Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-04-09
ORIGINAL PAPERS,


TALE,
Dedicated to he " soc1AL CIRCLE" in general,
and to "MArrIE MAY" IN particular.
BY "RAvENswooD."
Once upon time, there sojourned in
tho famous county Of K; poor
schoolmaster by tue name Of Hans Van
Huukcr. As the name indicates, he was
Of Dutch descent His parents were poor,
honest and respectable; and by dint of
hard labor and perseverance had succeeded |
in bcstowing on their only son, common |
education wherewith to begin the duties of
life on his own account. When he came
10 a suitable age, in pu suance to the wish
es Of his father, Hans, one fine May morn
ing, shouldercd his knapsack, containing
all that he owned in the world, bid adieu
to his aged parents, and sauntered forth
from the paterual cottage to seek his for
tune in the great world In addition to
his great inexperience theEeof Hans Van
Hunkcr unfortunately had many other Sc
rious difficulties to contend with, in ma
king an honorable deJm on the stage of
human affairs. His person was incurably
deformed. He had the use Of but one eye,
while the other squinted. His hair was
Of a fiery red, and radiated in every direc
ton as if he was necessarily charged with
electricity; his teeth were half decayed,
and bis lips unnatually large and thick (;
TO add to all these personal defects, he was
fatcd continually to carry an awful hump
on his back, and his nose turned up like
the sharp end of fsh-hook But as if to
compensate him for the miShaps de perSo-
aa, Nature had bestowed upon him many
good qualities. He had quick apprehen.
sion, very tenacious memory, and more
than all, was blessed with that happy trait
OF character so necessary to n schoolmaster,
good temper, which he never allowed to
be ruiiled at any event, incident or accident,
however contrary to his prepossessed no.
tions Of things, or however mortifying 10
his pride, or to his amor propri.
Hans Van llunker had always been con-
sidcred an apt scholar, aud in the opinion
Of the Parson and the Squire, (the oracles
of the neighborhood, of course,) he was
tho most efudte person in those parts, and
y bid fair to be n very learned man, both in
the Arts and Sciences. In fact, in such
high estimation was Hans held by the par
son, that the latter, on several occasions
limited to old Mr.. Hunker his hope tha
his son would turn his attention to divin
things, and thus benefit the world by hi
great talents. And have been informe,
that the parson even went so far as to pei
suade young Hans of the importance {
putting his extraordinary talents to a righ
use. These arguments, however, had n
effect upon Hans; but on the contrary
continued to act averse to the parson' az
vice. Poor soul -four deccnnariesI hay
passed away since then.)
Hans had succeeded in obtaining a seal
Is preliminary knowledge of the classics an
had managed to reach that grand ultim
tumin Mat athcmatcs- SUrgcyjng In tho
days of Ignorance, he was therefore col
slerod Os possessed ola complete education
aud had no need ofpuzzling his brains ar
further
When Hans Van bunker bid tearf
farewell to the home Of his childhood,
bent his steps first to the residence of Il
Squire, thea to the parsonage, for the pu
pose Of procuring letters Of recommend
tion, etc Both the Parson and the 'Squii
as has been already said, had m exalt
idea Of Hans merits, and their recomme
dations were therefore given with free goc
will, and exalted in a high degree, t
qualities of Hans Van Hunker, for t
post Of Schoolmastcr.
Hans object was the securing Of the S
uation Of schoolmastcr. Knapsack
back and cane in hand, he had travelled
day, but without success. He began
be dispirited, and folt almost willing
abandon the enterprise, at least for the pr
ent, anl retio to lis home. IIowev
Hans was not so constituted as to sink
easily under the weight of dispiritiDg
Gections which now literally cncompas
him on all sides. As he wound his v
through the dense, dismal, sombre fore
Of mingled oak and pine that bcset
path, he whistled the liveiest airs he CO
think Of, aud anon, with q rich voice
would sing some of the old Dutch sor
which are to this day so remarkable
popular. suppose he wished to drive
the melancholy thoughts that haun
him, like schoolboy who Whistles to k
up his courage as he pursues his homew
path in the du. twilight.
The genial May sun was slowly sink
behind the western forests, as the wea
Hans Van lIunker entered long
studded with tall poplars. At last an
posing eaIfce, a white painted villa, looI
up in the distance and sent thrill of pl
ure to his heart. as he thought of gettlu
shelter for the night; for dark G.
was rising in the western sky aud nur
Gus other symptoms of thunder st
manifested themselves In few min
the sun was totally obscured by the ri
cloud, which all at once grew densely /
and seemed to froth, frt,er and DO
like tho confused waters of fountain.
solitary clap of thunder from the apprC
ing cloud rang forth upon the mute
ming air; Hans gave a sudden start,
cd round, and then resumed his jou
with hastier steps and fur greater {
than he had yet employed during the
journey. As he advanced up the
the stiff outlines of the cottage grad
merged into light and shade, and
came nearer, he had better opport
of informing himself as to the real pr
sions of the stately house ahead, whi