d yellow hair.

7. And now, with Autumn's moonlit eves,
Its harvest time has come;
We pluck away the frosted leaves
And bear the treasure home.

8. There, richer than the fabled gift
Apollo showered of old,
Fair hands the broken grain shall sift,
And knead its meal of gold.

9. Let vapid idlers loll in silk,
Around their costly board;
Give us the bowl of samp and milk,
By homespun beauty poured!

10. Where'er the wide old kitchen hearth
Sends up its smoky curls,
Who will not thank the kindly earth
And bless our farmer girls!

11. Then shame on all the proud and vain,
Whose folly laughs to scorn
The blessing of our hardy grain,
Our wealth of golden corn!

12. Let earth withhold her goodly root;
Let mildew blight the rye,
Give to the worm the orchard's fruit,
The wheat field to the fly:

13. But let the good old crop adorn
The hills our fathers trod;
Still let us, for his golden corn,
Send up our thanks to God!
From Whittier's "Songs of Labor."

DEFINITIONS.--1. Hoard, a large quantify of anything laid up. Lav'ish.
profuse. 4. Meads, meadows. 9. Vap'id, spiritless, dull. Samp, bruised
corn cooked by boiling.

Notes.--8. According to the ancient fable, Apollo, the god of music, sowed
the isle of Delos, his birthplace, with golden flowers, by the music of
his lyre.

XVII. THE VENOMOUS WORM.

John Russell (b. 1793, d. 1863) graduated at Middlebury College, Vt., in
1818. He was at one time editor of the "Backwoodsman," published at
Grafton, Ill., and later of the "Louisville Advocate." He was the author
of many tales of western adventure and of numerous essays, sketches, etc.
His language is clear, chaste, and classical; his style concise, vigorous,
and sometimes highly ornate.

1. Who has not heard of the rattlesnake or copperhead? An unexpected sight
of either of these reptiles will make even the lords of creation recoil;
but there is a species of worm, found in various parts of this country,
which conveys a poison of a nature so deadly that, compared with it, even
the venom of the rattlesnake is harmless. To guard our readers against
this foe of human kind is the object of this lesson.

2. This worm varies much in size. It is frequently an inch in diameter,
but, as it is rarely seen except when coiled, its length can hardly be
conjectured. It is of a