private.

Make no show of taking great delight in your victuals; feed not with greediness; lean not on the table; neither find fault with what you eat.

Let your discourses with men of business be short.

Be not immoderate in urging your friend to discover a secret.

Speak not in an unknown tongue in company, but in your own language, and as those of quality do, and not as the vulgar.

LESSON XLVII

USING THE EYES

The difference between men consists, in great measure, in the intelligence of their observation. The Russian proverb says of the non-observant man, "He goes through the forest and sees no firewood."

"Sir," said Johnson, on one occasion, to a fine gentleman, just returned from Italy, "some men will learn more in the Hampstead stage than others in the tour of Europe." It is the mind that sees as well as the eye.

Many, before Galileo, had seen a suspended weight swing before their eyes with a measured beat; but he was the first to detect the value of the fact. One of the vergers in the cathedral at Pisa, after filling with oil a lamp which swung from the roof, left it swinging to and fro. Galileo, then a youth of only eighteen, noting it attentively, conceived the idea of applying it to the measurement of time.

Fifty years of study and labor, however, elapsed before he completed the invention of his pendulum,—an invention the importance of which, in the measurement of time and in astronomical calculations, can scarcely be overvalued.

While Captain Brown was occupied in studying the construction of bridges, he was walking in his garden one dewy morning, when he saw a tiny spider's-net suspended across his path. The idea occurred to him, that a bridge of iron ropes might be constructed in like manner, and the result was the invention of his Suspension Bridge.

So trifling a matter as a straw may indicate which way the wind blows. It is the close observation of little things which is the secret of success in business, in art, in science and in every other pursuit in life.

LESSON XLVIII

THE AFFECTION AND REVERENCE DUE A MOTHER

What an awful state of mind must a man have attained, when he can despise a mother's counsel! Her name is identified with every idea that can subdue the sternest mind; that can suggest the most profound respect, the deepest and most heartfelt attachment, the most unlimited obedience. It brings to the mind the first human being that loved us, the first guardian that protected us, the first friend that cherished us; who watched with anxious care over infant life, whilst yet we were unconscious of our being; whose days and nights were rendered wearisome by her anxious cares for our welfare; whose eager eye followed us through every path we took; who gloried in our honor; who sickened in heart at our shame; who loved and mourned, when others reviled and scorned; and whose affection for us survives the wreck of every other feeling within. When her voice is raised to inculcate religion, or to reprehend irregularity, it possesses unnumbered claims of attention, respect and obedience. She fills the place of the eternal God; by her lips that God is speaking; in her counsels He is conveying the most solemn admonitions; and to disregard such counsel, to despise such interference, to sneer at the wisdom that addresses you, or the aged piety that seeks to reform you, is the surest and the shortest path which the devil himself could have opened for your perdition. I know no grace that can have effect; I know not any authority upon earth to which you will listen, when once you have brought yourself to reject such advice.

USEFUL INFORMATION

The officials and clerks by whom the people's business in the administration of the government is carried on, constitute the Civil Service. About five thousand of these officials are appointed by the President alone or with the consent of the Senate; about fifteen to twenty thousand more are appointed under what is known as the "Civil-Service Rules," and the remainder of our office-holders are appointed by heads of departments.

Competitive examinations for admission to the Civil Service are held at regular intervals by a Board of Examiners in each of the principal cities of the United States. Men and women receive the same pay for the same work in government service.

The salary of the President of the United States is $75,000 a year. The Vice-president receives $8,000; Cabinet officers, $8,000; Senators, $5,000 and mileage. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court receives $10,500. Ministers to foreign nations receive from $5,000 to $18,000 annually. The amount varies with the importance of the post.

The total number of Indians in the United States is about 250,000,
Alaska not included. The most numerous tribes are the Cherokee and
Choctaw Indians. The Apaches are the most savage. About half of the
Indian tribes are now partly civilized and are self-supporting.

WISE SAYINGS

The first business of a state is the education of its citizens.

Every child has a right to the best education.

The highest motive of school government is to give the child the power and necessary reason to control himself.

We have no right to teach anything that does not go through the intellect and reach the heart.

Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.

LESSON XLIX

WHEAT

Wheat was unknown in America till it was brought over by Europeans, but it is now grown to an immense extent in the temperate regions of both North and South America. Our country is the greatest wheat granary in the world. The production of this grain in the United States is over five hundred millions of bushels a year.

The great "wheat belt" of the United States is in the Northwest,—in
Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the neighboring states.
California also is a splendid country for this cereal, and California's
wheat crop is every year worth more than were ever her stores of gold.

People who live in cities and towns get their bread for the most part at the baker's; so that in many families the good old art of bread-making is almost forgotten. Then it must be said that it is the exception rather than the rule when one finds really good home-made bread. This is a great pity.

Now, let me add one hint for the benefit of the girls. In the English language there is no nobler word than Lady. But go back to its origin, and what do we find that it means? We find that it means She that looks after the loaf.

WISE SAYINGS

Shallow men believe in luck; strong men in pluck.

If there is honor among thieves, they stole it.

Have a time and place for everything, and do everything in its time and place.

You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.

You will always find those men the most forward to do good, or to improve the times, who are always busy.

Trifles make perfection, yet perfection is no trifle.

LESSON L

COUNTENANCE AND CHARACTER

We know men by their looks; we read men by looking at their faces—not at their features, their eyes, their lips, because God made these; but a certain cast of motion, and shape and expression, which their features have acquired. It is this that we call the countenance.

And what makes this countenance? The inward and mental habits; the constant pressure of the mind; the perpetual repetition of its acts. You detect at once a conceited, or foolish person. It is stamped on his countenance. You can see on the faces of the cunning or dissembling, certain corresponding lines, traced on the face as legibly as if they were written there.

As it is with the countenance, so it is with the character. Character is the sum total of all our actions. It is the result of the habitual use we have been making of our intellect, heart and will. We are always at work, like the weaver at the loom. So we are always forming a character for ourselves. It is a plain truth, that everybody grows up in a certain character; some good, some bad, some excellent, and some unendurable. Every character is formed by habits. If a man is habitually proud, or vain, or false, he forms for himself a character like in kind.

The character shows itself outwardly, but it is wrought within. Every habit is a chain of acts, and every one of those acts was a free link of the will. For instance, some people are habitually false. We sometimes meet with men whose word we can never take, and for this reason they have lost the perception of truth and falsehood. They do not know when they are speaking the truth and when they are speaking falsely. They bring this state upon themselves. But there was a time when these same men had never told a lie.

A good character is to be more highly prized than riches.

SELECTION XVI

THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET

1. How dear to the heart are the scenes of my childhood,
     When fond recollection presents them to view!
   The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood,
     And every loved spot which my infancy knew;
   The wide-spreading pond, and the mill which stood by it,
     The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell;
   The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it,
     And e'en the rude bucket which hung in the well:
   The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket.
   The moss-covered bucket, which hung in the well.

2. That moss-covered vessel I hail as a treasure;
     For often, at noon, when returned from the field,
   I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure,
     The purest and sweetest that nature can yield.
   How ardent I seized it, with hands that were glowing,
     And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell;
   Then soon, with the emblem of truth overflowing,
     And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well:
   The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,
   The moss-covered bucket arose from the well.

3. How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it,
     As poised on the curb it inclined to my lips!
   Not a full blushing goblet could tempt me to leave it,
     Though filled with the nectar that Jupiter sips.
   And now, far removed from the loved situation,
     The tear of regret will intrusively swell,
   As fancy reverts to my father's plantation,
     And sighs for the bucket which hangs in the well;
   The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,
   The moss-covered bucket, which hangs in the well.

Samuel Woodworth.

LESSON LI

THE VALUE OF TIME

The value of time has passed into a proverb,—"Time is money." It is so because its employment brings money. But it is more. It is knowledge. Still more, it is virtue.

Time is more than money. It brings what money cannot purchase. It has in its lap all the learning of the past, the spoils of antiquity, the priceless treasures of knowledge. Who would barter these for gold or silver? But knowledge is a means only, and not an end. It is valuable because it promotes the welfare, the development and the progress of man. And the highest value of time is not in knowledge, but in the opportunity of doing good.

Time is opportunity. Little or much, it may be the occasion of usefulness. It is the point desired by the philosopher where to plant the lever that shall move the world. It is the napkin in which are wrapped, not only the talent of silver, but the treasures of knowledge and the fruits of virtue. Saving time, we save all these.

Employing time to the best advantage, we exercise a true thrift. To each of us the passing day is of the same dimensions, nor can any one, by taking thought, add a moment to its hours. But, though unable to extend their duration, he may swell them with works.

It is customary to say, "Take care of the small sums, and the large will take care of themselves." With equal wisdom may it be said, "Watch the minutes, and the hours and days will be safe." The moments are precious; they are gold filings, to be carefully preserved and melted into the rich ingot.

Time is the measure of life on earth. Its enjoyment is life itself. Its divisions, its days, its hours, its minutes, are fractions of this heavenly gift. Every moment that flies over our heads takes from the future, shortening by so much the measure of our days.

The moments lost in listlessness, or squandered in dissipation, are perhaps hours, days, weeks, months, years. The daily sacrifice of a single hour during a year comes at its end to thirty-six working days, an amount of time ample for the acquisition of important knowledge, and for the accomplishment of great good. Who of us does not each day, in many ways, sacrifice these precious moments, these golden hours?

Seek, then, always to be usefully occupied. Employ all the faculties, whether in study or in manual labor, and your days shall be filled with usefulness.

LESSON LII

THE STUDY OF CIVICS

Few people have the time to undertake a thorough study of civics, but everyone ought to find time to learn the principal features of the government under which he lives. We should know also of the way in which our government came into existence, and how this government is administered to-day. Such knowledge is necessary for the proper discharge of the duties of citizenship.

All kinds of political questions are discussed daily in the newspapers and voted on at times at the polls, and it is the duty of every man to try to understand them. For if these questions are not intelligently settled, they will be settled by the ignorant, and the result will be very bad.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. People sometimes think that, because our national government is called a republic, and we have free schools and free libraries and other such free institutions, our liberty is forever secure. Our government is indeed a wonderful structure of political skill, and generally runs so very smoothly that we almost think it will run of itself. Beware!

In order that the government of the nation, of the state, of the city or the town shall be properly administered, it is necessary that every citizen be watchful to secure the best officers for its government.

USEFUL INFORMATION

The great obelisk in Central Park, New York, is one of the most noted monoliths in the world. It was quarried, carved and erected about the time of Abraham, to commemorate the deeds of an ancient Pharaoh. Five hundred years later the conquering Sesostris, the bad Pharaoh of the Bible, carved on its surface the record of his famous reign.

Now Sesostris, or Rameses II, reigned one thousand years before the Trojan war, so that all the symbols now seen on the obelisk were already very old in the days of Priam, Hector and Ulysses. The Roman poet Horace says that there were many brave men before Agamemnon, but there was no Homer to put their valiant deeds in verse. Sesostris was an exception. He escaped oblivion without the aid of Homer, and the figures upon the hard granite of Cleopatra's Needle tell us even now, after more than thirty-five centuries, of the reign of that remarkable king.

LESSON LIII

THE SEA AND ITS USES

It is a common thing in speaking of the sea to call it "a waste of waters." But this is a mistake. Instead of being a waste and a desert, it keeps the earth itself from becoming a waste and a desert. It is the world's fountain of life and health and beauty, and if it were taken away, the grass would perish from the mountains, the forests would crumble on the hills. Water is as indispensable to all life, vegetable or animal, as the air itself. This element of water is supplied entirely by the sea. The sea is the great inexhaustible fountain which is continually pouring up into the sky precisely as many streams, and as large, as all the rivers of the world are pouring into the sea.

The sea is the real birthplace of the clouds and the rivers, and out of it come all the rains and dews of heaven. Instead of being a waste and an incumbrance, therefore, it is a vast fountain of fruitfulness, and the nurse and mother of all the living. Out of its mighty breast come the resources that feed and support the population of the world. We are surrounded by the presence and bounty of the sea.

It is the sea that feeds us. It is the sea that clothes us. It cools us with the summer cloud, and warms us with the blazing fires of winter. We make wealth for ourselves and for our children out of its rolling waters, though we may live a thousand leagues away from its shore. Thus the sea, though it bears no harvest on its bosom, yet sustains all the harvest of the world. If like a desert itself, it makes all the other wildernesses of the earth to bud and blossom as the rose. Though its own waters are as salt and wormwood, it makes the clouds of heaven drop with sweetness.

The sea is a perpetual source of health to the world. Without it there could be no drainage for the lands. It is the scavenger of the world. The sea is also set to purify the atmosphere. Thus the sea, instead of being a waste of waters, is the very fountain of life, health and beauty.

LESSON LIV

WONDERLAND

Many of you have read of the remarkable geysers of Iceland and the more remarkable ones in New Zealand, of grand cañons in Arizona, of deep mountain gorges in Colorado, of stupendous falls in Africa, of lofty mountains covered with snow in Europe, of elevated lakes in South America, of natural bridges in Virginia; but who has ever conceived of having all these wonders in one spot of the earth, and forever free as a great National Park, visited each summer by thousands of native and foreign travelers?

Travelers report that this corner of the earth seems to be not quite finished by the great Creator. Through all this region volcanic action has been exceedingly vigorous. The effect of fire upon the rocks is plainly visible and widely spread. Whole mountains of volcanic rock exist. Floods of lava everywhere abound. The last feeble evidence of this gigantic force is to be seen in the hot springs on Gardiner River and on many other streams, and in the strange action of the geyser basins.

There are sixteen important geysers in this section, and innumerable inferior ones. One geyser is called the "Giantess." It throws a great mass of water to a small height, surging and splashing in all directions. One of the most noted geysers is called the "Castle Geyser," because of its size and general appearance. The opening of the geyser tube is circular, and about three feet in diameter.

When this geyser is about to spout, a rumbling is heard as of thousands of tons of stones rolling round and round. Louder and louder grows the noise and disturbance, till it has thrown out a few tons of water and obtained apparent relief.

These are warnings to the observers to retreat to a safe distance. In a few moments the geyser increases in noise, the earth even trembles, and then a great column of water is hurled into the air.

Another geyser is "Old Faithful," so called because he plays regularly every sixty-five minutes. The crater is quite low, and contains an opening which is only the widening of a crack extending across the whole mound. On the summit are a number of beautiful little pools, several feet deep, filled with water so clear that a name written in pencil on a piece of stone and placed at the bottom of the deepest pool is seen as clearly as if held in the hand. Another remarkable fact is, that the water does not efface the name, even after months of submersion.

Old Faithful begins with a few feeble jets. Soon every spasm becomes more powerful, till with a mighty roar, up comes the water in a great column. This rises to the height of one hundred and thirty feet for the space of about five minutes. After the column of water sinks down there is a discharge of steam.

The "Beehive Geyser" is named after the shape of its cone. The water and steam issue from the opening in a steady stream, instead of in successive impulses, as in the two mentioned above. No water falls back from this geyser, but the whole mass appears to be driven up into fine spray or steam, which is carried away as cloud, or diffused into the atmosphere.

The names of some of the other well-known geysers are the "Giant," "Grotto," "Soda," "Turban," and "Young Faithful." The tremendous force with which some of these hot springs even now act, and the peculiarities of the earth's formation in this section of our country, may give us some faint idea of the phenomena through which our little world has passed until it became the dwelling-place of man.

LESSON LV

OUR COUNTRY TO-DAY

PART I

The United States is one of the youngest nations of the world. Civilized men first went to England nearly twenty centuries ago, but since Columbus discovered America only four centuries have passed. Each of these four centuries has a character of its own and is quite unlike the others. The first was the time of exploring, the second of colonizing, the third of deciding who should rule in America, and the fourth of growth and development.

During the first century explorers from France, England, and Spain visited the New World, each claiming for his own country the part that he explored. Each hoped to find gold, but only the Spaniards, who went to Mexico and Peru, were successful. There was little thought of making settlements, and at the end of the first century the Spanish colonies of St. Augustine and Santa Fe were the only ones on the mainland of what is now the territory of the United States.

During the second century much colonizing was done. The French settled
chiefly along the Saint Lawrence River; the English settled along the
Atlantic coast of North America; the Spanish in Mexico and South
America; the Dutch by the Hudson River; the Swedes by the Delaware.
The European nations discovered that it was worth while to have
American colonies.

During the third century there was a long struggle to see which nation should rule in America. England and France were far ahead of the others, but which of them should it be? The French and Indian Wars gave the answer, "England." Then another question arose; should it be England or the Thirteen Colonies? The Revolutionary War answered, "The Colonies." At the end of the third century the United States had been established, and the land east of the Mississippi was under her rule.

In the last century there has been a great gain in people and in land. To-day there are thirty times as many people in this country as there were then.

USEFUL INFORMATION

It may not be generally known that we have in the nickel five-cent piece of our American coinage a key to the tables of linear measures and weights. The diameter of a nickel is exactly two centimeters, and its weight is five grammes. Five nickels in a row will give the length of the decimeter, and two of them will weigh a decagram. As the kiloliter is a cubic meter, the key of the measure of length is also that of capacity.

Among the North American Indians polished shells were used as currency.
This money was called wampum and was recognized by the colonists.
Six white shells were exchanged for three purple beads, and these in
turn were equivalent to one English penny.

LESSON LVI

OUR COUNTRY TO-DAY

PART II

How has it come about that the number of people in the United States has increased with such rapidity? It is partly because more have been born than have died, and partly because so many have come from foreign countries. Fifty years ago large villages were common in which there were hardly any foreigners. Now one-sixth of the whole number of inhabitants of the United States are people who were born in some other country.

These people are glad to come because the workingmen of America receive higher wages than those of any other country, and because in America a man is free to rise to any position that he is fitted to hold. The country is ready to give the education that will prepare her citizens to rise to high positions. It is believed that an educated man is likely to make a better citizen than an ignorant man, and therefore the public schools of the United States are entirely free. Then, too, there are public libraries not only in the cities but in many of the little villages, so that men who are too old to go to school may educate themselves by reading. There is opportunity to use all kinds of knowledge in carrying on the manufactures of the country. Almost everything that used to be made by hand is now made by machinery, and the skill to invent a machine that will work a little better than the one in use is always well rewarded. Knowledge is also needed to develop the mineral wealth of the country. Within the limits of the United States are metals, coal, natural gas, and petroleum, and it is the skill and inventive genius of her citizens that have brought such great wealth to the country from these products.

This inventive genius has also given us rapid and cheap transportation. In the old days a man had to make or raise most things for himself. Manufactured articles that could be made very cheaply in one place became exceedingly dear when they had to be carried long distances by wagons over poor roads. Many delicate kinds of fruit would spoil on such long journeys. Now, fruit can be sent from California to Maine in fine condition. Cheap and rapid transportation is a great convenience. Business men need not live in the cities near their offices,—the steam or electric cars will carry them eight or ten miles in the time that it would take to walk one mile. The postal service and the telegraph are sure and rapid. So also is the telephone. No wonder, then, that our commerce has reached the fabulous sum of one billion, five hundred million dollars in one year.

What the United States will become tomorrow, will lie in the hands of those who are the children of to-day.

LESSON LVII

PICTURES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY

On the southern bank of the James River in Virginia stand the ruins of an old church. Its crumbling tower and broken arch are almost hidden by the tangled vines which cover it. Within the walls of the church-yard may be found a few ancient tombstones overgrown with ivy and long grass.

This is all that remains of the first English settlement in
America,—the colony of Jamestown, Virginia.

This first permanent English settlement in the New World was made in the year 1607, more than a hundred years after the discovery of America by Columbus. Some attempts to colonize had been made by the English before this time. The most important of these was undertaken by the famous but unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh.

Raleigh obtained from Queen Elizabeth a grant of a vast territory, to be called Virginia, in honor of Elizabeth, the "virgin queen." It extended from the Hudson River to the boundary of what is now Georgia.

In attempting to colonize Virginia, Raleigh spent a large fortune. But his colonies never prospered. The settlers returned home disgusted with the hardships of the wilderness. In 1589 Raleigh sold his rights to a stock company.

Nevertheless the enterprise which proved too difficult for Raleigh was carried out during Raleigh's lifetime, under the leadership of the famous John Smith.

The idea of colonizing Virginia had been growing wonderfully. In 1606 a company of "noblemen, gentlemen, and merchants," called the London Company, obtained from King James the First a charter for "planting and ruling" South Virginia.

The company had gathered together a band of men willing to try their fortunes in Virginia, and they were just about to embark when Smith reached London. To Smith's bold and roving disposition the idea of a New World was irresistible, and he joined the colonists.

In the last month of the year 1606, the party—in all, one hundred and five men—set sail in a little fleet of three vessels commanded by Captain Newport.

On the 23d of May, 1607, after a weary and distressing voyage, the Virginia colonists landed. They commenced the settlement of Jamestown. When the king's sealed instructions were opened, and the names of the seven directors were made known, it was found that John Smith was to be one of the seven. Through the jealousy of Wingfield, who was chosen president, he was not allowed to take his place in the council.

But this did not prevent his being the ablest man among them, and the colonists were soon glad to turn to him for guidance. For now their condition was most deplorable. They were surrounded by hostile Indians; the provisions they had brought from England were soon consumed; and the diseases caused by the hot, moist climate in a short time reduced their number by one-half.

Besides, the colonists were a troublesome class to deal with. Many of them were broken-down "gentlemen," who despised hard work. A very few were farmers or mechanics or persons fitted for the life they sought.

Day by day Smith made his influence more and more felt. He soon became the head of the colony. He put in force the good old rule that he who would not work should not eat.

Many strange adventures are told about John Smith during the two years he remained in Virginia. He left the colony in the autumn of 1609 on account of a severe wound which he received, and which obliged him to return to England to be cured.

The colonists, having lost the guidance of this resourceful man, were soon reduced to great want; still they held out and later on became a flourishing colony.

LESSON LVIII

THOMAS A. EDISON

One of the greatest inventors of the age is Thomas A. Edison, and his whole life is an interesting story for young people. His mother had been a teacher, and her greatest wish for her son was that he should love knowledge and grow up to be a good and useful man.

When Edison was only twelve years of age, he secured a position as train boy on the Grand Trunk Railroad in one of the western states. He went through the train and sold apples, peanuts, papers, and books. He had such a pleasant face that everybody liked to buy his wares. He traded some of his papers for things with which to try experiments. He then fitted out an old baggage car as a little room in which he began his first efforts in the way of inventions.

One of the things he did while working as a train boy was to print a paper on the train. The "London Times" spoke of it as the only paper in the world published on a train. It was named the "Grand Trunk Herald."

Young Edison worked as a train boy for four years, and he had in that time saved two thousand dollars, which he gave to his parents.

Once he thought he would like to read all the books in the city library. He read for a long time, but he found that he could not finish all the books. He then made up his mind that one would have to live a thousand years in order to read all the books in that library, so he gave up the idea.

One day he bought a book on electricity. Soon after that the basement of his home was filled with many odd things. He used a stovepipe to connect his home with that of another boy, and through this the boys could talk when they wished.

A kind friend taught young Edison how to telegraph, and in five months he could operate well and was given a position. He worked very hard, night and day, so that he could learn all he could about electricity. He lost place after place because he was always trying some new idea. When he first proposed to send four messages on one wire at the same time, he was laughed at by the people; but Edison succeeded. Later on he invented the phonograph. His greatest invention is the incandescent light, which is used for lighting purposes.

Mr. Edison loves his work, and although he is now a very wealthy man, he keeps on inventing and working every day. It is said that he sometimes works for twenty-four hours, day and night, without food or rest, until he has perfected some new invention. Mr. Edison is a true type of an American gentleman.

SELECTION XVII

OFT IN THE STILLY NIGHT

  Oft in the stilly night,
    Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
  Fond memory brings the light
    Of other days around me;
    The smiles, the tears
    Of boyhood's years,
  The words of love then spoken;
    The eyes that shone,
    Now dimm'd and gone,
  The cheerful hearts now broken.
  Thus in the stilly night,
    Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
  Sad memory brings the light
    Of other days around me.

  When I remember all
    The friends, so linked together,
  I've seen around me fall,
    Like leaves in wintry weather,
    I feel like one
    Who treads alone
  Some banquet hall deserted,
    Whose lights are fled,
    Whose garlands dead,
  And all but he departed.
  Thus in the stilly night,
    Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
  Sad memory brings the light
    Of other days around me.

Thomas Moore.

LESSON LIX

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Abraham Lincoln, the restorer of the Union, the sixteenth president of the United States, was born in Kentucky on the twelfth of February, 1809. His father was a typical backwoodsman, and young Lincoln grew up among frontier surroundings. The Lincoln family came originally from Pennsylvania. At a later period the Lincolns moved south to Virginia, and again they migrated to Kentucky. It was here that the grandfather of Abraham Lincoln lost his life in a battle with the Indians.

The first seven years of Lincoln's life were spent in the wilds of Kentucky. In 1816 his father left that state and moved northward to Indiana, but here the surroundings were not much better. A rude blockhouse, with a single large room below and a low garret above, was the home of our young hero. Every hardship and privation of the pioneer's life was here the lot of our growing youth. But he loved the tangled woods, and hunting and fishing were his delight.

There were no schools there, and Abraham learned a little reading and writing from a man who shared the poor blockhouse with the Lincoln family. For writing, a slate was used, and now and then a pine board, or even some flat stone upon which the figures were traced with charcoal. His books were few, but he read them over and over again, and the impressions they made on him were so much the deeper. In this way Lincoln acquired the rudiments of education. When Abraham was scarcely nine years old, his excellent mother died. His father married again, and fortunately for young Lincoln, his stepmother was a lady of refinement, who took the greatest interest in her rugged but talented step-son. She sent him to a private school for a while, and Abraham learned many useful things and easily kept at the head of his class. His stepmother also procured more books for him, for Abraham was a most ardent reader, and he spent all his leisure time in reading and self-culture. Being tall of stature and well built, young Lincoln had to help his father on the farm a great deal, and the only time left for study was late at night or in the early morning.

Thus our future president grew up to manhood; a sturdy, awkward, but honest backwoodsman, with a sound mind in a healthy body.

When Lincoln was about eighteen years old, his father again moved northward, this time to Illinois. Here Abraham continued to work and to improve his mind as best he might. Borrowing books from some law office, he studied them at night and returned them in the morning. His honesty and true merit were soon recognized by the rest of the community where he lived, and he was elected to represent the people in the legislature.

Lincoln became a lawyer of more than ordinary ability, and although his appearance remained somewhat ungainly, he easily won his lawsuits by the clear and logical conclusions which he advanced over those of his opponents. He had thus secured a splendid law-practice and had settled in Springfield, Illinois, when he became the republican candidate for president of the United States in 1860, and was elected the same year.

The country at this time was agitated over two great questions: the question of slavery and that of secession. The South was ready to separate from the North, and the entire country was in a most critical condition. Such was the state of affairs when Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office as president of the United States. Lincoln was scarcely three weeks in office when the great war of the Rebellion between the North and the South broke out; a war of which there is no parallel in history. Brother fought against brother, and father against son. Here it was that Lincoln showed his heroic courage, and by his indomitable will kept the reins of government firmly in his hands, thus saving the country from utter anarchy. The war continued with unrelenting vigor for two years, and its horrible consequences were sorely felt throughout the land. In September, 1862, Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation, by which slavery was forever banished from this country. Still the warring did not cease. In 1864 Lincoln was elected for a second term in office. The people knew his noble character and they had full confidence in him.

At last peace seemed to be in sight. The North had sacrificed the blood of thousands of its men as well as the wealth of its treasuries. The South, in the same manner, had not only lost tens of thousands of its bravest men, but it was utterly ruined, on account of the terrible punishment the war had inflicted upon that sunny land.

Richmond, the stronghold of the rebellion, had fallen, and victory was on the side of the Union. Amidst universal rejoicings, there came the saddest news. On the 14th day of April, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

The whole nation was thrown into deepest mourning. The noble heart of
Lincoln beat no more. He is called the "Martyr President."

His remains were taken to Springfield, Illinois, where they rest at the foot of a small hill in Oakwood Cemetery. A simple monument, with the name—"Lincoln"—upon it, is the only epitaph of him, who next to Washington was the greatest man of our glorious Republic.

LESSON LX

ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG

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 the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot 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.

Abraham Lincoln.

November 19th, 1863.

SELECTION XVIII

THE PICKET OF THE POTOMAC

  "All quiet along the Potomac," they say,
    "Except now and then a stray picket
  Is shot as he walks on his beat to and fro,
    By a rifleman hid in the thicket."
  'Tis nothing—a private or two now and then
    Will not count in the tale of the battle;
  Not an officer lost—only one of the men
    Breathing out all alone the death-rattle.

  All quiet along the Potomac to-night,
    Where the soldiers lie peacefully dreaming,
  Their tents in the ray of the clear autumn moon,
    And the light of the watch-fires gleaming.
  A tremulous sigh from the gentle night wind
    Through the forest leaves slowly is creeping,
  While the stars up above, with their glittering eyes,
    Keep watch while the army is sleeping.

  There's only the sound of the lone sentry's tread,
    As he tramps from the rock to the fountain,
  And thinks of the two in the low trundle-bed
    Far away in the hut on the mountain.
  His musket falls slack; his face, dark and grim,
    Grows gentle with memories tender,
  As he mutters a prayer for the children asleep,
    For their mother,—may heaven defend her!

  The moon seems to shine as serenely as then,
    That night when the love, yet unspoken,
  Lingered long on his lips, and when low-murmured vows
    Were pledged, never more to be broken.
  Then, drawing his sleeve roughly over his eyes,
    He dashes the tears that are welling,
  And gathers his gun closer up to its place,
    As if to keep down the heart-swelling.

  He passes the fountain, the blasted pine-tree—
    The footstep is lagging and weary;
  Yet onward he glides through the broad belt of light,
    Towards the shade of a forest so dreary.
  Hark! Was it the night wind that rustled the leaves?
    Is it moonlight so suddenly flashing?
  It looked like a rifle— "Ha, Mary, good-night!"
    His life-blood is ebbing and dashing.

  All quiet along the Potomac to-night,
    No sound save the rush of the river;
  But the dew falls unseen on the face of the dead—
    The picket's off duty forever.

Ethel L. Beers.

LESSON LXI

WAGES

Wages are a compensation given to the laborer for the exertion of his physical powers, or of his skill and ingenuity. They must, therefore, vary according to the severity of the labor to be performed, or to the degree of skill and ingenuity required. A jeweller or engraver, for example, must be paid a higher rate of wages than a servant or laborer. A long course of training is necessary to instruct a man in the business of jewelling or engraving, and if the cost of his training were not made up to him in a higher rate of wages, he would, instead of learning so difficult an art, betake himself to such employments as require hardly any instruction.

A skilled mason, who has served a long apprenticeship to his trade, will always obtain higher wages than a common laborer, who has simply to use his mere bodily strength. Were it not so, there would be nothing to induce the mason to spend many years in learning a trade at which he could earn no higher wages than the man who was simply qualified to carry lime in a hod, or to roll a wheelbarrow.

The wages of labor in different employments vary with the constancy and inconstancy of employment. Employment is much more constant in some trades than in others. Many trades can be carried on only in particular states of weather, and seasons of the year; and if the workmen who are employed in these cannot easily find employment in others during the time they are thrown out of work, their wages must be proportionally raised. A journeyman weaver, shoemaker, or tailor may reckon, unless trade is dull, upon obtaining constant employment; but masons, bricklayers, pavers, and in general all those workmen who carry on their business in the open air, are liable to constant interruptions. Their wages, accordingly, must be sufficient to maintain them while they are employed, and also when they are necessarily idle.

From the preceding observations it is evident that those who receive the highest wages are not, when the cost of their education, and the chances of their success, are taken into account, really better paid than those who receive the lowest. The wages earned by the different classes of workmen are equal, not when each individual earns the same number of dollars in a given space of time, but when each is paid in proportion to the severity of the labor he has to perform, and to the degree of previous education and skill it requires. So long as each individual is allowed to employ himself as he pleases, we may be assured that the rate of wages in different employments will be comparatively equal.

SELECTION XIX

COLUMBIA, THE GEM OF THE OCEAN; OR, THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE

1. O Columbia, the gem of the ocean,
     The home of the brave and the free,
   The shrine of each patriot's devotion,
     A world offers homage to thee.
   Thy mandates make heroes assemble,
     When Liberty's form stands in view,
  Thy banners make tyranny tremble,
    When borne by the red, white and blue.

CHORUS.

  When borne by the red, white and blue,
  When borne by the red, white and blue,
    Thy banners make tyranny tremble,
  When borne by the red, white and blue.

2. When war winged its wide desolation.
     And threatened the land to deform,
   The ark then of freedom's foundation,
     Columbia, rode safe thro' the storm;
   With her garlands of vict'ry around her,
     When so proudly she bore her brave crew,
   With her flag proudly floating before her,
     The boast of the red, white and blue.

CHORUS.

3. The wine-cup, the wine-cup bring hither,
     And fill you it true to the brim;
   May the wreaths they have won never wither,
     Nor the star of their glory grow dim.
   May the service united ne'er sever,
     But they to their colors prove true.
   The Army and Navy forever,
     Three cheers for the red, white and blue.

CHORUS.

David T. Shaw.

LESSON LXII

LOVE FOR THE DEAD

The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. Every other wound we seek to heal—every other affliction to forget; but this wound we consider it a duty to keep open—this affliction we cherish and brood over in solitude. Where is the mother who would willingly forget the infant that perished like a blossom from her arms, though every recollection is a pang? Where is the child that would willingly forget the most tender of parents, though to remember be but to lament? Who, even in the hour of agony, would forget the friend over whom he mourns? Who, even when the tomb is closing upon the remains of her he most loved—when he feels his heart, as it were, crushed in the closing of its portal—would accept of consolation that must be bought by forgetfulness?

No, the love which survives the tomb is one of the noblest attributes of the soul. If it has its woes, it has likewise its delights; and when the overwhelming burst of grief is calmed into the gentle tear of recollection—when the sudden anguish and the convulsive agony over the present ruins of all that we most loved is softened away into pensive meditation on all that it was in the days of its loveliness—who would root out such a sorrow from the heart? Though it may sometimes throw a passing cloud over the bright hour of gayety, or spread a deeper sadness over the hour of gloom, yet who would exchange it, even for the song of pleasure or the burst of revelry? No, there is a voice from the tomb sweeter than song. There is a remembrance of the dead to which we turn even from the charms of the living. Oh, the grave! the grave! It buries every error—covers every defect. From its peaceful bosom spring none but fond regrets and tender recollections. Who can look down upon the grave even of an enemy, and not feel remorse that he should ever have warred with the poor handful of earth that lies mouldering before him?

LESSON LXIII

ECONOMY OF TIME

One of the most important lessons to be learned in life is the art of economizing time. A celebrated Italian was wont to call his time his estate; and it is true of this as of other estates of which the young come into possession, that it is rarely prized till it is nearly squandered. Habits of indolence, listlessness, and sloth, once firmly fixed, cannot be suddenly thrown off, and the man who has wasted the precious hours of life's seed-time finds that he cannot reap a harvest in life's autumn. Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine; but lost time is gone forever. In the long catalogue of excuses for neglect of duty, there is none which drops more often from men's lips than the want of leisure. People are always cheating themselves with the idea that they would do this or that desirable thing, "if they only had the time." It is thus that the lazy and the selfish excuse themselves from a thousand things which conscience dictates should be done. Now, the truth is, there is no condition in which the chance of doing any good is less than in that of leisure.

Go, seek out the men in any community who have done the most for their own and the general good, and you will find they are—who?—Wealthy, leisurely people, who have plenty of time to themselves, and nothing to do? No; they are almost always the men who are in ceaseless activity from January to December. Such men, however pressed with business, are always found capable of doing a little more; and you may rely on them in their busiest seasons with ten times more assurance than on idle men.

The men who do the greatest things do them, not so much by fitful efforts, as by steady, unremitting toil,—by turning even the moments to account. They have the genius for hard work,—the most desirable kind of genius.

SELECTION XX

RECESSIONAL

  God of our fathers, known of old—
    Lord of our far-flung battle-line—
  Beneath whose awful hand we hold
    Dominion over palm and pine—
  Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
  Lest we forget—lest we forget.

  The tumult and the shouting dies—
    The captain and the kings depart—
  Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
    An humble and a contrite heart.
  Lord God of hosts, be with us yet,
  Lest we forget—lest we forget.

  Far-called our navies melt away—
    On dune and headland sinks the fire—
  Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
    Is one with Nineveh and Tyre.
  Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
  Lest we forget—lest we forget.

  If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
    Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—
  Such boasting as the Gentiles use,
    Or lesser breeds without the Law—
  Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
  Lest we forget—lest we forget.

  For heathen heart that puts her trust
    In reeking tube and iron shard—
  All valiant dust that builds on dust,
    And guarding calls not Thee to guard,—
  For frantic boast and foolish word,
  Thy mercy on Thy people, Lord. Amen.

Rudyard Kipling.

SELECTION XXI

HUMAN PROGRESS

  All is action, all is motion,
    In this mighty world of ours;
  Like the current of the ocean,
    Man is urged by unseen powers.

  Steadily, but strongly moving,
    Life is onward evermore;
  Still the present is improving
    On the age that went before.

  Duty points with outstretched fingers,
    Every soul to action high;
  Woe betide the soul that lingers—
    Onward! onward! is the cry.

  Though man's form may seem victorious,
    War may waste and famine blight,
  Still from out the conflict glorious,
    Mind comes forth with added light.

  O'er the darkest night of sorrow,
    From the deadliest field of strife,
  Dawns a clearer, brighter morrow,
    Springs a truer, nobler life.

  Onward! onward! onward, ever!
    Human progress none may stay;
  All who make the vain endeavor
    Shall, like chaff, be swept away.

J. Hagan.

LESSON LXIV

GEORGE STEPHENSON, THE ENGINEER

A famous engineer, named Stephenson, was the first person to demonstrate the fact that an engine could be built which would draw a train of cars on a railway. He was an Englishman. His parents were poor, and the whole family had to live in one room. George was one of six children; none of them were sent to school, because they had to work for their living.

From an early age George had assisted his father in tending the fires of the steam engine which worked the machinery of a large coal mine. He devoted himself to the study of this engine until he had mastered every detail of its construction. In 1813, a rich nobleman entrusted him with money to carry out his favorite plan of building a "traveling engine," as he then called it.

He made an engine that was fairly successful, as it drew eight loaded cars on a railway at a speed of four miles an hour. But he was not contented; he knew that he could do much better. Soon afterward, he was employed to construct another engine, in which he made some great improvements that enabled it to go twice as fast as the other.

Accounts of Stephenson's great invention crept into print, and people began to have faith in the locomotive. In 1822, a company began to build a line of railway between two towns named Stockton and Darlington. Stephenson was employed to construct the road-bed and build the engines. It was completed three years later, and was the subject of great popular curiosity.

Great crowds came to see the line opened. Stephenson himself drove the first engine. The train consisted of thirty-four cars. The signal was given and the train started. Great was the sensation as it moved off, and still greater was the admiration of the people at Stockton when the train arrived there after a safe journey. Thus, in 1825, was opened the first railway ever made for public use.

Stephenson was soon engaged in constructing a railway between Manchester and Liverpool. But now a storm of opposition broke out. Pamphlets and newspaper articles were written, making fun of Stephenson, and declaring that the new railroad would be a failure. It was claimed that the engine would certainly set fire to the surrounding country, that it would explode and kill the passengers, and that it would run over the people before they could get out of its way.

A committee was appointed by the English Parliament to look into the matter. They sneered at Stephenson as a lunatic, when he assured them that he could run his engine at twelve miles an hour. One of these wise men said to him: "Suppose a cow were to get in the way of an engine running at that rate of speed, wouldn't that be a very awkward circumstance?" "Yes," answered Stephenson, "very awkward for the cow."

But the consent of Parliament was at last obtained, and the line was completed in 1830, after many great obstacles had been overcome. It was shown that a train could be run at thirty miles an hour with safety, and thus the enemies of Stephenson were silenced.

Stephenson superintended the building of many other lines of railroad, and lived to see his best hopes realized. He became quite wealthy, and many honors were bestowed upon him. Nevertheless he remained always a simple, kindly man, even in his years of prosperity.

When England had experienced such success with railways, it was not long before America began building railroads on a large scale.

More than three hundred thousand miles of railroads are now in operation in the United States, and many more miles are added each year. The great systems of railways, with their modern improvements for fast travel, are a triumph of skill, energy and enterprise.

LESSON LXV

GEORGE WASHINGTON

PART II

The boundary war between France and the British possessions in America had been the cause of the war from 1753 to 1759 in which Washington and thousands of his countrymen did gallant services. It ended with the surrender of Quebec, by which France lost her foothold in the Ohio valley and all the territory east of the Mississippi.

Ten years later, the whole aspect had changed. The same country, for which our forefathers in the colonies had sacrificed some of their noblest sons, was now beginning to oppress these very colonies. By unjust taxation, England tried to replenish her treasury, which a protracted war across the seas had made empty. But though the war against the French in the interest of England had cost the colonies in America some of its best blood, it had not been without its salutary lesson. America had learned its own strength as well as the weakness of the British soldiers and her public officials. Washington, above all, knew these facts too well. He was, however, no agitator, and for many reasons was deeply attached to old England. He, therefore, cautioned reserve and forbearance without sacrificing his patriotism.

In the meantime the Revolution came to an outbreak. Washington was called upon by his compatriots to lead them on to liberty. After careful examination and due consideration he consented, and Washington took command of the colonial troops in the war against England. "It is my intention," said he, "if needs be, to sacrifice my life, my liberty and all my possessions in this holy cause."

Thus, we see him leading the army, animated with the noblest sentiments. General Washington was now forty-three years of age and in the full power of manhood. His personality was distinguished and his bearing serene. He electrified the whole army.

The Colonial troops, however, were not at all times equal to the well-drilled English soldiers, and General Washington had a difficult task before him. But what the Americans lacked in military tactics, they doubly possessed in enthusiasm and courage.

From Lexington and Boston, Bunker Hill and Concord, through Connecticut, New York, Philadelphia, Valley Forge, and from Princeton to Morristown was a wearisome march. Want of provisions for the army under his command, as well as many other disappointments, might well have discouraged any but the stoutest heart. General Washington was a hero, and he trusted in God and the ultimate success of the country's just cause. When at last the American army was in sorest distress, there came unexpected help from many quarters.

Such noble and self-sacrificing men as Lafayette, Steuben, Kosciusko, De Kalb and De Grasse arrived to aid our new republic, and after an unrelenting war of six long years, British rule was forever banished from the land.

On the 4th of December, 1782, General Washington took leave of the continental army. His memorable speech on that occasion is a masterpiece of unselfish patriotism.

He retired to his home at Mount Vernon, followed by the heartfelt blessings of a grateful people. His private life was one of regularity in all his doings. His hospitality was renowned, and Mount Vernon soon became a much frequented, much beloved place of reunion for many distinguished visitors.

Not a great many years was Washington permitted to enjoy his well-merited repose in his country home. The same country of which he had been the successful liberator, now called upon him to lead and guide this newly established government. Washington was chosen the First President of the United States of America in 1789.

It was at this time that he wrote in his diary: "To-day I take leave of private life and domestic happiness with feelings of regret, and am preparing to enter upon my official career. I hope I shall be able to realize the expectations my country has placed in me."

His journey from Mount Vernon to New York became one of triumph. He was met with the greatest enthusiasm throughout the country wherever he passed. He took his oath of office in New York City where the sub-treasury now stands.

Washington was elected a second time for the presidency. His presidential career was characteristic of the man and the hero.

An equitable and conservative government was administered by him, and the young republic was prosperous and progressive during his two terms of office.

Having returned once more to his beloved Virginia home, Washington now spent his declining years in much needed rest and quiet recreation.

In the fall of the year 1799 Washington was seized with a malignant fever. The best medical aid proved unavailing, and the Father of our Country died on the 14th day of December. His last words were: "Let me die in peace; I am not afraid to die, it is a debt we all must pay."

The exemplary life and the many noble achievements of this truly great man stand almost unique in the history of nations.

LESSON LXVI

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Benjamin Franklin was born poor, but nothing could keep him ignorant. His genius and strong will were wealth enough for any man. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to his brother James, who was a printer. At the same time—perhaps a little later—he used to sell his own ballads in the streets of Boston.

At twenty-one years of age he was a master printer in Philadelphia, in his shop on Market Street. He had been at school in Boston for two years, but after the age of ten he had been obliged to teach himself: he was too poor to spend even those early years in a schoolhouse. Yet he learned without such helps as schools and schoolmasters afford. He studied Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, and German, and lived to hear two continents call him the greatest philosopher of his time.

He discovered that lightning and electricity are the same, and taught men how to guard their houses against the thunder-bolt. To his great mind it seemed that all things came alike: no invention was too simple, and no idea too lofty. Whatever had to be done was worth doing in the best and simplest way: that was the ruling principle of Benjamin Franklin's life.

He was an earnest and fearless patriot, always on the side of the people and their rights. His strong will, his cool manner, and his bold spirit made him an enemy not to be scorned by England. "What used to be the pride of the Americans?" asked a member of the English Parliament in 1776. And Franklin, then pleading the cause of the colonies before the House of Commons, replied, "To indulge in the fashions and wear the manufactures of Great Britain."

The Englishman, sure that Franklin would be less ready to answer, continued: "What is now their pride?" And in a flash the old philosopher of threescore and ten said, "To wear their old clothes over again till they can make new ones." Years had not broken the strong will or dulled the sharp wit.

His efforts to secure for the Americans the aid of France can never be forgotten by the American people. Burgoyne's surrender made the French believe that the patriots' cause was worthy of assistance, but it is quite certain that the eloquence of Dr. Franklin, as the French people called the Great American, had opened the way for all that followed.

Whatever favor he met with in society, whatever honor he received, whatever fame he acquired at home or abroad, he turned all to account for the good of his country.

SELECTION XXII

GIVE ME THE PEOPLE

  Some love the glow of outward show,
    The shine of wealth, and try to win it:
  The house to me may lowly be,
    If I but like the people in it.

  What's all the gold that glitters cold,
    When linked to hard and haughty feeling?
  Whate'er we're told, the noblest gold
    Is truth of heart and honest dealing.

  A humble roof may give us proof
    That simple flowers are often fairest;
  And trees whose bark is hard and dark
    May yield us fruit, and bloom the rarest.

  There's worth as sure among the poor
    As e'er adorned the highest station;
  And minds as just as theirs, we trust,
    Whose claim is but of rank's creation.

  Then let them seek, whose minds are weak,
    Mere fashion's smile, and try to win it:
  The house to me may lowly be,
    If I but like the people in it.

Charles Swain.

LESSON LXVII

NOBILITY REWARDED

A rich man, feeling himself growing old, called his three sons around him and said: "I am resolved to divide my goods equally among you. You shall each have your full share, but there is one thing which I have not included in the share of any one of you. It is this costly diamond which you see in my hand. I will give it to that one of you who shall earn it by the noblest deed. Go, therefore, and travel for three months; at the end of that time we will meet here again, and you shall tell me what you have done."

The sons departed accordingly, and traveled three months, each in a different direction. At the end of that time they returned; and all came together to their father to give an account of their journey.

The eldest son spoke first. He said: "On my journey a stranger entrusted to me a great number of valuable jewels, without taking any account of them. Indeed, I was well aware that he did not know how many the parcel contained. One or two of them would never have been missed, and I might easily have enriched myself without fear of detection. But I did no such thing; I gave back the parcel exactly as I had received it. Was not this a noble deed?"

"My son," said the father, "simple honesty cannot be called noble. You did what was right, and nothing more. If you had acted otherwise, you would have been dishonest, and your deed would have shamed you. You have done well, but not nobly."

The second son now spoke. He said: "As I was traveling on my journey one day, I saw a poor child playing by the edge of a lake; and, just as I rode by, it fell into the water, and was in danger of being drowned. I immediately dismounted from my horse, and, wading into the water, brought it safe to land. All the people of the village where this occurred can bear witness of the deed. Was it not a noble action?"

"My son," replied the old man, "you did only what was your duty, and you could hardly have left the innocent child to die without making an effort to save it. You, too, have acted well, but not nobly."

Then the third son came forward to tell his tale. He said: "I had an enemy, who for years has done me much harm and sought to take my life. One evening, during my late journey, I was passing along a dangerous road which ran beside the summit of a steep cliff. As I rode cautiously along, my horse started at sight of something lying in the road. I dismounted to see what it was, and found my enemy lying fast asleep on the very edge of the cliff. The least movement in his sleep, and he must have rolled over, and would have been dashed to pieces on the rocks below. His life was in my hands. I drew him away from the edge, and then woke him, and told him to go on his way in peace."

Then the old man cried out, in a transport of joy: "Dear son, the diamond is thine; for it is a noble and godlike thing to help the enemy, and to reward evil with good."

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE—1776.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the
Consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed men among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world;

For imposing taxes on us without our Consent;

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury;

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments;

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government, here, by declaring us out of his
Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty, and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved: and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.[1]

THE PREAMBLE.

"We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

ARTICLE I.

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

Section I.—The Congress in General.

"All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."

Section II.—The House of Representatives.

1. "The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature."

2. "No person shall be a Representative, who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen."

3. "Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three."[2]

4. "When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies."

5. "The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment."

Section III.—The Senate.

1. "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years, and each Senator shall have one vote."

2. "Immediately after they shall be assembled, in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be, into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class, at the expiration of the sixth year; so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies."

3. "No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."

4. "The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided."

5. "The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States."

6. "The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief-Justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present."

7. "Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the United States; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law."

Section IV.—Both Houses.

1. "The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators."

2. "The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day."

Section V.—The Houses Separately.

1. "Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each House may provide."

2. "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member."

3. "Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and, from time to time, publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House, on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal."

4. "Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting."

Section VI.—Privileges and Disabilities of Members.

1. "The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to, and returning from, the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place."

2. "No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time; and no person, holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office."

Section VII.—Mode of Passing Laws.

1. "All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills."

2. "Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall like-wise be reconsidered, and, if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House, respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law."

3. "Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a case of adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill."

Section VIII.—Powers Granted to Congress.

1. "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States."

2. "To borrow money on the credit of the United States."

3. "To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes."

4. "To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States."

5. "To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures."

6. "To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States."

7. "To establish post-offices and post-roads."

8. "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."

9. "To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court."

10. "To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations."

11. "To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water."

12. "To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years."

13. "To provide and maintain a navy."

14. "To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces."

15. "To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions."

16. "To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States; reserving to the States respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia, according to the discipline prescribed by Congress."

17. "To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square), as may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places, purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings," and

18. "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."

Section IX.—Powers Denied to the United States.

1. "The migration or importation of such persons, as any of the States, now existing, shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress, prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person."

2. "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it."

3. "No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, shall be passed."

4. "No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration, herein before directed to be taken."

5. "No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State."

6. "No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue, to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties, in another."

7. "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published, from time to time."

8. "No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person, holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state."

Section X.—Powers Denied to the States.

1. "No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts, pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility."

2. "No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress."

3. "No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay."

ARTICLE II.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

Section I.—President and Vice-President.

1. "The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows:

2. "Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector."

3. "[3]The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such a majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose, by ballot, one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the said House shall, in like manner, choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the Electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them, by ballot, the Vice-president."

4. "The Congress may determine the time of choosing the Electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States."

5. "No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States."

6. "In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-president, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected."

7. "The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them."

8. "Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation: 'I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.'"

Section II.—Powers of the President.

1. "The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."

2. "He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of Departments."

3. "The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen, during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of their next session."

Section III.—Duties of the President.

"He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States."

Section IV.—Impeachment of the President.

"The President, Vice-president, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

ARTICLE III.

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

Section I.—United States Courts.

"The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office."

Section II.—Jurisdiction of the United States Courts.

1. "The Judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more States; between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between citizens of the same State, claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, or subjects."

2. "In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make."

3. "The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place, or places, as the Congress may by law have directed."

Section III.—Treason.

1. "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court."

2. "The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted."

ARTICLE IV.

Section I.—State Records.

"Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved and the effect thereof."

Section II.—Privileges of Citizens.

1. "The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States."

2. "A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime."

3. "No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due."

Section III.—New States and Territories.

1. "New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed, or erected, within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed, by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress."

2. "The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory, or other property, belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State."

Section IV.—Guarantee to the States.

"The United States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and, on application of the Legislature, or of the executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence."

ARTICLE V.

POWER OF AMENDMENT.

"The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided, that no amendment, which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall, in any manner, affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate."

ARTICLE VI.

PUBLIC DEBT, SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION, OATH OF OFFICE, RELIGIOUS TEST.

1. "All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States, under this Constitution, as under the Confederation."

2. "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."

3. "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States, and of the several States, shall be bound, by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

ARTICLE VII.

RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION.

"The ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same."

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

ARTICLES IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.[4]

Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.

Article I.—Freedom of Religion, etc.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Article II.—Right to Bear Arms.

"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Article III.—Quartering Soldiers on Citizens.

"No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor, in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

Article IV.—Search-Warrants.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Article V.—Trial for Crime, etc.

"No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war, or public danger; nor shall any person be subject, for the same offence, to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

Article VI.—Rights of Accused Persons.

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence."

Article VII.—Suits at Common Law.

"In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact, tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."

Article VIII.—Excessive Bail.

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

Article IX.—Rights Retained by the People.

"The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Article X.—-Reserved Powers of the States.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Article XI.

"The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State."[5]

Article XII.—Mode of Choosing the President and Vice-president.

1. "The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-president; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-president, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign, and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then, from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-president shall act as President, and in case of the death, or other constitutional disability, of the President."

2. "The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-president shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then, from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-president; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators; and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice."

3. "But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President, shall be eligible to that of Vice-president of the United States."

Article XIII.—Abolition of Slavery.

1. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

2. "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Article XIV.—Right of Citizenship, etc.

1. "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

2. "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens, twenty-one years of age, in such State."

3. "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or Elector of President and Vice-president, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

4. "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave, but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void."

5. "The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

Article XV.—Right of Suffrage.

1. "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

2. "The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

[1]The Articles of Confederation proved by experience inadequate to the wants of the people of the United States, and they were supplanted by the Constitution.

"The American Constitution, with its manifest defects, still remains one of the most abiding monuments of human wisdom, and it has received a tribute to its general excellence such as no other political system was ever honored with."—FREEMAN.

[2]This clause has been superseded by Amendment XIV., Sect. 2.

[3]This clause has been amended and superseded by the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. By the provisions of the original clause the person in the electoral college having the greatest number of votes (provided he had a majority of the whole number of electors appointed) became President, and the person having the next greatest number of votes became Vice-president, thus giving the Presidency to one political party and the Vice-Presidency to another. In the year 1800 the Democratic Republicans determined to elect Thomas Jefferson President and Aaron Burr Vice-president. The result was that each secured an equal number of votes, and neither was elected. The Constitution then, as now, provided that in case the electoral college failed to elect a President, the House of Representatives, voting as States, should elect. The Federalists distrusted and disliked Jefferson; the Democratic Republicans and some of the Federalists distrusted and disliked Burr. The vote in the House on the thirty-sixth ballot gave the Presidency to Jefferson and the Vice-Presidency to Burr. In order to prevent a repetition of so dangerous a struggle, the Twelfth Amendment, by which the electoral votes are cast separately for the candidates for President and for Vice-President, was proposed by Congress Dec. 12, 1803, and declared in force Sept. 25, 1804.

[4]More than seven hundred amendments to the Constitution have been proposed since it was adopted. Several are usually proposed at each session of Congress.

The first twelve articles of amendment to the Federal Constitution were adopted so soon after the original organization of the Government under it in 1789 as to justify the statement that they were practically contemporaneous with the adoption of the original (JUSTICE MILLER, U. S. Supreme Court).

[5]In the case of Chisholm vs. The State of Georgia, the Supreme Court decided that under Article III., Section 2, of the Constitution a private citizen of a State might bring suit against a State other than the one of which he was a citizen. This decision, by which a State might be brought as defendant before the bar of a Federal court, was highly displeasing to the majority of the States in 1794. On the 5th of March of that year the Eleventh Amendment was passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, and declared in force January 8, 1798. Practically, the amendment has been the authority for the repudiation of debts by several States.

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