14. From his eyes the tears were flowing, Till into the ground it vanished, And the young man saw before him, On the hearth-stone of the wigwam, Where the fire had smoked and smouldered, 15. Thus it was that in the north-land LONGFELLOW. LESSON CLXXXI. BE-LATED, benighted, abroad late at 'FE-ROC I-TY, Savageness, fierceness. PRONUNCIATION.-Be-lat'ed 1, ap-point'ed 1, vi'o-lated 3d, shriek'ing 23, re-newed' 16, list'en-ers 21, stim'u-late 16, fe-roc'i-ty 1, be-tween' 1, pro-fes ́sion-al 1, at-tack' 326. UNCLE DICK AND THE WOLVES. 1. In the early days of the settlement of the southern part of Kentucky there was great trouble with the wolves. The large gray wolves abounded in the heavy forests bordering on Green River. They were particularly abundant in the neighborhood of Henderson, a town on the Ohio, not far below the mouth of Green River. The 2. They destroyed pigs, calves, and sheep, and in mid-winter sometimes became so voracious as to attack human beings. belated traveler in the woods sometimes found himself surrounded by a pack of them. 3. Uncle Dick, a negro servant of one of the Hendersons, was the fiddler of the neighborhood. At weddings, husking-frolics, and dances, Dick's presence was essential. 4. Uncle Dick was fully aware of his own importance, and assumed in consequence a great deal of dignity in his bearing. Before setting out he always dressed himself with the greatest nicety. At the appointed time he was at the place with all the weight of his dignity upon him. Woe to the "darkie" who violated any of the laws of etiquette in his presence! 5. On a certain evening there was to be a grand wedding-festival among the colored gentry on a farm about six miles from Uncle Dick's residence. He was of course called upon to officiate as master of ceremonies. 6. He donned his long-tailed blue coat, having carefully polished the glittering gilt buttons; then raised his immense shirt - collar, which he considered essential to his dignity, and, fiddle in hand, sallied forth alone. The younger folks had set out some time before; but Uncle Dick was not to be hurried out of his dignity. 7. The narrow path led, for the greater part of the way, through a dense forest, which was as wild as when roamed by the Indians. A heavy snow lay on the ground, on which the moon-beams were shining wherever they could force a passage through the trees. 8. The dreary solitude of the way made no impression on the mind of Uncle Dick. He was anxiously hurrying on to reach the scene of operations, having spent a little too much time in polishing his gilt buttons. 9. On he dashed, heedless of the black shadows and hideous nightcries of the deep forest. Wolves were howling around him; but he paid no attention to sounds so common, thinking only of the feet that were waiting his arrival to be set in motion. 10. Soon, however, the howling began to approach nearer than was agreeable. The wolves continued to become more and more noisy, till, to his indescribable horror, he heard them on each side in the crackling bushes. 11. Very soon the woods seemed to the old man to be perfectly alive with the yelling pack. Wolves are cautious about attacking a human being; they usually require some little time to work themselves up to the point. 12. Every few moments a dark object would brush past poor old Dick's legs with a snapping sound like that of a steel trap, while the yelling and crackling increased with terrible rapidity. 13. Dick knew that to run would be instant death, as the cowardly pack would all rush on him the moment he showed fear. His only chance for safety consisted in preserving the utmost coolness. A short distance before him lay some open ground; and he hoped that on reaching this they would leave him, as they do not like to make an attack in such a place. 14. He remembered, too, that in the middle of the open space there stood an old cabin, in which he thought he might be able to find refuge. But now the wolves rushed at him more and more boldly, snapping in closer and closer proximity to his legs. 15. Snap, snap! nearer and nearer! Instinctively he thrust out his fiddle at them—the jarring of the strings made them leap back. Hope returned. He drew his hand violently across the stringstwang, twang! Instantly the wolves sprang back as if he had fired a gun among them. 16. He was now at the edge of the open space. He twanged his fiddle-the wolves recoiled. Dick rushed toward the hut with all his speed, raking the strings more violently at every jump, till they rang again. 17. The astonished wolves paused for a moment on the edge of the open ground, with tails between their legs. But the sight of his flying form renewed their savage instincts. With a loud burst of yells they darted after him at full speed. 18. He reaches the hut just as the jaws of the foremost wolf open to seize him. He rushes in, and the closing door dashes against the nose of the nearest beast. The door is too rickety to keep the enemy out; but Dick has time to push himself through the broken roof and get on the top of the cabin. 19. The wolves were now furious. Rushing into the hut, they jumped and snapped at him, so that Dick almost felt their teeth. It required the greatest activity to keep his legs out of their reach. 20. Notwithstanding his agonizing terror, he had still clung to his fiddle. Now, in desperation, as he was kicking his feet in the air to avoid their steel-like fangs, he drew his bow shrieking across the strings. The yells instantly ceased. 21. Dick continued to make the most frightful spasms of sound, but the wolves could not long endure bad fiddling. Their quiet was of short duration. As soon as the first surprise was over the attack was renewed more furiously than ever. 22. A monstrous head was now thrust up between the boards, of the roof, only a few inches from poor Dick. He gave himself up for lost. But the excess of terror seemed to stimulate him, so that almost of their own accord his fingers began to play Yankee Doodle. 23. Instantly there was complete silence! The silence continued as long as he continued to play; but the moment the music ceased the listeners again became furious, and rushed on with increased ferocity. 24. Uncle Dick's pride as a fiddler was flattered. He entered for a while completely into the spirit of the thing. But never before had he played to an audience so fond of music. They permitted no pause. His enthusiasm began to give way to cold and fatigue. He was tired to death, and almost frozen. 25. What was to be done? There sat the listeners with tongues lolling and ears pricked up, allowing not a moment's pause, but demanding an uninterrupted stream of music. Several weary hours passed, and Uncle Dick was almost exhausted. 26. But all this while the wedding-company had been anxiously expecting their musician. Becoming at last impatient or alarmed, some of them set out in search of him. They found him on the top of the hut, still sawing away for life. The wolves were driven away, and Uncle Dick was relieved from his unwilling efforts to charm listeners who got more music than they paid for. C. W. WEBBER. LESSON CLXXXII. A-GHAST', struck with horror. PAL LID, pale, wan. I'RON-SIDES, a name given to the ship RIV'ET-ED, fastened, fixed. Constitution. LU'RID, gloomy, dismal. MAIN-TRUCK, the small wooden cap at the top of the main-mast. SHROUDS, the large ropes of a ship which extend from the head of the mast to the sides of the vessel. SPAR, a general term for masts, yards,&c. PRONUNCIATION.—Shroud 23, Ma-hon ́′ 26a, quiv'er-ing 36, and 29, a-lone' lf. |