“Ridiculous,” emphasizing the third syllable.
Walter spelled it correctly.
The next word the squire pronounced spet-tikle; but Walter, inferring that he meant spectacle, spelled that word.
Here the squire looked off the book, and gave out the word Philadelphia.
“P-h-i-l, phil, a, phila, d-e-l, del, philadel, p-h-i-a, Philadelphia.”
“Is that right, General Wall?” asked the squire.
“I believe so.”
“I’ve always spelled it p-h-y, phy,” said the squire.
“I happen to have a Philadelphia paper here,” said General Wall. “We’ll look at that.”
The result, of course, was to decide the matter in Walter’s favor.