le woman continued, till past her ninetieth year, to be
respected and beloved by all around. With pious grief, Washington closed
her eyes and laid her in the grave which she had selected for herself.

We have now seen the man who was the leader of victorious armies, the
conqueror of a mighty kingdom, and the admiration of the world, in the
delightful attitude of an obedient and affectionate son. She, whom he
honored with such filial reverence, said that "he had learned to command
others by first learning to obey."

Let those, then, who in the morning of life are ambitious of future
eminence, cultivate the virtue of filial obedience, and remember that
they cannot be either fortunate or happy while they neglect the
injunction, "My son, keep thy father's commandments, and forsake not the
law of thy mother."

[Illustration: _L.E. Fournier._]

* * * * *

CONDUCTRESS, a woman who leads or directs.

The suffix _-ess_ is used to form feminine name-words.

Tell what each of the following words means:

ab' bess
ac' tress
duch' ess
li' on ess
count' ess
po' et ess
song' stress
au' thor ess
di rect' ress

Use the following homonyms in sentences:

air, ere, e'er, heir; oar, ore, o'er; in, inn; four, fore; vain, vein;
vale, veil; core, corps; their, there; hear, here; fair, fare; sweet,
suite; strait, straight.

* * * * *

_76_

na' tal
a main'
toc' sin
re count' ed

WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY.

'Tis splendid to have a record
So white and free from stain
That, held to the light, it shows no blot,
Though tested and tried amain;
That age to age forever
Repeats its story of love,
And your birthday lives in a nation's heart,
All other days above.

And this is Washington's glory,
A steadfast soul and true,
Who stood for his country's honor
When his country's days were few.
And now when its days are many,
And its flag of stars is flung
To the breeze in radiant glory,
His name is on every tongue.

Yes, it's splendid to live so bravely,
To be so great and strong,
That your memory is ever a tocsin
To rally the foes of wrong;
To live so proudly and purely,
That your people pause in their way,
And year by year, with banner and drum,