St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-05-19
ST. CHARLES CITY. FLOYD COUNTY, IOWA.

unmistakablc tone Of vCxatiDn, vol
cannot he serious in wishing to lea
AI%crnon say the multiplication table
You had as well ask him to review hi.
primer, or say a spelling lesson
| never was more serious in my
life" said my uncle, laughing good
humorcdly, and think a spelling les
son might be very well, too, in it,
way. TO spell and cipher well, j,
much more necessary than 10 spou
pages of Shakespeare and Milton, es
pcciaIIy for boy of Algcrnon's age
rcddcr, as my uncle went on) and tn,
easier the task, the less objection ~
gcrnon ought to feel at complying
with my request
These last words were said in {
tone and manner which seemed to al
NIT of no refusal on my part, an,
James and | accordingly began to rc
peat the multiplication table. | blum
dcrcd through it, making repeated
mistakes, while James said it Will
perfect accuracy. Thcpoor boy shove,
much more surprise than cxultation
to find that he knew anything bette
than brother Al gcruon, and was mod
cstly retiring, when my uncle callcC
him back, saying, " am glad, James
you are 50 well acquainted with You
multiplication table it is a good sign
and think you will make u usclu
man aye, and good scholar, too,
hope. Remember, always, when W.
build II house, we must begin at til,
foundation
There was a strange mixture 0
pleasure and timidity in James hon
est eye, as he looked from my uncle
to my mother: while he was gratilict
by my unclc's kind tone, and words 0
praise, he felt as if he had committc,
an offence against my mother by hay
ing been the innocent instrument o
my modification, in prcsumlng to sur
pass me in anything.
Really, brother" said my mother
"you lay the most astonishing stress
upon knowledge Of the multiplied
tion table, which Al"crnon can &C
quirc at any time, in five minutes.
hope James is not silly enough to bt
pulled up Ivy such a triumph as that
II am not puD'oI u9, Mamma
only said the multiplication table be
cause Uncle Godfrey told me to do so
and | thought you wouldn't like it, i
| disubcycd him :" this was said will
a dcprccatiug air which increased N,
mothers vcXation tentold.
What puts it into your silly littl'
head that | didn't like you to say it
| only do not wish you to think tha
you have performed any remarkable
exploit"
My uncle had the good sense t.
abstain from making any direct attacl
upon my mother; but he gave Jane,
smile, and nod of approval, as he
withdrew silently from the room, ,whicl
made the boys face crimson with
flush of pleasure and modcsty. Their
was something cXquisitcIy provokin;
i'll what thought my uncIc's satisfa,
tion at my discontinue, so rcmainc
some minutes longer in the room, t
display my complete indifference a
to his opinion, then withdrew, my in
diguation raised to boiling point
just as | was closing the door, m.
handkerchief dropped, and as | stor
ped to pick it up, | heard my uncl
say You arc running that boy
Louisa. Don't be vcXcd now, but tax
warning in time. You are doing you
best to make him high-hycr tn
sure way to make an unsuccessful an
an unhappy man"
"You don't appreciate, You don
und Algcrnon, brothcr,' IN.
mother replied, in tone of surprise
vcxation. "Nature has her jewels a
we'll as her pebbles I; her roses as we
as her cabba9cs her children gifte
with the wings Of genius TO soar aloit
as we'll as her grovcIlcrs, who ar
destined never to rise above the cartl
but to pIod along in the beaten path
Of life. You prefer the ploddcrs, ,whilc
| confess, | admire the soarcrs, tn
high-tlycrs, if you choose to call then
So"
Mercy upon us, Louisa what
host Of SMILES. 1t is said by thos
who have had the curiosity to max
the calculation, that a woman can u
ter three words while man can Sa
one. | am inclined to think it ough
to be ten to one. But putting asld
| Jewels, roses, and wings ot genius
and what not, let us come to the pla'
facts of the case. Here you hay
two sons possessing equal claims t
your affection, (Aigernoh, pcEnap'
rather the prlShter OF tIe tWo,] @ po'
"1 them, no Doubt caP"pic oA ihaN III
useful ana lnteIii9ent men !,
tSeiu', intelligent men my hiotl
er repeated, ina tone oi m'i'Sied VeA;
ton and contempt, Inns may q
ior James, but shou'u DC Greati
mortlhed II AlgerdohS "i'hS III III
reached no higher th3n Sucil d me"'0''
ambition as this would DC.
Genius, my dear sister, is so yer
rare, that | think it improbable tha
.Agernon possesses it, at least, | hav
| 49,. ,,,,, a. -, ,,.i l,r., tHot hn jnas