LESSON 4
THE GRANDFATHER

Charles G. Eastman (b. 1816, d.1861) was born in Maine, but removed at an early age to Vermont, where he was connected with the press at Burlington, Woodstock, and Montpelier. He published a volume of poems in 1848, written in a happy lyric and ballad style, and faithfully portraying rural life in New England.

1. The farmer sat in his easy-chair

Smoking his pipe of clay,

While his hale old wife with busy care,

Was clearing the dinner away;

A sweet little girl with fine blue eyes,

On her grandfather's knee, was catching flies.

2. The old man laid his hand on her head,

With a tear on his wrinkled face,

He thought how often her mother, dead,

Had sat in the selfsame place;

As the tear stole down from his half-shut eye,

“Don't smoke! ” said the child, “how it makes you cry! ”

3. The house dog lay stretched out on the floor,

Where the shade, afternoons, used to steal;

The busy old wife by the open door

Was turning the spinning wheel,

And the old brass clock on the manteltree

Had plodded along to almost three.

4. Still the farmer sat in his easy-chair,

While close to his heaving breast

The moistened brow and the cheek so fair

Of his sweet grandchild were pressed;

His head bent down, all her soft hair lay;

Fast asleep were they both on that summer day.

STUDY GUIDE

A. Word Definition

1.easy chair:comfortable chair with arms and cushions.

2.hale:strong,healthy.

3.wrinkled:creased,folded.

4.selfsame:exactly the same.

5.manteltree:shelf over a fireplace.

6.plodded:went slowly.

7.heaving:rising and falling.

8.moistened:slightly wet.

B. Comprehension Questions

1. In 1848, life expectancy in the U.S.A. was less than 40. How might the farmer's daughter have died?

a. in childbirth

b. in a plane crash

c. from cholera

d. from Ebola

2. In the 19th century, few American women worked outside the home. Did they have an easy life? Explain.

3. How might the farmer's wife have contributed to the finances of the farm?

4. Today, less than two percent of the American population are farmers. But in 1848, about 75 percent were farmers. What has changed since then?

5. Why do think the author wrote “The Grandfather” as a poem rather than a story?

6. Could “The Grandfather” have been written about a family from another country? Explain.

7. Did American farmhouses in the 19th century have air conditioning or central heating?

8. In 1848, what was the most common form of transportation in the U.S.A?

C. Writing Work

Write 200 words about the dangers of smoking.