Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1866-10-26
5flistelanaons SeIettions.
RecOlIectiOns of The District
SRHpnnl

| school.
We occasionally recall the spelling school,
which occurred in our day, when as
youthful and somewhat reluctant imbibe
at the simple fouuts of Elementary Knowl
edge, we trod the well-worn paths which
led to the ''district school," for, be j
known, our adolescent ideas received thei
first instructions in the target exercises il
country school house, although an edito
rial rival once insinuated that we had no
enjoyed the rudiments of common schoo
education; weak invention Of the enemy
| Well do We remember the turbulent Joy
of the slow seats" the audible approba-
tion of the ''high seats" and the delighted
litter Of the ''blg girls" when the master
announced, condescendingly, that he would
open the school house that evening for a
spelling school. The master brings his
'ferrir' down on the desk very hard to re.
store order, and then directing all the
larger scholars to "bring candles" the
school is dismissed in an uproar of glad
ness. .sH
Night comes and the school house is
brilliantly illuminated by means of the
tallow candles brought from home-some
of them surreptitiously obtained, which are
placed in the ends of long pine sticks pre-
pared for the purpose.
We can recall more than one occasion
when those primitive candle holders form
ed ready weapons in the hands of the be-
ligerently inclined, as when for instance,
scholars from rival district came to our
spelling school determined, if they couldn't
outspell us, to ''clean us out" We re-
member a particularly rough delegation
who used to come from the Baptist neigh
borhood," and who gave US good deal of
trouble They were equally at home with
the spelling book or a shellalah could take
a hand at spelling down" or shocking
down."
The mode adopted for spelling was to
"choose sides"-that is, two scholars, ap-
pointed by the master, chose alternately
until the scholars were divided into two
equal divisions, when the master ''put out
words" first to one SIDE then to the other,
record being kept of the misses. The
side missing the fewest words in given
number was declared the victor. 5iai Il
There used to be good deal of eau
cusing in the gentry" before the school
opened, between choosers and certain sus-
ceptible youths who were anxious to be
chosen next their sweet-hearts-fo boys
at district schools have sweet-hearts, as we
remember we'll, if that little rustic beauty
does not, whose black eyes pierced our ten
der heart through fustian jacket-who
promised to love us for an incredible length
Of time, but who afterwards married a
butcher in good circumstances.
"Spelling down" followed the exercise of
spelling in divisions, and the one who sue
ceeded in spelling down the whole school
was indeed hero. Candor compels US
to say that we never got to be hero. 1t
was our fate to stick on one Of those easy,
appearing words, ingeniously disguised,
we used 10 think, to entrap sclool-boys.
Our simple and confding nature never
dreamed that "t-i7z,z-i-cn6 wouldn't spell
phthisic, so We had to yield the floor.
Sometimes the spelling school wound up
with declamations and dialogues, which
invariably drew good houses. Proud and
admiriDg mothers were there, to view with
pride the performance of sucking Ciceros,
who were to flood the world with oratoricI
talent when they grew up, (only somehow
they didn't and sweathearts to reward
with smiles the histrionic efforts of their
boyish lovers. ,.--,- ,.s 49,, 4
The envious fellows from the Baptist
neighborhood proved troublesome ele-
ment at this period Of the entertainment
not unfrequently succeeding in kicking up
rows in the midst of the most thrilling and
passages in "Pizzarro." ,,l
What deelaimers we were. Sir John
Moore was hurried over the ramparts with
out drum being heard or funeral note
eNew England's dead, New England's
dead" were wildly represented lying on
every hill in Westmoreland; we came ''to
bury Ceser not to praise him." butchering
Shakespeare and burying Mark Antony
beyond resurrection; lisping orator of
eight summers, and good many falls,
makes a trembling request that you ''pity
the sorrows of poor old man."
sRhoderick Dhu" is one of the standard |
plays on these occasions, having enjoyed
successful run at the country school houses
in America. When the curtain, consist
ing of the girls shawls pinned together and
strung upon cord, is drawn, and Roder-
ick is discovered sleeping with both eyes
staring at the paper bullets on the ceiling)
a ten-pin might be heard to drop in any
part of the house.
When he is reused by the entrance Of
Fitz James, dressed in the uniform of the
Dogtown militia, with the sword of Bun
ker Hill strapped to his side, and after a
noisy defamation on both sides, he blows
a tin dinner horn, summoning four sleepy /
looking boys (''Clan Alpine's warriors
brave from behind the globe box, the
cheering is immense; but when Fitz James,
not at all frightened by the presence of