cleared the
path of the poor, helpless wretches as he went along. Some he lifted with
his trunk, entirely out of the road. Some he set upon their feet, and
among the others he stepped so carefully that not an individual was
injured.
DEFINITIONS.--l. Quad'ru-ped, an animal having four feet. Pen'du-lous,
hanging down. Com'merce, trade, Pro-bos'cis, snout, trunk. 3. Strat'a-gem,
artifice. Doc'ile, teachable. 6. Ar'rack, a spirituous liquor made from
the juice of the cocoanut. A-sy'lum, a refuge. 7. Un-wield'y, heavy,
unmanageable. Tac'-it-ly, silently. 8. Ep-i-dm'ic, affecting many people.
Na'bob, a prince in India.
LXVII. DARE TO DO RIGHT. (183)
Adapted from "School Days at Rugby," by Thomas Hughes, an English writer
well known through this book, and its sequel, "Tom Brown at Oxford." The
author was born in 1823, and died in 1896.
1. The little schoolboys went quietly to their own beds, and began
undressing and talking to one another in whispers: while the elder,
amongst whom was Tom, sat chatting about on one another's beds, with their
jackets and waistcoats off.
2. Poor little Arthur was overwhelmed with the novelty of his position.
The idea of sleeping in the room with strange boys had clearly never
crossed his mind before, and was as painful as it was strange to him. He
could hardly bear to take his jacket off; however, presently, with an
effort, off it came, and then he paused and looked at Tom, who was sitting
at the bottom of his bed, talking and laughing.
3. "Please, Brown," he whispered, "may I wash my face and hands?" "Of
course, if you like," said Tom, staring: "that's your wash-hand stand
under the window, second from your bed. You'll have to go down for more
water in the morning if you use it all."
4. And on he went with his talk, while Arthur stole timidly from between
the beds out to his wash-hand stand, and began his ablutions, thereby
drawing for a moment on himself the attention of the room.
5. On went the talk and laughter. Arthur finished his washing and
undressing, and put on his nightgown. He then looked round more nervously
than ever. Two or three of the little boys were already in bed, sitting up
with their chins on their knees. The light burned clear, the noise went
on.
6. It was a trying moment for the poor, little, lonely boy; however, this
time he did not ask Tom what he might or might not do, but dropped all his
knees by his bedside, as he had done every day from his
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