“I did not know that before,” said Lucy.
“Then I should like to have you take pains to remember it,” said her father.
“I don’t think I can remember such a long word,” said Lucy.
“The way to fix it in your mind,” said her father, “is to repeat it a great number of times. Say orthography.”
So Lucy repeated the word after her father.
“Now repeat it ten times,” said her father, “and count by means of your fingers.”
So Lucy repeated the word orthography ten times, touching the thumb and fingers of her left hand in succession as she did so, and then the thumb and fingers of her right hand. By doing this, she rendered the sound of the word somewhat familiar, and also accustomed herself to pronounce it.
“Now,” said her father, “go out and find Royal, and tell him all I have told you about windows; and also tell him that orthography means spelling. That will help you remember the whole lesson.”
“Is that a lesson?” said Lucy.
“Yes,” said her father, “it is a lesson; and it will be quite a good lesson for you, I hope. It will teach you to observe particularly what you see; and to-morrow morning I will give you the sequel to it.”