Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1871-10-06
CHAPTER II.
A SPELL COMING.

William Means, will you be so good
as TO put this dog out OF doc s?'
There was moment of utter still
ness. But the magnetism of Ralph's
eye was too much for Bill Means.
The request was so polite, the master :
look was 50 innocent and yet so deter
mined. Bill often wondered afterward
that he had not " fit +" rather than
obeyed the request But somehow he
put the dog out. He was partly sur
prisei, partly invelglCd partly awed in
to doing Just what he had intended not
to do. In the week that followed, Bill
had to fight half dozen boys for call
ing him " Puppy Means" Bill said
he wished he'd licked the master on
the spot. 'Twould saved five fights
out of the six.
All that day and the next, the bull
dog in the masters eye was terror to
evIl-doers. At the close of the school
on the second DAY Bud was heard to
give it as his opinion that " the master
wouldn't be much iii tussel. but he
had heap of thunder and lightning
in him Did he infiict corporal pun
ishment? inquiries some Lhilanthropic
friend. Would you intiict corporal
punishment if you were tiger-trainer
in Van Amhurg's happy family? II
you had been among the human bears
on Flat Creek you would have used
the rod also. But poor Ralph could
never satisfy his constituency.
" Don't believe he'll dO,n was Mr..
Pete Jones's comment to Mr.. Means.
- Don't thrash enough. Boys won I
larn less you thrash 'em says l.
Leastwavs. mine won't. Lay it on
good, is what | says to a master. Lay
it on good. Don't do no harm. Lick
! in and farming goes together. No
| lckin,' 10 larnin,' says |. Lickin'
| and larnin'. lickin' and laTnin', is the
good ole way"
And Mr. Jones, like some wiser peo-
pie, was the more pleased with his
| formula that it had an alliteraiive
sound. Nevertheless, Ralph was mas
! ter from this time until the spelling
school came. If only it had not been
for that spelling-schoOl! Many and
many time after the night OF the ia
| tai spelliEg-schoOl, Ralph used to say
"If only it had not been for that speu-
| ing-schOol J"
There had to be a spelling-schOol.
| Not only for the sake of my story,
which would not have been worth the
| telling if the spelling-scho0l had MOI
taken place, but because Flat CIeek
| district had to have a sDelling-school.
1t is the only public literary exercise
known in HOopOle County. 1t takes
the place of lyceum lecture and debat-
ing club. Sis means. or, as she wished
not to be called, Mirandy Means, eX'
| pressed herself most positively in IA
:. Int lan
the folks in that district couldn't in nc
| wise do without it. But it was rather
to its social than its intellectual bene'
fits that she referred. For all the
! spelling-schoOls ever seen could not
enable her to stand anywhere but al
| the foot of the class. There is one
| branch diligently taught in back
| woods school. The public mind seems
| impressed with the difficulties of En-
glish photography, and there is sol
| emn conviction that the chief end o
man is tn learn to spell. Know
Webster's Elementary came down
| from heaven" would be the back
woods version of the Greek doctrine
but that, ur Unfortunately for the Greeks
| their fame has not reached so far. II
often happens that the pupil does moi
know the meaning of a siugle word il
the lesson. That is of no consequence
What do you want to know the mean
ing of a word for? Words were made
to be spelled. and men were created
that they might spell them. Hence
the necessity for sending pupl
through the spelling-book five time:
before you allow him to begin TO read
or indeed to do anything else. Henc,
the necessity for those long spelling
classes at the close of each forenoon
and afternoon session of the school, L
stand at the head of which is the cher
ished ambition Of every scholar
Hence, too, the necessity for devotins
the whole of the afternoon session o
each Friday TO a spelling Match" II
fact, spelling is the national game
in Hoopole County. Base ball ant
crOquet matches are as unknown a
0lympian chaTiot-races. Spelling anI
shucking" are the only public com
petitions.
So that the fatal spelling-school hat
to be appointed for the "Wednesday o
the second week of the session, jus
when Ralph felt himself master of tn
situation. Not that he was withou
his annoyaEces. One of Ralph
troubles in the week before the spell
ing school was that he was loved
The other that he was hated. An
. while the time between the appoint