Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-30
A LITTLE LEARNING

ised to take Susan and me to the theater to-
nightos
a didn't" his mother answered, with a
smile; abut | am glad for your sake" Then
she looked grave as she added, How about
The lessons for tomorrow"
"Susan's done hers" Tom said, "and
nine are not hard a bit. They'll be all
right.
"Have you studied them YETI"
"Well-no, not exactly studied EN-.
know what they are, though"
al am sure, Thomas" his mother re-
marked seriously, "that your father would
not be at all satisfied to have you neglect
your studies. He is so anxious that you
children should have a sound education!
You know how often he says that nothing
is of greater importance than ready and
exact knowledge"
ayes, l know Tom agreed. Then he
suggested in determined tone, Il tell you
what I'll do. I'll turn out bright and early
tomorrow morning, long before breakfast,
and I'll get those lessons right down to the
Queens taste!'
But his mother had heard something like
this before, and failed to receive the plan
with proper enthusiasm. Thomas she
insisted solemnly, 3you may as well under
stand that unless you are to prepare the
lessons beforehand l shall consider it my
duty to advise your father not to take you
to the play. How much studying have you
to do?"
Reluctantly he brought out his tightly
strapped bundle of battered textbooks and
showed her. Here's four pages of Ameri-
can history, about General Washington
crossing the Delaware on the ice, | think,
or some old thing like that; a bunch of ex-
amples in fractions, those are just pie;
highbrow piece for defamation, teacher
said to look over very carefully, | can
knock that off in jiffy; and some words
missed in spelling cause Dan Bishop poked
me in the ribs-and that's ALL
@Now sit right down here by me" said
his mother, 3and do the hardest lesson first.
You can work at it while I'm mending your
jacket. We'll begun is half DONE"
in for it, and he wrenched his spelling book
from the bundle; then, after few mo-
ments' silence, looked up with disguised
expression, saying, "What's the sense in my
learning to spell lot of dinky words no
body ever uses once in a hundred years?"
"What words do you mean?" his mother
asked absentmindedly.
ooh, jawbreakers like these" Tom an
swered. Here's cretaceous, invertebrate,
silesia, internecine, and auditorium, and-I
can't pronounce EN-"
OuicIy YOU VIC ICdld VI LiVCl lCDld1Co.
she asked.
well, maybe" Tom admitted. dts
men who drink too much, isn't it? No, it
isn't. It's kind of an animal, guess.
don't believe you ever used any of those
words in your life!'
aBut indeed l have his mother replied.
II bought some silesia today to line skirt"
ooh, that's just luck" Tom insisted. II
don't believe you trimmed it with creta-
ceous, or that we're going to have boiled
auditorium for dinner! Now, honest,
Mother, do you know what those words
mean?"
"Well not all of Them she replied, rising
and hurrying away; "but I'm sure they're
not so very uncommon. You certainly
should learn them. You will find that a
well educated man like your father is ia
miliar with them all
THAT evening at the dinner table the
conversation was mainly about the de
lights of the coming theater party. But it
happened that Toms father, in speaking of
the playhouse commented on the beautiful
decorations of the auditorium" and this
chance reference reminded Tom of his con-
versation with his mother that afternoon.
Father" said he, auditorium is one of
the words l missed today in my spelling
lesson"
"Indeed?" his father remarked "Well,