Elson junior literature ...

Book Two Elson • Keck ..burris

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ELSON JUNIOR LITE R ATU R E ♦ BOOK TWO ♦ by

WILLIAM H. ELSON

CHRISTINE M.^ KECK

MARY H. BURRIS

Life-Redding Service

SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY

CHICAGO ATLANTA DALLAS NEW YORK c t\^4ta

Copyright 1932, 1936 by Scott, Fores man and Company

For permission to use copyrighted material, grateful acknowledgment is made to H. W. Wack for "The Camper's Creed" ; to Doubleday, Doran and Company for "Coaly-Bay, the Outlaw Horse" from Wild Animal Ways by Ernest Thompson Seton and for "Birds of the Southern Winter" from .Dap Off in Dixie by Archibald Rutledge ; to George W. Jacobs and Company for "The Thundering Herd" from King of the Thundering Herd by Clarence Hawkes ; to John P. Morton and Company for "Morning-Glories" from Poet and Nature and the Morning Road by Madison Cawein ; to Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., for "May Is Building Her House" from The Lonely Dancer by Richard Le Gallienne and for "The Sea Gypsy" by Richard Hovey from Songs from Vagabondia by Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey ; to Small, Maynard and Company for "A Vagabond Song" from Songs from Vagabondia by Bliss Carman ; to Charles Scribner's Sons for "Salute to the Trees" and "The Footpath to Peace" by Henry van Dyke, and for "Pete of the Steel Mills" by Herschel S. Hall; to Harper and Brothers for "Bob-White : A Vanishing Game Bird" from Sanctuary! Sanctuary! by Dallas Lore Sharp; to Our Dumb Animals and the author for "How to Catch a Bird" by Leland B. Jacobs; to Nature Magazine and the author for "The Plucking of Wild Flowers" by P. L. Ricker and for "Louis Pasteur : His Service to Mankind" by Erwin F. Smith, U. S. Department of Agriculture; to E. P. Dutton and Company for "Heritage" from / Sing the Pioneer by Arthur Guiterman ; to Outdoar America for "Wild Life and the Forest" by William T. Cox ; to the author for "Ships of the Desert" by Alice T. Paine; to Boys' Life and the author for "Air Pioneering in the Arctic" by Lincoln Ellsworth ; to Houghton Mifflin Company for "The Leap of Roushan Beg" from Complete Poems by Henry W. Longfellow; to Frederick A. Stokes for "The Highwayman" from Collected Poems by Alfred Noyes; to The Century Company for "The American Boy" from The Strenuous Life by Theodore Roosevelt and for "Steinmetz : Maker of Lightning" from A Magician of Science by John W. Hammond ; to D. Appleton and Company for "Citizenship : The Northfield Ideal" from The Spirit of the Leader by William Heyliger ; to Edwin Markham for "Rules for the Road" from The Collected Poems of Edwin Markham; to the Roycrofters for "Give Your All" and "A Message to Garcia" by Elbert Hubbard ; to Angela Morgan for "Work : A Song of Triumph" from The Hour Has Struck; to The American Review of Reviews and the author for "The New Harvest Hand" by Henry J. Allen.

"The Purple Grasses" from Thoreau's Notebook by Henry D. Thoreau is reprinted by permission of and arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Company. "The Redwing" from Later Poems by Bliss Carman is reprinted by permission of Small, Maynard and Company, G. Wallace Tibbits, Lowell A. Mayberry, and Edmund J. Barnard, Trustees in Bankruptcy.

Elson Junior Literature — Book Two is a revision of Junior High School Literature, Book Two, copyright 1920, 1928, and The Elson Readers, Book Eight, copyright 1921, which is a revision of the Elson Grammar School Readers, Book Four, copyright 1909.

366.1

AUG 19 Me

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

Elson Junior Literature, Book Two, is a revision of Junior High School Literature, Book Two, edition of 1928, and The Elson Readers, Book Eight, edition of 1921. It contains a choice collection of literature from the works of the best authors, both classic and contemporary, and includes both recreational and work-type material. Not only should pupils have their taste and judgment cultivated through familiarity with the literary heritage that has won recognition by its enduring worth, but they should, also, have their experience enriched by selections of undoubted value from contemporary authors who are recognized interpreters of our present-day life. Such wide and extensive reading will not only inspire the pupil now and throughout life, but it will also train him in the wholesome use of his leisure hours.

The primary aim of instruction in reading is to make pupils life readers, not merely school readers. This means that lifereading interests must be developed in pupils. Permanent reading interests cannot be aroused by the use of miscellaneous, unrelated, haphazard material. The literature must be purposefully organized if it is to establish effective reading habits in pupils. Sound organization brings together into related units the selections that center about a common theme.

This book is so organized as to fulfill these purposes. It will be noticed from the Contents, that there are four main Parts, each distinguished by unity of theme. Part One aims to inspire a wholesome appreciation of nature and a desire to conserve her resources; Part Two deals with the magic world of adventure; Part Three makes clear the basic principles of our great American experiment in free government and points the way to good citizenship; and Part Four presents some phases of life in our

4 PREFACE

homeland that will make America mean more to boys and girls. Through these grouped selections permanent reading interests may be aroused, and fundamental ideals in the development of personal character and good citizenship established.

An outstanding value of such organization in this book lies in its tendency to weld together the school and the library. A school text that would train a pupil in the effective use of books, magazines, and newspapers must connect directly with the library, thus forming the core, or center, about which his general reading is organized.

This book aims not only to increase the pupil's knowledge of a subject, but also to intensify his interest and direct him to related material — in short, to cultivate the extensive reading habit and the library method of study. It seeks to direct and make purposeful the pupil's outside use of books, magazines, and newspapers, bringing to bear upon his school reading the experience and knowledge gained from these sources, thus welding together the school, the library, and the home in the development of right habits of reading and study.

Carefully chosen lists of especially apt library readings, designed to broaden and deepen the pupil's knowledge and sympathy,' may be found at the ends of the various selections. These lists, though not exhaustive, are chosen for their specific fitness, their abundant interest, and their excellent literary quality. They include the literature of both the past and the present. Special attention is called to the carefully selected list, "Some Recent Books You Will Enjoy," pages 525-528. It includes a group of the most appealing volumes that have appeared within the past few years.

Contents

PAGE

Preface 3

What Is Literature ? (A Foreword) 9

Part One The World Of Nature

The Camper's Creed Henry W. Wack 11

Nature Brings Happiness (A Forward Look) 12

ANIMALS AND BIRDS:

Coaly-Bay, the Outlaw Horse . Ernest Thompson Seton ... 13

The Thundering Herd Clarence Hawkes 26

Ovis Poli, the Great Horned- Sheep Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... 37

To a Waterfowl TYilliam Cidlen Bryant .... 53

Tampa Robins Sidney Lanier 56

The Redwing Bliss Carman 58

The Mocking Bird John James Audubon 60

Birds of the Southern Winter. Archibald Rutledge 66

FLOWERS AND TREES:

Morning-Glories Madison Cawein 74

May Is Building Her House. . . .Richard Le Gallienne 76

The Purple Grasses Henry D. Thoreau 78

A Vagabond Song Bliss Carman 80

Salute to the Trees Henry van Dyke 81

conservation of nature: Bob- White: a Vanishing

Game Bird Dallas Lore Sharp 84

The Puzzled Game Birds Thomas Hardy 94

How to Catch a Bird Leland B. Jacobs 95

6 CONTENTS

PAGE

The Plucking of Wild Flowers.P. L. Bicker 96

Heritage Arthur Guiterman 98

Wild Life and the Forest William T. Cox 100

Part Two The World Of Adventure

The Sea Gypsy Richard Hovey 107

How to Read Adventure Stories. (A Forward Look) 108

ROMANCE IN PROSE:

Shd?s of the Desert Alice T. Paine 109

Air Pioneering in the Arctic. .Lincoln Ellsworth 117

BALLADS OLD AND NEW:

Bonnie George Campbell Folk Ballad 128

Lochinvar Sir Walter Scott 130

John Gilpin William Cowper 134

The Leap of Roushan Beg Henry W. Longfellow 145

How They Brought the Good

News from Ghent to Aix. . . .Robert Browning 149

The Highwayman Alfred Noyes 153

A STORY OF CHRISTMAS:

A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens 159

A TALE FROM SHAKESPEARE:

As You Like It Charles and Mary Lamb . . . 251

Part Three The Good Citizen

The American Boy Theodore Roosevelt 269

Guides to Citizenship (A Forward Look) 270

CONTENTS 7

PAGE

THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM:

Paul Revere 's Ride Henry W. Longfellow 271

Concord Hymn Ralph Waldo Emerson. . . .276

The American Experiment Daniel Webster 277

Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln 280

Abraham Lincoln Woodrow Wilson 283

The Character of Washington . Thomas Jefferson 289

CITIZENSHIP AND SERVICE:

Patriotism Begins in the Home . Henry W. Grady 293

Letter to Mrs. Bixby Abraham Lincoln 295

Citizenship : the Northfleld

Ideal William Heyliger 296

Steinmetz, Maker of Lightning. John W. Hammond 318

Louis Pasteur : His Service

to Mankind Erwin F. Smith 327

IDEALS AND CREEDS:

The Chambered Nautilus Oliver Wendell Holmes .... 331

The Bugle Song Alfred, Lord Tennyson .... 333

If Rudyard Kipling 335

Yussouf James Russell Lowell 337

A Man's a Man for A' That. . .Robert Burns 340

Definition of a Gentleman .... Cardinal Newman 343

Give Your All Elbert Hubbard 345

Rules for the Road Edwin Markham 346

The Footpath to Peace Henry van Dyke 346

PART FOUR LITERATURE AND LIFE IN THE HOMELAND To My Country Marguerite Wilkinson 349

America's Own Literature. . . . {A Forward Look) 350

AMERICA IN LEGEND AND SONG:

Song of the Chattahoochee. . .Sidney Lanier 351

8 CONTEXTS

PAGE

Snow-Bound John Greenleaf Whittier. .353

Rip Van Winkle Washington Irving .378

Evangeline: a Tale of Acadie. Henry ^Y. Longfellow 399

The Raven Edgar Allan Poe 461

TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION:

New York to Paris Charles A. Lindbergh 467

A Narrow Escape Richard E. Byrd 474

AMERICAN WORKERS AND THEIR WORK:

The Thinker Berton Braley 493

Work: a Song of Triumph. . . .Angela Morgan 495

Pete'OF the Steel Mills Herschel S. Hall 498

The New Harvest Hand Henry J. Allen 513

A Message to Garcia Elbert Hubbard 519

Some Recent Books You Will Enjoy 525

WHAT IS LITEEATUEE?

Through reading, as you have already learned, you gain happiness and knowledge. But all about you there is so much to read — thousands of books and magazines and papers — that it may be well to pause long enough to answer the question, ' 'What kind of reading will bring these rewards? What is literature ?"

In one sense, anything written or printed, as distinguished from that which is merely spoken, is literature. The ballad, a song-story, was repeated from generation to generation by word of mouth, changing in details of language and incident in the process; when it was written down and then printed, it became fixed, became literature. So, also, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, for example, may tell you of his adventures ; when he writes his story and it is published as a book, it becomes literature, in this sense of the word.

In a truer sense, however, the word "literature" is more strictly limited. You have seen that it is permanence of form that distinguishes the book or the printed story from mere tradition. But thousands of books are printed that find a few readers for a time, and then are as completely forgotten as if they had been merely words spoken in conversation. Many things are printed, also, which are not intended to have permanence, such as newspaper stories of daily happenings in the city or throughout the world. The newspaper, to be sure, adds greatly to our power of partaking in the important events of the day, wherever they may occur. One knows about a flight across the sea almost as soon as the landing is made, or about a new invention, or the triumph of a great man. But these records are of a day ; true literature is for all time. Literature, in this truer sense, means not merely that

10 ' WHAT IS LITERATURE?

which is printed, in contrast to that which is spoken ; it means the expression of the facts of life, or of the interpretation of life, or of the beauty of life, in language of such enduring charm that men treasure it and will not let it die.

In your reading you have already become acquainted with literature that sets forth the " facts of life." When Hamlin Garland wrote sketches of his boyhood on the prairie, he was recording the primitive life of midwestern farmers so vividly that the pictures will enable future generations to understand the hardships, as well as the simple joys, of the thrifty, toiling folk who built our ' ' inland empire. ' ' When Sir Walter Scott gave us his Tales of a Grandfather, he was preserving for all time the thrilling ' 'facts of life ' ' that centered around Scotland's brave struggle for freedom centuries ago.

Literature that interprets life has also been a part of your reading course. Hawthorne in "The Great Stone Face" has interpreted for us the high ideal of service to others. And in this book Dickens in "A Christmas Carol' ' interprets the spirit of love and of human brotherhood that makes life worth while.

And last, there is the literature that makes evident to us the beauty that our more prosaic eyes might fail to note. Robert Burns writes a poem about the daisy, and ever after, if you have read it with an understanding mind, you see new beauty in the flower life that lies about you.

Facts, interpretation, beauty — these form the body of real literature. And when master writers clothe them in language of such enduring charm that men treasure it and will not let it die, true literature comes into being. Thus the experiences, the meaning, the emotions of life are given permanent form to enrich mankind throughout the centuries.