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83. Sm. What a fool I have been in not accepting your offer! I have a payment of four thousand dollars to make next month on a mortgage covering that very piece of ground you wanted; and I have no other means of raising the money. I don't know what I shall do, or how to avoid a failure.

84. Wil. I much regret your unpleasant position; but I always thought it better to accept the real worth of a piece of property when offered, than to try to obtain an exorbitant price for it by taking advantage of the necessities of others.

85. Sm. I agree with you most fully; and I have learned a lesson from this transaction, which, I trust, will be of practical benefit to me through life. Good evening, sir.

QUESTIONS.1-9. What did the Chairman of the Committee want of Mr. Smith? 12-14. What did Mr. Smith pretend? 16. Did he really want to sell the lot? 26. What was his price? 28, 29. How did he feel about selling it? 30-37. Relate his interview with Mr. Weston. 38-49. Give the substance of his next meeting with the Committee. 50-57. What passed between Mr. Jones and the Committee? 61-71. Why did Mr. Smith call upon the Chairman of the Committee? 75-79. How did he feel at the loss of the sale of his lot? 82. How much was the value of Jones's prop. erty increased by his gift? 84. What did Mr. Wilson finally say to Mr. Smith? 85. Did Mr. Smith agree with him? 85. What did he say he had learned? What is required of the class while reading this lesson?

LESSON LXXVI.

1. AG'RI-CULT-URE, culture of the earth, farming, husbandry.

1. IN-DUS TRI-AL, pertaining to industry. 1. AC-CEL/ER-ATE, to quicken.

2. PAS'TOR-AL, rural, pertaining to the occupation of shepherds.

ERRORS.

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- Agʻri-cul-ter for ag'ri-cult-ure;

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pur-soot' for pur-suit ; re-wawd' for re ward'; scrip'ter for script'ure; sile for soil; sci'unce for sci'ence.

AGRICULTURE.-M. P. WILDER.

1. THE importance of Agriculture appears from its paternal relations to other employments. It is the central wheel of the great industrial machine. Accelerate or retard its motion, and you change the action of all the rest. Agriculture

is Industry's eldest child, the primary element of social organization, and the foundation of property, order, and civil institutions.

2. Twice in the history of the world has the human race consisted of a single family, conducting all the arts of life, and depending exclusively upon this primeval pursuit for support. In every period, its praises have been celebrated in poetry and song. Scripture also abounds in illustrations and scenes from pastoral life. The rewards of this art have blessed the past, and its promises gild the future.

3. It is the almoner of Heaven's bounty, distributing to all with a liberal hand. How has it converted the noxious bog and barren waste into highly cultivated fields, and made the dreary wilderness bud and blossom like the rose! How have its benign influences illumined the dark abodes of want and misery!

4. Oft has it fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and caused the desolate heart to shout for joy. How have its blessings clustered around the social fireside, making the domestic altar vocal with praise and thanksgiving!

5. Well did the Muse of our lamented Fessenden* sing:

"Hail, Agriculture! Heaven-ordained!
Of every art the source !

Which man has polished, life sustained,
Since time commenced his course.
Where waves thy wonder-working wand,
What splendid scenes disclose!

The blasted heath, the arid strand,

Outvie the gorgeous rose."

·-

6. Agriculture, as an art, relates to the successful culti vation of the soil; to that care of the field and herd which will enable the husbandman to realize the largest and most perfect products with the least labor and expense.

Fes'sen-den, (Thomas Green,) a writer of several poems, and, at one time, editor of "The New England Farmer," was born at Walpole, N. H., in 1771. He died in Boston in 1837.

7. The science of agriculture treats of the rationale o these processes, and of the principles which govern practice. In different localities the art may vary, but science is the same here and everywhere, to-day and forever, immutable like its wise Author.

8. What the farmer needs, to enable him to become successful in his calling, is that thorough scientific education which the mechanic, the manufacturer, and the artisan receive in order to prepare them for their various callings. He must understand the processes of the vegetable kingdom; by what agents they are conducted; by what laws regulated; and how the whole may be turned to the best account with the least labor and expense; and for this knowledge of his art, he must depend on the light of science.

9. The thrift, industry, and intelligence of other classes have been conspicuous for the last quarter of a century; yet the tillers of the soil, not a whit behind any other class in natural talent and virtue, great in every thing which pertains to personal worth, are left to toil on without receiving their proper share of scientific aid.

10. They toil as though the All-Wise, who has promised that "seed-time and harvest shall not cease," had prescribed no laws for them to study, no rules to govern their practice; and as though the fulfilment of this promise did not depend upon compliance with immutable laws; for if there are scientific principles upon which successful cultivation is based, then no effort can be well directed unless it is founded on these principles.

QUESTIONS. -1. What is said of the importance of agriculture? 2. In what have its praises been celebrated? 3. What is it called? 3, 4. Why? 5. What is said of it by the poet? Who was Fessenden? 6. To what does agriculture, as an art, relate? 7. What is said of it as a science? 8. What does the farmer need? 8. What should he understand? 9, 10. What is said of the farmer in comparison with other classes? - What is the character of the composition of this piece? What general rule is ap plicable in reading it?

LESSON LXXVII. 77

1. Jos'TLES, runs against and shakes.

2. GUSH'ING, flowing copiously.

2. FRAN'TIC, furious, raving.

3. FLOW'ER-ET, a small flower.

4. DIM'PLES, sinks in little inequalities.

5. GLoss, brightness, luster.

6. PET'ALS, leaves of flowers.

7. WON'DROUS, admirable, marvelous.

ERRORS. -War'ter for wa'ter; ruff for roof; put'ty for pretty (prit'ty); srub fo shrub; maerth for mirth.

THE WATER.-E. OAKES SMITH.

1. How beautiful the water is!
Didst ever think of it,

When down it tumbles from the skies,
As in a merry fit?

It jostles, ringing as it falls

On all that's in its way;
I hear it dancing on the roof,

Like some wild thing at play.

2. "Tis rushing now adown the spout
And gushing out below,
Half frantic in its joyousness,
And wild in eager flow.

The earth is dried and parched with heat,
And it hath longed to be

Released from within the' selfish cloud,
To cool the thirsty tree.

3. It washes, rather rudely too,
The floweret's simple grace,
As if to chide the pretty thing

For dust upon its face.

It showers the tree till every leaf

Is free from dust or stain,

Then waits till leaf and branch are stilled,
And showers them o'er again.

4. Drop after drop is tinkling down
To kiss the stirring brook;

The water dimples from beneath
With its own joyous look;

And then the kindred drops embrace,
And singing on they go

To dance beneath the willow-tree,
And glad the vale below.

5. How beautiful the water is!
It loves to come at night,
To make us wonder in the morn
To find the earth so bright;
To see a youthful gloss is spread
On every shrub and tree;
And flowerets breathing on the air
Their odors pure and free.

6. A dainty thing the water is!
It loves the blossom's cup,
To nestle 'mid the odors there,
And fill the petals up;

It hangs its gems on every leaf,
Like diamonds in the sun;
And then the water wins the smile

The floweret should have won.

7. How beautiful the water is!
To me 't is wondrous fair;
No spot can ever lonely be,

If water sparkles there;

It hath a thousand tongues of mirth,
Of grandeur or delight;

And every heart is gladder made

When water greets the sight.

QUESTIONS.-1. What is said of water here? 2. What is meant by "the selfish cloud"? 3. What does water do to the flowers? 4. What, to the brook? 5. When 'does it love to come? 5. What are its effects? 6. Why is it called "a dainty thing"? 7. What does its presence do? Which kind of poetry is this? Mark the inflections required in reading it, and tell why they are required.

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