brave boy only ten years old. They were seen floating on a shattered mast when the ship blew up. ROBERT SOUTHEY. DEFINITIONS.-1. Lăn'grage, a kind of shot consisting of bolts, nails, and other pieces of iron fastened together. 3. Sū per fi'cial, not deep. 6. €ō în stan tâ ́ne oùs, happening at the same instant. NOTES. The battle of the Nile was a great naval engagement between the English and the French, near the mouth of the Nile, in which the former were victorious. It was fought August 1, 1798. 1. Horatio Nelson, the commander of the British fleet, England's greatest naval hero, was born at Burnham-Thorpe, in Norfolk, September 29, 1758. He was killed in the battle of Trafalgar, in 1805. 7. The death of Casa-Bianca and his son gave rise to the well-known poem by Mrs. Hemans. Casa-Bianca, after he was mortally wounded, made a heroic defence of his burning ship, which was finally destroyed by a terrific explosion. 77.-THE SKYLARK. JAMES HOGG, generally known by his poetical name of "The Ettrick Shepherd," was born, as he alleged (though the point was often disputed), January 25, 1772, in the district called the Ettrick Forest, Selkirkshire, Scotland. He was perhaps the most creative and imaginative of the uneducated poets. His first literary efforts were in song-writing, and in 1801 he published a small volume of pieces. He soon after made the acquaintance of Sir Walter Scott, and assisted him in the collection of ballads for the Border minstrelsy. In 1813 he published The Queen's Wake, which established his reputation as an author, although Sir Walter had advised him to abstain from his worship of poetry. In most of his songs there is a wild lyrical flow of fancy that is sometimes inexpressibly sweet and musical. He died November 21, 1835. 1. BIRD of the wilderness, Blithesome and cumberless, Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! Blest is thy dwelling-place : Oh to abide in the desert with thee! 3. Love gives it energy, love gave it birth. Where art thou journeying? Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth. O'er fell and fountain sheen, O'er moor and mountain green, O'er the red streamer that heralds the day, Over the rainbow's rim, Musical cherub, soar, singing, away! 4. Then, when the gloaming comes, Sweet will thy welcome and bed of love be; Blest is thy dwelling-place : Oh to abide in the desert with thee! DEFINITIONS.-1. €ŭm ́ber less, without trouble or incumbrance. Măt ́in, morning song. 3. Fell, a barren or stony hill. Sheen, splendor. Cher'ub, an angel. 4. Heath'er, a shrub; the heath. 78.-RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE was born in the county of Devon, October 21, 1772. He was educated at Christ's Hospital, and in 1791 entered Jesus College, at Cambridge. Some of his prose writings were political, but the bulk of them were theological and philosophical. He did not write much poetry, as compared with his contemporaries. Among his best-known poems are Christabel, Hymn before Sunrise in the Vale of Chamouni, Genevieve, Ode to the Departing Year, and his Rime of the Ancient Mariner. No other poet has ever brought forth more beautiful thoughts woven into such fantastic patterns. He manifested his intellectual power more as a talker than as a writer: he used to talk for hours on every conceivable subject, combining in his language wisdom with eloquence. He died July 25, 1834. 1. It is an ancient mariner, And he stoppeth one of three. "By thy long gray beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? 2. "The bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set : 3. He holds him with his skinny hand. "There was a ship—” quoth he. “Hold off! unhand me, graybeard loon!" Eftsoons his hand dropt he. 4. He holds him with his glittering eye; 5. The wedding-guest sat on a stone: 6. "The ship was cheered, the harbor cleared; Merrily did we drop Below the kirk, below the hill, Below the lighthouse top. Out of the sea came he; And he shone bright, and on the right Went down into the sea. 8. "Higher and higher every day, The wedding-guest here beat his breast; 9. The bride hath paced into the hall : Nodding their heads, before her goes 10. The wedding-guest he beat his breast, 11. "And now the storm-blast came, and he He struck with his o'ertaking wings, 12. "With sloping masts and dipping prow, As who, pursued with yell and blow, Still treads the shadow of his foe, And forward bends his head, The ship drove fast; loud roared the blast, 13. "And now there came both mist and snow, And it grew wondrous cold; And ice mast-high came floating by, 14. "The ice was here, the ice was there, It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, 66 15. At length did cross an albatross : Thorough the fog it came; 16. As if it had been a Christian soul, "It ate the food it ne'er had eat, 17. "And a good south wind sprung up behind: And every day, for food or play, 18. "In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white, 19. "God save thee, ancient mariner, From the fiends that plague thee thus ! Why look'st thou so?"-" With my cross-bow I shot the albatross. 66 20. The sun now rose upon Out of the sea came he, the right,- Still hid in mist, and on the left Went down into the sea. |