1. THE 126. EXCELSIOR. HE shades of night were falling fast, 2. His brow was sad; his eye beneath Flashed like a falchion' from its sheath; Fåst.-2 Passed (påst).- Ex cèl' si or, more elevated; aiming highcr; the motto of the State of New York. Falchion (fål' chun), a short, crooked sword. And like a silver clarion' rung The accents of that unknown tongue, 3. In happy homes he saw the light Of household fires gleam warm and bright: 4. "Try not the l'ass!" the old man said; 5. "Oh, stay," the maiden said, "and rest 6. "Beware the pine-tree's withered branch This was the peasant's last' Good-night! 7. At break of day, as heavenward A voice cried, through the startled air, 'Clår'i on, a wind instrument suited to war.-2 Spêc' tral, relating to an apparition, or the appearance of a spirit; ghostly.-3 Glåc' i er, a field of ice and snow, formed in the valleys and slopes of lofty mountains. 8 Be wåre'. Brånch.- Avalanche (åv a lånsh') a snow-slip; a vast body of ice, snow, or earth, sliding down a mountain. Låst. Saint Bernard (sent ber nård'), a remarkable mountain pass in the chain of the Alps, between Piedmont and the Valaise. A strong stone building is situated on the summit of this pass. It is occupied during the whole NATIONAL THIRD READER. 8. A traveler, by the faithful hound, 9. There, in the twilight cold and gray, H. W. LONGFELLOW. 127. USE YOUR EYES. WELL, Robert, where have you been walking, this afternoon? said a tutor to one of his pupils, at the close of a holiday. Robert. I have been to Broom-heath, and so round by the windmill, upon Camp-mount, and home, through the meadows by the river-side. Tutor. Well, that is a pleasant round. Robert. I thought it very dull, sir; I scarcely met with a single person. I would much rather have gone along the turnpike road. Tutor. Why, if seeing men and horses is your object, you would, indeed, be better entertained on the high road. But did you see William ? Robert. We set out together, but he lagged behind in the lane, so I walked on and left him. Tutor. That was a pity. He would have been company for you. Robert. Oh! he is so tedious, always stopping to look at this thing and that; I would rather walk alone. I dare say he has not got home yět. year by pious monks, who, with their valuable dogs, hold themselves in readiness to aid travelers arrested by the snow and cold.—' Gråsp'. ing.-There (thår).—3 Se rèno', undisturbed; calm; clear. 255 Tutor. Here he comes. Well, William, where have you been? William. Oh, the pleasantest walk! I went all over Broom-heath, and so up to the mill at the top of the mount, and then down among the green meadows by the side of the river. Tutor. Why, that is just the round Robert has been taking; and he complains of its dullness, and prefers the high road. William. I wonder at that. I am sure I hardly took a step that did not delight me, and I have brought home my handkerchief full of curiosities. Tutor. Suppose, then, you give us an account of what amused you so much. I fancy it will be as new to Robert as to me. William. I will do it readily. The lane leading to the heath, you know, is close and sandy; so I did not mind it much, but made the best of my way; however, I spied a curious thing enough in the hedge. It was an old crab-tree, out of which grew a great bunch of something green, quite different from the tree itself. Here is a branch of it. 4 Tutor. Ah! this is mistletoe ; a plant of great fame for the use made of it by the Druids of old, in their religious rites and incantations. It bears a slimy white berry, of which bird-lime is made, whence its Latin name of viscus. It is one of those plants which do not grow in the ground by a root of their own, but fix themselves upon other plants; whence they have been humorously styled "parasitical," as being hangers-on or 'Mistletoe (miz' zl tỏ).—2 Druids (dro' idz), the Celtic priests of ancient Gaul and Britain. The sacrifice of human victims is generally believed to have been a part of their worship. Their religious ceremonies were conducted in consecrated groves.- Rite, observance; ceremony.— • In can ta' tion, act of enchanting; foretelling or causing an event by the supposed aid of evil spirits. Bird-lime (berd' lim), a glutinous or sticky substance used for catching birds. Root. dependents. It was the mistletoe of the oak that the Druids particularly honored. William. A little further on I saw a green woodpecker fly to a tree, and run up the trunk like a cat. Tutor. That was to seek for insects in the bark, on which they live. They bore holes with their strong bills for that purpose, and do much damage to the trees by it. William. When I got upon the open heath, how charming it was! The air seemed so fresh, and the prospect on every side so free and unbounded! Then it was all covered with gay flowers, many of which I had never observed before. There was a flock of lapwings upon a marshy part of the heath, that amused me much. As I came near them, some of them kept flying round and round, just over my head, and crying "pewit," so distinctly one might almost fancy they spoke. I thought I should have caught one of them, for he flew as if one of his wings was broken, and often tumbled close to the ground; but as I came near he always contrived to get away. Tutor. Ha, ha! you were finely taken in, then! This was all an artifice of the bird's to entice you away from its nest; for they build upon the bare ground, and their nest would easily be observed did they not draw off the attention of intruders by their loud cries and counterfeited lameness. William. I wish I had known that, for he led me a long chase, often over shoes in water. However, it was the cause of my falling in. with an old man and a boy, who were cutting and piling up turf for fuel; and I had a good deal of talk with them about the manner of preparing the turf, and the price it sells at. I then took my course up to the windmill, on the mount. I climbed up the steps of the mill, in order to gět get a better view of the country around. What an extensive prospect! I counted fifteen church-steeples; and |