Chapter 26

In the great kettles the boiling of the sap goes on slowly, and the liquid, as it thickens, is dipped from one to another, until in the end kettle it is reduced to syrup, and is taken out to cool and settle, until enough is made to "sugar off."

To "sugar off" is to boil the syrup until it is thick enough to crystallize into sugar. This is the grand event, and is only done once in two or three days.

But the boy's desire is to "sugar off" all the time. He boils his kettle down as rapidly as possible; he is not particular about chips, scum, or ashes.

He is apt to burn his sugar; but if he can get enough to make a little wax on the snow, or to scrape from the bottom of the kettle with his wooden paddle, he is happy.

A great deal is wasted on his hands, and the outside of his face, and on his clothes, but he does not care; he is not stingy.

To watch the operations of the big fire gives him constant pleasure. Sometimes he is left to watch the boiling kettles, with a piece of pork tied on the end of a stick, which he dips into the boiling mass when it threatens to go over.

He is constantly tasting of it, however, to see if it is not almost syrup. He has a long, round stick, whittled smooth at one end, which he uses for this purpose, at the constant risk of burning his tongue.

The smoke blows in his face; he is grimy with ashes; he is altogether such a mass of dirt, stickiness, and sweetness, that his own mother wouldn't know him.

He likes to boil eggs with the hired man in the hot sap; he likes to roast potatoes in the ashes, and he would live in the camp day and night if he were permitted.

To sleep there with the men, and awake in the night and hear the wind in the trees, and see the sparks fly up to the sky, is a perfect realization of all the stories of adventures he has ever read.

He tells the other boys afterward that he heard something in the night that sounded very much like a bear. The hired man says that he was very much scared by the hooting of an owl.

The great occasions for the boy, though, are the times of "sugaring off." Sometimes this used to be done in the evening, and it was made the excuse for a frolic in the camp.

The neighbors were invited; sometimes even the pretty girls from the village, who filled all the woods with their sweet voices and merry laughter, were there, too.

The tree branches all show distinctly in the light of the fire, which lights up the bough shanty, the hogsheads, the buckets on the trees, and the group about the boiling kettles, until the scene is like something taken out of a fairy play.

At these sugar parties every one was expected to eat as much sugar as possible; and those who are practiced in it can eat a great deal.

It is a peculiar fact about eating warm maple sugar, that though you may eat so much of it one day as to be sick, you will want it the next day more than ever.

At the "sugaring off" they used to pour the hot sugar upon the snow, where it congealed into a sort of wax, which I suppose is the most delicious substance that was ever invented. And it takes a great while to eat it.

If you should close your teeth firmly on a lump of it, you would be unable to open your mouth until it dissolved. The sensation while it is melting is very pleasant, but it will not do to try to talk, for you can not.

The boy used to make a big lump of it and give it to the dog, who seized it with great avidity, and closed his jaws on it, as dogs will on any thing.

It was funny the next moment to see the expression of perfect surprise on the dog's face when he found that he could not open his jaws.

He shook his head; he sat down in despair; he ran round in a circle; he dashed into the woods and back again.

He did every thing except climb a tree, and howl. It would have been such a relief to him if he could have howled. But that was the one thing he could not do.

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Language Lesson.--Let pupils change the verbs in the following lines, so that they will indicate _present time_.

"He shook his head; he sat down in despair; he ran around in a circle; he dashed into the woods and back again."

Suggestion.--Let the teacher, from time to time, select stories, and have them read before the class. After the reading, let pupils make oral _analyses_. The stories should be short, and the exercise conducted without the use of pencils or paper.

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LESSON LXXI.

en'sign, _flag_.

dis man'tled, _stripped of masts, sails, and guns_.

pa tri ot'ic, _full of love for one's country_.

hulk, _a dismantled ship_.

frig'ate, _a ship of war_.

tat'tered, _torn_.

me'te or, _a fiery body in the heavens_.

van'quished, _conquered; overcome_.

har'pies, _destroyers_.

manned, _supplied with men_.

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OLD IRONSIDES.

During our second war with Great Britain, which began in the year 1812, many battles were fought both on land and sea.

Among the ships of war belonging to the United States Government, was a frigate named the Constitution. She was built about the beginning of the present century, and owing to her good fortune in many engagements, her seamen gave her the name of "Old Ironsides."

She was in active service throughout the entire war, and captured five ships of war from the British, two of which were frigates.

In all her service, her success was remarkable. She never lost her masts, never went ashore, and though so often in battle, no very serious loss of life ever occurred on her decks. Her entire career was that of what is called in the navy "a lucky ship."

Perhaps this may be explained by the fact that she always had excellent commanders, and that she probably possessed as fine a ship's company as ever manned a frigate.

In 1829, the Government ordered the Constitution to be dismantled and taken to pieces, because she had become unfit for service.

At that time, Oliver Wendell Holmes, who has since become famous as a writer, was a young man twenty years of age, about completing his studies at Harvard College.

When he heard of the intended destruction of "Old Ironsides," he went directly to his room, and, inspired by patriotic feelings, wrote the following poem.

OLD IRONSIDES.

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! Long has it waved on high, And many an eye has danced to see That banner in the sky; Beneath it rung the battle shout And burst the cannons' roar: The meteor of the ocean air Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood, Where knelt the vanquished foe, When winds were hurrying o'er the flood And waves were white below, No more shall feel the victors' tread, Or know the conquered knee: The harpies of the shore shall pluck The eagle of the sea!

O, better that her shattered hulk Should sink beneath the wave!-- Her thunders shook the mighty deep, And there should be her grave. Nail to the mast her holy flag, Set every threadbare sail, And give her to the god of storms, The lightning, and the gale!

The effect of this poem upon the people was so great that a general outcry arose against the destruction of the gallant old ship.

The Government was induced to reconsider its determination. The old ship was saved, repaired, and for many years has delighted the eyes of thousands of people who have visited her.

At present, she is used as a receiving-ship at the United States Navy Yard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

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Directions for Reading.--With what tone of voice should the prose part of the lesson be read?

Read the poetry--first, slowly and quietly; then, in a loud tone of voice, expressing the feeling of anger.

Which method of reading the poem do the pupils prefer?

Which do they think represents the poet's feelings?

Let pupils pronounce in concert, and singly, the following words: _hero, year, people, deep, eagle, knee, serious, meteor, complete, pieces_.

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Language Lesson.--Let pupils point out and explain the unusual expressions found in the first two stanzas, writing out a list of the changes made.

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LESSON LXXII.

ver'tic al, _upright_.

cat'a ract, _a great fall of water over a precipice_.

pro vis'ions, _stock of food_.

con struct'ed, _made; formed_.

in cred'i ble, _not easily believed_.

sta'tion a ry, _not moving; fixed_.

ex tinct', _inactive; dead_.

de pos'it, _that which is laid or thrown down_.

ap'er ture, _an opening_.

di am'e ter, _distance across or through_.

com pris'es, _includes; contains_.

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NATURAL WONDERS OF AMERICA.