Chapter 15

Dutch cities seem, at first sight, to be a bewildering jumble of houses, bridges, churches, and ships, sprouting into masts, steeples, and trees. In some cities boats are hitched, like horses, to their owners' door-posts, and receive their freight from the upper windows.

Mothers scream to their children not to swing on the garden gate for fear they may be drowned. Water roads are more frequent there than common roads and railroads; water-fences, in the form of lazy green ditches, inclose pleasure-ground, farm, and garden.

Sometimes fine green hedges are seen; but wooden fences, such as we have in America, are rarely met with in Holland. As for stone fences, a Hollander would lift his hands with astonishment at the very idea.

There is no stone there excepting those great masses of rock that have been brought from other lands to strengthen and protect the coast.

All the small stones or pebbles, if there ever were any, seem to be imprisoned in pavements, or quite melted away. Boys, with strong, quick arms, may grow from aprons to full beards without ever finding one to start the water-rings, or set the rabbits flying.

The water roads are nothing less than canals crossing the country in every direction. These are of all sizes, from the great North Holland Ship Canal, which is the wonder of the world, to those which a boy can leap.

Water-omnibuses constantly ply up and down these roads for the conveyance of passengers; and water-drays are used for carrying fuel and merchandise.

Instead of green country lanes, green canals stretch from field to barn, and from barn to garden; and the farms are merely great lakes pumped dry. Some of the busiest streets are water, while many of the country roads are paved with brick.

The city boats, with their rounded sterns, gilded bows, and gayly-painted sides, are unlike any others under the sun; a Dutch wagon with its funny little crooked pole is a perfect mystery of mysteries.

One thing is clear, you may think that the inhabitants need never be thirsty. But no, Odd-land is true to itself still. With the sea pushing to get in, and the lakes struggling to get out, and the overflowing canals, rivers, and ditches, in many districts there is no water that is fit to swallow.

Our poor Hollanders must go dry, or send far inland for that precious fluid, older than Adam, yet young as the morning dew.

Sometimes, indeed, the inhabitants can swallow a shower, when they are provided with any means of catching it; but generally they are like the sailors told of in a famous poem, who saw

"Water, water, every-where, Nor any drop to drink!"

Great flapping windmills all over the country make it look as if flocks of huge sea birds were just settling upon it. Every-where one sees the funniest trees, bobbed into all sorts of odd shapes, with their trunks painted a dazzling' white, yellow, or red.

Horses are often yoked three abreast. Men, women, and children, go clattering about in wooden shoes with loose heels.

Husbands and wives lovingly harness themselves side by side on the bank of the canal and drag their produce to market.

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Directions for Reading.--Let pupils practice upon the inflections marked in the following

Model.--Houses', bridges', churches', and ships', sprouting into masts', steeples', and trees'.

Which words take the _falling inflection_?

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LESSON XL.

whisk'ing, _pulling suddenly and with force_.

lus'ti er, _stronger; louder_.

of fend'ed, _made angry_.

fa mil'iar, _friendly; as of a friend_.

ma'tron ly, _elderly; motherly_.

com mo'tion, _noise; confusion_.

pant'ed, _breathed quickly_.

sa lute', _greeting_.

mute, _silent; unable to speak_.

stur'dy, _strong; powerful_.

ker'chiefs, _pieces of cloth worn about the head_.

a do', _trouble; delay_.

in'mates, _the persons in a house_.

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THE WIND IN A FROLIC.

The wind one morning sprung up from sleep, Saying, "Now for a frolic! Now for a leap! Now for a madcap galloping chase! I'll make a commotion in every place!"

So it swept with a bustle right through a great town, Creaking the signs and scattering down Shutters, and whisking with merciless squalls, Old women's bonnets and gingerbread stalls. There never was heard a much lustier shout, As the apples and oranges tumbled about.

Then away to the fields it went blustering and humming, And the cattle all wondered whatever was coming. It pulled by their tails the grave, matronly cows, And tossed the colts' manes all about their brows, Till, offended at such a familiar salute, They all turned their backs and stood silently mute.

So on it went, capering and playing its pranks; Whistling with reeds on the broad river banks; Puffing the birds, as they sat on the spray, Or the traveler grave on the king's highway. It was not too nice to hustle the bags Of the beggar, and flutter his dirty rags. 'Twas so bold that it feared not to play its joke With the doctor's wig, and the gentleman's cloak.

Through the forest it roared, and cried gayly, "Now You sturdy old oaks, I'll make you bow!" And it made them bow without more ado, Or it cracked their great branches through and through.

Then it rushed like a monster o'er cottage and farm, Striking their inmates with sudden alarm; And they ran out like bees in a midsummer swarm. There were dames with their kerchiefs tied over their caps, To see if their poultry were free from mishaps; The turkeys they gobbled, the geese screamed aloud, And the hens crept to roost in a terrified crowd; There was raising of ladders, and logs laying on, Where the thatch from the roof threatened soon to be gone.

But the wind had passed on, and had met in a lane With a school-boy, who panted and struggled in vain; For it tossed him, and whirled him, then passed, and he stood With his hat in a pool, and his shoe in the mud.

Then away went the wind in its holiday glee, And now it was far on the billowy sea; And the lordly ships felt its powerful blow, And the little boats darted to and fro.

But, lo! it was night, and it sunk to rest On the sea-birds' rock in the gleaming west, Laughing to think, in its frolicsome fun, How little of mischief it really had done.

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Directions for Reading.--Let some pupil in the class state the manner in which the lesson should be read.

Point out four lines that should be read more quietly than the rest of the lesson.

Vary the reading by having parts of lesson read as a concert exercise.

What effect has the repetition of the word _now_, in the second and third lines?

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Language Lesson.--Let pupils write six sentences, each containing one of the following words, used in such a manner as to show its proper meaning: _right, write; reed, read; tied, tide_.

Let pupils make out an _analysis_ of the lesson, and use it in giving the story in their own words.

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LESSON XLI.

veg e ta'tion, _every thing that grows out of the ground_.

meth'od, _way; manner_.

ta'per ing, _growing smaller toward the end_.

men'tioned, _spoken of_.

struct'ure, _arrangement of parts; a building of any kind_.

marsh'y, _wet_.

swamp, _low ground filled with water_.

sprung, _started; begun_.

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SOMETHING ABOUT PLANTS.

The name plant belongs in a general way to all vegetation, from the tiniest spear of grass or creeping flower one sees on the rocks by the brook-side, to the largest and tallest of forest trees.

Plants are divided into numerous groups of families, and the study of the many species belonging to each family, is very interesting.

There are thousands of kinds of grasses, shrubs, and trees, scattered over the different parts of the earth, and the larger portion of them are in some way useful to mankind.

In speaking of grasses, we are apt to think only of the grass in the meadows, which is the food for our horses and cattle; but there are other kinds of grasses which are just as important to man as the grass of the meadow is to the beast. These are oats, rye, barley, wheat, corn, and others, all of which belong to the grass family.

Perhaps it appears strange to you to hear wheat and corn called grass, and you ask how can that be.

In the first place, all plants that have the same general form and method of growth, belong to the same family.

Now, if you will pull up a stalk of grass and a stalk of wheat or rye and compare them, you will find that they are alike in all important respects.

The roots of each look like a little bundle of strings or fibers, and are therefore called fibrous; the stalks you will find jointed and hollow; and the leaves are long and narrow, tapering to a point at their ends.

Then, if you examine the seeds, you will see that they are placed near together and form what we call an ear or head, as in an ear of corn, or a head of wheat.

This same general form or structure applies to every one of the plants belonging to the grass family; and in this family are included all the different kinds of canes and reeds that grow in swamps and marshy places, as well as the bamboo of the tropics.

Shrubs are those plants which have woody stems and branches. They are generally of small size, rarely reaching over twenty feet in height. Small shrubs are usually called bushes.

In this class of plants, the branches generally start close to the ground, and in some cases, a little below the surface of the ground, rising and spreading out in all directions.

The common currant bushes, blackberry bushes, and rose bushes which we see in gardens, are shrubs.

So also are grape-vines, honeysuckles, ivy, and all other creeping vines. These are called climbing plants, because little tendrils or claspers which grow out of their branches, wind around and fasten themselves to any thing in their way.

Trees are the largest and strongest of all plants.

They have woody stems or trunks, and branches. These branches do not, as in shrubs, start close to the ground, but at some distance above, from which height they extend in different directions.

It is difficult to believe that some of the large trees we see, sprung from small seeds; yet it is true that all trees started in this manner.

The seeds are scattered about by birds and tempests, and falling on the soft ground, where they become covered with, leaves and earth, they take root and grow.

Thus the little acorn sprouts, and from it springs the sturdy oak, which is not only the noblest of trees, but lives hundreds of years.

The trunks and branches of trees are protected by a covering called bark. This bark is thicker near the base or root of the tree than it is higher up among the branches.

On some trees, the bark is very rough and shaggy looking, as on the oak, ash, walnut, and pine; on others, the bark is smooth, as on the beech, apple, and birch.

Some trees live for only a few years, rapidly reaching their full growth, and rapidly decaying. The peach-tree is one of this kind.

Other trees live to a great age. An elm-tree has been known to live for three hundred years; a chestnut-tree, six hundred years; and oaks, eight hundred years.

The baobab-tree of Africa lives to be many hundred years old. There is a yew-tree in England that is known to be over two thousand years old.

The "big trees" of California are the largest in the world, although not of so great an age as some that have been mentioned. The tallest of these trees that has yet been discovered, measures over three hundred and fifty feet in height, and the distance around it near the ground is almost one hundred feet. The age of this tree must be between one thousand five hundred and two thousand years.

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Directions for Reading.--Let, pupils pronounce in concert and singly, the following words: _corn, stalks, important, form, tall, walnut, horses_.

In the fifth paragraph on page 199, why are _some_ and _others_ emphatic?[12]

Mark _inflections_ of _oak, ash, walnut_, and _pine_; and of _beech, apple_, and _birch_.

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Language Lesson.--Place _dis_ before each of the following words, and then give the meaning of each of the words so formed.

appear covered able like believe

[12] See fifth paragraph from the end of the lesson.

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LESSON XLII.

flush, _bright red color_.

low'ing, _the bellowing or cry of cattle_.

rang'ing, _wandering_.

in tent', _determined_.

striv'ing, _making great efforts_.

pre serve', _keep in safety_.

re flect'ed, _shining back; thrown back, as by a looking-glass_.

pro ceed'ed, _went forward_.

checked, _stopped_.

blasts, _sounds made by blowing_.

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A FOREST ON FIRE.