sought for the corpse of Harold among piles of deadand Harold's banner, worked in golden thread and precious stones, lay low, all torn and soiled with blood - and the duke's flag, with three Norman Lions upon it, kept watch 5 over the field. rood, cross; Duke William, leader of the Normans; rallied, recovered their position; adorned, ornamented. Try to picture the two armies facing each other at dawn before the battle. Perhaps you can draw a simple diagram, showing the position of the two armies. Describe the first coming together of the foes. Tell the story of the tall Norman knight. Which army at first seemed to have the advantage? What stratagem did Duke William employ to gain an advantage? Describe the death of Harold. In what way had he shown his bravery? In what way had Duke William shown his? What contrast do you get in the last paragraph? Spelling. Rallied, adorned, representing, pursuing, eager. II. Position of armies (a diagram of the battlefield would help to make this clear). III. The battle: opening of the fight-the Norman knight— Duke William's stratagem-death of Harold. IV. End of the battle: death of Harold-time of day - closing scene. Study the above outline. Make a similar outline for "The Battle of Bunker Hill," after carefully reading an account of that battle in some good history. If possible, make a small map or draw ing, showing the place of battle and position of the armies. You will find that an arrangement of this kind will often assist in your study of history or geography. 60 THE PHOENIX [This strange tale is inserted that you may catch a glimpse of the wonderful things men believed hundreds of years ago in Europe, when travelers were few and all the marvels they told of distant lands readily accepted.] IN Egypt is the city of Heliopolis, — that is to say, the city of the Sun. In that city there is a temple, made round after the shape of the Temple of Jerusalem. The priests of that temple date all their writings from the birth of the bird that is called Phoenix; and there is none 5 but one in all the world. And he cometh to burn himself upon the altar of that temple at the end of each five hundred years, for so long he liveth. And at the five hundred years' end, the priests prepare their altar for him, and put thereupon spices and sulphur and other things 10 that will burn lightly; and then the bird Phoenix cometh and burneth himself to ashes. And the first day next after, men find in the ashes a worm; and the second day next after, men find a bird live and perfect; and the third day next after, he flieth his way. And there are no more 15 birds of that kind in all the world but it alone, and truly that is a great miracle of God. This bird men see often time flying in those countries; and he is not greater than an eagle. And he hath a crest of feathers upon his head more great than the peacock hath; and his neck is yellow; and his beak is colored blue; and his wings are of a 5 purple color, and his tail is barred with green and yellow and red. And he is a full fair bird to look upon against the sun, for he shineth full gloriously and nobly. -JOHN MANDEVILLE: Voyage and Travel. Tell the story of the Phoenix. Describe the appearance of this wonderful bird. Have you ever heard the word used? In what connection? Word Study. Study the homonyms given below, and be able to write them in sentences: lade, to load; laid, put or placed. might, power; mite, anything very small. pail, an open vessel; pale, white. throne, a royal seat; thrown, cast or flung. pair, two things of a kind; pare, to shave off; pear, fruit. Grammar: Case. You have learned that a noun may be used in different ways in the sentence. Sometimes it is the subject, and then you call it the subject noun; sometimes it is the object of a transitive verb; then you call it the object noun. At other times it denotes possession. Again, it may be used after a preposition, as the principal word in a prepositional phrase; and there are still other uses which you have not yet learned. In many languages the different relations which the noun bears. to other words in the sentence are indicated by changes in the ending of the word; thus, a word used as subject of a sentence would have one ending; when used as an object noun it would have a different ending, and so on. The forms which a noun has to show its relation to other words in the sentence are called its cases. Our language formerly changed the endings of its nouns in this way to show case, but the only change we now make for this purpose is when we wish to make the noun denote possession. As you know, bell, to show possession, should be written bell's. We still, however, use the word case in referring to the different relations of the noun to other parts of the sentence. A noun denoting possession is said to be in the possessive case; used as the subject of the sentence, it is in the nominative case; used as the object of a transitive verb, or the principal word in a prepositional phrase, it is in the objective case. In the following sentences, state whether the nouns in heavier type are in the nominative, possessive, or objective case. The city of Heliopolis is in Egypt. The priests of the temple sacrificed animals. The bird's name is Phoenix. The priest's sacrifice is laid on the altar. They prepare the altar for the Phoenix. Write three sentences, one containing a noun in the nominative case, one a noun in the possessive case, and the third a noun in the objective case. 61 PUMPKIN PIE АH! On Thanksgiving Day when from east and from west From north and from south come the pilgrim and guest, When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board The old broken links of affection restored, When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more, 5 And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before, What moistens the lip, and what brightens the eye? JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER: The Pumpkin. Composition. You have spent Thanksgiving with your grandparents at the old homestead in a New England village. Write a letter to a friend who has never kept Thanksgiving in the good oldfashioned way referred to by Whittier. Plan your letter carefully. Who was there? Tell about going to church. Describe the dinner, not forgetting the pumpkin pie. 62 AN AUTUMN FESTIVAL [John Greenleaf Whittier was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1807, in a house which is still standing there, and which was built by his great-great-grandfather, who came to this country in 1638. He spent almost all of his long life in the country, and of all the American poets, he was the one who sang most sweetly about old New England days and about country life. You should read his most famous poem, Snow-Bound, and his Barefoot Boy.] ONCE more the liberal year laughs out Our common mother rests and sings, Like Ruth, among her garnered sheaves; Her lap is full of goodly things, Her brow is bright with autumn leaves. |