rimming river;
For men may come, and men may go,
But I go on forever.

_Tennyson_.

[Illustration:]

* * * * *

HAUNTS, places of frequent resort.

COOT and hern, water fowls that frequent lakes and other still
waters.

BICKER, to move quickly and unsteadily, like flame or water.

THORP, a cluster of houses; a hamlet.

SHARPS and trebles, terms in music. They are here used to
describe the sound of the brook.

EDDYING, moving in circles. Why are "eddying bays" dangerous to the
swimmer?

FRETTED BANKS, banks worn away by the action of the water.

FALLOW, plowed land, foreland, a point of land running into the sea
or other water.

MALLOW, a kind of plant.

GLOOM, to shine obscurely.

SHINGLY, abounding with shingle or loose gravel.

BARS, banks of sand or gravel or rock forming a shoal in a river or
harbor.

CRESSES, certain plants which grow near the water. They are
sometimes used as a salad.

* * * * *

_37_

wits
hale
borne
suit' ed
prop' er ly
sit u a' tion

LEARNING TO THINK.

Grandpa Dennis is one of the kindest and gentlest, as well as one of the
wisest men I know; and although his step is somewhat feeble, and the few
locks that are left him are gray, he is still more hale and hearty than
many a younger man.

Like all old people whose hearts are in the right place, he is fond of
children, whom he likes to amuse and instruct by his pleasant talk, as
they gather round his fireside or sit upon his knee.

Sometimes he puts questions to the young folks, not only to find out
what they know, but also to sharpen their wits and lead them to think.

"Tell me, Norman," he said one day, as they sat together, "if I have a
cake to divide among three persons, how ought I to proceed?"

"Why, cut it into three parts, and give one to each, to be sure," said
Norman.

"Let us try that plan, and see how it will succeed. Suppose the cake has
to be divided among you, Arthur and Winnie. If I cut off a very thin
slice for you, and divide what is left between your brother and sister,
will that be fair?"

"No, that would not be at all fair, Grandpa."

"Why not? Did I not divide the cake according to your advice? Did I not
cut it into three parts?"

"But one was larger than the other, and they ought to have been exactly
the same size."

"Then you think, that if I had divided the cake into three