Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-08-01
REurSIsoExcrs OF rnE sPrAkISo scHooL.-

es Of the dramas destinations made the three
months winter schooling endurable, and
formed an oasis in schOolboy life, which is
apt to be desert-like and dull despite the
rainbow tints in which after-life is fond Of
painting it, and the plaintive vail of doelin-
ing years" Would were boy again. -
The "Old masters whom we knew, and un-
der whose froWn our juyeneseent ideas first
Practicod the target exercise and learned to
shoot, looked with little favor on the Speak
ing School, for the tendency of it was to di-
vert the mind from the charms Of figures, the
delights Of geography and the ecstacies of
parsing, fixing it upon those light and triv-
ial accomplishments which answered very
well for the ancient Greeks to exhibit on a
cart in the streets of Thespis, but which, in
their view, were not worthy of much alton
tiOn from the youth of the present age.
In an indulgent moment, however, the
master would give his gracious permission to
have 4 Speaking School, and then during
the time intervening, " The Public Speaker"
and the book of School Dialogues " would
take the place of standard works for schools.
There would be rehearsals in the morning,
rehearsals at noon and rehearsals at night
Some embryo Cicero gives periodic frights to
his fathers cattle by denouncing CataIine to
the COW he is milking in the barn yard and
as young Mark Antony bursts into the house
after school, yelling at the top of his voice,
" come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.,
his nervous mother is frightened half out of
her wits, the. first impression being that he
had come to murder Caesar or somebody else.
The body Of Sir John More is hurried Ger
the ramparts fifty times a day, without a
drum being heard or a funeral note, at sixty
or ninety days. The modern Tell practices
shooting apples of a cabbage head in the
garden, and the representatives Of Rhoderick
Dhu and bold Fitz James engage in mimic
battle with swords of lath at every intermis-
sion. The neighborhood is ransacked for
old uniforms, knee breeehes, cooked hats,
swords, muskets, wigs, horse pistols, false
Whiskers, and other items of theatrical ward
robe.
When the expected night arrived the school
house would be brilliantly Illuminated with
tallOR candles( brought by the scholars) placed
in the ends of upright sticks, which were
about four feet high. We can remember more
than one occasion when those rude candle
holders formed ready weapons in the hands
of belligerents, when the persistent attempts
of boys from rival district to destroy the
effect of the most startling passages in "Pi-
Earro" or William Tell" by rude noises,
provoked our fellows into a row, and row
being commenced the honor of School District
No. - must be maintained and the trouble
some element elected. This was usually ae-
cOmplished, but it sometimes cost many
broken heads and bloody noses. We once
saw othsllO, after fatally stabbing himself
four times with a corn-cutter, defer his ex-
piring long enough to thrash a big fellow
from the Select School who had attempt |
ed to harrsw the last moments of dying man
by making mouths at him. This done he re-
turned to the stage and eonsummated his dis
solution amid tremendous applause, in which
Desdemona, who had been dead some fifteen
minutes, came too and Joined with unexpeet-
ed TigOr.
School boys in learning their parts in dia-
lOgues sometimes commit to memory stage
directions and all, which sounds ludicrous
enough when repeated. We remember a case
in point. In an imaginary dialogue between
Richard III and one of his queens, the king
enters with vial Of poison which he wishes
her to take, and in tone of great excitement
I'd have thee die, minion; I'd 1
have thee die" Between the first and second
eIelamatiOns, in the dialogue book, are the
words " more calmly" in parenthesis, being
direction to the speaker to pronounce the
latter in q cslmer tone of voice than the for
ner. A lad who took the part of Richard
to the queen at the height of his
voice: "I'd have thee die minion more calm
~ I'd have thee dieI'' She was dying as
f camly" as she could.
The principal play on one occasion which
We recall, was Roderick Dhu. The curtain,
which consisted of the big girls" shawls,
pinned together and strung upon a cord, was
to fall at the point where the bold Roderick
fell dead, pierced by the sword of {" Scot
-and's King" The two small boys whose
1uty it was to draw the curtain, were so en-
TraPt in the terrific combat before them that
they forgot their duty and stood watching
the PrOstrste outlaw as he lay upon his back,
staring at the paper bullets on the ceiling
After few moments had intervened, Rod
sriek, suPPosing that the curtain had been
drawn, proceeded to get upon lis feet Dis
'overing his mistake, he went dead " again,
and in hOarse whisper, which was heard
distinctly by every one in the house, ex-
in thunder don't you draw
them curtingsP The effect upon the audi
ence was immense.