LESSON LXXXIX. 1. ěl ́e ģý; n. a mournful poem. 1. eûr' few; n. a bell which is rung at nightfall. 2. drōn'ing; a. humming. 5 elǎr' I on; n. a clear, shrill note. 7. glēbè; n. ground. 12. ĕe' stȧ sy; n. excessive and 13. pění u rý; n. poverty. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. Part 1. 1. The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea; 2. Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, 3. Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower The moping owl does to the moon complain 4. Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, Where heaves the turf in many a moldering heap, Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 5. The breezy call of incense-breathing morn, The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed, The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn, No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed. 6. For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn, Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share. 7. Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke ; 8. Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys, and destiny obscure; 9. The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 10. Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault, 11. Can storied urn or animated bust Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath? Or Flattery soothe the dull, cold ear of Death? 12. Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; 13. But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page, Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll; Chill Penury repressed their noble rage, And froze the genial current of the soul. 14. Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear; And waste its sweetness on the desert air. Curfew (1) is derived from two French words which mean "to cover the fire." According to law the curfew bell was rung at eight o'clock in the evening. It is generally believed that the practice was introduced into England by William the Conqueror. It was common in France, Spain, Italy, and probably in other parts of continental Europe. In England the law obliged the people not only to cover their fires, but also to put out their lights, and any one found out-of-doors after the ringing of the curfew was liable to be arrested. Whether the object in introducing the practice into England was to prevent secret meetings of the people at night; to protect from fire, as most of the houses were of wood; or to do away with the robberies and murders at that time so frequent after dark, is a matter of dispute. The line "The plowman homeward plods his weary way " (1) is an excellent exercise for transposition; let the pupils try in how many ways they can express the same idea in the same words, but differently arranged. 66 Let the pupils find synonyms for, or express in other words, the following: "turf " (4); narrow cell" (4); hamlet" (4); "sturdy " (7); "the inevitable hour" (9); "anthem" (10); "silent dust" (11). No time is thine but the present. The time gone comes no more; the time to come may find thee gone when it comes. Help somebody worse off than yourself, and you will find that you are better off than you fancied. 3. çîr' eùm limited. LESSON XC. scribed; 2. 4. In ġěn' u Qus; a. frank; open; upright. 1. müşè; n. one of the fabled goddesses who preside over literary, artistic, and scientific matters; in this case the Muse | of Poetry is referred to. 5. se ques' tẽred; v. shut 6. ùn cọùth′; a. clumsy. 8. prēçinets; n. boundaries. 12. pōre; v. look with steady. continued attention. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. Part II. 1. Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breast The little tyrant of his fields withstood; Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest,- And read their history in a nation's eyes, 3. Their lot forbade: nor circumscribed alone Their growing virtues, but their crimes confined;- 4. The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide, With incense kindled at the Muse's flame. 5. Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, Their sober wishes never learned to stray; Along the cool, sequestered vale of life, They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. 6. Yet e'en these bones from insult to protect, Some frail memorial still erected nigh, With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture decked, 7. Their name, their years, spelt by the unlettered Muse The place of fame and elegy supply; And many a holy text around she strews, 8. For who, to dumb Forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned; Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind? 9. On some fond breast the parting soul relies; 10. For thee, who, mindful of the unhonored dead, Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate, 11. Haply some hoary-headed swain may say, To meet the sun upon the upland lawn; 12. "There at the foot of yonder nodding beech, |