School Reading by Grades: Sixth Year Part 23

"=Job, The Book of=": One of the books of the Old Testament, the authorship of which is unknown, but has been ascribed to various persons and periods of time. It is doubtless one of the oldest literary productions in our possession, and may be described as a poetic drama, having a didactic purpose. The hero of the book is Job, a man of great wealth and prosperity, who has been suddenly overtaken by misfortune. The great literary merit of the work is recognized by all scholars.

=Johnson, Dr. Samuel=: An eminent English essayist, poet, and lexicographer. Born, 1709; died, 1784. For his biography, see Macaulay's essay on his life and works in "School Reading by Grades--Seventh Year."

=Jonson, Ben=: A celebrated English poet and dramatist. Born, 1573; died, 1637. Among his plays are "Every Man in his Humour" (1598), "Cynthia's Revels" (1600), "The Alchemist" (1610), etc.

=Kingsley, Charles=: An eminent English author and clergyman. See Biographical Notes in "School Reading by Grades--Fifth Year."

"=Lays of Ancient Rome=": A volume of poems written by Lord Macaulay and first published in 1842. It includes "Horatius" (see page 32), "The Battle of Lake Regillus," "Virginia," and "The Prophecy of Capys."

=Lewes= (lu'es), =George Henry=: An English philosophical and miscellaneous writer. Born at London, 1817; died, 1878. He wrote "Seaside Studies" (1858), "Studies in Animal Life" (1862), "Problems of Life and Mind" (1874), and many other works on scientific and philosophical subjects.

=Lincoln, Abraham=: The sixteenth President of the United States. Born in Kentucky, 1809; died at Washington, D. C., 1865. The "Address at Gettysburg" (page 205) is generally conceded to be one of the n.o.blest examples of oratory produced in modern times.

"=Lorna Doone=: a Romance of Exmoor." First published in 1869. See page 64.

"=Mexico, History of the Conquest of=," by William H. Prescott (see page 104), was first published in 1843. Other works relating to the same event are "The Spanish Conquest in America," by Sir Arthur Helps, "The Fair G.o.d" (a romance) by General Lew Wallace.

=Prescott, William Hickling=: An eminent American historian. Born at Salem, Ma.s.s., 1796; died, 1859. His princ.i.p.al works are "History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella" (1838), "Conquest of Mexico" (see note above), "Conquest of Peru" (1847), "History of Philip II" (1858).

=Reade, Charles=: A noted English barrister and novelist. Born in Oxfordshire, 1814; died, 1884. His novels are very numerous, but the best is "The Cloister and the Hearth," from which our selection is taken (page 153). Several of his writings are noted for their strong opposition to social evils.

=Scott, Sir Walter.= See Biographical Notes in "School Reading by Grades--Fifth Year."

=Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn=: An English divine and historian. Born, 1815; died, 1881. He traveled in Egypt and Palestine in 1852-53; wrote "Sinai and Palestine" (1856), "Memorials of Canterbury" (1855), "History of the Jewish Church" (1865), etc.

=Stockton, Frank Richard=: A noted American author and humorist. Born at Philadelphia, 1834. He has written "Rudder Grange," "The Clocks of Rondaine," "Pomona's Travels," "Stories of New Jersey," and many other works, including several books for children.

"=Tales of a Grandfather=": A collection of historical stories, by Sir Walter Scott, first published in four series, 1827-30. See page 66.

=Tennyson, Alfred.= See Biographical Notes in "School Reading by Grades--Fifth Year."

=Tyndall, John=: An eminent British scientist. Born in Ireland, 1820; died in England, 1893. Among his works are "The Forms of Water in Clouds and Rivers" (1873) from which our extract is selected (page 202), "Hours of Exercise in the Alps" (1871), "Fragments of Science"

(1892), and many other works of a similar character.

"=Westward Ho! or the Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh=": A novel by Charles Kingsley, first published in 1855. See page 165.

=Winthrop, Robert Charles=: An American statesman and orator. Born at Boston, 1809; died, 1894. His most famous addresses were delivered at the laying of the corner-stone of the Washington Monument, 1848, and at the completion of the same monument, 1885.

=White, Gilbert=: An English clergyman and naturalist, famous as the author of "Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne" (1789). He was born at Selborne, 1720; died there, 1793.

=Yonge= (yung), =Charlotte Mary=: An English writer and novelist. Born at Otterbourne, 1823. She has written more than a hundred volumes, including, "The Heir of Redclyffe," "Daisy Chain," "Landmarks of History," and "A Book of Golden Deeds," from which the selection beginning on page 208 is taken.

EXPLANATORY NOTES.

=Page 20.= "Straits of Sunda." The pa.s.sage between the islands of Java and Sumatra, leading from the Indian Ocean to the Sea of Java. See a good map of this part of the world.

=25.= "The Return of Columbus." Returning from his first voyage (see "School Reading by Grades--Fourth Year," page 43), Columbus reached Palos, March 15, 1493. The selection here given from Irving describes his triumphal reception a few weeks later at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella at Barcelona.

"Hidalgos." Spanish n.o.blemen of the lower cla.s.s.

=27.= "Las Casas." A Spanish historian, born, 1474; died, 1566. He went to America in 1502, and in 1542 was Bishop of Chiapas in Mexico.

We are indebted to him for some of the earliest trustworthy accounts of the Spanish discoveries. He was the friend and defender of the Indians against their European conquerors.

=28.= "_Te Deum laudamus._" "We praise thee, O G.o.d."

=32.= Tarquin the Proud, or Tarquinius Superbus, reigned, according to the traditional account, from 534 to 509 B.C. The modern name of Clusium is Chiusi (Ke [=oo]'se). It is situated in the province of Siena in Italy, and is famous for its ruins of Etruscan origin.

=33.= "Consul." After the expulsion of the kings from Rome the governing power was vested in two consuls, who were elected annually.

At the time of the story, one of the consuls had been slain in battle with Porsena. Our selection begins with the twenty-sixth stanza of Macaulay's poem.

"Ramnian," belonging to the Ramnes, the first of the three tribes which originally composed the Roman nation. Herminius was a member of the second tribe, or t.i.ties. The third tribe were the Luceres.

=35.= For the places mentioned on this and the following pages, see some good cla.s.sical atlas.

=36.= "She-wolf's litter." A reference to the legend that Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were, when babes, protected and reared by a she-wolf.

=42.= "Fathers." The Roman senators.

=44.= Sir Francis Drake was an English seaman, born about 1540; died, 1596. He was famous for his operations on the sea against the Spaniards of America, and especially for being the first Englishman to circ.u.mnavigate the globe.

=66.= Bannockburn is the name of a small village three miles south of Stirling, in Scotland. Robert Bruce, one of the national heroes of Scotland, was born, 1274; died, 1329. His right to the throne of Scotland was disputed by Edward I. of England, who claimed the suzerainty of that country for himself. The war which resulted from this dispute was continued by Edward II. until he met with the signal defeat here narrated. Bruce's right to the Scottish throne was formally acknowledged by England in 1328.

=89.= "Great stone castles." For a description of the different parts of a Norman castle mentioned in this selection, see the word "Castle"

in Webster's International Dictionary.

=93.= "Conquest." The Norman conquest under Duke William, 1066. See "School Reading by Grades--Fourth Year," page 181.

"Author of 'Ivanhoe.'" Sir Walter Scott. See "Ivanhoe," Chapter VIII.

"Quintain." An upright post, on the top of which turned a cross-piece, having on one end a broad board and on the other a sandbag. The endeavor was to strike the board with the lance while riding under it and get away without being hit by the sandbag.

=96.= "Scriptorium." A room in a monastery where the monks wrote or copied ma.n.u.scripts. See "School Reading by Grades--Fifth Year," page 170.

=100.= "Nathless." Nevertheless.

=104.= Cortes. Hernando Cortes was born in Spain in 1485. In 1504, at the age of nineteen, he sailed for Santo Domingo, where he was received with great favor, and where for several years he held important offices in connection with the government of the new colony.

In 1518 he organized the expedition for the conquest of Mexico. The city was finally captured, after a gallant defense of 77 days, August 13, 1521. Utterly neglected and forsaken in his old age, Cortes died at Seville, in Spain, December 2, 1547.

=106.= "Palanquin" (pal an ken'). An inclosed litter, borne on men's shoulders, for conveying a single person.

=106.= "Cacique" (k[.a] sek'). A chieftain, or n.o.bleman, among the Aztecs or Indians.

=107.= "Panache" (pan [.a]sh'). A plume or bunch of feathers. A military plume.

=109.= "Tenocht.i.tlan" (ten och tet lan'). The Aztec name for their chief city, the site of which is now occupied by the city of Mexico. It was founded about two hundred years before the Spanish conquest, and was built on an island in Tezcuco Lake. The name Mexitl, or Mexico, was also applied to the city, or to a portion of it.

=110.= "Bernal Diaz" (de'ath). A Spanish soldier in the army of Cortes, who afterwards wrote a history of the conquest.