LXXI.--ABRAM AND ZIMRI.

lot, fate; Los; Schicksal.

gird, to tie round; to dress; gürten.
shift'-ing, changing; wechselnd.

am'-ple, more than sufficient; reichlich.

Abram and Zimri owned a field together,-
A level field hid in a happy vale.

They plowed it with one plow, and in the spring
Sowed, walking side by side, the fruitful seed.-
In harvest, when the glad earth smiled with grain,
Each carried to his home one half the sheaves,
And stored them with much labor in his barns.
Now, Abram had a wife and seven sons,
But Zimri dwelt alone within his house.

One night, before the sheaves were gathered in,
As Zimri lay upon his lonely bed,

And counted in his mind his little gains,
He thought upon his brother Abram's lot,
And said, "I dwell alone within my house,
But Abram hath a wife and seven sons,
And yet we share the harvest sheaves alike:
He surely needeth more for life than I;
I will arise and gird myself, and go
Down to the field, and add to his from mine."

So he arose, and girded up his loins,
And went out softly to the level field.

The moon shone out from dusky bars of clouds,
The trees stood black against the cold blue sky,
The branches waved, and whispered in the wind,
So Zimri, guided by the shifting light,

Went down the mountain path, and found the field, Took from his store of sheaves a generous third, And bore them gladly to his brother's heap,

And then went back to sleep, and happy dreams.

Now, that same night, as Abram lay in bed,
Thinking upon his blissful state in life,

He thought upon his brother Zimri's lot,
And said, "He dwells within his house alone,
He goeth forth to toil with few to help,
He goeth home at night to a cold house,
And hath few other friends but me and mine,'
(For these two tilled the happy vale alone)
"While I, whom God hath very greatly blessed,
Dwell happy with my wife and seven sons,
Who aid me in my toil, and make it light,—
And yet we share the harvest sheaves alike.
This surely is not pleasing unto God.

I will arise and gird myself, and go

Out to the field, and borrow from my store,
And add unto my brother Zimri's pile."

So he arose, and girded up his loins,
And went down softly to the level field.
The moon shone out from silver bars of clouds,
The trees stood black against the starry sky,
The dark leaves waved and whispered in the breeze.
So Abram, guided by the doubtful light,

Passed down the mountain path, and found the field,
Took from his store of sheaves a generous third,
And added them unto his brother's heap;
Then he went back to sleep, and happy dreams.

So the next morning with the early sun
The brothers rose, and went out to their toil.
And when they came to see the heavy sheaves,
Each wondered in his heart to find his heap,
Though he had given a third, was still the same.

Now, the next night went Zimri to the field,
Took from his store of sheaves a generous share,

And placed them on his brother Abram's heap,
And then lay down behind his pile to watch.
The moon looked out from bars of silvery cloud,
The cedars stood up black against the sky,
The olive-branches whispered in the wind.

Then Abram came down softly from his home,
And, looking to the left and right, went on,
Took from his ample store a generous third,
And laid it on his brother Zimri's pile.
Then Zimri rose, and caught him in his arms,
And wept upon his neck, and kissed his cheek;
And Abram saw the whole, and could not speak,
Neither could Zimri, for their hearts were full.

LXXII.-RAILROADS.

groove, a furrow; Rinne.

in-de-fat'-i-ga-ble, untiring; unermüdlich.

de-vel'-op, to unfold; entfalten.

math-e-mat-ics, the science of quantity and number; Größenlehre; Mathematik.

ac-qui-si'-tion, acquirement; Erwerbung; Aneignung.

coll'-ier-y, a place where coal is dug; Kohlenmine.

tram'-way, a road having wheel tracks; Schienenweg.

pre-dict', to foretell; vorhersagen.

de-ris'-ion, mockery; Spott; Hohn.

tres'-pass-er, an offender; Rechtsverleger.

horse'-pond, a pond where horses are washed, Pferdeschwemme. pam'-phlet, an unbound book of a few pages; Flugschrift.

sys'-tem, a combination of things acting together; System.

e'-ra, period; epoch; time; Zeitraum.

ram'-i-fy, to shoot into branches; sich verzweigen.

en-com'-pass, to encircle; umfassen.

typ'-ic-al, figurative; emblematic; bildlich; vorbildlich.

fra-gil'-i-ty, weakness; Gebrechlichkeit; Schwachheit.

in-ca-pac ́-i-ty, inability; Unfähigkeit.

vie, to strife for superiority; wetteifern.

1. The history of railroads is truly marvelous. There was nothing new in laying tracks, either in grooves cut in wood or stone, or tracks consisting of wooden rails laid down over smooth timbers,-such had been in use for a long time. But the great object at the beginning of this century was, to bring steam power into practical use on railways.

2. The man whose name stands highest in the list of railway locomotive constructors, was George Stephenson, an Englishman. When eighteen years old he could not write nor even read. His father was very poor, and George was compelled to work incessantly to aid in supporting a large family.

3. At that age he was fired with an ambition to learn, and for this purpose secured admission to an evening school, working during the day. He was indefatigable in his efforts to learn, and soon developed a passion for mathematics, the acquisition of which proved of great use to him in after-life.

4. When twenty years old he was made brakeman on a colliery engine, and soon after began to think about improving it himself. He kept on working and thinking and reading, until, at thirty-two years of age, he made an engine, which he named "My Lord," in honor of Lord Ravensworth, who had furnished the money with which to build it. This was in 1813, and it was the first locomotive engine ever built. It was used to draw coal-cars on a tramway.

5. The construction of this engine was a great achievement, but Mr. Stephenson was not satisfied. He was sure that one could be built that would run much faster, and he ventured to predict that a speed of twelve miles an hour would be attained, and that passengers would yet travel by steam.

6. He was laughed at for his folly; and one gravelooking gentleman, thinking to put him down by ridicule,

said, "Suppose one of these engines to be going at the rate of nine or ten miles an hour, and that a cow were to stray' upon the line, would not that be a very awkward circumstance?" "Yes," replied Mr. Stephenson, "very awkward, indeed, for the cow."

7. A few Quaker gentlemen, who had become interested in what George Stephenson was doing, formed a railroad company, and their first line of rail was laid from Wilton colliery, near Darlington, England, to Stockton, in September, 1825. This line was called in derision "the Quaker Line." Stephenson built for them a locomotive, called the "Rocket," which made an average speed of fourteen miles an hour, drawing seventeen tons. This was the dawn of the new triumph of steam on land, and, with constantly increasing improvements, it began to go into general use in the British Islands.

8. Of course, there was much laughter at first in connection with the idea of railroads, and a good deal of opposition to them. People used the word "ridiculous" very freely. Some noblemen would not have their foxcovers disturbed; others ordered their people to drive off any person making surveys, as trespassers, or to summarily duck them in a neighboring horse-pond; and pamphlets were written to alarm the public.

9. It was gravely stated that if railroads were laid it would prevent the cows from grazing, hens from laying, and that the poisoned air from the locomotives would kill the birds as they flew, and render the preserving of game impossible; while householders near the line were told that their houses would be burned, vegetation destroyed, innkeepers ruined, and passengers massacred. And when it was known that Mr. Stephenson had said travelers could journey at a speed of twelve miles an hour, there was one general expression of derision.

10. The first railroad in the United States was built in