The New McGuffey Fourth Reader by W. H. McGuffey (ink ebook reader .txt) 📕

XII.

Once more he stepped into the street And to his lips again Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane; And ere he blew three notes (such sweet Soft notes as yet musician’s cunning Never gave the enraptured air) There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling, Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering, And, like fowls in a farmyard when barley is scattering Out came the children running. All the little boys and girls, With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls, And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls, Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after The wonderful music with shouting and laughter.

XIII.

The mayor was dumb, and the council stood As if they were changed into blocks of wood, Unable to move a step, or cry To the children merrily skipping by, —Could only follow with the eye That joyous crowd at the piper’s back. But how the mayor was on the rack, And the wretched council’s bosoms beat, As the piper turned from the High Street To where the Weser rolled its waters Right in the way of their sons and daughters However he turned from South to West, And to Koppelberg Hill his steps addressed, And after him the children pressed; Great was the joy in every breast. “He never can cross that mighty top! He’s forced to let the piping drop, And we shall see our children stop!” When, lo, as they reached the mountain side, A wonderous portal opened wide, As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed; And the piper advanced and the children followed, And when all were in to the very last, The door in the mountain side shut fast. Did I say, all? No! One was lame, And could not dance the whole of the way; And in after years, if you would blame His sadness, he was used to say,— “It’s dull in our town since my playmates left! I can’t forget that I’m bereft Of all the pleasant sights they see, Which the piper also promised me. For he led us, he said, to a joyous land, Joining the town and just at hand, Where waters gushed and fruit trees grew, And flowers put forth a fairer hue, And everything was strange and new; The sparrows were brighter than peacocks here, And their dogs outrun our fallow deer, And honeybees had lost their stings, And horses were born with eagles’ wings: And just as I became assured My lame foot would be speedily cured, The music stopped and I stood still, And found myself outside the hill, Left alone against my will, To go now limping as before, And never hear of that country more!”

XIV.

Also, alas, for Hamelin! There came into many a burgher’s pate A text which says that heaven’s gate Opes to the rich at as easy rate As the needle’s eye takes a camel in! The mayor sent East, West, North, and South, To offer the piper, by word of mouth, Whatever it was men’s lot to find him, Silver and gold to his heart’s content, If he’d only return the way he went, And bring the children behind him. But when they saw ‘twas a lost endeavor, And piper and dancers were gone forever, They made a decree that lawyers never Should think their records dated duly If, after the day of the month and year, These words did not as well appear, “And so long after what happened here On the twenty-second of July, Thirteen hundred and seventy-six:” And the better in memory to fix The place of the children’s last retreat, They called it the Pied Piper’s Street, Where any one playing on pipe or tabor Was sure for the future to lose his labor. Nor suffered they hostelry or tavern To shock with mirth a street so solemn; But opposite the place of the cavern They wrote the story on a column, And on the great church window painted The same, to make the world acquainted How their children were stolen away, And there it stands to this very day. And I must not omit to say That in Transylvania there’s a tribe Of alien people who ascribe The outlandish ways and dress On which their neighbors lay such stress, To their fathers and mothers having risen Out of some subterranean prison Into which they were trepanned Long time ago in a mighty band Out of Hamelin town in Brunswick land, But how or why, they don’t understand.

XV.

So, Willy, let me and you be wipers Of scores out with all men—especially pipers! And whether they pipe us FROM rats or FROM mice, If we’ve promised them aught, let us keep our promise.

DEFINITIONS:—Corporation, city government. Ermine, furs used for lining the robes of mayors and other high officials. Guilder, a silver coin worth about 40 cents. Adept, one fully skilled in anything. Nunchion, the same as luncheon. Puncheon, a cask containing 84 gallons. Poke, pocket. Caliph, a Mohammedan ruler. Stiver, a Dutch coin worth about two cents. Burgher, a citizen of the town.

EXERCISE. In your geographies find all the places named in this poem.

LIST OF AUTHORS.

Arthur, Timothy S. An American writer, born near Newburgh, New York, in 1809. Most of his life was passed in Baltimore and Philadelphia. He wrote more than a hundred volumes, nearly all of which are now forgotten. His best-known work is a temperance tale entitled “Ten Nights in a Bar-room.” He died in 1885.

Browning, Robert. An English poet, born near London in 1812. He was educated at London University, and spent most of his life in Italy. He was the author of many volumes of poetry. He died at Venice in 1889.

Bryant, William Cullen. An American poet, born at Cummington, Massachusetts, in 1794; died in New York in 1878. His poems relate for the most part to subjects connected with the woods and fields and the beauties of nature. For fifty years he was the editor of the New York Evening Post.

Burroughs, John. An American writer, born at Roxbury, New York, in 1837. His writings include many delightful essays on outdoor subjects. Among his best books are “Wake-Robin,” Birds and Poets,” “Winter Sunshine,” and “Fresh Fields.”

Cooke, John Esten. An American writer, born at Winchester, Virginia, in 1830. Among his works are a number of interesting stories and sketches of life in Virginia. He died in 1886.

Cutter, George W. An American writer, whose home was in Washington, D.C. His most popular work is the short poem entitled “The Song of Steam.” He was born in 1801; died in 1865.

Dickens, Charles. One of the most famous of English novelists, born at Landport, near Portsmouth, England, in 1812. His greatest novel is “David Copperfield,” but some of his most pleasing work is found in the “Pickwick Papers.” Among his other writings are “The Old Curiosity Shop,” “Dombey and Son,” “Martin Chuzzlewit,” and “Nicholas Nickleby.” His “Christmas Carol” and other Christmas stories are delightful reading. He died at Gadshill in

1870.

Dodge, Mary Napes. An American author, born at New York in 1838. She has been the editor of St. Nicholas since its beginning in 1875, and has written several charming stories for children.

Drummond, Henry. A Scottish clergyman, author, and naturalist. His most popular work is “Tropical Africa”; but he also wrote many sermons, essays, and religious books. He died in 1897.

Elizabeth, Charlotte. An English writer, Charlotte Elizabeth Browne Tonna, born at Norwich in 1790. She wrote some novels, and several tracts on religious subjects, and was editor of the Christian Lady’s Magazine, but her works are now seldom read. She died in 1846.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. A famous American writer and philosopher, born at Boston in 1803; died in 1882. His works are included in fourteen volumes of essays, poems, and criticisms.

Everett, Edward. An American statesman and orator, born in Massachusetts in 1794; died in 1865.

Field, Eugene. A popular American journalist and poet, born in Missouri in 1850, died at Chicago in 1896. His best poems are contained in the volumes entitled “Love Songs of Childhood” and “A Little Book of Western Verse.”

Fields, James T. An American publisher and author, born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1817. He wrote a little poetry, and a few well-known prose works, among which his “Yesterdays with Authors” is the best. He died at Boston in 1881.

Flagg, Ellen H. An American writer of verses, whose home was in the South. Her best-known production is “The Blue and the Gray.”

Froude, James Anthony. An English writer, born in Devonshire in 1818. His writings relate chiefly to historical subjects, and include a “History of England” and “Short Studies on Great Subjepts,” both of which are works of the highest order. He died in 1894.

Gallagher, William D. An American journalist born in Pennsylvania in 1808. The greater part of his life was spent in Kentucky, and his best poems relate to Western and Southern subjects. He died in 1894.

Gilder, Richard Watson. An American editor and poet, born at Bordentown, New Jersey, in 1844. He was for many years the editor of Lee Century Magazine. His works are collected in a volume entitled “Five Books of Song.”

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. One of the greatest of American prose writers, born at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. Besides writing some famous novels, he.was,the author of “The Wonder Book,” “Tanglewood Tales,” and “Grandfather’s Chair,” delightful books for children. He died at Plymouth, New Hampshire, in 1864.

Hughes, Thomas. An English writer, born near Newbury in 1823. He is well known in this country as the author of “Tom Brown’s School Days at Rugby,” an excellent book for boys. He died in

1896.

Key, Francis Scott. An American lawyer and author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was born in Maryland in 1779; died in

1843.

La Coste, Marie. An American writer whose home was in the South. She is remembered for the single poem, “Somebody’s Darling”

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. One of the greatest of American poets, born at Portland, Maine, in 1807. He held for some years the professorship of Modern Languages in Bowdoin College, and later a similar professorship in Harvard College. Many of his poems are well known to all young readers. He died in Cambridge in 1882.

Mackay, Charles. A Scottish poet, born at Perth in 1814. He was editor of the Illustrated London News for several years, and wrote three or four volumes of poems. He died in London in 1889.

Macdonald, George. A Scottish writer, born at Huntly, Scotland, in 1824. He was the author of a number of popular novels, of several books for the young, and of two or three works on religious subjects.

Michelet, Jules. A famous French historian and miscellaneous writer, born in Paris in 1798. He died in 1872.

Mitford, Mary Russell. An English author, born in Hampshire in 1787. She wrote several dramas and poems besides numerous stories for children. Her most popular work is “Our Village.” She died in

1855.

Musick, John R. An American writer born in Missouri in 1849; died in 1901. He was the author of several works relating to American history.

Moodie, Susanna. An English author, born in 1803. She was the sister of the noted historical writer, Agnes Strickland. Her best book is “Roughing it in the Bush,” a record of experiences in the backwoods of Canada. She died in 1885.

Peck, Samuel Minturn. An American author, born at Tuskaloosa, Alabama, in 1854. He has written several popular songs and some stories.

Procter, Adelaide Anne. An English poet, daughter of Bryan Waller Procter, born in London in 1825. She wrote one volume of poems, entitled, “Legends and Lyrics.” She died in 1864.

Riley, James Whitcomb. An American poet, born at Greenfield, Indiana, in 1853. Much of his poetry is