LESSON XLIII. Bishop Hatto, or Retribution. ap-point'-ed, fixed upon, set. for-lorn', poor, wretched. myr'-i-ads, very great numbers. rid'-ding, getting quit of, free ing. whet'-ted, sharpened. THE summer and autumn had been so wet, Every day the starving poor Crowded around Bishop Hatto's door, At last Bishop Hatto appointed a day Rejoiced such tidings good to hear, The poor folk flocked from far and near; Of women and children, and young and old. Then when he saw it could hold no more, "I' faith, 'tis an excellent bonfire!" quoth he, So then to his palace returned he, And he slept that night like an innocent man, In the morning as he enter'd the hall, As he look'd there came a man from the farm, Another came running presently, "I'll go to my tower on the Rhine," replied he, 'Tis the safest place in Germany; The walls are high, and the shores are steep, Bishop Hatto fearfully hasten'd away, He laid him down and closed his eyes, On his pillow, from whence the screaming came. He listen'd and look'd; it was only the cat; For they have swum over the river so deep, They are not to be told by the dozen or score, Down on his knees the Bishop fell, And faster and faster his beads did he tell, The gnawing of their teeth he could hear. And in at the windows, and in at the door, They have whetted their teeth against the stones, R. SOUTHEY. QUESTIONS:-1. What effect had the wet summer and autumn on the crops? 2. Do crops generally grow in winter? 3. What caused the grain to rot? 4. How was Bishop Hatto supplied with grain? 5. What are granaries? 6. What summons did the Bishop address to the people? 7. How did he treat them when they had assembled? 8. What excuse did he make to himself for his conduct? 9. What was the first sign the Bishop had that he would be paid in his own coin? 10. What was the second? 11. What was the third? 12. What did he resolve on doing when he heard the rats were approaching his palace? 13. Where was his tower? 14. What did the Bishop do on entering his tower? 15. What are "loopholes"? 16. What disturbed the Bishop's sleep in the tower? 17. Why was the cat an evil omen? 18. How does the poet describe the number of the rats? 19. What did the Bishop do when he heard them approaching? 20. What is meant by "telling his beads"? 21. How does the poet describe the rush of rats into the tower? 22. How did the rats whet their teeth? 23. Why did they whet their teeth "against the stones"? 24. What sort of teeth has the rat got? 25. What name is given to animals of the rat kind? 26. Mention any other animals that have teeth like those of the rat. 27. What word in the last line but one of the poem indicates the class of animals to which the rat belongs? 28. Why were the rats sent? 29. Give the moral of this poem (see Luke's Gospel, chap. vi. 38, last clause). 30. Where is the Rhine? 31. What is meant by "retribution"? 32. Where is Germany? |