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Lesson 128 — “Celestial City” from the Bible

Revelation

Lesson 127 — “Comfort Ye My People” from the Bible

Isaiah 40

Lesson 126 — “The Proverbs of Solomon” from the Bible

Proverbs 10

Lesson 125 — “Woe to Ariel” from the Bible

Isaiah 29…I didn’t even know the name Ariel was in the Bible. Pretty cool

Lesson 124 — “Morning” by Anonymous

An ode to the morning and how grateful nature is, while most people are so focused on work they forget to thank God

Lesson 123 — “The Journey of a Day: A Picture of Human Life” by Dr Johnson

Obidah tries to travel from one place to another, but starts to take the easier road and gets hopelessly lost after a while. He runs into a hermit who warns him against doing that in life

Lesson 122 — “Reflections in Westminister Abbey” by Addison

Addison loves to wander in the abbey when he’s in a serious mood, and read all the tombs and wonder at how life is so often reduced to two dates at the end

Lesson 121 — “Apostrophe to the Ocean” by Byron

Many empires have come and gone, many empires have built on land. But the ocean stands apart. Byron describes it as having “the image of eternity”

Lesson 120 — “Ladies’ Headdresses” from Spectator

Someone wrote to the Spectator talking about the fashion of headdresses over the years, and how they were too much before. Currently the fashion is to the writer’s preference, and he says nature has already ornamented women best

Lesson 119 — “A Dirge” by Croly

A funeral poem about death and all that, then turns our attention to the future and the new Earth

Lesson 118 — “The Vision of Mirza” by Addison

Mirza meets a shepherd who shows him a vision of human life like travelers on a bridge, falling through trapdoors of death and into the ocean of eternity. Some end up on islands of paradise

Lesson 117 — “William Tell” cont’d

The final scene where Tell shoots at his son and hides an extra arrow in his vest ready to kill Gesler if necessary

Lesson 116 — “William Tell” (cont’d)

I’m pretty sure this whole segment is one of the reasons why I originally decided to reread this reader. When I first read it back in junior high it just stuck in my head

Lesson 115 — "William Tell" by Knowles

A boy leads a lost man, Gesler, back to town. When he refuses to tell Gesler his father's name, Gesler gets angry at his fearless spirit and sends someone to track him so that the man can be found

Lesson 114 — "Thalaba among the Ruins of Babylon" by Southey

Taken from Thalaba the Destroyer, Thalaba visits the ruins of Babylon and reminisces on the greatness of that old city

Lesson 113 — "Benefits of Literature" by Lord Lyttleton

Hercules and Cadmus have a conversation in which Hercules think only heroic deeds matter, but Cadmus counteracts with the importance of literature, mentioning that without literature Hercules would be no longer remembered.

Lesson 112 — "The Better Land" by Mrs. Hemans

A child asks his mother where the better land is, describing several different far away lands. The mother responds that it is none of the above, but rather the one of heaven

Lesson 111 — "The Venomous Worm" by John Russell

Russell warns against this worm, worse than the copperhead or the rattlesnake...it is the worm of the still.

Lesson 110 — "Natural Ties Among the Western States" by Dr. Drake

Dr Drake points out that there are very few natural borders between the states of the West. So the Western citizens should come together to encourage and strengthen each other in learning, politics, patriotism, and more.

Lesson 109 — "On the Value of Studies" by Lord Bacon

~ Some books are to be tasted; others, to be swallowed; and some few, to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be only glanced at; others are to be read, but not critically; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

Lesson 108 — "Address to the Mummy in Belzoni's Exhibition, London" from New Monthly Mag.

A letter/ode to the mummy in the exhibition, wondering what he was. Maybe a priest, a mason, a soldier, or someone else?

Lesson 107 — "Egyptian Mummies, Tombs, and Manners" by Belzoni

Belzoni goes to Gournou, west of Thebes, looking at the mummies and describing them in detail. He also describes the culture and way of the people living in the area.

Lesson 106 — "Antony's Oration over Caesar's Dead Body" by Shakespeare

I remember this one from reading Julius Caesar...which I should again, by the way.

~ But yesterday the word, Caesar, might have stood against the world! Now lies he there.

Lesson 105 — "The Fall of Babylon" from Jebb's sacred lit

This sounds eerily like Revelation...maybe it is?

Lesson 104 — "The Gods of the Heathen" from the Bible

Psalm 115 from the KJV version.

~ But our God is in the heavens:
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Lesson 103 — “Capturing the Wild Horse” by W. Irving

Irving tells the tale of a wild horse roundup that almost went wrong because of an impetuous Frenchman. Two fine horses were captured and quickly tamed

Lesson 102 — “Washing Day” by Mrs. Hermans

Washing day back then was a long, toilsome day for everyone. No time was spent on cooking and much time was spent on praying for good weather

Lesson 101 — “Value of Mathematics (cont’d)”

A student who recognizes the value of math soon succeeds in his chosen field, and strengthens his faith in the process

Lesson 100 — “Value of Mathematics” by E.D. Mansfield

Math is in every field imaginable. If someone wants to study other scientific fields and avoid math, it’s not possible