What’s in a Name, 178 The Five-Dollar Bill, 179 The Lark, 182 Origin of the names of the U.S., 183 Battle between a Rat and Crab, 184 Blue Beard and his Castle, 188 A Horse stung to death, “ The Flowers of Spring, “ Boisterous Preaching, “ Letter to Peter Parley, 189 Peter Parley’s answer, “ The Lily. _A Song_, 191 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by S. G. GOODRICH, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. MERRY’S MUSEUM. Vol. VII. 1844. No. 1. [Illustration: JANUARY.] Well――here we are again! The old year has passed away, and the new one has come. How rapidly the months have flown! It seems but a brief space since our last farewell to the old year,――and since we greeted you all with wishes of a happy new one. And yet, within that space, this great world on which we live has made its annual journey of three hundred millions of miles around the sun――and we have kept it company. The year 1843 has departed, and carried up to heaven its record of good and of evil! And we are now at the threshold of another year; we are about to begin a new race――to perform a new journey. The year 1844 is an untried region――an unknown country. What may be there in store for us, we cannot say. But let us start with cheerful hearts, with hopeful anticipations, and with a stock of good resolutions. It is the first day of January,――that cold and stormy month, which the ancients represented under the image of an old man, with a long beard,――such as appears at the head of this article. Boys and girls――I wish you all a happy new year! But what are mere wishes? They are idle breath――a mockery of words, unless the heart goes with them. And my heart, on the present occasion, does go with my words. I not only wish you a happy new year, my friends, but, so far as in me lies, I intend to make it a happy one for my readers. I have in store for them――not cake and candy――not sweetmeats and sugar-plums――but rhymes and riddles――fables and allegories――prose and poetry――lays and legends――fact and fancy――in short, a general assortment of such things as belong to a literary museum for young people. And although I profess to deal in matters that may amuse my friends, I have still a desire that, while they are entertained, they shall be instructed. The only way to be happy――really and truly happy――is to be wise; and wisdom comes through teaching――through education. I think I can make this very plain, if you will listen to me a few moments.