a § 26. 2. b § 43. 1. g § 24. 1. k § 12. 2. 22.1. c § 43. 6. e § 21. 1. f§ 18. 1. § 13. 1. m § 14. 4. n § 44. 17. No. 2. Silence, slimy, westward, unslake, motion, bloody. o § 44. 11. s § 46. t § No. 3. Laf for la'ugh, last for la'st. See W. D. La'y for lay. No. 10. Analyze the first verse. No. 12. Spell and define the 12th verse. Mention the different meanings of right still, arm, reel, can, ground, flog, host. LESSON XI. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 1. THE first thought of a Yankee farmer, on coming to the years of manhood,a is to settle himself in the world—which means nothing more than, to begin his rambles. To this end, he takes to himself for a wife, some buxsom country heiress, passing rich in red ribbons, glass beads, and mock tortoise-shell combs, with a white gown and morocco shoes for Sunday, and deeply skilled in the mystery of making apple-sweetmeats, long-sauce, and pumpkin-pie. Havinge thus provided himself, like a pedlar, with a heavy knapsack, wherewith to regale his shoulders through the journey of life, he literally sets out on his peregrinations. 2. His whole family, household furniture, and farming utensils, are hoisted into a covered cart;e his own and wife's wardrobe packed up in a firkin'—which done, he shoulders his axe, takes his staff in his hand, whistles "Yankee doodle," and trudges off to the woods, as confident of the protection of Providence, and relying as cheerfully on his own resources, as ever did a patriarch of yore when he journeyed into a strange country of the Gentiles. 3. Having buried himself in the wilderness, he builds himself a log-hut, clears away a corn-field and potato-patch, and, Providence smiling upon his labors,a he is soon surrounded by a snug farm, and some half a score of flaxen-headed urchins, who, by their size, seem to have sprung all at once out of the earth, like a crop of toadstools.g 4. But it is not the nature of this most indefatigable of spe culators to rest contented with any state of sublunary enjoyment: improvement is his darling passion; and having thus improved his lands, the next state is to provide a mansion worthy the residence of a landholder. A huge palace of pineboards, immediately springs up in the midst of the wilderness, large enough for a parish church, and furnished with windows of all dimensions; but so rickety and flimsy withal, that every blast gives it a fit of the ague.' 5. By the time the outside of this mighty air-castle is completed, either the funds or the zeal of our adventurer are exhausted, so that he barely manages to half finish one room within, where the whole family burrow together, while the rest of the house is devoted to the curing of pumpkins, or storing of carrots and potatoes, and is decorated with fanciful festoons of dried apples and peaches. 6. The outside remaining unpainted, grows venerably black with time; the family wardrobe is laid under contribution for old hats, petticoats, and breeches to stuff into the broken windows; while the four winds of heaven keep up a whistling and howling about the aërial palace, and play as many unruly gambols as they did of yore in the cave of Eolus.g 7. The humble log-hut, which whilom nestled this improving family snugly within its narrow, butk comfortable walls, stands hard byb-ignominious contrast! degraded into a cowhouse or pig-sty; and the whole scene reminds one forcibly of a fable, which I am surprised has never been recorded, of an aspiring snail, who abandoned his humble habitation, which he had long filled with great respectability, to crawl into the empty shell of a lobster, where he could no doubt have resided with great style and splendor, the envy and hate of all the pains-taking snails in his neighborhood, had he not accidentally perished with cold in one corner of his stupendous mansion. 8. Being thus completely settled, and, to use his own words, "to rights," one would imagine that he would begin to enjoy the comforts of his situation, to read the newspapers, to talk politics, neglect his own business," and attend to the affairs of the nation, like a useful or patriotic citizen ;5 but now it is that his wayward disposition again begins to operate. He soon grows tired of a spot where there is no longer any room for improvement, sells his farm-his air-castle, petticoat"-windows and all-reloads" his cart, shoulders his axe, puts himself at the head of his family, and wanders away in search of new lands; again to fell trees, again to clear corn-fields, again to build a shingle-palace, again to sell off and wander.m g § 19. 1. h § 13. § 22. 1. m § 25. a § 11. 4. b§ 14. 2. c § 55. d§ 44. 13. e § 12. 2. 1 Give the reason for the commas before and after Yankee doodle. 1. i § 44. 17. j Sound of ch. k § 46. r § 44. 13. n § 43. 10. y W. D. x What figure of speech? 2. No 1. What is the first thought of a yankee farmer? What does he take? His appearance? What does he next do? What does he do with his family, &c.? What does he do in the woods? Is he contented? What is the condition of his new building? Does he finish it? What of the windows? What of the winds? What has become of his log-hut? What can you say of a certain snail? Is he now satisfied? What does he do? What is the writer's description? No. 2. Manhood, confident, speculation, completed, exhausted, fanciful, ignominious, degraded. No. 3. Forgit for forget, pint for point. No. 6. There are two commas inserted in the first verse; correct them. No. 7. Done and dun, too and to, of and off. No. 8. § 3. 9. 11. § 5. No. 10. Analyze the first verse. No. 12. Spell and define the words in the second verse. LESSON XII. NOT AT HOME. 1. ONE morning I was sitting with my father and mother, when the servant entered the parlor, saying, "Ma'am, there's some company coming down the avenue; will you please to be at home?" Why, where else can she please to be? "Oh," says my father, hastily, "not at home, not at home, unless it should be so and so,b and so and so," enumerating rapidly a select list of worthies.a 2. As there was a necessity for the carriage to pass the window of the room where we were sitting, and it was too neare to admit of our going elsewhere, my father and mother got both behind a great screen, while I was hastily hurried up into the nook of a book-case. 3. Thinks I to myself, I suppose this is being not at home! As the servant had inadvertently left the door open, I observed that it was judged necessary, for fear of discovery, to stifle all sorts of natural or other noise, even to the inhalation and exhalation of the breathe of life; so that my father stood with his mother pocket handkerchief stuffed into his mouth, and my with her lips pressed close and flat against the back of the screen, while I poked mine as well as I could behind the book case, whence a little dust seemed to arise that made me fear greatly that a sneeze would be inevitable. e 4. While we were thus grouped, expecting every moment that the carriage would drive off, in came the servant with two of the finest ladies in the neighborhood, who actually discovered my father and mother behind the screen; who were obliged accordingly to come out, which they contrived to do with the greatest apparent delight, so that I, of course, apprehended the visitors must be some of the so and so's that were doomed to be admitted.f 5. "I was sure you were at home," said they; and so they might well be, for another servant, whom they had met in the avenue, had told them so, as it turned out in the end. "We could not think who it was," said my mother;8 "had we had the least idea of its being you, we should have been at home of course, but we had intended to deny ourselves, if it had been any body else." 6. I would have given any thing to have known enough of the world to have determined whether I ought to come out of my hiding place or not; for my father and mother, in their confusion, had quite forgotten me, and the company had managed to seat themselves so as to be wholly incapable of investigating the contents of the nook in which I happened to stand. 7. Thinks I to myself, they talk so loud I may at least breathe more freely ; but at length, what I was most afraid of, actually befel me; some dust, or some smoke, or some sunshine, or something or other, or the mere expectationi and alarm of it, got up my nose, and so affected the olfactory and other nerves of that noble organ, as to produce an indispensable necessity to take some measures to stifle the storm of sneeze,k with which I seemed to be threatened; unfortunately, I had not time to go to my pocket, so that I was obliged to let all depend upon the weak resistance to be produced by the interposition of my five fingers; which having, as every body knows, as many interstices as there are fingers, had no other effect but that of ramifying and dividing the noise into as many parts as there were fingers, so that out it all came, five-fold louder than there was any natural necessity for; the sounds, besides, being severally of a description by no means fit for the refined ears of a courtly company; the effect was such as might be expected; the two strangers were nearly thrown from their seats by the shock and alarm of so unexpected a salute, while my father and mother were little less surprised, and at the same time much more confused. 8. I was of course obliged to come out, and an attempt was made to laugh' the matter off; but one of the ladiesa was really so alarmed as to be near fainting, and though she made every effort to seem to forgive me, yet I was sure, by her looks, that she wished me dead, or worse, if possible; they took the earliest opportunity afterwards of ordering their carriage to the door, and as they quitted the house, I secretly gave them my blessing; it then first came to my knowledge that, instead of being any of the so and so's that had a fairm claimm to be admitted, my poor father and mother would as willingly have seen the witch of Endor, and that the whole visit had been the effect of" accident and blunder. a § 49. 1. b§ 11. 4. Ø 14. 1. g § 12. 2. c § 43. 6. t § 43. 1. i § 44. 11. j § 44. 10. o § 43. 13. d § 14. 5. k § 26. 3. e § 44. 17. f Sound of gh? m § 43. 5. n § 45. No. 1. Who were sitting in the parlor? What was the errand of the servant? What reply did they make? How did they avoid the carriage, as it passed the window? What was thought necessary? Who soon came in? How did the visitors know that they were at home? What did the mother say to this? What was the person behind the book-case doubtful about? What befel this person? What effect had the fingers upon the nose? What was the effect upon the strangers? What opportunity did they soon take? Did they wish their visitors to have been admitted? No. 2. Incapable, accident, afterwards, opportunity, admitted, strangers, doubtful. No. 3. Heerd for heard, bust for burst. No. 4. Content' and con'tent, en'trance and entran'ce. No. 6. Give the reason for all the pauses in the first verse. No. 9. Book-case, sunshine, five-fold. No. 10. Mention the subjects, predicates, and objects, with their various modifiers, in verse 6th. No. 12. Spell and define the words in the second verse. |