ning this son of yours. You are now removing him from my care; you
do wrong, but we will let that pass. Listen to me: there is but one good
school book in the world--the one I use in my seminary--Lilly's Latin
Grammar, in which your son has already made some progress. If you are
anxious for the success of your son in life, for the correctness of his
conduct and the soundness of his principles, keep him to Lilly's Grammar.
If you can by any means, either fair or foul, induce him to get by heart
Lilly's Latin Grammar, you may set your heart at rest with respect to
him; I, myself, will be his warrant. I never yet knew a boy that was
induced, either by fair means or foul, to learn Lilly's Latin Grammar by
heart, who did not turn out a man, provided he lived long enough."

My father, who did not understand the classical languages, received with
respect the advice of his old friend, and from that moment conceived the
highest opinion of Lilly's Latin Grammar. During three years I studied
Lilly's Latin Grammar under the tuition of various schoolmasters, for I
travelled with the regiment, and in every town in which we were stationed
I was invariably (God bless my father!) sent to the classical academy of
the place. It chanced, by good fortune, that in the generality of these
schools the grammar of Lilly was in use; when, however, that was not the
case, it made no difference in my educational course, my father always
stipulating with the masters that I should be daily examined in Lilly.
At the end of the three years I had the whole by heart; you had only to
repeat the first two or three words of any sentence in any part of the
book, and forthwith I would open cry, commencing without blundering and
hesitation, and continue till you were glad to beg me to leave off, with
many expressions of admiration at my proficiency in the Latin language.
Sometimes, however, to convince you how well I merited these encomiums, I
would follow you to the bottom of the stair, and even into the street,
repeating in a kind of sing-song measure the sonorous lines of the golden
schoolmaster. If I am here asked whether I understood anything of what I
had got by heart, I reply--"Never mind, I understand it all now, and
believe that no one ever yet got Lilly's Latin Grammar by heart when
young, who repented of the feat at a mature age."

And, when my father saw that I had accomplished my task, he opened his
mouth, and said, "Truly, this is more than