Ashur, Assyria; Baal, here used, though incorrectly, for the god of the Assyrians; Gentile, one not a Jew. co'horts, companies or regiments; sheen, glitter; strown, strewed, scattered; dis tor'ted, twisted; wail, cry; unsmote', not smitten or struck. 1. Read the poem through aloud. What do you like about it? 2. Where was the ancient kingdom of Assyria? 3. Where is the Sea of Galilee? 4. Memorize the stanza that you think the finest. 5. Explain the two last lines of the last stanza. 6. To what is the Assyrian army compared in the first stanza? 7. Which stanza gives you an idea of the great numbers in the Assyrian host? Sentence Study. Read the first line of the poem. Which words of that line are necessary to give you the bare idea that the Assyrians advanced? In what way does the comparison, like the wolf on the fold, add to the picture made by the sentence? To what else might the advance of the Assyrians be compared? Fill out the blanks below, making as clear and impressive pictures as possible. The Assyrian came down like The Assyrian came down like What further comparisons are made in this same poem? Read them all aloud. Find as many suitable comparisons as possible for the following: 1. Bozzaris fought like swiftly as like 2. Bad news always travels as 3. O moon! in the night I have seen you shining Word Study: Prefixes. What is the prefix in unlifted, unblown, unsmote? How does this prefix change the meaning of the word? Write sentences containing the following words: unconscious, untrue, unwise, unbecoming, uncommon. Rewrite your sentences, substituting for the printed words the group of words for which they stand. What does the prefix un usually mean? 52 ABOU BEN ADHEM ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase!) "What writest thou?"-The vision raised its head, And with a look made of all sweet accord, Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord." The angel wrote and vanished. The next night -LEIGH HUNT. Ben, in Oriental names, means "son of." ac cord', likeness or agreement; the meaning of the line is not quite clear, but it seems to be that the "look" of the angel was in every way "sweet," or that every part of his appearance agreed with every other part in being sweet. 10 15 Read this poem carefully two or three times, and see if you can find in it the lesson the poet had in mind when he wrote it. Sentence Study. In imperative sentences the subject is often omitted. In which of the following is the subject omitted? Underline it where it does appear. 1. Write me as one that loves his fellow-men. 2. Depart before the prying day grow bold. 3. Do not shoot me, Hiawatha. 4. Be slow to anger. 5. Guide Thou my feet. 6. Look before you leap. 7. Make hay while the sun shines. 53 THE ARAB TO THE PALM If I were a king, O stately tree, In the court of my palace I'd build for thee! With a shaft of silver, burnished bright, And there the poets in thy praise, Should night and morning frame new lays,— But none, O palm, shall equal mine! -BAYARD TAYLOR. ber'yl, mal'a chite, to'paz, chrys'o prase, precious stones.. 1. Who is supposed to be speaking in this poem? 2. Why does the Arab think so much of the palm tree? 3. Why would beryl and malachite be appropriate for the leaves of the tree? 4. Describe in your own words the tree the Arab would like to build. 54 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN AND Jacob dwelt in the land of Canaan. Now Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and 5 could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, “Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my 10 sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf." And his brethren said to him, "Shalt thou indeed reign over us?" And they hated him yet more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven 15 stars made obeisance to me." And he told it to his father and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, "What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to 5 bow down ourselves to the earth?" And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Jacob said unto Joseph, "Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them." And he said to him, "Here am 10 I." And he said to him, "Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again." And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before 15 he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, 'Some evil beast hath devoured him:' and we shall see what 20 will become of his dreams." And Reuben heard it and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, "Let us not kill him." And Reuben said unto them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him;" that he might restore him 25 to his father. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph of his coat, his coat |