The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-11-20

evaporation and crystallization from
waterimpregnated with saline PARTICLES
Well, | do declare! If that's all Mr..
Webster has to say about salt, how
should be expected to know any more?
The idea! Why, don't know any more,
and don't knOU that! Well, l do say
Miss Nelson is unreasonable. Celia
wriggled herself nearly off her chair,
sighed, groaned, famed herself, bit
her panhandle, and finally, at Willie's
call, jumped up and ran from the room,
leaving the composition still to be
written.
She and her little brother mounted
the see-saw in the garden, and during
tins pleasant pastime Celia interrogat-
ed him upon what he knew about salt!
Willie didn't know much, but what he
did know he generously told.
"Salt," he informed her. was very
good to make ice-cream with. That
cows liked salt" he also told her, sal
though he didn't
Celia laughed so at this that she
could not seesaw any longer, and she
went back to the house to take her mu-
sic lesson and afterward she drove out
with her mother; and the day went,
and she entered her room at night to
find the big sheet of blank paper staring
up at her in mute surprise as she looked
down upon it, before consigning it to
the table drawer.
She tried again on Monday, slightly,
and on Tuesday. Wednesday she had
no time, that being one of her music
days, and Thursday was her very last
day of grace. She made very strong
effort then, but at her very best she
could think of nothing superior to what
Mr.. Webster's dictionary said; and, in
fact, nothing at all beyond one simple
fact, that salt was very exceedingly
useful substance"
In despair she laid the matter before
her mother.
my dear" said Mrs. Brown, If you
have honestly tried and cannot write a
composition, you may yourself write a
letter to Miss Nelson asking to be ex-
cused, instead of my doing it. Tell
her exactly how hard you have tried,
and ask her to give you an easier sub
| iect."
Mrs. Browns eyes twinkled as she
gave this advice, and her little daugh-
ter went up to her room much comfort
ed. Here is the letter she wrote:
| DEAR Miss NELSON: Mamma told me that
might write this letter, and say that | cannot
write a composition on salt. She says, per-
haps you will be so kind rs to give me an
easier subject. | don't know anything about
sat-at least, not much, except that it is dug
out of the earth, and is then a mineral; and
sometimes we get it by letting sea-water evap-
CRATE | am very fond of salt, and for that
reason know ought to be ashamed of not
knowing more about it, Last week, Mary, our
| cook, made the bread and forgot to salt it, and
| none of us could eat it. 1t certainly is a Uety
useful article. Did you. know that, to get the
the silver away from the rock it is buried in,
they roast the pieces with salt? | read this in
a lovely book called " Eelly'S Silver Nine" OF
course they do something else, but they do
this, too, and remember, because felt such
| an interest in the very word. | didn't know,
till saw it in the dictionary, that an old
sailor is called a salt" | suppose because he
follows the salt water. Are there not great
many different sorts of salt? i was thinking
about them this morning, because happened
to see the bottle that has the salt of lemons in
! it; you take out iron rust from linen with
| that. And there is Satpeter, and salt of harts-
| horn, and the salts you take for medicine.
And mamma says we could scarcely have any
| food that would be fit to eat without salt |
must tell you what Il funny thing Willie said
when was talking ABOUT my composition to
mamma He said, Tell Miss Nelson that
salt is the only thing that will catch pigeon,
only never odn get near enough to throw it
on the tail" Well, my letter is done. l am
very sorry to disappoint you, dear Miss Nell
son, and will try real hard next time. | tried
this time, and L could have done it, only L
knew of nothing to say.
| am your afectionate scholar,
CELIA BROWN.
To Celia's great establishment, Miss
Nelson insisted upon considering this
letter composition" of course,
! it was; and she read it herself before
I the whole school. The secret of Celia's
ability to write letter where she could
not write a composition lay in the
fact that she unconsciously followed
little Willie's advice and wrote what
she thought and felt without regard to
chow it might sound. - hurcItmGn.