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"I'm a pretty old man," he gently said;

"I've lingered a long while here below; But my heart is fresh, if my youth is fled!" Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago.

7

He smoked his pipe in the balmy air

Every night when the sun went down, While the soft wind played in his silvery hair, Leaving its tenderest kisses there,

On the jolly old pedagogue's jolly old crown: 10 And, feeling the kisses, he smiled, and said, 'Twas a glorious world down here below; "Why wait for happiness till we are dead?" Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago.

15

20

8

He sat at his door one midsummer night,
After the sun had sunk in the west,

And the lingering beams of golden light

Made his kindly old face look warm and bright, While the odorous night-wind whispered, "Rest!" Gently, gently, he bowed his head.

There were angels waiting for him, I know ; He was sure of happiness living or dead,

This jolly old pedagogue, long ago!

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What is a "jolly old pedagogue"? Describe the

teachers of the olden time. (Your teacher will add to

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Describe his home and how he lived.

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Describe a visit of "the jolly old pedagogue to a neighbor's home. How does he explain, in stanza 6, why he is so happy? Answer this by reading aloud. What did he consider his "finest pleasure"? Answer by reading aloud what he said just as you think he said it. (Cronies are old tried friends.)

Describe "the jolly old pedagogue's " beautiful death by reading aloud stanzas 7 and 8.

George Arnold was born in New York City in 1834. He died in New Jersey in 1865. He was a writer for newspapers and magazines. He published several volumes of poems, but he is remembered chiefly for his beloved poem of "The Jolly Old Pedagogue."

Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others,

And in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his

own.

JOHANN W. VON GOETHE

HOW THE PRINTER BECAME A PHILOS

OPHER

ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS

This is a story of how a poor printer boy became a famous philosopher. A philosopher is a man who shows common sense in all he thinks, says, and does.

The story is about Benjamin Franklin, one of the greatest of all Americans. He was born in Boston in 1706. He was a poor boy, as almost all great Americans were. He learned the printer's trade, and learned it well, for, although he was a witty, cheery boy, he was a hard worker, and did everything he had to do just as well as he could.

On

At the age of seventeen, he left Boston and went to Philadelphia to make his fortune. You should read of his trip in Mr. Brooks's interesting book, "The True Story of Benjamin Franklin." the trip, he lent part of his small sum of money to a young man whom he met on the ship, and so arrived at Philadelphia with very little money in his pocket.

He landed from the ship, and with his small bundle in his hand, started up a street of Philadelphia. On the way, he bought some rolls from a baker, and strolled on past the houses munching a roll. As he passed a certain house, he saw a pretty young girl standing in the doorway, laughing at him, for to her he looked very funny in his long-tailed coat as he went up the street eating a roll. The girl was Deborah Read, who afterward became his wife.

He got a job as a printer and worked very hard. He saved his money and read all the books he could get. He also tried to make

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friends among the better citizens, for he was smart enough to know that every boy who expects to rise must have friends among men of power.

You know that America then consisted only of colonies which belonged to England. So there were many Englishmen in the American colonies. An English gentleman in Philadelphia persuaded Benjamin to go to London to seek his fortune, and promised that he would give him letters to men of power in London who would help him.

But when Benjamin got ready to start to London, this gentleman told him to go on and that he would find the letters waiting for him when he reached London. So he started on the long voyage. But when he arrived at that great city, he found no letters, for the man had deceived the poor boy. And there he was, without letters or friends or money, all alone in the great, smoky city of London.

But Benjamin was a brave boy and at once started out to find work. He secured a place as a printer. Again he worked hard and tried to learn everything he could that would be of value to him.

It was many years before he returned to Philadelphia. He brought back little money. But he brought back something of greater value, a deep knowledge of London and the way in which the English people thought of the colonies. In the American Revolution, this knowledge was of great value to the American colonies, and helped them very much to become free.

You should read in "The True Story of Benjamin Franklin " how he grew to be a world-famous man. Washington and Benjamin Franklin were the two great men of the American Revolution. Franklin's experiments with electricity were the beginning of our electric street cars, our telephones, and telegraphs. He invented an open stove, for in his time rooms were warmed by fireplaces. He became so famous that he was known and honored all over the world. Washington, Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln are more honored in other countries than any other Americans. Thus, the

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