Part 15

=208.= "Vespasian and his son Titus." Vespasian was emperor of Rome A.D. 70-79. He was succeeded by his son Titus, who died two years later. Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Titus, acting as his father's general, in the year 70. Both these emperors expended large sums on public works. The Coliseum, although begun by Vespasian in 72, was not finished during his reign. Despite the enormous mass of the present ruins, it is estimated that they comprise only about one third of the original materials; the remainder have been carried away, destroyed, or used in the construction of other buildings.

=209.= "Orpheus." The sweet musician of Thrace whose music charmed birds and beasts, and caused even rocks and trees to move from their places to listen to the divine melody.

=212.= "The Last Prayer." Jean Leon Gérôme, the painter of this picture, is a celebrated French artist, born at Vesoul in 1824. He studied in Italy, and to perfect himself in his art, traveled for some years in Egypt, Turkey, and other eastern countries. As might have been expected, the subjects of many of his paintings are oriental. In 1863, he became professor of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. His works are very numerous and meritorious.

=213.= The stanza of poetry quoted on this page is from Lord Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage."

"Honorius." Honorius was born at Constantinople, A.D. 384, and became emperor of the western empire in 395 at the age of eleven years. He married the daughter of his guardian, Stilicho, in 398. It was during his reign (in 410) that Rome was taken and sacked by Alaric the Goth. He died in 423.

=216.= "Lyonesse" (l[=i] o n[)e]s´). A mythical region, said to have extended from Land's End, in Cornwall, to the Scilly Islands. A tradition still exists of the submersion and destruction of this country, probably in the tenth century. King Arthur was said to have been a native of Lyonesse.

=217.= "Camelot." A legendary town in England where Arthur had his palace and court. It is supposed by some to have been near Winchester; others locate it in Wales.

"Merlin." A half-legendary bard and wizard, who is supposed to have lived in the early part of the sixth century. He was the companion and counselor of Arthur, and instituted the Round Table at Carduel. The famous prose romance, called the "Romance of Merlin," was written in French by Hélie de Borron about the year 1200. It was translated into English about the middle of the fifteenth century.

"Excalibur." The sword which Arthur had received from the Lady of the Lake. It had many miraculous qualities, and the wearer of its scabbard could lose no blood.

=223.= "Daïs throne." A throne raised upon an elevated platform or daïs.

=224.= "Avilion." In Celtic mythology, the Land of the Blessed--an earthly paradise in the western seas. All the great heroes of mediæval times, as Arthur and Ogier the Dane, were carried there, where they lived in perfect happiness at the court of Morgan le Fay, the queen of the fairies.

Transcriber's Note

* Line numbers removed from short stories.

* Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired.

* Footnote moved to the end of short story.

* In Table of Contents "Portraits of Authors" page number corrected for Arthur Penrhyn Stanley from "190" to "191".

* Chiusi (K[=e] [=oo]´s[=e]) contains [=oo] representing a "long oo" sound not represented in any charts.

* Text enclosed between equal signs was in bold face in the original (=bold=).

End of Project Gutenberg's School Reading by Grades, by James Baldwin