3. Explain the meaning of the word "soldier" in the second line. 4. Why is there "color in his cheek"? 5. What is the meaning of the last two lines of the fourth stanza? 6. Why is he called both "spy" and "patriot” in the fifth stanza? 7. What was his "doom"? How are captured spies treated in war? 8. Why should the guards deny him the Bible? 9. Explain "He walks where Christ hath trod.” 10. Why should the British burn his last letter? 11. What are his last words? Why called "a soldier's battle cry"? 12. In what sense were they worth ten thousand soldiers to the American army? 13. Explain "Fame-leaf” and “Angel-leaf.” 14. Who are "the sad of earth"? "The glad of heaven"? 15. Explain the last two lines of the poem. 16. From this study, what is the real message of Hale's life and death? 17. Why has it been said that all human annals do not parallel the last words of Hale in simple patriotism? ADDITIONAL READINGS LOUISA M. ALCOTT: Tabby's Table Cloth in Spinning Wheel Stories. HOLMES: Grandmother's Story of the Battle of Bunker Hill. EMERSON: Concord Hymn. BROWNING: Incident of the French Camp. PATRICK HENRY: A Call to Arms. LONGFELLOW: Paul Revere's Ride. WILLIAM ORDWAY PARTRIDGE: Nathan Hale. BROWNING: The Patriot. GILDER: The Celestial Passion. HAWTHORNE: Howe's Masquerade. WANTED The man who is strong to fight his fight, If the truth be truth, and the right be right, - Paul Laurence Dunbar. IT THE CHOICE OF HERCULES T is easy for a person to think that he has the hardest time of all the people in the world. It is easy for him to imagine that others are living lives of ease and pleasure while he has but labor and pain. As a matter of fact, each one of us in life soon reaches the time when he is obliged to decide what his course in life will be. It may not be that he is actually stopped by the fair ladies, Labor and Pleasure, and given a choice as was given the Hercules1 of this story, but it is true that every individual has to make a choice for himself. As a boy enters upon life's responsibility he likes to think that he has the power of choice; that he can choose the difficult road that will lead to final success in life, rather than choose the road of temporary pleasure which in the end will bring him to grief. The following story is adapted from an old Greek legend which tells how the young Hercules made the better choice, and how as a result his life was a success. The central thought of his life is given in the words of the grown Her cules to the Giant: The soul of man can never be enslaved 1 Pronounced hēr’kū-lēz. Save by its very strength and own resolve FROM Heracles,1 A DRAMA BY LODGE. THE CHOICE OF HERCULES One morning when Hercules was a fair-faced lad of twelve years, he was sent out to do an errand which he disliked very much. As he walked slowly along the road, his heart was full of bitter thoughts; and he murmured because others no better than himself were living in ease and pleasure, while for him there was little but labor and pain. Thinking upon those things, he came after a while to a place where two roads met; and he stopped, not quite certain which one to take. The road on his right was hilly and rough, and there was no beauty in it or about it; but he saw that it led straight toward the blue mountains in the far distance. The road on his left was broad and smooth, with shade trees on either side, where sang thousands of beautiful birds; and it went winding in and out, through groves and green meadows, where bloomed countless flowers; but it ended in fog and mist long before reaching the wonderful mountains of blue. While the lad stood in doubt as to which way he should go, he saw two ladies coming toward him, each by a different road. The one who came down the flowery way reached him first, and Hercules saw that she was beautiful as a summer day. Her 1 Pronounced hĕr'ȧ-klēz. cheeks were red, her eyes sparkled, her voice was like the music of morning. "O noble youth," she said, "this is the road which you should choose. It will lead you into pleasant ways where there is neither toil, nor hard study, nor drudgery of any kind. Your ears shall always be delighted with sweet sounds, and your eyes with things beautiful and gay; and you need do nothing but play and enjoy the hours as they pass. By this time the other fair woman had drawn near, and she now spoke to the lad. "If you take my road," said she, “you will find that it is rocky and rough, and that it climbs many a hill and descends into many a valley and quagmire. The views which you will sometimes get from the hilltops are grand and glorious, while the deep valleys are dark and the uphill ways are toilsome; but the road leads to the blue mountains of endless fame, of which you can see a faint glimpse far away. They cannot be reached without labor; for, in fact, there is nothing worth having that must not be won through toil. If you would have fruits and flowers, you must plant and care for them; if you would gain the love of your fellow-men, you must love them and suffer for them; if you would be a man, you must make yourself strong by the doing of manly deeds." Then the boy saw that this lady, although her face seemed at first very plain, was as beautiful as the dawn, or as the flowery fields after a summer rain. "What is your name?" he asked. "Some call me Labor," she answered, "but others know me as Truth." "And what is your name?" he asked, turning to the first lady. "Some call me Pleasure," said she with a smile; "but I choose to be known as the Joyous One." "And what can you promise me at the end if I go with you?" "I promise nothing at the end. What I give, I give at the beginning." "Labor," said Hercules, "I will follow your road. I want to be strong and manly and worthy of the love of my fellows. And whether I shall ever reach the blue mountains or not, I want to have the reward of knowing that my journey has not been without some worthy aim." NOTES 1. Read the story of Hercules. Look up the twelve labors of Hercules. See Gayley's Classic Myths. 2. Look up the following words and expressions: murmured, countless, drudgery, quagmire, glories, endless fame, faint glimpse, reward, journey, worthy aim. EXERCISES 1. How old was the young Hercules when this incident occurred? 2. Why do you think his heart was full of bitter thoughts? 3. What two roads opened to him? 4. What persons did he meet? 5. What did each person offer? 6. Which road did he choose? 7. What reason did he give for his choice? 8. What reward was promised at the end of each road? |