N.

"What is that?" asked his teacher.

"I-double n," he answered.

"What does i-double n spell?"

"Tavern," was his quick reply.

The teacher smiled, and said, "No; it spells INN. Now read it
again."

"I-double n--tavern," said he.

"I told you that it did not spell tavern, it spells INN. Now
pronounce it correctly."

"It _do_ spell tavern," said he.

The teacher was finally obliged to give it up, and let him enjoy his own
opinion. She probably called him obstinate, although there was nothing
of the kind about him, as we shall see. His mother took up the matter at
home, but failed to convince him that i-double n did not spell tavern.
It was not until some time after, that he changed his opinion on this
important subject.

That this incident was no evidence of obstinacy in Nat, but only of a
disposition to think "on his own hook," is evident from the following
circumstances. There was a picture of a public-house in his book against
the word INN, with the old-fashioned sign-post in front, on which a sign
was swinging. Near his father's, also, stood a public-house, which
everybody called a _tavern_, with a tall post and sign in front of it,
exactly like that in his book; and Nat said within himself, if Mr.
Morse's house (the landlord) is a tavern, then this is a tavern in my
book. He cared little how it was spelled; if it did not spell tavern,
"_it ought to_," he thought. Children believe what they _see_, more than
what they hear. What they lack in reason and judgment, they make up in
eyes. So Nat had seen the _tavern_ near his father's house, again and
again, and he had stopped to look at the sign in front of it a great
many times, and his eyes told him it was just like that in the book;
therefore it was his deliberate opinion that i-double n spelt tavern,
and he was not to be beaten out of an opinion that was based on such
clear evidence. It was a good sign in Nat. It is a characteristic of
nearly every person who lives to make a mark upon the world. It was true
of the three men, to whom we have just referred, Bowditch, Davy, and
Buxton. From their childhood they thought for themselves, so that when
they became men, they defended their opinions against imposing
opposition. True, a youth must not be too forward in advancing his
ideas, especially if they do not harmonize with those of older persons.
Self-esteem and self-confidence should be guarded against. Still, in
avoiding these evils, he is not obliged t