Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1871-02-03
CIPHERING JIM.

I'LL
The teacher had just raped us to Or
der of a cold winters morning, a week
after the holidays, when the school-room
door opened, admitting youth, who
entered with the air of one who had a
right, and took seat in the corner next
the door, like boy who speedily ex-
peeted to get abetter and warmer one
nearer to the stove.
The teacher stared the pupils stared
the former surprised, the girls con-
temptuous, the boys belligerent, and all
curious. Each privately censuring his
bold, selfsufficient manner, and con-
demning as highly reprehensible-even
had his demeanor been the most humble
and servile-his presence among us.
From the oldest to the youngest of
the fifty scholars congregated in the
brown district school house of the old
New England township, all received the
new conner coldly. Individual if not
State preiudices rebelled against his col
or, and the young mulatto might shlver
by the door, and none pity him that he
was cold. NY heart was as selfish as the
rest, but for my life | could not help
looking at him with adnliring interest.
A rather slender boy of twelve, a
bright yellow grief, as a creole Loulslan-
ian would say-pray don't infer, as
ninety-nine out of q hundred do, that
word "creole" implies tainted blood
with small Saxon features, and the finest
brow and eyes ever saw in the child OF
any race. l mean fine in chronological
senes. A massive forehead, square and
clear, cut slightly prominent at the tenn
pies and full above the eyes, which were
the large, mild, soft black, peculiar to
the African of mixed parentage; the
long, silky, jet-black lashes curling back
to the eye-lid, left his gaze singularly
open and intellectual, and must have
impressed the most biased as marking
him lad of more than ordinary prom
Use.
His hair was thick and glossy as black
satin, somewhat long and curling at the
ends. Such ringlets on the head OF a
verv plain girl would have made her a
beauty. The large eyes went slowly
around the hushed schoolroom, taking
in each reposing face in their questioning
journey, not timidly or cringlngly, but
courageously and self confident. A look
that said, +" | am a negro, but my genius
is superior to yours, and genius in any
race, the world over, is respected L carry
the right to be here in my head, and let
him who can dispute it,"
He was poorly dressed, his thin jacket
tattered at the elbows, and the patches
on the knees of his baggy pants were
slowly but surely giving way, the loos-
ened stitches yawning in their desperate
attempt to make good their ostenslble
purpose and keep together both unatflll-
ating and different colored textures.
Our teacher, Mr.. Stubbs, looked rather
nonplussed, his features plainly telling
that if his principles were collectively
radical they were not individuality, as
applied to this particular case at any
rate. The boys large eyes went critically
from face to face, like one hardened to
the prejudices of popular opinions, and
stoutly determined to brave it by re-
turning as bold glance as the many ga
zers were sneeringly staring at him:
1t was very cold by the door, and the
breeze from the cracks and sill fiuttered
the ragged fringe of his old comforter,
that was a little better than string
Evidently his studies were limited, for
he had but three pieces of school para
phernalia, all told-a writing book, slate
and arithmetic, that he held very tight
on his knee and seemed to be very fond
of. His boots had given away at the
toes, and were worn and uncertain about
the heels, looking altogether wretched
and water-logged, and as If they had
been exposed to a heavy wet. The snow
melting from the foxy cowhides run
into little puddles under the bench, and
dripped from the frayed hem of his
threadbare pants, but neither pupil or
teacher offered warmer seat or said,
"Come and dry your cold feet by the
fret is burning for ALL"
Tom Hart, sitting by me, gave me a
sly nudge.
II say, Dick, don't you know who Mr..
Mig is?: =
"No; do your
"Why. it's Cipherin' Jim from the
Hollow. Their school-house burnt down
last week, and he pokes himself here !;
darned if I'll 90 to school with dar-
key
. But he amt so very black" eau
tiously apologized.
hat so, aSSenUeQ lOHl, anu He
is cranky at figures, ciphers clean away
from every thing in the Hollow, and if
Seth Jones wasn't gain he'll make our
old Stubs scratch his pate to keep up
with him.
Tom looked disnally at the figures on
his slate, and heaved sigh; which, in
terpreted, meant: "Tll stand the dar-
kew. if he will put Stubs to his
trumps."
The Hollow was four miles distant,
the snow two feet deep, and the roads
almost unbroken; and, taken in con-
nection with his thin, scant garments,
Ciphering Jim must have had rough
walk oft; and the dusky feet, swinging
in the leaky old boots, could but be
nearly frozen. And with this thought
little sympathy struggled into exis-
tence for the owner of the tattered COM
forter, and | mustere courage to say to
Mr.. Stubbs:
"He may set on the end of my seat
till he is warm, if you please, sir. He
looks chilled