natives from all the country round came to sell their products. Here could be seen for sale foods, cloths of many colors, jewels, tools, weapons, mats, dyes, pottery, drugs, and many other things.

About the market places and the temple were built the houses of the people. Sometimes one house was large enough to shelter two hundred families. These houses were built of stone, and covered with a kind of shining, white cement which glistened in the hot Mexican sun. In the middle of each house was a large yard, around which the walls and the rooms were built. In the yard grew tropical flowers and plants. Flowers were also grown on the flat roofs of the houses, and the people often sat there in the cool evenings. The walls and ceilings of the houses were decorated with beautiful pictures, called tapestries, which were made by weaving together the feathers of birds of all colors.

Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs, was one of the richest rulers in history. How much gold and silver he had no one really knew. Stories of his wondrous wealth, and of the marvelous city in which he lived, were told to a young man named Hernando Cortés. Cortés was a Spaniard who came from Spain to Cuba, in search of adventure. When he heard these stories about the great wealth and other wonderful things to be found in Mexico, he decided to gather a band of followers and invade the country. How he carried out his plan, and became master of Montezuma's kingdom, reads like a tale in a book of the most exciting adventure.

In a short talk give this account of Cortés and the Aztecs. Let the outline on the next page help you remember the details as you study the description.

The Aztecs.

Time, country, and name of the king.
The capital of his kingdom.

Who the Aztecs were.

Their wealth.

Their clothes.

Their jewels.

Mexico, the golden city.

The temple.
Courtyard.

Pyramids.

Gods.

The market places.

The houses of the people.

Size.

Material.

Yard.

Flowers.

Walls and ceilings.

Montezuma the rich.

Amount of wealth.

Cortés the adventurer.

When you have told the story to yourself once, read the account in your book and try again, following this outline:

The Aztecs.
Origin.

Description of the people.

Mexico, the golden city.

The temple.

The market places.

The houses.

Montezuma the rich.

Having finished this satisfactorily to yourself, read the account once more, and find in each paragraph, as you did in the story of Ginger, the sentence that gives the thought around which the remainder of the paragraph centers. Copy these sentences and use them as an outline in telling the story to yourself once more.

Select such descriptive words and expressions as are particularly appropriate in this account; as, mighty, gayly colored. Try to use these in your reproduction.

You are now ready to tell the story to the class. Remember to stand firmly on both feet, to look at your class, to make your sentences clear, and above all to talk as if you had something interesting to tell.

52. A LANGUAGE LESSON

General Lee

In a short time General Lee was elected president of Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, at Lexington, Virginia. Many offers of help came to him at this time, but he declined them all. Other offers came to him to engage in business and make a fortune. These he also refused, preferring his quiet duties as a college president.

General Lee died in Lexington in 1870. A monument to the memory of this great man has been erected in Richmond, and likewise one in Lexington. Since the close of the Civil War, General Lee's fame as a noble man and a great soldier has grown steadily.

From Stories of Heroism, by WILLIAM H. MACE

In the preceding paragraphs, find and write a title of honor, the names of two schools, the name of a city followed by the name of a state. Find and learn to write the name of a great event.

Find how commas are used in the two paragraphs. Study these words for spelling: elected, declined, engage, business, fortune, preferring, quiet, monument, steadily.

Be ready to write the account from dictation. Afterward correct all errors by comparing your work with the book, and record the results under the following headings:

The group of words, in the battle, is made up of the preposition "in," the object of the preposition, "battle," and the word that modifies "battle," "the." The group of words, at the lake, is made up of the preposition "at," the object of the preposition, "lake," and the modifier of "lake," "the."

In the battle is called a prepositional phrase because it is made up of a preposition, “in," and its object, "battle.”

a. At the lake is called a prepositional phrase. Why?

b. Tell why each of the groups of words at the beginning of the lesson is a prepositional phrase.

c. Copy the following sentences. Draw a line under each preposition (12). Draw two lines underthe object of each preposition (12). Put parentheses around the prepositional phrases as in the first sentence (12).

1. The gray cat jumped (at the little bird) (in the cage).

2. James read a story to me.

3. She bought the candy in the store at the corner.
4. We looked at the pictures in the story book.
5. The tiger in the circus growled at us.

6. They carried the frog to the lake.

7. We read it in the story at school.

8. I saw him in the pew at church.

9. She has just come in.

d. Make a list of the pronouns (10).

e. Tell, in writing, the part of speech of “in” in sentence 9. Read the sentence first.

54. PREPOSITIONS

a. Find the complete predicates, predicate verbs, complete subjects, subject substantives, and objects, if any, in the following sentences:

1. The boys at school play in the yard at recess. 2. Many children sing songs sweetly.