[42] By Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet (1759-1796).
[43] By James Russell Lowell.
[44] By Oliver Goldsmith.
Expression: Read all of these poems silently with a view towards sympathizing with the feelings which they express. Now read each one separately, and compare them, one with another. What is the leading sentiment inculcated by each? Which poem appeals the most strongly to your own emotions?
Word Study: Caledonia, shamrock, brake, Erin, gyves, yearning, frigid, tepid, patriot.
THE AGE OF COAL[45]
Come with me, in fancy, back to those early ages of the world, thousands, yes millions, of years ago. Stand with me on some low ancient hill, which overlooks the flat and swampy lands that are to become the American continent.
Few heights are yet in sight. The future Rocky Mountains lie still beneath the surface of the sea. The Alleghanies are not yet heaved up above the level surface of the ground, for over them are spread the boggy lands and thick forests of future coal fields. The Mississippi River is not yet in existence, or if in existence, is but an unimportant little stream.