RECONSTRUCTION
Tell the story of the poem in your own words.
In a cañon of the Sierras, a group of rough miners were gathered about a camp-fire. Around them stood the stately pines, above which the moon was slowly rising; below, at the bottom of the cañon, a river sang, as it threaded its way among the boulders; and, far in the distance, the mountains reared their snow-covered summits to the evening sky. The flickering camp-fire played strange tricks upon those gathered round it, for it gave to the care-worn faces and bent forms of the miners the appearance of freshness and health.
One of the miners, a mere youth, opened his pack, drew therefrom a copy of Dickens' Old Curiosity Shop, and began to read aloud. At once, all other occupations were suspended, and everybody drew near to listen to the story. The whole camp yielded itself to the fascination of the tale, and in its absorbing interest they forgot themselves and their surroundings, their ills, their hardships, and their cares. One might almost fancy that the very pines and cedars became silent, and that the fir trees drew closer to hear the story of "Little Nell".
Dickens, the "Master", has gone, but, among the many tributes that are paid to his power as a writer, let this little tale of the Western camp be added, to illustrate the universal nature of his influence.
DOST THOU LOOK BACK ON WHAT HATH BEEN
(Fourth Reader, page 289)