Johnson, Dr. Samuel: An eminent English essayist, poet, and lexicographer. Born, 1709; died, 1784. For his biography, see Macaulay's essay on his life and works in "School Reading by Grades—Seventh Year."
Jonson, Ben: A celebrated English poet and dramatist. Born, 1573; died, 1637. Among his plays are "Every Man in his Humour" (1598), "Cynthia's Revels" (1600), "The Alchemist" (1610), etc.
Kingsley, Charles: An eminent English author and clergyman. See Biographical Notes in "School Reading by Grades—Fifth Year."
"Lays of Ancient Rome": A volume of poems written by Lord Macaulay and first published in 1842. It includes "Horatius" (see page32), "The Battle of Lake Regillus," "Virginia," and "The Prophecy of Capys."
Lewes(lū´es),George Henry: An English philosophical and miscellaneous writer. Born at London, 1817; died, 1878. He wrote "Seaside Studies" (1858), "Studies in Animal Life" (1862), "Problems of Life and Mind" (1874), and many other works on scientific and philosophical subjects.
Lincoln, Abraham: The sixteenth President of the United States. Born in Kentucky, 1809; died at Washington, D. C., 1865. The "Address at Gettysburg" (page205) is generally conceded to be one of the noblest examples of oratory produced in modern times.
"Lorna Doone: a Romance of Exmoor." First published in 1869. See page64.
"Mexico, History of the Conquest of," by William H. Prescott (see page104), was first published in 1843. Other works relating to the same event are "The Spanish Conquest in America," by Sir Arthur Helps, "The Fair God" (a romance) by General Lew Wallace.
Prescott, William Hickling: An eminent American historian. Born at Salem, Mass., 1796; died, 1859. His principal works are "History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella" (1838), "Conquest of Mexico" (see note above), "Conquest of Peru" (1847), "History of Philip II" (1858).
Reade, Charles: A noted English barrister and novelist. Born in Oxfordshire, 1814; died, 1884. His novels are very numerous, but the best is "The Cloister and the Hearth," from which our selection is taken (page153). Several of his writings are noted for their strong opposition to social evils.
Scott, Sir Walter.See Biographical Notes in "School Reading by Grades—Fifth Year."
Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn: An English divine and historian. Born, 1815; died, 1881. He traveled in Egypt and Palestine in 1852–53; wrote "Sinai and Palestine" (1856), "Memorials of Canterbury" (1855), "History of the Jewish Church" (1865), etc.
Stockton, Frank Richard: A noted American author and humorist. Born at Philadelphia, 1834. He has written "Rudder Grange," "The Clocks of Rondaine," "Pomona'sTravels," "Stories of New Jersey," and many other works, including several books for children.
"Tales of a Grandfather": A collection of historical stories, by Sir Walter Scott, first published in four series, 1827–30. See page66.
Tennyson, Alfred.See Biographical Notes in "School Reading by Grades—Fifth Year."
Tyndall, John: An eminent British scientist. Born in Ireland, 1820; died in England, 1893. Among his works are "The Forms of Water in Clouds and Rivers" (1873) from which our extract is selected (page202), "Hours of Exercise in the Alps" (1871), "Fragments of Science" (1892), and many other works of a similar character.
"Westward Ho! or the Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh": A novel by Charles Kingsley, first published in 1855. See page165.
Winthrop, Robert Charles: An American statesman and orator. Born at Boston, 1809; died, 1894. His most famous addresses were delivered at the laying of the corner-stone of the Washington Monument, 1848, and at the completion of the same monument, 1885.
White, Gilbert: An English clergyman and naturalist, famous as the author of "Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne" (1789). He was born at Selborne, 1720; died there, 1793.
Yonge(yung),Charlotte Mary: An English writer and novelist. Born at Otterbourne, 1823. She has written more than a hundred volumes, including, "The Heir of Redclyffe," "Daisy Chain," "Landmarks of History," and "A Book of Golden Deeds," from which the selection beginning on page208is taken.
Page20."Straits of Sunda." The passage between the islands of Java and Sumatra, leading from the Indian Ocean to the Sea of Java. See a good map of this part of the world.
25."The Return of Columbus." Returning from his first voyage (see "School Reading by Grades—Fourth Year," page 43), Columbus reached Palos, March 15, 1493. The selection here given from Irving describes his triumphal reception a few weeks later at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella at Barcelona.
"Hidalgos." Spanish noblemen of the lower class.
27."Las Casas." A Spanish historian, born, 1474; died, 1566. He went to America in 1502, and in 1542 was Bishop of Chiapas in Mexico. We are indebted to him for some of the earliest trustworthy accounts of the Spanish discoveries. He was the friend and defender of the Indians against their European conquerors.
28."Te Deum laudamus." "We praise thee, O God."
32.Tarquin the Proud, or Tarquinius Superbus, reigned, according to the traditional account, from 534 to 509B.C.The modern name of Clusium is Chiusi(Kē [=oo]´sē). It is situated in the province of Siena in Italy, and is famous for its ruins of Etruscan origin.
33."Consul." After the expulsion of the kings from Rome the governing power was vested in two consuls, who were elected annually. At the time of the story, one of the consuls had been slain in battle with Porsena. Our selection begins with the twenty-sixth stanza of Macaulay's poem.
"Ramnian," belonging to the Ramnes, the first of the three tribes which originally composed the Roman nation. Herminius was a member of the second tribe, or Tities. The third tribe were the Luceres.
35.For the places mentioned on this and the following pages, see some good classical atlas.
36."She-wolf's litter." A reference to the legend that Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were, when babes, protected and reared by a she-wolf.
42."Fathers." The Roman senators.
44.Sir Francis Drake was an English seaman, born about 1540; died, 1596. He was famous for his operations on the sea against the Spaniards of America, and especially for being the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.
66.Bannockburn is the name of a small village three miles south of Stirling, in Scotland. Robert Bruce, one of the national heroes of Scotland, was born, 1274; died, 1329. His right to the throne of Scotland was disputed by Edward I. of England, who claimed the suzerainty of that country for himself. The war which resulted from this dispute was continued by Edward II. until he met with the signal defeat here narrated. Bruce's right to the Scottish throne was formally acknowledged by England in 1328.
89."Great stone castles." For a description of the different parts of a Norman castle mentioned in this selection, see the word "Castle" in Webster's International Dictionary.
93."Conquest." The Norman conquest under Duke William, 1066. See "School Reading by Grades—Fourth Year," page 181.
"Author of 'Ivanhoe.'" Sir Walter Scott. See "Ivanhoe," Chapter VIII.
"Quintain." An upright post, on the top of which turned a cross-piece, having on one end a broad board and on the other a sandbag. The endeavor was to strike the board with the lance while riding under it and get away without being hit by the sandbag.
96."Scriptorium." A room in a monastery where the monks wrote or copied manuscripts. See "School Reading by Grades—Fifth Year," page 170.
100."Nathless." Nevertheless.
104.Cortés. Hernando Cortés was born in Spain in 1485. In 1504, at the age of nineteen, he sailed for Santo Domingo, where he was received with great favor, and where for several years he held important offices in connection with the government of the new colony. In 1518 he organized the expedition for the conquest of Mexico. The city was finally captured, after a gallant defense of 77 days, August 13, 1521. Utterly neglected and forsaken in his old age, Cortés died at Seville, in Spain, December 2, 1547.
106."Palanquin" (păl an kēn´). An inclosed litter, borne on men's shoulders, for conveying a single person.
106."Cacique" (kȧ sēk´). A chieftain, or nobleman, among the Aztecs or Indians.
107."Panache" (păn ȧsh´). A plume or bunch of feathers. A military plume.
109."Tenochtitlan" (ten ōch tēt län´). The Aztec name for their chief city, the site of which is now occupied by the city of Mexico. Itwas founded about two hundred years before the Spanish conquest, and was built on an island in Tezcuco Lake. The name Mexitl, or Mexico, was also applied to the city, or to a portion of it.
110."Bernal Diaz" (dē´äth). A Spanish soldier in the army of Cortés, who afterwards wrote a history of the conquest.
111."Montezuma." Cortés repaid this chieftain for his kindness by seizing him in his own house and carrying him to the Spanish quarters, where he kept him as a prisoner. The Aztecs attacked the quarters, and Montezuma, by the direction of Cortés, appeared on the wall to counsel peace. This so exasperated them that they pelted him with stones, and wounded him so that he died four days later.
118."The Lions." Rosa Bonheur, from whose painting this picture has been reproduced, is one of the most famous painters of the nineteenth century, especially of animal life and of landscapes. She was born at Bordeaux, France, in 1828. For nearly fifty years she has been directress of the Free School of Design for Young Girls in Paris. Many of her paintings have received high praise, but the one by which she is best known in this country is "The Horse Fair," in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
138."Sir William Wallace." One of the national heroes of Scotland. His deeds are commemorated in a once very popular romance by Jane Porter entitled "The Scottish Chiefs" (1810).
139."Schehallion." A mountain 35 miles northwest of Perth. Altitude, 3547 feet.
140."Royal Martyr." King Charles I. of England, beheaded by Parliament, 1649.
"King James." James II., at that time a fugitive from his throne.
"Covenanting traitors." Adherents of the "Solemn League and Covenant" adopted by the Scottish Parliament in 1638, and by the English Parliament in 1643, for the preservation of the reformed religion in Scotland and the suppression of papacy and prelacy.
153."Burgundy." The limits and character of the region known by this name have varied greatly at different periods of history. The Burgundy here mentioned was the great duchy of that name, the capital of which was Dijon. The Duke of Burgundy at the time of this story was the famous Charles the Bold, who was its ruler from 1467 to 1477. After his death it passed into the control of the king of France.
"Flanders." This country, which now forms the southeastern part of the province of Zealand, Netherlands, was united to Burgundy in 1369.Upon the death of Charles the Bold it passed to Austria; but since that time it has been successively acquired by various other neighboring states.
154."Palisades." Strong long stakes one end of which is set in the ground and the other sharpened.
"Sappers." Builders of fortifications.
155."Quarrels." Square-headed arrows for crossbows.
"Mantelets." Large shields of rope, wood, or metal.
"Mangonels." Engines for throwing stones or javelins.
156."Barbican." See "Castle" in Webster's International Dictionary. A tower for defending the entrance to a castle.
"Arbalester." A crossbowman.
"Half ell shaft." A shaft or arrow half an ell in length.
158."Fascines" (făs´sēnz). Bundles of sticks bound together and used for filling ditches or raising batteries.
160."Sir Turk." The Turkish catapult just described.
163."Solway." Solway Firth, an arm of the Irish Sea, extending into Scotland: remarkable for the rapidity of its tides.
164."Graeme" (grām). See page138.
165."Manoa" (mä nō´ä). The city ruled by the gilded king, El Dorado. It was said to be built on an island in a lake called Parima, somewhere in the northern part of South America. Beginning about 1530, great numbers of expeditions were made by the Spaniards in search of this fabled city, all of which ended in disappointment and disaster.
175."Naught of strange." Nothing out of the usual order.
176."Lindis." A small stream in Lincolnshire.
"Melick" (mĕl´ĭk). Melic grass, a kind of grass eaten by cattle.
177."Warping down." Turning aside out of a straight course; moving in zigzag lines.
"Scope." A sea wall, or steep shore.
178."Bairns." Little children.
179."Eygre" (ē´gẽr). The flood tide moving with great force and swiftness up the river.
181.Henry II. of England was born in 1133; died, 1189. He was the first of the Plantagenet line of kings.
182.Thomas Becket, born in London, 1118, was the son of a rich merchant, and became a member of the household of Theobald, archbishopof Canterbury, about 1142. Through the influence of Theobald his interests with the king were advanced, and he became chancellor during the first year of Henry's reign. He was murdered in 1170.
190.In 1172 Becket was canonized under the title of St. Thomas of Canterbury, and in 1220 his bones were removed to Trinity Chapel, where they became the object of great veneration. For several centuries pilgrimages were made to his shrine from all parts of England. Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" were related by a party of pilgrims who were making this journey, presumably near the close of the fourteenth century. By order of King Henry VIII. the shrine was finally destroyed, and the bones of Becket were scattered and burned.
200."Genera." Plural ofgenus—a name applied to a class of objects subdivided into species.
"Hen harriers." Hawks which fly low and harass fowls or small animals.
201."Gallinæ" (găl lī´ne). The order of birds which includes domestic fowls, pheasants, quails, grouse, etc.
205.The National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was dedicated by President Lincoln, November 19, 1863. It was here that the great battle of Gettysburg was fought, July 1, 2, and 3 of the same year. The cemetery contains the graves of 3580 soldiers, with a central monument, built at a cost of $50,000, and a large number of regimental monuments on the various historic points of the battlefield.
208."Vespasian and his son Titus." Vespasian was emperor of RomeA.D.70–79. He was succeeded by his son Titus, who died two years later. Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Titus, acting as his father's general, in the year 70. Both these emperors expended large sums on public works. The Coliseum, although begun by Vespasian in 72, was not finished during his reign. Despite the enormous mass of the present ruins, it is estimated that they comprise only about one third of the original materials; the remainder have been carried away, destroyed, or used in the construction of other buildings.
209."Orpheus." The sweet musician of Thrace whose music charmed birds and beasts, and caused even rocks and trees to move from their places to listen to the divine melody.
212."The Last Prayer." Jean Leon Gérôme, the painter of this picture, is a celebrated French artist, born at Vesoul in 1824. He studied in Italy, and to perfect himself in his art, traveled for some years in Egypt, Turkey, and other eastern countries. As might have beenexpected, the subjects of many of his paintings are oriental. In 1863, he became professor of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. His works are very numerous and meritorious.
213.The stanza of poetry quoted on this page is from Lord Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage."
"Honorius." Honorius was born at Constantinople,A.D.384, and became emperor of the western empire in 395 at the age of eleven years. He married the daughter of his guardian, Stilicho, in 398. It was during his reign (in 410) that Rome was taken and sacked by Alaric the Goth. He died in 423.
216."Lyonesse" (lī o nĕs´). A mythical region, said to have extended from Land's End, in Cornwall, to the Scilly Islands. A tradition still exists of the submersion and destruction of this country, probably in the tenth century. King Arthur was said to have been a native of Lyonesse.
217."Camelot." A legendary town in England where Arthur had his palace and court. It is supposed by some to have been near Winchester; others locate it in Wales.
"Merlin." A half-legendary bard and wizard, who is supposed to have lived in the early part of the sixth century. He was the companion and counselor of Arthur, and instituted the Round Table at Carduel. The famous prose romance, called the "Romance of Merlin," was written in French by Hélie de Borron about the year 1200. It was translated into English about the middle of the fifteenth century.
"Excalibur." The sword which Arthur had received from the Lady of the Lake. It had many miraculous qualities, and the wearer of its scabbard could lose no blood.
223."Daïs throne." A throne raised upon an elevated platform or daïs.
224."Avilion." In Celtic mythology, the Land of the Blessed—an earthly paradise in the western seas. All the great heroes of mediæval times, as Arthur and Ogier the Dane, were carried there, where they lived in perfect happiness at the court of Morgan le Fay, the queen of the fairies.
Transcriber's NoteLine numbers removed from short stories.Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired.Footnote moved to the end of short story.In Table of Contents "Portraits of Authors" page number corrected for Arthur Penrhyn Stanley from "190" to "191".Chiusi(Kē [=oo]´sē) contains [=oo] representing a "long oo" sound not represented in any charts.