The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1871-05-12
8listeIIaneuns SeIettiuns.
THE FIGHT

At Dame Europa's School, Showing
How the German Boy Thrashed the
French Boy, and How the English
Boy Looked on.
An unknown writer has just pen
ned sharp and satirical hit at En-
glands natural position in the Fran
Co -Prussian war, and administers his
blows very literally to both contes-
tants, although the spite Of brochure
is unfriendly to Germany. The cir
culation of this clever Jeu d. esprit
has reached the 99th thousand and
has been translated into French and
largely circulated on the Continent.
The Crimean war, the Spanish
throne question, DC; are treated of,
and it requires some little familiar
ity with current European politics,
to appreciate some of the really good
points. King Williams ultra marine
piety so happily hit off, while the
shrewd way in which Bismarck ar
ranged little game and made France
commence the fight at disadvan-
tage, is shown up. The fifteen or
twenty days delay WhichWilliam got
to carry home "bundle of good
books" was of some service to him
in the fight that ensued. John Bull
comes in for good talking to at the
close.
1t seem that Dame Europa
had an excellent school and
there was no other establish
ment where so sound an ed
ucation could be obtained. "She
chose from among the biggest AID
most trustworthy of her pupils five
monitors who had authority over the
rest of the boys, and kept the un-
ruly ones in order. These five, at
the time of which we are writing,
were Louis, William, Aleck, Joseph,
and John. The monitors, it seems,
used to see fair play among the
smaller boys and stop the encounter
when it had gone far enough, and at
all times uphold justice and prevent
tyranny and bullying. The power
thus placed in their hands was for
the most part exercised with discre-
tion. Trumpery little quarrels were
patched up, which might otherwise
haver led to the patching up of
bruises and black eyes; and many a
time, when two little urchins had re-
tired with their hackers into a cor
ner of the playground to fight about
nothing at all, did the dreaded sp-
pearance of Master John or Master
Louis put them into fight, or force
them to shake hands. The worst of
it was that some of the monitors
themselves occasionally took to
bullying, and then Of course it be-
came more than ever the duty of the
rest to interfere. There fingered a.
tradition in the school of terrific
row in times past, when a monitor
named Nicholas made most unpro-
yoked attack upon a quiet but dirty
little boy called Constantine. John
and Louis stuck up for the child
boldly, and gave Nicholas such
thrashing that he never got over it,
and soon afterWard left the school.
This latter statement an American
will think is hardly historically cor
rect, or at least imperfect since re-
Gently Nicholas returned to the con
test, fresh and smiling, and both
John and Louis were willing to con
cede his demands. The writer then
goes on to say each of the upper
boys had little garden of his own:
'Louis had the prettiest arbOr Of al,
like a erotto in fairy land, full ofthe
most beautiful flowers and ferns,
with a vine creeping over the roof,
and little fountain playing inside.
J -ohn's garden was pretty enough,
an d more productive than any; Ow-
ing its chief beauty, however, to the
fact that it was an island, separated
from all the rest by a stream between
twenty and thirty feet wide"
John, it seems, was of business
turn of m ind. His arbor was a mere
tool house, where he shut himself up
almost all play time turning at his
lathe, or king nets or sharpening
knives, or cutting out boats to sail
on the river. Still John was fond of
holiday now and then; and when he
was tired of shaving away in his own
garden,he would punt himself across
the brook and pay a visit to his
neighbor Louis, who was always
cheerful and hospitable, and glad to
see him. Many and many happy
hour did he spend in his friends ar