Chapter VII: Part 7

The following sketch vividly describes an English
traveler's impression of the desert country that
lies between Jerusalem and Cairo. Mr. Kinglake had
only an interpreter, two Arabian attendants and two
camels in his little caravan.

_Eothen_, the title of the volume from which this
selection is extracted, is a Greek word meaning
"From the East."

Once during this passage my Arabs lost their way
among the hills of loose sand that surrounded us,
but after a while we were lucky enough to recover our right
line of march. The same day we fell in with a sheik, the
head of a family that actually dwells at no great distance 5
from this part of the desert during nine months of the year.
The man carried a matchlock, and of this he was inordinately
proud, on account of the supposed novelty and ingenuity
of the contrivance. We stopped, and sat down and
rested awhile, for the sake of a little talk. 10

There was much that I should have liked to ask this man,
but he could not understand Dthemetri's language, and
the process of getting at his knowledge by double interpretation
through my Arabs was tedious. I discovered,
however (and my Arabs knew of that fact), that this man 15
and his family lived habitually for nine months of the year
without touching or seeing either bread or water. The
stunted shrub growing at intervals through the sand in
this part of the desert enables the camel mares to yield a
little milk, and this furnishes the sole food and drink of 20
their owner and his people. During the other three months
(the hottest, I suppose) even this resource fails, and then
the sheik and his people are forced to pass into another
district. You would ask me why the man should not
remain always in that district which supplies him with
water during three months of the year, but I don't know 5
enough of Arab politics to answer the question.

The sheik was not a good specimen of the effect produced
by his way of living. He was very small, very spare, and
sadly shriveled--a poor overroasted snipe--a mere
cinder of a man. I made him sit down by my side, and 10
gave him a piece of bread and a cup of water from out of
my goatskins. This was not a very tempting drink to
look at, for it had become turbid and was deeply reddened
by some coloring matter contained in the skins; but it
kept its sweetness and tasted like a strong decoction of 15
Russia leather. The sheik sipped this drop by drop with
ineffable relish, and rolled his eyes solemnly round after
every draft as though the drink were the drink of the
Prophet and had come from the seventh heaven.

An inquiry about distances led to the discovery that this 20
sheik had never heard of the division of time into hours.

About this part of my journey I saw the likeness of a
fresh-water lake. I saw, as it seemed, a broad sheet of
calm water stretching far and fair towards the south--stretching
deep into winding creeks and hemmed in by 25
jutting promontories, and shelving smooth off toward the
shallow side. On its bosom the reflected fire of the sun lay
playing and seeming to float as though upon deep, still
waters.

Though I knew of the cheat, it was not till the spongy 30
foot of my camel had almost trodden in the seeming lake
that I could undeceive my eyes, for the shore line was quite
true and natural. I soon saw the cause of the phantasm.
A sheet of water, heavily impregnated with salts, had
gathered together in a vast hollow between the sand hills,
and when dried up by evaporation had left a white saline
deposit; this exactly marked the space which the waters 5
had covered, and so traced out a good shore line. The
minute crystals of the salt, by their way of sparkling in
the sun, were made to seem like the dazzled face of a lake
that is calm and smooth.

The pace of the camel is irksome, and makes your 10
shoulders and loins ache from the peculiar way in which
you are obliged to suit yourself to the movements of the
beast; but one soon, of course, becomes inured to the work,
and after my first two days, this way of traveling became so
familiar to me that (poor sleeper as I am) I now and then 15
slumbered for some moments together on the back of my
camel.

After the fifth day of my journey, I no longer traveled
over the shifting hills but came upon a dead level--a dead
level bed of sand, quite hard, and studded with small shining 20
pebbles.

The heat grew fierce; there was no valley, no hollow,
no hill, no mound, no shadow of hill nor of mound, by which
I could mark the way I was making. Hour by hour I
advanced, and saw no change. I was still the very center 25
of a round horizon. Hour by hour I advanced, and still
there was the same, and the same, and the same--the
same circle of flaming sky--the same circle of sand still
glaring with light and fire. Over all the heaven above,
over all the earth beneath, there was no visible power that 30
could balk the fierce will of the sun. "He rejoiced as a
strong man to run a race; his going forth was from the end
of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there
was nothing hid from the heat thereof." From pole to
pole, and from the east to the west, he brandished his
fiery scepter as though he had usurped all heaven and
earth. As he bid the soft Persian in ancient times, so 5
now, and fiercely too, he bid me bow down and worship
him; so now in his pride he seemed to command me, and
say, "Thou shalt have none other gods but me." I was
all alone before him. There were these two pitted together,
and face to face--the mighty sun for one, and for 10
the other this poor, pale, solitary Self of mine.

But on the eighth day, and before I had yet turned away
from Jehovah for the glittering god of the Persians, there
appeared a dark line upon the edge of the forward horizon,
and soon the line deepened into a delicate fringe that 15
sparkled here and there as though it were sown with diamonds.
There, then, before me were the gardens and the
minarets of Egypt, and the mighty works of the Nile, and
I, I had lived to see, and I saw them.

When evening came I was still within the confines of the 20
desert, and my tent was pitched as usual; but one of my
Arabs stalked away rapidly toward the west without telling
me of the errand on which he was bent. After a while he
returned. He had toiled on a graceful service; he had
traveled all the way on to the border of the living world, 25
and brought me back for a token an ear of rice, full, fresh,
and green.

--_Eothen._

1. Several aspects of the desert are herein
described. The first is a native sheik. What are
the others?

2. The camel and the blazing sun belong peculiarly
to the desert. What comments has Mr. Kinglake made
on each?

3. Show on your maps approximately where this
journey was made.

MAY IS BUILDING HER HOUSE

BY RICHARD LE GALLIENNE

This poem is a series of clearly drawn pictures
grouped about a central image of the month of May
as the builder of a house. While you read it,
preferably aloud, try to see the pictures and feel
the rhythm of the words. The thought in the last
stanza may remind you of the "Ode to a Butterfly."
Richard Le Gallienne is a poet of our own day, now
living in this country.

(Used by permission of the author)

May is building her house. With apple blooms
She is roofing over the glimmering rooms;
Of the oak and the beech hath she builded its beams,
And, spinning all day at her secret looms,
With arras of leaves each wind-swayed wall 5
She pictureth over, and peopleth it all
With echoes and dreams
And singing of streams.

May is building her house. Of petal and blade,
Of the roots of the oak, is the flooring made; 10
With a carpet of mosses and lichen and clover,
Each small miracle over and over,
And tender, traveling green things strayed.

Her windows, the morning and evening star,
And her rustling doorways, ever ajar 15
With the coming and going
Of fair things blowing,
The thresholds of the four winds are.

May is building her house. From the dust of things
She is making the songs and the flowers and the wings;
From October's tossed and trodden gold
She is making the young year out of the old;
Yea: out of winter's flying sleet 5
She is making all the summer sweet,
And the brown leaves spurned of November's feet
She is changing back again to spring's.

1. What form the roof, the beams, the floors, the
doors and windows, of the house of May? What is
arras? When was it used? Why was it so called? What
form the hangings and the carpets of the house? Who
inhabit it? Why are the rooms "glimmering"?

2. What is October's "tossed and trodden gold"? Is
the poet telling the truth in the last stanza?
Explain what is meant.

3. This verse is different in form from most that
you have studied. Do you think it is especially
suited to the subject?

THE DAFFODILS

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 5
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay; 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought 5
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude; 10
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

1. Have you ever seen a daffodil? If not, find out
all you can about the color, time of blooming, etc.
of this flower. Remember that the scene of the poem
is the north of England.

2. Put briefly into your own words the experience,
as told in the first three stanzas, and its result,
as told in the last stanza. At what time of year
did the incident occur? Was the day fair or cloudy?
Why did the flowers show up so well against the
lake as a background? What change took place in the
poet's state of mind while he looked at the
flowers? What was the wealth that the sight brought
him?

3. Wordsworth's purpose in poetry was "awakening
the mind's attention . . . by directing it to the
loveliness and wonders of the world before us." His
best poetry is about things out of doors and their
influence on people's minds. You may like to read
"Fidelity," "To the Cuckoo," "The Solitary Reaper,"
"The Reverie of Poor Susan," and others that you
find for yourself.

4. Wordsworth was born in 1770, at Cockermouth,
England, and was educated at Cambridge University.
He gave all his time to writing poetry and lived an
uneventful life, surrounded by his family and
friends, in the beautiful Lake District, in the
North of England, which he describes in his poems.
From 1843 till his death in 1850 he was Poet
Laureate of England.

THE FALLS OF LODORE

BY ROBERT SOUTHEY

Robert Southey (1774-1843) was Poet Laureate of
England from 1815 till his death. He wrote several
long poems and a great deal of history and
biography, but his best-remembered works are
shorter poems like this and "The Inchcape Rock" and
"The Battle of Blenheim." He is sometimes
associated with Wordsworth and Coleridge in the
group called the "Lake Poets".

How does the water come down at Lodore?
Here it comes sparkling,
And there it lies darkling;
Here smoking and frothing,
Its tumult and wrath in, 5
It hastens along, conflicting and strong;
Now striking and raging,
As if a war waging,
Its caverns and rocks among.
Rising and leaping, 10
Sinking and creeping,
Swelling and flinging,
Showering and springing,
Eddying and whisking,
Spouting and frisking; 15
Turning and twisting,
Around and around,
Collecting, disjecting,
With endless rebound.
Smiting and fighting, 20
In turmoil delighting,
Confounding, astounding,
Dizzying and deafening the ear with its sound.
Receding and speeding,
And shocking and rocking, 5
And darting and parting,
And threading and spreading,
And whizzing and hissing,
And dripping and skipping,
And hitting and spitting, 10
And shining and twining,
And rattling and battling,
And shaking and quaking,
And pouring and roaring,
And waving and raving, 15
And tossing and crossing,
And running and stunning,
And hurrying and skurrying,
And glittering and frittering,
And gathering and feathering, 20
And dinning and spinning,
And foaming and roaming,
And hopping and dropping,
And working and jerking,
And guggling and struggling, 25
And heaving and cleaving,
And thundering and floundering,
And falling and brawling, and sprawling,
And driving and riving and striving,
And sprinkling and crinkling and twinkling, 30
And sounding and bounding and rounding,
And bubbling and troubling and doubling;
Dividing and gliding and sliding,
Grumbling and rumbling and tumbling,
Clattering and battering and shattering,
And gleaming and streaming and skimming and beaming
And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing, 5
And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping,
And curling and whirling and purling and twirling;
Retreating and meeting and beating and sheeting,
Delaying and straying and spraying and playing,
Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing, 10
Recoiling, turmoiling, and toiling and boiling;
And thumping and bumping and flumping and jumping,
And thrashing and clashing and flashing and splashing;
And so never ending,
But always descending, 15
Sounds and motions forever and ever are blending,
All at once and all o'er
With a mighty uproar;--
And this way the water comes down at Lodore.

1. The Falls of Lodore, in the Lake District,
England, consist of a series of cascades in which a
small stream rushes over a great rock about 200
feet high.

2. Read this poem aloud and notice how the sound
fits the sense. Does it give you an idea of the
sound of the waterfall? Why do you think the poet
uses first two, then three, and then four,
participles to a line? Other poems in which this
method of creating an impression of sound and
motion is used are Poe's "The Bells" and parts of
Browning's "How We Brought the Good News from Ghent
to Aix" and "The Pied Piper." Words like _bubble_
and _gurgle_ imitate sounds. Look for such words in
this poem and elsewhere.

3. Compare this poem with Lowell's "The Fountain,"
Tennyson's "The Brook," and Lanier's "Song of the
Chattahoochee." Decide which you like best, and
why.

_STORIES THAT TEACH_

_If any man can convince me and bring home to me
that I do not think or act aright, gladly will I
change; for I search after truth, by which man
never yet was harmed. But he is harmed who abideth
on still in his own deception and ignorance._

--MARCUS AURELIUS.

(_See opposite page_)]

AN ADVENTURE IN BROTHERHOOD

In an ancient city of the East there were seven brothers
who were constantly quarreling among themselves. They
fell out about the way their father divided his property
among them; they argued about the number of camels
each had a right to; they disagreed over the management 5
of their business; and altogether they behaved so
rudely to each other that their acquaintances came to speak
of them as the "unbrotherly brothers."

Their father was much grieved over the actions of his
sons, and he pondered long what means to take to teach them 10
a lasting lesson. At length he called them together in
his own house and spoke to them in this manner:

"As you know, I still have much wealth of my own. The
whole of this I shall bequeath to that son of mine who can
perform a task I have to set. Should two or more succeed, 15
the property will be divided equally among the winners.
But before any of you can take part in this contest, each
must pledge himself to live up fully to any lesson he may
have exemplified here this day. Are you willing to make
me this promise?" 20

Each stepped forth in turn and gave a solemn assurance to
his father that come what might he would be true in spirit
and in deed to any lesson that the test might bring forth.

The father then took from a chest a bundle of seven sticks,
ingeniously tied together. "In accordance with what I 25
have said," he told them, "whichever of you breaks these
sticks shall be the winner of the prize."

Each tried in turn, beginning with the youngest. Each
tugged and strained in vain. At best the bundle could only
be bent. Finally the turn of the seventh came, and he
too was unsuccessful. They all said the task could not be
done and agreed that they had failed. 5

Thereupon the father took the bundle, sought out the
end of the cord that held the sticks together, and unwound
it at a single pull. Seizing each stick separately he broke
all seven, one after another, before his astonished sons
could protest. 10

"Now," said he, "those broken sticks are you, my seven
sons. As long as you hold together, nobody can break your
friendship or your reputation. When you fall apart, anybody
can make broken reeds of you. Need I say more
about the lesson that you have pledged yourselves to learn 15
in spirit and in deed?"

The rebuke touched the seven brothers. They agreed to
forget their petty grievances, thanked their father for the
lesson he had taught them, and gladly joined in a big feast
he had had prepared. And thereafter all who knew them 20
spoke of them as "the seven blood brothers."

1. Did the seven brothers have any good reason for
quarreling? About what matters did they disagree?
What is the difference between disagreeing and
quarreling? How did they probably get into their
contentious habits?

2. What was their father's agreement with them? Was
it a fair one? What part of the story is
illustrated on page 214?

3. This is an old story retold. Groups of seven,
three, or twelve are very common in folk tales and
legends. See how many famous groups of seven you
can find.

THE PRAYER PERFECT

BY JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

Dear Lord! kind Lord!
Gracious Lord! I pray
Thou wilt look on all I love,
Tenderly to-day!
Weed their hearts of weariness; 5
Scatter every care
Down a wake of angel wings
Winnowing the air.

Bring unto the sorrowing
All release from pain; 10
Let the lips of laughter
Overflow again;
And with all the needy
Oh, divide, I pray,
This vast treasure of content 15
That is mine to-day!

1. James Whitcomb Riley (1853-1916) is an American
poet, best known for his poems for and about
children. You probably know "The Raggedy Man,"
"Little Orphant Annie," and "The Circus-Day
Parade." "The Prayer Perfect" is an example of his
serious verse.

2. From what three evils does the poet pray to have
his friends delivered? What good things does he
want them to have? What, beside the things he says
here, shows that Riley thought laughter a blessing?

(From the Biographical Edition of the Complete
Works of James Whitcomb Riley, copyright 1913, used
by special permission of the Publishers, The
Bobbs-Merrill Company)

GET OUT OR GET IN LINE

BY ELBERT HUBBARD

This selection is a sermon that begins with an
illustration. The text is the title. The whole
incident of Lincoln's letter to Hooker is used to
enforce the text, whose title might be "Loyalty."
Why?

Elbert Hubbard (1859-1915) is an American writer of
essays and biography. He was interested in the
revival of the old handicrafts, especially in the
art of printing and binding books.

If all the letters, messages, and speeches of Lincoln were
destroyed except that one letter to Hooker, we should
still have a good index to the heart of "The Rail-splitter."

In this letter we see that Lincoln ruled his own spirit;
and we also behold the fact that he could rule others. 5
The letter shows frankness, kindliness, wit, tact, wise
diplomacy, and infinite patience.

Hooker had harshly and unjustly criticized Lincoln,
his commander in chief, and he had embarrassed Burnside,
his ranking officer. But Lincoln waives all this in deference 10
to the virtues that he believes Hooker possesses, and promotes
him to succeed Burnside. In other words, the man
who had been wronged promotes the man who had wronged
him, over the head of a man whom the promotee had wronged
and for whom the promoter had a warm personal friendship. 15

But all personal considerations were sunk in view of the
end desired. Yet it was necessary that the man promoted
should know the truth, and Lincoln told it to him in a way
that did not humiliate nor fire to foolish anger, but which
certainly prevented the attack of cerebral elephantiasis to 20
which Hooker was liable.

Perhaps we had better give the letter entire, and so here
it is:

"Executive Mansion, Washington, January 26, 1863.
Major-General Hooker:

General:-- 5

I have placed you at the head of the Army of the
Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appear
to me to be sufficient reasons, and yet I think it best for
you to know that there are some things in regard to which
I am not quite satisfied with you. 10

I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which,
of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics
with your profession, in which you are right.

You have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if
not indispensable, quality. 15

You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds,
does good rather than harm; but I think that during
General Burnside's command of the army you have taken
counsel of your ambition and thwarted him as much as you
could, in which you did a great wrong to the country and 20
to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer.

I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your
recently saying that both the army and the government
needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in
spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only 25
those generals who gain successes can set up dictators.
What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk
the dictatorship. The government will support you to the
utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than
it has done and will do for all commanders. I much 30
fear that the spirit you have aided to infuse into the army,
of criticizing their commander and withholding confidence
from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as
far as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napoleon,
if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army
while such a spirit prevails in it. And now beware of
rashness; beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless 5
vigilance go forward and give us victories.

Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln."

One point in this letter is especially worth our consideration,
for it suggests a condition that springs up like 10
deadly nightshade from a poisonous soil. I refer to the
habit of sneering, carping, grumbling at, and criticizing
those who are above us.

The man who is anybody and who does anything is
surely going to be criticized, vilified, and misunderstood. 15
This is a part of the penalty for greatness and every great
man understands it; and understands, too, that it is no
proof of greatness. The final proof of greatness lies in being
able to endure contumely without resentment. Lincoln
did not resent criticism; he knew that every life must be its 20
own excuse for being; but look how he calls Hooker's
attention to the fact that the dissension Hooker has sown is
going to return and plague him! "Neither you nor Napoleon,
were he alive, could get any good out of an army
while such a spirit prevails in it." Hooker's fault falls on 25
Hooker--others suffer, but Hooker suffers most of all.

Not long ago I met a college student, home on a vacation.
I am sure he did not represent the true college
spirit, for he was full of criticism and bitterness toward
the institution. The president of the college came in for 30
his share, and I was supplied items, facts, data, with
times and places, for a "peach of a roast."

Very soon I saw the trouble was not with the college,
the trouble was with the young man. He had mentally
dwelt on some trivial slights until he had got so out of
harmony with the institution that he had lost the power to
derive any benefit from it. No college is a perfect institution--a 5
fact, I suppose, that most college presidents and
college men are quite willing to admit; but a college does
supply certain advantages, and it depends upon the students
whether they will avail themselves of these advantages
or not. 10

If you are a student in a college, seize upon the good that
is there. You get good by giving it. You gain by giving--so
give sympathy and cheerful loyalty to the institution.
Be proud of it. Stand by your teachers--they are doing
the best they can. If the place is faulty, make it a better 15
place by an example of cheerfully doing your work every
day the best you can. Mind your own business.

If the concern where you are employed is all wrong,
and the Old Man is a curmudgeon, it may be well for you to
go to the Old Man and confidentially, quietly, and kindly 20
tell him that he is a curmudgeon. Explain to him that his
policy is absurd and preposterous. Then show him how to
reform his ways, and you might offer to take charge of the
concern and cleanse it of its secret faults.

Do this, or if for any reason you should prefer not, then 25
take your choice of these: Get Out or Get in Line. You
have got to do one or the other--now make your choice.
If you work for a man, in heaven's name work for him!

If he pays you wages that supply you your bread and
butter, work for him--speak well of him, think well of 30
him, stand by him, and stand by the institution he represents.

I think if I worked for a man I would work for him; I
would not work for him a part of the time, and the rest of
the time work against him. I would give an undivided
service or none. If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is
worth a pound of cleverness. 5

If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage,
why, resign your position, and when you are outside,
damn to your heart's content. But, I pray you, so long
as you are a part of an institution, do not condemn it.
Not that you will injure the institution--not that--but 10
when you disparage the concern of which you are a part,
you disparage yourself.

More than that, you are loosening the tendrils that
hold you to the institution, and the first high wind that
comes along, you will be uprooted and blown away in the 15
blizzard's track--and probably you will never know why.
The letter only says "Times are dull and we regret there
is not enough work," et cetera.

Everywhere you find those out-of-a-job fellows. Talk
with them and you will find that they are full of railing, 20
bitterness, and condemnation. That was the trouble--through
a spirit of faultfinding they got themselves swung
around so they blocked the channel and had to be dynamited.
They are out of harmony with the concern, and
no longer being a help they had to be removed. Every 25
employer is constantly looking for people who can help him;
naturally he is on the lookout among his employees for those
who do not help, and everything and everybody that is a
hindrance has to go. This is the law of trade--do not
find fault with it; it is founded on nature. The reward 30
is only for the man that helps, and in order to help, you
must have sympathy.

You cannot help the Old Man so long as you are explaining
in undertone and whisper, by gesture and suggestion, by
thought and mental attitude, that he is a curmudgeon and
his system dead wrong. You are not necessarily menacing
him by stirring up discontent and warming envy into strife, 5
but you are doing this: You are getting yourself upon a well-greased
chute that will give you a quick ride down and out.

When you say to other employees that the Old Man is a
curmudgeon, you reveal the fact that you are one; and
when you tell that the policy of the institution is "rotten," 10
you surely show that yours is.

Hooker got his promotion even in spite of his failings;
but the chances are that your employer does not have the
love that Lincoln had--the love that suffereth long and is
kind. But even Lincoln could not protect Hooker forever. 15
Hooker failed to do the work, and Lincoln had to try some
one else. So there came a time when Hooker was superseded
by a Silent Man, who criticized no one, railed at nobody--not
even the enemy. And this Silent Man, who ruled his
own spirit, took the cities. He minded his own business and 20
did the work that no man ever can do unless he gives
absolute loyalty, perfect confidence, and untiring devotion.

Let us mind our own business and work for self by working
for the good of all.

1. Find in the letter instances of the qualities
named in paragraph two. What is the moral of the
selection?

2. What is there humorous about the third paragraph
on page 221?

3. Explain: ranking officer, waives, cerebral
elephantiasis, dictator, deadly nightshade, data,
disparage, curmudgeon, chute, superseded.

4. You are a clerk in a shoe store on Saturday
afternoon, and learn that your employer is
overcharging some customers. What should you do?

5. What incentive to loyalty is suggested here?
Name a better one.

(Used by permission of Elbert Hubbard II, East Aurora, N. Y.)

JOHN MARSHALL OF VIRGINIA

BY JOHN ESTEN COOKE

This anecdote about a great American begins with a
short account of his life and work. It goes on to
tell about his appearance and habits and then
relates the story that illustrates something fine
in his character. Judge Marshall was born in 1755
and died in 1835. By recalling what events happened
during his lifetime and what great men were his
contemporaries, you will get a clearer idea of the
setting of the story. In reading it try to picture
costumes, houses, etc.

Among the great men of Virginia, John Marshall
will always be remembered with honor and esteem.
He was the son of a poor man, and his early life was spent
in poverty; but he was not afraid of labor, and everybody
saw that he was a person of more than common ability. 5

Little by little he rose to distinction, and there was
scarcely any public office in the gift of the people that he
might not have had for the asking. He served in the legislature
of Virginia; he was sent as envoy to France; he was
made Secretary of State; and finally he became Chief 10
Justice of the United States. When he died at the age of
eighty, he was one of the greatest and most famous men
in America.

My father knew him well and loved him, and told me
many things about him. He was very tall and thin, and 15
dressed very plainly. He wore a suit of plain black cloth,
and common yarn stockings, which fitted tightly to his legs
and showed how thin they were. He was a very great
walker, and would often walk out to his farm, which was
several miles from Richmond. But sometimes he went on
horseback, and once he was met riding out with a bag of
clover seed on the saddle before him.

His manners were plain and simple, and he liked to talk
about everyday matters with plain country people and
laugh and jest with them. In a word, he was so great a man 5
that he never thought of appearing greater than other
people, but was always the same unpretending John
Marshall.

It was the fashion among the gentlemen of Richmond to
walk to market early in the morning and buy fresh meats 10
and vegetables for their family dinners. This was a good
old fashion, and some famous gentlemen continued to do
so to the end of their lives. It was the habit of Judge
Marshall, and very often he took no servant with him. He
would buy what he wanted and return home, carrying his 15
purchases on his arm; and on one of these occasions a little
incident occurred which is well worth telling.

Judge Marshall had made his purchases at the market
and was just starting for home when he heard some one
using very rough and unbecoming language. He turned 20
round and saw what was the cause of the hubbub. A
finely dressed young man, who seemed to be a stranger,
had just bought a turkey in the market. Finding that
it would not be carried home for him, he became very angry.
Judge Marshall listened a moment to his ungentlemanly 25
talk, and then stepping up to him asked very kindly,
"Where do you live, sir?"

The young man looked at the plainly dressed old countryman,
as he supposed him to be, and then named the street
and number where he lived. 30

"I happen to be going that way," said Judge Marshall
with a smile, "and I will take it for you."

The young man handed him the turkey and left the
market, followed by Judge Marshall. When they reached
the young man's home, Marshall politely handed him the
turkey and turned to go.

"What shall I pay you?" asked the young man. 5

"Oh, nothing," answered Marshall. "You are welcome.
It was on my way, and no trouble at all." He bowed and
walked away, while the young man looked after him,
beginning now to see that he had made a mistake.

"Who is that polite old gentleman who carried my turkey 10
for me?" he asked of a friend who was passing.

"That is John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United
States," was the answer.

The young man was astounded and ashamed. "But
why did he offer to carry my turkey?" he exclaimed. 15

"To give you a reprimand and teach you to attend to
your own business and behave like a gentleman."

This little anecdote will show you the character of John
Marshall; and I cannot believe that it was his wish merely
to reprimand the foolish young man. He was too sweet-tempered 20
and kind to take pleasure in reprimanding anyone;
and I have not a doubt that he carried the turkey
simply from the wish to be obliging.

--_Stories of the Old Dominion._

1. What were the offices that Judge Marshall held?
What great men did he probably meet and talk with?
What important events happened during his lifetime?
Describe his appearance, character, and habits.

2. Relate the story about the turkey. Did the young
man mean to be disagreeable? About whom was he
thinking? What was the difference between his point
of view and Judge Marshall's? Why did Judge
Marshall carry the turkey for him?

OPPORTUNITY

BY EDWARD ROWLAND SILL

This poem is an allegory. In reading it try to get
a clear picture of the scene described, and at the
same time remember that everything in it has a
hidden meaning; to understand it fully, you must
find out what the pictures represent. The title
gives you the necessary key.

This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:--
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner 5
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle's edge,
And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel--
That blue blade that the king's son bears,--but this
Blunt thing!" He snapped and flung it from his hand, 10
And lowering crept away and left the field.
Then came the king's son, wounded, sore bestead,
And weaponless, and saw the broken sword,
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,
And ran and snatched it, and with battle shout 15
Lifted afresh, he hewed his enemy down,
And saved a great cause that heroic day.

1. What do the following represent: the battle; the
swords; the craven; the king's son; the broken
sword buried in the sand? Express the meaning of
the allegory in a sentence of your own.

2. Define an allegory, a fable; a parable. Most
allegories are long. Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_
is a very famous one.

BOY WANTED

BY DR. FRANK CRANE

Dr. Frank Crane is an American writer whose little
essays you often see in newspapers and magazines.
This description of the right sort of boy is put in
the form of a "Want ad" in a newspaper. While you
read it, consider whether the boy you are best
acquainted with could apply for the job.

(Used by special permission of the author.)

A boy who stands straight, sits straight, acts straight,
and talks straight.

A boy who listens carefully when spoken to, who asks
questions when he does not understand, and does not ask
questions about things that are none of his business. 5

A boy whose finger nails are not in mourning, whose
ears are clean, whose shoes are polished, whose clothes
are brushed, whose hair is combed, and whose teeth are
well cared for.

A boy who moves quickly and makes as little noise about 10
it as possible.

A boy who whistles in the street but not where he
ought to keep still.

A boy who looks cheerful, has a ready smile for everybody,
and never sulks. 15

A boy who is polite to every man and respectful to every
woman and girl.

A boy who does not smoke cigarettes and has no desire to
learn how.

A boy who never bullies other boys or allows other boys 20
to bully him.

A boy who, when he does not know a thing, says, "I do
not know"; and when he has made a mistake says, "I'm
sorry"; and when requested to do a thing immediately
says, "I'll try."

A boy who looks you right in the eye and tells the truth 5
every time.

A boy who would rather lose his job or be expelled from
school than tell a lie or be a cad.

A boy who is more eager to know how to speak good
English than to talk slang. 10

A boy who does not want to be "smart" nor in any wise
attract attention.

A boy who is eager to read good, wholesome books.

A boy whom other boys like.

A boy who is perfectly at ease in the company of respectable 15
girls.

A boy who is not a goody-goody, a prig, or a little
Pharisee, but just healthy, happy, and full of life.

A boy who is not sorry for himself and not forever
thinking and talking about himself. 20

A boy who is friendly with his mother and more intimate
with her than with anyone else.

A boy who makes you feel good when he is around.

This boy is wanted everywhere. The family wants him,
the school wants him, the office wants him, the boys and 25
girls want him, and all creation wants him.

1. What is the difference in use between the first
two and the last two "straight's" in the first
paragraph?

2. Which of the requirements are matters of good
manners? Of health? Of courage? Of ambition? Of
unselfishness? Of honesty?

3. Which of these items would you cut out, if any?
What others would you put in the list?

JOHN LITTLEJOHN

BY CHARLES MACKAY

John Littlejohn was stanch and strong,
Upright and downright, scorning wrong;
He gave good weight and paid his way,
He thought for himself and said his say.
Whenever a rascal strove to pass, 5
Instead of silver, a coin of brass,
He took his hammer and said with a frown,
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

John Littlejohn was firm and true,
You could not cheat him in "two and two"; 10
When foolish arguers, might and main,
Darkened and twisted the clear and plain,
He saw through the mazes of their speech
The simple truth beyond their reach;
And crushing their logic said with a frown, 15
"Your coin is spurious--nail it down!"

John Littlejohn maintained the right,
Through storm and shine, in the world's despite;
When fools or quacks desired his vote,
Dosed him with arguments learned by rote, 20
Or by coaxing, threats, or promise tried
To gain his support to the wrong side,
"Nay, nay," said John with an angry frown,
"Your coin is spurious--nail it down!"

When told that kings had a right divine,
And that the people were herds of swine,
That nobles alone were fit to rule,
That the poor were unimproved by school,
That ceaseless toil was the proper fate 5
Of all but the wealthy and the great,
John shook his head and said with a frown,
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

When told that events might justify
A false and crooked policy, 10
That a decent hope of future good
Might excuse departure from rectitude,
That a lie, if white, was a small offense,
To be forgiven by men of sense,
"Nay, nay," said John with a sigh and frown, 15
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

Whenever the world our eyes would blind
With false pretenses of such a kind,
With humbug, cant, or bigotry,
Or a specious, sham philosophy, 20
With wrong dressed up in the guise of right,
And darkness passing itself for light,
Let us imitate John and exclaim with a frown,
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

1. What kinds of cheating are mentioned? Which is
most dangerous?

2. Littlejohn could detect and put down lies
because he kept his head clear and told the truth
to himself. What lines tell you this? Who is the
person most likely to deceive you about right and
wrong?

3. Explain: spurious, mazes, logic, despite,
quacks, rote, policy, rectitude, cant, bigotry,
specious.

THE DISCONTENTED PENDULUM

An old clock that had stood for fifty years in a farmer's
kitchen without giving its owner any cause of complaint,
early one summer's morning, before the family was
stirring, suddenly stopped. Upon this, the dial plate (if
we may credit the fable) changed countenance with alarm; 5
the hands made a vain effort to continue their course;
the wheels remained motionless with surprise; the weights
hung speechless; and each member felt disposed to lay the
blame on the others. At length the dial instituted a formal
inquiry into the cause of the stoppage; when hands, wheels, 10
weights, with one voice, protested their innocence. But
now a faint tick was heard below from the pendulum, who
thus spoke:

"I confess myself to be the sole cause of the stoppage;
and I am willing, for the general satisfaction, to assign my 15
reasons. The truth is, that I am tired of ticking." Upon
hearing this the old clock became so enraged that it was on
the very point of striking.

"Lazy wire!" exclaimed the dial plate, holding up its
hands. 20

"Very good!" replied the pendulum. "It is vastly
easy for you, Mistress Dial, who have always, as everybody
knows, set yourself up above me--it is vastly easy for
_you_, I say, to accuse other people of laziness! You, who
have had nothing to do all your life but to stare people in 25
the face and to amuse yourself with watching all that goes
on in the kitchen! Think how you would like to be shut
up for life in this dark closet and wag backward and forward,
year after year, as I do."

"As to that," said the dial, "is there not a window in
your house on purpose for you to look through?"

"For all that," resumed the pendulum, "it is very dark 5
here; and although there is a window, I dare not stop, even
for an instant, to look out. Besides I am really tired of my
way of life; and if you wish, I'll tell you how I took this
disgust at my employment. This morning I happened to
be calculating how many times I should have to tick in the 10
course of only the next twenty-four hours; perhaps some
of you, above there, can give me the exact sum."

The minute hand, being quick at figures, instantly replied,
"Eighty-six thousand four hundred times."

"Exactly so," replied the pendulum. "Well, I appeal to 15
you all, if the thought of this was not enough to fatigue
one? And when I began to multiply the strokes of one
day by those of months and years, really it is no wonder if
I felt discouraged at the prospect; so after a great deal of
reasoning and hesitation, thinks I to myself, _I'll stop_!" 20

The dial could scarcely keep its countenance during this
harangue, but resuming its gravity it at last replied:
"Dear Mr. Pendulum, I am really astonished that such a
useful, industrious person as yourself should have been
overcome by this suggestion. It is true you have done a 25
great deal of work in your time; so have we all, and are
likely to do; and though this may fatigue us to _think_ of,
the question is, will it fatigue us to _do_? Would you, now,
give half a dozen strokes to illustrate my argument?"

The pendulum complied, and ticked six times at its 30
usual pace. "Now," resumed the dial, "may I be allowed
to ask, was that exertion at all fatiguing to you?"

"Not in the least," replied the pendulum; "it is not of
six strokes that I complain, nor of sixty, but of _millions_."

"Very good," replied the dial; "but recollect that although
you may _think_ of a million strokes in an instant, you
are required to execute but one, and that however often 5
you may hereafter have to swing, a moment will always
be given you to swing in."

"That consideration staggers me, I confess," said the
pendulum.

"Then I hope," resumed the dial plate, "we shall all 10
immediately return to our duty; for the maids will be in
bed till noon if we stand idling thus."

Upon this the weights, who had never been accused of
light conduct, used all their influence in urging him to
proceed; when, as with one consent, the wheels began to 15
turn, the hands began to move, the pendulum began to
swing, and, to its credit, ticked as loud as ever; while a
beam of the rising sun that streamed through a hole in the
kitchen shutter, shining full upon the dial plate, made it
brighten up as if nothing had been the matter. 20

But when the farmer came down to breakfast that morning,
he looked at the clock and declared that his watch
had gained half an hour in the night!

1. Write a single short sentence expressing the
moral of this story.

2. Why did the minute hand make the calculation
(page 233)? Is its calculation correct?

3. What play on words is made in line 21, page 233.
In line 13-14, page 234?

4. There is an old saying to the effect that we
should let each day's work take care of itself. How
far is this true?

TWO SIDES TO EVERY QUESTION

In the days of knight-errantry and paganism, one of
the old British princes set up a statue to the goddess of
Victory in a point where four roads met together. In her
right hand she held a spear, and her left hand rested upon a
shield. The outside of this shield was of gold and the inside 5
of silver. On the former was inscribed, in the old British
language, "To the goddess ever favorable"; and on the
other, "For four victories obtained successively over the
Picts and other inhabitants of the northern islands."

It happened one day that two knights completely armed, 10
one in black armor, the other in white, arrived from opposite
parts of the country at this statue, just about the same time;
and as neither of them had seen it before, they stopped to
read the inscription and to observe its workmanship.

After contemplating it for some time, "This golden 15
shield--" said the black knight.

"Golden shield!" cried the white knight (who was as
strictly observing the opposite side); "why, if I have my
eyes, it is silver."

"I know nothing of your eyes," replied the black knight; 20
"but if ever I saw a golden shield in my life, this is one."

"Yes," returned the white knight smiling, "it is very
probable indeed that they should expose a shield of gold in
so public a place as this! For my own part, I wonder that
even a silver one is not too strong a temptation for the 25
devotion of some people who pass this way; and it appears
by the date that this has been here above three years."

The black knight could not bear the smile with which
this was delivered and grew so warm in the dispute that it
soon ended in a challenge; they both, therefore, turned
their horses and rode back so far as to have sufficient space
for their career; then, fixing their spears in their rests
they flew at each other with the greatest fury and impetuosity. 5
Their shock was so rude, and the blow on each
side so effectual, that they both fell to the ground much
wounded and lay there for some time as in a trance.

A good druid who was traveling that way found them in
this condition. The druids were the physicians of those 10
times as well as the priests. So he stanched their blood, and
brought them, as it were, from death to life again. As soon
as they were sufficiently recovered he began to inquire into
the cause of their quarrel.

"Why this man," cried the black knight, "will have it 15
that yonder shield is silver."

"And he will have it," replied the white knight, "that
it is gold."

And then they told him all the particulars of the affair.

"Ah!" said the druid, "my brothers, you are both of you 20
in the right and both of you in the wrong. Had either
given himself time to look at the opposite side of the shield,
as well as that which first presented itself to view, all this
ill feeling and bloodshed might have been avoided. Allow
me, therefore, to entreat you by all our gods, and by this 25
goddess of Victory in particular, _never again to enter into
any dispute till you have fairly considered both sides of the
question_."

1. This story is a fable. State the moral in your
own words. Tell a story of your own, with a modern
setting, to enforce the same moral; or one with
animals for characters, as in Æsop's _Fables_.

IF I WERE A BOY

BY WASHINGTON GLADDEN

If I were a boy again, and knew what I know now, I
would not be quite so positive in my opinions as I
used to be. Boys generally think that they are very certain
about many things. A boy of fifteen is a great deal
more sure of what he thinks he knows than most men of 5
fifty. You ask the boy a question and he will answer you
right off, up and down; he knows all about it. Ask a man
of large experience and ripe wisdom the same question,
and he will say, "Well, there is much to be said about it.
I am inclined on the whole to think so and so, but other 10
intelligent men think otherwise."