The advertisements were truly philanthropic.  One of them bore the rousing headline:  “Money!  Money!!  Money!!!” The second announced that “Mr. P. R., formerly making only eighteen a week in a barber shop, writes to us that since taking our course he is now pulling down $5,000 as an Osteo-vitalic Physician;” and the third that “Miss J. L., recently a wrapper in a store, is now getting Ten Real Dollars a day teaching our Hindu System of Vibratory Breathing and Mental Control.”

Ted had collected fifty or sixty announcements, from annual reference-books, from Sunday School periodicals, fiction-magazines, and journals of discussion.  One benefactor implored, “Don’t be a Wallflower—­Be More Popular and Make More Money—­you Can Ukulele or Sing Yourself into Society!  By the secret principles of a Newly Discovered System of Music Teaching, any one—­man, lady or child—­can, without tiresome exercises, special training or long drawn out study, and without waste of time, money or energy, learn to play by note, piano, banjo, cornet, clarinet, saxophone, violin or drum, and learn sight-singing.”

The next, under the wistful appeal “Finger Print Detectives Wanted—­Big Incomes!” confided:  “You red-blooded men and women—­this is the profession you have been looking for.  There’s money in it, big money, and that rapid change of scene, that entrancing and compelling interest and fascination, which your active mind and adventurous spirit crave.  Think of being the chief figure and directing factor in solving strange mysteries and baffling crimes.  This wonderful profession brings you into contact with influential men on the basis of equality, and often calls upon you to travel everywhere, maybe to distant lands—­all expenses paid.  No special education required.”

“Oh, boy!  I guess that wins the fire-brick necklace!  Wouldn’t it be swell to travel everywhere and nab some famous crook!” whooped Ted.

“Well, I don’t think much of that.  Doggone likely to get hurt.  Still, that music-study stunt might be pretty fair, though.  There’s no reason why, if efficiency-experts put their minds to it the way they have to routing products in a factory, they couldn’t figure out some scheme so a person wouldn’t have to monkey with all this practising and exercises that you get in music.”  Babbitt was impressed, and he had a delightful parental feeling that they two, the men of the family, understood each other.

He listened to the notices of mail-box universities which taught Short-story Writing and Improving the Memory, Motion-picture-acting and Developing the Soul-power, Banking and Spanish, Chiropody and Photography, Electrical Engineering and Window-trimming, Poultry-raising and Chemistry.