The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-01-08
JACKS STRUGGLES WITH
ENGLISH.

Trusty, '.you will have to depend upon
yourself in life, and il will be Il great
thing for you to be able to write your
mother-tongue with ease. Now, the
first thing is to speak it correctly"
Il don know rs ! can do that re-
turned the boy of eleven, looking ut his
uncle, IN unusual gravity in his merry
face.
..You don't know as you can" return
ed Mr.. Trusty. Where did YOU pick up
that phrase. Jack? You've never heard
it in my house."
'Oh, yes, uncle; Mrs. Moss says it,
and Nora and Bridget, | guess. and lots
of people; but I'm awful sorry if YOU
don't like it."
Mr.. Trusty sighed. ''My housekeeper
and my servants. Perhaps that accounts
for the three errors there he said.
.Whatr' cried Jack.
Yes, three errors in one breath. You
guess So Now. YOU don't guess at all;
It's not a puzzle that you're talking
about. Then, lots of people Now,
tell mt, Jack, are people like lots
land that buildings are put upon? Think
of it."
well, l know" returned the boy; ait
don't seem so n mite. But then, look
here, uncle. they like to have you leave
'em alone and Keep your own side of
the fence; but then I'd just as lieves say
something else if You want me to. Shall
l say numerous people?"
mo. that's stilted: say Il great many
people, if you like" Ut isn't what /
like, thought Jack, but he was SILENT
'And you are awful sorry" went on
Mr.. Trusty. Now you would call the
eruption of a volcano, or a storm at sea-.
or ever Il violent thunderstorm. awful
But, if you are going to use a great
word for a simple thing, like being sorry
Though it's Il good thing, jack, you
must add the .ly' and make it an ad-
verb. If You must. why be 'awfully
sorry and 'awfully glad and lawfully
hot and 'awfully cold; but, ! beg you,
don't be awful"
Jack laughed. II guess you've driven
in that peg, u~ncle:-oh. by the way. ]
didn't mean to say 4 guess
'I'm glad of that: if you correct two
errors a day YOU will improve very
fast"
YES" commented the boy. that will
be six hundred n year, or it will be seven
hundred and thirty if we count in the
Sundays. 1t won't be breaking the Sab
bath if we correct u faults that day,
will itP" But there was Il twinkle in
the boys eve which told Mr.. Trusty that
an answer was unnecessary. lie smiled
at Jack, who went n In commence
to improve right away, uncle. What!
something wrong there again." he ex-
claimed. seeing that his listeners face
had undergone Il sudden change.
Truly, now. | haven't Il scrap of an
ilea what | said"
Jack. what does m idea mean?"
why, | suppose, uncle suppose, you
see. il means "A thought n q notion of
come kind
What does Il scrap meanY'
"a little piece of a thing
did YOU ever see a little piece Of q
thouglt?'
mo, uncle, / never did," ..but then"
he added. rallying, i've seen people
that really didn't seem to have more
than q piece of n thought about any
thing; SO, perhaps, that isn't SO bad"
Mr.. Trusty laughed. Fortunately for
Jacks happiness, and his education al
30, he knew how to do that. at does seem
sometimes as if we caught M end of a
thought while the other loated of and
left U.S." he said. .'But that is only a
figure of speech, after all; a thought is a
unit, one whole thing, like a man; it
may be great, or mean. but we can't cut
1t into scraps without destroying it."
'Oh, and arn't some people real
mean" cried the boy. There's Mr..
Leonard, he
Never mind, my boy, back-biting Is
the hearts incorrect speech; don't let us
have that. You said a moment ago that
you would commence to improve The
thought is excellent, but you must never
commence to walk, to RIM, to talk, To
act, to read, to write, o even TO i'm
prove; you must never commence to do
anything. The word should not be fol-
bowed by to- For myself. ] am not
fond of it at any time; it is not so strong
as our Anglo-Saxon word begin
"What is an Anglo-SaxOn word,
uncleP'
Viii ttli YOU titNb oii - -
that ! can say about it now is that
Anglo-Saxon words are usually shorter
than this other class that commence
belongs to. You may commence youl
lesson, but you must not say that you
commence to study it. You may say,
however, that you begin your lesson, OF
that you begin to study your lesson, and
either way will be right"
81 should admire to talk right if
could" said the hoy, 'just TO please you
uncle; the fellows don't care,-the boys
you know"
Then you will not mind my telling
you that admire is to be used ike com
mence. You must not admire to dt
things, but you may admire things, AM
people, too. to your hearts content
'rIl tell you what I'll admire sale
Jack; '.Tll admire my mother-tongue, al
you call it."
You shall have no more lessons in i
to-day, Jack. But, before you go out t.
play with the boys whom | see coming
into the yard, ] want you to understand
why / am trying to train you not Onl.,
to know the right words, but to u.s.
tuciu. ufo w" ~ ~ $50
skating match that you won last win
terP"
'Practised lOtr-ever so much
"And what did you do before that da.
| that your arrow hit the bulls-eye min
times out of temp"
"Practised," cried Jack; '.you laugh
me yourself"
IF you had had to learn to manag
your skates on the day of the race, coul'
you have won itP"
mo, sirr
"And if you had had to learn how T
hold your bow that day spoke Of, coul
you have hit the bulls-eyeP"
The other shook his head emphatical
ly. II see what you're driving at" h
cried; you've got to be able to handl
your things when the time comes"
"Yes; and when you come to Writ
and talk to be listened to. you must thin
then of what you have to say, and nc
be obliged to wonder If your words ar
all right"
1T would have been funny about tn