4. How do you explain his indifference in this regard?

5. Of what other possession does he make no disposal? Why? 6. What does he give to fathers and mothers to be held in trust for their children?

7. What charge does he give the parents along with this bequest? 8. What does he leave to children inclusively?

9. Why is this bequest "only for the term of their childhood"? 10. Just what does he leave to boys jointly? Which of these things

do boys value most highly?

11. Explain, "all the pictures that may be seen in the burning wood." 12. What does he bequeath to lovers?

13. Why does he say, “aught else they may desire" etc.?

14. What does he give to young men, jointly?

15. What to him obscures the temporary rudeness in boys?

16. What does he leave, "to those who are no longer children, or

youths, or lovers"?

17. Explain, "if there be others."

18. What is shown of the maker of the will in what he leaves, "to

our loved ones with snowy crowns"?

19. Give a brief summary of what is disposed of in the will. 20. What shows the author's keen sympathy for children?

His

understanding of boys? His insight into lovers? His love and respect for grown-ups?

21. How much of this inheritance is every person entitled to share? 22. Why did the maker of the will want all people to enjoy these larger possessions?

REFERENCES

HUNT: Abou Ben Adhem.

LOWELL: Vision of Sir Launfal.

STEVENSON: The Lamplighter.

WHITTIER: Riches of the Commonwealth. The Brother of Mercy.

Foss, S. W.: The House by the Side of the Road.

NAYLOR: Dr. John Goodfellow-Office Up-Stairs.

DICKINSON: The Children.

VAN DYKE: Fisherman's Luck

Lovers and Landscapes.

LONGFELLOW: The Legend Beautiful. The Children's Hour.

POPE: The Universal Prayer.

TUBAL CAIN

CHARLES MACKAY

UBAL CAIN may well be regarded as the father

TU

of manual training. He was the son of Lamech and Zillah and as the Bible tells us (Gen. 4:22), “an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." Josephus, in The Antiquities of the Jews, says: "But Tubal exceeded all men in strength, and was very expert and famous in martial performances, first of all invented the art of working brass."

and

The author has seized upon the suggestion contained in the above facts and constructed a poem which contains in brief the history of civilization. The hero is the personification of the race as it evolved from barbarism to civilization. "The sword and the spear" are relics of organized conquest when might made right. The "sudden change" that came over the heart of the old hero is but typical of a higher vision of the arts of peace that should be the fruits of conquest. The "plowshare" is but symbolic of industry and peace and the higher progress of civilization. The poem closes with a significant hint that war is still honorable when waged in defense of home and country and sacred rights. The poem is a splendid poetic illumination of the oft-quoted saying of Matthew Arnold: "Might, till right is ready."

TUBAL CAIN

Old Tubal Cain was a man of might,
In the days when the earth was young;
By the fierce red light of his furnace bright,
The strokes of his hammer rung;

And he lifted high his brawny hand

On the iron glowing clear,

Till the sparks rushed out in scarlet showers,
As he fashioned the sword and spear.
And he sang, "Hurrah for my handiwork!
Hurrah for the spear and the sword!
Hurrah for the hand that shall wield them well,
For he shall be king and lord!"

To Tubal Cain came many a one,
As he wrought by his roaring fire,

And each one prayed for a strong steel blade
As the crown of his desire;

And he made them weapons sharp and strong,
Till they shouted loud for glee,

And gave him gifts of pearl and gold,
And spoils of the forest free.

And they said, "Hurrah for Tubal Cain,
Who hath given us strength anew!
Hurrah for the smith, hurrah for the fire,
And hurrah for the metal true!"

But a sudden change came o'er his heart
Ere the setting of the sun,

And Tubal Cain was filled with pain
For the evil he had done:

He saw that men with rage and hate

Made war upon their kind,

That the land was red with the blood they shed

In their lust for carnage blind.

And he said, "Alas that ever I made,

Or that skill of mine should plan,

The

spear and the sword for men whose joy Is to slay their fellow-man!"

And for many a day old Tubal Cain
Sat brooding o'er his woe;
And his hand forbore to smite the ore,
And his furnace smoldered low.

But he rose at last with a cheerful face,
And a bright courageous eye,

And bared his strong right arm for work,
While the quick flames mounted high;

And he sang, "Hurrah for my handiwork!"

And the red sparks lit the air:

"Not alone for the blade was the bright steel made," And he fashioned the first plowshare.

And men, taught wisdom from the past,

In friendship joined their hands,

Hung the sword in the hall, the spear on the wall,

And plowed the willing lands;

And sung, "Hurrah for Tubal Cain!

Our stanch good friend is he;

And for the plowshare and the plow
To him our praise shall be.
But while oppression lifts its head,
Or a tyrant would be lord,
Though we may thank him for the plow,
We'll not forget the sword!"

SUGGESTIVE EXERCISES

1. Who was Tubal Cain?

2. What does the poet represent him as doing at first? 3. What was then the condition of the times when "each one prayed for a strong steel blade as the crown of his desire"?

4. In what sense had Tubal Cain given them "strength anew”? 5. What do you think caused the "sudden change" to come o'er his heart?

6. What did he next resolve to do?

7. What change came over the sons of men as a result?

8. Does the poet think war is ever justifiable ?

9. Explain “Might, till right is ready.”

10. In what sense does Tubal Cain personify the human race in its progressive onward march?

REFERENCES

Song of the Forge-Clang, Clang, the Massive Anvils Ring.

GEORGE W. CUTTER: The Song of Steam.

FOBERT SOUTHEY: The Battle of Blenheim.

EDWIN ARNOLD: Armagedden.

LONGFELLOW: Keramos. The Village Blacksmith. The Builders. CHESTER: The Tapestry Weavers.

THE EARTH AND MAN

A little sun, a little rain,

A soft wind blowing from the west

And woods and fields are sweet again,

And warmth within the mountain's breast.

So simple is the earth we tread,

So quick with love and life her frame:
Ten thousand years have dawned and fled,
And still her magic is the same.

A little love, a little trust,

A soft impulse, a sudden dream

And life as dry as desert dust

Is fresher than a mountain stream.

So simple is the heart of man,
So ready for new hope and joy:
Ten thousand years since it began
Have left it younger than a boy.

Stopford A. Brooke.