21.  The rest of the trip we ran in safety, though I could see the passengers were not wholly at ease, and would not be until they were entirely clear of the railway.  Martin Kroller remained insensible from the effects of the blow nearly two weeks; and when he recovered from that, he was sound again; his insanity was all gone.  I saw him about three weeks afterward, but he had no recollection of me.  He remembered nothing of the past year, not even his mad freak on my engine.  But I remembered it, and I remember it still; and the people need never fear that I shall be imposed upon again by a crazy engineer.

Definitions.—­2.  Com’pe-tent, fit, qualified. 4.  Junc’ture, point of time, crisis.  Re-mon’strate, to present strong reasons against any course of proceedings. 7.  Apt’ness, fitness, suitableness. 8.  Com-posed’, calm. 11.  Ap-pre-hend’, to entertain suspicion or fear of. 14.  Ten’der, a car attached to a locomotive to supply it with fuel and water. 18.  Pre-ci’sion (pro. pre-sizh’un), accuracy, exactness.

Note.—­This incident is said to have taken place on the railway following the valley of the Vistula.  River, in Prussia, from Dantzic to Bromberg.  The cities mentioned are all in Prussia, excepting Stockholm, which is the capital of Sweden.

LXX.  THE HERITAGE.

James Russell Lowell (b. 1819, d.1891) was born in Cambridge, Mass., and was graduated from Harvard College.  He entered the profession of law; but, in 1843, turned aside to publish “The Pioneer, a Literary and Critical Magazine.”  In 1855 he was appointed professor of Belles-lettres in Harvard College.  From 1877 to 1885 he was U.S.  Minister, first to Spain, afterwards to Great Britain.  Lowell’s powers as a writer were very versatile, and his poems range from the most dreamy and imaginative to the most trenchant and witty.  Among his most noted poetical works are “The Biglow Papers,” “A Fable for Critics,” “The Vision of Sir Launfal,” “The Cathedral,” and “The Legend of Brittany;” while “Conversations on some of the Old Poets,” “Among my Books,” and “My Study Windows,” place him in the front rank as an essayist.

1.  The rich man’s son inherits lands,
     And piles of brick, and stone, and gold,
   And he inherits soft white hands,
     And tender flesh that fears the cold,
     Nor dares to wear a garment old;
   A heritage, it seems to me,
   One scarce would wish to hold in fee.

2.  The rich man’s son inherits cares;
     The bank may break, the factory burn,
   A breath may burst his bubble shares,
     And soft white hands could hardly earn
     A living that would serve his turn;
   A heritage, it seems to me,
   One scarce would wish to hold in fee.

3.  The rich man’s son inherits wants,
     His stomach craves for dainty fare;
   With sated heart, he hears the pants
     Of toiling hinds with brown arms bare! 
     And wearies in his easy-chair;
   A heritage, it seems to me,
   One scarce would wish to hold in fee.