ttle boy here at my right. Very good--very good! I
hold, then, in my hand, a peanut. And now who will tell me, what is
the peanut? A very simple question--who will answer? 'Something good
to eat,' says the little girl. Yes, 'something good to eat,' but would
it not be better to say simply that the peanut is an edible? I think
so, yes. The peanut, then, is--an edible--now, all together, an
edible!

"To what kingdom does the peanut belong? The animal, vegetable, or
mineral kingdom? A very easy question. Come, let us have prompt
answers. 'The animal kingdom,' does the little boy say? Oh, no! The
peanut does not belong to the animal kingdom! Surely the little boy
must be thinking of a larger object than the peanut--the elephant,
perhaps. To what kingdom, then, does the peanut belong? The
v-v-veg--'The vegetable kingdom,' says the bright-faced little girl on
the back seat. Ah! that is better. We find then that the peanut
belongs to the--what kingdom? The 'vegetable kingdom.' Very good, very
good!

"And now who will tell us of what the peanut is composed. Let us have
quick responses now. Time is fleeting! Of what is the peanut composed?
'The hull and the goody,' some one answers. Yes, 'the hull and the
goody' in vulgar parlance, but how much better it would be to say
simply, the shell and the kernel. Would not that sound better? Yes, I
thought you would agree with me there!

"And now who will tell me the color of the peanut! And be careful now!
for I shouldn't like to hear you make the very stupid blunder I once
heard a little boy make in reply to the same question. Would you like
to hear what color the stupid little boy said the peanut was? You
would, eh? Well, now, how many of you would like to hear what color
the stupid little boy said the peanut was? Come now, let's have an
expression. All who would like to hear what color the stupid little
boy said the peanut was, may hold up their right hands. Very good,
very good--there, that will do.

"Well, it was during a professional visit I was once called upon to
make to a neighboring city, where I was invited to address the
children of a free school--Hands down, now, little boy--founded for
the exclusive benefit of the little newsboys and bootblacks, who, it
seems, had not the means to defray the expenses of the commonest
educational accessories, and during an object lessen--identical with
the one before us now--for it is a favorite one of mine--I propounded
the question,