The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1864-04-14
Original.
ron THE TRIBUNE.
KATIE HARRISON.
A scHooLDAY sKKTCH
ny WILLIAM LANAHAN, ESQ.

IN my own room, (my wife has gone To-
the Soldiers Aid Society," special
meeting nisht,) smoking my indispcn-
sable pipe, and ruminuting on the kiss
shc gave me before starting. My five
feet eight inches, Of well preserved In.
manity, is cncuscd in an deliberately got
ten up dressing gown of my wirc's mSn-
ulacturing aud invention. My feet are
made rOdiontly comfortable, by pair OF
nicely arranged slippers, enhanced aud
made beautiful by birds aud flowers
worked in red worstcd--a present from
my wife. ] am as comfortable ns I can
be in my wilc's temporary absence.
suppose, now the reader is ready To cx-
claim, "your wife must be uppcrmost in
your mind, judging from your talk
She is; and thereby hangs the tale |
have set out to relate. She is n model
wife. declare before the world. pcrfcc-
ton in man is patent impossibility: in
woman il is often observable. II is in
my wife.
How dcligh,fully the mind q, times re-.
ours TO the good old scenes of school.boy
days. can sec, in the cloud OF blue
smoke circling about my head, perfect
pyramid of boyish pleOsurcrs, rcapcd in
all the freshness and cxuberancc ofyouth.
When l went to school, was thick.
headed and, withal, a sheep; and often
my feelings were cut aud wounded
to an extent that parents aud elders
do not comprehend, by hearing my faith
cr, stern but clear minded man, tell my
mother, in their evening coffdcncos
when they supposed that and everybody
else was in bed, that was unaccouhtn.
bly, dumb and good .for.nothing. Aud
when ] have thought Of these remarks, 50
often repeated in different expressions,
but all tending to the same patent and
lamcntable fact, of my abstract stup idity
| have wished that the thin partition
through which this conversation could be
plainly heard, was stone.wall eight fec,
thick; and yet when heard my denr un.
gclic mother, invariably cxousing ami nc.
counting for my fnilIngs, with the urgu
mcnts that only mother can conjure up
where none perhaps cun be found, on
glad il was board partition, with many
cracks in il, for know thut hearing thcs,
expressions in my favor, urged me on il
the determination had made to deserv,
them, II il took every atom of brain in IN,
unfortunate Uranium.
/ attended school in the village of ]
-, where my father resided
school possessed of all the features OF III
clOss-tow. headed boys and tow-hcadc,
girls, carved benches, wooden water
pail, beech rod on two nails owe
the masters head and lantern jnwct
pedagoguc, while sundry holes wer,
in the window glass, and the roof o
the little log structure, lay full OF
stones, sticks and corn-cuGs. Anappcr.
dige,a little foreign perhaps to institu,
tions Of its class, was attached dcbnt.
ing society, where the big boys splurgcd
spluttcred and gcsticu!ntcd once a week
for the cdifcntion and delight Of the big
girls, who attended, perhaps, for that pur.
pose.
Each boy, of any prctcntions to smart
ness and good looks, had his GIRL II car
by that, he had fair some one, with
whom, by t0cit consent OF right of dis.
covery and appropriation, or some other
claim, he had an exclusive right to walk
home from school-some one TO watch
for behind the corner of IIickman's board
yard, there to meet her by the purest nc
cideDt in the world, and walk to school
some one TO admire aud be admired by
in fact the mnidens Of our school were
known less by their proper names, than
the significant nppclutions of Toms girl,
Bills girl, Jacks girl, etc.
Well, may laugh now when years
have rolled away, and glance back to
those days and pnsO in review again my
old brigades and regiments of troubles
and difficulties, but / can assure you it
was no laughing matter then.
In addition to my mental defects and
lailings, was not good looking, at least
! thought so and nobody ever contradict
ed me. had rot the curly brown hair
Of Tom West, nor the regular features
and white complexion Of Bill Harris, nor
the broad shoulders of Jack Travis,
though could whip them all, and had
done il. Ia short my only claim to SUI
periority among my school fellows, was
in my personal strength, and acknowl'
edged pluck in 6ght, and yet, although
] was greatly respected on this account,
II was no satisfaction 10 me. II was not
the prefermenl desired, and | wculd
gladly have traded strength for brains.--
For long time aller entered the school
! plodded away at my studies numbering
through my reading lessons. spelling out
ibe snmo big words that ! never could
recognize as former acquaintances, and
figuring away at my terrible enemy, ar.
ithmctic, without astonishing myselfwith
the least possible progress, or anybody
else. ] was always enjoying a perma-
nent situation, at the foot Of the spelling
class, never tripping the first boy above
me but once. and then l was SO frightcn-
ed at the blunder that l cried.
But W orst of all, had no girl. In the
games at recess, my time Of triumph
came, aud l took vindic,ive pleasure In
knocking the ball fifty yards farther than