That is the story-on the authority only of The New SouthWales Magazine, which tells it-of how the King of England came by his Spanish flocks. Later, in 1804, Captain John Macarthur bought eight of them, apparently in pretty bad condition, at His Majesty"s sale at Kew.
C. E. W. Bean
Author.-Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean, M.A., author and journalist, was born in New South Wales in 1879. At the outbreak of the Great War, he was appointed official war correspondent for the Commonwealth and was attached to head-quarters staff in Gallipoli and France. On his return, Captain Bean edited the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914- 1918. Previously he had written On the Wool Track, The Dreadnought of the Darling, and Flagships Three.
General.-Notice the easy, chatty newspaper style, without any attemptat " fine writing. " The honesty of the writer shows in the phrase "on the authority only of The New South Wales Magazine." The Sir Joseph Banks mentioned was the scientist of Cook"s expedition when the eastern coast of Australia was charted. See if you can find material to show howimportant the sheep industry is to Australia.
Lesson 15
THE SUM OF THINGS
This is the sum of things-that we A moment live, a little see,Do somewhat, and are gone : for so The eternal currents ebb and flow. This is the sum of work-that man Does, while he may, the best he can; Nor greatly cares, when all is done,What praise or blame his toils have won
This is the sum of sight-to find The links of kin with all our kind, And know the beauty Nature foldsEven in the simplest form she moulds. This is the sum of life-to feelOur hand-grip on the hilted steel, To fight beside our mates, and prove The best of comradeship and love. This is the sum of things-that weA lifetime live great-heartedly,
See the whole best that life has meant, Do out our work, and go content.
"Ishmael Dare " (A. W. Jose)
Author.-The pen-name "lshmael Dare " is a pleasant pun on j"ose, which is "I dare " in French. Arthur Wilberforce Jose, born in England in 1863, is Acting Professor of Modern Literature at Sydney University. He has written a History of Australia, and was editor-in-chief of The Australian Encyclop?dia.
General.-Every one, sooner or later, is faced with the question, Whatdoes it all mean? The first stanza tries to indicate life"s chief events-to be born, to see, to do, to go. The second tells us what real doing means; the third, real seeing; the fourth, real living; the fifth adds things up. Mention the main thought in each stanza. What other psalms of life do you know? Quote Longfellow, Gordon.
Lesson 16
THE LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS
Oft, in the stilly night,
Ere slumber"s chain has bound me, Fond Memory brings the lightOf other days around me : The smiles, the tearsOf boyhood"s years,
The words of love then spoken; The eyes that shone,Now dimmed and gone,
The cheerful hearts now broken. Thus, in the stilly night,Ere slumber"s chain has bound me, Sad Memory brings the lightOf other days around me.
When I remember all
The friends, so linked together, I"ve seen around me fallLike leaves in wintry weather, I feel like oneWho treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled,
Whose garlands dead, And all but he departed !
Thus, in the stilly night,
Ere slumber"s chain has bound me, Sad Memory brings the lightOf other days around me.
Thomas Moore
Author.-Thomas Moore (1779-1852), one of the best-known of Irish poets, was born in Dublin and educated at Dublin University. He went to London to study law, but devoted himself to literature, In time, he became a world-famous song-writer. His chief poetical works are his Irish Melodies and Lalla Rookh. He wrote also a history of Ireland, and lives of Sheridan and Byron, but he excelled in light, musical verse.
General.-How many can sing this song? What feeling does it express?
Does the supposed singer live in the past or in the present? Is the banquet- hall comparison an apt one? What makes you think so? How many comparisons are made in the two stanzas? Pick them out. Which do you think the choicest phrase?
Lesson 17
THE DREAM OF TOMMY HURST
Tommy Hurst had had a bad day. It had begun crookedly; he had been late in waking, and, instead of taking a good shower, he had only splashed his face and neck, and so had failed to wash away any of the sleep-cobwebs. They were thick on him when he went out to milk. He hustled the little Jersey cow into the bail, helping her to hurry with a heavy clod that caught her on the flank and made her shake her pretty head with pain. Everything went wrong.
He was too late to take Rags, his Irish terrier, off the chain. Rags was new to the country, andhad not learned manners about
sheep. There were young lambs in the next paddock, so he had to be kept tied up unless Tommy were with him. He yelped dolefully as his little master ran off to school-a sulky-looking master to-day, his boots half-laced, and his lessons half learned.
The day went from bad to worse. It was hot and muggy, and the little country schoolhouse was like an oven. Tommy"s brain simply would not work. All the lessons went wrong. He was " kept in "at the end of the weary afternoon to wrestle with sums that seemed made not of figures, but of nasty little demons that refused to add or divide themselves. The teacher was hot and tired, even as Tommy. It was nearly six when he trailed dismally into the yard at home.
"Hurry up ! " came his father"s voice, sharply. "I"ve bailed up Silver for you; you"ve just time to milk her before tea. "Tommy milked, roughly enough; the flies were trouble- some, and Silver fidgeted and switched her tail perpetually. Once it caught him across the face, and he shouted angrily at her. Rags greeted him with a delighted yelp as he went past with his bucket : but Tommy scarcely glanced at him, and the little dog lay down with drooping ears and a wistful look.