The stars of the night Will lend thee their light, “Then, Julia, let me woo thee, And when I shall meet Thy silvery feet, My soul I'll pour into thee." 385 340 The song might or might not have been intended in compliment to the fair Julia, for so I found his partner was called; she, however, was certainly unconscious of any such application, for she never looked at the singer, but kept her eyes cast upon 345 the floor. Her face was suffused, it is true, with a beautiful blush, and there was a gentle heaving of the bosom, but all that was doubtless caused by the exercise of the dance; indeed so great was her indifference, that she amused herself with picking to pieces a choice bouquet of hot-house flowers, and by the time the song was concluded the nosegay lay in ruins on the floor. 350 The party now broke up for the night with the kind-hearted old custom of shaking hands. As I passed through the hall, on my way to my chamber, the dying embers of the Yule clog still sent forth a dusky glow, and had it not been the season 355 when " no spirit dares stir abroad," I should have been half tempted to steal from my room at midnight, and peep whether the fairies might not be at their revels about the hearth. My chamber was in the old part of the mansion, the ponderous furniture of which might have been fabricated in the 360 356. No spirit dares, etc. "Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes, This bird of dawning singeth all night long; Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I. Sc. 1. 359. Ponderous (Lat. pondus, weight, heaviness), very heavy, weighty. 360. Fabricated (Lat. faber, artificer; fabricāre, to frame, build), framed, constructed, built, manufactured. days of the giants. The room was panelled, with cornices of heavy carved work, in which flowers and grotesque faces were strangely intermingled; and a row of black-looking portraits stared mournfully at me from the walls. The bed was of rich though faded damask, with a lofty tester, and stood in a niche 365 opposite a bow-window. I had scarcely got into bed when a strain of music seemed to break forth in the air just below the window. I listened, and found it proceeded from a band, which I concluded to be the waits from some neighboring village. They went round the house, playing under the 370windows. I drew aside the curtains to hear them more distinctly. The moonbeams fell through the upper part of the casement, partially lighting up the antiquated apartment. The sounds, as they receded, became more soft and aerial, and seemed to accord with the quiet and moonlight. I listened 375 and listened they became more and more tender and remote, and, as they gradually died away, my head sank upon the pillow, and I fell asleep. 365. Damask (named from Damascus). Tester (Old Fr. teste, the head), the top covering or canopy of a bed, consisting of some kind of cloth supported by the bedstead. 373. Casement, a window-case, or window-frame; a glazed frame or sash opening on hinges. 374. Aerial (Lat. aer, air), belonging to the air; produced up in the air; seemingly above the earth. SUGGESTIONS OF TOPICS OF INQUIRY. What kind of sketch is this? What seems to be its purpose or design? State their relation to each other. Reproduce Frank Bracebridge's description of his father. What time of year does the sketch describe? What is the "Yule clog"? Who is the most entertaining person in the company? Make a pen portrait of him. Why does he particularly please the squire? Give some account of the dancing. When is Christmas eve? Select what you think to be the finest paragraph in it, and turn each sentence into an exact English equivalent A METHOD OF CLASS EXERCISES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. Every good teacher will have methods and devices of his own for leading his pupils to appreciate an author and admire what is admirable. The following suggestions, or some of them, may be helpful: 1. At the beginning of the daily exercise, or as often as need be, require a statement of — (a) The main object of the author in the whole poem, oration, play, or other production of which to-day's lesson is a part. (b) The object of the author in this particular canto, chapter, act, or other division of the main work. 2. Read or recite from memory (or have the pupils do it) the finest part or parts of the last lesson. The elocutionary talent of the class should be utilized here, so that the author may appear at his best. 3. Require at times (often enough to keep the whole fresh in memory) a résumé of the "argument," story, or succession of topics, up to the present lesson. 4. Let the student read aloud the sentence, paragraph, or lines, now (or previously) assigned. The appointed portion should have some unity. 5. If the passage is fine, let the student interpret exactly the meaning by substituting his own words; explain peculiarities. This paraphrase should often be in writing. 6. Immediate object of the author in these lines? Is this object relevant important? appropriate in this place ? 7. Ingredients (particular thoughts) that make up the passage? Are they in good taste? just? natural? well arranged? sufficient? superfluous ? 8. Point out other merits or defects, anything noteworthy as regards nobleness of principle or sentiment, grace, delicacy, beauty, rhythm, sublimity, wit, wisdom, humor, naiveté, kindness, pathos, energy, concentrated truth, logical force, origin. ality, allusions, kindred passages, principles illustrated, etc, |