66 Suddenly a terrific roar, and at the same time a cry of pain and a shout, warned us that Guapo had met the jaguar.

"Niño bounded forward, and I followed as quickly as I could. A fearful sight met our eyes!

"The jaguar, which had been hiding in the branches of a large tree, had sprung down upon Guapo and fastened its terrible teeth in his thigh.

"With a shout filled with fury and determination, Niño at once sprung forward and savagely attacked the beast with his spear.

"This caused the jaguar to let go its hold of Guapo, who, made furious from the pain of the wound the animal had given him, turned, and with his spear attacked it with a mad ferocity as savage as that of the beast itself.

"In a moment all was over, and the jaguar lay dead at our feet. I dressed Guapo's wound the best I could, while Niño took the skin from the body of the animal, which proved to be nearly eight feet long. "We returned very slowly to the village with the wounded man and our prize.

In

a few weeks Guapo had entirely recovered from his wounds, and was ready for another hunt."

Directions for Reading.-Let pupils pronounce in concert, and singly, the following words: 0, most, ferocious, only, whole, hold, slowly, over, both, roar.

What tone of voice should be used in reading this lesson ?

Language Lesson.-Place re before each of the following words, and then give the meaning of each.

Holland is one of the queerest countries under the sun. It should be called Oddland, or Contrary-land; for, in nearly everything, it is different from other parts of the world.

In the first place, a large portion of the country is lower than the level of the sea. Great dikes have been built at a heavy cost of money and labor, to keep the ocean where it belongs.

On certain parts of the coast it sometimes leans with all its weight against the land, and it is as much as the poor country can do to stand the pressure.

Sometimes the dikes give way, or spring a leak, and the most disastrous results follow. They are high and wide, and the tops of some of them are covered with buildings and trees. They have even fine public roads upon them, from which horses may look down upon wayside cottages.

Often the keels of floating ships are higher than the roofs of the dwellings. The stork, on the house peak, may feel that her nest is lifted far out of danger, but the croaking frog in the neighboring bulrushes is nearer the stars than she.

Water bugs dart backward and forward above the heads of the chimney swallows; and willow trees seem drooping with shame, because they can not reach so high as the reeds near by.

Ditches, canals, ponds, rivers, and lakes are everywhere to be seen. High, but not dry, they shine in the sunlight, catching nearly all the bustle and the business, quite scorning the tame fields, stretching damply beside them. One is tempted to ask: "Which is Holland-the shores or the water?"

The very verdure that should be confined to the land has made a mistake and settled upon the fish ponds. In fact the entire country is a kind of saturated sponge, or, as the English poet Butler called it

say,

"A land that rides at anchor, and is moored,

In which they do not live, but go aboard."

Persons are born, live, and die, and even have their gardens on canal boats. Farmhouses, with roofs like great slouched hats pulled over their eyes, stand on wooden legs, with a tucked-up sort of air, as if to "We intend to keep dry if we can." Even the horses wear a wide stool on each hoof to lift them out of the mire. It is a glorious country in summer for barefooted girls and boys. Such wadings! Such mimic ship sailing! fishing, and swimming!

Such rowing, Only think of a

chain of puddles where one can launch chip boats all day long, and never make a return trip!

But enough. A full recital would set all Young America rushing in a body toward the Zuyder Zee.

Directions for Reading.-In reading the first line of page 187, there will be a slight rising of the voice after each of the words, ditches', canals', ponds', rivers'; and a slight falling of the voice after lakes`.

This rising or falling of the voice is called inflection, and may be indicated as above.

Language Lesson.- What is the meaning of "Young America"?

Dutch cities seem, at first sight, to be a bewildering jumble of houses, bridges, churches, and ships, sprouting into masts,