The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-22
SCHOOL SHORT CUTS.
Rhymes and JingIes That Help One
Remember Things.


Remember Things.
There is no royal road to learning.
At least, every one seems to be agreed
that there isn't. so that there is no use
in saying that there is. But there are
some short cuts in the direction of
learning, which take you some distance
on the road, even if they do not actu-
ally land you at your destination.
One of these short cuts is the ia
nous old stanza in six lines:
Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone.
1t has four and twenty-four
And every leap year one day more.
The rhythm of that verse is almost as
bad as that of "Humpty Dumpty,"
found fault; if you don't remember,
just look at Through the Looking
Glass" chapter six.
(Now, if we had put that in note
See Through the Looking Glass vi,
p 147"-it would have looked like a real
school book, wouldn't IT'D
The trouble is. people won't believe
that what is written in rhyme can
really be learning. OF course you
have to learn poems and verses to re-
cite on Friday, but then you don't
learn them because they teach you
anything-you learn them because you
have to. But there really are, some
rhymes that teach you things. Here,
for example, is a grammar in rhyme
and very complete gramar, too, so
far as it woes. Learn it thoroughly
and you'll find yourself pretty we'll up
in what is called elementary gram
mar:
Three little words you often see,
Are articles "a" ian" and the"
A nouns the name of anything.
AS school or garden" hoop" or
Swing"
Adjectives tell the kind of noun,
AS great small" pretty" white"
or brown"
Instead of nouns the pronouns stand
His" head, her" face, my arm.
your" hand.
Verbs tell of something to be done
To read" count" laugh" Sing"
Jump or run
VI.
How things are done, the adverbs tell,
AS Slowly quickly" ''ill' or well"
VII.
Conjunctions join the words together
AS man land" woman, wind 'or"
weather.
The proposition stands before
The noun, as ''in" or through" the
door.
*.
The interjection shows surprise
AS "O!" how pretty; "Ah! how wise"
x.
The whole are called nine parts of
speech,
Which reading, writing, speaking teach.
While we're talking about grammar,
here's another lesson in rhyme. They
say that the real New Yorker cannot
tell the difference between will and
SHALL" that it takes Bostonian to
steer safely between those two verbs.
The difference is pointed out in this
rhythmical lesson:
In the first person simply. "shall'' fore
tells;
In will" a threat or else promise
dwells.
shall" in the second and the third
doth threat:
"Will'' simply then foretells the future
feat.
Now let us get away from grammar.
political economy, and let us turn to-
wards fiction, and come as near to that
as possible in study period. That will
bring us to history.
Here we find two rhymes, the first of
which deals with our presidents. It's
long and it isn't very, VERY beauti-
full, Through the Looking Glass, chap.
8, page 210). but it's historical and one
mustn't expect everything in this
world, even in history.
George Washington first to the White
House came,
And next on the list is John Adams
name;
Tom jefferson then fills the honored
The name of James Madison next we
trace.
The fifth in succession was James
Monroe,
And John Quincy Adams the next be-
low;
And then Andrew Jackson was placed
in the chair;
Then next we find Martin Van Buren,
there.
Then William II. Harrison's name we
meet.
Whose death gave John Tyler the COW
eted seat.
Then James X. Polk was the nations
choice:
Next for Zachary Taylor she gave her
voice.
Whose premature death brought in
Willard Fillmore;
And next Franklin Pierce the distinc-
ton bore.
The fifteenth was James buchanan
they say,
Who for Abraham Lincoln prepared
the way,
Whose martyrdom gave Andrew John
son "a chance.
The eighteenth name was Ulysses 3.
Grants.
Then 81 nineteenth 70 take the place
Rutherford j.. Hayes won in the race.
jones A. Garfield next took his seat.
Ana very soon after his death did meet.
L-..-I.r A . .IL.Lr an. -. IL. !. -