265 to the drummer boy, "this is an unfortunate case. A leg that might have been saved easily enough, if he had not strained himself in that crazy way. There was a confounded inflammation. It was necessary to cut it off then and there. Oh, but he is a brave 270 lad, I assure you. He didn't shed a tear, nor give a cry. I was proud, on my word of honor, when I was operating, that it was an Italian boy. It's a good race, by heaven!" and he went off on a run.

The captain wrinkled his heavy white brows and 275 looked hard at the drummer boy. He drew the rough coverlet up again; then slowly, almost unconsciously, he raised his hand to his head and took off his cap.

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"Signor Captain!" exclaimed the boy astonished. "What are you doing, Signor Captain? To me!"

And then the rough soldier, who had never said a soft word to an inferior, answered, in a voice inexpressibly affectionate and sweet: "I am only a captain. You are a hero."

From "The Heart of a Boy." GLOSSARY. Custozza; barricade; subalterns; Sardinian; infernal; signor; Villa Franca; contorted; carabineers, Mincio; Goito. STUDY. Describe as clearly as you can the situation in which the body of Italian soldiers were placed. What plan did the captain hit upon as a possible means of summoning help? Tell what he saw as he followed the boy, with his eyes, on his perilous trip. Did the captain know whether or not the boy succeeded in his mission? Under what circumstances did the captain next see the boy? Explain the meaning of the captain's final act and words. What makes you think the captain was right in calling the boy a hero?

EDMONDO DE AMICIS

Edmondo de Amicis has been one of the most popular Italian writers of recent years. His sketches of military life, of the life of the common people of his own land, of the life and scenery of other lands which he visited, are all 5 vivid and alive with energy and sympathy. He is known in America to multitudes of young and old by his book called Cuore (koo ō' rå). This title is the Italian word for "heart."

De Amicis was born in 1846. In preparation for an army career he attended a military school. He was in the 10 battle of Custozza as a lieutenant. An incident of this battle forms the basis of the selection just preceding.

Afterwards, while editor of a military periodical, he published a volume of sketches, in 1868, called The Military Life. The success of this book convinced him that he had 15 the ability to succeed as a writer, and he retired to the city of Turin to devote himself to literature.

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De Amicis traveled extensively and, in some descriptive books, tells in interesting and picturesque fashion about the places he visited. He died in 1908.

The Heart of a Boy, as the title is generally given in English, is the account of an Italian schoolboy. It is all set down by the boy himself, and tells about his parents, and school-fellows, and teachers, and lessons, and all else that might come into such a life. Accounts of the lives of 25 the national heroes are given, and there are essays on the poor, the school, and other topics. It stirs one's love of country and of his fellow-beings, and suggests ideals of honor and generosity. It is arranged by months, one of the main items in each section being the monthly story. 30 In each of these stories some Italian boy is represented as

doing some fine and generous heroic action. One is "The Sardinian Drummer Boy" which precedes this, while a second, called "Civic Valor," will be found in the next book. Not only is Cuore (The Heart of a Boy) an interesting book: it leaves its reader with a high faith in human nature.

DAFFODILS

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

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For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

GLOSSARY. Jocund; pensive.

STUDY. In what mood did the poet wander forth? Picture the scene that came before his eye. What effect did it have upon his mood? Did this effect cease with the event itself, or continue through the power of memory? Explain lines 21 and 22. Note the words suggesting light, joyous movements.

THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE

CHARLES WOLFE

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse to the ramparts we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.

We buried him darkly at dead of night,
The sods with our bayonets turning,
By the struggling moonbeam's misty light,
And the lantern dimly burning.

No useless coffin inclosed his breast,

Not in sheet or in shroud we wound him;
But he lay like a warrior taking his rest,
With his martial cloak around him.