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If, in the days of the witty Swift, we find It has not been our motive in writing this doare for door; auntient, ancient; cleere, article to exalt the phonetic cause above all clear; schole, school; tweye, too; and so on, things else, to make it a hobby and claim for it ad finitum, how will future generations' supreme importance, as that would be imperfind our present orthography? One hundred tinent, nor would we be considered a deluded years hence, our present print will be perused enthusiastic theorist, guilty of rearing airy with a curiosity akin to that which we expecastles; indulging in speculative impossibilirience in reading that of Shakspeare's and ties and impracticable undertakings. Sheridan's days, or even, in our own "Colo- speak as one who is proud to venerate the nonial Records." History tells us, that the Ital- ble English language, the inexhaustable treas fans have changed from the Latin to their ury of a world's literature, and eternalized by earth's noblest -as one who would consepresent language, and the spelling, it seems, has followed the transition, yet the treasures crate its orthography to a truthful, harmoniwrapped up in their primitive language are ous system of representative characters for its accessible to all who would possess them. sounds, some scientific, indivisible alphabet Were phonotypy in vogue, there would be a that would divest our great language of its great many more readers than now, because present lawless orthographic incongruities; learning to read at present the most difficult give it a cosmopolitan basis, pave its way to of human attainments would be rendered universality, and make our speech and writing easy and attractive, consequently, for books, one beatific link of truth and joy for time past, demand and supply would be greater, and present, and to come. the profit on the increased number of new works would more than counterbalance the loss on old ones. In a "leader" to the "N. Y. Tribune," the writer says, "We deem the current saving to the Anglo-Saxons, by this reform alone, would not fall short of five millions of dollars per annum."

S

Buncombe,

TEACHER.

THIS word has acquired quite a notoriety recently, and has become a fixed fact in our language. We are happy to present to our readers its origin.

It is often argued that phorotypy has a Joseph Tinker Buckingham, in his "Pertendency to corrupt one's spelling - an asser-sonal Memoirs," (Boston, 1852,) vol. 1, page tion whose denial is corroborated, not only by 207, in speaking of Mr. Culpepper of North our own experience, but by the experience of Carolina, who "voted for the Compensation thousands of others. Were this the fact, how Law,' and suffered the penalty of his indepenever, we should infer, from the disgraceful, dent votes, adds this note : egregious blunders committed by some of the teachers, in spelling, at the institute, that they were thoroughly phoneticised! Be those teachers, who missed to spell, correctly, the few, simple, daily occurring words which were dictated, phonoticians or not, they certainly exhibited an orthographic proficiency that no common school boy would be over anxious self-electioneering speech, has grown into a

to possess.

"Buncombe County, in North Carolina, was a part of the district which Mr. Culpepper represented, and the place of his residence. In advocating the Compensation Law,' he said he was not merely speaking for Buncombe, but for the nation. Hence the phrase, 'speaking for Bunkum,' when reference is made to a

proverb."

FIRESIDE DEPARTMENT.

Chat with the Young Readers.

THE Editor's compliments to his young friends who read the Fireside Department. He is happy to announce to them that he has secured the assistance of COUSIN WILLIE WALLACE, who will have the general care of this department of our journal for the coming year.

Cousin Willie is a young man, a great reader, constantly poring over books of travels, biography, history, and the like, together with a great pile of children's papers. which he takes for his own benefit, and we have no fears of our young friends' suffering by the change. On the contrary we feel assured from our personal knowledge of Cousin Willie's qualifications and popularity among the young people of his acquaintance, that he will furnish something unusually interesting and instructive for our young friends of the Fireside Department.

We are happy to say that we have received a good number of answers to the Transposition in the last number, but not many of the Philosophical Enigma. We guess the boys find them difficult, [we do not know but the girls do, but perhaps it is not best to tell them so.] But if they were easy you would have no interest in them. So don't be dis

Aristotle; 4. Truth; 5. Ideas; 6. Science; 7, Terms; 8. Hydrogen; 9. Euclid; 10. Socrates; 11. Oxygen; 12. Unity; 13. Locke. My whole- WHAT IS THE SOUL?

Answers to the Transposition from A. E. and M. E., Wickford; K., Raymond, Talbot, and M., Providence; Lizzie, Phillipston, Ms.; G. and M., Warren. Answer." And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain."-REV. XXI: 4.

COUSIN WILLIE wishes us to say that he shall be happy to receive questions, puzzles, and enigmas from our young readers. He will be glad to receive letters from any of them.

The Home Wreath.

Ir is the practice in many district schools, as well as in grammar schools and academies, to publish a paper. In cities and large towns, where the high school or academy is large, the paper-which generally consists of original articles entirely — is printed and circulated perhaps once a month. Where the paper cannot attain to a regularly published, subscription paper, and where it cannot be printed and circulated in type, the school can have their paper with at least equal pleasure and profit to themselves. We know of scarcely an excouraged, but work the harder over them. ercise which, judiciously managed, will furEasy enigmas won't help you think. The Ed-nish a greater amount of pleasure to any school, or be productive of more profit, than say that the answer to the Enigma in his pa- this of maintaining a regularly issued paper.

-

itor of THE HOME WREATH requests us to

per may be sent to our address.

Answers

We insert the following as a specimen. We are indebted for a large portion of the paper to a little book from which we have before

To the Philosophical Enigma in our last have quoted, published by Messrs. Gould & Linbeen received from A. E. and M. E., Wick-coln, of Boston, which, together with the othford; and K., Providence. K. does not agree ers which comprise the series of Aimwell with the author of the enigma in respect to 1 Stories, we wish were in the school library of and 13. Answer.-1. Watts; 2. Harvey; 3. every district in Rhode Island.

VOL. I.

HIGHBURG, DECEMBER 4, 1858.

THE HOME WREATH:

A Weekly Journal for Home Improvement.
PAGE & CO., PUBLISHERS.

Terme,

For the Home Wreath.

LINES,

INSCRIBED TO RONALD D. PAGE.

I'm twelve! I'm twelve to-day!

Hurrah, boys! let us shout!
Come, leave your work and play,
And kick old care away;

Ye gloomy thoughts, get out!
We'll have no mopes about -
I'm twelve! I'm twelve to-day!

I'm twelve! I'm twelve to-day!
A dozen years have fled
Since first the morning ray,
All sober, cold and gray,

Stole in upon my head;
How fast old Time hath sped!
I'm twelve! I'm twelve to-day!

I'm twelve! I'm twelve to-day!

Then help me to be glad!
Come all, and let's be gay-
There's nothing more to pay

For being bright than sad;
Cheer up, then, lass and lad!
I'm twelve! I'm twelve to-day!

AN EXERCISE FOR SCHOLARS.

NO. 1.

pendance. To detale his conduct in the yeares which followed would be butt to relaite the hystery of the American war. It may be said generaly that wethin a verry short peeriod after the declarashion of indipendance the affairs Gratis. of Amerrica were in a condishun so desparate, that perhaps nothing but the piculicar caracter of Washington's genious could have retreaved them. It required the consumate prudence, calm whisdom, the inflexable firmness, the modarate and well-balenced temper of Washinton to imbrace such a plann of pollicy and to pursivere in it: to resist the temptations of entreprize, to fix the confidance of his soldiers without the attraction of victery: to support the spirit of the armey and the peopel ammidst those sloe and caushious planns of dfensive warfare wich are more despereting than defeate itself: to restrain his owne hambition and the empettuosity of his troupes: to indure temparary hobscurity for the salvation of his contry and for the attanement of solled and imortal glory and to suffer even temparary reproach and oblaquy, sapported by the hapbrobation of his own conscience, and the applaus of that small number of wise men whose praise is an earnest of the hadmeration and grattitoode of possterity. Corage is enspired by succes, and it may be stimulated to dasperate exirtion even by callamity, but is generally pallseyed by inactivity. A sestem of caushous defence is the severest tryal of human fortitude and by this teste the firmness of Washington was tryde."

AN ECCENTRIC CLOCK.

John Hatfield, who died at the age of one hundred and two, a soldier in the regiment of William and Mary, was tried and condemned by a court-martial for falling asleep on his duty upon the terrace at Windsor. He absolutely denied the charge against him, and clock strike thirteen, solemnly declared that he heard St. Paul's the truth of which was much doubted by the court, because of the great distance. But whilst he was under sentence of death, an affidavit was made by several persons, that the clock actually did strike thirteen instead of twelve; whereupon he received his Majesty's pardon.

Is England, young candidates for appointment in the civil service are subjected to rigid examinations, designed to test their abilities and acquirements. The following extract, which we have somewhat abridged, shows one of the methods adopted for securing this end. It is said to be a literal copy of a document which a young applicant for a government clerkship was required to correct while undergoing his examination. We wonder how many of our young readers could put it into ed to punish an enemy, it should be by fastproper shape without consulting the dictiona-ening on him the trouble of constantly hating ry. - ED. somebody."

"CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. At the

HATE. Hannah More said: "If I want

braking out of the revolushonery war in Possunt, quia posse videntur : They are Amerrica, Washinton joined the caus of indi-able because they seem to be able.

309

2

THE HOME WREATH.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1854.

NOTHING INSIGNIFICANT. OUR humble sheet is a very small affair; but if any stern critic is disposed to despise it on that account, let us remind him that there is nothing so small as to be wholly insignificant, when viewed in all its relations. We everywhere find little things linked with greater, and thousands of minute and hidden causes are constantly interlocking and working together, to bring about those events which impress us with their vastness and importance. A spark of fire may set in train a conflagration which will lay waste thousands of acres. Large and populous islands in the small Pacific ocean owe their origin to very insects. The great globe itself is made up of the universe is but an aggrelittle particles gate of atoms. The astronomer finds it necessary to note the minutest fractions of time in observing the transit of a star whose age is perhaps measured by thousands of centuries, and whose revolutions extend through infinite space. Thus are moments linked with ages in the economy of nature, and thus are we reminded that nothing is so minute as to be insignificant.

I CAN'T.

That boy is now a young man, but he is an ignorant, idle, and shiftless fellow, and, we fear, will never be of much use either to himself or to the world.

Commend us to the boy or girl who never says "I can't," except when enticed to do "I can" does all things; "I can't," wrong.

nothing.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

SEVERAL articles intended for this number We shall probably have to are crowded out. issue a double number next week, to accomWe observe that some of modate our friends. our correspondents occasionally apply the pronoun thou, and the pronominal adjectives thy and thine, to plural nouns. This is wrong. You and yours may be used either in the singular or plural number; but thou, thy, and thine are always singular. You cannot say to a father and mother, as a poem which we lately saw in a newspaper, (not in the

"Wreath,") said,

Thy darling is in heaven."

EDUCATIONAL LECTURE.

HON. JOHN KINGSBURY, LL. D., our excellent School Commissioner, delivered an eloquent and able lecture to the people of Highburg in the Academy last evening. The house was filled to its utmost capacity with an audience who exhibited their interest in education by their presence on such a cold eve

THIS phrase is always in the mouth of some children when requested to do anything. Wening, and their appreciation of the lecture by

and prestheir earnest and unwearied attention for an hour and a half. The lecturer gave a very interesting account of the progress ent condition of popular education in our state, comparing the present with the past, and exhorted the people of Highburg to press forward in the noble work of giving such an education to their children as shall fit them for whatever station in life their talents and We hope the suggestion the necessities of the community shall call them to occupy. that the town more completely grade their schools and establish a high school, will be "Isoon carried out. Why should we not have a high school as well as Freetown? We have one hundred more population. The school A house can should be established at once. be erected in the spring.

once knew a boy who was greatly addicted to
its use.
He wanted to learn to skate, but af.
ter one unsuccessful attempt, he gave it up,
The next summer sever-
saying, "I can't."
al of his playmates learned to swim, and he
also wanted to learn; but after getting his
mouth and ears full of water, one day, he
cried, "I can't," and that was the end of
swimming experiments. If his class had a
dificult lesson, he never learned it, and his ex-
I can't." We
cuse was always the same.
once set him a copy in his writing-book, and
told him that if he could not imitate it per-
fectly, he must write as well as he could.
"What!" we
can't," was the ready reply.
exclaimed, "can't you write as well as you
can?" He looked ashamed, but made no re-
ply.

310

NEWS ITEMS.

The Winter Term of the Highburg Academy commences on Monday next, and will continue eleven weeks. Robert Upton, A. M., Preceptor; Mr. Marcus Page, Assistant Teacher; Miss Martha D. Tillotson, Teacher of Drawing and Music.

It is reported that traces of wolves have been seen recently near Turkey Hill, in the eastern part of Highburg. Several wolves have been killed this winter in the west part of the state, and we should not be surprised if some of the "varmints" make us a visit ere long.

us"

Correspondence.

For the Wreath.

SMALL BEGINNINGS.

A gentleman was once examining a very large and fine library in Boston, when the lady who had introduced him, asked hi n if he would like to see the "nucleus" of the collection. (If you do not know what "nucletionary, as I can think of no simpler word to means, you will have to turn to the dicsubstitute for it.) "Yes, I should like to see it," replied the visitor. She then exhibited to him a Latin dictionary, which she said was money obtained by the sale of blueberries. purchased by the owner when a boy, with The owner was a farmer's boy, and that A lynx was shot last week in Free-now a learned man, and is well known in this is the way he began his fine library. He is town. The paper from which we glean this country and in Europe. item says: "The animal is a rare one in this state. It is of a grayish color, with ears ending in tufts of black hair, standing [not the 'ears,' nor the hair,' we presume, but the lynx] a little more than a foot high, and measuring three feet in length. It subsists on hares, rabbits, and such small animals, occasionally attacking a sheep, or even a deer, by" dropping on them [it] from a branch of a tree." There, boys, who will correct all the errors in this item, and send it to us as it should be?

For the Wreath.

VANITY A FABLE.

liant, and whose song was beautiful, were
Two birds, whose plumage was very bril-
sitting on a tree, singing, when they discover-
ed a man looking at them very intently.
see how we have en-
There is an admirer-
tranced him!" cried one of the birds, and
sweetest song.
she put on her proudest air, and warbled her
I do not like to be gazed at
so earnestly by a stranger," modestly replied
the other bird; "come, let us go and hide
ourselves from the intruder." The modest

46

Two boys who had been skating in bird flew into a thicket and concealed herself; New York, a week or two since, were attack-but the other, flying to the topmost bough, began to show off all her airs, when suddened with violent cramps and inflammation, and ly the sharp crack of a gun was heard, and one of them died from the effects. It is con- the silly bird fell dead. jectured that they laid down upon the ice while heated from their exercise. This should be warning to skaters.

The snow which fell Wednesday, tho' light, is sufficient to make pretty good sleighing, and every body seems to be improving it. The proprietors, contributors and subscribers of the "Wreath" took their first sleighride, this season, on Thursday. They were all comfortably stowed away in a sleigh and a pung!

Howard Block and the Museum Building in Providence, were burned about the middle of last month. The conflagration was visible at Highburg, and we understand attracted a crowd of many thousand persons in Providence, who assembled in the adjoining streets to see the brilliant sight.

MORAL. -"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

KETA.

For the Wreath.

A CUNNING FELLOW. THE summer that I lived in Brookdale, I was one day in the woods, with my cousin Jerry, and another boy, named Clinton, when we found a fox's hole. We began to dig her out; but when we got to the end of the hole, we found nothing. Clinton said he had known a fox to bank herself up in a separate cell, when her hole was invaded; and we determined to see if our fox had not served us We dug, and soon found eight little ones, all stowed away in a cell by themselves. We then tried to find the old one, but could not. So we took the little ones and started off; out of the hole and disappear. but on looking back we saw the old fox dart We went back to examine the hole again, and found.

So.

311

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