Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1880-08-05
thou aimst at be thy Counrys, thy Gods and Truths"
a New Primer.
[Cincinnati Commercial.l /

81 4 .
/; h. The naughty little primer is a
!. caricature of the populars'C Child'f
! First Book usually put into
! the! hands of the tender infant
just entering with trembling,
knock-kneed gaitthethorny path
of learning. "No family should
be without it." The illustra-
tions are perhaps the best part.
They are as we'll done as the
comic. pictures. in Puck. The
READING lessons begin with words
of two letters, in the usual style.
The ancient and familiar
& .He IS onn A
Is accompanied by picture
of a scraggy small boy on the
lice with his first skates. The
next speaking illustration shows
1.-The same boy in the act of going
backward through the broken
lice into the water. Underneath
the cut is the significant legend,
l. "He is in,
Another lesson "familiar in our
Eears as household words" is
'Do we go up?
We do go up"
Illustrated by chorus of peo-
Iple blown up into the air in a
steamboat explosion.
Due attention is likewise paid
to spelling. At the top corners
of page eleven we find in big,
black letters the words "breech-
es," receipt" In the illustra-
ton a ferocious looking dog is
disappearing in the background
with a mouthful of boys trou-
sers. , In the ,foregrounda small
boy, his eyes starting from their
sockets, and hair upon end,
clasps his hands wildly behind
him. Beneath, this lesson in
simple words of one syllable:
Isss sHere is asnfce dog.
Das the dog sharp teeth?
Oh, yes the dog has sharp teeth"
On page twelve is a very nice
lesson. Words at the top, to be
spelled and defined, are "alllga-
tor" "crocodile.'' The picture
attached is striking. A man
clings desperately to the upper
end of the mast ola boat that is
rapidly sinking. All around the |
heads of grim alligators appear
above-the surface of the water,
awaiting with open mouth the
descent of the man. Below the |
eager, bright-eyed child-learner
viii read, likewise in easy words
of one syllable: !
,a ''See James and his pets.
His pets are fond Of him.
James will soon feed his pets"
The above lesson is one the
Youthful learner will never for
get, or become tired of. In the
reading Of exercises, on page IA,
the author improves the occasion
to convey to the tender mind a
little moral instruction. Indeed,
it may be said that an elevated,
moral tone pervades the book
throughout. In the cut two
merry men, with a tumbler and
idemijohn revolve with uncertain
step around a lamp-post. One
of the men embraces the lamp
post, the other points to the light
with a speaking countenance.
Below we read:
ais it the SUM-.
: No, it is the moon. .ttf6
Il Is the moon full?
No, but the man is full"
The primer is not wanting in
the usual definitions and "Hints
to Teachers. :" The author, in
one of his hints, reminds the
teacher that much more is con-
tanned in these lessons than may
appear on the surface, and that
it. should be the aim of each
teacher to draw from the pupil
the latent beauties Of these pas
sages. The definitions Of words
are quite as clear and simple as
those usually given in the popu-
lar scllool-book of the period.
Here is a specimen: oa
"Window-aA opening in an
edifice for the admission of lu-
minous particles and atmospher-
ic molecules"