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Page 39. 847. hypocrite. Why "sniffling" hypocrite? 854. "Tophet," a place near Jerusalem where idolatrous Jews worshiped and sacrificed their children. It became the symbol of the place of torment in the future life. 860-862. Does sympathy or love ever have such power over degraded natures? 862-865. Are all people who, in some way, see themselves as conscientious as Feathertop was? 868. Show that "medley" is (or is not) the proper word here. 869. protruding. 873. Why a "despairing grin"? 875. rueful. 878. coxcombs, charlatans.

Page 40. 881. in fair repute. 890. sensibilities. 894. vocation.

Read the whole story once more, and tell whether you understand it now better than you did at first, or not. Do you experience greater pleasure than at first? Has the time devoted to careful study of this story been well spent?

COMPOSITIONS

The value of written composition work after the thorough study of a literary selection, is that the student puts into orderly, connected, and unified discourse the thoughts he has acquired in a somewhat irregular way. Without some synthetic process to follow and complete the work of analysis, the thought of the student will remain in a sort of jumble in his mind. Written composition also affords a larger view and a more sustained effort than the oral work of the class recitation; it will help to fix the thought in the memory, and will cultivate the desire for definiteness and accuracy of statement which is the last step in the acquirement of knowledge.

This work should supplement the regular work in composition. The teacher will, of course, give other subjects and suggestions, if those provided here should be unavailable or unsatisfactory. The children should be encouraged to write original stories in which they try to show the force of some idea concerning life, and such work should receive much greater credit than compositions which are nothing more than reproductions, or summaries, or class exercises.

"The Transformation of Feathertop." Write this composition without referring to your text-book. The introduction should be very brief — simply stating what and how Feathertop was made as a INTROD. LESS. IN ENG. LIT. -4

Scarecrow.

Then give the reason why the change was decided upon; then the process of transformation in detail. Without attempting to use the exact words of the author, try to imitate the style and spirit of the original as closely as possible.

"Moral Reflections suggested by Feathertop." You have stated what you consider the chief moral idea of the story; but in your study of the selection, several comments on human life were brought out as auxiliary to the main idea. Bring these together in a well-arranged essay, with a general introduction as to points of interest in the story, and with an appropriate conclusion.

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Feathertop's Wooing." Begin by introducing Feathertop as a fine gentleman, but of flimsy character. Give an account of his visit to Justice Gookin's, and of the ensuing events. Invent a conclusion different from that given in the selection.

"Feathertop's Fate." The student may be able to use Burns's

lines:

"O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us

To see oursels as others see us!"

"Feathertops I have known."

"A Pumpkin Head and What became of It."

"A Broken Idol."

"The Brotherhood of the Empty Skull."

"What Hawthorne knew about Witchcraft." Study the early life of Hawthorne.

These subjects are given merely as examples of what may be done in the way of composition. The student should be encouraged to work along original lines. The teacher can suggest other topics for composition work.

SELLA

HEAR now a legend of the days of old
The days when there were goodly marvels yet,
When man to man gave willing faith, and loved
A tale the better that 'twas wild and strange.
Beside a pleasant dwelling ran a brook
Scudding along a narrow channel, paved
With green and yellow pebbles; yet full clear
Its waters were, and colorless and cool,

As fresh from granite rocks. A maiden oft
Stood at the open window, leaning out,
And listening to the sound the water made,
A sweet eternal murmur, still the same,
And not the same; and oft, as spring came on,
She gathered violets from its fresh moist bank,
To place within her bower, and when the herbs
Of summer drooped beneath the midday sun,
She sat within the shade of a great rock,
Dreamily listening to the streamlet's song.

Ripe were the maiden's years; her stature showed
Womanly beauty, and her clear, calm eye
Was bright with venturous spirit, yet her face
Was passionless, like those by sculptor graved
For niches in a temple. Lovers oft

Had wooed her, but she only laughed at love,
And wondered at the silly things they said.'
'Twas her delight to wander where wild vines
O'erhang the river's brim, to climb the path

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Of woodland streamlet to its mountain springs,
To sit by gleaming wells and mark below
The image of the rushes on its edge,

And, deep beyond, the trailing clouds that slid
Across the fair blue space. No little fount
Stole forth from hanging rock, or in the side
Of hollow dell, or under roots of oak;
No rill came trickling, with a stripe of green,
Down the bare hill, that to this maiden's eye
Was not familiar. Often did the banks
Of river or of sylvan lakelet hear

The dip of oars with which the maiden rowed
Her shallop, pushing ever from the prow

A crowd of long, light ripples toward the shore.
Two brothers had the maiden, and she thought,
Within herself: "I would I were like them;
For then I might go forth alone, to trace
The mighty rivers downward to the sea,
And upward to the brooks that, through the year,
Prattle to the cool valleys. I would know
What races drink their waters; how their chiefs
Bear rule, and how men worship there, and how
They build, and to what quaint device they frame,
Where sea and river meet, their stately ships;
What flowers are in their gardens, and what trees
Bear fruit within their orchards; in what garb
Their bowmen meet on holidays, and how
Their maidens bind the waist and braid the hair.
Here, on these hills, my father's house o'erlooks
Broad pastures grazed by flocks and herds, but there
I hear they sprinkle the great plains with corn
And watch its springing up, and when the green
Is changed to gold, they cut the stems and bring

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