Sanders' Union Fourth Reader Part 36

"_The rapids are below you!_"

6. "Ha! ha! we have heard of the rapids; but we are not such fools as to get there. If we go too fast, then we shall up with the helm, and steer to the sh.o.r.e; we will set the mast in the socket, hoist the sail, and speed to the land. Then on, boys; don't be alarmed,--there is no danger."

7. "Young men, ahoy there!"

"What is it?"

"_The rapids are below you!_"

8. "Ha! ha! we will laugh and quaff; all things delight us. What care we for the future! No man ever saw it. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. We will enjoy life while we may,--will catch pleasure as it flies. This is enjoyment; time enough to steer out of danger when we are sailing swiftly with the current."

9 (_ff._) "YOUNG MEN, AHOY!"

"What is it?"

"BEWARE! BEWARE! THE RAPIDS ARE BELOW YOU!"

10. "Now you see the water foaming all around. See how fast you pa.s.s that point! Up with the helm! Now turn! Pull hard! (=) Quick! quick!

quick! pull for your lives! pull till the blood starts from your nostrils, and the veins stand like whip-cords upon your brow! Set the mast in the socket! hoist the sail! (_sl._) Ah! ah! it is too late!

Shrieking, howling, blaspheming; over they go."

11. Thousands go over the rapids of intemperance every year, through _the power of habit_, crying all the while, "_When I find out that it_ [Footnote: Temperate drinking.] _is injuring me, I will give it up!_"

QUESTIONS.--1. Where are the Niagara Falls? 2. How does the water appear just above the Falls? 3. How does it appear farther up? 4. What reply are the young men represented as making, when first told the rapids were below them? 5. What, when told the second time? 6. What must they do, to escape destruction? 7. What is said of _the power of habit?_

LESSON XLI.

BE SOT' TED, stupefied.

BUR LESQU' ED, mocked; derided.

DE FI' ED, set at defiance.

CHER' ISH ED, fostered; encouraged.

STREW' ED, scattered; spread.

LIV' ID, discolored; black and blue.

MIR' ROR ED, reflected, as in a gla.s.s.

RE VEAL' INGS, disclosures.

PLIGHT' ED, pledged.

FOR SWORN', perjured.

STAMP' ED, impressed; fixed deeply.

BLIGHT, blasting disease.

A TONE', make reparation.

PRO CLAIM' ED, openly declared.

LOATHE, detest; abhor.

BEV' ER AGE, drink.

These verses should be read in a firm, half-indignant, yet imploring tone of voice,--except the last verse, which should be expressed in a very decided and impa.s.sioned manner.

THE DRUNKARD'S DAUGHTER.

[Footnote: These beautiful and touching verses were written by a young lady, in reply to a friend who had called her a monomaniac on the subject of temperance.]

1. Go, feel what I have felt, Go, bear what I have borne; Sink 'neath a blow a father dealt, And the cold, proud world's scorn; Thus struggle on from year to year, Thy sole relief,--the scalding tear.

2. Go, weep as I have wept, O'er a loved father's fall, See every cherished promise swept,-- Youth's sweetness turned to gall; Hope's faded flowers strewed all the way That led me up to woman's day.

3. Go, kneel as I have knelt; Implore, beseech, and pray, Strive the besotted heart to melt, The downward course to stay; Be cast with bitter curse aside,-- Thy prayers burlesqued, thy tears defied.

4. Go, stand where I have stood, And see the strong man bow; With gnashing teeth, lips bathed in blood, And cold and livid brow; Go, catch his wandering glance, and see There mirrored, his soul's misery.

5. Go, hear what I have heard,-- The sobs of sad despair, As memory's feeling fount hath stirred, And its revealings there Have told him what he might have been, Had he the drunkard's fate foreseen.

6. Go to my mother's side, And her crushed spirit cheer; Thine own deep anguish hide, Wipe from her cheek the tear; Mark her dimmed eye,--her furrowed brow, The gray that streaks her dark hair now; Her toil-worn frame, her trembling limb, And trace the ruin back to him Whose plighted faith, in early youth, Promised eternal love and truth; But who, forsworn, hath yielded up That promise to the deadly cup, And led her down from love and light, From all that made her pathway bright, And chained her there 'mid want and strife, That lowly thing,--_a drunkard's wife!_ And stamped on childhood's brow so mild, That withering blight, _a drunkard's child!_

7. Go, hear, and see, and feel, and know, All that _my soul_ hath felt and known, Then look upon the wine-cup's glow; See if its brightness can atone; Think if its flavor you will try, If all proclaimed, "_'Tis drink and die!_"

8. Tell me I _hate_ the bowl; _Hate_ is a feeble word: (f.) _I loathe_, ABHOR,--_my very soul_ _With strong disgust is stirred_, Whene'er I see, or hear, or tell, Of the DARK BEVERAGE OF h.e.l.l!!

QUESTIONS.--1. By whom was this poetry written? 2. What circ.u.mstance induced her to write it? 3. What is the meaning of _monomaniac?_ Ans.

One who is deranged in a single faculty of the mind, or with regard to a particular subject, the other faculties being in regular exercise. 4.

What reasons does she a.s.sign for her hatred of alcoholic drink? 5. What does she say of her mother? 6. With what tone of voice should the last verse be read? See page 40, Rule 4. 7. Why are some words and sentences printed in Italics and Capitals? See page 22, Note III.

LESSON XLII.

REC' ORDS, accounts; minutes.

AD VENT' URES, doings; strange occurences.

EN c.u.m' BER, load; clog.

GRAT I FI CA' TION, indulgence.

SCHEME, plan; progress.

DE LIB ER A' TION, thought; consideration.

LUX U RI OUS, pleasure-loving.

EX PE DI' TION, tour; enterprise.

MO ROSE', sour; ill-humored.

RE VOLT' ING, disgusting; abhorrent.

CON TEM' PLATE, consider; think upon.

REL' IC, remains.

IN VES' TI GATE, examine; look into.

AC COM' PLISH ED, effected.

PIC TUR ESQUE', (_pikt yur esk'_)grand; beautiful; picture-like.

THE TWO YOUNG TRAVELERS.

MERRY'S MUSEUM.

1. Horace and Herman, two young men who were friends, set out to travel in distant countries. Before they departed, each had formed a _plan_ of proceeding. Horace determined to give himself up entirely to _pleasure,_--to go wherever his humor might dictate,--and to keep no records of his adventures. In short, he resolved to _enjoy himself_ as much as possible, and, by no means, to enc.u.mber his mind with cares, duties, or troubles of any kind.