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"If I lift up any thing, I am acting against this force, for which
reason the article seems heavy; and the more matter it contains, the
greater is the force of attraction and the heavier it appears to me."
"Then," said Lucy, "if this attraction is so powerful, why do we not
stick to the ground?"
"Because," replied her father, "we are animate beings, and have the
power of motion, by which, to a limited degree, we overcome the
attraction of the earth."
"Well then, father," said Lucy, "if our power of motion can overcome the
attraction, why can not we jump a mile high as well as a foot?"
"Because," replied her father, "as I said before, we can only overcome
the attraction to a certain extent. As soon as the force our muscles
give to the jump is spent, the attraction of the earth pulls us back."
"Did Sir Isaac Newton think of all these things, because he saw the
apple fall?" inquired Lucy.
"Yes; of all these and many more. He was a man of great knowledge. The
name by which the force he discovered is generally known, is the
Attraction of Gravitation, and some time you will learn how this force
keeps the earth, and the sun, moon, and stars, all in their places."
* * * * *
LESSON XXXVI.
en'vy, _wish one's self in another's place_.
doffed, _took off, as an article of dress_.
blithe, _very happy; gay_.
fee, _what is received as pay for service done_.
boast, _object of pride_.
quoth, _spoke_.
hale, _in good health; strong_.
* * * * *
THE MILLER OF THE DEE.
There dwelt a miller, hale and bold,
Beside the river Dee;
He worked and sang from morn till night--
No lark so blithe as he;
And this the burden of his song
Forever used to be:
"I envy nobody--no, not I,
And nobody envies me!"
"Thou'rt wrong, my friend," said good King Hal;
"As wrong as wrong can be;
For could my heart be light as thine,
I'd gladly change with thee.
And tell me now, what makes thee sing,
With voice so loud and free.
While I am sad, though I'm a king,
Beside the river Dee?"
The miller smiled and doffed his cap:
"I earn my bread," quoth he;
"I love my wife, I love my friend,
I love my children three;
I owe no penny I can not pay;
I thank the river Dee,
That turns the mill that grinds the corn
That feeds my babes and me."
"Good friend," said Hal, and sighed the while,
"Farewell! and happy be!
But say no more, if thou'dst be true,
That no one envies thee.
Thy mealy cap is worth my crown;
Thy mill, my kingdom's fee;
Such men as thou are England's boast,
O miller of the Dee!"
* * * * *
Directions for Reading.--In the second stanza of the lesson, _wrong_
becomes very _emphatic_ on account of _repetition_ (being repeated a
number of times). _My_ and _thine_, in the same stanza, are
_emphatic_ on account of _contrast_ (contrary meaning of the words).
Point out an example of _emphasis_ by _repetition_, and an example
of _emphasis_ by _contrast_, in the third stanza.
* * * * *
Language Lesson.--Hal = Harry = Henry.
Let pupils place _un_ before each of the following words, and give
their meaning.
changed burdened envied
* * * * *
LESSON XXXVII.
fero'cious, _savage; fierce_.
rosette', _an article made to resemble a rose_.
aban'doned, _left forever; given up_.
encoun'ter, _meet face to face_.
in'fluence, _power over others_.
keen, _sharp; piercing_.
reputa'tion, _what is known of a person_.
wit'ness, _see or know by personal presence_.
trail, _track; footsteps_.
alert', _on the watch; careful_.
* * * * *
THE JAGUAR.
The jaguar, or as he is sometimes called, the American tiger, is the
largest and most ferocious of the cat family found on this continent.
Some jaguars have been seen equal in size to the Asiatic tiger; but in
most cases the American, animal is smaller. He is strong enough,
however, to drag a horse or an ox to his den--sometimes to a long
distance; and this feat has been frequently observed.
The jaguar is found in all the tropical parts of North and South
America.
While he bears a considerable likeness to the tiger, both in shape and
habits, the markings of his skin are quite different. Instead of being
striped like the tiger, the skin of the jaguar is beautifully spotted.
Each spot resembles a rosette, and consists of a black ring with a
single dark-colored spot in the middle.
Jaguars are not always of the same color; some have skins of an orange
color, and these are the most beautiful. Others are lighter colored; and
some few have been seen that were very nearly white.
There, is a "black jaguar," which is thought to be of a different
species. It is larger and fiercer than the other kinds, and is found
only in South America.
This animal is more dreaded by the inhabitants than the other kinds and
is said always to attack man wherever it may encounter him. All the
other beasts fear it.
Its roar produces terror and confusion among them and causes them to
flee in every direction. It is never heard by the natives without a
feeling of fear, and no wonder; for a year does not pass without a
number of these people falling victims to its ferocity.
It is difficult for one living in a country where such fierce animals
are unknown, to believe that they have an influence over man, to such
an extent as to prevent his settling in a particular place; yet such is
the fact.
In many parts of South America, not only plantations, but whole
villages, have been abandoned solely from fear of the jaguars.
There are men, however, who can deal single-handed with the jaguar; and
who do not fear to attack the brute in its own haunts.
They do not trust to fire-arms, but to a sharp spear. On their left arm
they carry a strong shield.
This shield is held forward and is usually seized by the jaguar. While
it is busied with this, the hunter thrusts at the animal with his sharp
spear, and generally with deadly effect.
A traveler in South America relates the following incident as having
come under his observation:
"Desiring to witness a jaguar hunt, I employed two well-known Indian
hunters, and set out for the forest. The names of these hunters were
Nino and Guapo. Both of them had long been accustomed to hunt the
jaguar, and I felt perfectly safe in their company.
"Guapo, the larger of the two, was a man of wonderful muscular power,
and had the reputation of having at one time killed a black jaguar with
only a stout club.
"When all the preparations had been made for our start, we looked as if
we might capture all the jaguars that came in our way.
"Some hours after we had entered the forest, the quick eye of Guapo
discovered the trail of a large jaguar which he assured me was recently
made.
"Stopping for a moment, both Guapo and Nino looked carefully about in
every direction, and listened attentively, in order that they might see
or hear the animal if he were near.
"Then motioning me to follow at a little distance behind them, they
stepped off quietly in the direction of the trail, Guapo being about
thirty feet in advance of Nino.
"We went forward in this manner several hundred yards, not a word being
spoken, and the keen eyes of both the hunters constantly on the alert.
"Guapo, in the meantime, who seemed to have no fear and became more and
more excited as he approached to where he thought the animal must be,
had increased the distance between himself and Nino considerably.
[Illustration]
"Suddenly a terrific roar, and at the same time a cry of pain and a
shout, warned us that Guapo had met the jaguar.
"Nino bounded forward, and I followed as quickly as I could. A fearful
sight met our eyes!
"The jaguar, which had been hiding in the branches of a large tree, had
sprung down upon Guapo and fastened its terrible teeth in his thigh.
"With a shout filled with fury and determination, Nino at once sprung
forward and savagely attacked the beast with his spear.
"This caused the jaguar to let go its hold of Guapo, who, made furious
from the pain of the wound the animal had given him, turned, and with
his spear attacked it with a mad ferocity as savage as that of the
beast itself.
"In a moment all was over, and the jaguar lay dead at our feet. I
dressed Guapo's wound the best I could, while Nino took the skin from
the body of the animal, which proved to be nearly eight feet long.
"We returned very slowly to the village with the wounded man and our
prize. In a few weeks Guapo had entirely recovered from his wounds, and
was ready for another hunt."
* * * * *
Directions for Reading.--Let pupils pronounce in concert, and singly,
the following words: _O, most, ferocious, only, whole, hold, slowly,
over, both, roar_.
What tone of voice should be used in reading this lesson?
* * * * *
Language Lesson.--Place _re_ before each of the following words, and
then give the meaning of each.
turned told join capture call
* * * * *
LESSON XXXVIII.
dikes, _high banks of earth_.
con'tra ry, _quite different from what is usual_.
dis as'trous, _causing great loss or suffering_.
keels, _strong timbers extending along the bottom of boats_.
stork, _a kind of bird_.
bus'tle, _quick and excited motion_.
mire, _soft and wet earth_.
scorn'ing, _turning from any thing as if of no value_.
sat'u rat ed, _wet through and through_.
moored, _tied fast, as a ship to land_.
slouched, _hung down_.
mim'ic, _copied in a smaller form_.
* * * * *
HOLLAND.
PART I.
Holland is one of the queerest countries under the sun. It should be
called Odd-land, or Contrary-land; for, in nearly every thing, it is
different from other parts of the world.
In the first place, a large portion of the country is lower than the
level of the sea. Great dikes have been built at a heavy cost of money
and labor, to keep the ocean where it belongs.
On certain parts of the coast it sometimes leans with all its weight
against the land, and it is as much as the poor country can do to stand
the pressure.
Sometimes the dikes give way, or spring a leak, and the most disastrous
results follow. They are high and wide, and the tops of some of them are
covered with buildings and trees. They have even fine public roads upon
them, from which horses may look down upon wayside cottages.
Often the keels of floating ships are higher than the roofs of the
dwellings. The stork, on the house-peak, may feel that her nest is
lifted far out of danger, but the croaking frog in the neighboring
bulrushes is nearer the stars than she.
Water-bugs dart backward and forward above the heads of the chimney
swallows; and willow-trees seem drooping with shame, because they can
not reach so high as the reeds near by.
Ditches, canals, ponds, rivers, and lakes are every-where to be seen.
High, but not dry, they shine in the sunlight, catching nearly all the
bustle and the business, quite scorning the tame fields, stretching
damply beside them. One is tempted to ask: "Which is Holland--the shores
or the water?"
The very verdure that should be confined to the land has made a mistake
and settled upon the fish ponds. In fact the entire country is a kind of
saturated sponge, or, as the English poet Butler called it--
"A land that rides at anchor, and is moored,
In which they do not live, but go aboard."
Persons are born, live, and die, and even have their gardens on
canal-boats. Farmhouses, with roofs like great slouched hats pulled over
their eyes, stand on wooden legs, with a tucked up sort of air, as if to
say, "We intend to keep dry if we can."
Even the horses wear a wide stool on each hoof to lift them out of the
mire.
It is a glorious country in summer for bare-footed girls and boys. Such
wadings! Such mimic ship sailing! Such rowing, fishing, and swimming!
Only think of a chain of puddles where one can launch chip boats all
day long, and never make a return trip!
But enough. A full recital would set all Young America rushing in a body
toward the Zuyder Zee.
* * * * *
Directions for Reading.--In reading the first line of page 187, there
will be a slight rising of the voice after each of the words,
_ditches', canals', ponds', rivers'_, and a slight falling of the voice
after _lakes'_.[11]
This rising or falling of the voice is called _inflection_, and may be
indicated as above.
Language Lesson.--What is the meaning of "Young America"?
[11] See paragraph 7.
* * * * *
LESSON XXXIX.
freight, _cargo; that which forms a load_.
convey'ance, _the act of carrying_.
jum'ble, _a number of things crowded together without order_.
bobbed, _cut off short_.
bewil'dering, _confusing_.
gild'ed, _covered with a thin, surface of gold_.
yoked, _joined together with harness_.
rare'ly, _not often_.
impris'oned, _shut up or confined, as in a prison_.
clat'tering, _making a loud noise_.
* * * * *
HOLLAND.
PART II.
Dutch cities seem, at first sight, to be a bewildering jumble of
houses, bridges, churches, and ships, sprouting into masts, steeples,
and trees. In some cities boats are hitched, like horses, to their
owners' door-posts, and receive their freight from the upper windows.
[Illustration]
Mothers scream to their children not to swing on the garden gate for
fear they may be drowned. Water roads are more frequent there than
common roads and railroads; water-fences, in the form of lazy green
ditches, inclose pleasure-ground, farm, and garden.
Sometimes fine green hedges are seen; but wooden fences, such as we
have in America, are rarely met with in Holland. As for stone fences, a
Hollander would lift his hands with astonishment at the very idea.
There is no stone there excepting those great masses of rock that have
been brought from other lands to strengthen and protect the coast.
All the small stones or pebbles, if there ever were any, seem to be
imprisoned in pavements, or quite melted away. Boys, with strong, quick
arms, may grow from aprons to full beards without ever finding one to
start the water-rings, or set the rabbits flying.
The water roads are nothing less than canals crossing the country in
every direction. These are of all sizes, from the great North Holland
Ship Canal, which is the wonder of the world, to those which a boy can
leap.
Water-omnibuses constantly ply up and down these roads for the
conveyance of passengers; and water-drays are used for carrying fuel and
merchandise.
Instead of green country lanes, green canals stretch from field to barn,
and from barn to garden; and the farms are merely great lakes pumped
dry. Some of the busiest streets are water, while many of the country
roads are paved with brick.
The city boats, with their rounded sterns, gilded bows, and gayly-painted
sides, are unlike any others under the sun; a Dutch wagon with its
funny little crooked pole is a perfect mystery of mysteries.
One thing is clear, you may think that the inhabitants need never be
thirsty. But no, Odd-land is true to itself still. With the sea pushing
to get in, and the lakes struggling to get out, and the overflowing
canals, rivers, and ditches, in many districts there is no water that is
fit to swallow.
Our poor Hollanders must go dry, or send far inland for that precious
fluid, older than Adam, yet young as the morning dew.
Sometimes, indeed, the inhabitants can swallow a shower, when they are
provided with any means of catching it; but generally they are like the
sailors told of in a famous poem, who saw
"Water, water, every-where,
Nor any drop to drink!"
Great flapping windmills all over the country make it look as if flocks
of huge sea birds were just settling upon it. Every-where one sees the
funniest trees, bobbed into all sorts of odd shapes, with their trunks
painted a dazzling' white, yellow, or red.
Horses are often yoked three abreast. Men, women, and children, go
clattering about in wooden shoes with loose heels.
Husbands and wives lovingly harness themselves side by side on the bank
of the canal and drag their produce to market.
* * * * *
Directions for Reading.--Let pupils practice upon the inflections
marked in the following
Model.--Houses', bridges', churches', and ships', sprouting into
masts', steeples', and trees'.
Which words take the _falling inflection_?
* * * * *
LESSON XL.
whisk'ing, _pulling suddenly and with force_.
lus'ti er, _stronger; louder_.
of fend'ed, _made angry_.
fa mil'iar, _friendly; as of a friend_.
ma'tron ly, _elderly; motherly_.
com mo'tion, _noise; confusion_.
pant'ed, _breathed quickly_.
sa lute', _greeting_.
mute, _silent; unable to speak_.
stur'dy, _strong; powerful_.
ker'chiefs, _pieces of cloth worn about the head_.
a do', _trouble; delay_.
in'mates, _the persons in a house_.
* * * * *
THE WIND IN A FROLIC.
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