Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-21

ehO SdIie III the essential matter of
equipping a generation of boys and girls
with pretty clear insight into the intri-
cacfes Of not only the three RS" but the
two Gs" as well, not forgetting num-
Der of collateral branches besides; and it
is matter of regret that so little is really
known at the present time of the devoted
authors of the most popular Of these old
school books of precious memory, the
pioneers and founders of our magnificent
and munificent public school system of the
present day. person who has written a
mover or poem of any pretentions acquires
something akin to fame, but these men
whose books have been COINED by mil
mons are comparatively unknown they
must nave been a modest set after ALL
tfese same old school book writer's
The names of but a few of them even
nave found sepulcher in our verbose en-
cyclopedias. None of these wade mecums
mention Pike Daboli. Adams, Talbot. Rob-
Perkins or Ray Nor yet do they tell us
aught of Mitchell, Monteith, McNally.
Olney, Sanders, Sergeant Green, Smith.
McGufey, Pinneo Clarke or Harvey--fa-
mlliar and cabalistic names to American
youth and adult from 1880 to 1870 Lind
ley Murray, Jedediah Morse. Noah Web
ster and Gooid Brown. of the long and dis
tinguished list of school book authors
alone receive honorable mention in these
literary mausoleums; but notwithstanding
the dark waves of oblivion have nearly
obhterated all traces of these men, their
names were in every mouth. and their
books were in every hand, at intervals, for
nearly a century. Truly they were men of
affairs in their day and generation.
Pike was the author of the first American
arithmetic of any consequence, the initial
edition appearing in 11SS, and Daboll was a
close second, his arithmetic being publish
ed about ten or fifteen years later. Both
books had great run for those times.
many hundreds of thousands being in use
in the primitive schools of the colonies and
the territories OF the fast-growing middle
west; there were no public schools to speak
of south of Mason and Dixon's line until
some years after the close of the civil war.
The writer has seen but few copies of
these old arithmetics; thoy seemed quite
similar in methods, makeup and appear
ance; the paper was very yellow the type
indistinct and with blank leaves inserted at
intervals to set down the sums on"
though often employed for more diverting
purposes, as evidenced by an examination
OF the volumes referred to-; for devices for
the nursery games of "Tit-tat-to toe and
Fox and geese and other indications of
Juvenile depravty, were more in evidence
than the sums
A late contemporary of Pike and Daboll,
and n longer liver, was Adams Arithmetic,
which popular for many years. Then,
in about the order given. came Emersons
North American Arithmetic, and Robin
sons. Talbot's. Davies. Greenleaf. Stod-
dard, Loomis. Perkins and Ray. These
were all excellent books and passed
| through many editions. The latter ones are
still in use in the rural districts.
Some Tough Knots.
The miscellaneous Examples" with
| which these old authors were accustomed
| to round up their several arithmetics.
| were mighty interesting reading. and some
| of them pretty tough knots to unravel; they
| were justified on the ground Of promoting
| mental discipline"
Here is a specimen one In rhyme from
old Daboll:
.If to my age there added be
| One-half one-third and three times three,
| Six score and ten the sum will be,
| What Is my age, pray tell it me?'
Then there is an example in Pike, about
three Jealous husbands with their pretty
wives who were compelled to cross river
| In boat that would carry but two persons
| at time; the solution consisted in get
| ting the whole party. particularly the wives,
! safely across without leaving woman on
either side Of the river alone with another
man. unless her proper husband was OF the
| company. Not a particularly appropriate
/ problem for class of young people to
/ WreStle with.
| And who of US who went to school in the
| ffties has not perspired over this example
| in Greenleaf:
-Four men, A, B, C and D. bought a
man was to grind off his share; how many
| IL ches did A. B. and grind off, re-
spectively?"
The first American reader worth men,
tioning aside from the New Testament.
was the English Reader, gotten up and out
by our old friend, Lindley Murray; and it
was a corker. too. the selections being
largely taken from the ornate and out-of-
date orations of Demosthenes and Cicero.
and the metaphysical dissertations of Livy.
Addison. Aiken. Hume, Fenelon and Blair,
and though presumably in English as she
| is spoke. they were yet veritable Greek to
their youthful readers, who knew no more
| Of the precepts they attempted to in
culcate than they knew Of the contro-
versial fourth dimension.
Murray also was the author of the first
American grammar Of any note, and. like
the reader, it was mighty hard shedding
and repellantly somber, even for a gram
mar But both books held their own for
nearly half century-the first edition of
| the reader appearing in 1886, and the gram
| mar a few years later. Murray, 1t may be
observed, subsequently became quite af11u-
ent in commercial pursuits, removed to
England, where he died in 1896 and lies
buried in the old Friends graveyard at
York. where we will leave him.
Towle's Grammar appeared next: then
came Frost and kirkham, Brown Smith
Green, Pinneo, Quackenboss, Clark and
Harvey; and after these the deluge These
books were all great advance over Muir !,
| ray. and enjoyed large sales Some of the
last named are yet in use, and have never
been excelled. Goold Browns Grammar of
| Grammars is still standard. Brown was
l
| cographer. He died in New York cisv in
! 1887, at the age Of sixty-f1ve.
To Down Columbias.
After the English Reader came the Amer
| lean Preceptor. then the Rhetorical Read
ers. and about the same time appeared the
Columbian Orator. which is a reminder of
+! the time In this country when there was a
very diligent and concerted attempt to lay
| out Americas Vesrucius and do the square
thing by Christopher Columbus in the
matter of receiving proper credit for the
discovery Of this continent. and everything
| and everybody apparently for awhile was
| Columbia, or a Columbiad. It was "Co-
| lumbia! the Gem of the Ocean, 1.-THE Sons
| and Daughters of Columbia" HAL, Co
| lumbia," &C., &c. but 1t did not work;
| America had come to stay, and stay 1t
| will to the end Of the chapter; and all the
| Columbians got out of their frolic was the
| capital Of two states and the District Of
| CoIumbia-not SO bad after all.
| Rev. Jedediah Morse, q Connecticut
| clergyman, was the first, and for twenty
| five years continued to be the boss Ameri-
can geographer; his book. which appeared
| In 1854. subsequently became q ponderous
affair. 1t WIS bound In dark sheen. with