4. 'Tis blythe at eve to tell the tale, Days free from thought, and nights from care, Sir Walter Scott. Dun means "brown." The Irish and Gaelic word for "brown is donn. Blythe, or blithe, is an old English word, seldom used now except in poetry, meaning "bright" and "glad." Cairn is a word of Celtic origin, meaning "a pile of stones," such as they were used to raise over the grave of a warrior. Yore, "formerly," literally "of years," yore being the genitive plural of the Anglo-Saxon gear, a year. Stalwart, or as it used to be spelt stalworth, meant originally "good at stealing," as applied to troops, hence stout, brave, with reference to securing plunder. On high, etc., refers to spearing salmon at night by torchlight. Scaur, or scar, or skerry, is a lonely rock, sheared or cut from the main-land. Alwyn was the seat of Lord Somerville. Ashesteel was the poet's residence at that time, close to Alwyn. 1. Write out a list of all the pleasant things the poet found to hear, see, or do, in Ettrick Forest. 2. What does a semicolon signify? When and why is it used? Write two sentences separated by a semicolon. 3. Parse the last line of the piece. Bi'ck-ers, darts in and out. Cairn, a pile of stones. Salm' on, the fish so called. Scaur, a lonely rock. home; but the farther he went, the more the herrings abounded and he therefore dropped down the fiord with the tide, fishing as he receded, till all home objects had disappeared. 2. First, the farmhouse, with its surrounding buildings, its green paddock and shining white beach, was hidden behind the projecting rocks. Then Thor islet appeared to join with the nearest shore, from which its bushes of stunted birch seem to spring. 3. Then as the skiff dropped lower and lower down the interior mountains appeared to rise above the rocks which closed in the head of the fiord, and the snowy peak of Sulitelma stood up clear against the pale blue sky; the glaciers on its sides catching the sunlight on different points, and glittering so that the eye could scarcely endure to rest upon the mountain. 4. When he came to the narrow part of the fiord, near the creek which had been the scene of Erica's exploit, Rolf laid aside his rod, with the bright hook that herrings so much admire, to guide his canoe through the currents caused by the approach of the rocks and contraction of the passage; and he then wished he had brought Erica with him, so lovely was the scene. 5. Every crevice of the rocks, even where there seemed to be no soil, was tufted with bushes, every twig of which was bursting into the greenest leaf, while here and there a clump of dark pines overhung some bushy cataract, which, itself overshadowed, sent forth its little clouds of spray, dancing and glittering in the sunlight. 6. A pair of fishing eagles were perched on a high ledge of rock, screaming to the echoes, so that the dash of the currents was lost in the din. Rolf did wish that Erica was here when he thought how the colour would have mounted to her cheek, and how her eye would have sparkled at such a scene. 7. Lower down it was scarcely less beautiful. The waters spread out again to a double width. The rocks were, or appeared to be, lower; and now and then, in some space between rock and rock, a strip of brilliant green meadow lay open to the sunshine; and there were large flocks of fieldfares, flying round and round, to exercise the newly-fledged young. 8. There were a few habitations scattered along the margin of the fiord; and two or three boats might be seen far off, with diminutive figures of men drawing their nets. Harriet Martineau, A fiord is a frith or inlet of the sea, running up many miles into the land, and winding in and out, sometimes through finely-wooded valleys, sometimes under bare walls of rock, amidst scenery of extraordinary beauty. There are many such fiords in Norway. Sulitelma, the highest of the numerous summits which lie along the watershed of Norway, rises to a height of 6200 feet. The fishing cagle, or osprey, is a large bird of the eagle kind, which eeds only on fish. It is to be found in all quarters of the world, both in warm and cold climates, and haunts the neighbourhood of the sea, lakes, and large rivers. 1. Give all the names you can recollect of fresh water fish. 2. What is a preposition, and what is the use of it? Name twelve prepositions. 3. Parse: "He found his angling tolerably successful near home." Ca-noe', a kind of boat so called. Cat'-ar-act, a waterfall. Cre'-vice, a hole for opening. Di-min'-u-tive, very small. Gla'-ci-er, a river of ice. Isl'-et, a little island. Pad'-dock (a small enclosure of land. |