"Yes, but Mr. Jimmy, how is a child's spelling-book to be made any
plainer?"

"Why, sir, by clear explifications of the words in one column, by
exemplifying illustrations in the other."

"I do not understand you, Mr. Jimmy, give me a specimen--"

"Sir?"

"An example--"

"To be sure--here's a spes-a-example; you see, for instance, I put in
the spelling-column, C-r-e-a-m, _cream_, and here in the explification
column, I put the exemplifying illustration--_Unctious part of milk!_"

We had asked, at our first interview, if our candidate was an
algebraist, and his reply was _negative_; but, "he allowed he could
'_qualify_' by the time of election, as he was powerful good at figures,
and had cyphered clean through every arithmetic he had ever seen, the
rule of promiscuous questions and all!" Hence, some weeks after, as I
was passing his door, on my way to a squirrel hunt, with a party of
friends, Mr. Jimmy, hurrying out with a slate in his hand, begged me to
stop a moment, and thus addressed me:

"Well, Mr. Carlton, this algebra is a most powerful thing--ain't it?"

"Indeed it is, Mr. Jimmy--have you been looking into it?"