The nouns John and sister are used too often.

never make a sentence like that.

In fact, we

We use pronouns in place

When John found his sister crying, he gave her his whip.

He and his refer back to John; her to sister. All proThe following are some of the most

nouns stand for nouns.

Select all the pronouns in these nonsense verses:

They told me, you had been to her,

And mentioned me to him;

They gave me a good character,

But said I could not swim.

Divide the following sentences into subject and predicate. Select the nouns and pronouns in each subject.

1. The sun is going down.

2. The sandman will soon come to see us.

3. He is sprinkling his sand everywhere.

4. The sand falls on my eyes.

5. Do you feel any sand on your eyes?

6. Listen to the sandman's song.

7. How sleepy I feel!

8. My eyelids are closing.

9. All the children hear this song.

10. The sandman's song is heard around the world.

Words used as names are called Nouns.

Words used in place of nouns are called Pronouns.

Every subject contains a noun or a pronoun.

This is the first stanza in a well-known and beautiful poem by John G. Whittier. He was born on a farm at Haverhill, Massachusetts, about a hundred years ago. The old farm house is still preserved as it was in his boyhood and is visited every year by many people who have enjoyed his poetry. He did not go to college, but he read good books, observed the life around him, and thought earnestly about what he read and saw, and so educated himself better than many college students do. He wrote many poems that describe the country life in New England. Among the best of these are "Snow Bound" and "Songs of Labor."

Do you know the rest of "The Barefoot Boy"? Where does the barefoot boy live? Why is he happy? What things has he that wealth cannot give? What are his pleasures? What is the meaning of cheek of tan, merry, jaunty, I give thee joy, republican, trudging, million-dollared, in the reach of ear and eye?

If there is time, let several pupils speak on the following topics. Each talk should form a paragraph.

1. The Poet Whittier.

2. The Barefoot Boy.

3. The Occupations of a Country Boy.

114. WRITTEN LESSON

Write about (1) "The Barefoot Boy," or (2) the occupations of a country boy, or (3) an account of how a city boy spends his time out of school.

Each composition should contain several paragraphs. How many paragraphs are there to be in your composition? What shall you say in each paragraph?

115. LANGUAGE LESSON

A, AN, THE. HOMONYMS. SYNONYMS

A, an, and the are three very useful words. What difference is there in the meaning of the book and a book? the pencil and a pencil? Would you use a or an before the following words?

An is

A is used before a word beginning with a consonant.

used before a word beginning with a vowel.

Homonyms. Synonyms

103

Make sentences, using each of the following homonyms.

In case of doubt, look the word up in the dictionary.

Read the following stanza from Bryant's "Song of Marion's Men."

Our band is few but true and tried,

Our leader frank and bold;

The British soldier trembles
When Marion's name is told.
Our fortress is the good greenwood,
Our tent the cypress tree;
We know the forest round us,

As seamen know the sea.

We know its walls of thorny vines,

Its glades of reedy grass,

Its safe and silent islands

Within the dark morass.

Find synonyms, or words of nearly the same meaning, for band, few, tried, leader, frank, bold, British, trembles, fortress, greenwood, seamen, glades, silent, morass.

In this stanza from Sidney Lanier's "Tampa Robins," explain a fig for thee, globes of gold, Time's scythe.

The robin laughed in the orange-tree:

"Ho, windy North, a fig for thee

While breasts are red and wings are bold

And green trees wave us globes of gold,

Time's scythe shall reap but bliss for me
-Sunlight, song, and the orange-tree."

Study the picture carefully. What shows that the animals are "waiting for their mistress"? Where do you

think she is going? Will the trip be a pleasure to all of them? What will the dogs do? If they could all think and talk, what might they be talking about now? Imagine their conversation.

117. WRITTEN LESSON

Write the story of Lesson 116 in the form of a dialog between the dogs and the pony, putting in the necessary stage directions. Consult the examples in Lessons 28 and 34 to get the right form.