The Revised McGuffey's Eclectic Readers

McGuffey's Eclectic Readers Primer through the Sixth Reader 7 Volumes

It's not often that I even remember that The Pleasant Times is an affiliate with Christianbook.com-- but I had to just let my readers know that the delightful McGuffey's books I grew up with are now being reprinted and sold at CBD! A set of slip-cased hardcover McGuffey's Eclectic Readers are just the thing I need to replace the softcover ones I had, which are falling to pieces from over-use (they're teaching a second generation now!). This is going on my book order list!

By the way, there are differences between the revised readers and the originals (obviously). There are still passages from the Bible in the revised set, though not as frequent as in the originals. Most of the stories are different though there are some brought over from the original set. Also the illustrations in the revised are much better than the old woodcuts in the originals, and capture the child's imagination much better. I have used both in teaching my children at home; personally I prefer the revised because of the illustrations and engaging stories, but he originals are worth studying as well!

Ever wonder why you live in a County?

When studying history, we often come across interesting bits that demand that we go on a rabbit trail. We enjoy discovering the origins of words, concepts and objects that we are still familiar with today. While studying about the Franks in the 6th century, we gained insight into why we, in the 21st Century USA, live in a "county!"

"The provincial, as distinguished from the central, government of the Frankish realm was exercised by officers who bore the names of Count and Duke (comes, dux, Graf, Herzog). The whole realm was divided into countships. In the purely Teutonic half the unit was the old tribal district, which the The counts Roman called Pagus and the Frank Gau. A count was appointed to each of these tribal units. In the Romano-Gallic half of the kingdom the countship was composed of the civitas, or city with its dependent district, which had survived from the times of the Western Empire, and often represented the original Celtic tribe. The count was both a military and civil official. He administered justice, led the armed levy of his district, and saw to the raising of taxes.

"Several countships were often united and placed under a single official of higher rank, the dux, when the counts had to follow and obey. These unions of countships were most common on the frontier, where a strong and united defence against foreign enemies would be needed, and where it would have been unsafe to leave the charge of the border to half a dozen counts, who might or might not co-operate willingly with each other. In Provence and Burgundy the dux was also known by the Roman title of Patrician...

"The provincial governor, count or duke, was assisted by a deputy, or vicarius, whom he nominated to fill his place during his absence at the court or the wars, or while he Local was engaged in some specially absorbing task at Government, home. The minor administration of the countship was carried out by centenarii, or hundred-men, called also on occasion tribuni. The countship was divided into hundreds, and over each of these there presided a hundred-man, who was appointed by the count to act as a police magistrate in time of peace, and to head the men of his district in time of war. Petty law cases came before him, but at stated periods the count went round all the hundreds in his countship, and administered justice at a public assembly of the inhabitants." - The Dark Ages, Charles Oman, Page 124

From the Online Etymology Dictionary:

c.1300, from Anglo-French counte, from Late Latin comitatus "jurisdiction of a count," from Latin comes (see count (n.)); replaced Old English scir "shire."

We also spotted a clue to where we get the word "vicarious." 

Loving Old Houses

When I saw the post on this blog, it brought back a lot of memories.

A long time ago, and far away, before digital cameras, I lived in a little old house out in the country. It was probably a slapped-together old farm house, and probably not exceptional from many little old farm houses built in the Victorian era and added to in every decade since. But it was a new experience to me, who had only lived in modern city houses, and I relished every antique detail of the place.

I remember very fondly the paneled doors-- each one was different from the other, the doorknobs, the old-fashioned key that locked them, the chimney-hole cover with the field of wheat painted on it, the pantry with the floor boards made out of old fruit boxes with the labels still on them, the old screen door with the rusty spring that had such a satisfying slam (not for my parents, I'm sure!). I loved every bit of that old house. I thought it was so neat that the weighted windows had real panes (that were loose and popped out sometimes!), that the floor boards were warped under the 70's carpet (I was sure there was a beautiful wood floor under there), that all the doors had trim inside and out (even in the closets), and that the outlet plates (probably from the '50s?) had embossed wreaths around them. The glassed-in back porch had an old rusty sink for washing garden produce in it, the old white porcelain sink in the kitchen had molded-in drainboards on each side.

There was an old brick well out front, with a board on top of it so no one would fall in. There was a brick walkway with "1900" stamped on the bricks. I unearthed another walkway around the side of the house when I was trying to plant a garden. The old gate to the pond had a post leaning over, and the gate was all gray and crooked, but it was charming.

Ah, me. If I had only had a decent camera in those days! I'm not sure it would have occurred to me to take pictures of the door knobs and bricks and details, though, since back then you had to buy film and pay to have it developed. With only 36 blurry or grainy photo opportunities in a cheap kiddie camera, usually I did not think of taking pictures of hardware. A blog sure changes the subjects of your photos!

In the above link, please pay attention to the inside of the hinges. I toured an old Victorian house a few years ago, and noticed that the inside of the hinges were intricately etched (even more than the ones in the link). Can you imagine a time, when someone would care about what the inside of a hinge looked like? Does that not go along with William Morris' oft-quoted "golden rule?"

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

Why not have both?

[the house below is not my old house, but it sure is similar]

Rural Home with a...

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Beautiful Brahms Intermezzo