THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;

The smith, a mighty man is he

With large and sinewy hands,

And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp and black and long;
His face is like the tan;

His brow is wet with honest sweat;
He earns whate'er he can,

And looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man.

Weck in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge
With measured beat and slow,

Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school,
Look in at the open door;

They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar;

To see the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from the threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;

He hears the parson pray and preach;
He hears his daughter's voice
Singing in the village choir,

And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice Singing in Paradise!

He needs must think of her once more, How in the grave she lies;

And with his hard, rough hand he wipes A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,

Onward through life he goes;

Each morning sees some task begun,

Each evening sees its close;

Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night's repose.

CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA

GEORGE BANCROFT

GEORGE BANCROFT, an American historian, statesman, and diplomat, was born at Worcester, Massachusetts. October 3, 1800; died at Washington, D. C., January 17, 1891. He was a graduate at Harvard College in 1817, and after studying at Göttingen, in Prussia, he was made tutor of Greek in Harvard. From 1838 to 1841 he was collector of the port of Boston, and three years later was the Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts. While Secretary of the Navy, 1845-1846, he established the Naval Academy at Annapolis. In 1846 he was United States

minister to Great Britain, and from 1867 until 1874 he was minister to Berlin. He wrote a "History of the United States" and a "History of the Constitution of the United States."

The men were at once drawn up in three ranks, and, as the first beams of morning broke up the mountain peaks, Ethan Allen addressed them thus:

“Friends and fellow soldiers, we must this morning quit our pretensions to valor or possess ourselves of this fortress; and inasmuch as it is a desperate attempt, I do not urge it on contrary to your will. You that will undertake it voluntarily poise your firelock."

At the word every firelock was poised.

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Face to the right!" cried Allen, and placing himself at the head of the center file, Arnold keeping at his side, he marched to the gate. It was shut, but the wicket was open. The sentry snapped a fusee at him.

The Americans rushed into the fort, darted upon the guards, and raising the Indian war-whoop, such as had not been heard there since the days of Montcalm, formed on the parade in hollow square to face each of the barracks.

One of the sentries, after wounding an officer, and being slightly wounded himself, cried out for quarter, and showed the way to the apartment of the commanding officer.

"Come forth instantly, or I will sacrifice the whole garrison," cried Allen, as he reached the door. At this, Delaplace, the commander, came out, half dressed, with some of his clothes in his hand.

"Deliver to me the fort instantly," said Allen.

"By what authority?" asked Delaplace.

“In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!" answered Allen.

up

Delaplace began to speak again, but was interrupted; and at sight of Allen's drawn sword near his head he gave the garrison, ordering his men to be paraded without arms. Thus was Ticonderoga taken, in the gray of the morning of the 10th of May, 1775. What cost the British nation eight million sterling, a succession of campaigns, and many lives, was won in ten minutes by a few undisciplined men, without the loss of life or limb.

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

-Pope.

THE BOSTON BOYS IN 1775

The British troops which were sent to Boston, previous to the commencement of the Revolutionary war, to keep that rebellious town in order, were everywhere received with the most unequivocal marks of anger and detestation. During their stay, the very air seemed filled with suppressed breathings of indignation.

The insolence and indiscretions of some subaltern officers increased the ill-will of the citizens, and vexations and quarrels multiplied daily. At this period of public exasperation, the boys were much in the habit of building hills of snow, and of sliding from them to the pond on the Common.

The English troops, from the mere love of tantalizing, destroyed all their labors. The boys complained of the injury, and industriously set about repairs. However, when they returned from school, they found the snow hills again leveled.

Several of them now waited upon the British captain, to inform him of the misconduct of his soldiers. No notice was taken of their complaint, and the soldiers every day grew more and more provokingly insolent.

At last the boys resolved to call a meeting of all the largest boys in town, and to wait upon General Gage, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces. When shown into