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3. An acquaintance with the apprentices of booksellers enabled me sometimes to borrow a small book, which I was careful to return soon and clean. Often I sat up in my room reading the greatest part of the night, when the book was borrowed in the evening and to be returned early in the morning, lest it should be missed or wanted.

4. About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spectator. It was the third. I had never before seen any of them. I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With this view, I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable words that should come to hand.

5. Then I compared my Spectator with the original, discovered my faults, and corrected them. But I found I wanted a stock of words, or a readiness in recollecting and using them, which I thought I should have acquired before that time if I had gone on making verses. The continual occasion for words of the same import, but of different length, to suit the measure, or of different sound for the rhyme, would have laid me under a constant necessity of searching for variety, and also have tended to fix that variety in my mind, and make me master of it. Therefore I took some of the tales and turned them into verse, and, after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the prose, turned them back again.

6. I also sometimes jumbled my collection of hints into confusion, and after some weeks tried to reduce them into the best order, before I began to form the full sentences and complete the paper. This was to teach me method in the arrangement of thoughts. By compar ing my work with the original, I discovered many faults and amended them. I sometimes had the pleasure of fancying that, in certain particulars of small import, I had been lucky enough to improve the method or the language. This encouraged me to think I might possibly, in time, come to be a tolerable English writer, of which I was extremely ambitious.

7. My brother had, in 1720 or 1721, begun to print a newspaper. It was the second that appeared in America, and was called the New England Courant. He had some clever men among his friends, who amused themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gained it credit and made it more in demand, and these gentlemen often visited us.

8. Hearing their conversation, and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them. Being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to disguise my hand, and, writing an anonymous paper, I put it at night under the door of the printing-house.

9. It was found in the morning, and made knowu to his writing friends when they called in as usual. They read it, and commented on it in my hearing. I had the great pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that, in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character

I.R. V.

B

among us for learning and ingenuity. I suppose now, that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that, perhaps, they were not really so very good ones as I then thought them.-Benjamin Franklin.

SUMMARY.—Franklin from childhood was always fond of reading, and spent all the money which he received in buying books. Among his early favourites were the "Pilgrim's Progress" and "Historical Recollections." He was bound apprentice to his brother as a printer at an early age, and spent many hours of the night in reading favourite books. He obtained a copy of the Spectator, which greatly pleased him, and he was anxious to imitate the style of composition. He has described the way in which he tried to succeed in this object, by writing both prose and verse. The conversation of his brother's friends also gave him a further desire to excel in writing, and he at last prepared a paper which met with high approval from his critics, although they were not aware that he was the author.

Am-bit-ious, desirous of advancement.

A-non-y-mous, nameless, unsigned.

Ap-pro-ba-tion, approval, liking.
Col-lec-tion, what is collected, a
group.

De-term-ine, to fix upon, to settle.
Ex-cit-ed, roused up.

Hank-er-ing, longing for.
Im-i-tate, to copy, to follow the
example of.

In-cli-na-tion, desire, leaning.
O-rig-in-al, the first in order.
Pro-fess-ion, trade, calling.
Rhyme, words answering in
sound.
Sen-ti-ment, opinion, feeling.

QUESTIONS.

Who was Benjamin Franklin? In what way was he remarkable? How did he show his love for books when young? To what trade was he apprenticed? How did he

gratify his taste for books? In what way did he try to improve himself as a writer? Tell briefly the result of his first experiment as an author.

EXERCISES.-1. Parse and analyse-About this time I met with an old volume of the "Spectator."

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2. Nouns are formed by adding the following postfixes-ary, ate, ee, eer, which mean one who," "one who does;" as, lapidary, one who polishes a stone (lapis, lapidis, a stone); curate, one who has charge (cura, care); employee, one who is employed; engineer, one who drives an engine. Give the exact meaning of the following words-contemporary (con, together, tempus, time), potentate (potens, powerful), refugee (re, back, fugio, I flee), mountaineer.

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[THOMAS CAMPBELL (b. 1777, d. 1844) was born in Glasgow and died at Boulogne, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health. His body was conveyed to England and interred in Westminster Abbey. At the early age of twenty-one he published "The Pleasures of Hope,' which at once constituted him a popular poet. He is one of the most correct and finished of modern writers.]

1. On Linden when the sun was low,

All bloodless lay the untrodden snow;
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

2. But Linden showed another sight,
When the drum beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery.

3. By torch and trumpet-sound arrayed,
Each horseman drew his battle blade;
And furious every charger neighed,
To join the dreadful revelry.

4. Then shook the hills with thunder riven,
Then rushed the steed to battle driven;
And volleying like the bolts of heaven,
Far flashed the red artillery.

5. But redder still these fires shall glow,
On Linden's hills of purpled snow;
And bloodier still shall be the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

6. 'Tis morn; but scarce yon level sun
Can pierce the war-cloud, rolling dun,
Where furious Frank and fiery Hun

Shout 'mid their sulphurous canopy.

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7. The combat deepens. On, ye brave,
Who rush to glory, or the grave!
Wave, Munich, all thy banners wave!
And charge with all thy chivalry.

8. Few, few shall part where many meet!
The snow shall be their winding sheet;
And every turf beneath their feet

Shall mark a soldier's sepulchre.

-Thomas Campbell.

SUMMARY.--The untrodden snow lay bloodless as the sun went down and the Iser rolled its dark waters rapidly. At midnight the scene was changed when the drums beat the alarm for battle. The cavalry were mustered by torch-light, and the very horses were eager for the fray. The hills were shaken by the roar of the cannon, and the artillery gleamed like the flashes of lightning. When morning came the battle was still raging fiercely, and the sun could scarcely pierce through the clouds of smoke. The strife grew fiercer between the contending armies, and few were left when the battle was over.

Frank-The ancient name for the French.

Hun--The Huns were the Scythians who conquered Hungary and settled there. Here it means the Austrians generally. Munich-The capital of Bavaria, on the Iser.

Ar-rayed', put in order.
Ar-til-ler-y, large guns.
Can-o-py, covering overhead, air.
Chiv-al-ry, valour, bravery.
Rev-el-ry, the din and bustle of
battle.

Sce-ner-y, the appearance of the
country.

Sep-ul-chre, a burying-place.
Sul-phur-ous, full of brim-
stone.
Vol-ley-ing, flying furiously

QUESTIONS.

What appearance was presented by Linden at sunset? When was the alarm given? How? In what manner were the troops

| gathered?
against each other? How long did
the battle go on? Express the
last verse in your own words.

Who were arrayed

EXERCISES.-1. Parse and analyse-Every turf beneath their feet shall mark a soldier's sepulchre.

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2. Nouns are formed by adding ent, er, ic, ist, which mean one who;" as, student, one who studies; mariner, one who goes to sea (mare, the sea); rustic, one who lives in the country (rus, the country); pianist, one who plays the piano. Give the exact meaning of the following words—regent (rego, I rule), forerunner, domestic (domus, a house), botanist (botane, a plant).

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