Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1848-11-17
From the Nev England Offering.
A School Mistress First Day.

Enter and what have we herel Asmall
room bounded by four walls of rough logs,
badly chinked, with a floor whose wide inter.
stices look ominnus of lost slate pencils.
books and pens-to say nothing of our fool
ish apprehensiOns of snaky heads which
may peep up through the gaping boards -
a square aperture, where a window might be,
and three or four long, unplaned benches.-
On the highest of the latter is perched a lit
tie white-headed boy, whose unshod feet de-
pend from his wide, blue trousers, vainly
seeking a resting place on the floor below
A tall, ed-haired girl is opposite fim, and
with sundry sun.burnt lads and ~lasses, among
whom are interspersed some fair and intelli-
gent faces, the human furniture is complete.
No; here are the committee men, each with
a little black-eyed boy in his hand, COM TO
consult with us in the prosecution OF
our new occupation. All those committee
men! why do they com before we had made
acquaintance with that row Of sharp, eager
eyes, or got the hang Of the school house =
How can a tyro endure their criticism ! We
will elude it, and pass the time in jokingly
d%evising ways and means until our Mentors
must return to their ploughs.
They're gone, and our juvenile corps is
marshalled into something like acting order
tIOuSh H'NllllB d III w illt-HGdueu
boy to descend from his perch. He says
he'd a "heap rather set with the big fellers."
To the inquiry, What is your name z" he
replies, "Bub." This seeming to us an
ambiguous appellation, we appeal to the ur-
chin at his side. do you know this little
boys name ;"
al reckon IT'S Bub; amt it, Bnb 7" he
answers, with a frightened look. A voice
from the opposite bench solves The mystery.
" It's my cousin; his name is JedmeS we
jist call him Bnb, for short"
Now comes The muster Of reading books.
One has brought an English Reader an
other a National" and the golden tress-
ed " young lady, inc second volume Of a no.
vel. in which she " allows" she can learn 10
pronounce the hard words as we'll as in any
thing else. Such a power of books, and no
two alike. 1t is dismaying. At length we
commence operations by endeayoring 10 hear
the little, roguish-eyed Johnny say his let
tiers. Ills a novel task. but the memory of
our good dame, whose instructions enligbt-
ened our infancy, assists US.
Whats that letter Johnny?
"Dat's A., } reckon"
And thatl"
What! dat little felly down yonder p
OATS J, amt it ,"
OuI granny IS IN anger OF a capsl2e =
and, to increase its peril, a three year old
urchin, whose age will account for his strange
syntax, looks up, and with a very serious
face remarks, " Miss, l hope school will quit
commencing before it gets very long" A
sentiment with which we entirely sympa-
thize, when we have by a mental process de-
clded his meaning.
We proceed TO arrange tao larger pupils
into classes but what a task In geogra-
ply, Smith, Olney, Worcester and Mitchell,
each presents a world-estahlished claim. In
grammar, Murray, Smith and Kirkham, are
disjunctively imperative and absolute and
in arithmetic the multiplication of authors
overpowers us. In despair at ever bringing
order out of this chaos of science, we manage,
we know not how, until noon, when the hap
Ply children caper about in rejoicing freedom
among the dinner baskets.
ais them lngin rubbers 7" asks a girl, turn
ing The overshoes about as carefully as if they
were made of gold. "I'ye heered on 'emy
but ! never seen any before"
Lets go out and play" says another.
mo; pap and mother said ! should not go
out IN the sun to get the 0gur."