across the bay and out to sea. At high tide the breakers dash
madly against the shore, but at low tide there is a broad strip of
silver sand, rocks covered with sea-weed, and in the low places, creeks
and pools of salt water. Does the artist's picture represent high or low
tide?

_Second_, at sea: Deep beneath the surface of the water where the waves
toss and roar, where the surf and spray dash madly about, are great
caverns strewn with white sand. It is cool down there in the depths, and
the light filtering through the clear green sea is weak and pale. The
water streams through caverns, swaying the exquisite sea-weeds that line
the walls; and outside, round about, whales, sea-snakes and all manner
of water beasts swim in play or struggle for mastery. In one of the
caverns stands a great throne of red gold, ornamented with graceful sea
fringe, pearls and amber. From without one may gaze up to the
amber-colored ceiling, or down to the pavement of lustrous pearl. It was
this wondrous palace that the mermaid abandoned for the sake of her
soul.

VI. _Sentiment._ It is, on the whole, a sad poem, though a few cheering
thoughts are suggested by it. Without an attempt at classification and
analysis, here are a few choice ideas taken in order as they occur:

_Page 180._ "Children's voices should be dear to a mother's ear."

_Page 183._ "Long prayers in the world they say."

_Page 183._ "Oh joy, for the blessed light of the sun!"

_Page 185._ The last stanza shows very pleasingly the faithfulness of
father and children, in contrast to the inconstancy of the mother.

VII. _Beauty._ Besides its sentiment, the poem gives us other beauties
in great number. Here are some of them:

_a. Unity._ The poem has one idea running through it from beginning to
end, an idea that is nowhere lacking, though at first it is not seen.
What is the one idea? Grief, but not bitterness nor anger. Each
succeeding stanza is seen to add something to this idea, till all our
sympathies are enlisted for the forsaken children, more than for the
father who does all the talking.

_b. Meter and Rhyme._ Both meter and rhyme are irregular, but that fact
gives a pleasing variety to the poem and corresponds to the somewhat
abrupt changes in the line of thought that at first make the poem rather
hard to read. The children will be interested in comparing the lengths
of lines in different stanzas and sometimes in different parts of the
same stanza. It is easy t