PREFACE. IN the preparation of this book, the Compiler has endea voured to adapt the lessons to the class of children for whom a First Book is intended. The more important words, with their meaning in the text, have been placed at the beginning of each lesson; and, at the end there have been added Reading and Spelling Columns, together with a series of easy Questions on the lessons; all which, it is hoped, will materially assist the pupil in the work of home preparation, as well as parents and others, in testing the learner's knowledge and progress. Numerous Script Exercises have also been given, calculated to interest the pupil, develop his thinking powers, and render him accurate and ready in spelling. A variety of woodcuts have likewise been inserted throughout the work, illustrative of the more striking incidents in the narratives. |