As homeward through the lane I went with lazy feet, This song unto myself did I oftentimes repeat; And it seemed, as I retraced the ballad line by line, That but half of it was hers, and one-half of it was _mine_.
Again, and once again, did I repeat the song; “Nay,” said I, “more than half to the _damsel_ must belong; For she looked with such a look, and she spake with such a tone, That I almost received her heart into my own.”
bal´lad cov´ert (_kŭv´ert_) draught (_draft_) Bar´ba-ra wool´len Lew´-thwaite
In Asia and in Africa there are vast plains of sand, upon which no grass grows, and through which no river runs. These plains are as smooth as the ocean unmoved by waves. As far as the eye can reach, nothing is to be seen but sand. In the middle of the day when the sun is hottest, the sand dazzles the eyes of the traveller, as if there were a sun beneath the sand as well as one above.
Here and there, but many miles apart, are green spots consisting of bushes, trees, and grass, growing around a small pool or spring of water. These green spots are called oases. Here the tired traveller can find food and shade, and can sleep awhile, sheltered from the blazing sun.
How do you think the traveller crosses these burning plains? Not in carriages, nor on horseback, nor in railroad trains, but on the backs of tall, long-necked, humpbacked camels.
Even if you have seen camels alive, or pictures of them, you will still be glad to learn more about these very useful animals.
The camel lives on grass, and the dry short herbage, which is found on the edges of the desert. While travelling in the desert, it is fed upon dates and barley. It is able to eat a great deal of food at a time and to drink enough water to last some days. By this means, it can go for a long time without food, and travel long distances without stopping to eat or drink. The camel has a curious lump of fat on the top of its back called a “hump.” One kind of camel has two humps. One purpose of these humps, is to supply the camel with strength, when it has neither food nor water, and would otherwise die from want.
The foot of the camel is a wonderful thing. It is broad, and has a soft pad at the bottom, which keeps it from sinking in the yielding sand, when the camel crosses the arid deserts.