The Elson Readers Part 5

SEPTEMBER

Helen Hunt Jackson

The goldenrod is yellow; The corn is turning brown; The trees in apple orchards With fruit are bending down.

The gentian's bluest fringes Are curling in the sun; In dusky pods the milkweed Its hidden silk has spun.

The sedges flaunt their harvest In every meadow-nook; And asters by the brookside Make asters in the brook.

From dewy lanes at morning The grapes' sweet odors rise; At noon the roads all flutter With yellow b.u.t.terflies.

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer's best of weather, And autumn's best of cheer.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

Biography. Helen Hunt Jackson (1831-1885) was an American poet and novelist. She was born in Amherst, Ma.s.sachusetts, where her father was a professor in Amherst College, but she spent much of her life in California. She married a banker in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she lived for a few years. Her poems are very beautiful, and "September" and "October's Bright Blue Weather" are especially good pictures of these autumn months. Every child should know these poems by heart.

Discussion. 1. What is meant by the harvest of the sedges? 2. How are the "asters in the brook" made? 3. Which lines in the last stanza tell us what September brings? 4. What things mentioned in this poem have you seen? 5. Read again what is said on pages 19 and 20 about the poet as a magician; what beauty of Nature does the poet show you in the following lines?

"And asters by the brookside Make asters in the brook."

6. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: sedges; flaunt; flutter. 7.

p.r.o.nounce: gentian; dusky.

Phrases for Study: dusky pods, lovely tokens, hidden silk has spun, best of cheer.

OCTOBER'S BRIGHT BLUE WEATHER

Helen Hunt Jackson

O sun and skies and clouds of June And flowers of June together, Ye cannot rival for one hour October's bright blue weather;

When loud the b.u.mblebee makes haste, Belated, thriftless vagrant, And goldenrod is dying fast, And lanes with grapes are fragrant;

When gentians roll their fringes tight, To save them for the morning, And chestnuts fall from satin burs Without a sound of warning;

When on the ground red apples lie In piles like jewels shining, And redder still on old stone walls Are leaves of woodbine twining;

When all the lovely wayside things Their white-winged seeds are sowing, And in the fields, still green and fair, Late aftermaths are growing;

When springs run low, and on the brooks In idle, golden freighting, Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush Of woods, for winter waiting;

When comrades seek sweet country haunt By twos and twos together, And count like misers hour by hour October's bright blue weather.

O sun and skies and flowers of June, Count all your boasts together, Love loveth best of all the year October's bright blue weather.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

For Biography see above.

Discussion. 1. What comparison is made in the first stanza between June and October? 2. Why is the b.u.mblebee described as "loud"? 3.

Compare the description of the goldenrod in this poem with the description of the goldenrod in "September." 4. Compare the description of the apples in this poem with the description of the apples in "September." 5. Find the line that tells why the "gentians roll their fringes tight." 6. What is the color of the woodbine leaves? 7. What are the "wayside things" usually called? 8. What do good comrades like to do in October? 9. Why are we sorry to have October go? 10. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: fragrant; twining; aftermath; haunts. 11. p.r.o.nounce: rival; vagrant; freighting.

Phrases for Study: rival for one hour, hush of woods, belated, thriftless vagrant, count like misers, satin burs, count all your boasts, idle, golden freighting.

NOVEMBER

Alice Cary

The leaves are fading and falling; The winds are rough and wild; The birds have ceased their calling-- But let me tell you, my child,

Though day by day, as it closes, Doth darker and colder grow, The roots of the bright red roses Will keep alive in the snow.

And when the winter is over, The boughs will get new leaves, The quail come back to the clover, And the swallow back to the eaves.

The robin will wear on his bosom A vest that is bright and new, And the loveliest wayside blossom Will shine with the sun and dew.

The leaves today are whirling; The brooks are all dry and dumb-- But let me tell you, my darling, The spring will be sure to come.

There must be rough, cold weather, And winds and rains so wild; Not all good things together Come to us here, my child.

So, when some dear joy loses Its beauteous summer glow, Think how the roots of the roses Are kept alive in the snow.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

Biography. Alice Cary (1820-1871), an American poet, was born in Cincinnati. She and her sister, Phoebe, wrote many beautiful poems and sketches. They removed to New York City and lived together there.

"November" is one of Alice Cary's most widely known poems.

Discussion. 1. What signs of autumn are mentioned in the first stanza?

2. What signs of the coming winter are mentioned in the second stanza?

3. Where have the birds gone? 4. What is meant by the word "here" in line 4, above? 5. Why are the brooks "dry and dumb" in November? 6. Is this true in all parts of the country? 7. What are we told about the spring in "October's Bright Blue Weather"? 8. What will happen when the winter is over? 9. Where does the swallow build his nest? 10. What wonder of Nature, about which you read in A Forward Look, above, does the second stanza tell you? 11. How can the snow help keep the roots alive? 12. In what stanza is this thought repeated? 13. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: fading; quail; eaves.

Phrases for Study: ceased their calling, wayside blossom, vest that is bright, beauteous summer glow.

TODAY