America's story for America's children . colony. It wascalled The New England Primer. 96 AMERICAS STORY You may think that these pages are notvery beautiful, but Bettys grandchildren thoughtthat their primer was the most beautiful bookever printed. Very soon they learned to read itthrough, and with their eyes shut too. But if Betty had no reading-book in herschool days, she had an old spelling-book. Thisshe studied very faithfully, and she was taughtalso to make a needlework sampler. Betty thought this sampler was very beauti-ful. When it was done, her mother put it in aframe and hung it on th
America's story for America's children . colony. It wascalled The New England Primer. 96 AMERICAS STORY You may think that these pages are notvery beautiful, but Bettys grandchildren thoughtthat their primer was the most beautiful bookever printed. Very soon they learned to read itthrough, and with their eyes shut too. But if Betty had no reading-book in herschool days, she had an old spelling-book. Thisshe studied very faithfully, and she was taughtalso to make a needlework sampler. Betty thought this sampler was very beauti-ful. When it was done, her mother put it in aframe and hung it on the wall. Then the people said, Perhaps Betty willgrow to be a sober, quiet child, after all. Seehow nicely she has made her sampler. There were no steel pens in Bettys schooldays. Each child brought a goose-feather toschool, and the teacher cut this feather so thatit was pointed like a pen. This was called aquill, and Betty wrote the copies her teachermade for her with a quill like the one you seein the boys hand in the colored BETTY ALDEN 97 Sometimes Bettys schoolmates did not doright. But the teacher had ways of teachingthem to behave properly. When they did notlearn their catechisms, there were dunce stoolsfor them to sit upon. There were dunce caps,too, which they must wear upon their headsuntil the lessons were learned. Sometimes the teacher put pinchers on theidle childrens ears, and sometimes rhubarb wasput on their tongues. These punishments, theteacher said, helped the children to learn. Whether or not any of these things happenedto Betty, I do not know. Very likely not; forBetty was not an idle child. A good child, a good child ! the kind oldparson used to say. Betty is a good child, buta little too frolicsome. Once Betty was ill, but she got well as soonas she could. She hoped she should never beill again; for the doctor gave her some verybad-tasting medicine, made of senna and snailsand earth-worms. 7 98 AMERICAS STORY Betty was seldom allowed to eat candy
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