



Produced by Julie Barkley, Susan Woodring and PG Distributed Proofreaders




[Transcriber's Note: Descriptions of illustrations which have no
captions and of page references are found in {curly brackets}.]

[Illustration: That's where Daddy is!

(From the painting by J. Snowman.)]





THE ROYAL SCHOOL SERIES


Highroads of Geography


_Illustrated by Masterpieces of the following artists:--J.M.W. Turner,
F. Goodall, E.A. Hornel, Talbot Kelly, W. Simpson, Edgar H. Fisher, J.F.
Lewis, T.H. Liddell, Cyrus Cuneo, &c._



Introductory Book--Round the World with Father


1916





CONTENTS.


1. Good-bye to Father,

2. A Letter from France,

3. In Paris,

4. On the Way to Egypt,

5. A Letter from Egypt,

6. Children of Egypt,

7. Through the Canal,

8. Amongst the Arabs.--I.,

9. Amongst the Arabs.--II.,

10. A Letter from India,

11. In the Streets,

12. Our Indian Cousin,

13. In the Garden,

14. Indian Boys and Girls,

15. Elephants and Tigers,

16. A Letter from Burma.--I.,

17. A Letter from Burma.--II.,

18. A Letter from Ceylon,

19. A Letter from China,

20. Chinese Boys and Girls,

21. Hair, Fingers, and Toes,

22. A Letter from Japan,

23. <DW61> Children,

24. A Letter from Canada,

25. Children of Canada,

26. The Red Men,

27. The Eskimos.

28. Father's Last Letter,

29. Home Again,

EXERCISES,





INTRODUCTORY BOOK.


I. GOOD-BYE TO FATHER.


1. Father kissed us and said, "Good-bye, dears. Be good children, and
help mother as much as you can. The year will soon pass away. What a
merry time we will have when I come back again!"

2. Father kissed mother, and then stepped into the train. The guard blew
his whistle, and the train began to move. We waved good-bye until it was
out of sight.

[Illustration: {Children waving good-bye to their father as the train
pulls away}]

3. Then we all began to cry--even Tom, who thinks himself such a man. It
was _so_ lonely without father.

4. Tom was the first to dry his eyes. He turned to me and said, "Stop
that crying. You are the eldest, and you ought to know better."

5. He made mother take his arm, just as father used to do. Then he began
to whistle, to show that he did not care a bit. All the way home he
tried to make jokes.

6. As soon as we had taken off our coats and hats, Tom called us into
the sitting-room. "Look here," he said: "we're going to have no glum
faces in this house. We must be bright and cheerful, or mother will
fret. You know father wouldn't like that."

[Illustration: {Children in the sitting-room}]

7. We said that we would do our best. So off we went to help mother to
make the beds and to dust the rooms. While we were doing this we quite
forgot to be sad.

8. After tea we went into father's room and looked at the globe. "I'm
going to follow father right round the world," said Tom. "Please show me
which way he is going." Mother did so.

9. "By this time next week," she said, "we shall have the first of many
long letters from father. I am sure we shall enjoy reading them. He will
tell us about the far-off lands which he is going to see."

10. "That will be grand," I said. "I hope he will tell us _lots_
about the children. I want to know what they look like, what they wear,
and what games they play."

11. Tom said he would rather not hear about children. He wanted to hear
about savages and tigers and shipwrecks, and things like that.

[Illustration: {Postman delivering a letter}]

12. A week later the postman brought us father's first letter. How eager
we were to hear it! Mother had to read it for us two or three times.

13. Every week for many weeks the postman brought us letters from
father. When he handed us a letter he used to say, "I'm glad to see that
your daddy is all right so far."

14. This book is made up of father's letters from abroad. I hope you
will enjoy them as much as we did.

       *       *       *       *       *

2. A LETTER FROM FRANCE.


1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--I am writing this letter in a large seaport of the
south of France. To-morrow I shall go on board the big ship which is to
take me to Egypt.

2. Let me tell you about my travels so far. The train in which I left
our town took me to London. Next day another train took me to a small
town on the seashore.

3. About twenty miles of sea lie between this town and France. At once I
went on board the small steamer which was to take me across. The sea was
smooth and the sun was shining.

[Illustration: The White Cliffs of Dover.

(From the picture by J. M. W. Turner, R.A.)]

4. I stood on the deck looking at the white cliffs of dear old England.
When I could see them no longer I found that we were not far from
France.

5. In about an hour we reached a French town which in olden days
belonged to us. The steamer sailed right up to the railway station.

6. I had something to eat, and then took my place in the train. Soon we
were speeding towards Paris, the chief town of France.

7. I looked out of the window most of the time. We ran through many
meadows and cornfields. Here and there I saw rows of poplar trees
between the fields.

8. Now and then we crossed rivers with barges on them. On and on we
went, past farmhouses and little villages, each with its church. The
French villages look brighter than ours. I think this is because the
houses are painted in gay colours.

9. I saw many men, women, and children working in the fields. All of
them wore wooden shoes. Most of the men and boys were dressed in blue
blouses.

[Illustration: {People working in a field}]

10. There was a little French boy in my carriage. He wore a black blouse
with a belt. His stockings were short, and did not come up to his
knickerbockers. He was rather pale, and his legs were very thin.

11. The boy was about Tom's age. He sat still, and held his father's
hand all the way. I don't think Tom would have done this; he thinks
himself too much of a man.

12. After a time we crossed a broad river, and came to the dull, dark
station of a large city. As we left it, I saw the tall spire of one of
the grandest churches in all the world.

13. On we went, past farms and villages and small towns, until at last
we reached Paris.

       *       *       *       *       *

3. IN PARIS.


[Illustration: In the Gardens.

(From the picture by Cyrus Cuneo, R.I.)]

1. Paris is a very grand and beautiful city. The French people say that
France is a great garden. They also say that the finest flowers in this
garden make up the nosegay which we call Paris.

2. A great river runs through Paris. All day long you can see little
steamboats darting to and fro on the river, like swallows. Near to the
river are some beautiful gardens.

[Illustration: {View of Paris}]

3. I sat in these gardens, at a little table under the trees. As I sat
there a man walked up the path. At once I heard a great chirping and a
flutter of wings.

[Illustration: {A man with birds}]

4. All the birds in the garden flocked to him. They seemed to know him
as an old friend. Some perched on his shoulders and some on his hat. One
bold little fellow tried to get into his pocket. It was a pretty sight
to see him feeding the birds.

5. In the gardens there were many nurses carrying babies. These nurses
were very gay indeed. They wore gray cloaks and white caps, with broad
silk ribbons hanging down their backs.

6. Some of the older children were playing ball, but they did not play
very well. Until a few years ago French boys had few outdoor games. Now
they are learning to play tennis and football.

7. French boys are always clean and neatly dressed, however poor they
may be. They think more about lessons than our boys do. Their school
hours are much longer than ours.

8. French girls have not so much freedom as our girls. A grown-up person
takes them to school and brings them home again. Their mothers do not
allow them to go for walks by themselves. I wonder how Kate and May
would like this.

9. Some day I must take you to see Paris. You would love to ramble
through its streets. Many of them are planted with trees. Under these
trees you may see men and women sitting at little tables. They eat and
drink while a band plays merry tunes.

[Illustration: {People at a table, being waited on}]

10. You would be sure to notice that the French people have very good
manners. When a Frenchman enters or leaves a shop he raises his hat and
bows. A Frenchman is always polite, and he always tries to please you.

11. I cannot now write anything more about Paris. I should like to tell
you about its beautiful buildings and its fine shops, but I have no more
time to spare.

12. I hope you are all doing your best to make mother happy. I am very
well; I hope you are well too.--Your loving FATHER.

       *       *       *       *       *

4. ON THE WAY TO EGYPT.


1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--I am writing this letter on board the big ship
which is taking me to Egypt. Let me tell you what I have seen and done
since I left Paris.

2. It is a long day's ride from Paris to the seaport from which my ship
set sail. Let me tell you about the journey. A few hours after leaving
Paris the train began to run through vineyards.

3. At this time of the year a vineyard is a pretty sight. The broad
leaves of the vine are tinted with crimson and gold. Beneath them are
the purple or golden grapes.

4. As I passed through France the grapes were ripe, and were being
gathered. I could see women and children going up and down between the
rows of vines. They plucked the ripe fruit and put it into baskets. When
the baskets were filled they were emptied into a big tub.

[Illustration: THE GRAPE HARVEST.

(From the picture by P.M. Dupuy in the Salon of 1909. Bought by the
State.)]

5. When the tub was filled it was taken to a building near at hand. In
this building there is a press which squeezes the juice out of the
grapes. The grape juice is then made into wine.

6. As evening drew on we came to a large town where two big rivers meet.
It is a busy town, and has many smoky chimneys. Much silk and velvet are
made in this town.

7. I think you know that silk is made by the silkworm. This worm feeds
on the leaves of the mulberry tree. In the south of France there are
thousands of mulberry trees. There are also many orange and olive trees.

8. The weather is much warmer in the south of France than it is in
England.