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"My men grow mutinous day by day;

My men grow ghastly wan and weak." The stout mate thought of home; a spray Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. "What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, If we sight naught but seas at dawn?" "Why you shall say at break of day,

'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'

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They sailed and sailed as winds might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said,
"Why now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way,

For God from these dread seas is gone.
Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say-"
He said, "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"

They sailed. They sailed. Then spoke the mate. "This mad sea shows his teeth to-night;

He curls his lip, he lies in wait

With lifted teeth as if to bite:

Brave Admiral, say but one good word;
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The words leapt as a leaping sword:
"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"

Then pale and worn he kept his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck—
A light! a light! a light! a light!

It grew to be Time's burst of dawn;

He gained a world; he gave that world

Its grandest lesson; "On! sail on!"

-Joaquin Miller.

Permission to use the poem granted by Harr Wagner Publishing Company, S. F. publishers of Joaquin Miller's Complete Poems.

Act the story.

Choose boys to take the two important parts.
What parts could the rest of the class take?
What might they say?

Express the thought of Columbus and the mate in your own language, not in verse.

What might Columbus say when he saw the light? Suggest a good way to end the play.

153

TELLING PIONEER STORIES

Do you know what a pioneer is? If you do not, find the meaning of the word in the dictionary.

Christopher Columbus was a pioneer. So were the Pilgrims, William Penn, and the daring men who opened up the great West. The grandfather of Abraham Lincoln was one of the pioneers of the West. Can you name any other great pioneers? What kind of man was Columbus?

What kind of men must all pioneers be?

Think of as many words as you can to describe the men who go before and prepare the way for others. Write the list on the blackboard.

Come to class prepared to tell a story that you have read or that some one has told you about pioneers. You might choose one of the following titles for your story:

1. Columbus and Queen Isabella. 2. The Voyage of Columbus.

3. A New Home in the Wilderness.

4. Attacked by Indians.

5. The First Harvest.

6. Penn's Treaty with the Indians.
7. The White Man's Friend.
8. The Landing of the Pilgrims.

9. A Log Cabin on the Plains.

10. Going West in a Schooner Wagon.

154

BUILDING A VOCABULARY

In each blank in the following story put a word chosen from the list on page 160.

One

A THRILLING ADVENTURE

along a

in East Africa. Here and there on the way were

night a man was

[blocks in formation]

road of

[blocks in formation]

with the fender. The shock the creature ahead of him in the road, and he ran over it. The engine and the automobile came to a standstill. Leaping out, he and found that he had killed a lioness!

[blocks in formation]

Suggest other words that might be used in place of those in the list. Write these words on the blackboard. Read the story again, substituting one of these words for each word that you used from the list.

155

USING THE VOICE

TH (ASPIRATE)

1. Take the position for the breathing exercises. 2. Breathe in gently and deeply; breathe out slowly and easily.

3. Place the tip of the tongue close to the lower edge of the upper teeth.

4. Breathe in.

5. Breathe out, forcing the air between the tongue and the teeth.

This is th in breath.

6. Repeat ten times, breathing in deeply but easily each time, and blowing out on th.

Be sure not to let the tongue come outside of the teeth.

Remember not to lift your shoulders in breathing. Say after your teacher:

[blocks in formation]

Be careful each time to place the tip of your tongue

against the lower edge of the upper teeth.

Take a deep breath for each word.

Force the air out between your tongue and teeth. Think of other words that contain this same th sound.

Write them down. Then tell them to the other boys and girls, being careful when you speak the th to place the tip of your tongue against the lower edge of your upper teeth.

Read these sentences:

1. Thistles grow along the path.

2. Three times three are nine.

3. Think three times before you speak once.

4. My faithful dog, Rex, has strong white teeth. (Be sure to speak wh in white correctly.)

FOR READING

Through the air, Dame Thistle Down,
Slipping off her purple gown,

Flies a thousand different ways-
Ev'ry whispering breeze obeys—

North and South and East and West,

Till she sinks at last to rest

Where the thistles, thickly spread,
Offer her a prickly bed.

-C. I. O.

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