Well, they were all met at last, four Days, five Days, all sorts of Days, and a rare din they made of it. There was nothing but "Hail! fellow Day!" "Well met, brother Day! sister Day!" only Lady Day kept a little on the saloof and seemed somewhat scornful. Yet some said that Twelfth Day cut her out, for she came in a silk suit, white and gold, like a queen on a frost cake, all royal and glittering. The rest came, some in green, some in white but Lent 10 and his family were not yet out of mourning. Rainy Days came in dripping, and Sunshiny Days helped them to change their stockings. Wedding Day was there in his marriage finery. Pay Day came late, as he always does. Doomsday sent word he might be expected. 15 April Fool (as my lord's jester) took upon himself to marshal the guests. And wild work he made of it; good Days, bad Days, all were shuffled together. He had stuck the Twenty-first of June next to the Twenty-second of December, and the former looked like a maypole by the side 20 of a marrowbone. Ash Wednesday got wedged in betwixt Christmas and Lord Mayor's Day. At another part of the table, Shrove Tuesday was helping the Second of September to some broth, which courtesy the latter returned with the delicate thigh of a pheasant. 25 The Last of Lent was springing upon Shrovetide's pancakes; April Fool, seeing this, told him that he did well, for pancakes were proper to a good fry-day. May Day, with that sweetness which is her own, made a neat speech proposing the health of the founder. This 30 being done, the lordly New Year from the upper end of the table, in a cordial but somewhat lofty tone, returned thanks. They next fell to quibbles and conundrums. The question being proposed, who had the greatest number of followers the Quarter Days said there could be no question as to that; for they had all the creditors in the world dogging their heels. But April Fool gave it in favor of the 5 Forty Days before Easter; because the debtors in all cases outnumbered the creditors, and they kept Lent all the year. At last, dinner being ended, all the Days called for their cloaks and greatcoats, and took their leaves. Lord Mayor's Day went off in a Mist, as usual; Shortest Day in a deep black Fog, which wrapped the little gentleman all round like a hedgehog. Two Vigils, or watchmen, saw Christmas Day safe home. Another Vigil a stout, sturdy patrol, called the Eve of St. Christopher - escorted Ash Wednesday. Longest Day set off westward in beautiful crimson and gold the rest, some in one fashion some in another, took their departure. - Last Essays of Elia. 1. Lord Mayor's Day falls on November 9. Explain the reference to Mist. Quarter Day is the day usually looked upon as the day rent falls due. Why did April Fool decide against the Quarter Days in behalf of the Forty Days before Easter? The Second of September is the beginning of the open season for shooting. Explain the reference to “pheasant.” 2. How many were at this feast? Why did the Festivals come? Why have only twelve carriers, in the fourth paragraph? Explain how April Fool added to the merriment in seating the guests. What pun did April Fool make? 3. What American holidays would you add if you were writing this essay? How could you make them fit in humorously? 4. Charles Lamb (1775-1834), English essayist, is noted for his humorous sketches. You should read his “Dissertation on Roast Pig.” With his sister Mary, he wrote Tales from Shakespeare, which you will enjoy reading. 35 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN (WRITTEN FOR JESSE W. FELL, DECEMBER 20, 1859) Abraham Lincoln enjoyed telling stories of his youth and early manhood, but he wrote very little about himself. The following is the longest statement he has set down anywhere about his own life. And he did this only at the earnest request of a fellow citizen in Illinois, Mr. Fell. You should read this brief autobiography with two things in mind: the facts of Lincoln's life, and the simplicity and modesty of the statement of these facts. WAS born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was s of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon County, Illinois. My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781 or 1782, where a year or two later he was killed by the Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more definite 15 than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like. ΤΟ My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age, and he grew up literally without education. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the state came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher s beyond "readin', writin', and cipherin"" to the rule of three. If a straggler supposed to understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not 10 know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three, but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have upon this store of education I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity. I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, Macon County. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now in Menard, County, where I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. 15 20 Then came the Black Hawk war, and I was elected a captain of volunteers, a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went the campaign, was elated, ran for the legislature the same year (1832), and was beaten the only time I have ever been beaten by the 25 people. The next and three succeeding biennial elections I was elected to the legislature. I was not a candidate afterward. During this legislative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I was once elected to the lower house of Congress. Was 30 not a candidate for reëlection. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics; and generally on the Whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses. I was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then s is pretty well known. If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said I am, in height, six feet four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing on an average one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair 10 and gray eyes. No other marks or brands recollected. 1. Outline Lincoln's life, ancestry, etc., as here presented, under the proper heads. Test your outline by trying to group all the facts under their proper headings. This will require careful re-reading of the selection. 2. Next take one of your topics and practice thinking of the items you have included under it. Be ready to speak on any one of your topics at class recitation. 3. What major events of Lincoln's life are omitted from this document? Why? (To answer this, refer to your history for the dates of Lincoln's presidency; compare with the date when this was written.) 4. Is there anything in the article that sounds the least boastful? Explain lines 25-26 in this connection. 5. Who were the Whigs? What was the Missouri Compromise? S. H. R. SEVEN-8 |