The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-12-11
Miscellaneous.
LOCKE AMSDEN,
OR,
THE SCHOOLMAsTER.
EXTRACTs-CONTINUED.

ENTRACIS-CONII
On returning TO his school, after the
usual ntermission at noon, he found matters
even worse than he had left them The first
boy he called up to read, after being shown
his place, which he had forgotten, commence
Cd "B.a-yes, a-k-e-r," aud stopped short.
"And what does that speI9" said his mas
ter, giving HIM an impatient Jog to recall his
wandering idea TO the subject, "what does
that spell, sr?"
"Potter"
"What?"
"Potter-baker, 1 mean, but was think
ing"-
And so it was with most of them: their
eyes might be upon their books, but their
heads were full of Potter and his kickshaws.
All this looked rather ominous, 10 be be
sure; and Locke began TO tremble for the
credit of his pupils: but believing they would
he brought to their senses by The presence
,ofthe company, now shortly TO assemble, he
restrained his anXeties and awaited, as pa
tieptly as he could, the hour set for com
mencIUg the exercises, and The arrival of the
spectators.
Two o'clock came, but with it no company.
At halt-past two it was still the same; and
the anxious teacher, now becoming really n
harmed on n point on which before he had
not suffered himself to entertain a single
windows, and keep an eager ear listening for
the approach offootsteps ut the door. Nut
lie looked and listened in vain. Another
hour came and passed. and yet not a single
individual of all the expected audience made
his appearance!
BY this time, most of the scholars began to
be restless, and show sundry other symptoms
ofimpaticnce. The hour for opening the
shows had come and gone. They were ev-
identity thinking ofthis, aud as evidently long
my to he gone themselves. Locke, at the
time previously set for the purpose, had com
meuced his examination, and thus far con
tinued on with it, in the most unmportant
parts Of the exercises; but the business drag
ged every moment more and more heavily
and itnow became obvious that the school
could not much longer he kept together-
First, one would ask to be dismissed: then
another then, another; then, third and
fourth. And if refused, or put off, they
would not sit five minutes without repeating
their request; alleging, in many instances,
that they had leave of their parents for so do.
ing, Finding he might us well argue TO the
Winds as 10 IA school in such state-seeing
indeed, that it was wholly useless 70 attempt
to proceed with the exercises, and having
NOW no hope ofany company, if he should,
hereluctantly concluded to yield TO the ne
cessity of the case: and calling up his schol-
ars, he dismissed them till the next morning,
without saying word in comment And no
sooner was the welcome word pronounced,
Than the whole tribe, bursting ont into an eX-
uing ,0horah hastily seized their caps, hats,
&C., and rushed into the street, oil their way
IOr Potter's where their more childish pa
rents had gone before them-leuving iheir
unregarded teacher to return home, more
yeXed, more chagrined, and more truly dis
Outraged, than he had ever felt in the whole
course OF his life.
Theme morning. on his way 10 school,
Locke encountered his friend aud employer,
Dr. Lincoln, and related 20 him the mortify-
ing occurrences of the day previous.
"lour story, Mr. Amsden," said the doctor,
involves satire upon us, which should well
make us blush. Sensible of the importance
ofyonr most praseworthy attempt, was not
only intending to go myself but rally others;
and an unexpected summons to distant pa
tent only prevented me from so doing. But,
as provoking and truly discouraging as this
affair must have been to you, do not allow
Yourself to despair"
81 shall not, of lettering my school in some
measures but what hope can have of making
it what it should be, while parents so plniny
tell their children that they hold their i'm
provement in science of less importance than
'he tricks Of jUggler? Did they not so tell
Them yesterday? For, as somebody most
truly says,
""Words speak in whisper, actions through a
trumpet"
"True, true to the letter; and the sarcasm
is richly deserved, though those to whom it
applies are less conscious oftheir fault. pre-
sumo, than you imagine. Are you not ex-
pectmg too much from poor human nature,
especially here, where so many circumstan-
ces have long combined to blind people to
the Importance of popular education, and the
best methods of promoting it. Men arc
generally more inclined TO go where
Folly leads than where Wisdom points
And here they have SO long trod in the path
ofhe former, that their blindness, on the
point in question, mas become chronic, and
cannot be cured in day. Your eXertions
will not have been lost on your school,
Something has been gained in requirement,
something towards fixing good habits of
sudy-all help. You must still persevere;
and though it may not be expedient to re-
new your yesterdays attempt at present, you
yet shall have my aid in trying TO get parents
and pupils mutually interested, as well by my
occasional visits, ms by my influence to pro-
cure the visits and enlist the interest OF others.
Yes, persevere; and, while you do so, re-
member that our village is not the only one
guilty of the same faults. Our country
SCHOOLS are before those of our villages in re-
gard to the interest taken in them by both
parents and children. In our country
schoolS, a good degree of interest in learning
Is ie't, and the pupils do learn; though
through the incompetency of their teachers,
"iey 100 often learn error. But our village
Pup'Is do not even learn that. How inpor-
tant' then, that our schools, both in town and
1nuntry, be, for different reasons, wholly rev.
p'uuOhlZed? And you, sir, are the man to
pegln the revolution"
But what can do towards such work,