Anonymous

“ I should like you to see the shops of Bombay. Most of them are quite unlike our British shops. They have no doors and no windows, but are open to the street.
2. Our shopkeepers try to make a fine show of their goods. The Indian shopkeeper does nothing of the sort. He simply piles his goods round his shop and squats in the midst of them. There he sits waiting for people to come and buy.
3. In our shops there is a fixed price for the goods. In India nothing has a fixed price. You must bargain with the shopkeeper if you wish to buy anything. ”

“ The Eskimos can only live in tents during the short summers; during the long dark winters they live in huts. The walls are made of stones and sods. The roof is of wood which has drifted to their shores. You must remember that no trees will grow in these very cold lands.
6. Some Eskimos make their winter houses of blocks of snow, with sheets of ice for the windows. Perhaps you shiver at the thought of living in a snow house, but you need not do so.
7. Really, a snow house is quite a snug home. The snow keeps in the heat of the house, just as a blanket keeps in the heat of your body. ”

“ They eat or sell the dates, and they use the wood for their tents or houses. From the sap they make wine. Out of the leaf-stalks they weave baskets.
4. Some of the Arabs are traders. They carry their goods from oasis to oasis on the backs of camels. A large number of laden camels form a caravan.
5. A camel is not pretty to look at, but the Arab could not do without it. I think you can easily understand why the camel is called the "ship of the desert." It carries its master or its load across the sea of sand from one green island to another. ”

“ All along the river bank there are stone steps leading down to the water. Standing in the stream are men and women and children who have come from all parts of India. They wash themselves in the stream, and pour the holy water over their heads as they pray. ”

“ In China the boys are much petted. Their mothers give way to them, and let them do as they please.
2. Girls, however, are not welcome. Sometimes they are called "Not-wanted" or "Ought-to-have-been-a-boy."
3. A Chinese boy has always two names, sometimes four. He has one name when he is a child, and another when he goes to school. He has a third name when he begins to earn money. When he dies he has a fourth name.
4. Chinese boys are very fond of flying kites, which are shaped like fish or butterflies or dragons. Old gentlemen are just as fond of kite-flying as boys. ”

“ Most of the black men live in the hot part of the United States, where cotton and sugar are grown. White people cannot work in the cotton or sugar fields, because the sun is too hot for them.
7. The black people who live in the United States were born in America. They have never known any other land. America, however, is not their real home. They really belong to Africa.
8. How is it that we now find them in America? When the white men of America began to grow cotton and sugar, they needed black men to work in the fields. Men called "slavers" went to Africa in ships. ”

“ It is pretty to watch the delight of fathers and mothers and children at the form, colour, and scent of the flowers.
7. The Japs are very clever workmen. I have often stood and watched them at work. They always try to beat their own best. Good work of any kind gives them joy; bad work gives them pain.
8. I have bought Jap fans for Kate and May. On these fans there are pictures of a snow-clad mountain shaped like a sugar loaf. There is no more beautiful mountain in all the world. ”

“ Many of the boys in the chief city of Egypt are donkey drivers. In Egypt donkeys are far more used for riding than horses. The donkeys are beautiful little animals, and they trot along very quickly.
9. Each donkey has a boy to run after it with a stick, and to shout at it to make it go. The donkey boys are very jolly little fellows. They always smile, however far they have to run.
10. Most donkey boys wear a white or blue gown, and have a red cap, or fez, on the head. If a donkey boy sees an Englishman coming, he runs to him and says, "My donkey is called John Bull." ”

“ Here and there, far apart, I can see farm-houses. On these plains the best wheat in the world is grown.
10. In winter the whole land is covered deep with snow, and the rivers are frozen over. In April winter gives place to spring. Then the snow melts, and the ice on the rivers breaks up.
11. No sooner has the snow gone than the wheat begins to spring up. The wheat grows very fast and ripens very quickly. Much of it is sent to Britain. Very likely the loaf which you ate for breakfast this morning was made of wheat which grew on the plains of Canada. ”

“ A mountain is land which rises high above the level of the country round about it. A row of mountains joined together by high ground is called a mountain range or chain.
2. Write out the following:—"Some mountains may be called water savings banks. The rain freezes as it falls and becomes snow. On very high mountains this snow never melts. It gets deeper and deeper, and the lower part turns into ice. This ice creeps slowly down the mountain side until it comes into air that is warm enough to melt it. The water which flows away from the ice forms a river. ”

“ Why is the camel called the "ship of the desert"?
3. Go to a sand heap. Stand on it; you sink in. Put a piece of board on the sand and stand on it; the board does not sink in much. Now turn to the picture on page 105. You will see a pair of snow-shoes on the snow. A boy's foot will sink into the snow. When he stands on the snow-shoes he does not sink in. Find out why. Notice the camel's foot, and tell me why it does not sink into the sand.
Lesson 10.
1. In what ways do the people of Bombay differ from the people of your town or village?
2. Why are the people of hot lands dark in colour? ”

“ Hundreds of men and women carried this coal to the ship in little baskets upon their heads. They walked up and down a plank, and all the time they made an awful noise which they called singing.
8. When all the coal was on board, the ship began to steam slowly along the narrow canal. No ship is allowed to sail more than four miles an hour, lest the "wash" should break down the banks.
9. Soon we passed out of the narrow canal into one of the lakes. Our road was marked by buoys. Away to right and to left of us stretched the sandy desert. ”

“ Sometimes the sledge is overturned, and the men and dogs are thrown into deep, wide cracks in the ice. Sometimes fierce storms arise, and men and dogs perish together. Sometimes food runs short, and they die of hunger. ”

“ The bandages are made tighter every week, until the foot stops growing. Of course, the poor girls suffer very much. The Chinese have a saying: "Every pair of bound feet costs a bath of tears."
7. When the girls grow up they cannot walk. They can only totter along, and they have to lean on the arm of a maid to keep themselves from falling.
8. I am glad to say that many parents do not now bind the feet of their girls. They have learnt that it is both wicked and foolish to do so. At one school in China all the girls have their feet unbound. ”

“ The canal was made more than forty years ago by a Frenchman. He dug a great ditch, and joined together a number of lakes. By doing so he made a waterway from sea to sea. This waterway is about a hundred miles long.
4. I joined my ship at the town which stands at the north end of the canal. There is nothing to see in the town except the lighthouse and the shops. On the sea wall there is a statue of the Frenchman who made the canal.
5. As we lay off the town we could see many little boats darting to and fro. The boatmen were dressed in all the colours of the rainbow—red, blue, green, and orange. ”

“ The Chinese do in the open street many things which we do inside our houses. A Chinaman likes to eat his meals where every one can see him.
9. Sometimes he will sit in front of his house and wash his feet. Yesterday I saw a man having his tooth drawn out of doors. A crowd stood round him, watching to see how it was done.
10. How should you like to go for a ride in a wheelbarrow? In China the wheelbarrow is often used for carrying people or goods from place to place. It has a large wheel in the middle. Round the wheel there is a platform for people or goods. ”

“ A little temple has been built over the footprint. Men, women, and children climb the mountain, to lay little gifts before the footprint, and to strew sweet flowers about it. When this is done, the children kneel down and ask their parents to bless them.
13. To-morrow I leave Ceylon on a long voyage to China. You will not hear from me for several weeks. I hope you are all well, and that you are still good children.—I remain, your loving Father.
19. A LETTER FROM CHINA.
A Chinese Street. ”

“ ON THE WAY TO EGYPT.
1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,—I am writing this letter on board the big ship which is taking me to Egypt. Let me tell you what I have seen and done since I left Paris.
2. It is a long day's ride from Paris to the seaport from which my ship set sail. Let me tell you about the journey. A few hours after leaving Paris the train began to run through vineyards.
3. At this time of the year a vineyard is a pretty sight. The broad leaves of the vine are tinted with crimson and gold. Beneath them are the purple or golden grapes. ”

“ A rich father keeps his girls shut up in the back part of his house. Their faces are never seen by any man except those of their own family. If they go out of the house, they cover themselves from head to foot with a thick veil. ”

“ Chinese men shave their heads, all but a small patch of hair. This is allowed to grow very long, and is plaited into a pigtail. I have seen Chinamen with coloured ribbons woven into their pigtails.
2. When men are at work they twine their pigtails round their heads. When they wish to show respect to any person they let down their pigtails. A man who has a long, thick pigtail is very proud of it. ”

“ Then the children rise at half-past four, and work all day long in the fields. Every one who can work at all must do so at harvest time.
10. There is also plenty of work to be done in the autumn. Everything needed in the house must be brought in before the snow begins to fall.
11. Winter is the real holiday time. No work can then be done on the land. The rivers and lakes are frozen, and everywhere there is plenty of skating. The wheels are taken off the carriages, and runners are put on instead. Horses draw them very swiftly over the frozen snow.
BOYS OF CANADA IN WINTER. ”

“ Many of the boys go to school, but not many of the girls. They, poor things, begin to work in the house or in the field almost as soon as they can walk. Much of the hard rough work in India is done by poor women and girls. ”

“ When they die their bodies are taken to the steps. There they are washed in the river water, and are placed on piles of wood. Friends set fire to the wood, and soon the bodies are burnt to ashes. These ashes are thrown into the stream, which bears them to the distant ocean. ”

“ The hoofs of the camel are broad, and this prevents them from sinking into the sand. The camel can go for a long time without food or water.
7. The camel is very useful to the Arab, both when it is alive and when it is dead. It gives him milk to drink, and its hair is useful for making clothes, tents, and ropes. ”

“ Are you not sorry for these poor rich girls? I am. They can never play merry games with boy friends, or go for long walks in the country.
8. They know nothing of the beautiful world in which they live. Their rooms are fine, their dresses are grand, and their jewels are lovely; but they are only poor prisoners after all.
9. Yesterday I went with your uncle to see a village school. ”

“ From what I have seen, I think Burma is a prettier country than India.
4. In the chief town there seem to be people from many lands. I saw Chinamen, with their pigtails hanging down their backs. I also saw Indians from across the sea, and white men from our own country. Of course, there were also many Burmese, as the people of Burma are called.
5. Kate and May will like to hear something about the Burmese girls and women. They are not at all sad like the Indians, but are very bright and gay. As I write these lines I see a party of Burmese girls passing my window, I can hear them laughing. ”

“ All the children make themselves very useful in the house. Servants are hard to get in Canada, so people must learn to help themselves. The boys clean the boots and chop wood. The girls think nothing of helping to scrub the floors. ”

“ In our country we are never sure of the weather. It changes so often that we talk about it a great deal. In India nobody talks about the weather. During seven months of the year every day is fine.
7. In our country we almost always have plenty of water for our crops, and for drinking and washing. Plenty of fresh water is a great blessing to a land. In many parts of India water is very scarce. ”

“ Sometimes a whole family goes camping in the woods. They then live in tents or in little huts by the side of a river or a lake. What happy times the children have! They go fishing, they bathe, and they dart to and fro in canoes.
16. Most of the young folks of Canada are strong and healthy. They are happy and bright, and they are not afraid of work. No children are more useful to their parents than the boys and girls of Canada.
26. THE RED MEN.
Red Men and White Men. ”