I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf;

If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."

"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say,

And, bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."

The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,

For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:

So he wove a subtle web in a little corner sly,

And set his table ready to dine upon the Fly;

Then came out to his door again, and merrily did sing: "Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;

Your robes are green and purple; there's a crest upon your

head;

Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,

Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by; With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,

Thinking only of her brilliant eyes and green and purple hue,

Thinking only of her crested head. Poor, foolish thing! at last

Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast; He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den, Within his little parlor-but she ne'er came out again!

SUGGESTIVE EXERCISES

1. What in the spider's first invitation shows he knew the fly was suspicious of him?

2. What reason does the fly give for refusing the invitation? 3. If a long pause is made between "Oh, no" and "no," what is indicated as to the fly's firmness of decision?

THE SPIDER AND THE FLY

4. Why did not the spider answer the fly's objection?

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5. Why does the fly still remain and listen to the spider's words?

6. If you read the fly's second refusal, "Oh, no,-no," what further is indicated concerning the fly's decision?

7. Why does the spider continue so confidently?

8. What next appeal is made by the spider? With what result? 9. What additional appeal in stanza 4?

10. How does the fly's reply differ from previous ones? What then does it indicate?

11. What next attempt did the spider make?

12. Why did the spider now so confidently "set his table ready to dine upon the fly"?

13. What final means of enticement did the spider employ? 14. What in his previous attempts to entice the fly convinced him that he should try this?

15. If the spider were a person, what kind of person would he be? 16. If the fly were a person, what kind of person would she be? 17. What then is the lesson from this tale of The Spider and the Fly?

REFERENCES

GEORGE HOWLAND: Angling.

JANE TAYLOR: The Fox and the Crow.

COWPER: The Nightingale and the Glow-worm.

BARTON: Bruce and the Spider.

ELIZA COOK: King Bruce and the Spider.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

FRANCIS SCOTT KEY

N the night of September 12, 1814, during the War of 1812, the British fleet furiously bombarded Fort McHenry, in co-operation with strong land forces. The fort held out valiantly. If it fell, the chief city of Maryland and many other Union defenses must fall with it. Among those who breathlessly watched the attack was the young Baltimore lawyer and patriot who, though under a flag of truce, was detained as a temporary prisoner on board a British vessel in the harbor apart from the battle-fleet but just in sight of the flag of Fort McHenry. With every shell that whistled over into the fort, the young patriot expected a terrific explosion and the destruction of his countrymen's defense. Suddenly the firing ceased. Did it mean the surrender of the fort or the abandonment of the siege? He could not tell, for he had no means of communication with the battle-fleet. For the remainder of the night, he paced the deck in terrible anxiety, longing for the return of day and the sight of the dear old flag. Light came at last! Our flag was still there! The British attack had failed and the British were departing.

The words of the first stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner were composed by Francis Key as he walked the deck in darkness and suspense, tortured with the thought of the fort's surrender and taunted and jeered

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

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by those who held him prisoner. When morning dawned, and the flag of Fort McHenry met his anxious sight, his patriotic fervor burst forth in the following poem written before leaving the vessel. In less than an hour after it went into a printer's hands it was all over town, hailed with joy by the multitudes who felt its deeper meaning.

Ferdinand Durag, an actor, seeing the poem, caught up his flute, tried tune after tune, until he chanced upon one called "Anacreon in Heaven," and as the notes of the flute fell in harmony with the words and message of the poem, he declared triumphantly, "Boys, I've hit it!" Then taking up the words there rang out for the first time the song of the Star-Spangled Banner amid shouting and clapping of hands. The actor next sang it in public. It spread like wildfire. It was whistled in the streets, caught up in camps, sung around bivouac fires, and finally, with returning peace, chanted around thousands of patriotic firesides.

Greater interest than ever before now attaches to this song since it has been officially recognized as our national song in the General Orders No. 201 issued by the War Department December 15, 1906, which are in part as follows:

"Whenever The Star-Spangled Banner is played by the band on a formal occasion at a military station, or at any place where persons belonging to the military service are present in their official capacity, all officers and enlisted men present stand at attention, and if not in ranks, render the prescribed salute, the position of the salute being retained until the last note of The StarSpangled Banner. The same respect is observed toward the national air of any other country when it is played as a compliment to official representatives of such country."