Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1866-01-05
SPELLING SCHOOLS.


- u u" IA 4--Las
: Have you forgotten them? When from
= all the regions about they are gathering
to the log school house, with It's huge
ire place yaTning like the main entrance
of AVernus. How the sleigh bells, big il
the middle of the string, and small by
degrees and beautifully less towards the
broad brass buckles, chimed in every di.
rectiOn long before njght-the gathering
of the class. There came one to school
- the Master give him capital NJ foI
he Is entitled to it-uaster and all buu-
died into one huge. red, double sleigh
strewn with an abundance of straw, and
tucked up like a Christmas pie with halt
n a score buffalo robes.
| There are half a dozen cutters, each
with young man and maiden, they two
and no more. And there again pair of
Jumpers, mounting Q great 0utlaudish
looking bin, heaped up, pressed down.
and running Over-Scripture measure
with a small collection cf humanity, pick
( ed up en- route from dozen homes, and
all as merry as kittens in a basket Of
/ wool.
And the bright eyes. ripe red lips that
One.caught glimpse of beneath those pink
! lined quilted hoods, and silvery laugh
| that escaped the mufflers and fur tippets
tthey wore then-Who does not remem ber2
| Who can ever forget them
The school house destined to be the
/ arena Of the conflict, has been swept and
garnished; bOughs of evergreen adorD
/ the smoked and battered walls. The pei
| lets Of chewed paper have all been swept
/ from the ceiling. and two pals Of water
/ have been brought from the spring. aad
| set on a bench IN the entry, with an i'm
memorial tin cup-a wise provision in
/ deed, for warm IS that spelling room
| The big boys have famed and raplen-
! ished the fire till the Old chimney fairly
1 jars with the roaring flames, and the
| sparks fly out from the top like a furnace,
an Orihame of the battle
! The two Masters " are there. the two
schools are there, and such a hum, and
such moving to and fro. viii they
swarm
/ The ferule comes down upon the desk
/ with emphasis. What the roll of the
drum Is to the armies, that " rule is to
this whispering, laughing young COM
pany.
The chaIlengers are on one side Of the
/ house, the challenged on the other Back
seats, middle seats, low, front seats, all are
filed. Some of the fathers aud grand
fathers, who could, no doubt, upon oc-
casiOn.
Shoulder the crutch,
And show how fields were won. -
occupy the bench of honor near the desk.
Now the preliminaries, the best speller
on each side is chosen. Susan Brown
Out comes a roupd-eyed little creature,
6lushing like peony. Such a little
thing
i" Moses Jones" Out comes Moses, an
awkward fellow, with a shock of red hair
shOckingly harvested-surroundin his
broad brow. The girls laugh at him, but
what he dosn't know In the Elementary,
isn't worth knowing.
Jane Murry " Out trips Jane, fut-
tering as bride, and takes her place next
to the caller. She's pretty girl, but
sorry speller Don you hear the whis-
pers around the hause2 Why, that's
Johns sweetheart John is the leader,
and battle lost with Jane by his side
would be sweeter than a victory won
without her.
And so they go calling names, " until
five or six champions stand forth to do
battle, and the contest is fairly begun
Down goes one after another, as words
of three syllables are followed by those Of
four and again by words of similar pro-
nunciation and diverse signifcatiOn until
Moses and Susan n remain.
The spelling book had been exhausted
yet there they stand. Dictionaries are
turned over, memories are Tansacked for
.swords of length AMI sound"
until by and by, Moses comes down like
tree, and Susan futters there still, a little
leaf ahoat, that the forest and the fall
had forgotten.
Polysyllables follow and by and by, Su-
san hCsitates, just a breath or two, and
twenty -c0gues are working their way
through the labyrinth of lettersin a twink
| ling. Little Susan sinks into the chink
left for her in the crowded seat, and there
is a lull in the battle. Then they all
stand in solid phalanx by schools, and
the struggle Is to spell each other down.
| And down they go like leaves in winter
weather, and the victory declared for our
| district, and the school is dismissed.
| Then come the hurrying and bundling,
| the whispering and glancing, and pairing
| off and tumbling in. There are hearts
| that futter and hearts that ache, - nit
| tens " that cannot be worn, and hopes
that are net returned. There Is jingling
among the bells at the door and one after
another of the sleighs dash up, receive
their Nesting freight aud are gone.
Our master covers the fire and
snuffs the candles-don't you remember
how he used to pinch the smoking wick
with his fore-fnger and thumb, and
thurst each helpless luminary headfrst
into the socket-and we wait for him.
The bells ring family in the woods,
over the hill, IN the valley. The school
house is dark and tenantless, and we alone
with the night.
Merry, care free company Some of
them are sorrowing, some are dead and
ell, we fear are changed SPELL All
the spell has come over that crowd OF
dreamers-over you, over US. VIII 1t
ever be dissolved? In the white radi-
ance of eternity.
WHEAT GA8IBLING.-Someo of the Chi
Icago speculators in the wheat market
have come to grief; the table of mortality
is large, and though no harm can be
wished to any individual, yet the public
have no general sympathy with the un-
fortunate.
No. spring wheat sold on Change here
on the 18th Of November, 81 ,45 and ,463
, On the first of December, it sold for %
Yesterday it opened at 81, ,16, and during
the day rallied to 81 %, and closed in the