Old-time schools and school-books . New England Spelling-boot :, 1803. Damn included among the words which fhouldbe well learned by every Scholar. But words justas much out of place are not uncommon in the oldspellers. To quote a text-book preface of 1828, They contain words collected from all departmentsof nature, life, and action; from the nursery, thekitchen, the drawing-room, the stable, the bar-room,the gaming table, the seamans wharf, the apothe-carys shop; from the subtle pages of the metaphysi-cian, and the rhapsodies of the pompous pedant. The latter part of Fiskes speller, comprising
Old-time schools and school-books . New England Spelling-boot :, 1803. Damn included among the words which fhouldbe well learned by every Scholar. But words justas much out of place are not uncommon in the oldspellers. To quote a text-book preface of 1828, They contain words collected from all departmentsof nature, life, and action; from the nursery, thekitchen, the drawing-room, the stable, the bar-room,the gaming table, the seamans wharf, the apothe-carys shop; from the subtle pages of the metaphysi-cian, and the rhapsodies of the pompous pedant. The latter part of Fiskes speller, comprising thelarger half, consists of the Constitution of the UnitedStates, the Declaration of Independence, the Consti- 204 Old-time Schools and School-books tution of Massachusetts, and Washingtons FarewellAddress. But preceding these profundities are afew short reading lessons of a more entertainingcharacter including two Moral Tales which eachhave an illustration, the only pictures in the of the tales was about — MORAL The CHILD and the SERPENT. From Fiskes The New England Spelling-book. A CHILD, playing with a tame ferpent, faid to it, Mydear little animal, doft thou imagine I would be fofamiliar with thee if thy venom was not taken out; youferpents are the mo ft perverfe, ungrateful creatures. I re-member to have read, that a good natured countryman found Other Spellers 205 a ferpent under a hedge, almoft dead with cold. He tookit up and warmed it in his breaft; but it was fcarcely cometo life when it ftung its benefactor, and the too charitablepeafant died of the wound. This is aftonifhing faid theferpent: How partial are your hiftorians ! Ours relate thishiftory in a different manner. Your charitable peafant be-lieved the ferpent dead : Its fkin was beautifully variegatedwith different colours; he took it up and was hafteninghome in order to flay it. Now tell me whether the ferpent was ungrateful ? Hold your tongue, replied the boy. Where is the ingratewho can
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