nventors, and the achievements of men of
letters and men of science, find place in these stories. All the
narratives are historical, or at least no stories have been told for
true that are deemed fictitious. Every means which the writer's
literary experience could suggest has been used to make the stories
engaging, in the hope that the interest of the narrative may prove a
sufficient spur to exertion on the part of the pupil, and that this
little book will make green and pleasant a pathway that has so often
been dry and laborious. It will surely serve to excite an early
interest in our national history by giving some of the great
personages of that history a place among the heroes that impress the
susceptible imagination of a child. It is thus that biographical and
historical incidents acquire something of the vitality of folk tales.

The illustrations that accompany the text have been planned with
special reference to the awakening of the child's attention. To keep
the mind alert and at its best is more than half the battle in
teaching. The publishers and the author of this little book believe
that in laying the foundation of a child's education the best work is
none too good.

The larger words have been divided by hyphens when a separation into
syllables is likely to help the learner. The use of the hyphen has
been regulated entirely with a view to its utility. After a word not
too difficult has been made familiar by its repeated occurrence, the
hyphens are omitted.

CONTENTS.

The First Governor in Boston
Marquette in Iowa
Indian Pictures
William Penn and the Indians
One Little Bag of Rice
The Story of a Wise Woman
Franklin his own Teacher
How Franklin found out Things
Franklin asks the Sunshine something
Franklin and the Kite
Franklin's Whistle
Too much for the Whistle
John Stark and the Indians
A Great Good Man
Putnam and the Wolf
Washington and his Hatchet
How Benny West learned to be a Painter
Washington's Christmas Gift
How Washington got out of a Trap
Washington's Last Battle
Marion's Tower
Clark and his Men
Daniel Boone and his Grapevine Swing
Daniel Boone's Daughter and her Friends
Decatur and the Pirates
Stories about Jefferson
A Long Journey
Captain Clark's Burning Glass
Quicksilver Bob
The First Steamboat
Washington Irving as a Boy
Don't give up the Ship
Grandfather's Rhyme
The Star-spangled Banner
How Audubon came to know about Birds
Audubon in the Wild Woods
Hu