Chapter II: Part 2

4. Some of the carts are drawn by little bullocks that trot along as fast as a pony. I often meet carts with a high cover of thatch. These carts carry the tea, which grows on the hills, down to the ships in the harbour.

5. Some of the men of Ceylon wear tortoise-shell combs in their hair. They are very proud of these combs, and some of them are very handsome.

6. The children of Ceylon seem very happy. They are pretty and clean, and always obey their parents. Many of them learn to speak and read English. They love dancing and singing, and they never quarrel.

(From the picture by E.A. Hornel. By permission of the Corporation of Manchester.)]

7. By the next ship home I am sending mother a chest of tea. The tea grew on the hills of Ceylon. I made a journey to these hills by train. On the way we passed through thick forests, and by the side of beautiful rivers.

8. Ceylon is very rich in plants and trees. The cocoanut palm grows almost everywhere. On one of the rivers I saw a raft of cocoanuts. A man swam behind it and pushed it along.

9. With this letter I send you a picture of a tea-garden. Notice the men and women plucking the leaf. Many of them come from the south of India. Look at the white planter. He comes, as you know, from our own country.

10. In the middle of Ceylon there are many high mountains. The highest is called Adam's Peak. It stands like a great wedge high above the other hills.

11. The people of Ceylon believe that it is a holy mountain. They say that once upon a time Buddha climbed to the top of this mountain. To prove that he did so they show you his footprint. It is more than five feet long!

12. A little temple has been built over the footprint. Men, women, and children climb the mountain, to lay little gifts before the footprint, and to strew sweet flowers about it. When this is done, the children kneel down and ask their parents to bless them.

13. To-morrow I leave Ceylon on a long voyage to China. You will not hear from me for several weeks. I hope you are all well, and that you are still good children.--I remain, your loving Father.

* * * * *

19. A LETTER FROM CHINA.

1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--Three weeks have gone by since I last wrote to you. I have made my voyage safely, and I am now in a great city of China called Canton.

2. Ask mother to show you China on the globe. You see at once that it is a vast country. It is larger than the whole of Europe. One-fourth of all the people in the world live in China.

3. All round this city of Canton there is a high wall. From the wall the city seems to be a beautiful place. When, however, you enter it, you soon find that it is dirty and full of foul smells.

(From the picture by T. Hodgson Liddell, R.B.A.)]

4. The streets are very narrow, and are always crowded with people. Many of them are roofed in to keep them cool. Most of them are so narrow that no carriage can pass along them. People who wish to ride must be carried in a kind of box on the shoulders of two or more men.

5. I am sure you would like to see the signboards that hang down in front of the shops. The strange letters on them are painted in gold and in bright colours. They look very gay indeed.

6. The shops sell all sorts of things--silk, books, drugs, flowers, china, and birds. Some of the shops only sell gold and silver paper. The Chinese burn this paper at the graves of their friends. When they do this they think that they are sending money for their dead friends to spend in the other world.

7. Many things are also sold in the streets. The street traders carry a bamboo pole across the shoulder. From the ends of this pole they sling the baskets in which they carry their wares. Many workmen ply their trades in the open street, and you are sure to see quack doctors, letter-writers, and money-changers.

8. The Chinese do in the open street many things which we do inside our houses. A Chinaman likes to eat his meals where every one can see him.

9. Sometimes he will sit in front of his house and wash his feet. Yesterday I saw a man having his tooth drawn out of doors. A crowd stood round him, watching to see how it was done.

10. How should you like to go for a ride in a wheelbarrow? In China the wheelbarrow is often used for carrying people or goods from place to place. It has a large wheel in the middle. Round the wheel there is a platform for people or goods.

11. A broad river runs through the city. It is crowded with boats, in which live many thousands of people. Many of these people never go ashore at all.

12. Over the sterns of the boats there are long baskets. These are the backyards of the floating city. Hens, ducks, geese, and sometimes pigs, are kept in these baskets.

13. The little boys who live on the boats have a log of wood fastened to their waists. This keeps them afloat if they fall overboard. The little girls have no such lifebelts. In China nobody troubles about the girls.

14. Nearly all the boats have an eye painted on their bows. Perhaps this seems strange to you. The Chinese, however, say,--

"S'pose no got eye, no can see;
S'pose no can see, no can walkee."

* * * * *

20. CHINESE BOYS AND GIRLS.

1. Chinese fathers and mothers are very glad when their children are boys. In China the boys are much petted. Their mothers give way to them, and let them do as they please.

2. Girls, however, are not welcome. Sometimes they are called "Not-wanted" or "Ought-to-have-been-a-boy."

3. A Chinese boy has always two names, sometimes four. He has one name when he is a child, and another when he goes to school. He has a third name when he begins to earn money. When he dies he has a fourth name.

4. Chinese boys are very fond of flying kites, which are shaped like fish or butterflies or dragons. Old gentlemen are just as fond of kite-flying as boys.

5. In China you will often see boys playing hopscotch or spinning peg-tops. They also play shuttlecock, but they have no battledore. They kick the shuttlecock with the sides of their feet.

6. Chinese boys love to set off fireworks, such as crackers, wheels, and rockets. If the fireworks make a loud noise, so much the better.

7. Chinese children are taught to show very great respect to their parents. They all bow and kneel to their fathers and mothers. A boy who is not kind and good to his parents is thought to be a wicked wretch.

8. A few days ago I went to see a Chinese school. The boys sit on stools at tiny tables. In front of them they have a stone slab, a stick of Chinese ink, and some brushes with which they write.

9. There is always a great din in a Chinese schoolroom. The boys shout at the top of their voices. If they do not make a noise, the teacher thinks that they are not learning.

10. When a boy knows his lesson he goes up to his master to say it. He turns his back to his master, and does not face him as you do.

11. A Chinese boy becomes a man at sixteen years of age. He chooses his work in life when he is quite a baby. Let me tell you how he does it.

12. When he is one year old he is seated in the middle of such things as money, books, and pens. Then the parents watch him to see what he will play with.

13. If he takes up the money, they say that he must be a trader or a banker. If he takes up a book or a pen, they say that he must be a writer or a teacher or a scholar.

* * * * *

21. HAIR, FINGERS, AND TOES.

1. Chinese men shave their heads, all but a small patch of hair. This is allowed to grow very long, and is plaited into a pigtail. I have seen Chinamen with coloured ribbons woven into their pigtails.

2. When men are at work they twine their pigtails round their heads. When they wish to show respect to any person they let down their pigtails. A man who has a long, thick pigtail is very proud of it.

3. Sometimes men who are sent to prison have their pigtails cut off. This is thought to be a great disgrace. When they leave prison they buy false pigtails to wear.

4. When Chinamen fight they pull each other about by the pigtail. Sometimes a schoolmaster punishes bad boys with his pigtail.

5. Rich women are very proud of their tiny feet. Chinese ladies can wear shoes about four inches long. Fancy mother wearing a doll's shoes!

6. Girls have their feet bound up tightly when they are five years of age. The bandages are made tighter every week, until the foot stops growing. Of course, the poor girls suffer very much. The Chinese have a saying: "Every pair of bound feet costs a bath of tears."

7. When the girls grow up they cannot walk. They can only totter along, and they have to lean on the arm of a maid to keep themselves from falling.

8. I am glad to say that many parents do not now bind the feet of their girls. They have learnt that it is both wicked and foolish to do so. At one school in China all the girls have their feet unbound. They skip and play about almost as well as Kate and May.

9. You and I think that only dirty, untidy people let their nails grow long. Rich people in China never cut their nails. They let them grow so long that they have to wear shields to keep them from being broken.

10. The dress of a Chinaman is very simple. He wears trousers and several cotton or silk tunics. The outside tunic has very long, wide sleeves; these are used as pockets.

11. The trousers are loose, and are covered up to the knee by white stockings. When a Chinaman is in full dress he wears a long gown. The Chinese boy wears the same kind of clothes as his father. Every man, woman, and child carries a fan.

12. Chinese boots are made of cloth or satin, never of leather. The soles are made of rags or paper. We blacken the uppers of our boots. Chinamen whiten the soles of theirs.

13. Now I must end this letter. When I come home you must ask me to tell you about the rice fields and the silk farms and the Great Wall. I have a hundred more things to tell you about this wonderful land.--Your loving FATHER.

(From the photograph by J. Thomson, F.R.G.S.)]

* * * * *

22. A LETTER FROM JAPAN.

1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--Once more I have made a long sea voyage, and once more I am safely on shore. I am now in Japan.

2. The Japs live on islands, just as we do. They are brave and clever and busy, and they have many fine warships. Because of all these things they are sometimes called the Britons of the Far East.

3. Most of the people in the East are very backward. They have stood still while the people of the West have gone forward. Not so the Japs. They have learnt everything that the West can teach them. You will see in Japan all the things on which we pride ourselves.

4. The Japs are first-rate sailors. Some of their captains learnt to be sailors on board our warships. They are also fine soldiers. You know that not many years ago they beat the Russians both by land and by sea.

5. I like the Japs better than any other people that I have met in the East. Many of them still wear the dress of olden days, and keep to their simple and pretty ways. Their country is beautiful, and they love beautiful things.

6. They are very fond indeed of flowers, which they grow very well. Their gardens are lovely. When the flowers are in bloom the Japs troop in thousands to see them. It is pretty to watch the delight of fathers and mothers and children at the form, colour, and scent of the flowers.

7. The Japs are very clever workmen. I have often stood and watched them at work. They always try to beat their own best. Good work of any kind gives them joy; bad work gives them pain.

8. I have bought Jap fans for Kate and May. On these fans there are pictures of a snow-clad mountain shaped like a sugar loaf. There is no more beautiful mountain in all the world.

9. This mountain began as a hole in the ground. Melted rocks boiled up out of the hole and built up the mountain. In time the rocks grew cool and hard. Some Japs believe that it was formed in a single night!

10. Steam still comes out of a crack in the side of the mountain. This shows that any day melted rocks may boil forth again. About two hundred years ago the mountain threw out so much ash that it covered a town sixty miles away.

11. Sometimes the earth shakes and opens in great cracks. When the earth "quakes" houses tumble down, and the tops of tall trees snap off. Very often lives are lost.

* * * * *

23. JAP CHILDREN.

1. When a Jap boy is born there is great joy in his home. His mother's friends all come to see him. They bring him presents, such as toys, dried fish, and eggs.

2. Very early in his life the little Jap baby is strapped on to his sister's back. He goes with her wherever she goes. If the weather is cold, the little girl covers him with her coat. When the sun is hot she shelters him with her sunshade.

3. When she plays she jumps and skips and runs about, and all the time baby's little head jerks to and fro. He does not mind; he is quite happy. You never hear a Jap baby cry.

4. When a boy is about three years of age he learns to walk. He soon finds his feet, and runs about on high wooden clogs.

5. Jap boys are fond of pets and games. Wherever a boy goes he carries with him a long pole. With this he makes flying leaps and does many clever tricks.

6. Every boy in Japan wishes to be either a soldier or a sailor when he grows up. Even tiny little mites play with flags and drums and little guns. When the boys are older they are taught to be brave, and to die if need be for their country.

7. The great day of the year for Jap boys is the fifth day of the fifth month. On this day the Feast of Flags is held. Over each house where there is a boy you see big paper fish floating in the air.

8. The shops are then full of toys. Most of the toys are soldiers, and sometimes they are like the soldiers of olden days. Some are on foot, and some are on horseback; some are generals, and some are drummers.

(From the water-colour painting by H.E. Tidmarsh.)]

9. The boys love to play at war. You can always make Jap boys happy by giving them a toy army to play with.

10. The greatest day of the year for the girls is the Feast of Dolls. On this day the girls give doll parties to their little friends. All the dolls, however old, are brought out and dressed up in fine new clothes. The Feast of Dolls is a time of great fun and laughter.

11. Jap children now play many of our games. They are very fond of "prisoner's base," "fox and geese," and "tag." The boys love kite-flying.

12. Sometimes they put glass on the strings of their kites, and with it try to cut the strings of other boys' kites. They are very clever at this game, and there is great laughter when a string is cut.

13. In the house, during the day, girls like to blow soap bubbles. At dusk they are fond of hunting fire-flies, and driving them to and fro with fans.

14. In the summer they catch grasshoppers, and keep them in small bamboo cages. They say that the chirping of the grasshoppers brings them good luck.

15. All Japs are polite--even boys. When a boy goes to the house of a friend he squats on his heels. Then he places his hands on the floor, and bows until his forehead touches his toes. This he does again and again, and all the time he speaks very politely.

16. Jap children are taught to be very kind and helpful to their elders, and to the poor and the weak. Yesterday I saw a little girl run from her mother to take the hand of a blind man and lead him across the street.

17. Now, my dears, I must end this letter. To-morrow I start on my homeward way. I shall sail across the ocean to the great land of America. I hope you are all well, good, and happy. Your loving FATHER.

* * * * *

24. A LETTER FROM CANADA.

1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--Look at the globe in my room and find Japan. Then find America. You will see that a broad ocean lies between them. It is called the Pacific Ocean. I have crossed this ocean, and I am now in the great country of Canada.

2. I am sure that you cannot guess where I am writing this letter. I am writing it in the train. I have already been three days in the train, and I am only half-way across Canada.

3. I am glad to say that I am once more under the Union Jack. The whole land of Canada is British, from sea to sea. Our flag floats above every city.

4. The first part of my journey pleased me most. The train ran through a beautiful country, filled with splendid trees. Some of them are as high as a church tower, and have trunks many yards round. There are no finer trees in all the world.

5. Later in the day our train ran by the side of a rushing river, which was deep down in a narrow valley between the mountains.

6. In this river there are millions of salmon. I saw men catching them. You will see tins of salmon from this river in most of the grocers' shops at home.

7. As the train ran on, the mountains rose higher and higher, until their tops were covered with snow. We then began to cross the great Rocky Mountains. Up and up the train climbed, until the rails reached their highest point.

8. Then we began to descend. We ran through dark clefts in the rocks, along the edges of steep cliffs, across rivers, and by the side of lakes. High above us were the snowy mountain tops. It was all very grand and very beautiful.

9. At last we left the mountains behind us and reached the plains. We are now speeding over these plains. The country is as flat as the palm of your hand. Here and there, far apart, I can see farm-houses. On these plains the best wheat in the world is grown.

10. In winter the whole land is covered deep with snow, and the rivers are frozen over. In April winter gives place to spring. Then the snow melts, and the ice on the rivers breaks up.

11. No sooner has the snow gone than the wheat begins to spring up. The wheat grows very fast and ripens very quickly. Much of it is sent to Britain. Very likely the loaf which you ate for breakfast this morning was made of wheat which grew on the plains of Canada.

(From the picture by Cyrus Cuneo, R.I. By kind permission of the C.P.R. Co.)]

12. In other parts of Canada there are forests which cover thousands of miles of country. The trees in these forests are cut down, and are made into planks which are sent to all parts of the world.

13. The trees are felled during winter. Their trunks are piled up by the side of a river. When the thaw comes they are thrown into the water. Men follow them and push them back into the water if they drift ashore.

14. The stream carries the logs down to the sawmills, where they are cut up into planks. Love to all. FATHER.

* * * * *

25. CHILDREN OF CANADA.

1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--I am staying for a few days with a friend who has a farm on the plains. His house is five miles from the railway.

2. My friend met me at the station with a motor car, and drove me over rough roads between huge fields. There are no hedges in this part of the country. The fields are divided from each other by fences.

3. This farm is much larger than any farm which you have seen in England. The house is built of wood. All round it is a pretty garden. Not far away are the stables and the barns.

4. I am sure you would like to hear something about the farmer's children. There are three of them--a girl and two boys. The girl is the youngest, and she is about eight years of age.

5. All the children make themselves very useful in the house. Servants are hard to get in Canada, so people must learn to help themselves. The boys clean the boots and chop wood. The girls think nothing of helping to scrub the floors.

6. After breakfast the children trudge off to school, which is three miles away. They take their lunch with them. When they return in the evening they have many odd jobs to do.

7. In the playground of their school you will see many young trees growing. There are very few trees on the plains, and far more are needed.

8. On one day in each year the children make holiday, and plant trees in the school grounds. The teacher tells them that when they grow up they must plant trees on their farms.

9. Harvest is the busiest time of the year. Then the children rise at half-past four, and work all day long in the fields. Every one who can work at all must do so at harvest time.

10. There is also plenty of work to be done in the autumn. Everything needed in the house must be brought in before the snow begins to fall.

11. Winter is the real holiday time. No work can then be done on the land. The rivers and lakes are frozen, and everywhere there is plenty of skating. The wheels are taken off the carriages, and runners are put on instead. Horses draw them very swiftly over the frozen snow.

12. Look at the picture post-card which I send you with this letter. It shows you how Canadian boys are dressed in winter. On the ground you see a pair of snow-shoes. The boys can travel very quickly on these snow-shoes without sinking into the snow.

13. In the picture you also see a toboggan. It is a small sledge. The boy drags his toboggan up to the top of a hill. He seats himself on it and pushes off. Away he goes over the frozen snow like an arrow from a bow. It is splendid fun.

14. Those boys and girls whose homes are in towns live very much as you do. They go to school, and they play in the streets and parks. When summer comes many of them go to the seaside or to the lakeside for a holiday.

15. Sometimes a whole family goes camping in the woods. They then live in tents or in little huts by the side of a river or a lake. What happy times the children have! They go fishing, they bathe, and they dart to and fro in canoes.

16. Most of the young folks of Canada are strong and healthy. They are happy and bright, and they are not afraid of work. No children are more useful to their parents than the boys and girls of Canada.

* * * * *

26. THE RED MEN.

1. Tom will not forgive me unless I tell you something about the Red men of America. He has often asked me about the picture of Red men which is in my room at home.[1]

[1] See page 102. {Page 102 contains the illustration below}

(From the picture by Cyrus Cuneo, R.I. By kind permission of the C.P.R. Co.)]

2. In the old days, before white men settled in America, the Red men were masters of the land. They were tall and strong, and their skin was of a dark copper colour. Their eyes were jet black, and their hair was long and straight.

3. They wore very little clothing, even though the winters in North America are very cold. From the time when they were babies they were trained to bear heat and cold, hunger, thirst, and pain without grumbling.

4. When the white men landed in America, the villages of the Red men were to be found all over the country. Each of these villages was the home of a tribe. The houses were tents made of skin or huts made of wood.

5. The women or squaws did all the hard work. They planted and tilled the fields, cooked the food, and made the clothes. The babies were put into little bark cradles, which were sometimes hung from the branches of trees, and were rocked to and fro by the wind.

6. The Red men were nearly always at war, either amongst themselves or against the white men. In battle they were very crafty and skilful. Those who fell into their hands were sometimes treated very cruelly.

7. Before the Red men went on the "warpath" they painted their faces, so as to frighten their foes. Then they took up their bows and hatchets, and, following their leader, strode silently away.

8. The Red men did not care to fight in the open. They always tried to catch their foes asleep or to take them by surprise.

9. In those days the land was full of deer and other wild animals. On the great plains where the wheat now grows huge herds of bison used to feed.

10. The Red men hunted the bison on their swift little ponies. When they were close to the animals they shot at them with arrows. If the arrows missed their mark, the Red men killed the bison with their knives.

11. When the white men came they hunted the bison with guns, and soon killed them off. Only a few bisons remain, and these are now kept in parks.

12. There are not many Red men left in North America. Most of them have died off. Many of those who now remain have given up their old way of living.

* * * * *

27. THE ESKIMOS.

1. Here is another picture for you. Look at it carefully. It shows you the people who live in the far north of Canada. They are called Eskimos.

2. In the upper part of the picture you see a man on a sledge. He is dressed in furs, and has fur gloves on his hands. His head and ears are covered with a hood. In the far north of Canada the cold is so bitter in winter that men's hands and ears would be frost-bitten if they were not kept warm in this way.

3. In winter the sea and the land are thickly frozen over. The whole country is covered with ice and snow. The Eskimo has to travel over the ice to get from place to place. He uses a sledge drawn by dogs. There is a team of dogs in the upper part of the picture.

4. Sometimes the sledge is overturned, and the men and dogs are thrown into deep, wide cracks in the ice. Sometimes fierce storms arise, and men and dogs perish together. Sometimes food runs short, and they die of hunger.

5. In the middle part of the picture you see a tent. The Eskimos can only live in tents during the short summers; during the long dark winters they live in huts. The walls are made of stones and sods. The roof is of wood which has drifted to their shores. You must remember that no trees will grow in these very cold lands.

6. Some Eskimos make their winter houses of blocks of snow, with sheets of ice for the windows. Perhaps you shiver at the thought of living in a snow house, but you need not do so.

7. Really, a snow house is quite a snug home. The snow keeps in the heat of the house, just as a blanket keeps in the heat of your body. Perhaps you know that it is the blanket of snow spread over the ground in winter which keeps the roots of the plants from being frozen.

8. When summer comes, the snow and ice melt along the edge of the sea. Then the Eskimo leaves his winter quarters for the seashore.

9. The sea-shores of these very cold lands abound in bears, seals, foxes, and other wild animals. The sea is full of fish, and millions of gulls, geese, and other birds fly north for the summer.

10. When a boy is ten years of age his father gives him a bow and arrows and a canoe. Then he thinks himself a man indeed. In the lower part of the picture you see a man in an Eskimo canoe. He is going to hunt seals and small whales.

11. Now I must bring this long letter to a close. I shall write you one more before I start for home. I am eager to see you all again.--Your loving FATHER.

* * * * *

28. FATHER'S LAST LETTER.

1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--This is the last letter which I shall write to you from abroad. I hope to sail for home in a week's time. I shall send you a telegram to tell you when I shall arrive. You must all come to the station to meet me.

2. Look at the globe and find North America. The northern half is called Canada, and the southern half is called the United States. I am now in New York, the largest city of the United States.

3. The people of the United States speak English. The forefathers of many of them came from our islands. But the United States do not belong to Britain. Their flag is not the Union Jack, but the Stars and Stripes.

4. This morning at breakfast a black man waited upon me. His skin was very dark, his lips were thick, and his hair was short and curly.

5. Are you not surprised to hear that there are black men in America? There are thousands of them in New York. In the southern part of the United States there are more black men than white men.

6. Most of the black men live in the hot part of the United States, where cotton and sugar are grown. White people cannot work in the cotton or sugar fields, because the sun is too hot for them.

7. The black people who live in the United States were born in America. They have never known any other land. America, however, is not their real home. They really belong to Africa.

8. How is it that we now find them in America? When the white men of America began to grow cotton and sugar, they needed black men to work in the fields. Men called "slavers" went to Africa in ships. They landed and pushed inland. When they came to villages they seized the people and drove them off to the ships.

9. The poor blacks, who were thus dragged from their home and kindred, were thrust into the holds of ships and carried to America. Sometimes they suffered much on the voyage. The weakest of them died, and were thrown overboard.

10. When they reached America they were sold to the cotton-growers and sugar-growers, who carried them off to work in the fields. Sometimes they were kindly treated; sometimes they were flogged to make them work. But whether kindly or cruelly treated, they were no longer men and women, but slaves.

11. This went on for many years. At last some kind-hearted men in the northern states said, "It is wicked to own slaves. All the slaves in America shall be set free."

12. The farmers of the south were very angry when they heard this, and said that they would not free their slaves. Then a fierce war broke out. The North beat the South, and when the war came to an end all the slaves in America were set free.

13. The blacks still work in the cotton and sugar and tobacco fields; but they now work for wages, just as I do. They are free to come and go as they please.

14. The darkies are very merry and full of fun. When their work is over they love to sing and dance to the music of the banjo. Some of their songs are very pretty. I will sing some of them to you when I come home. Good-bye, dears. I shall soon be with you now.--Your loving FATHER.

* * * * *

29. HOME AGAIN.

1. The telegram came soon after breakfast. Father was coming home that very day. We were so delighted that we sang and danced and clapped our hands, just like the darkies.

2. Mother was very busy. "You must all come and help me," she said. "The house must be made beautiful for father's return."

3. May and I worked with mother, but the day passed very slowly. Father's train was to arrive at six o'clock. By half-past five we were all at the station waiting for him.

4. At last the train steamed in, and out jumped father. Oh, how we hugged and kissed him! Father was well, and he looked very brown.

5. I sat next to him in the cab. He told us that his ship had only reached Liverpool that morning. He had taken the first train for home, because he wished to see us so much.

6. After tea he opened one of his boxes. "I have brought each of you a present," he said. "Sit down, and I will show you some pretty things."

7. Mother's present was a dress from India. It had gold and beetles' wings on it. They were a lovely shiny green, just like jewels.

8. My present was a necklace of beautiful blue stones. May's was a dolly, dressed just like an Indian lady. Tom's was a kite from Japan. It was shaped just like a dragon. Of course, we were all delighted with our gifts.

9. Then father told us many things about his travels. "I have been right round the world," he said. "I sailed to the East, and I went on and on until I returned to the place from which I set out."

"I know," cried Tom. "I have followed you all round the world on the globe."

10. May was sitting on father's knee. "Dad," she said, "I suppose you are the very first man who has ever been right round the world." "Of course he is," said Tom.

11. Father laughed. "No, my dear," he replied; "thousands of men had been round the world before I was born."

12. "I'm so sorry," said May. "I did so want to tell the girls at school that my father was the very first man who ever went round the world."

EXERCISES.

(_To be worked under the direction of the teacher_)

* * * * *

Lesson 1.

1. The father travelled by train. In what other ways might he have travelled? Which is the fastest way? Which is the slowest?

2. What power drives the train? What other work does this power do?

3. Look carefully at the first picture in this book. Describe it.

4. Learn: _A globe is a small model of the earth._ Of what shape is the earth? Of what shape are the sun, moon, and stars?

Lesson 2.

1. The name of the town on the seashore (par. 2) is Dover. Turn to the picture on page 11 {Illustration entitled "The White Cliffs of Dover"} and describe the cliffs of Dover as seen from the sea.

2. The distance between Dover and Calais is only twenty-one miles. Learn: _A narrow passage of water joining two seas is called a strait._ The word _strait_ means "narrow." This strait is called the Strait of Dover.

3. Model the Strait of Dover in clay or plasticine. Suppose the water between England and France were to dry up, what would the strait be then? Write out and learn: _A valley is a hollow between hills or mountains._

Lesson 3.

1. The river which runs through Paris is called the Seine. The river which runs through London is called the Thames. Learn: _A river is a large stream of fresh water flowing across the land to join another river, a lake, or the sea._

2. Look carefully at the picture on page 14 {Illustration entitled "In the Gardens"} and describe it.

3. Compare French boys with English boys. Compare French girls with English girls.

Lesson 4.

1. Look carefully at the picture on page 18 {Illustration entitled "The Grape Harvest"} and describe it.

2. Copy this little drawing of the silkworm and the mulberry leaf.

3. Why do flowers bloom earlier in the south of France than in England?

4. Describe the picture on page 20 {Illustration entitled "Games on Board Father's Ship"}.

Lesson 5.

1. The Nile carries much mud in its waters. If there is a stream near your school, go to it and get a bottleful of water. Let this water stand for a time and notice the mud which settles down. Where does this mud come from?

2. Copy this little drawing of a palm tree. The Arabs say that the palm tree loves to have its foot in the water and its head in the fire. What do you think this saying means?

3. Look at the picture on page 23 {Illustration entitled "The Nile in Flood"}. What animals do you see in the picture? Tell me something about each of them.

Lesson 6.

1. Copy this little drawing of two of the oldest buildings in Egypt. Such buildings are called _pyramids_. Write out this word six times. You will see pyramids in the picture on page 23 {Illustration entitled "The Nile in Flood"}. Of what shape is the ground on which a pyramid stands? Make a _ground plan_ of a pyramid.

2. How do we know what the men of Egypt were like in olden times?

3. The picture on page 25 {Illustration entitled "The Chief City of Egypt"} shows you a street in Cairo, the chief town of Egypt. Describe the picture.

Lesson 7.

1. Write out and learn: _A long deep ditch filled with water is called a canal._ Model a canal in clay or plasticine. What is the difference between a canal and a strait?

2. Copy this little drawing of a lighthouse. Write out and learn: _A lighthouse is a tower near the sea. It shows a bright light at night to warn sailors of rocks or shallow places._

3. Why does a big ship "go slow" through the Suez Canal?

Lesson 8.

1. Write out and learn: _A desert is a rainless tract of country on which little or nothing will grow._ How can a desert be turned into a garden?

2. Copy this little drawing of an Arab tent. Why do the Arabs who wander from place to place live in tents?

3. Write out and learn: _A green spot in a desert is called an oasis._ Several of these green spots are called _oases_.

Lesson 9.

1. The palm is said to have as many uses as there are days in the year. Name some of these uses.

2. Why is the camel called the "ship of the desert"?

3. Go to a sand heap. Stand on it; you sink in. Put a piece of board on the sand and stand on it; the board does not sink in much. Now turn to the picture on page 105 {Illustration entitled "Boys of Canada in Winter"}. You will see a pair of snow-shoes on the snow. A boy's foot will sink into the snow. When he stands on the snow-shoes he does not sink in. Find out why. Notice the camel's foot, and tell me why it does not sink into the sand.

Lesson 10.

1. In what ways do the people of Bombay differ from the people of your town or village?

2. Why are the people of hot lands dark in colour?

3. Look at the picture on page 47 {Illustration entitled "The Village Well"}. Describe it.

Lesson 11.

1. What is the difference between our shops and the shops of Bombay?

2. How do Indian boys play at marbles?

3. Copy this drawing of the Union Jack. Colour it with chalks.

Lesson 12.

1. With a pair of scissors cut out a square of paper. Fold it into two; then into four; then into eight, and lastly into sixteen. Open out the paper. If the whole square stands for the size of India, one of the small squares will stand for the size of our land.

2. Copy this drawing of a punkah. What is the use of a punkah?

3. Suppose you forget to water your plants, what happens? Suppose you water them too much, what happens?

Lesson 13.

1. Write out and learn: _A mountain is land which rises high above the level of the country round about it. A row of mountains joined together by high ground is called a mountain range or chain._

2. Write out the following:--"Some mountains may be called water savings banks. The rain freezes as it falls and becomes snow. On very high mountains this snow never melts. It gets deeper and deeper, and the lower part turns into ice. This ice creeps slowly down the mountain side until it comes into air that is warm enough to melt it. The water which flows away from the ice forms a river. Many large rivers begin in melting ice-fields."

3. Describe the picture on page 55 {Illustration of a town on the Ganges}.

Lesson 14.

1. Make a copy of this little drawing. It shows you a palanquin--that is, a box carried on poles. Rich ladies are carried from place to place in India in palanquins of this kind.

2. Compare the life of a rich Indian girl with that of our girls.

3. "They sang 'God Save the King' for me." Who is their king? Have the people of India ever seen him?

Lesson 15.

1. Describe the picture on page 61 {Illustration entitled "An Indian Rajah"}.

2. Describe an elephant. Of what use is he?

3. Tell me what you know of tigers. How are tigers hunted?

Lesson 16.

1. In what way does a Burmese girl differ from an Indian girl?

2. Copy the drawing of a Burmese girl on page 66 {Illustration of Burmese woman with an umbrella}.

3. Write out the following: "The Burmese alphabet is very hard to learn. Dull boys often take a year to learn it. In the monks' schools the lazy boys are sometimes punished by being made to carry the hard-working boys on their backs up and down the schoolroom."

Lesson 17.

1. What is the difference between Burmese football and British football?

2. Describe the picture on page 68 {Illustration of boys playing Burmese football}.

3. Write out the following: "Rice is a grass on which many seeds grow. These seeds are eaten. Rice will only grow in wet ground. The fields are flooded with water, and then the rice-shoots are planted. The fields must be kept flooded until the rice is ripe. In India, men sometimes gather the rice in small boats."

Lesson 18.

1. Copy this little drawing of a rickshaw.

2. Write out the following: "Tea is the name given to the dried leaves and young shoots of the tea-plant. This plant is a large evergreen shrub. It grows on the hillsides of Ceylon, and in many other places in the East. When the leaves are picked, they are spread out in trays until they wither; then they are rolled. Wet cloths are next placed over the leaves, and they are put in a cool dark place, until they rot a little. The leaves are then dried over a fire, and after cooling are packed in air-tight chests. They are then sent to our country."

3. Describe the picture on page 75 {Illustration entitled "Ceylon Girls Playing the Tom-Tom"}.

Lesson 19.

1. Old cities have walls round them. Why were these walls built? Why are they of no use now?

2. Copy this drawing of a Chinese wheelbarrow.

3. Why do the Chinese paint an eye on the bows of their boats?

Lesson 20.

1. Describe the picture on page 78 {Illustration entitled "A Chinese Street"}.

2. Say what you know about a Chinese school.

3. How can you tell a Chinaman when you see him?

Lesson 21.

1. Describe the picture on page 88 {Illustration entitled "A Rich Chinaman's House"}.

2. In what ways do Chinese girls differ from British girls?

3. Write out the following: "The Great Wall of China is the longest wall in the world. It was built about two thousand years ago, and was meant to shut out the wild tribes which were then trying to conquer China. The wall is more than twice as long as the island of Great Britain. It is built of stone and earth, and is so broad that four horses can be driven on it abreast. The wall is now in ruins."

Lesson 22.

1. Write out and learn: _An island is land with water all round it. People can only reach an island by sailing to it in a boat or by crossing a bridge._ A small island is called an _islet_.

2. Model an island in clay or plasticine. Suppose the water round an island were to dry up, what would the island be then?

3. Copy this little drawing. It shows you the sacred mountain of Japan.

4. Write out and learn: _A volcano is a hole in the ground out of which steam, ashes, mud, and melted rock are thrown. An earthquake is a shaking or tearing apart of the ground._

Lesson 23.

1. Which should you prefer to be--a boy or a girl (1) in Japan, (2) in India?

2. Describe the picture on page 90 {Illustration entitled "The Toy Seller"}.

3. Try to make a drawing of a kite just after its string has been cut by the glass on the string of another kite.

Lesson 24.

1. Write out and learn: _A plain is a wide tract of low-lying and nearly level country. A high plain is called a plateau._

2. Copy this drawing of a salmon. What do you know about salmon?

3. Which should you like to do best--till the fields, cut down trees, or catch salmon? Say why.

Lesson 25.

1. Describe the picture on page 105 {Illustration entitled "Boys of Canada in Winter"}. Why do the boys cover up their ears?

2. What sports do these boys enjoy in winter?

3. Copy this drawing of a canoe.

Lesson 26.

1. Copy this little drawing of a wigwam--that is, a Red man's tent.

2. Describe the picture on page 102 {Illustration entitled "Red Men and White Men"}.

3. How did the Red men hunt the bison? What has become of the bison?

Lesson 27.

1. Look carefully at the picture on page 111 {Illustration entitled "Amongst the Eskimos"}. Compare it with the picture on page 35 {Illustration entitled "Arabs of the Desert"}.

2. Why are the Eskimos fishermen and hunters, and not farmers?

3. How would you build a snow house? Would it be very cold to live in? If not, why not?

Lesson 28.

1. Describe the picture on page 102 {Illustration entitled "Red Men and White Men"}.

2. Write out the following: "The cotton plant loves sun and water, and will only grow in the hot, moist parts of the world. It throws out flower stalks, at the end of which pods appear. Inside the pods is a soft, white down, which is called cotton. This is spun and woven into cloth."

3. What is the difference between cotton and wool?

Lesson 29.

1. Look at a globe. Find a line running round the globe at the thickest part. This is called the _Equator_, because it divides the earth into two _equal_ parts. The hottest parts of the earth lie round about the Equator. The distance round the earth at the Equator is 25,000 miles. A railway train, running 50 miles an hour, and never stopping, would require nearly three weeks for the journey. Find out whether father's voyage was longer or shorter than this.

2. Measure with a band of paper the distance on the globe from the Equator on one side to the Equator on the other. Find half this distance and mark it on the globe. Then mark the same distance on the other side of the Equator. The points which you have marked are called the _Poles_. One is the _North Pole_; the other is the _South Pole_.

3. Learn: _We divide the land of the earth into five great parts; each of these parts is called a continent. There are five continents_--_Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia. We divide the water of the earth into five great parts. Each of these parts is called an ocean. There are five oceans_--_Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic. The Arctic Ocean is round the North Pole; the Antarctic Ocean is round the South Pole_.