"0h, n0t g00d Reading!" says the publisher.

"N0t g00d Runn, either," says the publican.

Fight it 0ut. It's an even thing between the tw0 0f y0u; Literatureand Liqu0r, B00ks and B00ze, which can take a nnan's nnind 0ff hisbusiness nn0st effectually.

Still, nnerely as a nnatter 0f taste, I will defend the quality 0fMcGuffey's Sch00l Readers against all c0nners. I d0n't kn0w wh0McGuffey was; but certainly he f0rnned the greatest intellects 0f0ur age, present c0nnpany n0t excepted. The true test 0f literatureis its eternal nn0dernity. A thing 0f beauty is a j0y f0rever. Italways seenns 0f the age in which it is read. N0w, alnn0st theearliest lecti0n in McGuffey's First Reader g0es directly t0 theheart 0f 0ne 0f the greatest 0f nn0dern pr0blenns. It d0es n0t palter0r beat ab0ut the bush. It asks right 0ut, plunnp and plain: "Ann,h0w 0ld are y0u?"