&&000 MCGUFFY'S ECLECTIC READERS (1896) 4TH GRADE MCG8964T.ASC OWNED BY AMERICAN BOOK CO. by then. Source: KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY (Penn.) xerox by LW scan edit by DPH March 4, 1993 &&111 to her pale face and weak voice, that I was not frightened at them, as children usually are. At first it is true, I sobbed violently; but when, day after day I returned from school, and found her the same, I began to believe she would always be spared to me, but they told me she would die. One day when I had lost my place in the class, I came home discouraged and fretful. I went to my mother's chamber. She was paler than usual, but she met me with the same affectionate smile that always welcomed my return. Alas! when I look back through the lapse of thirteen years, I think my heart must have been stone not to have been melted by it. She requested me to go downstairs and bring her a glass of water. I pettishly asked her why she did not call a domestic to do it. With a look of mild reproach, which I shall never forget if I live to be a =hundred years old, she said, Will not my daughter bring a glass of water for her poor, sick mother? I went and brought her the water, but I did not do it kindly. Instead of smiling, and kissing her as I had been wont to do, I set the glass down very quickly, and left the room. After playing a short time, I went to bed without bidding my mother good night; but when alone in my room, in darkness and silence, I remembered how pale she looked, and how her voice trembled when she said, "Will not my daughter bring a glass of water for her poor, sick mother?" I could not sleep. I stole into her chamber to ask forgiveness. She had sunk into an easy slumber, and they told me I must not waken her. I did not tell anyone what troubled me, but stole back to my bed, resolved to rise early in the morning and tell her how sorry I was for my conduct. The sun was shining brightly when I awoke, and, hurrying on my clothes, I hastened my mother's chamber. She was dead! She never spoke more, never smiled upon me again; and when I touched the hand that used to rest upon my head in blessing, it was so cold that it made me start. I bowed down by her side, and sobbed in the bitterness of my heart. I then wished that I might die, and be buried with her; and, old as I now am, I would give worlds, were they mine to give, could my mother but have lived to tell me she forgave my childish ingratitude. But I can not call her back; and when I stand by her grave, and whenever I think of her manifold kindness, the memory of that reproachful look she gave me will bite like a serpent and sting like an adder. he continued. Were I on trial for my life, and innocent of the charge against me, I would pray =God for such a witness as this. Let her be examined. She told her story with the simplicity of a child, as she was; but her voice and manner carried conviction of her truthfulness to every heart. The lawyers asked her many perplexing questions, but she did not vary in the least from her first statement. The truth, as spoken by a little child, was sublime. Falsehood and perjury had preceded her testimony; but before her testimony, falsehood was scattered like chaff. The little child, for whom a mother had prayed for strength to be given her to speak the truth as it was before =God, broke the cunning device of matured villainy to pieces, like a potter's vessel. The strength that her mother prayed for was given her; and the sublime and terrible simplicity,, terrible to the prisoner and his associates, was like a revelation from =God himself. OUT from =Jerusalem The king rode with his great War chiefs and lords of state, And =Sheba's queen with them. Proud in the =Syrian sun, In gold and purple sheen, The dusky =Ethiop queen Smiled on =King =Solomon. Wisest of men, he knew The languages of all The creatures great or small That trod the earth or flew. Across an ant-hill led The king's path, and he heard Its small folk, and their word He thus interpreted: "Here comes the king men greet As wise and good and just, To crush us in the dust Under his heedless feet." The great king bowed his head, And saw the wide surprise Of the =Queen of =Sheba's eyes As he told her what they said. "The next day," says he, "by sunrise, I was in pursuit of game, in the hope of obtaining some provisions for my men. After several hours' fatigue, we saw, at the turn of a hill, seven giraffes, which my pack of dogs instantly pursued. Six of them went off together; but the seventh, cut off by my dogs, took off another way. "I followed the single one at full speed, but, in spite of the efforts of my horse, she got so much ahead of me, that, in turning a little hill, I lost sight of her altogether, and I gave up the pursuit. My dogs, however, were not so easily exhausted. They were soon so close upon her that she was obliged to stop and defend herself. From the noise they made, I conjectured that they had got the animal into a corner, and I again pushed forward. "I had scarcely got round the hill, when I perceived her surrounded by the dogs, and endeavoring to drive them away by heavy kicks. In a moment I was on my feet, and a shot from my carbine brought her to the earth. I was delighted with my victory, which enabled me to add to the riches of natural history. I was now able, also, to destroy the romance which attached to this animal, and to establish the truth of its existence." A few years since, a child was lost in the woods. He was out with his brothers and sisters gathering berries, and was accidentally separated from them, and lost. The children, after looking in vain for some time in search of the little wanderer, returned, just in the dusk of the evening, to inform their parents that their brother was lost and could not be found. The woods, at that time were full of bears. The darkness of a cloudy night was rapidly coming on, and the alarmed father, gathering a few of his neighbors, hastened in search of the lost child. The mother remained at home, almost distracted with suspense. As the clouds gathered, and the darkness increased, the father and the neighbors, with highly excited fears, traversed the woods in all directions, and raised loud shouts to attract the attention of the child. But their search was in vain. They could find no trace of the wanderer; and, as they stood under the boughs of the lofty trees, and listened, that if possible they might hear his feeble voice, no sound was borne to their ears but the melancholy moaning of the wind as it swept through the thick branches of the forest. The gathering clouds threatened an approaching storm, and the deep darkness of the night had already enveloped them. It is difficult to conceive what were the feelings of that father. And who could imagine how deep the distress which filled the bosom of that mother, as she heard the wind, and beheld the darkness in which her child was wandering! The search was continued in vain till nine o'clock in the evening. Then, one of the party was sent back The plant is an evergreen, and is from six to twelve feet high, the stem being from ten to fifteen inches in diameter. The lower branches bend down when the tree begins to grow old, and extend themselves into a round form somewhat like an umbrella; and the wood is so pliable that the ends of the largest branches may be bent down to within two or three feet of the earth. The bark is whitish and somewhat rough. A tree is never without leaves, which are at small distances from one another, and on almost opposite sides of a bough. Blossoms and green and ripe fruit may be seen on the same tree at the same time. When the blossom falls off, there grows in its place a small green fruit, which becomes dark red as it ripens. This fruit is not unlike a cherry, and is very good to eat. Under the pulp of this cherry is found the bean or berry we call coffee, wrapped in a fine thin skin. the berry is at first very soft, and has a bad taste; but as the cherry ripens the berry grows harder, and the dried-up fruit becomes a shell or pod of a deep brown color. The berry is now solid, and its color is a translucent green. Each shell contains two seeds, rounded on one side and flat on the other. The seeds lie with the flat sides together, and, in one highly prized variety, the two seeds grow together, forming one: this is known as the pea berry. When the fruit is so ripe that it can be shaken from the tree, the husks are separated from the berries, and are used, in =Arabia, by the natives, while the berries are sold. The young plants are inserted in holes from twelve to eighteen inches deep, and six or eight feet apart. If left to themselves, they would grow to the height of eighteen or twenty feet; but they are usually dwarfed by pruning, so that the fruit may be easily got at by the gatherer. Thus dwarfed, they extend their branches until they cover the whole space about them. They begin to yield fruit the third year. By the sixth or seventh year they are at full bearing, and continue to bear for twenty years or more. Before the berry can be used, it undergoes a process of roasting. The amount of aromatic oil brought out in roasting has much to do with the market value of coffee, and it has been found that the longer the raw coffee is kept, the richer it becomes in this peculiar oil, and so the more valuable. But after the coffee is roasted, and especially after it is ground, it loses its aroma rapidly. =Arabia produces the celebrated =Mocha, or "=Mokha," coffee, which is the finest in the world; but little or none of the best product is ever taken out of that country. The =Java coffee from the =East =Indies is next prized, but the best quality of this kind is also quite difficult to obtain, and many, therefore, prefer the finest grades of =Rio coffee from =South =America to such =Mocha and =Java as can be had in our country. "Little friends," she said, "I wish I knew How it is you thrive on sun and dew!" And this is the story the berries told To little =Pearl =Honeydew, six years old. ~You wish you knew? And so do we. But we can't tell you, unless it be That the same Kind Power that cares for you Takes care of poor little berries, too. "Tucked up snugly, and nestled below Our coverlid of wind-woven snow, We peep and listen, all winter long, For the first spring day and the bluebird's song. "When the swallows fly home to the old brown shed, And the robins build on the bough overhead, Then out from the mold, from the darkness and cold, Blossom and runner and leaf unfold. ~Good children, then, if they come near, And hearken a good long while, may bear A wonderful tramping of little feet, So fast we grow in the summer heat. Our clocks are the flowers; and they count the hours Till we can mellow in suns and showers, With warmth of the west wind and heat of the south, A ripe red berry for a ripe red mouth Apple blooms whiten, and peach blooms fall, And roses are gay by the garden wall, Ere the daisy's dial gives the sign That we may invite little =Pearl to dine. The days are longest, the month is =June, The year is nearing its golden noon, The weather is fine, and our feast is spread With a green cloth and berries red. Just take us between your finger and thumb, And quick, oh, quick! for, see! there come =Tom on all fours, and =Martin the man, And =Margaret, picking as fast as they can. Oh, dear! if you only knew how it shocks Nice berries like us to be sold by the box, And eaten by strangers, and paid for with pelf, You would surely take pity, and eat us yourself! And this is the story the small lips told To dear =Pearl =Honeydew, six years old, When she laid her head on the strawberry bed To hear what the red-cheeked berries said. " Ah, now, how awkward you are," said the little fellow! "It was your fault entirely, answered his sister. " Try again, children," said I. =Lucy once more took up the kite. But now =John was in too great a hurry; he ran off so suddenly that he twitched the kite out of her hand, and it fell flat as before. "Well, who is to blame now," asked =Lucy? "Try again," said I. They did, and with more care; but a side wind coming suddenly, as =Lucy let go the kite, it was blown against some shrubs, and the tail became entangled in a moment, leaving the poor kite hanging with its head downward. "There, there!" exclaimed =John, that comes of your throwing it all to one side." "As if I could make the wind blow straight," said =Lucy. In the meantime, I went to the kite's assistance; and having disengaged the long tail, I rolled it up, saying, "Come, children, there are too many trees here; let us find a more open space, and then try again." We presently found a nice grassplot, at one side of which I took my stand; and all things being prepared, I tossed the kite up just as little =John ran off. It rose with all the dignity of a balloon, and promised a lofty flight; but =John, delighted to find it pulling so hard at the string, stopped short to look upward and admire. The string slackened, the kite wavered, and, the wind not being very favorable, down came the kite to the grass. "O =John, you should not have stopped," said I. "However, try again." "I won't try any more," replied he, rather sullenly. " It is of no use, you see. The kite won't fly, and I don't want to be plagued with it any longer." "oh, fie, my little man! would you give up the sport, after all the pains we have taken both to make and to fly the kite? A few disappointments ought not to discourage us. Come, I have wound up your string, and now try again." And he did try, and succeeded, for the kite was carried upward on the breeze as lightly as a feather; and when the string was all out, =John stood in great delight, holding fast the stick and gazing on the kite, which now seemed like a little white speck in the blue sky. Look, look, =aunt, how high it flies! and it pulls like a team of horses, so that I can hardly hold it. I wish I had a mile of string: I am sure it would go to the end of it. After enjoying the sight as long as he pleased, little =John proceeded to roll up the string slowly; and when the kite fell, he took it up with great glee, saying that it was not at all hurt, and that it had behaved very well. "Shall we come out tomorrow, =aunt, after lessons, and try again?" "I have no objection, my dear, if the weather is fine. And now, as we walk home, tell me what you have learned from your morning's sport. I have learned to fly my kite properly." "You may thank =aunt for it, brother," said =Lucy, "for you would have given it up long ago, if she had not persuaded you to try again. "Yes, dear children, I wish to teach you the value of perseverance, even when nothing more depends upon it than the flying of a kite. Whenever you fail in your attempts to do any good thing, let your motto be, try again."