Reading Made Easy for Foreigners Third Reader by John L. Huelshof

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In her childhood she had two dogs and a goat for pets, and later on
kept a sheep in her Parisian apartment. Still later, when she had
become a distinguished woman, her studio included a farmyard.

Her animal paintings are so real and life-like that a study of the
faces of all the horses in that wonderful picture, "The Horse Fair,"
will reveal distinctly different expressions in each face.

Although most simple in her personal habits and in her life, Rosa
Bonheur was the greatest woman artist that ever lived.

"The Horse Fair," Rosa Bonheur's most famous painting, was bought by an
American gentleman and presented by him to the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, in New York.

LESSON XII

ALEXANDER AND THE ROBBER

_Alexander_--What! art thou that Thracian robber, of whose exploits I
have heard so much?

_Robber_--I am a Thracian, and a soldier.

_Alexander_--A soldier!--a thief, a plunderer, an assassin, the pest of
the country; but I must detest and punish thy crimes.

_Robber_--What have I done of which you can complain?

_Alexander_--Hast thou not set at defiance my authority, violated the
public peace and passed thy life in injuring the persons and properties
of thy fellow-subjects?

_Robber_--Alexander, I am your captive. I must hear what you please to
say, and endure what you please to inflict. But my soul is
unconquered; and if I reply at all to your reproaches, I will reply
like a free man.

_Alexander_--Speak freely. Far be it from me to take advantage of my
power, to silence those with whom I deign to converse.

_Robber_--I must, then, answer your question by another. How have you
passed your life?

_Alexander_--Like a hero. Ask Fame, and she will tell you. Among the
brave, the bravest; among sovereigns, the noblest; among conquerors,
the mightiest.

_Robber_--And does not Fame speak of me too? Was there ever a bolder
captain of a more valiant band? Was there ever--but I scorn to boast.
You yourself know that I have not been easily subdued.

_Alexander_--Still, what are you but a robber,--a base, dishonest
robber?

_Robber_--And what is a conqueror? Have not you too gone about the
earth like an evil genius, plundering, killing without law, without
justice, merely to gratify your thirst for dominion? What I have done
in a single province with a hundred followers, you have done to whole
nations with a hundred thousand. What; then, is the difference, but
that you were born a king, and I a private man; you have been able to
become a mightier robber than I.

_Alexander_--But if I have taken like a king, I have given like a king.
If I have overthrown empires, I have founded greater. I have cherished
arts, commerce, and philosophy.

_Robber_--I too have freely given to the poor what I took from the
rich. I know, indeed, very little of the philosophy you speak of, but
I believe neither you nor I shall ever atone to the world for the
mischief we have done it.

_Alexander_--Leave me. Take off his chains, and use him well. Are we,
then, so much alike? Alexander like a robber? Let me reflect.

LESSON XIII

THE AMERICAN INDIAN

Not many generations ago, where you now sit, surrounded with all that
makes life happy, the rank thistle nodded in the wind, and the wild fox
dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another race of beings.
Beneath the same sun that rolls over your heads, the Indian hunter
pursued the panting deer; he gazed on the same moon that smiles for
you, and here too the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate.

Here the wigwam blaze beamed on the tender and helpless, the council
fire glared on the wise and daring. Here they warred; and when the
strife was over, here curled the smoke of peace.

Here, too, they worshiped; and from many a dark bosom went up a pure
prayer to the Great Spirit. He had written His laws for them, not on
tables of stone, but He had traced them on the tables of their hearts.
The poor child of nature knew not the God of revelation, but the God of
the Universe he acknowledged in everything around.

He beheld Him in the star that sunk in beauty behind his lonely
dwelling; in the flower that swayed in the morning breeze; in the lofty
trees as well as in the worm that crawled at his feet.

All this has passed away. Four hundred years have changed the face of
this great continent, and this peculiar race has been well-nigh blotted
out. Art has taken the place of simple nature, and civilization has
been too strong for the savage tribes of the red man.

Here and there a few Indians remain; but these are merely the degraded
offspring of this once noble race of men.

SELECTION XI

MY FATHERLAND

There is a land, of every land the pride,
Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside,
Where brighter suns dispense serener light,
And milder moons imparadise the night.
O land of beauty, virtue, valor, truth,
Time-tutored age, and love-exalted youth!
The wandering mariner, whose eye explores
The wealthiest isles, the most enchanting shores,
Views not a realm so bountiful and fair,
Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air.
In every clime, the magnet of his soul,
Touched by remembrance, trembles to that pole;
For, in this land of Heaven's peculiar race,
The heritage of nature's noblest grace,
There is a spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest,
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
His sword and scepter, pageantry and pride,
While, in his softened looks, benignly blend
The sire, the son, the husband, brother, friend.
Here woman reigns; the mother, daughter, wife,
Strew with fresh flowers the narrow way of life;
In the clear heaven of her delightful eye,
An angel guard of love and graces lie;
Around her knees domestic duties meet,
And fireside pleasures gambol at her feet.
"Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found?"
Art thou a man?--a patriot?--look round;
Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,
That land thy country, and that spot thy home.

_James Montgomery_.

LESSON XXIX

THE SUN

How far away from us is the sun? Are we to answer just as we think, or
just as we know? On a fine summer day, when we can see him clearly, it
looks as if a short trip in a balloon might take us to his throne in
the sky, yet we know--because the astronomers tell us so--that he is
more than ninety-one millions of miles distant from our earth.

Ninety-one millions of miles! It is not easy even to imagine this
distance; but let us fancy ourselves in an express-train going sixty
miles an hour without making a single stop. At that flying rate we
could travel from the earth to the sun in one hundred and seventy-one
years,--that is, if we had a road to run on and time to spare for the
journey.

Arriving at the palace of the sun, we might then have some idea of his
size. A learned Greek who lived more than two thousand years ago
thought the sun about as large as the Peloponnesus; if he had lived in
our country, he might have said, "About as large as Massachusetts."

As large as their peninsula! The other Greeks laughed at him for
believing that the shining ball was so vast. How astonished they would
have been--yes, and the wise man too--if they had been told that the
brilliant lord of the day was more than a million times as large as the
whole world!

LESSON XXX

IVORY

How many articles are made of ivory! Here is a polished knife-handle,
and there a strangely-carved paper-cutter. In the same shop may be
found albums and prayer-books with ivory covers; and, not far away,
penholders, curious toys, and parasol-handles, all made of the glossy
white material.

Where ivory is abundant, chairs of state, and even thrones are made of
it; and in Russia, in the palaces of the great, floors inlaid with
ivory help to beautify the grand apartments. One African sultan has a
whole fence of elephants' tusks around his royal residence; the
residence itself is straw-roofed and barbarous enough, both in design
and in structure. Yet imagine that ivory fence!

The elephants slain in Africa and India in the course of a year could
not furnish half the ivory used in the great markets of the world
during that time. Vienna, Paris, London and St. Petersburg keep the
elephant-hunters busy, yet it is impossible for them to satisfy all the
demands made upon them, and the ivory-diggers must be called upon to
add to the supply.

Every spring, when the ice begins to thaw, new mines or deposits of
fossil ivory--a perfect treasure of mammoths' tusks--are discovered in
the marsh-lands of Eastern Siberia. There are no mammoths now--unless
we call elephants by that name; yet their remains have been found upon
both continents. In the year 1799, the perfect skeleton of one of
these animals was found in an ice-bank near the mouth of a Siberian
river. As the vast ice-field thawed, the remains of the huge animal
came to light.

The traders who search for mammoths' tusks around the Arctic coasts of
Asia make every effort to send off, each year, at least fifty thousand
pounds of fossil ivory to the west along the great caravan road. So
great is the demand, however, that this quantity, added to that sent by
the elephant-hunters, is not large enough to make ivory cheap in trade
or in manufacture.

SELECTION XII

WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE

Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protect it now.
'Twas my forefather's hand
That placed it near his cot:
There, woodman, let it stand;
Thy ax shall harm it not.

That old familiar tree,
Whose glory and renown
Are spread o'er land and sea,--
And wouldst thou hew it down?
Woodman, forbear thy stroke!
Cut not its earthbound ties!
Oh, spare that aged oak,
Now towering to the skies!

When but an idle boy
I sought its grateful shade;
In all their gushing joy,
Here, too, my sisters played.
My mother kissed me here,
My father pressed my hand:
Forgive this foolish tear,
But let that old oak stand.

My heart-strings round thee cling,
Close as thy bark, old friend;
Here shall the wild bird sing,
And still thy branches bend.
Old tree, the storm still brave!
And, woodman, leave the spot!
While I've a hand to save,
Thy ax shall harm it not.

_George P. Morris_.

LESSON XXXI

FLOWERS

He who cannot appreciate floral beauty is to be pitied, like any other
man who is born imperfect. It is a misfortune not unlike blindness.
But men who reject flowers as effeminate and unworthy of manhood reveal
a positive coarseness.

Many persons lose all enjoyment of many flowers by indulging false
associations. There are some who think that no weed can be of interest
as a flower. But all flowers are weeds where they grow wild and in
abundance; and somewhere our rarest flowers are somebody's commonest.

And generally there is a disposition to undervalue common flowers.
There are few that will trouble themselves to examine minutely a
blossom that they have often seen and neglected; and yet if they would
question such flowers and commune with them, they would often be
surprised to find extreme beauty where it had long been overlooked.

It is not impertinent to offer flowers to a stranger. The poorest
child can proffer them to the richest. A hundred persons turned into a
meadow full of flowers would be drawn together in a transient
brotherhood.

It is affecting to see how serviceable flowers often are to the
necessities of the poor. If they bring their little floral gift to
you, it cannot but touch your heart to think that their grateful
affection longed to express itself as much as yours.

You have books, or gems, or services that you can render as you will.
The poor can give but little and can do but little. Were it not for
flowers, they would be shut out from those exquisite pleasures which
spring from such gifts. I never take one from a child, or from the
poor, without thanking God, in their behalf, for flowers.

CHARACTERISTIC OF HEROISM

The characteristic of heroism is its persistency. All men have
wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have
chosen your part, abide by it, and do not weakly try to reconcile
yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the
common the heroic.

_R. W. Emerson_.

LESSON XVIII

BEHAVIOR

There is always a best way of doing everything, if it be to open a
book. Manners are the happy ways of doing things. They form at last a
rich varnish, with which the routine of life is washed, and its details
adorned. Manners are very communicable; men catch them from each other.

The power of manners is incessant,--an element as unconcealable as
fire. The nobility cannot in any country be disguised, and no more in
a republic or a democracy than in a kingdom. No man can resist their
influence. There are certain manners which are learned in good
society, and if a person have them, he or she must be considered, and
is everywhere welcome, though without beauty, or wealth, or genius.
Give a boy address and accomplishments, and you give him the mastery of
palaces and fortune wherever he goes.

Bad behavior the laws cannot reach. Society is infested with rude,
restless, and frivolous persons who prey upon the rest. Bad manners
are social inflictions which the magistrate cannot cure or defend you
from, and which must be intrusted to the restraining force of custom.
Familiar rules of behavior should be impressed on young people in their
school-days.

LESSON XIX

ESSENCE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

1. Congress must meet at least once a year.

(Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.)

2. One State cannot undo the acts of another.

3. Congress may admit any number of new States.

4. One State must respect the laws and legal decisions of another.

5. Every citizen is guaranteed a speedy trial by jury.

6. Congress cannot pass a law to punish a crime already committed.

7. Bills of revenue can originate only in the House of Representatives.

8. A person committing a crime in one State cannot find refuge in
another.

9. The Constitution forbids excessive bail or cruel punishment.

10. Treaties with foreign countries are made by the President and
ratified by the Senate.

11. Writing alone does not constitute treason against the United
States. There must be an overt act.

12. An Act of Congress cannot become law over the vote of the President
except by a two-thirds vote of both Houses.

13. The Territories each send one delegate to Congress, who has the
right to debate, but not the right to vote.

14. An officer of the Government cannot accept any title of nobility,
order or gift without the permission of Congress.

15. Only a natural-born citizen of the United States can become
President or Vice-President of the United States.

SELECTION VIII

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

1. Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

2. On that shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner; oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

3. And where are the foes who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war, and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

4. Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust";
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

_Francis Scott Key_.

USEFUL INFORMATION

To obtain a good knowledge of pronunciation, it is advisable for the
reader to listen to the examples given by educated persons. We learn
the pronunciation of words, to a great extent, by imitation. It must
never be forgotten, however, that the dictionary alone can give us
absolute certainty in doubtful cases.

"If the riches of the Indies," says Fenelon, "or the crowns of all the
kingdoms of the world, were laid at my feet in exchange for my love for
reading, I would despise them all."

That writer does the most good who gives his reader the greatest amount
of knowledge and takes from him the least time. A tremendous thought
may be packed into a small compass, and as solid as a cannon ball.

"Read much, but not many works," is the advice of a great writer.

LESSON XX

THE ART OF OBSERVATION

The Indian trapper is a man of close observation, quick perception and
prompt action. As he goes along, nothing escapes him. Often not
another step is taken until some mystery that presents itself is fairly
solved. He will stand for hours in succession to account for certain
signs, and he may even spend days and weeks upon that same mystery
until he solves it.

I rode once several hundred miles in the company of such an experienced
trailer, and asked him many questions about his art. Near the bank of
a small river in Dakota we crossed the track of a pony. The guide
followed the track for some distance and then said: "It is a stray
black horse, with a long bushy tail, nearly starved to death; it has a
broken hoof on the left fore foot and goes very lame; he has passed
here early this morning."

I could scarcely believe what was said, and asked for an explanation.
The trailer replied: "It is a stray horse, because he did not go in a
straight line; his tail is long, for he dragged it over the ground; in
brushing against a bush he left some of his black hair; he is very
hungry, because he nipped at the dry weeds which horses seldom eat; the
break of his left fore foot can be seen in its track, and the slight
impression of the one foot shows that he is lame. The tracks are as
yet fresh, and that shows that he passed only this morning, when the
earth was soft."

In this manner the whole story was accounted for, and late in the
afternoon we really did come across a riderless horse of that
description wandering aimlessly in the prairies.

SELECTION IX

THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL

He lay upon his dying bed,
His eye was growing dim,
When, with a feeble voice, he called
His weeping son to him:
"Weep not, my boy," the veteran said,
"I bow to Heaven's high will;
But quickly from yon antlers bring
The sword of Bunker Hill."

The sword was brought; the soldier's eye
Lit with a sudden flame;
And, as he grasped the ancient blade,
He murmured Warren's name;
Then said: "My boy, I leave you gold,
But what is richer still,
I leave you,--mark me, mark me, now,--
The sword of Bunker Hill.

"'Twas on that dread immortal day,
I dared the Britons' band;
A captain raised his blade on me,
I tore it from his hand;
And while the glorious battle raged,
It lightened Freedom's will;
For, boy, the God of Freedom blessed
The sword of Bunker Hill.

"Oh, keep this sword,"--his accents broke,--
A smile--and he was dead;
But his wrinkled hand still grasped the blade,
Upon the dying bed.
The son remains, the sword remains,
Its glory growing still,
And eighty millions bless the sire
And sword of Bunker Hill.

_William R. Wallace_.

The battle of Bunker Hill was fought on the 17th of June, 1775, in
Charlestown, Massachusetts. The Americans, after having twice repulsed
double their number of the English, were compelled to retreat for want
of ammunition. This was the first actual battle of the Revolutionary
War.

NOTE:--Joseph Warren, a distinguished American general and patriot,
born in Massachusetts in 1741, graduated at Harvard College in 1759.
He was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.

LESSON XXI

LETTERS

_Notes of Invitation_.

FORMAL NOTE.

March 8, 1909.

_Mr. Joseph H. Curtis_:--

The pupils of Class A, Public School No. -- most cordially invite Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph H. Curtis to attend the Closing Exercises to be held in
the school on Thursday evening, March eleventh, at eight o'clock.

INFORMAL NOTE.

February 2, 1909.

_My dear Mr. Curtis_:--

May we have the pleasure of your company at dinner Tuesday evening,
February ninth, at seven o'clock?

Sincerely yours,

CHARLES STORY.

406 Elm Street.

INFORMAL REPLY TO ABOVE INVITATION.

February 4, 1909.

My dear Mr. Story:--

I thank you for your kind invitation to dine with you Tuesday evening,
but a previous business engagement makes it impossible for me to be
present. I am very sorry.

Cordially yours,

HENRY CURTIS.

215 Cedar Street.

FORMAL NOTE.

Mr. and Mrs. George H. Baldwin request the pleasure of the company of
Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Gray on Thursday evening, March fourth, at eight
o'clock.

315 Madison Avenue.

FORMAL REPLY TO ABOVE INVITATION.

Mr. Henry S. Gray regrets that he is unable to accept the invitation of
Mr. and Mrs. George H. Baldwin for Thursday evening, at eight o'clock.

506 Myrtle Avenue.

INFORMAL LETTER.

ROCHESTER, N. Y., March 1, 1909.

My dear Friend:--

I arrived here yesterday afternoon in the best of spirits. I am
staying here at a nice, quiet hotel, and expect to remain here for the
next few days. Rochester is so different from the great Metropolis.
This morning I went to see the University and some other public
buildings. I am delighted with my trip. From here I intend to proceed
to Buffalo and to Niagara Falls. From there I shall write you a much
longer letter.

Please give my kindest regards to all the family.

Cordially yours,

HENRY FIELD.

LESSON XXII

REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES

The rapid settlement and improvement of many parts of our country have
been greatly aided by the invention of various kinds of machinery. The
work of many hands can now be done by one machine, and thus a great
saving of human labor is effected.

In former times, the crops of wheat and oats, rye and barley, were
gathered with a sickle; the grain was thrashed with a flail; the grass
in the meadows was cut with a scythe. But, now, all this is changed;
on the great prairies of the West, the wheat, rye and oats are cut by
the reaper, and with a steady hum the thrashing-machine does its work
of cleaning the grain.

The scythe has given place to the mowing machine, and the sickle and
flail have been laid away as relics of other times. Thus the machinery
invented by the genius and skill of man, not only lightens the labor of
the farmer, but it performs the work which formerly required the united
effort of many men. Many foreign countries send to the United States
for mowers and reapers, because it is here these machines have reached
their highest perfection.

LESSON XXIII

ALI BABA

Ali Baba was a poor Persian wood carrier, who accidentally learned the
magic words "_Open Sesame_," "_Shut Sesame_," by which he gained
entrance into a vast cavern, in which forty thieves had stored their
stolen treasures. He made himself rich by plundering these stores of
wealth, and through the cunning of Morgiana, his female slave, Ali Baba
succeeded in destroying the whole band of thieves. He then gave
Morgiana her freedom and married her to his own son.

LESSON XXIV

BIRDS

In the United States there are a great many birds. Many of them live
in the woods; others are found in the fields. Some are seen in the
gardens, and a few are kept in our houses. The eagle builds her nest
upon the highest rock, while the wren forms her snug and tiny nest in
the way-side hedge. The swallow plasters her nest upon the gable of
the house or under the eaves of the barn. Out in the wheat-field we
hear the whistle of the quail. The noise of the ducks and geese comes
to us from the pond. The birds of prey dart downward through the air.
Everywhere we find the birds.

In autumn the migratory birds leave us, but they return in the spring.
Even in March we hear the call of the robin. At the same time the bold
and saucy blue-jay pays us his first visit. One hears the sweet songs
of the birds from May until October. Some of them remain with us
during the winter.

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