of the last stanza, which is more irregular than the others,
we can indicate as follows:

O love'|they die'|in yon'|rich sky'
They faint'|on hill'|or field'|or riv'|er:
Our ech'|oes roll'|from soul'|to soul',
And grow'|for ev'|er and'|for ev'|er
Blow, bu'|gle, blow'|--set'|the wild ech'|oes fly'|ing,
And an'|swer, ech'|oes, an'|swer, dy'|ing, dy'|ing, dy'|ing.

In the next to the last line there are five feet and one added syllable,
if we consider that the pause which we naturally make before the word
_set_ is equivalent to a syllable. In the last line there are six feet
with an added syllable. This additional foot which appears in the last
line of every stanza is introduced to imitate the lingering death of the
echoes.

After this study of the poem it should be read several times aloud in an
effort to bring out the music; the first stanza in the pitch of ordinary
conversation, with force in the fourth line and lingering intonations in
the last line. The pitch of the second stanza should be higher, and it
will be easily attained because of the predominance of the thin vowels.
The third stanza calls for a pitch lower than the first and a slowness
and solemnity of movement quite in contrast to the moderate rate of the
first and the liveliness and gaiety of the second. It will be seen in
these readings that there is an overlying melody in the stanzas, quite
distinct from the rhythm that depends upon the meter, and that in the
reading the meter naturally falls subservient to the melody of the
phrases. In fact, in a poem of this kind the meter should be forgotten
in the reading, which should give itself wholly to bringing out the
meaning expressively, and to making the voice harmonize with the rich
music of the lines.

An analysis of _The Bugle Song_ will seem superfluous to the cultivated
reader, but if these suggestions help the learner to see something new,
to feel more acutely, to realize beauty more abundantly, their purpose
is accomplished.

_The Petrified Fern_

(Volume VII, page 77)

Some day when you want an interesting and delightful nature lesson that
is a little out of the ordinary, get, if you can, a fossil fern. If you
are in the city, doubtless you can get one from the museum, or, better
yet, you may find that among your pupils there is someone who has such a
specimen carefully treasured away. In some localities where the
limestone rock comes to the surface, espe