McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader by William Holmes McGuffey

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ECLECTIC EDUCATIONAL SERIES.

McGUFFEY'S

FIFTH ECLECTIC READER.

REVISED EDITION.

McGuffey Editions and Colophon are Trademarks of

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
New York-Chichester-Weinheim-Brisbane-Singapore-Toronto

Copyright, 1879, by VAN ANTWERP, BRAGG & CO.
Copyright, 1896, by AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY.
Copyright, 1907 and 1920, by H. H. VAIL.
M'G. REV 5TH EC.
EP 310

PREFACE.

The plan of the revision of McGUFFEY'S FIFTH READER is the same as that
pursued in the other books of the REVISED SERIES. The book has been
considerably enlarged, but the new pieces have been added or substituted
only after the most careful consideration, and where the advantages to be
derived were assured.

It has been the object to obtain as wide a range of leading authors as
possible, to present the best specimens of style, to insure interest in
the subjects, to impart valuable information, and to exert a decided and
healthful moral influence. Thus the essential characteristics of
McGUFFEY'S READERS have been carefully kept intact.

The preliminary exercises have been retained, and are amply sufficient for
drill in articulation, inflection, etc. The additional exercises on these
subjects, formerly inserted between the lessons, have been omitted to make
room for other valuable features of the REVISED SERIES.

A full understanding of the text is necessary in order to read it
properly. As all the books of reference required for this purpose are not
within the reach of the majority of pupils, full explanatory notes have
been given, which, it is believed, will add greatly not only to the
interest of the reading lessons, but also to their usefulness from an
instructive point of view.

The definitions of the more difficult words have been given, as formerly;
and the pronunciation has been indicated by diacritical marks, in
conformity with the preceding books of the REVISED SERIES.

Particular attention is invited to the notices of authors. Comparatively
few pupils have the opportunity of making a separate study of English and
American literature, and the carefully prepared notices in the REVISED
SERIES are designed, therefore, to supply as much information in regard to
the leading authors as is possible in the necessarily limited space
assigned. The publishers have desired to illustrate McGUFFEY'S READERS in
a manner worthy of the text and of the high favor in which they are held
throughout the United States. The most celebrated designers and engravers
of the country have been employed for this purpose.

It has been the privilege of the publishers to submit the REVISIED SERIES
to numerous eminent educators in all parts of the country. To the careful
reviews and criticisms of these gentlemen is due, in a large measure, the
present form of McGUFFEY'S READERS. The value of these criticisms, coming
from practical sources of the highest authority, can not well be
overestimated, and the publishers take this occasion to express their
thanks and their indebtedness to all who have thus kindly assisted them in
this work.

Especial acknowledgment is due to Messrs. Houghton, Osgood
& Co. for their permission to make liberal selections from their
copyright editions of many of the foremost American authors
whose works they publish.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTORY MATTER.

SUBJECT.
I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS
II. ARTICULATION
III. INFLECTIONS
IV. ACCENT
V. EMPHASIS
VI. MODULATION
VII. POETIC PAUSES
EXERCISES

SELECTIONS IN PROSE AND POETRY.

TITLE. AUTHOR.
1. The Good Reader
2. The Bluebell
3. The Gentle Hand T. S. Arthur.
4. The Grandfather C. G. Eastman.
5. A Boy on a Farm C. D. Warner.
6. The Singing Lesson Jean Ingelow.
7. Do not Meddle
8. Work Eliza Cook.
9. The Maniac
10. Robin Redbreast W. Allingham.
11. The Fish I Did n't Catch Whittier.
12. It Snows Mrs. S. J. Hale.
13. Respect for the Sabbath Rewarded
14. The Sands o' Dee Charles Kingsley.
15. Select Paragraphs Bible.
16. The Corn Song Whittier.
17. The Venomous Worm John Russell.
18. The Festal Board
19. How to Tell Bad News
20. The Battle of Blenheim Southey.
21. I Pity Them
22. An Elegy on Madam Blaize Goldsmith.
23. King Charles II. and William Penn Mason L. Weems.
24. What I Live For
25. The Righteous Never Forsaken
26. Abou Ben Adhem Leigh Hunt.
27. Lucy Forrester John Wilson.
28. The Reaper and the Flowers. Longfellow.
29. The Town Pump Hawthorne.
30. Good Night Peter Parley.
31. An Old-fashioned Girl Louisa M. Alcott.
32. My Mother's Hands
33. The Discontented Pendulum. Jane Taylor.
34. The Death of the Flowers Bryant.
35. The Thunderstorm Irving.
36. April Day Mrs. C. A. Southey.
37. The Tea Rose
38. The Cataract of Lodore Southey.
39. The Bobolink Irving.
40. Robert of Lincoln Bryant.
41. Rebellion in Massachusetts State Prison J. T. Buckingham.
42. Faithless Nelly Gray Hood.
43. The Generous Russian Peasant Nikolai Karamzin.
44. Forty Years Ago
45. Mrs. Caudle's Lecture Douglas Jerrold.
46. The Village Blacksmith Longfellow.
47. The Relief of Lucknow "London Times."
48. The Snowstorm Thomson.
49. Behind Time
50. The Old Sampler Mrs. M. E. Sangster.
51. The Goodness of God Bible.
52. My Mother
53. The Hour of Prayer Mrs. F. D. Hemans.
54. The Will
55. The Nose and the Eyes Cowper.
56. An Iceberg L. L. Noble.
57. About Quail W. P. Hawes.
58. The Blue and the Gray F. M. Finch.
59. The Machinist's Return Washington "Capital."
60. Make Way for Liberty James Montgomery.
61. The English Skylark Elihu Burritt.
62. How Sleep the Brave William Collins.
63. The Rainbow John Keble.
64. Supposed Speech of John Adams Daniel Webster.
65. The Rising T. R. Read.
66. Control your Temper Dr. John Todd.
67. William Tell Sheridan Knowles.
68. William Tell Sheridan Knowles.
69. The Crazy Engineer
70. The Heritage Lowell.
71. No Excellence without Labor William Wirt.
72. The Old House Clock
73. The Examination. D. P. Thompson.
74. The Isle of Long Ago B. F. Taylor.
75. The Boston Massacre Bancroft.
76. Death of the Beautiful Mrs. E. L. Follen.
77. Snow Falling J. J. Piatt.
78. Squeers's Method Dickens.
79. The Gift of Empty Hands Mrs. S. M. B. Piatt.
80. Capturing the Wild Horse Irving.
81. Sowing and Reaping Adelaide Anne Procter.
82. Taking Comfort Whittier.
83. Calling the Roll Shepherd.
84. Turtle Soup C. F. Briggs.
85. The Best Kind of Revenge
86. The Soldier of the Rhine Mrs. C. E. S. Norton.
87. The Winged Worshipers Charles Sprague.
88. The Peevish Wife Maria Edgeworth.
89. The Rainy Day Longfellow.
90. Break, Break, Break Tennyson.
91. Transportation and Planting of Seeds H. D. Thoreau.
92. Spring Again Mrs. Celia Thaxter.
93. Religion the only Basis of Society W. E. Channing.
94. Rock Me to Sleep Mrs. E. A. Allen.
95. Man and the Inferior Animals Jane Taylor.
96. The Blind Men and the Elephant J. G. Saxe.
97. A Home Scene D. G. Mitchell.
98. The Light of Other Days Moore.
99. A Chase in the English Channel Cooper.
100. Burial of Sir John Moore Charles Wolfe.
101. Little Victories Harriet Martineau.
102. The Character of a Happy Life Sir Henry Wotton.
103. The Art of Discouragement Arthur Helps.
104. The Mariner's Dream William Dimond.
105. The Passenger Pigeon Audubon.
106. The Country Life R. H. Stoddard.
107. The Virginians Thackeray.
108. Minot's Ledge Fitz-James O'Brien.
109. Hamlet. Shakespeare.
110. Dissertation on Roast Pig Charles Lamb.
111. A Pen Picture William Black.
112. The Great Voices C. T. Brooks.
113. A Picture of Human Life Samuel Johnson.
114. A Summer Longing George Arnold.
115. Fate Bret Harte.
116. The Bible the Best of Classics T. S. Grimke.
117. My Mother's Bible G. P. Morris.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

SUBJECT. ARTIST.

The Good Reader H. F. Farny.
The Fish I Did n't Catch H. F. Farny.
The Corn Song E. K. Foote.
I Pity Them. W. L. Sheppard.
The Town Pump Howard Pyle.
Good Night J. A. Knapp.
The Tea Rose C. S. Reinhart.
Forty Years Ago H. Fenn.
The Old Sampler Mary Hallock Foote.
The Old Sampler Mary Hallock Foote.
About Quail Alexander Pope.
The Crazy Engineer H. F. Farny.
Squeers's Method Howard Pyle.
Turtle Soup W. L. Sheppard.
Hamlet Alfred Fredericks.

INTRODUCTION.

1. PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

The great object to be accomplished in reading, as a rhetorical exercise,
is to convey to the hearer, fully and clearly, the ideas and feelings of
the writer.

In order to do this, it is necessary that a selection should be carefully
studied by the pupil before he attempts to read it. In accordance with
this view, a preliminary rule of importance is the following:

RULE 1.--Before attempting to read a lesson, the learner should make
himself fully acquainted with the subject as treated of in that lesson,
and endeavor to make the thought and feeling and sentiments of the writer
his own.

REMARK.--When he has thus identified himself with the author, he has the
substance of all rules in his own mind. It is by going to nature that we
find rules. The child or the savage orator never mistakes in inflection or
emphasis or modulation. The best speakers and readers are those who follow
the impulse of nature, or most closely imitate it as observed in others.

II. ARTICULATION.

Articulation is the utterance of the elementary sounds of a language, and
of their combinations.

An Elementary Sound is a simple, distinct sound made by the organs of
speech.

The Elementary Sounds of the English language are divided into Vocals,
Subvocals, and Aspirates.

ELEMENTARY SOUNDS.--VOCALS.

Vocals are sounds which consist of pure tone only. A diphthong is a union
of two vocals, commencing with one and ending with the other.

DIRECTION.--Put the lips, teeth, tongue, and palate in their proper
position; pronounce the word in the chart forcibly, and with the falling
inflection, several times in succession; then drop the subvocal or
aspirate sounds which precede or follow the vocal, and repeat the vocals
alone.

Table of Vocals.

Long Vocals.
Vocal as in Vocal as in
----- ----- ----- -----
a hate e err
a hare i pine
a far o no
a pass u tube
a fall u burn
e eve oo cool

Short Vocals
Vocal as in Vocal as in
----- ----- ----- -----
a mat o hot
e met u us
i it oo book

Diphthongs.
Vocal as in
------ --------
oi, oy oil, boy
ou, ow out,now

REMARK 1.--In this table, the short sounds, except u, are nearly or quite
the same in quality as certain of the long sounds. The difference consists
chiefly in quantity.

REMARK 2. The vocals are often represented by other letters or
combinations of letters than those used in the table; for instance, a is
represented by ai in hail, ea in steak, etc.

REMARK 3.--As a general rule, the long vocals and the diphthongs should be
articulated with a full, clear utterance; but the short vocals have a
sharp, distinct, and almost explosive utterance.

SUBVOCALS AND ASPIRATES.

Subvocals are those sounds in which the vocalized breath is more or less
obstructed.

Aspirates consist of breath only, modified by the vocal organs.

Words ending with subvocal sounds should be selected for practice on the
subvocals; words beginning or ending with aspirate sounds may be used for
practice on the aspirates. Pronounce these words forcibly and distinctly
several times in succession; then drop the other sounds, and repeat the
subvocals and aspirates alone. Let the class repeat the words and elements
at first in concert, then separately.

Table of Subvocals and Aspirates.
Subvocal as in Subvocal as in
-------- ----- -------- -----
b babe p rap
d bad t at
g nag k book
j judge ch rich
v move f life
th with th Smith
z buzz s hiss
z azure(azh'ure) sh rush

REMARK.--These sixteen sounds make eight pairs of cognates. In
articulating the aspirates, the vocal organs are put in the position
required in the articulation of the corresponding subvocals; but the
breath is expelled with some force without the utterance of any vocal
sound. The pupil should first verify this by experiment, and then practice
on these cognates.

The following subvocals and aspirates have no cognates.

SUBVOCALS.

Subvocal as in Subvocal as in
-------- ----- -------- -----
l mill r rule
m rim r car
n run w win
ng sing y yet

ASPIRATES

Aspirate as in
-------- -----
h hat
wh when

SUBSTITUTES.

Substitutes are characters used to represent sounds ordinarily represented
by other characters.

TABLE OF SUBSTITUTES.

Substitute for as in Substitute for as in
---------- --- ----- ---------- --- -----
a o what y i hymn
e a there c s cite
e a freight c k cap
i e police ch sh machine
i e sir ch k chaos
o u son g j cage
o oo to n ng rink
o oo would s z rose
o a corn s ah sure
o u work x gz examine
u oo pull gh f laugh
u oo rude ph f sylph
y i my qu k pique
qu kw quick

FAULTS TO BE REMEDIED.

DIRECTION.--Give to each sound, to each syllable, and to each word its
full, distinct, and appropriate utterance.

For the purpose of avoiding the more common errors under this head,
observe the following rules:

RULE II.--Avoid the omission of unaccented vowels.

EXAMPLES.

Incorrect Correct Incorrect Correct
--------- ----------- ---------- ---------
Sep'rate sep-a-rate Ev'dent ev-i-dent
met-ric'l met-ric-al mem'ry mem-o-ry
'pear ap-pear 'pin-ion o-pin-ion
com-p'tent com-pe-tent pr'pose pro-pose
pr'cede pre-cede gran'lar gran-u-lar
'spe-cial es-pe-cial par-tic'lar par-tic-u-lar

RULE III.--Avoid sounding incorrectly the unaccented vowels.

EXAMPLES.

Incorrect Correct Incorrect Correct
---------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Sep-er-ate sep-a-rate Mem-er-ry mem-o-ry
met-ric-ul met-ric-al up-pin-ion o-pin-ion
up-pear ap-pear prup-ose pro-pose
com-per-tent com-pe-tent gran-ny-lar gran-u-lar
dum-mand de-mand par-tic-e-lar par-tic-u-lar
ob-stur-nate ob-sti-nate ev-er-dent ev-i-dent

REMARK I.--In correcting errors of this kind in words of more than one
syllable, it is very important to avoid a fault which is the natural
consequence of an effort to articulate correctly. Thus, in endeavoring to
sound correctly the a in met'ric-al, the pupil is very apt to say
met-ric-al'. accenting the last syllable instead of the first.

REMARK 2.--The teacher should bear it in mind that in correcting a fault
there is always danger of erring in the opposite extreme. Properly
speaking, there is no danger of learning to articulate too distinctly, but
there is danger of making the obscure sounds too prominent, and of reading
in a slow, measured, and unnatural manner.

RULE IV.--Utter distinctly the terminating subvocals and aspirates.

EXAMPLES.

Incorrect Correct Incorrect Correct
--------- ------- --------- -------
An' and Mos' mosque
ban' band near-es' near-est
moun' mound wep' wept
mor-nin' morn-ing ob-jec' ob-ject
des' desk sub-jec sub-ject

REMARK 1.--This omission is still more likely to occur when several
consonants come together.

EXAMPLES.

Incorrect Correct Incorrect Correct
--------- -------- --------- ----------
Thrus' thrusts Harms' harm'st
beace beasts wrongs' wrong'st
thinks' thinkst twinkles' twinkl'dst
weps' weptst black'ns black'n'dst

REMARK 2.--In all cases of this kind these sounds are omitted, in the
first instance, merely because they are difficult, and require care and
attention for their utterance, although after a while it becomes a habit.
The only remedy is to devote that care and attention which may be
necessary. There is no other difficulty, unless there should be a defect
in the organs of speech, which is not often the case.

RULE V.--A void blending syllables which belong to different words.

EXAMPLES.

INCORRECT. CORRECT.
---------- ------------
He ga-zdupon. He gazed upon.
Here res tsis sed. Here rests his head.
Whattis sis sname? What is his name?
For ranninstantush. For an instant hush.
Ther ris sa calm, There is a calm.
For tho stha tweep. For those that weep.
God sglorou simage. God's glorious image.

EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION.

This exercise and similar ones will afford valuable aid in training the
organs to a distinct articulation.

Every vice fights against nature.
Folly is never pleased with itself.
Pride, not nature, craves much.
The little tattler tittered at the tempest.
Titus takes the petulant outcasts.
The covetous partner is destitute of fortune.
No one of you knows where the shoe pinches.
What can not be cured must be endured.
You can not catch old birds with chaff.
Never sport with the opinions of others.
The lightnings flashed, the thunders roared.
His hand in mine was fondly clasped.
They cultivated shrubs and plants.
He selected his texts with great care.
His lips grow restless, and his smile is curled half into scorn.
Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness.
O breeze, that waftst me on my way!
Thou boast'st of what should be thy shame.
Life's fitful fever over, he rests well.
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons?
From star to star the living lightnings flash.
And glittering crowns of prostrate seraphim.
That morning, thou that slumber'd'st not before.
Habitual evils change not on a sudden.
Thou waft'd'st the rickety skiffs over the cliffs.
Thou reef'd'st the haggled, shipwrecked sails.
The honest shepherd's catarrh.
The heiress in her dishabille is humorous.
The brave chevalier behaves like a conservative.
The luscious notion of champagne and precious sugar.

III. INFLECTIONS.

Inflections are slides of the voice upward or downward. Of these, there
are two: the rising inflection and the falling inflection.

The Rising Inflection is that in which the voice slides upward, and is
marked thus ('); as,

Did you walk'? Did you walk.

The Falling Inflection is that in which the voice slides downward, and is
marked thus ('); as,

I did not walk'. I did not walk.

Both inflections are exhibited in the following question:

Did you walk' or ride'? walk or ride.

In the following examples, the first member has the rising and the second
member the falling inflection:

EXAMPLES.[1]

Is he sick', or is he well'?
Did you say valor', or value'?
Did you say statute', or statue'?
Did he act properly', or improperly'?

[Footnote 1: These questions and similar ones, with their answers, should
be repeatedly pronounced with their proper inflection, until the
distinction between the rising and falling inflection is well understood
and easily made by the learner. He will be assisted in this by
emphasizing strongly the word which receives the inflection, thus. Did
you RIDE' or did you WALK'?]

In the following examples, the inflections are used in a contrary order,
the first member terminating with the falling and the second with the
rising inflection:

EXAMPLES.

He is well', not sick'.
I said value', not valor'.
I said statue', not statute'.
He acted properly', not improperly'.

FALLING INFLECTIONS.

Rule VI.--The falling inflection is generally proper wherever the sense is
complete.

EXAMPLES.

Truth is more wonderful than fiction'.
Men generally die as they live'.
By industry we obtain wealth'.

REMARK.--Parts of a sentence often make complete sense in themselves, and
in this case, unless qualified or restrained by the succeeding clause, or
unless the contrary is indicated by some other principle, the falling
inflection takes place according to the rule.

EXAMPLES

Truth is wonderful', even more so than fiction'.

Men generally die as they live' and by their actions we must judge of
their character'.

Exception.--When a sentence concludes with a negative clause, or with a
contrast or comparison (called also antithesis), the first member of which
requires the falling inflection, it must close with the rising inflection.
(See Rule XI, and paragraph 2, Note.)

EXAMPLES.

No one desires to be thought a fool'.

I come to bury' Caesar, not to praise' him.

He lives in England' not in France'.

REMARK.--In bearing testimony to the general character of a man we say:

He is too honorable' to be guilty of a vile' act.

But if he is accused of some act of baseness, a contrast is at once
instituted between his character and the specified act, and we change the
inflections, and say:

He is too honorable' to be guilty of such' an act.

A man may say in general terms:

I am too busy' for projects'.

But if he is urged to embark in some particular enterprise, he will
change the inflections, and say:

I am too busy' for projects'.

In such cases, as the falling inflection is required in the former part by
the principle of contrast and emphasis (as will hereafter be more fully
explained), the sentence necessarily closes with the rising inflection.
Sometimes, also, emphasis alone seems to require the rising inflection on
the concluding word. See exception to Rule VII.

(5.-2.)

STRONG EMPHASIS.

RULE VII.--Language which demands strong emphasis generally requires the
falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.
1. Command or urgent entreaty; as,

Begone',
Run' to your houses, fall' upon your knees,
Pray' to the Gods to intermit the plagues.

0, save' me, Hubert' save' me I My eyes are out
Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men.

2. Exclamation, especially when indicating strong emotion; as,

0, ye Gods'! ye Gods'! must I endure all this?

Hark'! Hark'! the horrid sound
Hath raised up his head.

For interrogatory exclamation, see Rule X, Remark.

SERIES OF WORDS OR MEMBERS.

3. A series of words or members, whether in the beginning or middle of a
sentence, if it does not conclude the sentence, is called a commencing
series, and usually requires the rising inflection when not emphatic.

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