Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1862-01-02

"The things we ought to know" are thus
mentioned by "Uncle Ben" writer in the Yer
mont Chronicle "A celebrated ancient writer
has truly said, "There something's which it
is no credit for us to hno,o, but great re-
proach not to know" Among these we may
reckon: First. Things necessary A boy
should know how TO tie his handkerchief, drive
a horse, build fire. tie up bundle neatly,
reckon money, tell the points of the compass,
wind up watch, hold his knife and fork at the
table, etc, etc. These, and countless number
of other things, which cannot here mention,
you will have occasion to know how TO do
some of them daily-others more or less fie-
quently. If you cannot, it will often put you
and others to great inconvenience. Ii you make
the attempt and fail or succeed badly you will
be greatly mortified" perhaps laughed at and
reproached for your ignorance and inefficiency.
Young miss should certainly know how to
make bed,' set the table, trim the lamps dress
her hair, and arrange her own apparel and room
properly, superscribe a letter neatly, and many
other things which your mothers will remind
you of, or what is better, you yourselves will
perhaps think of, and try to do. Now, is it no
great credit for boy or girl to know how to do
these necessa everyday affairs. (hough many
are sadly deficient in them,) but great discred-
IL not to know. Second. Things common =
For example. Why does the blaze of the light,
by which you write go up? Why does the
moisture collect in drops uponthe pitcher filed
with water? How is the rainbow formed
How can the fly walk upon the ceiling over
head? Why does water ascend in a sponge?
etc. These and many other facts and processes
are daily and hourly going on around you ard
under your very eyes, and you do or. should
know something about them. Do you say
"Some of these thirgs know, and others / do
mott I think some of them pretty tough philo-
sophical questions" Well, suppose / ask you
"whvther a snake las bones, which way the
hind legs of an elephant bend or fold," or the
very simple question, chow many toes hen
has on each toot" how many of you could an
swer even the last question: Could you tell
me for a certainty whether it has four, or five,
or three toes? You might guess at the num-
Der, or 90 out and count them. But you have
seen them hundred times and ought to know,
and the question is, do you know TO a ''dead
certainty" as the phrase is, so as to answer
correctly and at once? The truth is, my young
friends, we know something about great many
things, and but fer things for certainty. The
very things we see every day, and think we
know all alsout, we find have escaped our at
attention. Ii we go to others for information,
we are but little better off Indeed we shall be
surprised to find how few persons are extern
sivey and correctly informed-how few, even
of the "wise heads" around us, can give the in
formation we need and whose answers we can
safely rely upon. You see, then, the impor-
lance of beginning to learn when young, and Of
being very careful ho,o we learn from others,
and observe for yourselves. You will remem-
Der the story of Columbus-how he made the
egg stand up. We should not only know how
to do things, but be able to do them promptly
3rd. Things near home-in your own neigh
borhood, town, state, county. Suppose one
were TO ask you show many inhabitants there
are in your native town, or how many in your
state Could you tell them? Suppose they
ask you to inform them show many counties
there are in the state" Could you tell the
number and give their names? Could you
even tell the number and names of the towns
in your oTn county? If they further wished
to know "the length of the state, and its
breadth at each end" could they learn from
youP Again, if you were asked "what year
the battle of Bennington was fought" or
"where Washington died." would you not pos
sibly have to turn to your history before you
would be quite certain as to the answers you
should giveP Now these are only few of the
many things you ought to know; and if you
do not, when you come to go out into the world
among really intelligent persons, your pride
Will be wounded at every step.