Part 2 — LESSON XLIV.
Reading edition
peas'ants, those who work on farms. hedge'rows, rows of shrubs or trees used to inclose a space. tow'ers, very high buildings. an ces'tral, belonging to a family for a great many years. mon'arch, king; ruler. roy'al ty, kings and queens. gifts, things given; presents.
COMMON GIFTS.
The sunshine is a glorious thing, That comes alike to all, Lighting the peasant's lowly cot, The noble's painted hall. The moonlight is a gentle thing, Which through the window gleams Upon the snowy pillow, where The happy infant dreams. It shines upon the fisher's boat Out on the lonely sea, As well as on the flags which float On towers of royalty. The dewdrops of the summer morn Display their silver sheen Upon the smoothly shaven lawn, And on the village green. There are no gems in monarch's crown More beautiful than they; And yet you scarcely notice them, But tread them off in play. The music of the birds is heard, Borne on the passing breeze, As sweetly from the hedgerows as From old ancestral trees. There are as many lovely things, As many pleasant tones, For those who dwell by cottage hearths As those who sit on thrones.
Directions for Reading.—This lesson should be read with a full and clear tone of voice. The thoughts expressed are not of a conversational nature.
In the first stanza, in the contrast between peasant's lowly cot and noble's painted hall, the inflections are rising circumflexes and falling circumflexes.
The rising circumflex consists of a downward turn of the voice followed by an upward turn; the falling circumflex, of an upward turn followed by a downward turn.
Let pupils mark the inflections in the last two lines of the poem.
Language Lesson.—Let pupils express the meaning of what is given below in dark type, using a single word for each example.
For those who dwell by cottage hearths,
As those who sit on thrones.