Compare with the

Lycidas (p. 61):

from England? To what was the separation due? speech of Pitt in the time of the Revolution (page 14). a poem by Milton. Milton and Hampden: Milton was not only a poet; he wrote many powerful addresses upon the tyranny of kings and in defense of the Commonwealth government which beheaded Charles I. "Patriot "Hampden was the hero of that period. He was one of the first to resist the usurpations of Charles I, and argued the case for twelve days before the judges. He afterward fell in battle against the throne.

What reasons for mutual respect have the two nations?

That star (p. 63): A remarkably brilliant star had appeared suddenly in the sky, but had disappeared after a few days supposed by some to have been the conflagration of some world. To redress the balance to adjust again the scales of justice so they will be true. Canning an English statesman of the eighteenth century.

Page 64. The Spires of Oxford. In the recent Great War, the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford were among the very first to respond to the call of England for volunteers. More than two thirds of the students went at the first call and most of them sacrificed their lives on Flanders' fields. Cricket-field: Cricket is the national sport in England, as baseball is here. The quad quadrangle, a court or yard inclosed by college buildings. Oxford town: Oxford University is composed of twenty-seven colleges. There are also many cathedrals and churches with lofty spires, making Oxford on the Thames one of the most beautiful towns of England.

Page 66. The Name of France. This is a deserved tribute to the gallant nation that “carried on" for four years against great odds. France had enriched life with her brilliant literature and art. She had in the French Revolution led Europe out of the feudal ages. She had been the ally of America in our Revolution and to cement our friendship she had given us the statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World," placed in New York harbor.

No wonder, when France called for help in her struggle which threatened the freedom of the world, that her appeal should move our hearts. Page 67. To Belgium. Explain why the poet here applies to Belgium the phrase "infinitely great."

Page 68. An Ode. The most majestic proof of divine design is the universe, the spacious firmament, with its untold millions of stars,

or suns, each star probably with its system of planets, and the planet with its moon and all circling through space in perfect harmony. The ancients believed the stars in their courses gave forth music too fine for mortal ears, which they called the harmony of the spheres. What do the spheres say to reason's ear? Memorize this poem.

Page 69. The Ocean. Next to the majesty of the heavens is that of the ocean. At all times, whether calm or convulsed, whether forming the ice caps at the poles or heaving in torrid climes, it is boundless, endless, and sublime, and therefore is like eternity. Glasses itself in tempests (p. 70): In a storm we see as in a glass the majesty of the Almighty. The Throne of the Invisible: In the Psalms this thought is expressed thus: "His pavilions round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies." Each zone obeys thee: The ocean with its currents and winds affects the climate. As I do here (p. 71): Under what circumstances do you infer that this, the most beautiful of all poems upon the sea, was composed?

Page 71. The River. Compare the three stages of the river with those of the human soul. The large stones (shingles), the dam (weir), the crag, are characteristic of the upper course of streams, and the country church bell suggests the innocence of the region round about. Contrast with the middle course of the stream. In the lower course the stones have been ground to fine sand. These are stopped and heaped up at the mouth by the incoming waves of the ocean which leap over the bar.

Page 72. The Pond. In this exceedingly simple description we see the beginning of one of the world's great naturalists. His thirst to know led him over all obstacles, to school and college as well as to nature. Fame and plenty came to him from his work, but his joy in his work was his greatest satisfaction. Carlyle says "Blessed is the man who has found his work. There is no higher blessedness."

Hop-o'-my-thumb (p. 73): a pygmy hero in the fairy story who by his cunning saves his parents and rescues his brothers from the ogre. Eyots small islands. They spin on the surface of the water (p. 77): Fabre refers here to the whirligigs, that look like shimmering pearls twisting rapidly. Shells with compact whorls: river snails possibly. Little worms: probably the grubs of mosquitoes, or other insects. Fins constantly flapping (p. 78) : possibly the water-boatmen that swim on their backs with two oars cross-wise. A Scarab: a beetle.

Some are very beautiful. Our common ones, glossy black, and hard bodied, are often to be seen rolling their balls of food on the roadside.

Broken stones sparkling with magnificent clusters (p. 79): geodes, roundish or "earth-form stones containing glassy or amethystcolored quartz crystals. They are believed to be formed by hot water dissolving pockets in stone and depositing crystals from matter in solution. The water of Yellowstone springs does this. Gold filings: probably small bits of mica. A ram's horn (p. 80): the fossil shell of the ammonite, an animal that was somewhat like the nautilus and sometimes a foot or more across. Derelicts of life (p. 81): the castaways.

Sum up some of the interesting things about a pond. Does Fabre's account remind you of a similar experience in your childhood? Describe it. What does Fabre say is the best of all man's gifts? Why is it worth while to use this gift even if that means a life of hardship? Page 82. Color in the Wheat. Those who have seen the lights and shadows play on a field of ripening wheat will appreciate this delicate description the light breeze and the flying cloud, with the ripples and the changing sheen; the hum of distant reapers, the hawk swooping down and the sunflower nodding as the wind sleeps; and then the dazzling dance again. What colors are mentioned? One might think the wheat field was a sea, from the deeps and the lazy wave, and, as the slow billow rolls over the deeps of ripening wheat, it does resemble a sea of liquid gold.

Page 84. A Forest Hymn. The shaft or column, and the architrave (ärk'i trav) which was the part laid upon top of the columns, typify the classical temples of Greece and Rome. The vault refers to the Christian Cathedrals with their arched roofs. What does Bryant say was the purpose of the lofty vaults? Most cathedrals are of Gothic architecture as distinct from classical architecture. It is thought the Gothic idea was borrowed from the arching branches of forest trees. In northern countries it is necessary for large buildings to have steep roofs to support and turn the snow. All these ideas may have entered into the vaulted constructions. Why is the forest a fit shrine for worship? Thy own Eternity (p. 85): The spirit of life goes on from youth to age and then again to youth eternally. How is this exemplified in the forest? What lessons do the tempests and forests teach?

Page 86. Hymn to the Night. It takes imagination to appreciate this, one of the most exquisite of all Longfellow's poems. It represents

seem like

Night as an angel descending from the walls of heaven to the marble halls of earth. The poet feels her soothing presence. The whisperings of night the weird sounds that haunt the night time the music of poets' rhymes. Her breath-the peaceful midnight airpours repose upon his soul, and he breathes a song of thanksgiving and welcome to "Holy Night." Orestes prayed to his protecting divinity to save him from the Furies and bring him peace. His father, Agamemnon, of Trojan-war fame, had been treacherously slain by his wicked mother's connivance. Obedient to the command of the Delphic oracle, he avenged his father's death, but was pursued by the avenging Furies till he was maddened. His appeal was heard and he was restored to his right mind and enthroned in his father's kingdom. So will holy night restore our souls and give us peace.

Page 89. Mountain Climbing with John Muir. John Muir was an American naturalist of Scotch birth. When a boy on a Wisconsin farm, he found time for study by rising at three in the morning. A number of inventions, made by utilizing old parts of farm machinery, made it possible for him to spend four years at the Wisconsin State University. He explored and studied many parts of the United States and extended his travels around the world. He discovered the great glacier in Alaska now known by his name. It is chiefly due to his untiring efforts that the United States Government has undertaken the creation and maintenance of a system of national parks.

Niche in the Merced Mountains (p. 90): The Yosemite Valley in California. Stockton's negative gravity machine: an invention of fancy by the author Frank Stockton, by which the pull of the earth was neutralized. The glaciers. . . God's landscape gardeners (p. 92): The Great Lakes of North America and innumerable small ones in the same locality were scooped out ages ago by the great ice cap or glacier that extended from the polar regions as far south as the Ohio River. The hills and valleys of these regions were shaped by the same agency. The ice age is not yet fully passed but glaciers are slowly disappearing.

Metamorphic Slate: When a mountain is forming, the fold sometimes cracks and the melted material in the interior of the earth is forced through. This is known as metamorphic rock, that is, rock changed in form by pressure, heat, and water. Control: a spirit that is believed by the Spiritualists to direct the acts and utterances of persons under its influence, giving them power that they could not otherwise have.

Prostrate Cyclops (p. 94): The cyclops are described by Ulysses as giants of mountain size. When they fell, their backs stood up as huge ridges.

Page 103. The Vision of Mirza. This is one of the most celebrated short allegories in all literature. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is a great example of a long allegory and Swift's Gulliver's Travels is another. An allegory is a story that is not to be taken literally. It thinly veils a deeper meaning that it does not expressly state. In the form of a story it conveys some truth or lesson. A fable is a very short allegory. "The Vision of Mirza" is an essay in the Spectator, a volume of short and somewhat informal writings on many subjects, and the author, Joseph Addison, is considered by some the finest essayist in the English language. You will find an Ode by him on page 68. Mirza: The Persian word means a distinguished person, the son of a prince. Genius: In Mohammedan lore, a genius was a nature spirit with magic power. A thousand arches (p. 105): Before the Flood, the Bible tells of men who lived many hundreds of years. Pitfalls at the entrance: The death rate in the first five years of infancy far exceeds that of any other equal period. What were the bubbles (p. 106)?

Page 109. The Handwriting on the Wall. Belshazzar: the last of the Babylonian kings, reigned about 600 years before Christ. His father, Nebuchadnezzar, had made Babylon a world power, had enriched it with the famous Hanging Gardens, and had besieged Jerusalem, carrying the people away into what is called "The Great Captivity." At the court of both father and son, every question of state was referred to men skilled in sorcery. Daniel (p. 110), a prophet of Israel, foretold the destruction of Babylon by Darius, the Mede. Mere, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin (p. 113) (tě'na, tě'na, těk'el, ŭfar'sin). Upharsin and Peres have practically the same meaning.

Pages 114 and 115. The Troop of the Guard and Lyric of Action. Troop of the Guard: a unit in cavalry formation, corresponding to a company of infantry, going out as an escort or to do guard duty. The author wrote this as the class poem when he graduated from Harvard. It might belong to any time or place, for always there is some beleaguered city where humanity calls for strength, courage, action. It seems to suggest the dauntless spirit of youth striving for a better world. The Lyric of Action conveys the same general idea as The Troop of the Guard but is less allegorical. Which poem stirs you most?