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strip of leather fastened to the stem. to frighten the enemy's horses.

The butt-end was a rattle,

16. The ancient Britons, being divided into as many as thirty or forty tribes, each commanded by its own little king, were constantly fighting with one another, as savage people usually do; and they always fought with these weapons.

CHARLES DICKENS.

LESSON LXXVII.

Dɔ MINION 3, territory under a govern- | CAP ́I-TAL, (from caput, head,) the chief city of a state, seat of government.

ment.

PRONUNCIATION.-World 9, lux-uʼri-ant 28, hov'els 4b, struc'tures 16 and 18.

MODERN BRITAIN.

1. GREAT BRITAIN is now one of the most powerful countries in the world. It has been said that "the sun never sets on her dominions." This means that her possessions are so spread over the world that the sun is always shining on some part of them.

2. The forests and swamps have become fertile fields, covered with luxuriant crops. Trees and plants from all parts of the world, from even China and Japan, flourish on the once barren wastes.

3. Every where may be seen rich pastures, covered with the most beautiful cattle and the finest horses in the world. Splendid palaces occupy the sites of the mud hovels of former times.

4. London, the capital, is the largest city in the world, containing more than two millions of people; and it is adorned with all kinds of magnificent structures.

5. Railroads pass over almost every part of the country. Beautiful and costly bridges span the waters. On the ocean British ships are sailing to and from every part of the world.

6. Instead of a single Phoenician ship arriving occasionally, there are now seen in her harbors ships from almost every nation on the globe, freighted with the rich products of every clime.

7. Where once the wild beasts made their dens churches and colleges now raise their spires, and the press sends forth thousands of books.

8. Where the solitary savage wove his basket, or made his weapon of copper and tin, are now seen thousands of workmen engaged in the manufacture of the finest cloths, the richest furniture, and the most useful and beautiful articles of iron, steel, silver, and gold.

9. It is interesting to compare the state of things under the present ruler, Queen Victoria, with its former condition as described in the preceding extract from Charles Dickens..

LESSON LXXVIII.

PE TER-KIN, a diminutive of Peter, little
Peter.

BLENHEIM, (pronounced Blen'hime,) a | Ex-PECT'ANT, waiting for something, in village on the River Danube, in lia- a state of expectation. varia. Here was fought, August 13, HARD, close, near. 1704, the famous battle of Blenheim, in which the French and Bavarians were defeated by the English, Austrians, &c., under the command of the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene. The field of battle was covered with more than 11,000 corpses.

ROUT, the disorder of an army put to flight.

WIL-HEL-MINE', (pronounced Wil-helmene,) a German name, being the feminine corresponding to William.

PRONUNCIATION.-Riv'u-let 16, and 29, natʼu-ral 16 and 18, vic'to-ry 3d, with 15, ev'er-y 36, were 33.

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2. She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet,

In playing there, had found.

She came to ask what he had found,

That was so large and smooth and round.

3. Old Caspar took it from the boy,

Who stood expectant by;

And then the old man shook his head,
And with a natural sigh,

"'Tis some poor fellow's skull," said he,
"Who fell in the great victory.

4. "I find them in the garden;

For there are many there about;
And often, when I go to plow,

The plowshare turns them out;
For many thousand men," said he,
"Were slain in that great victory."

5. “Now tell us what 'twas all about,”
Young Peterkin then cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes,-
"Now tell us all about the war,
And what they killed each other for."

6. "It was the English," Caspar cried,
"Who put the French to rout;

7.

But what they fought each other for
I could not well make out;
But every body said," quoth he,
"That 'twas a famous victory.

My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;

So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.

8. "With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,

And many a childing mother then
And new-born baby died;

But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.

9. "They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;

For many thousand bodies here

Lay rotting in the sun

But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.

10. "Great praise the Duke of Marlborough won,
And our good prince Eugene."

"Why, 'twas a very wicked thing!"

66

Said little Wilhelmine.

"Nay, nay, my little girl," quoth he,
"It was a famous victory.

11. “And every body praised the Duke,
Who this great fight did win."

"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.

"Why, that I cannot tell," said he;

"But 'twas a famous victory."

SOUTHEY.

LESSON LXXIX.

VOCAL GYMNASTICS.

REFER TO CAUTION 24.-In some words, n ought to have the full sound of ng. Where you are in doubt, consult the dictionary.

(1.) There was a mango at the banquet. (2.) The linguist is full of rancorous feelings. (3.) Congress presents a scene of anguish. (4.) Sanguinary deeds were done in Congo. (5.) The sangaree produced languor. (6.) The gangrene attacked a vital part. (7.) To vanquish our passions is a glorious conquest.

LESSON LXXX.

AC-COU'TERED, dressed, equipped. HUNT'ER, a horse used in the chase. RICE'-BIRD-called bobolink in the northern states-and reed-bird in Pennsylvania, because it is found in immense multitudes among the reeds and grasses. It frequents the rice

fields of the south, where it gets the
name of rice-bird.

STUD, a collection of horses.
SUIT, a full dress.

TEN'DRIL, a slender, twining stalk, by
means of which a vine clasps its sup-
port.

PRONUNCIATION.-Prog'ress 27a, rus'tling 21, cy'press 26, rest'less le, suit 19, ap-pear' 1, ven'ture 17.

SELECTIONS ABOUT ANIMALS.

I.-The Monkey Cured of Biding.

1. MONKEYS seem to possess by nature a great fondness for riding. It is related of one that lived on board ship where there were also some pigs, that he was the plague of their life.

2. No sooner did a pig venture to take a walk than the monkey slid down some rope, and, mounting its back, forced his unwilling steed to carry him about the deck.

3. Not long ago a gentleman who prided himself on a very fine stud of hunters found that the horses did not appear properly refreshed by their nightly rest.

4. One of the grooms, on being desired to keep a strict watch, discovered that a tame monkey belonging to the house was accustomed to ride on the horses' backs almost all night, thus depriving them of their proper rest.

5. His master, unwilling to kill the monkey, contrived the following cure for his fondness for riding.

6. The next time the hounds met for a fox-chase, he had the monkey dressed in a full hunting suit, and secured by a strap to the saddle of his most spirited hunter, and thus accoutered taken to the place of meeting.

7. When the fox was found the horse pricked up his ears at the well-known sound, and started off at full speed. The chase happened to be very long and severe, and the monkey from his light weight ran far ahead of the regular huntsmen.

8. Some of the sportsmen, who had been left behind in the chase, meeting a countryman, asked him whether he had seen the fox, and whether any of their companions were near it.

9. The countryman replied that he had met the creature, and that it was looking very tired, but that none of the huntsmen were near except a little gentleman in a yellow jacket who took his leaps beautifully.

10. Sure enough Jocko was in at the death, but did not by any means appreciate the honor. After the fox was killed there was a

long ride home again, by the end of which time the monkey was thoroughly worn out.

11. After the experience of that day's hunting, Jocko was never known to mount a horse.

II. The Grateful Bog.

1. The animal had been left by his master in charge of his servants, while he himself went away on a visit. The servants neglected the dog, and, being half-starved, the poor creature found a friend in a neighboring cook, from whom he received a good meal every day till his master returned.

2. When restored to his usual rights he was not forgetful of the favors he had received. He paid frequent visits to the cook, and seemed to take great delight in the acquaintance.

3. Not long after his master's return the dog discovered in the road a lonely duck. Naturally thinking it was public property, he snatched it up in his teeth and carried it off to the kitchen where he had been so kindly treated.

4. Here he laid the bird at the cook's feet, with many waggings of his tail. This done, he set off for home, evidently under the pleasing consciousness that he had done something toward discharging his debt of gratitude.

II. The Song of the Rice-Bird.

1. I see o'er the swamp the planter float,
As he scatters the seed from his little boat;
And circling in many an airy ring,

I

As I follow his progress I sing, I sing.

2. When summer comes with her train of flowers,
And her glowing smile in the morning hours,
Where the bright-green blades of the rice upspring
Through the rustling water, I sing, I sing.

3. When noon is enthroned in the burning sky
Away to the dim cool swamp I fly ;

On the grape-vine tendril I lightly swing,
While, in joyous measure, I sing, I sing.

4. Where the cane and black alder a thicket make
A home for the turtle and crawling snake,
Where the cypress branches their shadow fling,
As I flit through the gloom I sing, I sing.

5. But I dwell not there, for I love to be
Where the rice-plant waves in the breezes free.
And there, as I hover on restless wing,
In the joy of my life I sing, I sing.

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