PRONUNCIATION-Ears 22, sud'den-ly 4c, as-sailed' 1f, wil'der-ness le, de-scried' 1, pro-nounced' 1g, pro-claimed' 1g, vic'to-ry 3d, an-oth'er 27a, be-tok'en 4d, tor-ment'or lg, fast'ened 21, were 33. COW-MILKING IN AUSTRALIA. 1. OUR ears were suddenly assailed by a confusion of sounds that startled the quiet wilderness, and made us wonder what could occasion such a furious outcry. 2. Soon we descried a horseman riding with all his might through the trees; now jumping over fallen timber, now ducking his head to avoid the branches, but still, in spite of the danger, urging on his horse at full speed. 3. Presently was heard around the cracking of innumerable whips, making sharp reports like small fire-arms, and a straggling multitude began to encircle us. The tumult increased. The shouts and the cracking of whips drawing nearer and nearer betokened a speedy catastrophe. 4. My companion, Crab, who was always glad of an opportunity to show his contempt for Australia, exclaimed, "Now, sir, you will see how they manage some matters in this beautiful country." 5. Just then a sudden crash of dead boughs and dry bushes at no great distance excited apprehension of danger. Instinctively I turned round, and stood ready with my gun. A mad bull, as it seemed to me, was making right to the spot where we stood. 6. The animal's mouth was covered with foam, its nostrils dilated, its eyes wild, and its tail twisted into that cork-screw figure which indicates mischief. I jumped aside as the creature made a plunge at me, and glad enough was I to escape. 7. "It is a mad cow," said I. "I suppose this climate makes cattle very savage when they are worried." "Wait a little," said Crab, "till you see the end." "What do you want to do with her?" said I to a tall, slim man who had for a moment ceased to crack his whip; "she seems terribly wild." 8. "Wild!" said he, "the brute is always wild; but she is one of my best milch cows; and have her in the stock-yard I will this blessed evening, if I raise all the country for it!" At this moment a general shout in the distance proclaimed that the victory was won, and we set off at a rapid pace for the scene of triumph. 9. There were about thirty people assembled, among whom were one or two women. Some of the men were provided with very strong ropes. I was still puzzled to know the meaning of all these preparations. 10. Presently a man appeared with a tin half-pint measure and a stool with one leg. Then another man advanced, holding a small pole, to the end of which was attached a rope in the form of a large loop. The other part of the rope was held in his other hand in a coil. Climbing over the rails of the stock-yard, which were formed of the solid trunks of enormous trees placed lengthwise, he stood within the space. 11. Without waiting to be attacked, the cow made a ferocious dart at him. The man stepped aside with the utmost coolness and agility, and the animal, missing him, knocked her head against the logs with a force that made the massive pile tremble. This process was repeated several times, to the great amusement of the spectators. 12. "That was a close shot," said one, as the beast made a sudden plunge at her tormentor, tearing off with her horn a portion of his jacket; "she will pin you presently, Jem." "Never fear," said Jem; "a miss is as good as a mile. I will have her yet.” 13. "What are you going to do?" said I; "kill her?" "Kill her!" exclaimed my tall friend; "what! kill the best, the nicest, and most sweet-tempered creature of the whole herd! She is so tame she will almost let you pat her. Only she does not like to be milked; that always puts her out. Now for it, Jemmy! That's the way! Haul in quick! Hold her tight! Now we have her!" 14. The man with the pole had succeeded in throwing the loop over the animal's horns. Two or three men on the outside of the yard seized the rope, and fastened it round the thick stump of a tree. 15. But the cow was not yet milked. She was now standing with her legs firmly planted before her, her neck stretched out, her tongue hanging out of her mouth, and kicking unceasingly with her hind legs. The hind legs were next secured by a loop; and half a dozen men, seizing the end of the rope, held it tight, to prevent her from plunging about. 16. The man with the stool and half-pint measure advanced, speaking soothingly to the cow, and using much ceremony and caution in his approach. Seizing a favorable opportunity, he contrived to squeeze a few drops of milk into the vessel. But the cow, by a sudden plunge, upset those who were holding the heel-rope; and then kicked over man, stool, and vessel. 17. The pride of the men being now aroused, they succeeded in again securing the almost-spent animal. He of the half-pint measure, discarding the stool as a womanly encumbrance, boldly knelt down, and, undaunted by the writhings of his victim, contrived to force from her about half a pint of milk. "Well, sir," said Crab, "did you ever see a cow milked in that way before?" ANONYMOUS. LESSON LVIII. CASE MENT, a portion of a window-sash | HEDGE, a fence made of prickly bushes hung on hinges. GLOOM, darkness, sadness. or shrubs. PRONUNCIATION.-Ere 33, be-gins' 1, list'en-ing 21, blow'ing 12, and 29, robʼin 1c, a gain' 33. LAST WISHES OF A CHILD. 1. "ALL the hedges are in bloom, And the warm west wind is blowing; Let me go where flowers are growing. 2. "Look, my cheek is thin and pale, 3. "Was not that the robin's song, Take me to the meadow-side! 4. "Bear me to the willow-brook - 5. "Faint and fainter grows my breath; 6. Still the hedges are in bloom, And the warm west wind is blowing; Still we sit in silent gloom; O'er her grave the grass is growing. JAMES T. FIELDS. LESSON LIX. HOB'NAILED, set with hobnails, or nails | MORAL-IZE, to make moral reflections. with a thick strong head. IN-DI-VID'U-AL, (Latin in, not, and dividere, to divide,) a single person. A person is called an individual, because one cannot be divided into more per sons. LEG'I-BLE, that may be read, readable. MI-NUTE', very small, of little impor- PEASANT, (from French pays, country,) U'NI-FORM, everywhere the same. PRONUNCIATION.-Vis'i-ble lc, leg'i-ble le, sur'face 1, brok'en 4d, walk'ing 12, chil'dren 11, mi-nute' 16, thith'er 15. In 1. A PEASANT'S cottage stood in the midst of a wide common. As I passed it in the morning the scene around was wrapped in a mantle of the purest snow. This had fallen during the night; and, as the air had been still, it was of uniform depth. Not a footprint as yet had broken its surface; for the peasant had not gone forth. Not even the track of the familiar cat or sentinel dog was visible before the door. 2. I passed on; and, as there was nothing in the scene to fix my attention, I thought no more of it at the time. But as evening approached I was returning to my home, and again I passed the cottage. I now observed that the snow around it was not unbroken, as before; but it was marked by a variety of feet that had been busy during the day in walking hither and thither. 3. There was the impress of the peasant's hobnailed shoe, of the wife's more delicate slipper, of children's feet of two sizes, and then of a cat and a dog; and these footprints seemed to tell what every individual had done. 4. I did not pause to read the minute record of each; but a hasty glance told of the labors of the peasant, and of his visits to a little thatched barn, and of the call which his wife had made upon a neighbor at a little distance. The winding and mazy traces of the children's feet told of the pranks and frolics of young and thoughtless life. 5. The footprints of the cat showed that she had prowled beneath benches and trees and bushes, in search of mice; and the tracks of the dog told of his visits to the road-side to greet the passers-by. 6. I was in a moralizing mood, and found in the scene a meaning which I did not forget. It seemed that each individual, as he stepped upon the carpet of snow, wrote the history of every act, and left it legible to all eyes; and I thought to myself:-were it really so in all our thoughts and actions, how often would the writing be such as we should be glad to efface! 7. And then, again, it occurred to my mind that such a record is actually kept, written in more enduring characters than footprints in the snow! LESSON LX. VOCAL GYMNASTICS. REFER TO CAUTION 3.-The pupil will find the tendency to drop one or more unaccented syllables among the faults which most obstinately beset him. This fault very frequently occurs in words of many syllables, accented on the first or second syllable. (1.) I saw several literary gentlemen there. (2.) They were engaged in an unusually interesting conversation. (3.) I became gradually interested, and paid tolerable attention to every remark. (4.) His residence is in South-Carolina. (5.) Several study arithmetic. (6.) That valuable library is unrivaled for its collection of political treatises. (7.) Numerous travelers corroborate the melancholy particulars of the murderous catastrophe. (8.) The memory of benevolent individuals should be permanent. (9.) The terminating syllables in mountain, fountain, certain, satin, and matin are pronounced alike; but not as in the word Britain. (10.) The Latin scholar did not recollect the nominative case of the singular number. (11.) To enumerate the separate incidents of the awful history would perhaps be tedious. (12.) A fiery temperament will probably elicit similar characteristics. (13.) Curiosity is generally garrulous. |