McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXII · Part 7: Lessons LXI-LXX: Brutus and Cassius to Hayne

68. The Quack (John Tobin)

Goal: Your student reads a comic scene in parts and explains the joke on the quack doctor.

⏱ About 40 minutes · 5 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, or the scan beside this guide
  • A notebook and pen
  • A dictionary

What's in the book

A scene from Tobin's comedy The Honeymoon: at an inn, the quack doctor Lampedo and the hostess plot to keep a guest in bed and run up his bill, not knowing he can hear them. A full-page illustration and notes follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read the book's notes on Pluto (god of the lower world) and Pandora.

    Before reading, find these words in the selection and look up any your student does not know: quack, phlebotomize, draught, fortnight.

  2. About the author

    The book says John Tobin (1770-1804) was an English lawyer born in Salisbury, who died aboard ship near Cork. He wrote several comedies; the most popular, The Honeymoon, published in 1805, is the source of this scene.

  3. Read it aloud

    Readers take the parts of Lampedo, the Hostess and Balthazar. Lampedo plans the treatments:

    To-morrow, we phlebotomize again;

    The scene ends:

    Home, sir! and be more honest.

    If I am not, I'll be more wise, at least.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat is Lampedo's scheme? Why is the guest's good health a problem for him?

    SayWhat happens when Balthazar comes out with his sword?

    SayWhat makes this scene funny: the words, the situation, or both?

    SayWhat is a "quack"? Are there quacks today?

  5. Tell it back

    Your student tells the scene as a short story.

Afterwards

Act it out with the family.

@teddyrookbook GitHub