Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1871-06-29
MisseIIaHesns.
The OId SpeIIine SchooI

kStAN4kl4o0EpAas -9
The Old Spelling School.
Have you forgotten them? When
from all the region about they were
gathered in the log schoolhouse with
It's huge fireplace yawning like the en-
terance of Avernus? How the sleigh
bells, big in the middle of the string
and growing small by degrees and
beautifully less, towards the broad
brass huckles, chimed in every direct
ion long before night-the gathering
class! There came one to school, "the
master" Give him a capital M. for
is entitled toit-Master and all bundled
into one huge red, double sleigh,
st-ewn with abundance of straw, and
tucked up like Christmas pie, with
hall score of Buffalo robes. There
are dozen cutters, each with a young
man and maiden, they two, or more.
And there again pair of jumpers,
mounting a great outlandish looking
bin heaped up, pressed down and rum
ming oyer, Scripture measure, with a
small collection Of humanity picked up
en- route from dozen homes, and aIl
as merry as kittens in blanket of
wool. And the. bright eyes and ripe
red lips thatone caught a glimpse of be-.
meath those pink-lined, quilted hoods,
and the silvery laugh that escaped. the
mufners and fur tippets they wore
lthen-who does not remember? Who
can ever forget them?
The schoolhouse destined to be the
arena of the conflict has been ganished,
bougks of evergreen adorns the smok-
| ed, stained and battered walls. The
pellets of scheW56 paper have been
swept from the ceiling and two pals
4 lOfwater brought from the spring, and
set on bench in the entry, with an
immemOrial tin cupZa wise provision
indeed, for warm is that spelling roomi
Il GThe big boys have framed and re-
/ plenished the fire, till the old chimney
fairly jars with the roaring flames,
and the sparks fly out of the top like
ia furnace, and fame tIthes battle.
The two isssMastersn are there, the
| two schools are there, andsuch NOV
| ing to and frol Will they swarm?
+. The ferule comes down upon the
desk with emphaSis1 What the roll OF
the drum is to the armies, the ssrtIie is
to this whispering, laughing campany:
t2Auhe challengerS are on one side CT
house, the challenged on the other
Back seats, middle seats, low front
seats are filed. Some of the fathers
tand grandfathers, who could no doubt,
upon occasion 81 > Sf4EYt I'd afio. s. :
shoulder the crutch
And show how fields were won."
ioeenpy the bench of honor near the
desk.
Now the preliminaries: the reputed
best speller on each side chooses. 'Sus-
an Brown Out comes a found-eyed
creature, blushing like a peony. Such
Moses JONES' Out comes Moses, an
awkward fellow, with a shock of red
hair, shockingly harvested, surmount-
ing. his brow. The girls laugh at him,
but what he don't know in the Ele-
Imentary, isn't worth knowing.
/ Jane Murry.' q Out steps Jane, futr
ttering as q bride, and takes her place
next to the caller. She's pretty girl,
but a sorry speller. Don't you hear
the whispers round the house? why,
that's Johns sweetheart John is the
1 Header, and battle lost Jane by his
side would be sweeter than victory
without her.
And SO they,go, calling names, un:
til five or six champions stand forth to
do battle, and contest is fairly begun.
4 Down goes Cone after another, as
words of three syllableS are followed
/ by those offoury and those again OF
4 similar pronunciation and divers sigIii.
fcadons, until Moses and Susan re-
ndain- 5o riss :, % S'il 1,' :.
The speHing-book has been exhausted,
and still they stand. Dictionaries are
turned over, memories are ransacked
for. lss $50 BAG s,eH ,srLstioll 6ham
words Of lengthy sound, b r fla 4 - -
until, by and by, Moses comes down
like 9 tree, and Susan hutters there
still, a little leaf aloft, that the forest
and Fail have forgotten. y isolii h.ia
I Polysyllabies follow, and by and by
Susan hesitates jilsta breath or two,
and twenty tongues are working their
way through the labyrinth of the let
tters in a tRinkle. / ID title ..Susan sinks
Unto the Ichink. left for her on the
crowded seat, there is a, ,lun In the bat
tie. Them all get in solid phaIanxI by
schools, and the struggle is to spell
each Other down And down they ga
like leavesifi Winter weather and the
Victory IS d&lared sOr 5ssr distfSet, and
4 the sched is dismissed. fs
j i Then tcenies the hurry and hunding,
/ the whisperiag and glaneing, and pair
1 ing off and tumbiing insa There are
4 hearts that futtef, and hearts that
taehe; smittens' that cannot be worn,
Hopes that are, not returned g There Is
la JinglingainoDg the bells at tina door,
and one after another dash up, !, receive
their freight and are gone, seA, Ns
'MasterS covers the fire, and,snaffs
the candle 4donst you semember how
he used Sto pinch the smoking wick
with his forednger and thumb, and
then thrust each Helpless idminary
head first II the socket and we wait
j for hiIns Eszsa % s.slsrsst z q -9,sgg19 szz
The bells ring family In the woods,
over the. hill, in the valley. The
lschOol1 house is dark and tenantless,
and we are alone in the dark. af ssaa'r
! Merry, care-free company! Some OF
Ilthem are sorrowing; some are. dead,
and all, we fear, are changed! Spellsi
All! the ssspells2 has come over that
crowd of dreams---over you-ovef us;
will it ever be- dissolved? In 'ethe
white radiance Of eternity, B. r..
Taylor. - 80, Iz5.9 - --sT -r,-lsr :
-.l--s,-- F.
Tine Pike inhis Native Haunts.s
l Correspondence of the New York Post.
The Pike is found also in CoIusa