Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1886-05-04
HOW WE PLAYED WORD STORIES
Verbal Investigation as Pleasant and
Profitable Pastime.


Profitable Pastime.
Most words have story OF their
own, sometimes quite romantic one,
often philosophic, always suggestive;
frequently taking the one who would
explore for himself aw.y down deep into
the roots OF things writes Amanda Il.
Harris In Wide Awake.
To trace them, follow them up look
into the derivatlons and combinations,
hunt up the compounds and collaterals
and find out incidents about them is
study absolutely inexhaustible; and that
it may become q pleasant pastime you
shall see,
Our company was made up OF two
elderly persons, several in the sophomore
class, from the college close by, and
three high school girls.
The elders had the advantage OF much
reading and experience, but the others
| had something quite as available, for
they were fresh from their Latin, Ger
man and French; and the proposition,
| by the by, came from one of these
| Young damsels whosk bought there was
romance enough about language to make
| it worth while to look into it.
Our chief tools were two big diction-
aries (unabridged); and some modern
school books were resorted to as helps.
We began alphabetically, and for our
first experiment Qf may call 1t so) sell
ected words beginning with A.
OF course picturesque words were
chosen not dry adverbs or propositions
or such as nothing special could be
find out everything possible about the
| special word he or she had picked out ;
| what it was derived from, and any in
cidents connected with It. including the
reading OF any poem or quotation
| from the poets where Il was especially
| the subject.
| brought into exercise not only research
| but the critical, discriminating faculties,
and that the horizon widened and
widened as we went on, and that
| we found ourselves in the very best
company.
Now for an illustration, let me tell you
little about the experience with the
letter C. The list brought in was one OF
the most picturesque; and at one word
| the first-we were away back in the
region OF romance and poesy, OF history
and tyranny.
The list began with curfew, and the
one who had chosen it Immediately
gave the derivation and explained what
| the cOuvre-feu was" an immense
| bowl-shaped cover with one-third cut
out, ornamented and with handle; iI
fact, an elaborate fender, shutting ovel
the fire and almost enclosing 1t -
give her own words.
Then the story Of the Norman tyranny
over the Saxons was told, and in fiv'
minutes every one was on tho alert tt
tell something about the curfcw
whereupon one enthusiastic girl criet
out:
"Oh, life Is not long enough t.
learn all one wants to; isn't thi
delicious ~
You SEQ this one word "curfew
means and comprehends SO much tina
all the other words were for the tim
being left out in tho cold as tho mos
rogulsh of the sopbomores said. Yo,
would have thought. those youths AM
maidcns had discovered n gold mine al
of sudden. 1t was n perfect troaSur
house of things poetic and romantic
that worl.
They read the meaning in Webster
they read it in Worcester; they made
out to be from the Norman French; the
produced n dilapidated Johnson's di'
tionary of MDCCLX., and read I'll
venerable DR.. Samuers definition; the
| went 10 the HlStOTA9OL EnSldllu 10 sc
when the order to put out the lights an
fires was first enforced, and when in II
reign of William Rufus the curfew WI
abolished; one Of the sophomorcs, WI
was law iledgling, quoted Blackst OF
on the subject, and the fair suggester
the word referred us to the third cha
ter of " Ivunhoe Recommending us
road that romance afreSh, and so Settil
us all agog to renew our acquaintan,
with the Wayerley Novels), and the
having come prepared, she quoted Nj
tons lines in " IL Penseroso -:
Oft on a plat of rising ground
hear the far off curfew sound,
and the verse in Grays Elegy, tinishir
her part by repeating tho famili;
" Curfew must not ring tonight"
well done for curfew," said Il
eldest of the elders, "that is a goo
beginning
The other words were candidate, col
cur coin, cup-bearer, chrism-losin
croquet, Christmas. Volumes of matt,
at that rate Of choice was the unan
nous opinion.
What was to become of the c fami
II here was sample? Above a
where would the rest OF the alphab
find chance?
| Imitation N EashiODs.