9.  “In his alarm he dropped his reins, and his horse began to run away.  In the midst of the old man’s trouble, there rushed by him, with loud shouts, a large party of boys, in a sleigh drawn by six horses.  ’Turn out! turn out, old fellow!’ ‘Give us the road!’ ‘What will you take for your pony?’ ‘What’s the price of oats, old man?’ were the various cries that met his cars.

10. “‘Pray, do not frighten my horse!’ exclaimed the infirm driver.  ’Turn out, then! turn out!’ was the answer, which was followed by repeated cracks and blows from the long whip of the ‘grand sleigh,’ with showers of snowballs, and three tremendous hurrahs from the boys.

11.  “The terror of the old man and his horse was increased, and the latter ran away with him, to the great danger of his life.  He contrived, however, to stop his horse just in season to prevent his being dashed against a loaded wagon.  A short distance brought him to the house of his son.  That son, boys, is your instructor, and that ‘old fellow,’ was your teacher’s father!”

12.  When the boys perceived how rude and unkind their conduct appeared from another point of view, they were very much ashamed of their thoughtlessness, and most of them had the manliness to apologize to their teacher for what they had done.

Definitions.-l.  Pop’u-lous, full of inhabitants. 2.  Ex-cur’-sion, a pleasure trip.  In’ci-dents, things that happen, events. 5.  War’rant, to declare with assurance. 6.  Cap-sized’, upset. 7.  Ven’er-a-ble, deserving of honor and respect. 8.  Blunt’ed, dulled.

Exercises.—­Repeat the boys’ story of the sleigh ride.  The teacher’s story.  Were the boys ill-natured or only thoughtless?  Is thoughtlessness any excuse for rudeness or unkindness?

XX.  FREAKS OF THE FROST. (63)

By Hannah Flagg Gould, who was born at Lancaster, Vermont, in 1789.  She published several volumes of poems (one for children) and one collection of prose articles, entitled “Gathered Leaves.”  She died in 1865.

1.  The Frost looked forth one still, clear night,
   And whispered, “Now I shall be out of sight;
   So through the valley and over the height
     In silence I’ll take my way;
   I will not go on, like that blustering train,
   The wind and the snow, the hail and the rain,
   Who make so much bustle and noise in vain,
     But I’ll be as busy as they.”

2.  Then he flew to the mountain, and powdered its crest;
   He lit on the trees, and their boughs he dressed
   In diamond beads; and over the breast
     Of the quivering lake, he spread
   A coat of mail, that it need not fear
   The downward point of many a spear,
   That he hung on its margin, far and near,
     Where a rock could rear its head.