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Noah Webster and his Spelling-book 177
The following selections will show how aptly the preface described the reading lessons when it said that they were planned " to combine, with the familiarity of objects, useful truth, and practical principles."
A good child will not lie, swear, nor steal. — He will be good at home, and ask to read his book ; when he gets up he will wash his hands and face clean ; he will comb his hair and make haste to school; he will not play by the way as bad boys do.
As for those boys and girls that mind not their books, and love not the church and school, but play with such as tell lies, curse, swear and steal, they will come to some bad end, and must be whipt till they mend their ways.
January begins the year, and the first day of that month is called New Year's day. Then people express to each other their good wishes, and little boys and girls expect gifts of little books, toys and plums.
There are five stages of human life, infancy, childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. The infant is helpless; he is nourished with milk — when he has teeth he begins to eat bread, meat, and fruit, and is very fond of cakes and plums. The little boy chuses some plaything that will make a noise, a hammer, a stick or a whip. The little girl loves her doll and learns to dress it. She chuses a closet for her baby-house, where she sets her doll in a little chair, by the side of a table, furnished with tea-cups as big as a thimble.
As soon as boys are large enough, they run away from home, grow fond of play, climb trees to rob birds' nests, tear their clothes, and when they come home their parents often chastise them. — O how the rod makes their legs smart. These are naughty boys, who love play better than their books. |
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