Royal Readers III. [antikvár]

PREFACE. Good reading is more readily acquired by practice than by precept The more children read, they will read the more fluently, intelligently, and gracefully; and children can only be induced to read much by giving them suInjects to read about, in which they will naturally feel interested, and by so treating these subjects as to render them attractive. It is with special reference to this principle, both as regards matter and style, that the Reading-Books in this Series have been prepared. The lessons are designed so to interest young people as to induce them to read, not as task-work merely, but for the pleasure of the thing. They avoid as much as possible that dull solidity which so much tends to make school hours a weariness to the young. The numerous Illustrations afford an important aid in this respect. The interest of children is far more readily quickened through the eye than through the understanding; indeed it is through the eye that the understanding itself is most quickly reached. In adapting the lessons for the daily work of the school-room, special care has been bestowed upon the Word-lessons, so as to make them available for a great variety of exercises. I. The Meanings of the difficult words are given at the head of each lesson. The object here has been, not so much to give dictionary meanings, or synonyms, as to translate the words into the language of children. The definitions are in such a form as to admit of their being readily substituted in the lesson for the words explained. II. The Spelling-lessons are intended to be written in the ordinary MS. character ; but they are here given in the print-writing type used in the previous books of the Series, in order to continue to familiarize the eye of the pupil with the appearance words present when written. This wiU be found to be a decided help in learning to spell. "Writing as taught in'schools is apt to be too smaU and indistinct. The letters are either not completely formed, or they are formed by alternate broad and fine strokes, which makes the words difficult to read. The hand-writing which was generally practised in the early part and middle of the last century was far better than that now ir