"Pa, what's phonetic spelling?"
"It's a way of spelling that I often got whipped for when I was your age."
"I say, Hodge, why do you always put 'dictated' on your letters? You don't keep a stenographer."
"No; but to tell the truth, old chap, my spelling's exceedingly rocky."
"And what did my little son learn about this morning?"
"Oh, a mouse. Miss Wilcox told us all about mouses."
"That's the boy! Now, how do you spell 'mouse'?"
It was then that Arthur gave promise of being an artful dodger. He paused meditatively for a moment, then said: