The Aldine Speller | Project Gutenberg

AMERICA

My country, ’tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the Pilgrims’ pride,

From every mountain-side

Let freedom ring.

—Samuel Francis Smith.

breath

breathes

soul

na tive

Breathes there a man with soul so dead,

Who never to himself hath said,

“This is my own, my native land”?

—Sir Walter Scott.

4			5
wolf		re ply	as sist		pit y
wolves		re plied	poor		pit ied
	crea ture			a lone

See what happens to y in reply and pity when ed is added.

When es is added to wolf see what happens to f. In what other words does this happen?

One day a fox fell into a well. He howled aloud.

A wolf ran to see what the matter was.

“Poor creature,” said the wolf, “how I pity you!”

“Don’t pity me,” replied the fox. “Assist me.”

—Æsop.

7		8
e nough	con tent	trav el	pock et
tough	rich	trav el er	emp ty
rough	a muse	purse	re cov er

health

wealth

rob ber

Health is the best wealth.

Poor and content is rich, and rich enough.

—Shakespeare.

Better an empty purse than an empty head.

—German.

The traveler with empty pockets fears no robber.

be come		be gin		be gun		be fore
be long		be gin ning		be low		be fore hand

11	12	13
torn	stitch	trou ble
tum ble	a cross	af ter ward
a shamed	beg gar	loose
nurse	pun ish	blis ter
bruise	fault	her self
comb	of fer	gar den

Look thoughtfully at ui in bruise, au in fault, oo in loose, ou in trouble.

There is only one c in across.

Look at the picture, then write five sentences about it, using as many words as you can from Lessons 11, 12, and 13.

an ger		bos om		jus tice		win dow
		sur round				foot

When anger in the bosom lies,

Justice out the window flies.

15		16
sil ver	lady	fur	elm
shad y	lad ies	cur	sir
shad ow	sat in	church	birch

The y in lady changes to i and es is added when we mean more than one lady—ladies.

Look at the u in church and the i in birch.

The silver birch is a dainty lady,

She wears a satin gown;

The elm tree makes the old churchyard shady,

She will not live in town.

—Edith Nesbit.

voice		breeze		touch
	vi o let		breath

The rough voiced breeze that shook the trees

Was touched by a violet’s breath.

19	20	21	22
left	camp	nar row	fir
cit y	lamp	ma ple	grove
o’clock	damp	beech	drove
front	called	spruce	stove
path	field	for est	cove

Look at o in front, ie in field, and ple in maple.

Do not forget the apostrophe in o’clock.

We left the city at six o’clock.

The camp is in a grove of fir, maple, beech, and spruce trees.

Jack called the grove our forest.

In front of the camp is the river.

A narrow path leads across a field to its banks.

lum ber		tim ber		boards		car pen ter
	shin gle				sea shore

25	26	27	28
build	inch	un der	re al ly
build ing	inch es	be neath	porch
built	firm	gi ant	dis tant
south	sol id	whose	dis tance
seems	fort	square	broad

The camp was built of native lumber.

The building was firm and solid as a fort.

The boards were over an inch thick.

It stood under a giant tree whose branches really seemed to touch the distant sky.

On the south side was a broad square porch.

30			31
ham mock		at tic	eaves		can dle
buck et		cel lar	lan tern		moon light
	shov el			cor ner

Make a sentence telling how the camp was lighted at night.

32	33	34	35
di vide	break fast	pre pare	chance
la bor	din ner	fish	watch
e qual	sin ner	veg e ta ble	dan ger
e qual ly	win ner	cot tage	stran ger
en joy	pro vide	i dle	an y way

Look carefully at the second e in vegetable.

At camp the labor is divided. None are idle.

All enjoy an equal chance to help.

Jack prepares breakfast and dinner.

Frank provides fish and vegetables.

The dog watches that no danger comes near the cottage.

37			38
cab bage		squash	ba na na		rai sins
car rot		to ma to	cur rants		ol ive
rad ish		tur nip	grape		prune
	on ion			lem on

kitch en		re move		ash es
	ov en		kin dle

Remove the ashes.

Kindle the fire.

Have a hot oven.

Sweep the kitchen.

40	41	42	43
salt	sprin kle	juice	cher ry
so da	wrin kle	juic y	choc o late
stir	pud ding	fork	dough
spoon	bis cuit	pep per	dough nut
coal	ket tle	pour	jel ly

44		45
flow er		heav en
show er		si lent
bow er		de light
tow er		high
won der		mir ror

The moon, like a flower,

In heaven’s high bower,

With silent delight

Sits and smiles at the night.

FLOWER AND FAIRY WORDS

47	48	49	50
pur ple	na ture	ti ny	col or
pan sy	fan cy	fair y	scar let
li lac	blos som	fair ies	beau ti ful
com mon	bush	fa vor	laugh ter
wreath	lawn	mer ry	dan de li on

Review of Troublesome Words

51	52	53	54
used	loose	wear	built
color	lose	early	easy
break	enough	sugar	beginning
know	any	minute	wrote
tonight	shoes	tear	sure
laid	said	read	knew
would	once	does	heard
doctor	piece	just	writing
write	having	says	whole
often	guess	done	none

Each of the words on this page has some little “catch” in it. Try to find what is difficult in each word. Make a list of all you misspell. Keep this list on your desk or somewhere handy. Study whenever you get a chance. Don’t let these simple, everyday words master you. Master them.

o bey

com mand

busi ness

serve

Look at e in obey, i in business.

Only two syllables in business.

He that has learned how to obey will know how to command.

—Solon.

If you would have your business done, go; if not, send.

—Franklin.

He is best served who serves himself.

56		57
tru ly	po lite	re main	ac tion
ounce	ex am ple	re main der	ad vice

No e in truly; ai in remain; c in advice.

Better an ounce of example than a pound of advice.

Words pass away, but actions remain.

—Napoleon.

Truly polite, always polite.

58		59
lis ten		bud
rip ple		bud ding
flut ter		mud
blue bird		mud dy
to ward		fence

Listen a moment, I pray you;

What was that sound that I heard?

Wind in the budding branches,

The ripple of brooks, or a bird?

Hear it again, above us; and see a flutter of wings.

The bluebird knows it is April, and soars toward the sun and sings.

—Eben Rexford.

bob o link		pi geon		spar row		hawk
	hand some				won der ful

62	63	64	65
bald	brief	aw ful	cir cle
ea gle	grief	se vere	home
ar row	com plete	ar rive	dome
mur der	cru el	man age	Rome
breast	wound	glance	bod y

Look at a in eagle and breast, ie in grief and brief, e in cruel, ou in wound.

THE EAGLE AND THE ARROW

A hunter once shot an eagle. Severely wounded, the bird managed to fly to his home. When he arrived he glanced at the cruel arrow in his breast. It was winged with one of his own feathers.

“Oh,” he cried, “to think I have been murdered by an arrow that I helped to make!”

—Æsop.

67	68	69	70
learn ing	in vite	har vest	boil
wis dom	in vi ta tion	this tle	soil
cloth	com pa ny	whis tle	toil
clothes	pea cock	ex pect	toi let
be gan	how ev er	in deed	suit

Learning is not wisdom any more than cloth is clothes.

—French.

How can a sparrow expect to be invited into the company of a peacock?

—Hans Andersen.

He that has a good harvest may be content with some thistles.

—Scottish.

72		73
calm	waist	debt	moan
palm	crumb	mourn	col umn

Find a silent letter in every word in Lessons 72 and 73.

74	75	76	77
ad mire	great ness	death	thank ful
ad mir ing	ab sent	at tempt	suc cess
grum ble	pres ent	half	suc ceed
grum bling	cow ard	halves	peo ple
lev el	thous and	be cause	thorn

E is omitted in admire and grumble when ing is added. What changes are made in the word half when we mean more than one half?

In admiring greatness we rise to its level.

He who killed a lion when absent, feared a mouse when present.

—French.

A coward dies a thousand deaths.

—German.

A bold attempt is half success.

—Danish.

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.

—Karr.

pal ace		hum ble		though		roam
	a mid		’mid		pleas ure

’Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.

—John Howard Payne.

Home is where love is.

80	81	82	83
wig wam	cup board	pi an o	cur tain
cab in	cham ber	book case	so fa
cas tle	par lor	al bum	vase
pan try	bed room	blot ter	Bi ble
clos et	bath room	car pet	quilt

84	85	86	87
ache	bus i ly	chi na	wipe
head ache	pleas ant	brit tle	fore noon
ly ing	qui et ly	warm	a pron
sur prise	quick ly	wash	tow el
lin en	daugh ters	soft	fin ish

When ly is added to busy, y is changed to i.

There are two s’s in surprise; one l in towel.

Look at ea in pleasant; o in apron; a in wash and warm.

Apron is pronounced a pern.

88		89
sauce	rib bon	va ca tion	be tween
sauc er	whis per	to geth er	scour
plen ty	bas in	grate ful	praise

MOTHER’S HELPERS

Mother has a headache this forenoon and is lying down. Her two daughters are working busily to give her a pleasant surprise.

“Work quietly and quickly, but carefully,” said Kate. “China is very brittle. I’ll wash the dishes in warm water. You wipe them with this soft linen towel. Between us we will soon finish.”

91	92	93	94
fam i ly	neph ew	neigh bor	mas ter
grand pa	cous in	vis it or	tax
grand ma	in fant	mem ber	ma chine
aunt	wo man	butch er	fur nace
un cle	wo men	gro cer	fu el

95	96	97	98
splen did	edge	ter ri ble	swept
might y	ledge	storm	slept
strength	wedge	ex plain	ten der
up root ed	pledge	in stead	slen der
straight	sledge	an swered	fen der

THE OAK AND THE REED

A mighty oak that had been uprooted by a terrible storm, lay on the bank of a river.

On the edge of the water grew a straight slender reed.

“What, are you still growing!” said the oak. “I was big and strong. You are little and weak.”

“I can explain,” answered the reed. “You fought the storm as it swept by. So you were uprooted for all your splendid strength. Instead of fighting the storm, I bent to it, and I still stand.”

—Æsop.

Rewrite the above fable, using other words in place of those that are italicized.

100

a gainst

de pends

worth

ton

al ways

A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.—

Garfield.

Luck is always against the man who depends upon it.

101

li ar

crip ple

truth

be lieve

pun ish ment

A liar is sooner caught than a cripple.

—Portuguese.

A liar’s punishment is in not being believed when he speaks the truth.

102

mod est

mod est y

sel dom

jew el

jew el ry

much

A modest dog seldom grows fat.

—Danish.

Modesty is a jewel, but one may wear too much jewelry.

Do noble things, not dream them, all day long.

—Kingsley.

103	104	105	106
jour ney	ves sel	en gine	sta ble
ca noe	car go	rail road	sta tion
fer ry	cam el	rail way	de pot
mo tor	bi cy cle	trol ley	ga rage
har bor	au to mo bile	bal loon	pier

107

choice		sort		mount
choose		pre fer		trip

108

far ther		pub lic		rath er		de sire
driv en		push		vis it		gone

What sort of travel do you prefer? You may have your choice. Mount your bicycle for a short trip. If you desire to go farther, there is the automobile or the public trolley. Or would you rather go by the railroad?

Travel Words		Geography Words
109	110	111	112
a gent	rap id	vil lage	globe
tick et	mo tion	cit ies	sphere
de part	cap tain	cap i tal	ho ri zon
de lay	of fi cer	con ti nent	lo cate
ho tel	con duct or	val ley	north ern

Look at tion in motion, the second o in conductor, ph in sphere, the ending in cities. There are several words on this page that you will misspell if you are not careful to pronounce them correctly.

113

wel come

serv ant

hun ger

Welcome is the best dish on the table.

—Scottish.

The master of the house is the servant of the guest.

—Persian.

Hunger is the best sauce.

114	115	116	117
show er y	dawn	troop er	slope
pow er	un less	hoop	rope
warn	yel low	loop	scope
in vade	with in	stoop	hope
bu gle	with out	pa rade	hope ful
held	their	pa rad ed	hop ing

118

THE DANDELIONS

Upon a showery night and still,

Without a sound of warning,

A trooper band surprised the hill,

And held it in the morning.

We were not waked by bugle-note,

No cheer our dreams invaded,

And yet at dawn their yellow coats

On the green slopes paraded.

—Helen Gray Cone.

119	120	121	122
sor ry	judge	for give ness	angry
sor row	judg ing	pa tient	dis tress
bor row	tongue	dis be lieve	dis tressed
e vil	par don	re port	tale-bearer
con duct	cheer ful	cour age	at ten tion

Look thoughtfully at tongue and patient; the o in courage and the tion in attention.

123

There are ten things for which no one has ever yet been sorry. These are—for doing good to all; for speaking evil of none; for hearing before judging; for thinking before speaking; for holding an angry tongue; for being kind to the distressed; for asking pardon for all wrongs; for being patient towards everybody; for stopping the ears to a tale-bearer; for disbelieving most of the ill reports.

124	125	126	127
Frank lin	per haps	sprout	wil low
wharf	no tice	cheap	bil low
Hol land	sin gle	leap	pil low
else	tu lip	heap	U ni ted
short	bulb	reap	States
near ly	close	bas ket	morn ing

128

While Franklin was walking on a wharf one morning, he saw some cheap willow baskets in which some tulip bulbs had been brought from Holland. Perhaps no one else would have noticed the single short green sprout on one of the willows. Franklin cut it off carefully and planted it. From this one sprout have grown most of the basket willows in the United States.