The Holborn series of reading books. Instructive reader, no, Issue 2

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Page 68 - A WET sheet and a flowing sea, A wind that follows fast And fills the white and rustling sail And bends the gallant mast, And bends the gallant mast, my boys, While, like the eagle free, Away the good ship flies, and leaves Old England on the lee. " Oh for a soft and gentle wind...
Page 115 - MY heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky : So was it when my life began ; So is it now I am a man ; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die ! The child is father of the man ; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.
Page 91 - These pretty Babes with hand in hand Went wandering up and down ; But never more they saw the Man Approaching from the Town. In both these stanzas the words and the order of the words in no respect differ from the most unimpassioned conversation. There are words in both, for example, "the Strand,
Page 47 - I'VE watched you now a full half-hour, Self-poised upon that yellow flower ; And, little Butterfly ! indeed I know not if you sleep or feed. How motionless ! — not frozen seas More motionless ! and then What joy awaits you, when the breeze Hath found you out among the trees, And calls you forth again...
Page 34 - There are forty feeding like one ! Like an army defeated The Snow hath retreated, And now doth fare ill On the top of the bare hill ; The Plough-boy is whooping — anon — anon There's joy in the mountains; There's life in the fountains; Small clouds are sailing, Blue sky prevailing ; The rain is over and gone ! XXI.
Page 113 - I'm your servant and friend, But we ants never borrow, we ants never lend; But tell me, dear sir, did you lay nothing by When the weather was warm ?" Said the cricket, " Not I. My heart was so light That I sang day and night, For all nature looked gay." " You sang, sir, you say ? Go then," said the ant,
Page 90 - The parents being dead and gone, The children home he takes, And brings them straight unto his house, Where much of them he makes. He had not kept these pretty babes A twelvemonth and a day, But, for their wealth, he did devise To make them both away.
Page 128 - THE days are cold, the nights are long, The north- wind sings a doleful song; Then hush again upon my breast; All merry things are now at rest, Save thee, my pretty Love! The kitten sleeps upon the hearth, The crickets long have ceased their mirth; There's nothing stirring in the house Save one wee, hungry, nibbling mouse, Then why so busy thou? Nay!
Page 128 - The north wind sings a doleful song ; Then hush again upon my breast ; All merry things are now at rest, Save thee, my pretty love ! The kitten sleeps upon the hearth, The crickets long have ceased their mirth ; There's nothing stirring in the house Save one wee, hungry, nibbling mouse, Then why so busy thou } Nay ! start not at that sparkling light ; 'Tis but the moon that shines so bright On the window-pane bedropped with rain : Then, little darling ! sleep again, And wake when it is day.
Page 34 - THE cock is crowing, The stream is flowing, The small birds twitter, The lake doth glitter, The green field sleeps in the sun ; The oldest and youngest Are at work with the strongest ; The cattle are grazing, Their heads never raising ; There are forty feeding like one ! Like an army defeated The Snow hath retreated, And now doth fare ill On the top of the bare hill...

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