ve. sword.

[4] pall. A rich cloth from which mantles of noblemen were made.

[5] darkling. In the dark.

[6] vair. The fur of the squirrel.

[7] Elfin King. King of the fairies.

[8] woned. dwelt.

[9] circle. dance.

[10] fairies' fatal green. The dress of the fairies was green and
they were angered when mortals dared to wear garments of that colour.

[11] christened. Those who had been baptized were, according to
mediaeval belief, supposed to enjoy special advantages or privileges.

[12] ban. curse.

[13] grisly. horrible; hideous.

[14] kindly blood. The blood of your kindred.

[15] conjure. Call upon by oath. Distinguished from conjure, meaning
"to influence by magic."

[16] wist. See High School Grammar, p. 176.

[17] sign. Make the sign of the cross upon ray brow.

[18] Dunfermline. A town, about twenty miles from Edinburgh.

THE SOLITARY REAPER.

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland lass!
Reaping and singing by herself,
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain 5
And sings a melancholy strain.
Oh, listen! for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No nightingale did ever chant
So sweetly to reposing bands 10
Of travellers in some shady haunt
Among Arabian sands:
No sweeter voice was ever heard
In spring time from the cuckoo-bird
Breaking the silence of the seas 15
Among the farthest Hebrides.

"Will no one tell me what she sings?
Perhaps the plaintive numbers now
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago. 20
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?

"Whate'er the theme, the maiden sang 25
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;--
I listen'd motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill, 30
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

--_Wordsworth_.

THE ISLAND OF THE SCOTS.

The Rhine is running deep and red, the island lies before,--
"Now is there one of all the host will dare to venture o'er?
For not alone the river's sweep might make a brave man quail;
The foe are on the further side, their shot comes fast as hail.
God help us, if the mi