EXERCISES.

NARRATIVES, WITH OUTLINES AND PHRASEOLOGY.

Ex. 1.-AVARICE OVERREACHES ITSELF.

A MERCHANT in Turkey lost a purse containing1 two hundred pieces of gold. He had his loss proclaimed by the public crier, and offered half its contents to whosoever had found and would restore it. A sailor, who had picked it up, informed the crier that he had found it, and that he was ready to restore it on the proposed conditions.2 The owner having thus learned where his purse was, thought he would try to get it back for nothing. He therefore told the sailor that if he wished to get the reward, he must restore also a valuable emerald which was in it. The sailor declared that he had found nothing in the purse except the money, and refused to give it up without the reward.

The merchant went and complained to the cadi, who summoned 3 the sailor to appear, and asked him why he kept the purse he had found.

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Because," replied he, "the merchant has promised a reward of one hundred pieces, which he now refuses to give under pretence that there was a valuable emerald in it; and I solemnly 4 declare that I found nothing in the purse but the money."

The merchant was then desired to describe the emerald, and how it had come into his possession; which he did,—but in so confused a manner that the cadi was convinced 5 of his dishonesty. He accordingly gave the following judgment:-"You have lost a purse with two hundred pieces of gold and an emerald in it; the sailor has found one with only two hundred pieces in it; it cannot therefore be yours. You must then have yours cried again, with a description of the precious stone. You," said the cadi to the sailor, "will keep the purse during forty days with

out touching its contents, and if, at the end of that time, no person shall have proved his claim to it, you may justly consider & it your own.'

OUTLINE-1. Turkish merchant loses a purse. 2. Advertises his loss with a reward of half its contents to the finder. 3. Sailor finds it and claims the reward. 4. The merchant refuses it. 5. " Because," says the merchant, "there was a precious stone in the purse as well as the money." 6. Dispute referred to the cadi. 7. His decision.

PHRASEOLOGY.-1. Containing, holding; which had. 2. Conditions, terms; stipulations. 3. Summoned, ordered; sent for. 4. Solemnly, seriously; in the strictest faith. 5. Convinced, sure; certain. 6. Consider, look upon; regard.

Ex. 2.-MAN SEIZED BY A CAYMAN.

I was out one morning with my shepherds, a few miles distant from my house, when we came to a river which we could only pass by swimming our horses across. One of them advised1 me to go higher up, to a place where the river narrowed, as the stream was swarming with caymans. Presently up came an Indian on horseback, who heard the advice, said he was not afraid of caymans, and rode boldly into the river. But he was scarcely half-way across, when a cayman of enormous size was seen swimming towards him. A shout of warning was raised. He at once perceived his danger, got off his horse on the side opposite to that upon which the monster was approaching, and struck out with all his might for the shore. On reaching it he paused 2 behind a fallen tree-trunk, where he had water to his knees, and where, believing himself in perfect safety, he drew his cutlass and waited. Meanwhile the cayman reared his enormous head out of the water, threw himself upon the horse, and seized him by the saddle. The horse made an effort,3 the girths broke, and, whilst the cayman crunched the leather, the steed reached dry land. Quickly feeling that the saddle was not to his taste, the cayman dropped it and advanced upon the Indian. We shouted to him to run. The poor fellow would not stir, but waited calmly, cutlass in hand, and, when the monster came up, dealt him a blow on the head. He might as well have tapped upon an anvil. The next moment he was writhing in the cayman's jaws. For more than a minute we beheld him dragged in the direction of the lake through which the river ran, his body erect above the surface of the water, his hands clasped together, and his eyes turned to heaven in the attitude of a man imploring the protection of the Almighty. The cayman soon dived, and the poor wretch was never seen again.

OUTLINE.-1. I go out one morning with my shepherds; am warned not to cross a river. 2. Why. 3. An Indian rides into the river. 4. He swims to land. 5. A cayman attacks his horse which escapes to shore. 6. The man is then attacked, and defends himself with his cutlass. 7. He is carried off by the cayman, and never again seen.

PHRASEOLOGY.-1. Advised, counselled; recommended. 2. Paused, halted; stopped. 3. Made an effort, plunged or tore about. 4. Attitude, posture or position. 5. Protection, help or interposition.

Ex. 3.-CAPTURE OF A MAN-EATING CAYMAN. WISHING to capture the cayman which had devoured' the poor Indian, I had three strong nets made, and stretched them at regular intervals right across the river. A native was employed for a couple of months to watch if any creature had been caught, but nothing came of it. One morning, however, he suddenly appeared and informed us that some Indians who had been feeling the bottom of the river with long bamboo rods had just then roused the gigantic monster. We all ran outside, and soon beheld him on the surface of the river, lashing the water with his long tail, clattering with his jaws, and snapping at everything within his reach. We fired a volley2 at him, but the balls skipped harmlessly off his body. The spears and lances of the natives were of more effect, and the creature was pierced with several to the depth of eight or ten inches. He then dived and made his way under water as far as the first net, which he tried to burst through. Foiled3 in his attempts to break through this, he again appeared on the surface of the water, when a fresh volley was poured into his enormous body, and the natives plied both spear and lance right manfully. The fight had now lasted six hours, and the cayman seemed to have as much strength and courage in him as ever. At last an Indian struck the brute when at the bottom of the water with a lance of unusual strength and size. The animal immediately rushed towards the first net and disappeared. We hauled it in; there was a large hole in it. The second was in the same state. We were hauling in the third when we felt the resistance of some very heavy burden. It proved to be the cayman, which was just expiring.5 Forty Indians, exerting their utmost strength, could scarcely draw the monster, which was fully twenty-seven feet long, out of the water.

OUTLINES.-1. I get three nets made to capture the man-eating cayman. 2. No results follow for two months. 3. Am at last informed the cayman has been seen. 4. Description of the fight; how long it lasted. 5. Its result. 6. Size of the monster.

PHRASEOLOGY.-1. Devoured, killed; carried off.

2. Fired a volley, discharged our rifles all at once. 3. Foiled, frustrated; disappointed. 4. Plied, wielded; used. 5. Expiring, dying; breathing his last.

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Ex. 4.-BOA-HUNTING.

A FRENCHMAN, resident1 in the Philippines, who had never seen a wild boa in its native haunts, went out one afternoon, accompanied by two hunters, in quest of one. He had several dogs with him. Presently they set up a tremendous barking, and disappeared down a steep and narrow ravine. The hunters supposed it was a buffalo that had been brought to bay, and advanced with all due precaution.

On looking over the edge of the gully an enormous boa was distinctly visible. The monster raised his head to a height of five or six feet, directing it from one edge of the ravine to the other, and menacing his assailants with his forked tongue. The Frenchman wished to take him alive, and have him conveyed to France. The hunters therefore twisted some cane nooses, and made them strong enough to resist the efforts of the most powerful wild buffalo. One noose was slipped round the creature's neck, and the end made fast to a tree. Going round to the other side of the ravine, a second noose was fastened in a similar manner. The monster, feeling himself tightly secured at both ends, coiled and writhed, tore up the young trees by the roots, broke off the branches, and dislodged enormous boulders, in his efforts to escape. All was in vain. Night coming on, the hunters left the monster, as they thought, secure; but in the morning, on revisiting the spot, they found the serpent had escaped. The boa must have made the most tremendous efforts to get away, for the bottom of the ravine was strewn, in the wildest confusion, with branches and trunks of trees twisted and broken in the most wonderful manner, while, close to some huge blocks of basalt, were the marks of the places round which he had twined his huge body.

OUTLINE.-1. A Frenchman goes out to look for a boa. 2. Discovers one in a ravine. 3. Fastens it securely to two trees. 4. Leaves it there for the night. 5. Finds in the morning it has escaped. 6. How.

PHRASEOLOGY.-1. Resident, who was living, staying. 2. Accompanied by, along with; attended by. 3. Menacing, threatening. 4. Conveyed, sent; forwarded. 5. Dislodged, wrenched out; tore away. 6. Confusion, disorder.

Ex. 5.-THE RASH PROMISE.

THE game of chess was invented, it is said, by a Brahmin,

named Sissa, to amuse a very tyrannical prince, and, by giving him something to occupy his mind,' to prevent him from exercising so much cruelty upon his subjects. Sissa also showed the prince that the king, though the most important piece in the game, cannot attack or even defend himself, without the assistance of his pawns, that is to say, his people.

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The monarch was delighted with the game, and asked the Brahmin what he should give him as a recompense for having taught him to play it. The Brahmin profited by the opportunity to give him another lesson:-" My prince," said he, "if you count, you will find that there are sixty-four squares on the chess-board. All the reward I ask is, that you will give me a piece of gold for the first square, two for the second, and continue doubling the number up to the last." "Oh," said the prince, "if your demand is so moderate, it will be easily satisfied. Make your calculation, and bring it me to-morrow morning." The Brahmin did so; and the prince was greatly astonished to find that he had promised more than he was able to perform, and that all the coffers in his kingdom did not contain a sufficient quantity of gold to pay the debt he had so incautiously 7 contracted.

OUTLINE.-1. The game of chess invented by a Brahmin to occupy the thoughts of an Eastern prince. 2. Sissa points out the position of the king. 3. The prince is delighted, and asks what reward he shall give the inventor. 4. His proposal. 5. The prince's reply. 6. The result.

PHRASEOLOGY.-1. To occupy his mind, to interest; to fill his thoughts. 2. Assistance, aid; help. 3. Delighted, enchanted. 4. Recompense, reward; what present he should make him. 5. Profited by, seized; availed himself of. 6. Astonished, amazed; thunderstruck. 7. Incautiously, inconsiderately; thoughtlessly.

Ex. 6.-WELLINGTON AT BRUSSELS ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 14TH, 1815.

AFTER issuing orders, Wellington went to a ball given by the Duke of Brunswick. The Prince of Orange, who was there also, left early in the evening, before supper, for his quarters. The Duke of Wellington remained. During supper, about midnight, the prince suddenly reappeared, walked up to the duke's chair, and spoke a few words in a tone so low that they did not catch the ear of those around him. The only remark made by the duke was that he had no further orders to give, and he quietly added, “I should think the best thing you can do is to go to bed." The prince then left, and the duke remained talking with the lady on his right for some twenty minutes afterwards. He then rose, went