Full download ebooks at https://ebookmeta.

com

The Linux Command Line A Complete Introduction

Second Edition William Shotts

For dowload this book click link below

https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-linux-command-line-a-
complete-introduction-second-edition-william-shotts/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWLOAD NOW
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

The Linux Command Line A Complete Introduction 2nd

Edition William Shotts

https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-linux-command-line-a-complete-
introduction-2nd-edition-william-shotts/

The Linux Command Line A Complete Introduction 2d

edition William E. Shotts

https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-linux-command-line-a-complete-
introduction-2d-edition-william-e-shotts/

Efficient Linux at the Command Line: Boost Your

Command-Line Skills 1st Edition Daniel J. Barrett

https://ebookmeta.com/product/efficient-linux-at-the-command-
line-boost-your-command-line-skills-1st-edition-daniel-j-barrett/

Linux Installation Configuration and Command Line

Basics 1st Edition Nathan Clark

https://ebookmeta.com/product/linux-installation-configuration-
and-command-line-basics-1st-edition-nathan-clark/
Linux introduce to beginners guide UNIX operating
system Linux shell scripting and command line Linux
System 1st Edition Erickson Karnel & Coding Hood

https://ebookmeta.com/product/linux-introduce-to-beginners-guide-
unix-operating-system-linux-shell-scripting-and-command-line-
linux-system-1st-edition-erickson-karnel-coding-hood/

Command-Line Rust 1st Edition Ken Youens-Clark

https://ebookmeta.com/product/command-line-rust-1st-edition-ken-
youens-clark/

William Shakespeare Complete Works Second Edition Royal

Shakespeare Company William Shakespeare

https://ebookmeta.com/product/william-shakespeare-complete-works-
second-edition-royal-shakespeare-company-william-shakespeare/

Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal 3rd

Edition Joe Kissell

https://ebookmeta.com/product/take-control-of-the-mac-command-
line-with-terminal-3rd-edition-joe-kissell/

Linux The Complete Manual 2nd Edition 2021

https://ebookmeta.com/product/linux-the-complete-manual-2nd-
edition-2021/
THE LINUX COMMAND LINE
2ND EDITION
A Complete Introduction

by William Shotts

San Francisco
THE LINUX COMMAND LINE, 2ND EDITION. Copyright © 2019 by
William Shotts.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission
of the copyright owner and the publisher.

ISBN-10: 1-59327-952-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-952-3
Publisher: William Pollock
Production Editors: Meg Sneeringer and Serena Yang
Cover Illustration: Octopod Studios
Developmental Editor: Chris Cleveland
Technical Reviewer: Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso
Copyeditor: Kim Wimpsett
Compositors: Britt Bogan and Meg Sneeringer
Proofreader: James Fraleigh
For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch
Press, Inc. directly:
No Starch Press, Inc.
245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
phone: 1.415.863.9900; [email protected]
www.nostarch.com

The Library of Congress issued the following Cataloging-in-Publication Data for the first
edition:
Shotts, William E.
The Linux command line: a complete introduction / William E. Shotts, Jr.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-389-7 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-59327-389-4 (pbk.)
1. Linux. 2. Scripting Languages (Computer science) 3. Operating
systems (Computers) I. Title.
QA76.76.O63S5556 2011
005.4'32--dc23
2011029198
No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch
Press, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every
occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial fashion
and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the
trademark.

The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the
author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person or entity with
respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by
the information contained in it.
To Karen
About the Author
William Shotts has been a software professional for more than 30 years
and an avid Linux user for more than 20 years. He has an extensive
background in software development, including technical support,
quality assurance, and documentation. He is also the creator of
LinuxCommand.org, a Linux education and advocacy site featuring news,
reviews, and extensive support for using the Linux command line.
About the Technical Reviewer
Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso is a coder, mathematician, and hacker-errant.
He runs Debian GNU/Linux exclusively since 2002, both at home and
at work. Jordi has been involved with GNU Octave, a free numerical
computing environment largely compatible with Matlab, and with
Mercurial, a distributed version control system. He enjoys pure and
applied mathematics, skating, swimming, and knitting. Nowadays he
thinks a lot about environmental mapping, greenhouse gas emissions,
and rhino conservation efforts.
 BRIEF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART I: LEARNING THE SHELL

Chapter 1: What Is the Shell?

Chapter 2: Navigation
Chapter 3: Exploring the System
Chapter 4: Manipulating Files and Directories
Chapter 5: Working with Commands
Chapter 6: Redirection
Chapter 7: Seeing the World as the Shell Sees It
Chapter 8: Advanced Keyboard Tricks
Chapter 9: Permissions
Chapter 10: Processes

PART II: CONFIGURATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 11: The Environment

Chapter 12: A Gentle Introduction to vi
Chapter 13: Customizing the Prompt

PART III: COMMON TASKS AND ESSENTIAL TOOLS

Chapter 14: Package Management

Chapter 15: Storage Media
Chapter 16: Networking
Chapter 17: Searching for Files
Chapter 18: Archiving and Backup
Chapter 19: Regular Expressions
Chapter 20: Text Processing
Chapter 21: Formatting Output
Chapter 22: Printing
Chapter 23: Compiling Programs

PART IV: WRITING SHELL SCRIPTS

Chapter 24: Writing Your First Script

Chapter 25: Starting a Project
Chapter 26: Top-Down Design
Chapter 27: Flow Control: Branching with if
Chapter 28: Reading Keyboard Input
Chapter 29: Flow Control: Looping with while/until
Chapter 30: Troubleshooting
Chapter 31: Flow Control: Branching with case
Chapter 32: Positional Parameters
Chapter 33: Flow Control: Looping with for
Chapter 34: Strings and Numbers
Chapter 35: Arrays
Chapter 36: Exotica
Index
 CONTENTS IN DETAIL
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First Edition
Second Edition

INTRODUCTION
Why Use the Command Line?
What This Book Is About
Who Should Read This Book
What’s in This Book
How to Read This Book
Prerequisites
What’s New in the Second Edition
Your Feedback Is Needed!

PART I: LEARNING THE SHELL

1
WHAT IS THE SHELL?
Terminal Emulators
Making Your First Keystrokes
Command History
Cursor Movement
Try Some Simple Commands
Ending a Terminal Session
Summing Up

2
NAVIGATION
Understanding the File System Tree
The Current Working Directory
Listing the Contents of a Directory
Changing the Current Working Directory
Absolute Pathnames
Relative Pathnames
Some Helpful Shortcuts
Summing Up

3
EXPLORING THE SYSTEM
More Fun with ls
Options and Arguments
A Longer Look at Long Format
Determining a File’s Type with file
Viewing File Contents with less
Taking a Guided Tour
Symbolic Links
Hard Links
Summing Up

4
MANIPULATING FILES AND DIRECTORIES
Wildcards
mkdir—Create Directories
cp—Copy Files and Directories
Useful Options and Examples
mv—Move and Rename Files
Useful Options and Examples
rm—Remove Files and Directories
Useful Options and Examples
ln—Create Links
Hard Links
Symbolic Links
Building a Playground
 Creating Directories
Copying Files
Moving and Renaming Files
Creating Hard Links
Creating Symbolic Links
Removing Files and Directories
Summing Up

5
WORKING WITH COMMANDS
What Exactly Are Commands?
Identifying Commands
type—Display a Command’s Type
which—Display an Executable’s Location
Getting a Command’s Documentation
help—Get Help for Shell Builtins
--help—Display Usage Information
man—Display a Program’s Manual Page
apropos—Display Appropriate Commands
whatis—Display One-line Manual Page Descriptions
info—Display a Program’s Info Entry
README and Other Program Documentation Files
Creating Our Own Commands with alias
Summing Up

6
REDIRECTION
Standard Input, Output, and Error
Redirecting Standard Output
Redirecting Standard Error
Redirecting Standard Output and Standard Error to One File
Disposing of Unwanted Output
Redirecting Standard Input
 cat: Concatenate Files
Pipelines
Filters
uniq: Report or Omit Repeated Lines
wc: Print Line, Word, and Byte Counts
grep: Print Lines Matching a Pattern
head/tail: Print First/Last Part of Files
tee: Read from Stdin and Output to Stdout and Files
Summing Up

7
SEEING THE WORLD AS THE SHELL SEES IT
Expansion
Pathname Expansion
Tilde Expansion
Arithmetic Expansion
Brace Expansion
Parameter Expansion
Command Substitution
Quoting
Double Quotes
Single Quotes
Escaping Characters
Backslash Escape Sequences
Summing Up

8
ADVANCED KEYBOARD TRICKS
Command Line Editing
Cursor Movement
Modifying Text
Cutting and Pasting (Killing and Yanking) Text
Completion
Using History
Searching History
History Expansion
Summing Up

9
PERMISSIONS
Owners, Group Members, and Everybody Else
Reading, Writing, and Executing
chmod: Change File Mode
Setting File Mode with the GUI
umask: Set Default Permissions
Some Special Permissions
Changing Identities
su: Run a Shell with Substitute User and Group IDs
sudo: Execute a Command As Another User
chown: Change File Owner and Group
chgrp: Change Group Ownership
Exercising Our Privileges
Changing Your Password
Summing Up

10
PROCESSES
How a Process Works
Viewing Processes
Viewing Processes Dynamically with top
Controlling Processes
Interrupting a Process
Putting a Process in the Background
Returning a Process to the Foreground
Stopping (Pausing) a Process
Signals
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 As flowers turn toward the sun all day, and seem to follow him in
his course, so should we let our hearts turn to the God who made
us; for he is our bright Sun, and without him we should fade and
die.
 Christmas.

This famous Christian festival is held on the 25th of December, in

commemoration of the birth of Christ. In all countries where the
Catholic religion prevails, it is noticed with a great variety of
ceremonies. In England, it is a day of cheerfulness and festivity. The
festival of Christmas is continued for twelve days, and in the Catholic
and English churches, they have frequent religious services during
the period. The churches are dressed with evergreens, and it is a
common custom to decorate the rooms of houses with branches of
evergreen trees.
 Story of Philip Brusque.

chapter xiv.

The Conclusion.

After the little community of Fredonia had provided for their first
wants,—houses, clothes, and food,—they began to think of other
things. There were several children among them, and for these they
required a school. Accordingly they employed a young woman, who
had been well educated; and a place being provided, the children
were assembled together, and she taught them as well as she could.
She had few books, however; for neither the works of Peter Parley
or Robert Merry had then been written. Nor were there any
bookstores or printing-offices. There was one copy of a Bible, and in
this the children were, one after another, taught to read.
In all that could make the people happy, M. Bonfils, the good old
governor, took a lively interest. He did not confine himself merely to
a routine of official acts, but he was constantly considering how he
could influence the people in such a way as to make them live
better, more comfortably, and more happily. Being a wise man, he
thus exercised a great influence; and I beg my young readers to
remember, that in this way—by the exercise of wisdom and
patriotism—rulers may be great blessings to their country.
The governor had a notion, which you may think strange, but I
will mention it to you. His idea was, that no person can be happy
without religion. He was a Catholic himself, but he did not insist that
all should think exactly as he did on this subject. What he desired,
was, that every person should love and fear God with sincerity. He
maintained that no nation could be honest, virtuous, industrious, or
patriotic, without religion; and that an enemy to religion was always
an enemy to good government; always an enemy to the true
interests of mankind, even if we only regard the affairs of human
society in this world.
He therefore was desirous of sustaining the institutions of
religion, and for this purpose it was his custom, every Sabbath, to
get the people together, and offer up prayers, and make some kind
of address. It was a beautiful thing to see the people gathered
beneath a group of palm trees, and all kneeling in prayer, or listening
to the exhortations of the gray-haired patriarch who addressed
them. It was also a beautiful thing to hear them joining in their
hymns, of which they were able to sing a few from recollection.
Thus it was that society advanced one step after another, and no
doubt their improvement arose from the happy guidance of their
governor. How different was the state of the people from what it
would have been if Rogére had succeeded in making himself king!
He was perfectly selfish, and he would have subjected all around to
his own personal wishes and interests. Even if he had suppressed
riot and turmoil and anarchy by a strong hand, still the people would
gradually have sunk lower in the scale of civilization: a few would
have been lords and the rest slaves. But now, under the government
of M. Bonfils, they enjoyed equal rights and privileges; each one was
secure of his house, his home, and his lands, and the produce of his
labor. Justice was also duly administered; morality and religion were
cherished; education encouraged; peace, industry, and good
neighborhood became the established and habitual virtues of
society. These are the results, in a great degree, of the conduct and
character of the ruler of the little kingdom; and it ought to teach us
the importance of having good, wise, and religious rulers.
Thus affairs went on, till the good old governor became very
feeble, and was unable longer to attend to the affairs of
government. He had drawn up a plan for a constitution, and upon
resigning his office, submitted it to the people for their ratification or
rejection. It was another pleasing consequence of the virtues of the
good old sage, that what he recommended, came with the force of a
command, and was immediately adopted by the people. Thus,
without agitation or disturbance, the nation adopted a free
constitution, and thenceforward, they enjoyed that greatest of
blessings—the privilege of self-government.
It is not my purpose to extend this story further, nor have I
indeed the means. About a year after François had completed his
little vessel, he made a trip to the Isle of France, where he obtained
a great variety of articles needed by the Fredonians. During his stay
there, which however was brief, he related the events which we
have been detailing. He soon set out on his return, from which time
we have not heard from the little island which has so long occupied
the attention of our readers. If we get any news from them, it shall
be immediately laid before our friends of the blue and black eyes.
 Winter is coming.

Yes—cold, bustling, roaring winter is coming. Soon the earth will

be covered with snow: the leaves are already stript from the trees;
the flowers have perished; the birds have fled; the woodchuck and
chip-squirrel have gone to their burrows and laid themselves down
for a long nap. The farmer has gathered his hay and grain and
potatoes; the cattle are collected from the woods and pastures, and
now wait for their meals around the barn; the axe-man is in the
woods gathering a supply of fuel, that he may kindle the bright fire,
and keep his children warm.
Well—cold, chill, and desolate as is the world without, this is the
season to have comfort and cheerfulness in the house and the
home. Let each do his part to make all happy. What a delightful
place is the fireside, in winter, where the parents and children are
affectionate to one another; where there is obedience, quietness,
kindness, all around! And let us not permit our thoughts to be
confined to ourselves during this dreary season. Let us think
whether there is not some neighbor, less fortunate than ourselves, to
whom our kindness, our charity, our attentions may be a blessing.
 Liberty.

Liberty is freedom from restraint. In its widest sense, it is the free

permission to exercise our powers of body and mind as we please,
without hindrance or restraint. This is absolute liberty. According to
this, a man might take away another’s property or life; or enslave
another man; or make him the tool of his pleasures or caprices.
According to this, a strong man might use a weak one as he
pleased, or the cunning man might cheat or circumvent another, and
thus take away his life or property, or make him the slave of his
pleasures.
This is liberty without law. Such liberty as this could exist only in
theory, for where society has enacted no law, the obligation of
justice exists. A savage is as truly bound by the golden rule, “do to
another as you would have another do to you,” as a member of
civilized society; for even the savage has a sense of right and wrong.
Truth and justice are intuitive perceptions and feelings in every
human soul, and conscience enforces their observance. Every human
being, therefore, has his absolute liberty abridged, by notions of
right and wrong, anterior to the formation of civil government.
 Practically, absolute liberty would be the harshest kind of tyranny,
for it would immediately result in making the weak the slaves of the
strong. Not only would the weak, therefore, be deprived of liberty,
but of justice. In this state of things, no man is free, except the
strongest man; he alone has power to act as he pleases; all the rest
are his slaves: so that a community endeavoring to establish
absolute liberty, immediately make all the members but one, the
slaves of a master whose might is the rule of right.
Absolute liberty, therefore, as said before, immediately runs into
despotism. It is a thing that can only exist where one man, like
Alexander Selkirk, or Robinson Crusoe, is alone upon an island, and
“monarch of all he surveys.” Absolute liberty, in society, is a practical
absurdity—an impossibility.
Natural liberty is freedom from restraint, except so far as is
imposed by the laws of nature. According to this, a man may speak,
act, and think as he pleases, without control; in this sense, it is
synonymous with absolute liberty. But it is often applied to a state of
society, where restraints do actually exist; as, for instance, among
savages, even where property is held in common, and where of
course there is no theft, there are still obligations, rules, and
restrictions, of some kind.
The coward is punished with death; the parricide is banished; the
traitor is shot. Every member of such a society is under certain
restraints, and certain abridgments of absolute liberty. If one is guilty
of cowardice, he consents to lose his life; if he kills his parent, he
consents to be forever cast out of his tribe; if he betrays his nation,
he agrees that he shall be slain by an arrow. Thus, he is restrained
from cowardice, killing a father or mother, or betraying his country;
all of which are abridgments of absolute liberty.
Thus, in the simplest and rudest stages of natural liberty, as put
in practice among mankind, we see certain restraints upon absolute
liberty, established by the laws or customs of the nation. But, in
point of fact, other restraints are put upon the largest part of the
community, for in such a state of society the weak are obliged, for
the most part, to bow to the strong. If, indeed, the weak are
protected from the strong, then the strong are restrained, and so far,
natural or absolute liberty is abridged. If it is not thus abridged, if
the weak are not protected from the strong, then they are the slaves
of the strong. In this state of society, where natural liberty is said to
prevail, the mass are subject to the despotism of a few; the weak
are the slaves of the strong. A state of natural liberty, is, therefore,
practically, a state of tyranny on the one hand and slavery on the
other.
An illustration of this is found among the animal tribes. Among
the fowls of the barnyard, there is no law: the males meet in
conflict, and the strongest or most active becomes the master.
Among a pack of wolves, or among dogs, the question who shall
have the bone, is settled by fighting it out, and the strongest has it.
The law of nature, then, is a law of force: where there is no other
than natural law, might is the only rule of right.
Even if all men were virtuous, a state of natural and universal
liberty could not exist—for virtue itself implies an observance of
rules, obligations, and laws. A virtuous man will not steal; his liberty
therefore, in this respect, is restrained. It is restrained by law; and
the only difference between this restraint and that of civil
government, is, that God enacts, and his own heart enforces, the
law.
Civil government is founded in the idea that men are not all
virtuous; that men will not enact and observe just laws individually
and of themselves; and therefore to secure order, peace and justice,
government must enact and enforce laws, and thus abridge natural
or absolute liberty.
Experience, in all ages, has taught the lesson, that among men,
as well as among animals, there being some strong and some weak,
the former will ever seek to get the advantage of the latter. Thus
government steps in to protect the weak against the strong; to
substitute justice for force, right for might.—Young American.
Dress and other matters in France, in the time
of Henry IV.

One grand object of the king, Henry IV. of France, was to promote
the arts and manufactures. The silk trade of Lyons owes its birth to
him. Thinking to benefit trade and commerce, he encouraged his
courtiers in habits of expense, quite opposite to his own frugal
habits.
The expense of dress became enormously great on account of the
quantity of gold, silver, and jewels with which it was decorated. It
was not only costly, but dreadfully heavy. It is related of one of the
ladies of the court, that, when she was in full dress, she was so
encumbered by the weight of her finery as to be unable to move, or
even to stand.
The dress of a gentleman of the day is thus described: “He was
clothed in silver tissue; his shoes were white, and also his stockings.
His cloak was black, bordered with rich embroidery and lined with
cloth of silver; his bonnet was of black velvet, and he wore besides a
profusion of precious stones.”
The ruff had been laid aside in the last reign, because Henry III.
took it into his head that the person whose business it was to pin on
his ruff, had been bribed to scratch him on the neck with a poisoned
pin.
Its place, so far as the ladies were concerned, was supplied by a
sort of frame of wire and lace, in which the head was enclosed, and
which, in compliment to the queen, was called a Medicis. Masks
were much worn by both sexes. They were made of black velvet,
and were so necessary a part of the out-door costume of a lady, that
she was thought to be in dishabille if seen without one.
 This weight of dress led to the introduction of a new luxury. The
ladies could no longer ride to court on horseback. Coaches were
therefore employed to carry them. The first coach made its
appearance in Paris, in the reign of Henry II.
For a long time, there were but three in the whole city. The queen
had one; a great court lady had another; and the third belonged to
an old nobleman, “who, being too fat to ride on horseback, was
obliged to submit to the mortification of being carried in a coach like
a woman.”
The tapestry, carpets, and bed hangings of the houses
corresponded in splendor and costliness with the dress. When the
constable Montmorenci was killed, his body was brought to his own
house, and lay in state, as it is called; that is, for exhibition, in a hall,
the walls of which were hung with crimson velvet bordered with
pearls.
But in all other respects, the houses, and even the king’s palaces,
were very deficient in what we should call furniture. Excepting one
or two arm-chairs for the heads of the family, the rooms usually
contained one coarse long table, some stools, a few benches, and
several chests, which also served for seats.
Those who could not afford the expense of hangings of silk, or
damask, or satin, covered the walls with gilt leather, or had them
panelled with wood. I think the last was the most appropriate, from
the description we have of what was perhaps the only parlor and
sitting-room of a French chateau, or country house.
“The hall was very large. At one end was a stag’s antlers, which
were used for hanging up hats, coats, dogs’ collars, and the chaplet
of paternosters. At the opposite end of the hall were bows and
arrows, targets, swords, pikes and cross-bows.
“In the great window were three harquebusses, (a kind of gun,)
with a variety of nets, and other apparatus for sporting. In the
chests (called coffers) were coats of mail laid up in bran, to keep
them from rusting. Under the benches was a plentiful supply of
clean straw for the dogs to lie on.”
Amidst all this litter, there were two shelves, on which was
deposited the library. This consisted of the Bible, Ogier the Dane, the
Shepherd’s Calendar, the Golden Legend, the Romance of the Rose,
&c.
From this selection, it would appear that romances were preferred
to those memoirs and histories, so much more interesting to us, of
which many had been written. The period itself produced several
writers, whose works are still held in high estimation.
At the head of these is the great Duke of Sully, who has given a
most interesting account of those scenes in French history, in which
he and his great master bore the most conspicuous part. Next to
him is De Thou, who has written a minute general history of the
period between 1545 and 1607.
Another distinguished memoir-writer was Theodore d’Aubigné,
half-brother to the king, and grandfather to Madame de Maintenon.
One of the first cares of Henry when he came to the throne, was
to restore his capital to its former flourishing condition. He found the
streets overgrown with grass, many of the shops shut up, and
others, abandoned by their owners, had been converted into stables.
When the Spanish ambassadors arrived, a few months after his
coronation, they expressed their admiration at the great
improvement which had taken place in the city, since it had been
under his rule.
The king replied, “When the master is absent, all things get into
disorder; but when he is returned, his presence ornaments the
house, and all things profit.”—Pictorial History of France.
The Last Leaf of Autumn.

It came with spring’s soft sun and showers,

Mid bursting buds and blushing flowers;
It flourished on the same light stem,
It drank the same clear dews with them.
The crimson tints of summer morn
That gilded one, did each adorn;
The breeze that whispered light and brief
To bud or blossom, kissed the leaf;
When o’er the leaf the tempest flew,
The bud and blossom trembled too.

But its companions passed away,

And left the leaf to lone decay.
The gentle gales of spring went by,
The fruits and flowers of summer die.
The autumn winds swept o’er the hill,
And winter’s breath came cold and chill.
The leaf now yielded to the blast,
And on the rushing stream was cast.
Far, far it glided to the sea,
And whirled and eddied wearily,
Till suddenly it sank to rest,
And slumbered in the ocean’s breast.

Thus life begins—its morning hours

Bright as the birthday of the flowers—
Thus passes like the leaves away,
As withered and as lost as they.
Beneath the parent roof we meet
In joyous groups, and gaily greet
The golden beams of love and light,
That dawn upon the youthful sight.
But soon we part, and one by one,
Like leaves and flowers, the group is gone.
One gentle spirit seeks the tomb,
His brow yet fresh with childhood’s bloom:
Another treads the paths of fame,
And barters peace to win a name.
Another still, tempts fortune’s wave,
And seeking wealth, secures a grave.
The last, grasps yet the brittle thread—
Though friends are gone and joy is dead,
Still dares the dark and fretful tide,
And clutches at its power and pride—
Till suddenly the waters sever,
And like the leaf he sinks forever.
 Varieties.

The elevated and marshalled flight of wild geese seems dictated

by geometrical instinct; shaped like a wedge, the whole body cuts
the air with less exertion to separate individuals, and it is
conjectured that the change of form from an inverted V, A, L, or a
straight line, is occasioned by the leader of the van quitting his post
at the point of the angle, through fatigue, dropping into the rear,
leaving his place to be occupied by another.

The Lady-bird.—The following address to the lady-bird is from the

German. Part of the second verse, most of my young friends are
acquainted with:
“Lady-bird! lady-bird! pretty one stay;
Come, sit on my finger, so happy and gay.
With me shall no mischief betide thee.
No harm would I do thee, no foeman is here—
I only would gaze on thy beauties so dear,
These beautiful winglets beside thee.

Lady-bird! lady-bird! fly away home;

Your house is on fire! your children will roam.
List, list to their cry and bewailing!
The pitiless spider is weaving their doom!
Then lady-bird! lady-bird! fly away home,
Hark, hark to thy children’s bewailing!”

Winter. Mary Howitt has beautifully described the contrast

between the rich and the poor at this season of the year:
“In rich men’s halls the fire is piled,
 And furry robes keep out the weather;
In poor men’s huts the fire is low,
Through broken panes the keen winds blow,
And old and young are cold together.

Oh, poverty is disconsolate!

Its pains are many, its foes are strong.
The rich man, in his jovial cheer,
Wishes ’twas winter all the year;
The poor man, ’mid his wants profound,
With all his little children round,
Prays God that winter be not long.”

Signs of the weather. An English writer, by the name of Jennet,

thus describes the signs of the weather:
“The hollow winds begin to blow,
The clouds look black, the glass is low;
The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep,
And spiders from their cobwebs peep.
Last night the sun went pale to bed,
The moon in halos hid her head;
Hark! how the chairs and tables crack!
Old Betty’s joints are on the rack;
Her corns with shooting pains torment her,
And to her bed untimely send her—
Loud quack the ducks, the sea-fowl cry,
The distant hills are looking nigh.
How restless are the snorting swine!
The busy flies disturb the kine;
Low on the grass, the swallow wings;
The cricket, too, how sharp she sings!
Puss, on the hearth, with velvet paws
Sits wiping o’er her whiskered jaws;
The smoke from chimneys right ascends—
Then spreading back to earth it bends;
Through the clear stream, the fishes rise
And nimbly catch the incautious flies.
The glow-worms num’rous, clear and bright,
Illumined the dewy hill last night!
At dusk, the squalid toad was seen
 Like quadruped stalk o’er the green.
The whirling wind the dust obeys,
And in the rapid eddy plays;
The frog has changed his yellow vest,
And in a russet coat is dress’d.
Behold the rooks, how odd their flight!
They imitate the gliding kite;
In fiery red, the sun doth rise,
Then wades through clouds to mount the skies.
’T will surely rain, we see with sorrow,
No working in the fields to-morrow.”

The amaranth is one of the latest flowers in autumn, and when

the plant is dead, the flowers still retain their rich scarlet color. The
ancients associated it with supreme honors, choosing it to adorn the
brows of their gods. Poets have sometimes mingled its bright hue
with the dark and gloomy cypress, wishing to express that their
sorrows were combined with everlasting recollections. Homer, an
ancient poet, tells us that at the funeral of a great warrior, named
Achilles, the Greeks wore crowns of amaranth.
 Reflections.

Here we are then—at the end of another year—at the end of

another volume of Merry’s Museum! There is something in the
winding up of the year that is calculated to make us look back, and
think over the past: something which seems to stop us on the
highway of time, and put the questions—“What have you been
doing? Where have you been? Where are you going?”
And it is well for us all to answer these questions,—to answer
them fairly and sincerely to that inward monitor which thus calls
upon us. Have we done our duty, the past year, to our God, our
neighbor and ourself? If we have, let us rejoice: if we have not, let
us repent and sin thus no more.
I am not disposed to read a harsh lecture to my friends; for, to
say the truth, I am much more inclined to make them laugh than to
make them cry: I like a round face, far better than a long face. If I
have any advice to give—any correction to bestow, I prefer doing it
in a story, a fable or an allegory. If anybody wants to be scolded,
they must not come to Bob Merry—I do not like to be scolded myself
—and I never scold others. Still—still—my dear little friends, let me
ask seriously, are we improving in mind, in temper, in graces of all
kinds? Are you growing better, more intelligent, more wise, more
dutiful, more sincere, more fond of truth, of mankind, and of God? If
you are, I am glad of it: if not—my dear young reader, take old
Robert Merry’s advice—which is this—be careful every day, every
month, every year, to do better than the day, the month, or the year
before. Although it is my design to amuse you—to please you—still, I
shall almost feel that my labors are vain, if they do not result in your
improvement, mental and moral.
And now, we must say good-bye to the old year, and next month
bid a welcome to the new. I hope and trust that those young friends
who have trudged along with me for two years, will keep me
company for another year, and I promise to give them plenty of
stories, lays and legends, facts and fables, songs, anecdotes,
sketches and adventures. I have wound up the long tales which
have run through two years of our magazine, but others shall be
forthcoming. If we have dismissed Bill Keeler, Philip Brusque, Alexis
Pultova, and Tom Trotter, still, somebody quite as interesting shall
soon be introduced to our readers.
 Transcriber’s Note:
This book was written in a period when many words had not
become standardized in their spelling. Words with inconsistent
hyphenation were left unchanged. Jargon, obsolete words and
alternative spellings were left unchanged. Misspelled words were
corrected.
Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to the
end of the chapter. Obvious printing errors, such as backwards,
upside down, unprinted or partially printed letters and punctuation,
were corrected. Final stops missing at the end of sentences and
abbreviations were added. Duplicate words at line endings or page
breaks were removed. Missing header, Varieties, was added to the
December issue.
The following were added where blotches on the page obscured
the text:

‘—-ng the coast’ to ‘along the coast’

‘ta—- care that’ to ‘taking care that’
‘to have ——’ to ‘to have it?
‘a—- twenty-five miles’ to about twenty-five miles’
‘The patt——- building’ to ‘The pattern of building’
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROBERT MERRY'S
MUSEUM, VOLUMES III-IV (1842) ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions

will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S.

copyright law means that no one owns a United States
copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy
and distribute it in the United States without permission and
without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the
General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and
distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the
PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if
you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the
trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the
Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is
very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such
as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and
printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in
the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright
law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially
commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
 PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the

free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this
work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase
“Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of
the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or
online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and

Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand,
agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual
property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree
to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease
using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for
obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™
electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms
of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only

be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by
people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.
There are a few things that you can do with most Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the
full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There
are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™
electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and
help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the
collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the
individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the
United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright
law in the United States and you are located in the United
States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying,
distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works
based on the work as long as all references to Project
Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will
support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free
access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for
keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the
work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement
by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full
Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge
with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also
govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most
countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside
the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to
the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying,
displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works
based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The
Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright
status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project

Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other

immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must
appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project
Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed,
viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United

States and most other parts of the world at no cost and
with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project
Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United
States, you will have to check the laws of the country
where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is

derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of
the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to
anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges.
If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of
paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use
of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth
in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is

posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and
distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through
1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder.
Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™
License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright
holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project

Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files
containing a part of this work or any other work associated with
Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute

this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1
with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the
Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form,
including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if
you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project
Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or
other format used in the official version posted on the official
Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must,
at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy,
a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy
upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or
other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project
Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™
works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or

providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works provided that:

• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you

derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works
calculated using the method you already use to calculate
your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the
Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to
donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
 Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which
you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your
periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly
marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4,
“Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”

• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who

notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of
receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full
Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user
to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a
physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to
other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full

refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement
copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and
reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project

Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different
terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain
permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™
trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3
below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend

considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on,
transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright
law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these
efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium
on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as,
but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data,
transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property
infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be
read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except

for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in
paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark,
and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic
work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for
damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE
THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT
EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE
THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY
DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE
TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL,
PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE
NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you

discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of
receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you
paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you
received the work from. If you received the work on a physical
medium, you must return the medium with your written
explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the
defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu
of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.
If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund
in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set

forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’,
WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this
agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this
agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the
maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable
state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of
this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the

Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the
Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any
volunteers associated with the production, promotion and
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless
from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that
arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you
do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project
Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or
deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect
you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission

of Project Gutenberg™