WHAT THE CHIMNEY SANG.
Over the chimney the night-wind sang
And chanted a melody no one knew;
And the Woman stopped, as her babe she tossed,
And thought of the one she had long since lost:
And said, as her tear-drop back she forced,
"I hate the wind in the chimney."
Over the chimney the night-wind sang
And chanted a melody no one knew;
And the Children said, as they closer drew,
"'Tis some witch that is cleaving the black night through—
'Tis a fairy trumpet that just then blew,
And we fear the wind in the chimney."
Over the chimney the night-wind sang
And chanted a melody no one knew;
And the Man, as he sat on his hearth below,
Said to himself, "It will surely snow,
And fuel is dear and wages low,
And I'll stop the leak in the chimney."
Over the chimney the night-wind sang
And chanted a melody no one knew;
But the Poet listened and smiled, for he
Was Man, and Woman, and Child—all three,
And said, "It is God's own harmony,
This wind we hear in the chimney."
Directions for Reading.—The first two lines of each stanza may be read more slowly and with a fuller tone of voice than the rest of the stanza.
Notice that the words of special emphasis throughout the poem begin with capital letters.
Mark inflections in the last four lines of the first and last stanzas.
LESSON XLIX.
sel'dom, not often; rarely.
jun'gles, places covered with trees and brushwood.
tough (tuf), not easily separated.
ap par'ent ly, seemingly; in appearance.
a cute', quick in action; sharp.
charg'es, rushes forward.
gram'p us, a kind of fish.
re sumed', started again; took up again.
hid'e ous, horrid to look at.
de struc'tion, death; entire loss.
re sist', stand against.
des'per ate, without hope or care.
ex cur'sions, journeys; rambles.