"Hoofs, Mr. Newcome; that is the New York pronunciation of the word."

"I care nothing for York pronunciation, which everybody knows is Dutch and
full of corruptions. You'll never do anything worth speaking of in this
colony, Corny, until you pay more attention to your schools."

"I do not know what you call attention, Mr. Jason, unless we have paid it
already. Here, I have the caption, or rather preamble of a law, on that
very subject, that I copied out of the statute-book on purpose to show you,
and which I will now read in order to prove to you how things really stand
in the colony."

"Read away," rejoined Jason, with an air of sufficient disdain.

Read I did, and in the following sententious and comprehensive language,
viz:--"Whereas the youth of this colony are found, by manifold experience,
to be not inferior in their natural geniuses to the youth of any other
country in the world, therefore be it enacted, &c." [8]

"There, sir," I said in exultation, "you have chapter and verse for the
true character of the rising generation in the colony of New York."

"And what does that preamble lead to?" demanded Jason, a little staggered
at finding the equality of our New York intellects established so clearly
by legislative enactment.

"It is the preamble to an act establishing the free schools of New York, in
which the learned languages have now been taught these twenty years; and
you will please to remember that another law has not long been passed
establishing a college in town."