THE STANDARD THIRD READER. PART II. EXERCISES IN READING. The letters EI, placed at the end of a word, refer to it in the Explanatory Index. Figures at the end of a word refer to the paragraph of a corresponding number in Part I. EI 1. ATTENTION is the secret of success in learning to read, as it is in all other undertakings in life. Sir Isaac Newton, on being asked how he had discovered"1 the true system of the universe, replied, "By continually thinking upon it." In other words, he gave his attention to it, and occupied his thoughts about it. 2. If you would become a good reader, you must remember that attention is the important thing for success. Attend to the articulation and pronunciation of your words, and soon you will articulate and pronounce correctly without forethought or effort. 41 98 3. Attend to the meaning" of what you read, and you will bestow your emphasis aright, and make your hearers understand you at once. Attend to the modulation of your voice, and you will not be liable to sink it to a spiritless tone, or raise it, at improper times, to a pitch that might better suit the town crier. 58 4. Attend to the marks and ref'erences" introduced into this book for your guidance, and you will avoid many errors, and acquire ac'curate" habits of articulation, that will not be lost. You will moreover be led to understand more thoroughly what you read, and thus make a positive gain in your power to read well. 5. Attend to the elocution of your classmates" while1 they are reading aloud, and you may learn to avoid their ĕrrors, 19 and ben-e-fit by their successes. If they pronounce any word in a manner that you think ĕr-ro-ne-ous, look it out in the dictionary, and find which mode is right. 6. Are you aware of the advantages which the ability to read well may give you? ?118 It will not only be a constant satisfaction to yourself, but a means of imparting pleasure and instruction to others."1 7. As mere exercise," the habit of reading aloud is highly ben-e-ficial" on account of the strength which it confers on the chest and lungs; while the mental pleasure to be derived from it is one of the most delightful that can adorn the family circle. ΕΙ 64 35 8. The newspapers gave an account, not long since, of a worthy man who had been elected a clerk of a state legislature. It is often the clerk's duty to read documents aloud. But this man had not been taught in his youth the importance of reading well, and he had grown up with such bad habits of articulation, that it was difficult to understand him. 9. He took no heed of the proper pauses in reading; clipped his words of half" their right sounds; said git instead of get, mornin instead of morning, sich instead of such, feller instead of fellow, and scursely instead of scarcely. The consequence was, that he was frequently interrupted by laughter from his hearers, and, one day, in a fit of mortification, he resigned his office. 10. It is not only in official stations that the art of reading with pro-pri-ety will be of service to you. What ever may be your occupation in life, this art cannot fail to be a frequent cause of satisfaction, and the means of adding largely to your usefulness." 34 II. THE CLOUD A FABLE. 1. ONE hot summer morning" a little cloud rose out of the sea, and glided lightly, like a playful child, through the blue sky and over the wide earth, which lay parched and languishing from the long drought.65 66 43 54 2. As the little cloud sailed along, she saw far beneath her the poor laborers toiling in the sweat of their brows, while she was wafted along by the light breath of the morning, free from care and toil. 3. "Ah!" said she, "could I but do something to lighten the labors of those poor men upon the earth, drive away their cares, give refreshment to the thirsty" and food to the hungry! And the day went on, and the cloud grew bigger and bigger; and as she grew, her desire to devote her life to mankind grew likewise stronger. 1123 ΕΙ 4. But on the earth the heat waxed more intense; the sun's rays burned like fire, till the wearied laborers nearly fainted in the fields; and yet they worked on and on, for they were very poor. From time to time they cast a piteous look up at the cloud, as much as to say, Ah, that you would help us 17123 ! 5. "I will help you," said the cloud; and she began to sink gently down. But presently she remembered" what she had once heard when a little child, in the depths of the sea, that if a cloud ventures too near the earth, she dies. 46 6. For a while she wavered, and was driven hither and thither by her thoughts; but at length she stood still, and, with all the gladness of a good resolution, she cried, "Ye weary men who are toiling on the earth, I will help you!" 7. Filled with this thought, the cloud suddenly expanded to a gigantic size; she had never imagined herself capable of such greatness. Like an angel1s of blessing, she stood above the earth, and spread her wings over the parched fields; and her form became so glorious, so awful,38 that she filled man and beast with fear, and the trees and the grass bent before her, while yet they all well knew** that she was their ben-e-factor. EI 109 8. "Ay, I will help you," said the cloud again;34 "receive me I die for you!" The energy of a mighty purpose thrilled through her; a brilliant flash gleamed across 10 her, and the thunder roared. Strong was that will, and stronger still the love, pěn-e-trated by which she fell, and dissolved in a shower, that shed blessings on the earth. 9. The rain was her work; the rain was also3 her death, and the act9 was glorious. Far over the land, as wide as the rain extended, a brilliant bow was bent, formed of the purest rays of the upper heavens; of that self-sacrificing spirit of love. it was the last greeting The rainbow vanished, but the blessing of the cloud long rested upon the land which she had saved. From the German of Reinick. 1. THE bud will soon become a flower, The flower become a seed; Then seize, O youth! the present hour, - 1. A FARMER once went to market, and, meeting with good luck, he sold all his corn, and lined his purse11 with31 silver and gold. Then he thought it time to return, in order to reach home before night-fall; so he packed his money-bags upon his horse's back, and set out on his journey." 34 2. At noon he stopped in a village to rest; and, when he was starting again, the hostler, as he led out the horse, said, "Please you, sir, the left shoe behind has lost a nail.” "Let it go," answered the farmer; "the shoe will hold fast enough for the twenty miles that I have still to travel." I'm in haste." So saying, he journeyed on. 3. In the afternoon, the farmer stopped again to bait his horse; and, as he was sitting in the inn, the stable-boy came, and said, "Sir, your horse has lost a nail in his left shoe behind: shall I take him to the blacksmith? "118. "Let him alone," answered the farmer; "I've only six miles further to go, and the horse will travel well enough that distance. I've no time to lose." 7739 4. Away rode the farmer; but he had not gone far before the horse began to limp; it had not limped far before it began to stumble; and it had not stumbled long before it fell down and broke a leg. 5. Then the farmer was obliged to leave the horse lying in the road, to unstrap his bags, throw them over his shoulder, and make his way as well as he could home on foot, where he did not arrive till late at night. "All my ill-luck," said the farmer to himself, "comes from neglect of a horse-shoe nail!" 38 From the German of Grimm. |