1891 printing of 1891 copyrighted text. The author is credited with a Master of Arts and as the author of several texts. The preface (A Talk with Teachers) argues that language should be taught directly, systematically, and persistently to students in the primary grades and that a textbook is a necessary tool to supplement oral instruction. It argues against the teaching of spelling and punctuation, technical grammar, pictures for stories, and poetry. Furthermore, excellence in language is attained through observation and practice, the observing of models of writing and the composing of original compositions. It focuses on: the sentence and the paragraph, chief parts and their helpers, the thought and language of the exercises, common errors, letter-writing, and opportunities for work. The Schultz Archive copy is perhaps the complete text. It contains roughly the first 253 pages of the text.