THE LIGHT-HOUSE.
The tide comes up, and the tide goes down,
Over the rocks, so rugged and brown,
And the cruel sea, with a hungry roar,
Dashes its breakers along the shore;
But steady and clear, with a constant ray,
The star of the light-house shines alway.
The ships come sailing across the main,
But the harbor mouth is hard to gain,
For the treacherous reef lies close beside,
And the rocks are bare at the ebbing tide,
And the blinding fog comes down at night,
Shrouding and hiding the harbor light.
The sailors, sailing their ships along,
Will tell you a tale of the light-house strong;
How once, when the keeper was far away,
A terrible storm swept down the bay,
And two little children were left to keep
Their awesome watch with the angry deep.
The fair little sister wept, dismayed,
But the brother said, "I am not afraid;
There's One who ruleth on sea and land,
And holds the sea in His mighty hand;
For mercy's sake I will watch to-night,
And feed, for the sailors, the beacon light."
So the sailors heard through the murky shroud
The fog-bell sounding its warning loud!
While the children, up in the lonely tower,
Tended the lamp in the midnight hour,
And prayed for any whose souls might be
In deadly peril by land or sea.
Ghostly and dim, when the storm was o'er,
The ships rode safely, far off the shore,
And a boat shot out from the town that lay
Dusk and purple, across the bay,
She touched her keel to the light-house strand,
And the eager keeper leaped to land.
And swiftly climbing the light-house stair,
He called to his children, young and fair;
But, worn with their toilsome watch, they slept,
While slowly o'er their foreheads crept,
The golden light of the morning sun,
Like a victor's crown, when his palm is won.
"God bless you, children!" the keeper cried;
"God bless thee, father!" the boy replied.
"I dreamed that there stood beside my bed
A beautiful angel, who smiled and said,
'Blessed are they whose love can make
Joy of labor, for mercy's sake!'"
Directions for Reading.—Mark the inflection of the following lines.
The tide comes up, and the tide goes down.
The fair little sister wept, dismayed,
But the brother said, "I am not afraid."
Name the emphatic words in the lines just quoted. State whether the emphasis falls upon words that are inflected.
Language Lesson.—Why is the sea called cruel and its roar hungry? Give two examples of a similar use of words.
LESSON LIII.
oc'cu pant, one who is in possession of a thing.
ac quired', gained.
mi'cro scope, a glass so formed as to make small objects appear large.
slug'gish, slow; stupid.
in spect'ing, looking at with attention.
com posed', made up.
se'ries, a number of things in order.
stub'bed, short and thick.
dis turbed', interfered with.