This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907. Excerpt: ... cxxx CROQUET Draw a diagram of a croquet ground. Conversation:--Discuss the game, referring to the drawing; tell about the wickets, the balls, the mallets, croqueting, who wins. Written Exercise:--Write on the blackboard rules for the game. Write a letter, describing the last game of croquet that you played or witnessed. CXXXI GOD"S MIRACLE OF MAY Pictures in Words Head and study:--There came a message to the vine, A whisper to the tree; The bluebird saw the secret sign And merrily sang he! And like a silver string the brook Trembled with music sweet--Enchanting notes in every nook For echo to repeat. A magic touch transformed the fields, Greener each hour they grew, Until they shone like burnished shields All jeweled o"er with dew. Scattered upon the forest floor, A million bits of bloom Breathed fragrance forth thro" morning"s door Into the day"s bright room. Then inch by inch the vine confessed The secret it had heard, And in the leaves the azure breast Sang the delightful word: Glad flowers upsprang amid the grass And flung their banners gay, And suddenly it came to pass--God"s Miracle of May!--Frank Dempster Sherman. By permission of Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The poem presents a series of pictures. Try to see them all. Here are a few suggestive questions. Answer them and ask others. Stanza I:--What was the message? Who brought it? Why was it whispered to the tree? Why a secret sign? Why did the brook tremble? Did you ever see a brook like a silver string? Where? What made it so? Stanza II:--What was the magic touch? What does jeweled o"er with dew mean? What is the morning"s door? Stanza III:--Does this stanza answer the questions asked above? What was the secret? How did the vine confess it? How did the flowers show their joy? What is a miracle...