McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader

7. D. If she were ten times more whimsical than she is, I am certain she would like it; for you sold it to me yourself, and you assured me it was the best you ever had.

2. "It implies," said her mother, "in the first place, a total destruction of all selfishness: for a man who loves himself better than his neighbors, can never do to others as h...

6. It was no time for words, but for instant, vigorous action. The staircase was already on fire; there was but one way to reach Katy, and that full of danger. The second floor...

6. A large crowd collected on the bank--men, women, and children--anxious for the fate of the little animal so well known to them all. Some threw themselves into boats, hoping t...

28. F. That we will now consider. You saw the little flower burst open, and a cloud rose, you say, like enchantment. Now all this is necessary for the nature of the plant. There...

1. Poor lame Jennie sat at her window, looking out upon the dismal, narrow street, with a look of pain and weariness on her face. "Oh, dear," she said with a sigh, "what a long...

19. "The birds are flying past the window to go home and take care of their little ones. I am glad the birds are not afraid to live in our garden, and to build nests in our trees."

8. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right che...

10. It was not needed: two other boys besides Arthur had already followed his example, and he went down to the great school with a glimmering of another lesson in his heart,--th...

Now is the high tide of the year, And whatever of life hath ebbed away Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer, Into every bare inlet and creek and bay. We may shut our eyes, bu...

6. "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...

DEFINITIONS.--3. Char'ac-ter, the sum of qualities which distin-guish one person from another. 4. Purpose, intention, aim. 7. Prin'ci-ples, fixed rules. 9. Ca-pac'i-ty, ability,...

3. The whole day long this terrible old schoolmaster sulked about among his scholars, with a big cane in his hand; and unless a lad chose to attend constantly and quietly to his...

zm, zmz.--Chasm, chasms, prism, prisms. zl.--Dazzle, frizzle, nozzle, puzzle. zlz, zld.--Dazzles, dazzled, frizzles, frizzled. sht.--Dashed, meshed, dished, rushed, washed. shr....

The exercises are still suitable, and perhaps more helpful than some contemporary alternatives. Much is left to the teacher. Explanations given in the text are enough to get sta...

4. 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 affe...