+P.--A spoken word is the sign of an idea+.

+T+.--I will call up the same idea in another way. I will _write_ three
_letters_ and unite them thus: _bud_. What do you see?

+P+.--I see the word _bud_.

+T+.--If we call the other word _bud_ a _spoken_ word, what shall we call
this?

+P+.--This is a _written_ word.

+T+.--If they stand for the same idea, how do they differ?

+P+.--I _see_ this, and I _heard_ that.

+T+.--You will observe that we have called attention to _four_ different
things; viz., the +real bud+; your _mental picture_ of the bud, which we
have called an +idea+; and the +two words+, which we have called signs of
this idea, the one addressed to the ear, and the other to the eye.

If the pupil be brought to see these distinctions, it may aid him to
observe more closely and express himself more clearly.




LESSON 2.