McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader Part 30

Suc-ceed'ed, followed. Ap-pall'ing, terrifying. 12. Lu'rid, dull red.

Ig-nit'ing, setting on fire. 15. Dis-tract', con-fuse, perplex. 16.

Parched, made very dry. 18. Wa'ter-spout, a column of water caught up by a whirlwind.

Lx.x.xII. THE DYING SOLDIERS. (230)

1. A waste of land, a sodden plain, A lurid sunset sky, With clouds that fled and faded fast In ghostly phantasy; A field upturned by trampling feet, A field uppiled with slain, With horse and rider blent in death Upon the battle plain.

2. The dying and the dead lie low; For them, no more shall rise The evening moon, nor midnight stars, Nor day light's soft surprise: They will not wake to tenderest call, Nor see again each home, Where waiting hearts shall throb and break, When this day's tidings come.

3. Two soldiers, lying as they fell Upon the reddened clay-- In daytime, foes; at night, in peace Breathing their lives away!

Brave hearts had stirred each manly breast; Fate only, made them foes; And lying, dying, side by side, A softened feeling rose.

4. "Our time is short," one faint voice said; "To-day we've done our best On different sides: what matters now?

To-morrow we shall rest!

Life lies behind. I might not care For only my own sake; But far away are other hearts, That this day's work will break.

5. "Among New Hamps.h.i.+re's snowy hills, There pray for me to-night A woman, and a little girl With hair like golden light;"

And at the thought, broke forth, at last, The cry of anguish wild, That would not longer be repressed "O G.o.d, my wife, my child!"

6. "And," said the other dying man, "Across the Georgia plain, There watch and wait for me loved ones I ne'er shall see again: A little girl, with dark, bright eyes, Each day waits at the door; Her father's step, her father's kiss, Will never greet her more.

7. "To-day we sought each other's lives: Death levels all that now; For soon before G.o.d's mercy seat Together we shall bow.

Forgive each other while we may; Life's but a weary game, And, right or wrong, the morning sun Will find us, dead, the same."

8. The dying lips the pardon breathe; The dying hands entwine; The last ray fades, and over all The stars from heaven s.h.i.+ne; And the little girl with golden hair, And one with dark eyes bright, On Hamps.h.i.+re's hills, and Georgia's plain, Were fatherless that night!

DEFINITIONS.--l. Sod'den, soaked. Phan'ta-sy, specter-like ap-pearance.

Blent, mingled together. 2. Ti'dings, news. 5. An'guish, deep distress.

Re-pressed', kept back. 8. Par'don, forgiveness. En-twine', clasp together.

EXERCISE.--What do the first two stanzas describe? What does the third?

What did one soldier say to the other? Where was his home? What friends had he there? Where was the home of the other soldier? Who waited for him?

Did they forgive each other?

Lx.x.xIII. THE ATTACK ON NYMWEGEN. (233)

From "The History of the United Netherlands," by John Lothrop Motley, who was born in 1814, at Dorchester, Ma.s.s. He graduated at Harvard in 1831, and afterwards lived many years In Europe, writing the histories which made him famous. He died in 1877.

1. On the evening of the 10th of August, 1589, there was a wedding feast in one of the splendid mansions of the stately city. The festivities were prolonged until deep in the midsummer's night, and harp and viol were still inspiring the feet of the dancers, when on a sudden, in the midst of the holiday groups, appeared the grim visage of Martin Schenk, the man who never smiled.

2. Clad in no wedding garment, but in armor of proof, with morion on head, and sword in hand, the great freebooter strode heavily through the ballroom, followed by a party of those terrible musketeers who never gave or asked for quarter, while the affrighted revelers fluttered away before them.

3. Taking advantage of a dark night, he had just dropped down the river from his castle, with five and twenty barges, had landed with his most trusted soldiers in the foremost vessels, had battered down the gate of St. Anthony, and surprised and slain the guard.

4. Without waiting for the rest of his boats, he had then stolen with his comrades through the silent streets, and torn away the latticework, and other slight defenses on the rear of the house which they had now entered, and through which they intended to possess themselves of the market place.

5. Martin had long since selected this mansion as a proper position for his enterprise, but he had not been bidden to the wedding, and was somewhat disconcerted when he found himself on the festive scene which he had so grimly interrupted.

6. Some of the merrymakers escaped from the house, and proceeded to alarm the town; while Schenk hastily fortified his position, and took possession of the square. But the burghers and garrison were soon on foot, and he was driven back into the house.

7. Three times he recovered the square by main strength of his own arm, seconded by the handful of men whom he had brought with him, and three times he was beaten back by overwhelming numbers into the wedding mansion.

8. The arrival of the greater part of his followers, with whose a.s.sistance he could easily have mastered the city in the first moments of surprise, was mysteriously delayed. He could not account for their prolonged absence, and was meanwhile supported only by those who had arrived with him in the foremost barges.

9. The truth--of which he was ignorant--was, that the remainder of the flotilla, borne along by the strong and deep current of the Waal, then in a state of freshet, had shot past the landing place, and had ever since been vainly struggling against wind and tide to force their way back to the necessary point.

10. Meantime Schenk and his followers fought desperately in the market place, and desperately in the house which he had seized. But a whole garrison, and a town full of citizens in arms proved too much for him, and he was now hotly besieged in the mansion, and at last driven forth into the streets.

11. By this time day was dawning, the whole population, soldiers and burghers, men, women, and children, were thronging about the little band of marauders, and a.s.sailing them with every weapon and every missile to be found. Schenk fought with his usual ferocity, but at last the musketeers, in spite of his indignant commands, began rapidly to retreat toward the quay.

12. In vain Martin stormed and cursed, in vain with his own hand he struck more than one of his soldiers dead. He was swept along with the panic-stricken band, and when, shouting and gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth with frenzy, he reached the quay at last, he saw at a glance why his great enterprise had failed.

13. The few empty barges of his own party were moored at the steps; the rest were half a mile off, contending hopelessly against the swollen and rapid Waal. Schenk, desperately wounded, was left almost alone upon the wharf, for his routed followers had plunged helter-skelter into the boats, several of which, overladen in the panic, sank at once, leaving the soldiers to drown or struggle with the waves.

14. The game was lost. Nothing was left the freebooter but retreat.

Reluctantly turning his back on his enemies, now in full cry close behind him, Schenk sprang into the last remaining boat just pus.h.i.+ng from the quay. Already overladen, it foundered with his additional weight, and Martin Schenk, enc.u.mbered with his heavy armor, sank at once to the bottom of the Waal.

15. Some of the fugitives succeeded in swimming down the stream, and were picked up by their comrades in the barges below the town, and so made their escape. Many were drowned with their captain. A few days afterward, the inhabitants of Nymwegen fished up the body of the famous partisan. He was easily recognized by his armor, and by his truculent face, still wearing the scowl with which he had last rebuked his followers.

DEFINITIONS.--2. Mo'ri-on, a kind of helmet. Free'boot-er, one who plunders. Mus-ket-eer', a soldier armed with a musket. Quar'ter, mercy. 6.

Burgh'ers, inhabitants of a town. Gar'ri-son, troops stationed in a fort or town. 9. Flo-til'la, a fleet of small vessels. 11. Ma-raud'ers, plunderers. Quay (pro. ke), a wharf 14. Foun'dered, sank. En-c.u.m'bered, weighed down. 15. Par'ti-san, a commander of a body of roving troops.

Tru'cu-lent, fierce.

Lx.x.xIV. THE SEASONS. (237)

1. SPRING.

H. G. Adams, an English writer, has compiled two volumes of poetical quotations, and is the author of several volumes of original poems. The following is from the "Story of the Seasons."

A bursting into greenness; A waking as from sleep; A twitter and a warble That make the pulses leap: A watching, as in childhood, For the flowers that, one by one, Open their golden petals To woo the fitful sun.

A gust, a flash, a gurgle, A wish to shout and sing, As, filled with hope and gladness, We hail the vernal Spring.

II. SUMMER.

Now is the high tide of the year, And whatever of life hath ebbed away Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer, Into every bare inlet and creek and bay.

We may shut our eyes, but we can not help knowing That skies are clear and gra.s.s is growing; The breeze comes whispering in our ear, That dandelions are blossoming near, That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing, That the river is bluer than the sky, That the robin is plastering his house hard by; And if the breeze kept the good news back For other couriers we should not lack; We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing,-- And hark! how clear bold chanticleer, Warmed with the new wine of the year, Tells all in his l.u.s.ty crowing.

--Lowell.