"O father ！ I hear the church-bells ring； Oh say what may it be？"""Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast！-" And he steered for the open sea.
"O father ！ I hear the sound of guns； Oh say what may it be？""Some ship in distress that cannot live In such an angry sea.""O father！ I see a gleaming light； Oh say what may it be？"But the father answered never a word- A frozen corpse was he，Lashed to the helm， all stiff and stark， With his face turned to the skies.
The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snowOn his fixed and glassy eyes.
Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed That savèd she might be；And she thought of Christ， who stilled the waves On the Lake of Galilee.
And fast through the midnight dark and drear， Through the whistling sleet and snow，Like a sheeted ghost， the vessel swept Towards the reef of Norman"s Woe.
And ever， the fitful gusts between，
A sound came from the land；
It was the sound of the trampling surf On the rocks and the hard sea-sand.
The breakers were right beneath her bows， She drifted a dreary wreck，And a whooping billow swept the crew Like icicles from her deck.
She struck where the white and fleecy waves
Looked soft as carded wool，
But the cruel rocks， they gored her side Like the horns of an angry bull.
Her rattling shrouds， all sheathed in ice， With the masts， went by the board：
Like a vessel of glass， she stove and sank.
Ho！ ho！ the breakers roared.
At daybreak， on the bleak sea-beach，
A fisherman stood aghast
To see the form of a maiden fair Lashed close to a drifting mast.
The salt sea was frozen on her breast， The salt tears in her eyes；And he saw her hair， like the brown seaweed， On the billows fall and rise.
Such was the wreck of the Hesperus， In the midnight and the snow；Christ save us all from a death like this， On the reef of Norman"s Woe！
-Henry WadsWorth LonGFelloW
About the Author.-Henry WadsWorth LonGFFlloW (1807-1882) was born in the State of Maine， U.S.A.， and educated at Bowdoin College. He was very good at languages， and was sent for three years to France， Spain， Italy， and Germany. After his return he became Professor of Modern Languages and Literature at Harvard College， Boston. He wrote many very simple and beautiful poems， and is an especial favourite with children. Among the longer ones are Hiawatha， Evangeline， The Courtship of Miles Standish， The Golden Legend， Tales of a Wayside Inn.
About the Lesson.-Who are the people in the poem？ Find verses that describe each. What signs gave warning of the coming storm？ What were the girl"s three questions？
Lesson 48
THE BuLLOCK DRAy
Horns outspread and heads bent low， Two and two the bullocks go；Black and brown， and white and red， Heads bent low and horns outspread； Red and white， and brown and black， Curving up the rugged track；Draw by Allan T. Bernaldo
"Through the scented bush they swing."
Plodding， patient， steady， slow， Two and two the bullocks go.
Fresh and early is the day； Roughly jolts the empty dray； While the driver strolls along，Whistling， humming scraps of song. Through the scented bush they swing； Gum-trees tower， and tree-ferns spring； Bending boughs against them sway； Sturdily they make their wayTowards its heart， where， tall and grand， Giant splitting-trees do stand.
Now the morning"s wide awake， Sounds of work the silence break- Tap of mallet， knife-wrench fleet， Palings drop like swift-reaped wheat Heavy thud of falling axe，Fresh-cut timber piled in stacks. Horns outspread and heads bent low， Two and two the bullocks go.
Level glows the setting sun；
Working day is nearly done；
Down the winding homeward road Come the bullocks with their load， Palings piled upon the dray； Patiently they plod their way， Steady step， and powerful swing， Wheels behind them lumbering.
Redder burns the evening glow； Long and dusk the shadows grow； Night and rest are coming soon； Out of twilight sails the moon.
Red and white， and brown and black， Curving down the rugged track；Two and two the bullocks go，
Horns outspread： and heads bent low.
-VeroniCa Mason
About the Author.-VeroniCa Mason is a Tasmanian poetess， now living in England. A charming little book of her verses， entitled I Heard a Child Singing， was published by Elkin Mathews， London.
About the Poem.-Why are bullocks yoked two and two？ Why not three and three， or four and four？ Why is the track rugged？ What scents are in the bush？ Explain "tap of mallet， knife-wrench fleet." What kinds of trees yield palings？ Does the swing of the poem suit the swing of theteam？ What words suggest slow progress？
Suggestion s for Verse-speaking.-This poem can be divided into several speaking parts-the bullocks， the bush， the workmen， and evening.
Verse 1， spoken by the "bullocks" arranged in pairs， each pair speaking two lines or， if there are only two pairs of "bullocks" available， all four can speak the first and last pairs of lines and divide the second and third pairs.
Verse 2， spoken by the "bush."
Verse 3， first six lines spoken by the "workmen"， last two lines bythe "bullocks."
Verses 4 and 5， first four lines spoken by "evening"， last four linesby the bullocks.
The "bullocks" can keep moving in time with the beat of their lines-two steps to each line.
Lesson 49
BLACK DIAmOND
She was a little black mare， black all over， with just a splutter of white hair in the middle of her forehead. She had a black mane， a black tail， and black hoofs； but， because of the white splash on her brow， they called her Diamond.