But here Mr. Holyday found it necessary to interfere; and, finding Jack disposed still to resist, he dragged him forward by the ear, and in this way ushered him into the school-room, and the awful presence of Dr. Tingler.

For the first few days, with the other boys,

A terrible life Jack led:

They cut up his cake, and they smashed his toys,
Drowned all his complaints with an impudent noise,
And made him an apple-pie bed;

And if he was dreaming in sweet repose,

After "getting-up bell" did ring,

They gave him cold pig, and they corked his nose,

They spanked him, and pinched him, and tied his great toes
To the bed, with a piece of string;

They fought him with bolsters, and made him a fag,
And if he cried out, then his mouth they would gag.

The first morning after Jack's arrival at school Dr. Tingler tried to find out what he knew. The Doctor was a man dreadful to behold; and it was reported that he lived entirely upon birch-rods, pickled in vinegar, and stewed spelling-books. His dressing-gown was very awful, and so were his spectacles; and when he put on his black cap, and took up his cane, all the boys were so still and quiet, that you might have heard a pin drop if anybody had thrown one down. For some of the ill-behaved boys kept pins in their sleeves, to stick into

their companions, and make them jump, whilst they were at class and others used them instead of buttons, which they had wickedly cut off from their trousers to turn into teetotums.

Jack Holyday had always been such an idle lad that he knew very little. He understood pictures better than letters; and when Dr. Tingler took up the old dog's-eared book he had brought with him from home, which had coloured prints for the alphabet, this is the way Jack spelt the words:—

"A double S, donkey; B, I, R, D, cock-robin; C, U, P, mug; D, O, G, poor old Spot."

66

When Dr. Tingler heard Jack Holyday spell like this he was sure his education had been neglected; and so he gave him a proper book, and set him his first lesson, which was to learn what B, A, spelt. Fenning's Spelling Book was the name of the new work which Jack was to study, and a very delightful book it was. But the most wonderful portion of this book was the middle; it was divided into two parts, one of which contained some useful fables," and the other "some natural and entertaining stories," both with pictures, two of which were very dreadful. One represented a youth named Brown, on the point of going into the water, with his father in the distance, coming to beat him with such a stick-which the story says he did all the way home, without his clothes! What a shocking position! And the other picture represented Harry, who always said "don't care," becoming a prey to a wild beast; together with his last dying speech and confession, which, as he was cast upon an uninhabited island, and devoured directly afterwards, excites the wonder of the ingenious reader how Mr. Fenning contrived to get a report of it.

And at the end of the book was 66

grace before meat,"

1

which Jack Holyday was ignorant enough to ask, whether it might be said before vegetables and pastry as well: but we have already seen what a sad dunce he was.

There was also a very amusing table of "words alike in sound, but different in meaning:" as, for instance, D, O, E, doe, she-deer; D, O, U, G, H, dough, paste. I am sure, my dear little readers, you know these tables; and when you grow up you will find the common name for them is puns: and every gentleman wishing to cut a smart figure in the world by making these puns, buys Fenning's Spelling Book, and learns all these words off by heart; after this he is called a wag, which is a great mark of distinction. I will give you an example of what I mean. If you desire to make a pun, in great society, you must look in Fenning for a word with two meanings. Thus you will find B, O, R, E, bore, an annoyance; and B, O, R, E, bore, made through anything: upon which you can say, "The Thames Tunnel is a great bore," which is quite new, and very sharp. You will also find E, A, S, T, east, a point of the compass; and Y, E, A, S, T, yeast, barm; as well as S, O, N, a male child; and S, U, N, the fountain of light. So that if Jack Holyday had tumbled into the barm when John was brewing, you could have said that "The Sun (son) is setting in the East (yeast)." This is an uncommon occurrence; and you would then have made a joke, which ranks a little higher than a pun,

Jack Holyday he took his book, and looked it through and through,

And soon was taught the mysteries of "ba, be, bi, bo, bu;"