16. No such sumptuous funeral had ever been seen in the country as that which Madam Esmond Warrington ordained for her father, who would have been the first to smile at that pompous grief. 17. The little lads of Castlewood, almost smothered in black trains and hat-bands, headed the procession and were followed by my Lord Fairfax, from Greenway Court, by his Excellency the Governor of Virginia (with his coach), by the Randolphs, the Careys, the Harrisons, the Washingtons, and many others; for the whole country esteemed the departed gentleman, whose goodness, whose high talents, whose benevolence and unobtrusive urbanity, had earned for him the just respect of his neighbors. 18. When informed of the event, the family of Colonel Esmond's step-son, the Lord Castlewood of Hampshire in England, asked to be at the charges of the marble slab which recorded the names and virtues of his lordship's mother and her husband; and after due time of preparation, the monument was set up, exhibiting the arms and coronet of the Esmonds, supported by a little, chubby group of weeping cherubs, and reciting an epitaph which for once did not tell any falsehoods. DEFINITIONS.-1. Păt-ri-mō'ni-al, inherited from ancestors. 6. Dis-af-feet'ed, discontented. 7. Ob-sẽ qui-oùs, compliant to excess. 12. Black'a-moor, a negro. 17. Ur-băn'i-ty, civility or courtesy of manners, refinement. 18. Ep'i-tǎph (pro. ěp ́i-tăf), an inscription on a monument, in honor or in memory of the dead. NOTES.-2. Roundhead was the epithet applied to the Puritans by the Cavaliers in the time of Charles I. It arose from the practice among the Puritans of cropping their hair peculiarly. 3. Patriarchal. 5. Feudal. The Jewish patriarch, in olden times, and the head of a noble family in Europe, during the Middle Ages, when the "Feudal System," as it is called, existed, both held almost despotic sway, the one over his great number of descendants and relations, and the other over a vast body of sub jects or retainers. Both patriarch and feudal lord were less restricted than the modern king, and the feudal lord especially lived in a state of great magnificence. 15. Proofs. When matter is to be printed, a rough impression of it is taken as soon as the type is set up, and sent to the editor or some other authority for correction. These first sheets are called proofs. His Excellency was the title applied to the governor. VIII. MINOT'S LEDGE. Fitz James O'Brien (b. 1829, d. 1862) was of Irish birth, and came to America in 1852. He has contributed a number of tales and poems to various periodicals, but his writings have never been collected in book form. Mr. O'Brien belonged to the New York Seventh Regiment, and died at Baltimore of a wound received in a cavalry skirmish. 1. LIKE spectral hounds across the sky, The red-eyed light-house lifts its form. The massive tower, and climb and fall, 2. Up in the lonely tower he sits, The keeper of the crimson light: Like some wet ghost that down the air And seeks a shelter anywhere. 3. He prays aloud, the lonely man, For every soul that night at sea, But more than all for that brave boy Who used to gayly climb his knee,Young Charlie, with his chestnut hair, And hazel eyes, and laughing lip. "May Heaven look down," the old man cries, "Upon my son, and on his ship!" 4. While thus with pious heart he prays, She can not hold for one half-hour; 5. On the drenched gallery he stands, A steady crimson wake of light; 6. Out with the hooks! One mighty fling! Oh! his old heart will burst with joy, 7. Still sweep the specters through the sky; The red-eyed light-house lifts its form. Within, there is the peace of God. NOTE.-Minot's Ledge (also called the "Cohasset Rocks") is a dangerous reef in Boston Harbor, eight miles south-east of Boston Light. It has a fixed light of its own, sixty-six feet high. CIX. HAMLET. William Shakespeare (b. 1564, d. 1616), by many regarded as the greatest poet the world has ever produced, was born at Stratford-uponAvon, England. He was married, when very young, to a woman eight years his senior, went to London, was joint proprietor of Blackfriar's Theater in 1589, wrote poems and plays, was an actor, accumulated some property, and retired to Stratford three or four years before his death. He was buried in Stratford church, where a monument has been erected to his memory. This is all that is known of him with any degree of certainty. Shakespeare's works consist chiefly of plays and sonnets. They show a wonderful knowledge of human nature, expressed in language remarkable for its point and beauty. (ACT I, SCENE II. HAMLET alone in a room of the castle. Enter HORATIO, MARCELLUS, and BERNARDO.) Hor. The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever. Ham. Sir, my good friend; I'll change that name with you: And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio?— Marcellus? Ham. I am very glad to see you. [To BER.] Good even, sir. But what, in faith, make you from Wittenberg? Hor. A truant disposition, good my lord. Ham. I would not hear your enemy say so, Nor shall you do mine ear that violence, We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart. Ham. In my mind's eye, Horatio. Hor. My lord, the king your father. Ham. The king my father! Hor. Season your admiration for a while Ham. For God's love, let me hear. |