MR. READING'S FINE SHOP.
"Well, Mr. Reading keeps a splendid assortment indeed!" exclaimed Dick,
looking round the immense shop with delight. "There are such lots of
fine papers here that the only difficulty will be which to choose!"
"I know what I will choose!" cried Matty; "that paper all covered with
pretty little fairies!"
"It is but a poor paper; I cannot in conscience recommend it for wear,"
said Mr. Reading, who at that instant made his appearance from an inner
part of the shop.
"Oh, but it is charming!" cried Matty; "I should care for no paper like
that."
"And I see what I like best!" exclaimed Dick; "there's the jolliest
paper that ever was made; don't you see it, up in that corner?--sets of
cannibals dancing round a fire!"
"That's the Robinson Crusoe pattern," observed Mr. Reading, "a great
favourite with young customers of mine."
"That's the paper for my money!" cried Dick; "I never saw anything more
to my mind!"
Nelly and Lubin then chose their patterns, the former thinking what
would please the taste of her mother, the latter what would cost least
of his Time money; for the lazy rogue grudged every hour that he gave to
reading.
A difficulty came into Nelly's mind. "We are to paper our rooms
ourselves," said she; "how can we do so, having nothing with which we
can fasten the paper on firmly?"
"I've the paste of Attention at your service," said Reading; "you will
find nothing more certain to stick on a paper than that. You shall carry
home a can of it to-day."
"And there is another thing which we must remember," observed Lubin, who
had a sensible and reflecting mind, though too lazy to make much use of
it; "as our walls are higher of course than ourselves, we must have a
ladder to lift us to the higher parts of them."
"I can supply that want also," cried the ready Mr. Reading, who seemed
to take pleasure in serving his young guests; "I've the magic ladder of
Spelling, and I am willing to let it on hire."
"Let's see this ladder," said Dick.
At a word from his master, Alphabet, the stout little dwarf, withdrew
into an inner part of the dwelling, and soon re-appeared, lugging with
him a ladder which was three times as long as himself.
"This is a very curious and ingenious ladder," remarked Mr. Reading,
"and quite worthy of your closest observation. You see that on the
_under_ part of each step is a sentence quite perfectly spelt; but this,
of course, cannot be seen when the ladder is placed by a wall. On the
upper part appears the same sentence, but with many a blunder in it to
try your powers of recollection. You must study the ladder well before
you attempt to mount it, and get the right spelling fixed in your mind,
so as to make no mistakes. Then, before putting your foot upon any step,
you must spell the sentence upon it; if you correct every blunder, the
wood will be firm as a rock; but if you leave a single fault unnoticed,
one little letter misplaced, the step will give way under your weight,
and land you flat on the floor."
"What a horrible ladder!" exclaimed Lubin; "it seems to have been
expressly contrived to break the neck of every one who is so silly as to
mount it."
"It only needs care in the using," replied polite Mr. Reading, unable to
suppress a quiet smile; while Alphabet, who thought it a _capital_ joke,
burst into a loud laugh. "I confess that the ladder of Spelling has
been the cause of many a tumble; but still it is an excellent
ladder,--the trees of which it was made grew beside our own stream of
Bother."
"Any one might have guessed that!" muttered Lubin, rubbing his head with
a disconsolate air, as if he already felt the bumps produced by the
ladder of Spelling.
"Let's see these funny sentences on the steps," said Dick, "that we are
forced to spell so finely. Such a comical ladder as this will make the
papering of our walls a very slow affair."
As my readers may be curious to know whether they could have mounted the
ladder without any step breaking beneath them, I will give them a few of
the sentences to correct at their leisure. I write the faulty words in
italics, though I hope that it is not needful to do so.
I _hav to ants, too unkels to_,
The kindest _wons_ I ever _new_.
_Except_ this _presint, nevew deer_,
I am _sow_ glad to _here your hear_.
_Gals sow shurts_, and boys _sew beens_,
Labour is _scene_ in various _seens_.
I _eat ate appels_ at a _fate_,
Then took my _leve_ and _warked_ home _strait_.
The winds they _blue_; the sky was _blew_;
Tom, as they dashed the _oshon threw_,
_Write overbored_ a _poney through_.
Our _sovrin rains_ in joy and _piece_;
The summer _reigns_ our crops _increese_;
The _weery_ horse from _rain_ release.
"I tell you what I'll do," said Lubin, after thoughtfully surveying the
ladder from the top to the bottom: "I'll get good-natured little Nelly
to stand below while I'm climbing the steps, and she shall call out to
me the right spelling, so that I shall be certain to make no blunder."
Polite Mr. Reading shook his head. "Each must master the difficulty for
himself," he replied; "not a single step would keep firm were there any
attempt at such prompting."
Poor Lubin heaved a sigh like a groan.
"Who's afraid!" exclaimed Dick; "the greater the difficulty the greater
the glory of mounting to the top of the ladder! Just roll up our papers,
Mr. Reading, we'll carry them under our arms. The girls will take charge
of the can of paste, and as for this remarkable ladder, Lubin and I will
contrive to bear it between us."
Thus loaded, the little party passed again through the iron grating.
Dick walked first, with a confident air, holding one end of the ladder
of Spelling, while Lubin, grumbling and sighing, supported the other
end. Nelly followed with the can of Attention, for Matty was too much
engaged in looking at and admiring her pretty fairy paper to think of
her lame little sister. Mr. Reading, the most polite and agreeable of
shopkeepers, bade them farewell with a bow; and little Alphabet shouted
after Lubin, "When you can manage to get to the top of the ladder of
Spelling without tumbling down on your nose, I'll give you free leave to
come back and jump over my head if you like it!"