firmament, when the robin, the thrush, and a thousand other wanton songsters, make the woods to resound with amorous ditties, and the luxurious little boblincon revels among the clover blossoms of the meadows, all which happy coincidence persuaded the old dames of New Amsterdam, who were skilled in the art of foretelling events, that this was to be a happy and prosperous administration.

The renowned Wouter (or Walter) Van Twiller was descended from a long line of Dutch burgomasters, who had

successively dozed away their lives, and grown fat upon the bench of magistracy in Rotterdam; and who had comported themselves with such singular wisdom and propriety, that they were never either heard or talked of which, next to being universally applauded, should be the object of ambition of all magistrates and rulers. There are two opposite ways by which some men make a figure in

the world: one, by talking faster than they think, and the other, by holding their tongues and not thinking at all. By the first, many a smatterer acquires the reputation of a man of quick parts; by the other, many a dunderpate, like the owl, the stupidest of birds, comes to be considered the very type of wisdom. This, by the way, is a casual remark, which I would not, for the universe, have it thought I apply to Gov

ernor Van Twiller. It is true he was a man shut up within himself, like an oyster, and rarely spoke, except in monosyllables; but then it was allowed he seldom said a foolish thing. So invincible was his gravity that he was never known to laugh or even to smile through the whole course of a long and prosperous life. Nay, if a joke were uttered in his presence, that set light-minded hearers in a roar, it was observed to throw him into a state of perplexity. Sometimes he would deign to inquire into the matter, and when, after much explanation, the joke was made as plain as a pike-staff, he would continue to smoke his pipe in silence, and at length, knocking out the ashes, would exclaim, "Well! I see nothing in all that to laugh about."

With all his reflective habits, he never made up his mind on a subject. His adherents accounted for this by the astonishing magnitude of his ideas. He conceived every subject on so grand a scale that he had not room in his head to turn it over and examine both sides of it. Certain it is, that, if any matter were propounded to him on which ordinary mortals would rashly determine at first glance, he would put on a vague, mysterious look, shake his capacious head, smoke some time in profound silence, and at length observe, that "he had his doubts about the matter"; * which gained him the reputation of a man slow of belief and not easily imposed upon. What is more, it gained him a lasting name; for to this habit of the mind has been attributed his surname of Twiller; which is said to be a corruption of the original Twijfler, or, in plain English, Doubter.

The person of this illustrious old gentleman was formed and proportioned, as though it had been molded by the hands of some cunning Dutch statuary, as a model of majesty and lordly grandeur. He was exactly five feet six inches in height, and six feet five inches in circumference. "His head

was a perfect sphere, and of such stupendous dimensions, that Dame Nature, with all her sex's ingenuity, would have been puzzled to construct a neck capable of supporting it; wherefore she wisely declined the attempt, and settled it firmly on the top of his backbone, just between the shoulders. His body was oblong and particularly capacious at the hips; which was wisely ordered by Providence, seeing that he was a man of sedentary habits, and very averse to the idle labor of walking. His legs were short, but sturdy in proportion to the weight they had to sustain; so that when erect he had not a little the appearance of a beer barrel on skids. His face, that infallible index of the mind, presented a vast expanse, unfurrowed by any of those lines and angles which disfigure the human countenance with what is termed expression. Two small gray eyes twinkled feebly in the midst, like two stars of lesser magnitude in a hazy firmament, and his full-fed cheeks, which seemed to have taken toll of everything that went into his mouth, were curiously mottled and streaked with dusky red, like a spitzenburgh apple.

His habits were as regular as his person. He daily took his four stated meals, appropriating exactly an hour to each; he smoked and doubted eight hours, and he slept the remaining twelve of the four and twenty. Such was the renowned Wouter Van Twiller, a true philosopher, for his mind was either elevated above, or tranquilly settled below, the cares and perplexities of this world. He had lived in it for years, without feeling the least curiosity to know whether the sun revolved round it, or it round the sun; and he had watched, for at least half a century, the smoke curling from his pipe to the ceiling, without once troubling his head with any of those numerous theories by which a philosopher would have perplexed his brain, in accounting for its rising above the surrounding atmosphere.

Has Irving followed any plan in this description of Van Twiller? What is his plan? What do you think of Van Twiller's character? Of his habits? What does the expression "Taken toll of everything that went into his mouth" mean? Does the author describe his hero directly or indirectly? Prove your point by two illustrations. What do you consider the most humorous part of the description? How would you describe Irving's humor?

SUGGESTIONS FOR ORAL AND WRITTEN ENGLISH

THEME SUBJECTS

Imitating Irving's method of description, describe, without giving his name, a person familiar to the class. Think what it is that causes you to recognize him even before you are near enough to see his face distinctly. Has he any unusual feature that makes him noticeable? Has he any characteristic gestures or expressions? How do his clothes differ from those of other people? Whatever, in a word, that makes him different from others should be shown in your description. Describe a building or a room, bringing out its chief feature. Contrast Ichabod Crane with Wouter Van Twiller. Describe a man to show that he is a

clergyman or a doctor.

The Roundest Person I ever Saw. A Tramp.

Why We Called Him "Skinny."

Somebody's Grandmother.

SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL READINGS

The Stout Gentleman (in Bracebridge Hall). Washington Irving.
Dolph Heyliger (in Bracebridge Hall). Washington Irving.
Legends of the Alhambra. Washington Irving.

The Specter Bridegroom (in Sketchbook). Washington Irving.
The Belated Travelers (in Tales of a Traveler). Washington Irving.
In Leisler's Times. E. S. Brooks.

Nooks and Corners of Old New York. Charles Hemstreet.

A SECOND GROUP OF NATURE LYRICS

ARIEL'S SONG 1

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

[For biographical sketch see page 221.]

WHERE the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie:

There I couch when owls do cry.

On the bat's back I do fly

After summer, merrily.

Merrily, merrily shall I live now,

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

DAFFODILS

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

[For biographical sketch see page 93.]

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:

1 From The Tempest.