New National Fourth Reader Part 23

Write statements containing each of the following words, used in such a manner as to show their proper meaning: _herd, heard; need, knead; no, know; way, weigh; knew, new_.

Make out an _a.n.a.lysis_ of the two lessons, and use it in telling the story in your own words.

LESSON XXIII.

ob served', _saw; noticed_.

trans par'ent, _clear; easily seen through_.

ma te'ri al, _that of which any thing is made or to be made_.

ob tained', _taken from; received_.

gar'ments, _articles of clothing_.

verd'ure, _any green growth_.

a dorn', _dress with taste; beautify_.

par tic'ular, _of an unusual kind_.

va ri'e ty, _a number of different kinds_.

del'i cate, _gentle; tender_.

ca ressed', _treated with fondness_.

A QUEER PEOPLE.

One evening, as Captain Perry was sitting by the fireside at his home in Liverpool, his children asked him to tell them a story.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"What shall it be about?" said the captain.

"O," said Harry, "tell us about other countries, and the curious people you have seen in them."

"Yes, yes!" exclaimed Mary. "We were much interested, while you were away the last time, in reading 'Gulliver's Travels' and 'Sindbad the Sailor.'"

"You have seen as wonderful things as they did, haven't you, father?"

said Harry.

"No, my dears," said the captain. "I never met such wonderful people as they tell about, I a.s.sure you; nor have I seen the 'Black Loadstone Mountain' or the 'Valley of Diamonds.'"

"But," said Mary, "you have seen a great many people, and their different manners and ways of living."

"Yes," said the captain, "and if it will interest you, I will tell you some of the curious things that I have observed."

"Pray, do so!" cried Harry, as both the children drew close to him.

"Well, then," began the captain, "I was once in a country where it was very cold, and the poor people could scarcely keep themselves from starving.

"They were clothed partly in the skins of beasts, made smooth and soft by some particular art; but chiefly in garments made from the outer covering of an animal cruelly stripped off its back while alive.

"They lived in houses partly sunk below the ground. These houses were mostly built of stones or of earth hardened by fire.

"The walls of the houses had holes to let in light; but to prevent the cold air and rain from coming in, they were covered with a sort of transparent stone, made of melted sand.

"As wood was rather scarce, they used for fuel a certain kind of stone which they dug out of the earth, and which, when put among burning wood, catches fire and makes a bright flame."

"Dear me!" said Harry. "What a wonderful stone! Why didn't you bring a piece home with you, father?"

"I have a piece, which I will show you some time," replied the captain.

"But to go on with my story.

"What these people eat is remarkable, too. Some of the poor people eat fish which had been hung up and smoked until quite dry and hard, and along with it they eat the roots of plants, or coa.r.s.e, black cake made of powdered seeds.

"The rich people have a whiter kind of cake upon which they spread a greasy matter that is obtained from a large animal. They eat also the flesh of many birds and beasts when they can get it, and the leaves and other parts of a variety of vegetables--some raw and others cooked.

"For drink they use the water in which certain dry leaves have been steeped. These leaves, I was told, came from a country a great distance away.

"I was glad to leave this country because it was so very cold; but about six months after, I was obliged to go there again. What was my surprise to find that great changes had taken place!

"The climate was mild and warm, and the country was full of beauty and verdure. The trees and shrubs bore a great variety of fruits, which, with other vegetable products, were used largely as food.

"The people were gentle and civilized. Their dress was varied. Many wore cloth woven from a sort of wool grown in pods on bushes.

"Another singular material was a fine, glossy stuff used chiefly by the rich people. I was told that it was made out of the webs of caterpillars, which to me seemed quite wonderful, as it must have taken a great number of caterpillars to produce the large quant.i.ty of the stuff that I saw.

"These people have queer ideas about their dress. The women wear strangely figured garments, and adorn their heads, like some Indian nations, with feathers and other fanciful head-dresses.

"One thing surprised me very much. They bring up in their houses an animal of the tiger species, having the same kind of teeth and claws as the tiger.

"In spite of the natural fierceness of this little beast, it is played with and caressed by the most timid and delicate of their women and children."