t
when he says:

"Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest."

After you have presented these thoughts, read the poem again to the
children. Call attention to its musical structure, its simplicity, the
beauty of its expressions, and then read it a third time. It is one of
those beautiful things which may well be committed to memory.

It will be found very helpful, too, for the children to write the story
in prose and try to bring out the meaning. Let them use freely the words
of the poem, but a different arrangement of words, so that there shall
be left no trace of rhyme or meter in their prose.

[Illustration: ROBERT SOUTHEY
WILLIAM COWPER
ROBERT BURNS
LORD BYRON
JOHN KEATS
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE]

_The Forsaken Merman_

(Volume VII, page 180)

One of the satisfactory poems for study in the middle years of school
life is the one whose name heads this paragraph. It is a great favorite
with most children who know it, but it has not found its way largely
into school use. For both of these reasons it is worthy of study.

I. _Preparation and General Plan._ Let the children read in turn, each
taking one stanza, and if a second reading seems desirable let them
exchange stanzas so that each will have a part new to himself. Be sure
to have a final reading, by yourself or by the best reader among the
children, which shall be continuous and without interruption; otherwise
the beautiful unity of idea and the relation of the different parts will
be overlooked.

II. _Words and Phrases and Sentences._ It is well to begin with the
study sentence by sentence. See that the meaning is clear. The following
suggestions may be of assistance:

_Page 180, line 6._ "Wild white horses"; the breakers, where the waves
are beaten into foam and flying spray.

_Line 7._ "Champ"; gnash their bits.

_Page 182, line 4._ "Stream." The ocean currents resemble streams of
water on land.

_Line 8._ "Mail"; scales. How could the snakes _dry_ their mail?

_Line 10._ "Unshut." Do fish have eyelids? Is a whale a fish? Does a
whale have eyelids? Do most people think of a whale as a fish?

_Line 18._ "Sate" is an old form for "sat." Can you find other old or
unusual words or expressions? Why does the poet use them?

_Line 25._ "Merman." The literature of the ancients contained frequent
allusions