McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader

McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader is a revised edition. The preface says the book has been considerably enlarged, but the new pieces have been added or substituted only after the most careful consideration. The preface names as its object to obtain as wide a range of leading authors as possible, to present the best specimens of style, to insure interest in the subjects, and to impart valuable information.

A rule on inflection says that questions which can not be answered by yes or no, together with their answers, generally require the falling inflection. Another rule says that where a pause is rendered proper by the meaning, and the sense is incomplete, the rising inflection is generally required. One speaker says he is a machinist who made a discovery that nobody believed in, spent all his money trying to bring it out, and mortgaged his home. The notes explain phrases such as Funeral baked meats, which has reference to the ancient custom of funeral feasts, and Season your admiration, glossed as restrain your wonder.