In Niger dwelt a lady fair, (Bacon and eggs and a bar o' soap!) Who smiled 'neath tangles of her hair, As her steed began his steady lope. (You like this style, I hope.) On and on they sped and on, (Bacon and eggs and a bar o' soap.) On and on and on and on (You see I've not much scope.) E'en ere they loped the second mile Omar would have looked at the situation philosophically, and would have summed up his views in some such characteristic lines as these: Why if the Soul can fling the Dust aside And smiling, on a Tiger blithely ride, Were't not a Shame-were't not a Shame for him In stupid Niger tamely to abide? Strange is it not? that of the Myriads who Before us rode the Sandy Desert returns to tell us of the We are no other than a moving Row Of magic Niger shapes that come and go Round with the Smile illumined Tiger held In Midnight by the Master of the Show. Tennyson would have seen a dramatic opportunity, and would have gloried in the chance, thus: Half a league. half a league, On the big tiger, Rode with a smiling face Mad rushed the noble steed, Boldly they plunged and swayed, Fair and beguiling; O marvellous, mystical maiden, Thy smile is a Song of the Spring. O typical, tropical tiger, With wicked and wheedlesome wiles; O lovely lost lady of Niger, Our Lady of Smiles. Edgar Allen Poe would have put it this way: See the lady with a smile, Sunny smile! Hear her gay some, gleesome giggle as she rides around in style! How the merry laughter trips From her red and rosy lips, As she smiles, smiles, smiles, smiles, smiles, smiles, smiles, While she rides along the dusty, desert miles. See the tiger with a smile, If such a smile means happiness, he's happy quite a pile; How contentedly he chuckles as he trots along the miles! Oh, he doesn't growl or groan But he smiles, smiles, smiles, smiles. smiles, smiles, smiles, As he homeward goes along the desert miles. And Longfellow would have given it his beautiful and clever "Hiawatha" setting: Oh, the fair and lovely lady: Oh, the sweet and winsome lady; Walked the tiger o'er the landscape; And so, after numerous examples and careful consideration of this matter, we are led to the conclusion that for certain propositions the limerick is the best and indeed the only proper vehicle of expression. -CAROLYN WELLS in Harper's Magazine. THE CECIL RHODES SCHOLARSHIP. The examination for the Rhodes Scholarship will be held this year in Columbus about the middle of January, and the scholarship awarded by the end of March. It will be recalled that these scholarships pay fifteen hundred dollars for three years. Those who are successful will begin their work at Oxford, England, next October. I. 2. Examination in 1907 will be given in the following subjects: Arithmetic-the whole. The elements of algebra through simple equations, the elements of geometry, including the first three books of Euclid's elements. 3. Greek and Latin grammar. 4. Translation from English into Latin. 5. One Greek and one Latin book. Any of the following will be accepted as a book: Demosthenes De Corona; Euripides (any) two of the following plays,) Hecuba, Medea, Alcestis, Bacchae; Homer, (1) Iliad, 1-5 or 2-6 or (2) Odyssey, 1-5 or 2-6; Plato, Apology and Crito; Sophocles, Antigone and Ajax; Xenophon, Anabasis, 1-4 or 2-5; Caesar, De Bello Gallico, 1-4; Cicero (1) Phillippics 1, 2, or (2) in Catilinam, 13 and in Verrem Actio 1, or (3) pro Murena and pro Lege Manilia or (4) de Senectute and de Amicitia; Horace (1) Odes 1-4 or (2) Satires, or (3) Epistles; Livy, Books 1-3; Virgil the Georgics or the Aeneid Books 1-5 or 2-6. Sets of examination questions used in former years may be ordered from the Oxford University Press. 91 Fifth avenue, New York. In accordance with the wish of Mr. Rhodes, the trustees desire that "in the election of a student to a scholarship, regard shall be had to (1) his literary and scholastic attainments, (2) his fondness for and success in manly outdoor sports, such as cricket, football and the like, (3) his qualifications of manhood, truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship and (4) his exhibition during school days of moral force of character and instinct to lead and to take an interest in his schoolmates." Mr. Rhodes suggested that (2) and (3) should be decided in any school or college by the vote of fellow-students, and (4) by the head of the school or college. AN AUTUMN SUNSET. Silent, hazy golden A picture subdued yet bright. With just enough of shadow To mellow the tints of light. Distant dim and blending In colors of changing hue. Here, a touch of red and gold, There, the Heaven's blue. Hill and tree and meadow In ever changing light; Shadows slowly lengthening Into the gloom of night. THE SCHOOL-HOUSE BELL OF MY CHILDHOOD. By E. S. L. Taylor, Muncie, Ind. The school-house bell of my childhood! I dreamed that I heard it rung In its clanging, clanging tongue, As I trudged on thro' the wildwood, Where the ferns and violets sprung! The school-house bell of my childhood! It spoke to my secret soul And bade me press on to the goal, As I trudged swift thro' the wildwood, ⚫ And over me Visions stole ! The school-house bell of my childhood! O tale of a tender past, The lessons that ever last The light that loomed thro' the wildwood From out of His knowledge vast! SUBSCRIPTION RATES. Single subscriptions, cash, or subscriptions taken at the institutes, $1.00 each. Single subscriptions, time, $1.25. Subscriptions taken at the institutes and not paid before December 1, or within three months of date of institute, $1.25 each. Cash renewals $1.00. Time Renewals $1.25. Single number 10 cents. MONEY should be sent by express, draft, money order or registered letter. Make all remittances payable to O. T. CORSON. THE MONTHLY is mailed the first week of each month. Any subscriber failing to receive a copy by the fifteenth should give notice promptly, and another will be sent. Any person wishing his address changed should send notice not later than the twenty-fifth of the month, and must give both the old and the new address. NOTICE WILL BE GIVEN TO EACH SUBSCRIBER OF THE TIME HIS SUBSCRIPTION EXPIRES, BUT NO SUBSCRIPTION WILL BE DISCONTINUED EXCEPT UPON REQUEST SENT DIRECT TO THE OFFICE, ACCOMPANIED BY THE FULL AMOUNT DUE AT THE TIME SUCH REQUEST IS MADE. EMERSON Says "Men are as lazy as they dare to be" and it is the blessed privilege of each one to give such an interpretation to this as his own experience warrants. * * * LEIBNITZ once wrote "Show me a man who has never made a mistake, and I will show you a man who has never done anything." What a comfort! A GOOD old lady remarked "You can't get more out of people, my dear, than there is in them." It is a problem that is fundamental to know just how to get more in them. * * * It is all well enough to give attention to the process of broadening one's self but it is quite as well to attend to the matter of extending, one's self perpendicularly at the same time. * THESE boys are lively creatures and we want them to be; so we must be careful not to measure them by our own sedate standards. If they lacked life we'd call them dull. FEEL, think, do this is the order, of course; but it is well to reverse the engine, at times, for doing has a tendency to produce thought and feeling. This rule works both ways. * * * SOME of our pupils will become teachers and will incline, possibly, to take us as models. Hence, our mistakes and pecularities may be transmitted through this channel to future generations. * No keener joy can come to any living person than the joy that comes to the teacher who is in sympathy with childhood as she sees the children growing beautifully under the genial influence of the school and the home. |