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poetry; grandmother for the deaths and the terrible accidents, and I always see you turn to the latest news from Europe. For my part, I dearly like the stories in a newspaper, but I never look at the advertisements. They are too stupid.

F. Perhaps not so stupid as you think. Let us read a few of the advertisements in this paper, and see what can be made of them. R. Very gladly. Here is the next one to Bounce.

FOUND.-A pocket book, containing a roll of BANK-NOTES and

various papers. The owner can have it by calling at No. 100 Merchants' Row, proving property, and paying for this advertisement.

Found a roll of money! I wonder how many dollars it contained. At any rate, the finder is an honest fellow, for he wishes to restore it to the owner. But what is meant by "proving property"?

F. This phrase means that any person claiming the money must prove it to be really his by describing the pocket-book and stating where and when it was lost, how many notes there were, on what bank, and their amounts, and other particulars which the owner, and the owner only, would be likely to know.

R. And I see that he must pay for the advertisement also. That is just, for it is printed for his benefit.

F. And if the finder is a poor man, he should also receive a liberal reward, both to pay him for his trouble, and as a compliment to his honesty, and an inducement to others to follow his example. R. Here is an advertisement about sugar:

SUGAR-100 Hogsheads just received and for sale by

H. D. NEWCOMB & BRO., Wall Street.

One hundred hogsheads of sugar! What an enormous quantity! Do you suppose they really have one hundred hogsheads of sugar? F. I see no reason to doubt it. Merchants often receive whole cargoes of sugar, as well as of other merchandise.

R. I never really thought before of what advertisements mean. Why, it seems that every body who has anything to sell advertises it; any one who has found anything advertises it. And see here:

WANTED. A good, honest, faithful lad, as APPRENTICE to the

Watch-making business. Apply at 66, Second Street.

JAMES LIGHT.

Followed by fifty other things "wanted;"-houses wantedservants wanted-places wanted-ten thousand dollars wantedwell, a great many people want that.

F. But I apprehend that few of them get it by advertising. They had better resort to hard work for it.

R. What is this? It is funny:

PIG! PIG!! PIG!!!-1000 tons PIG-IRON, just received, and

for sale by

W. B. BELKNAP, No. 100 Main Street.

GOODRICH'S FIFTH READER.

Now, father, what does "pig! pig!! pig!!!" mean?

F. It means pig-iron.

55

The term is applied to lead and other metals as well as to iron. I cannot tell you the origin of the name. R. [Pronouncing job to rhyme with probe, as if spelled jobo.]

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Who is Job printing? I see his signs all along the streets.

F. You pronounce the word J-o-b, wrong; it is not Job printing, the name of a man, but jõb-printing; that is, small kinds of work, such as cards, showbills, handbills, and the like.

R. What a dunce I am! I see it is very important to pronounce our words right.

F. Yes; and now let me direct your attention to another thing, my son. Do you see that these advertisements are all arranged under different heads? Here is a column of Amusements; here are Dry Goods; here are Groceries; here are Books. This column is devoted to those who desire places: that to those who wish to hire servants here is a place for things lost, and here for things found. This arrangement is made for the convenience of readers.

R. I see a great many are signed by Co.; as "Williams, Jerome, & Co.". '-now what does this mean: who is this Co?

F. Co. is an abbreviation of Company. Williams, Jerome, & Co. means Williams, Jerome, & Company. In large mercantile affairs, and in many kinds of business, several persons associate together, in order to carry on their extensive concerns to better advantage. They form what is called a partnership. Now in this concern of Williams, Jerome, & Co., there may be several partners; one will perhaps buy the goods; another will sell them: another will keep the accounts; and another will collect the debts and pay the notes and bills.

R. Here is an advertisement which I do not exactly understand :

FOR LIVERPOOL.

THE new Ship, SWIFTSURE, A. No. 1, 1000 tons, copper-fastened, will sail from New-Orleans on the 20th November. For freight or passage, apply to

LIVINGSTON & CO., 50 Camp Street.

R. Why is this ship said to be A. No. 1?

F. Vessels are classified according to their age, strength, and other qualities. The best class is called A, and No. 1 implies that the Swiftsure stands at the head of the best class of vessels.

R. And what is copper-fastened?

F. A ship whose planks and timbers are fastened with copper spikes, instead of iron spikes; and as these are less liable to be injured by rust, they are considered more durable. A copper-fastened ship is deemed safer than one fastened in the usual way.

R. Well, and what does "for freight or passage

99 mean?

F. The merchandise which a ship carries, that is, cotton, tobacco, flour, beef, pork, grain, and things of that kind, are called freight: passage is for persons that wish to pass; thus, this invitation is addressed to those who desire to send any kind of merchandise to Liverpool, and to those who desire to go there.

R. I now understand; but here is one that I cannot make out at all. Now what does this mean?

THE

MATRIMONIAL.

HE MYSTERIOUS LADY, Mirrah Volatile, upon the receipt of one dollar and a lock of hair, will send to the person a description of his life and character, and will tell him whom he will marry, as well as many other things concerning his future life, his temper, success in business, &c.

F. It means that Mirrah Volatile will be happy to get one dollar of any person who is so foolish as to place confidence in her promises. R. Oh, it is all a cheat, then?

F. Certainly: all such advertisements are meant to fleece people who are so silly as to suppose that any one can tell their fortunes. R. So, some of these advertisements are mere cheats? I suppose here is one of the sort:

Dr. Bragg's Universal Catholicon, or Complete Cure-all.
A Certain Remedy for Corns. Sprains, Dyspepsia, Headache, Toothache,

Consumption, Boils, Warts, Fever and Ague, Mumps, Quinsy,
Scarlet-Fever, Hysteria and indeed all the complaints "flesh is heir to.'
Be particular, ask for Bragg's Universal Catholicon or Complete
Cure-all! None is genuine unless signed
LUCIUS BRAGG,
Physician, No 72 Mark Lane.

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F. Yes, that is another deception. This Catholicon is what is called a "quack medicine - that is, a compound made by some pretended doctor, and sold to ignorant people, who imagine that it is really what it pretends to be. Such impositions generally have high-sounding names. People very often lose their lives by using these dangerous drugs.

R. I suppose this is another of the swindling advertisements:

HOW TO GET RICH!

PETER LIGHTFINGER, 16 Crooked Way, will give reliable infor-
mation to any person, male or female, who will call on him and
deposit 25 cents, and answer the following questions: your age? your
place of nativity? your last dream?

F. Yes, that is also a mere trick to get money.

R. Well, here is something very curious:

Y. Z.-The event I foresaw has taken place: write immediately and

X. tell me your residence: you shall hear good news.

Now this seems to me very mysterious: what does X. Y. Z. mean? F. The person who inserts the advertisement has agreed before

hand with another person to communicate with him in this way; so that when the latter sees this address to X. Y. Z. he knows that it comes from his friend, and understands its meaning.

P. Why, these advertisements grow more and more interesting. Here is a long list of amusements. Let me read you one:

Museum of 10,000 Curiosities of Nature and Art!

this

living curiosities: a SEA-LION, caught on the coast of Greenland.
It is a real marvel of creation, half fish and half quadruped.
It is very
intelligent and will roll over and dance upon its tail, at the command of
its keeper. This Museum is open from 9 in the morning till 9 at night.
Admission 25 cents, children half-price.

Do you suppose this is true, or is it a deception?

F. This is no doubt true, with some exaggeration: these museums of curiosities of nature and art are generally well worth seeing.

R. Here is somebody advertising "Wife Wanted." That beats all. Well, it seems to me that a young man who has no better way than this of winning a wife had better stay a bachelor,

[Enter Pompey.]

Pompey. Oh, Master Ralph, we have got him! we have got him! Here is the boy who found him! Come in, sir.

[Enter boy with a dog in his arms. Ralph takes the dog.] R. Oh Bounce, you beautiful dog! how glad I am to see you! [To the boy. Well, and was it you who found him?

He came

Boy. Yes, I found him; he was quite lost in the street. up to me and whined, and I carried him home. But father saw the advertisement in the paper, and to see if he was the dog that was meant, we spoke to him and called him Bounce. He wagged his tail, and then I knew it was the dog mentioned in the advertisement. F. Well, my good boy; there is a dollar for you. Now Ralph, you see the advantage of an advertisement.

LESSON XXVIII.

VOCAL GYMNASTICS.

REFER TO CAUTION 10. The letter r suffers more unfair usage than any other of the alphabet. Bad readers sound it where it ought to be omitted, and omit it where it onght to be sounded.

Straws show which way the wind blows. Say straws, not strors. The dog's paws were raw. The stupid lawyer has no idea of the law of the case. He saw on the lawn the claw of a hawk. Say laws, not lors. Quaff the draught. Did either his Pa or Ma approve of his conduct? Do not say Par or Mar, but Pa or Ma. His father goes farther.

LESSON XXIX.

vails on the earth after sunset and before sunrise.

SPRING, the season in which plants | TWILIGHT, the faint light which pre spring, or begin to grow; properly beginning the twenty-second of March, at the vernal equinox, but in popular language beginning the first of March. HUE, color, tint, dye.

LAY, song; anciently a narrative poem. O'DOR, smell, scent, fragrance. HERALD, proclaimer, forerunner.

PRONUNCIATION.-O'pen-ing 4d, her'alds la, pleas'ant la, har'vest 16, wak-ens 4d, con-tent'ed 1g, cheer'ful 22, twi'light 2c, a-lone' If, ev'er-y 3b, clothes 29.

PLEASANT DAYS.

1. When the opening flowers,
Heralds of the spring,
Freshened by soft showers,
Sweetest odors bring;
When with merry voice
Birds begin their lays,
And in spring rejoice—
These are pleasant days!

2. When the summer's glow
Shines upon the ground;
Light and warmth bestow
Brighter colors round;
In cool shades we lie,

While the sunbeam plays
Through the clear blue sky-
These are pleasant days!

3. When the cooler breeze

Health and strength renews; When upon the trees

Glow rich autumn's hues;

When earth plenty yields;
When the footstep strays
Through rich harvest fields-
These are pleasant days!

4. When with dazzling white
Winter clothes the earth;
When the bright fire-light
Wakens song and mirth;
Friends we love to greet
Round the cheerful blaze
Oft in twilight meet-
These are pleasant days!

5. Foolish he who lives
For one time alone;
Every season gives
Pleasures of its own.
Happy he who finds
Each to merit praise;
To contented minds
All are pleasant days!

ANONYMOUS.

LESSON XXX.

VOCAL GYMNASTICS.

REFER TO CAUTION 6.-It merits the special attention of teacher and pupil. No fault is more common, or more vulgar, than the perversion of the final sound of o to ur.

The widow's sorrow is not hollow. You should say yellow, not yeller. Look from the window at the willows in the meadow. To-morrow will follow to-morrow in sunshine and shadow. His farm was partly left fallow, partly planted in tobacco and potatoes. Blow the fire with the bellows. The mermaid pillows her head on the billows.

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