STUDY OF A PICTURE

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relaxed his hold; then suddenly he began to soften a little, and a warm haze to creep up from the south, but not a solitary bird, save the winter residents, was to be seen or heard. Next day the sun seemed to have drawn immensely nearer; his beams were full of power; and we said, "Behold the first spring morning! And, as if to make the prophecy complete, there is the note of a bluebird, and it is not yet nine o'clock." Then others, and still others were heard. How did they know it was going to be a suitable day for them to put in an appearance? It seemed as if they must have been waiting somewhere close by for the first warm day, like actors behind the scenes, the moment the curtain was lifted, they were ready and rushed upon the stage. The third warm day, and behold, all the principal performers come rushing in. Song-sparrows, cow-blackbirds, grackles, the meadow-lark, cedar-birds, the phoebe-bird, and hark! what bird laughter was that? the robins, hurrah! the robins! Not two or three, but a score or two of them; they are following the river valley north, and they stop in the trees from time to time, and give vent to their gladness. It is like a summer picnic of school children suddenly let loose in a wood; they sing, shout, whistle, squeal, and call in the most blithesome strains. JOHN BURROUGHS.

LESSON LXXII

STUDY OF A PICTURE

Hints for a conversation lesson upon

Alert

the picture

Place Features-The scene of the picture. What is indi

cated regarding the character of this forest by the trees and undergrowth? What does the presence of the deer show?

Central Object-Study the position, and general appearance of this deer, and tell what they indicate regarding the character of the animal. What feelings are expressed in his face? Tell why you think this picture is called "Alert." If you have ever seen such a deer as this, tell in what way the one in the picture resembles the one you have seen. Look carefully at the picture, and explain why the deer painted by Rosa Bonheur pleases you more than other pictures of deer you have seen.

The Artist-Find out all you can about this great animal painter, how she first began to paint, where and how she lived, how she painted the animals which are such true representations of life that they seem almost to move and breathe.

Study other pictures painted by this artist, and tell what characteristic they have that makes them different from other animal pictures.

Name all Rosa Bonheur's pictures that you have seen.

The antlered monarch of the waste

Sprung from his heathery couch in haste.
But, ere his fleet career he took,
The dewdrops from his flanks he shook;
Like crested leader proud and high,
Toss'd his beam'd frontlet to the sky;

A moment gazed adown the dale,
A moment snuffed the tainted gale,
A moment listened to the cry,

That thicken'd as the chase drew nigh.

COMPARISON

Then, as the headmost foes appeared,

With one brave bound the copse he cleared,

And stretching forward free and far,

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Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var. WALTER SCOTT.

LESSON LXXIII

COMPARISON

Daisies and buttercups gladden my sight

Like treasures of silver and gold. — CAMPBELL.

The dew upon the tender crops,

Like pearls, white and round,
Or like to melted silver drops,
Refreshes all the ground. - HUME.

"Keep a watch on your words, my darling,
For words are wonderful things;

They are sweet like the bee's fresh honey;
Like the bees they have terrible stings."

Why do daisies and buttercups gladden the writer's sight? Why did they make him think of silver and gold?

In the second quotation, with what two things are dewdrops compared? In what way do dewdrops resemble pearls? How are they like melted silver drops?

What kinds of words are described in the third quotation? What comparison does the writer use to make us understand the sweetness of the first class? Why do you think he compares them with honey? What comparison

What resemblance

is made to describe the second class? is there between stinging words and bees? Do these comparisons help us to understand more clearly the power that some words have to please and others have to hurt? Look for comparisons in your reading, and notice how they add strength and beauty to language.

Write sentences, comparing each of the following with something which it in some way resembles: — The paw of the kitten.

The lining of the humming-bird's nest.
The dandelions that dot the grass.

The foam on the rocks.

The sound of waves.

The rustling leaves.

Use each of the following in a sentence, comparing two objects that possess the quality named:

The happiest bird of our spring, and the one that rivals the European lark, in my estimation, is the Bobolink. He arrives at that choice portion of our year which in this latitude answers to the description of the month of May so often given by the poets. The