part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

"And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation 5 of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."

Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed 10 Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, 15 being about three score and two years old.

THE BIBLE: Daniel v.

HELPS TO STUDY

1. Tell the story in your own words. 2. Where does it take place? 3. Who is Belshazzar? 4. Who is Daniel? 5. How does Belshazzar insult the God of the Israelites? 6. Do you think that he resembles Nebuchadnezzar in any way? 7. What seems to you the strangest part of the punishment of Nebuchadnezzar? 8. What was he punished for? 9. What do we mean when we say that we can read the writing on the wall? when we say a man has been weighed in the balance and found wanting?

For Study with the Glossary. Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar, Chaldeans, Darius, Median, astrologers, soothsayers.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB

Byron's famous poem is based on a single verse (2 Kings xix. 35) of the Bible story. The King of Assyria, Sennacherib, had come with a mighty army to capture Jerusalem. "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they [the remainder] arose early in the morning, behold, they [the others] were all dead corpses."

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

green,

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostrils all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride,
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

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And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpets unblown.

5 And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord.

LORD BYRON.

HELPS TO STUDY

Read the poem at home if you can, and read it aloud, for in that way you will enjoy it most.

1. What happens in the poem? 2. Where is Galilee? 3. Who is the wolf? 4. What is the fold? 5. What lines describe the splendor of the Assyrian host? 6. What lines make us feel that it was very large? 7. Describe the camp after the Angel of Death has passed. 8. What is meant by Ashur? Baal? the Gentile? 9. Point out all the comparisons in the poem and say which you like best. 10. Which picture seems to you the finest? 11. Does the poem move slower or faster than "The Burial of Moses"? 12. Commit it to memory.

For Study with the Glossary. Proper Names: Sennacherib, Assyrian, Galilee, Ashur, Baal, Gentile.

Other Words: fold, cohorts, sheen, waxed, heaved.

MYTHS OF THE NORTHLAND

From Egypt and Palestine we are to journey now to the north of Europe. When Joseph was ruling in Egypt, that was the most civilized portion of the world. It was not until many centuries later that the Greeks surpassed the Egyptians in art and government. It was still many centuries later that the Romans began to have some warfare and commerce with the Teutonic peoples of northern Europe. These people had then made little progress in civilization, but they had their myths or stories about gods and creation, and their legends of half divine heroes.

These Teutonic peoples gradually spread over Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, England, and indeed the greater part of western Europe. But we should know very little about their myths and stories if these had not been preserved in faraway Iceland. From this Icelandic literature we learn much about the gods and heroes who were probably at one time well known over all northern Europe. In our own day, the great musician Richard Wagner has used these stories for his series of

operas.

The chief of these northern gods was Odin. His name was pronounced Woden by the Anglo-Saxons, and our Wednesday is Wodensday. Thor, the Thunderer, who gave his name to Thursday (Thor's day), and Loki, the mischief-maker, are the next in prominence. It is not easy to say just what the duties of the other gods were, but you will learn something about them in the selections which follow. You will often note resemblances between them and the gods and heroes of Greece. But you will also often be reminded that you are no longer on the windy plains

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of Troy or in sunny and luxurious Egypt, but in the dark, cold winter of the North. North and South, however, are alike in praising wisdom and bravery. Even in the beginnings of civilization our ancestors of long ago were forming their tales of wonder and their ideals of heroism.

which they

When the gods had formed the earth called Midgard they chose the most beautiful spot they could find for their home. In the very center of the earth rose a lofty mountain, and on the top of it 5 was a broad, lovely meadow where the gods built their shining city of Asgard. In the midst of the city was a spacious hall, made of gold and the purest marble, and here were the thrones where the gods sat in council. Beyond the hall were the palaces of the gods and 10 goddesses, also made of marble and silver or gold, and near by was a huge smithy where the gods forged the weapons needed to defend their city from their enemies, the frost-giants.

From Asgard to Midgard the gods stretched a rain15 bow bridge which they called Bifrost; and over this they passed and repassed on their frequent journeys to the earth. There was no human being on the earth at this time, and the gods felt sorry that no eyes but their own could look upon the fruitful, blossoming land. 20 No one plowed the fields or built houses, or sailed in ships across the seas. No voices of children rang over the meadows; no sound of the reaper's scythe broke