McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXXV · Part 8: Dickens, Irving and poems of the heart
91. The Best Kind of Revenge
Goal: Your child tells how William Grant "revenged" himself on the man who insulted his firm, and why it was the best kind.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook or lined paper and a pencil
What's in the book
A story about the firm of Grant Brothers. A warehouseman in Manchester, England, publishes a mean pamphlet about them; later he goes bankrupt and needs their signature to trade again. William Grant signs it, forgives him and helps his family. Definitions and a note on business papers follow.
The lesson, step by step
About the story
The book gives no author for this story. Read the Note at the end only if your child is curious: it explains old business papers called drafts and acceptances, which are not needed to follow the story.
Words and meanings
The words and meanings are printed at the end of the lesson. Read a few together before the reading, so they don't trip your child up:
Scurrilous, low, mean.
Libeler, one who defames another maliciously by a writing, etc.
Audacity, bold impudence.
Delinquent, an offender.
Your child reads each meaning aloud, then uses the word in a sentence of their own.
Read aloud
Your child reads the story aloud. At the start, William Grant says the man "would live to repent" what he had done. Listen for how that saying comes true. Near the end:
Keep up your spirits, set to work like a man, and you will raise your head among us yet.
Talk about it
SayWhy did the man need William Grant's signature? What did he expect Grant to do?
SayWhat did Grant mean when he said the man "would live to repent"? How did it come true?
SayWhy is this called "the best kind of revenge"? Is it really revenge at all?
Tell it back
Close the book.
SayTell me the story from the pamphlet to the ten-pound note.
Older children can write their narration in a short paragraph instead. Don't correct while they talk; just listen.
Copywork
Your child copies:
Keep up your spirits, set to work like a man, and you will raise your head among us yet.
Optional writing
Your child writes about a time someone was kind to them when they didn't deserve it, or a time they could return good for evil.