The tug was for a life she loved more than her own. She broke her heart for it half-way between ship and shore. She could lift her feet no more; her mane lay like black seaweed on the waves while she tried to catch one more breath; then with a groan she went down with all the load she bore, and a wail went out from the land for the loss of a life that had saved from death nearly all a ship"s crew of men.
Thus dared and died in the sea the brave Boer and his horse. They were as friends, one in life, one in death; andboth might well have place and rank with the best lives and deaths we read of in books for young or old.
- Elihu Burritt
Author.-Elihu Burritt (1810-1879), the "Learned Blacksmith," an American writer who spent his leisure in study and became a mathematician and a wonderful linguist. He was an earnest worker for international peace. His best-known work is Sparks from the Anvil.
General Notes.-Notice that throughout the lesson there is hardlya word of more than one syllable. There is an Australian story-that of Grace Bussell-which might be read along with this, but it had a happier ending. Find out all you can about the Boers. Think of other stories that show the devotion of a horse to its master.
Lesson 37
BRuCE AND THE SPIDER
King Bruce of Scotland flung himself down, in a lonelymood, to think;
True he was a monarch, and wore a crown, but his heart was beginning to sink.
For he had been trying to do a great deed, to make his people glad;He had tried and tried, but couldn"t succeed, and so he became quite sad.
He flung himself down in a low despair, as grieved as man could be;And after a while, as he pondered there, "I"ll give it allup," said he.
Now, just at the moment, a spider dropped, with its silken cobweb clew;And the king, in the midst of his thinking, stopped to see what the spider would do.
" Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome, and it hung by a rope so fineThat, how it would get to its cobweb home, King Bruce could not divine.
It soon began to cling and crawl straight up with strong endeavour;But down it came, with a slipping sprawl, as near to the ground as ever.
Up, up, it ran, not a second did stay to utter the least complaint,Till it fell still lower; and there it lay, a little dizzy and faint.
Its head grew steady-again it went, and travelled a half- yard higher;" Twas a delicate thread it had to tread, and a road whereits feet would tire.
Again it fell, and swung below; but up it quicklymounted,
Till up and down, now fast, now slow, nine brave attempts were counted.
"Sure," cried the king, " that foolish thing will strive no more to climb,When it toils so hard to reach and cling, and tumbles every time."But up the spider went once more; ah me! "tis an anxiousminute;
It"s only a foot from the cobweb door; oh, say, will helose or win it?
Steadily, steadily, inch by inch, higher and higher he got;And a bold little run at the very last pinch put him into the wished-for spot.
"Bravo ! Bravo!" the king cried out. "All honour to those who try;The spider up there defied despair. He conquered, and why shouldn"t I?"And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind, and gossips tell the taleThat he tried once more as he tried before, and that time he did not fail.
Pay goodly heed, all you who read, and beware of saying"I can"t;"
"Tis a cowardly word, and apt to lead to idleness, folly,and want.
- Eliza Cook
Author.-Eliza Cook (1818-1889) was the daughter of a London tradesman. She began to write poems at an early age, all of them moral, clear, sensible, and simple. Among her best-known short poems are TheOld Arm-chair, The Fern and the Moss.
General Notes.-Robert Bruce came of a Norman family; an ancestor Robert de Bruis, received a land grant in Yorkshire, England. A branch of the family became lords of Annandale, Scotland; from this branch King Robert was descended, He was born in 1274. He swore fealty to Edward the First, but abandoned the cause of the English king and joined the Scottish revolt under Wallace. Again he went back to the English side. Years later, he asserted his right to the Scottish throne and was crowned at Scone. Defeated by an English army, he wandered in hiding, but finally won back to power, defeating the English at Bannockburn in 1314. He died of leprosy. The moral of the poem is " Persevere." Do you know other poems that have the same moral? Demosthenes broke down in his first speech; Alexander ran away from his first battle; walking is only a succession of failings.
Lesson 38
THE LAWyER AND THE OySTER
As two men were walking by the sea-shore, they foundan oyster, and began to quarrel about it.
"I saw it first," said one man, " so it belongs to me.""I picked it up," said the other, " and I have a right to keep it."As they were quarrelling a lawyer came by, and they asked him to decide in the matter. The lawyer agreed to do so, but, before he would give his opinion, he required that the two men should give him their assurance that, whatever he might say, they would be quite satisfied with his decision. Then the lawyer said, "It seems to me that you both have a claim to the oyster, so I will divide it between you, and you will then be perfectly satisfied."Opening the oyster, he quickly ate it, and very gravelyhanded to each of the men one of the empty shells. "But you have eaten the oyster!" cried the men.
"Ah, that was my fee for deciding the case!" said the lawyer. "But I have divided all that remains in a fair and just manner."That is what generally happens when two quarrel-somepersons go to law about anything they cannot agree upon.
Author.-Unknown.
General Notes.-In our courts of justice, does a lawyer decide the case? Is it foolish to carry into court disputes that can be settled outside? Mention cases in which it would be wise to seek justice in a court, and others in which it would be unwise. Make up a play about the lawyer and the oyster. You will need to add more conversation.
Lesson 39
ROBINSON CRuSOE AND mAN FRIDAy