"Because it showed that you did not know the difference between singular
and plural."

"But I do know the difference--singular means one thing, and plural
means more than one."

"Exactly, so now try to find out the blunder."

Charles repeated the words two or three times, "there goes two white
horses;" but he could not find out what was wrong, and after puzzling
for a long while, he was obliged to give it up, and his papa
said,--"Suppose you had been talking about those horses before you saw
them go by, should you have said, 'there they goes?'" "No," said Charles.

"I should have said--'there they go.'"

"And why should you have said so?"

"Because it is not right to say--'there they goes'; nobody says so, but
very ignorant people indeed; I heard the butcher's boy say so one day;
but then, you know, he is a poor ignorant boy and I dare say has never
learnt any thing."

"How did you know that he was an ignorant boy, Charles?"

"I knew it by his speaking wrong, papa."

"Then you see it was true what I told you that if you speak wrong,
people will directly think you are an ignorant person, as you thought
the butcher's boy."

"But I should never say, 'there they goes,'" said Charles, "I know
better than that."

"Ah, Charles," said his papa, "you must learn a little more grammar, and
then you will know that you made exactly the same blunder as the
butcher's boy, when you said, 'there _goes_ two white horses,' you
should have said, 'there _go_ two white horses.'"

"Should I? I did not know that," said Charles.

"Which shews how necessary it is, that you should learn grammar, my
boy, and then you will know that go is plural, and goes is singular, so
that if you are speaking of more than one horse, it is proper to say go,
because we say, 'they go;' but if you are speaking of only one, it is
proper to say goes, because we should say, 'he goes.'"

"Thank you, papa, I think I shall remember that, and I will not wish to
leave off grammar, for I see that geography would not teach me to speak
properly; and I should not like to be thought an ignorant man when I
grow up."

"I hope not, my dear, and I also hope there is no danger of such a
misfortune, for you have a great many years to learn in; and if you make
good use of them, you will know a great deal by the time you are
twenty."

"So I shall," said Charles, "I will learn as much as I can every day."

"A very good resolution," said his papa; "education is o