The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1884-06-18
A LESSON FOR A FIRST READER.

see a book. 1t is a First Reader.
A First Reader is a bOOkfO very young
children.
And being book for very young
children, containing in a condensed
form the milk of literature, who would
have imagined that it ever could have
by any possibility become the means of
bringing the greatest confusion and
veXatiOn to a grown-upP But it did,
l. Samuella Golden, am that grown
up And 1 am the author, or nearly
the author (under the ablest super
vision, l frankly COnfess) of that First
Reader
The way it came about was this. 1
have always been passiOnately fond Of
children. When but a decidedly small
specimen OF humanity myself I adOred
all the smaller specimens with whom
Chanced to meet. At the tender age of
six, there being no baby then at my
own home, l deliberately entered the
home Of our washer-wOman one day,
knowing her to be absent at the time,
and stole her five-mOnths-Old Patsey
from the cradle in which he was peace
fully sleeping, and in spite of his kicks
~ and yells, when he awoke to the situa-
ton, managed to carry him safely to
our rhOuse-fOrtunatelY not far distant
y and place him in the arms Of my
very much astOnished mother And
when he was reclaimed and carried
away again by his rightful owner,
sat Inc down on the floor with a bang,
and opened my mouth to its utmost
width, and lifted my voice to its utmost
height, and refused most emphatically
to be cOmfOrted.
This love of little ones did not
diminish in the least as 1 grew in stature
andin years. On the contrary, it seemed
to increase, and it became as natural for
me to talk baby talk and make baby
rhymes for every wee darling that came
in my way as it was for me to breathe
and for the older youngsters I had
always a story ready-some simple
thing about simple things, but, by
virtue of creation, my own. AnC
having contrived to be an unObserveC
listener to several of these stories, anC
having also learned from Sue, his little
niece, and II made up out of my owr
head the iingles with which she otter
sought to entertain him, Mr.. Erickson
our schOOl-master-and a very clever
fellow, tOO-said to me one afternoon
'Miss Golden, l have undertaken {
task in which think-nay, L am sur,
that you can, if you will, be of grea
assistance to me-"
"And pray what may that task be?'
asked l wOnderingly.
"The preparation of First Reader,
he replied 81 do not expect tn,
pecuniary results to be princely
though no doubt you would realize
enough to compensate you for what
ever time you might expend; but thu
practice would be excellent for you
and perhaps open the way for bette
paying literary work, "
Literary work, " repeated l. "Why
/ never even dreamed of such thing
"Did You not, he said, with a smile
''Well, you are not the first person VIII,
has remained in ignorance of his or he
particular talent until a friend dis
covered it. But are you willing to Civ
me a helping hand with the boOkP"
"MOst willingly" said 1. ''Tell m
plainly what / am to do, or to try to do
and / viii begin this very evening"
And i did begin that very evening
and extremely glad 1 was to do so. FO
] had already, although April hal
scarcely set in, trimmed my usua
amount of spring hats and bonnets
Which-Our community not following
strictly, for good and sufIicieutreasons
the DEGREES of fashion-also includes
most of the summer ones, thereby cut
ting of that source of income for fOu
or five months. And it had been highl
necessary that another source shOul
be discovered Immediately. From whic
statement we shall naturally infer tina
- the Golden family was golden only il
name. 1t was. Otherwise, of course
mean in n money sense, it was nickelly
, and not that to as great an extent a
desirable.
9 Father-wen, any kind of stead
business seemed to disagree with father
consequently he contributed to our SUI
port only by fits and starts. DAME
our eldest boy, worked faithfully as a
assistant b0OSkeeper i'm u publishin
house in New York City, and sci
nearly half his salary to mother I'll
first of every month. George, OF
Youngest boy, was clerk with Ga hope
some day becoming one of the tirm)
the Wildwood general store; and /,
/ have intimated above, was the Will
wood milliner. But work as hard as "
might, Daniel, George and I, we cou
do no more, even with the intermittel
help from father than take care Of on
selves and the rest of the family in d