slaves instantly appeared, whom he ordered to set out the table and serve the dinner. His commands were quickly obeyed, and Shacabac now enjoyed in reality the good things of which he had before partaken only in dumb show.-Arabian Nights. SUMMARY.-The Barmacide Feast receives its name from one of the Barmac family, who was fond of a joke, and the adjective means imaginary or pretended. Shacabac entered the house of the Barmacide to ask for food, and was invited to sit down to regale himself with a variety of dishes. They were not brought in, but the Barmacide pretended to eat them, and Shacabac entered into the spirit of the fun by imitating the example. At last, as if intoxicated with the wine which he had been pretending to drink, Shacabac gave the Barmacide a blow which knocked him down. The prince, however, was pleased with Shacabac's explanation and behaviour, and a dinner was soon served in reality for both. Ac-cess, admittance. Ad-dress', skill, adroitness. In-hale', breathe in. QUESTIONS. What is a Barmacide? What is the meaning of a Barmacide Feast? Who was Shacabac? What did he wish from the prince? How did the Barmacide receive him? What dishes were ordered? What drinks? How did Shacabac behave at first? At last? How did the Barmacide treat Shacabac in the end? Why? EXERCISES.-1. Parse and bread more beautifully white. 2. Nouns are formed by adding acy, ate, dom, ric, ship, which mean the rank, office, dominion, or power of;" as, curacy, the office of a curate; protectorate, the power of a protector; kingdom, the dominion of a king; bishopric, the office of a bishop; mastership, the office of a master. Give the exact meaning of the following words-magistracy (magister, a master, a ruler), electorate, earldom, archbishopric, clerkship. analyse-Never in my life have I seen "We figure to ourselves The thing we like, and then we build it up [In the autumn of 1854 the steamer Arctic was lost through a collision with another vessel (the Vesta) in a voyage from Liverpool to New York, and a large number of persons perished. This vivid description of the disaster is from an address by Rev. HENRY WARD BEECHER.] 1. It was autumn. Hundreds had wended their way from pilgrimages,-from Rome and its treasures of dead art, and its glory of living nature; from the sides of the Switzer's mountains; from the capitals of various nations: all of them saying in their hearts, "We will wait for the September gales to have done with their fury, and then we will embark. We will slide across the appeased ocean; and, in the month of October, we will greet our longed-for native land and our heart-loved homes." 2. And so the throng streamed along from Berlin, from Paris, from the Orient, converging upon London, still hastening towards the welcome ship, and narrowing, every day, the circle of engagements and preparations. They crowded aboard. Never had the Arctic borne such a host of passengers, so nearly related to so many of us. 3. The hour was come. The signal-ball fell at Greenwich. It was noon also at Liverpool. The anchors were weighed, the great hull swayed to the current, the national colours streamed abroad as if themselves instinct with life and national sympathy. The bell strikes, the wheels revolve, the signal-gun beats its echoes in upon every structure along the shore. The Arctic glides joyfully forth from the Mersey, and turns her prow to the winding channel, and begins her homeward run. The pilot stood at the wheel, and men saw him. prow, and no eye beheld him. wheel in all the voyage, Death was the pilot that steered the craft, and none knew it. He neither revealed his presence, nor whispered his errand. Death sat upon the Whoever stood at the 4. Eight days had passed. They beheld that distant bank of mist that for ever haunts the vast shallows of Newfoundland. Boldly they made it; and, plunging in, its pliant wreaths wrapped them about. They shall never emerge. The last sunlight has flashed from that deck. At noon there came, noiselessly stealing from the north, that fated instrument of destruction. In that mysterious shroud, that vast atmosphere of mist, two steamers were holding their way with rushing prow, but invisible. 5. At a league's distance unconscious, and at nearer approach unwarned,—within hail, and bearing right towards cach other, unseen, unfelt,-till in a moment more, emerging from the gray mists, the ill-omened Vesta dealt her deadly stroke to the Arctic. The death-blow was scarcely felt along the mighty hull. She neither reeled nor shivered. Neither commander nor officers deemed that they had suffered harm. 6. Prompt upon humanity, the Arctic's commander, the brave Luce, ordered away his boat with first-officer Gourley to inquire if the stranger had suffered harm. As Gourley went over the ship's side, Oh, that some good angel had called to the brave commander, in the words of Paul on a like occasion, "Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved!" 7. They departed, and with them the hope of the ship; for now the waters, gaining upon the hold, and rising up upon the fires, revealed the mortal blow. Oh, had now that stern, brave mate Gourley been on deck, whom the sailors were wont to obey,-had he stood to execute efficiently the commander's will, we may believe that we should not have had to blush for the cowardice of the crew, nor weep for the untimely dead. 8. Apparently, each subordinate officer lost all presence of mind, then courage, and so honour. In a wild scramble, that ignoble mob of firemen, engineers, waiters, and crew rushed for the boats, and abandoned the helpless women, children, and men to the mercy of the deep. Four hours there were from the catastrophe of the collision to the catastrophe of SINKING! 9. Oh, what a burial was there! Not as when one is borne from his home, and gently carried to the green fields, and laid peacefully beneath the turf. No priest stood to pronounce a burial-service. It was an ocean grave. No spade prepared the grave, no sexton filled up the hollowed earth. Down, down they sank; and the quick returning waters smoothed out every ripple, and left the sea as placid as before.-H. W. Beecher. SUMMARY.-At the end of the autumn of 1854, hundreds were returning to America from their travels in Europe. They embarked at Liverpool on board the Arctic, with happy thoughts of the homes to which they were returning. Eight days passed away, and the voyagers came within sight of the misty shallows of Newfoundland. The vessel plunged into the fog from which she was never to emerge. Another vessel, the Vesta, came into violent collision with the Arctic; and although neither commander nor officers believed that the ship was injured, she sank within four hours from the time of the shock. The cowardly crew took possession of the boats, and abandoned the helpless passengers to the mercy of the waves. Ap-peased', made calm. Ef-fic-ient-ly, with power to pro- League, the 20th part of a degree QUESTIONS. Who embarked in the Arctic? When ? Where had they come from? Where were they going? When did the vessel near Newfoundland? What other vessel struck her? What did the com mander think of the injury to his ship? Where was the mate sent? Why? How did the crew act? How long did the vessel keep afloat? What was the fate of the passengers? EXERCISES.-1. Parse and analyse-In that mysterious shroud two steamers were holding their way with rushing prow. 2. Nouns are formed by adding icle, cule, ule, kin, which mean "little." The nouns are said to be diminutives; as, particle, a little part; animalcule, a small animal; globule, a little globe; manikin, a small man, a dwarf. Give the exact meaning of the following words-canticle (cano, I sing), reticule (rete, a net), granule (granum, a grain), lambkin. |