Be then my boasted empire tried-i.e., let it be tried. Conscious head-The courtiers were conscious of guilt; they knew that Canute did not believe their senseless lies. A mightier Monarch-They had offended Canute; they had also offended God, by ascribing to a man the glory that is due to Him alone. Thy name had passed-i. e., would have passed. The Persian-Xerxes, King of Persia, 485 B.C. He built a bridge of boats over the Hellespont, ort Dardanelles, to enable his vast armies to cross for the invasion of Greece. A storm destroyed the bridge; and, in his rage, the foolish king ordered fetters to be thrown into the sea to bind its waters, and scourged its waves with whips for daring to disobey him! QUESTIONS. Who was Canute? Wh did he reign? What was his character? How did his courtiers try to gain his favour? Did they succeed? Why not? Where did Canute lead them? What is meant by saying that each courtier hung his conscious head? What did Canute say to the waves? Did they obey? Why not? Whom did the courtiers offend by their flattery? How had they offended God? Why is Canute better known than the other kings of his age? Who was the Persian referred to in the poem? What folly was he guilty of? Show that the character of Canute was nobler than that of Xerxes. DICTATION. King Canute sat upon the royal throne. The monarch's sceptre was thrown to the ground. God alone can control the sea. The tide is highest at full moon. George tied his pony to a tree. A fool is a senseless person. Are you always idle? Heathen nations worship idols. Trace the course of the Thames. This cloth is too coarse for my purpose. HUMILITY. THE bird that soars on highest wing The weight of glory bows him down, Then most when most his soul ascends; Nearest the Throne itself must be The footstool of Humility. -Herbert (1593-1632). [BRUCE, with a few friends, spent the winter of 1306 on the Island of Rathlin, near the coast of Ulster. He returned to Scotland in the following spring, and landed in Ayrshire; but finding English soldiers everywhere, he was obliged to wander about in disguise, often alone, and sometimes accompanied by a few faithful attendants. It was in one of his solitary wanderings that this incident is said to have occurred.] ONE evening in the spring of 1307, an old Scotchwoman sat alone, spinning by the kitchen fire, in her little cottage. The room was adorned with the spoils of the chase and implements of war and hunting. There were spears, bows and arrows, swords, and shields; and against the wall hung a pair of huge horns, once reared on the forehead of a lordly stag, from the antlers of which were suspended skins, plaids, bonnets, and one or two ponderous battle-axes. The table in the middle of the floor was spread for supper, and some oatmeal cakes were baking before the fire. But the good woman was not thinking of any of these things, nor of her two manly sons who, in an adjoining room, were busily preparing for the next day's sport. She was thinking of the distracted state of her native land, and of the good king, Robert Bruce, a fugitive in his own kingdom, beset on every hand by open enemies and secret traitors. Alas!" thought she, "to-night I dwell here in peace, while to-morrow may see me driven out into the heath; and even now our king is a wanderer, with no shelter for weary limbs." his A loud knock at the door broke in upon her musings. She rose, trembling with fear, to unbar the entrance, and beheld a man closely muffled in a cloak. "My good woman," said he, "will you grant a poor traveller the shelter of your roof to-night?" "Right willingly," said she. come here, for the sake of one." "All travellers are wel "And who is that one," asked the stranger, "for whose sake you make all wanderers welcome ?" "It is our good king, Robert Bruce, who, though he is now hunted like a wild beast with horn and hound, will yet, I hope, sit on the throne of Scotland." "Nay, then, my good woman," replied the man, "since you love him so well, know that you see him before you. I am Robert Bruce." "You!" said the woman in great surprise; "where, then, are your followers, and why are you thus alone?" "I have no followers now," replied Bruce, "and therefore I must travel alone." "Nay, my liege," exclaimed the loyal dame, "that you shall do no longer; for here are my two stalwart sons, gallant and trusty men, who shall be your servants for life and death!" The youths bent their knees, and took the oath of fealty; and then, sitting by the hearth, the king entered into conversation with his new retainers, while their mother was busied in preparing the evening meal. Suddenly they were startled by the tramp of horses' hoofs and the voices of men. "The English! the English!" shouted the matron; "fight to the last, my sons, and defend your king!" But, at this moment, the king recognised the voices of the good Lord James of Douglas, and of Edward Bruce, and bade his hostess have no fear. Bruce was overjoyed at meeting with his brother and his faithful friend Douglas, who had with them a band of one hundred and fifty men. He bade farewell to the brave and loyal woman, and, taking her two sons with him, left the place. The two young Scots served Bruce well and faithfully, and were high officers in his service when, after the victory of Bannockburn, he drove the English invaders from the soil of Scotland, and rendered his country again a free and independent kingdom. QUESTIONS. When did this incident occur? What was the woman doing? Describe the room in which she was sitting. How were the woman's sons employed? Where were they? What was their mother thinking of? What startled her? Who was at the door? What did he ask? What was her answer? Who was the stranger? Why was Bruce alone? What did the sons do? What sound was heard near the house? What did the woman exclaim? Who were the new-comers? Who left along with the king? What did they afterwards become? By what victory did Bruce render Scotland independent? Spell the adjectives formed by adding -ful to these nouns:-truth, grace, youth, use, joy, beauty, fancy, plenty, mercy, pain, law, woe, awe, skill, will. DICTATION. As The graceful stag bounds o'er the lea. The ship soon left Old England on the lee. Bring me the oar of the boat. Here is some copper ore. The skilful sailor rowed us to the beautiful island. I rode along, I saw a mansion near the road. Did you admire its site? What a woful sight it was! The wilful child threw a stone through the window. Who bored that hole in the board? There was an awful pause. The cat's paws are of small size. He only sighs when you speak to him. Let us walk down the aisle of the church. An isle is a small island. LET us trace a river to its source. Beginning where it empties itself into the sea, and following it backwards, we find it from time to time joined by tributaries which swell its waters. The river of course becomes smaller as these tributaries are passed. It shrinks first to a brook, then to a stream; this again divides itself into a number of smaller streamlets, ending in mere threads of water. These constitute the source of the river, and are usually found among hills. Thus, the Severn has its source in the Welsh mountains; the Thames in the Cotswold Hills; the Missouri in the Rocky Mountains; and the Amazon in the Andes of Peru. But it is quite plain that we have not yet reached the real beginning of the rivers. Whence do the earliest streams derive their water? A brief residence among the mountains would prove to you that they are fed by rains. In dry weather you would find the streams feeble, sometimes indeed quite dried up. In wet weather you would see them foaming torrents. In general these streams lose themselves as little threads of water upon the hill sides; but sometimes you may trace a river to a definite spring. But you very soon assure yourself that such springs are also fed by rain, which has percolated through the rocks or soil, and which, through some |