DEFINITIONS.--1. Pe-ti'tion, a formal request. 3. Ar-tic'u-late, to utter
the elementary sounds. Mod'u-late, to vary or inflect. Mo-not'o-ny, lack
of variety. 4. Af-fect'ed, unnatural and silly. 9. Draft'ed, selected by
lot. 10. Con-cise', brief and full of meaning. 11. Dis-charge', release.
Dic'tate, to utter so that another may write it down. 12. Dis-tinc'tion,
honorable and notable position. Ex-press', to make known the feelings of.


NOTES.--Frederick II. of Prussia (b. 1712, d. 1788), or Frederick the
Great, as he was called, was one of the greatest of German rulers. He was
distinguished for his military exploits, for his wise and just government,
and for his literary attainments. He wrote many able works in the French
language. Many pleasant anecdotes are told of this king, of which the one
given in the lesson is a fair sample.



II. THE BLUEBELL.

1. There is a story I have heard--
A poet learned it of a bird,
And kept its music every word--

2. A story of a dim ravine,
O'er which the towering tree tops lean,
With one blue rift of sky between;

3. And there, two thousand years ago,