The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1872-03-02
/" Spelling Down.

clGys tncLI way " SpelIluS
match ( in the school-house of a
neighbI ring district, and the .iingling
bells al d the merry laughter of the
young folks, made us forget for sea-
son thag we had passed the forenoon
of life, md we joined the happy band
in ina Aination, and were back again
amongF he scenes of years ago, when
cares u re few, and the greatest sor-
row of f,ur life was to be compelled to
stay a hay from spelling or singing
school 10 get our boots tapped, and
know That Bill Jones would go
home 'lith our girl after the exercises
of the Evening were ended.
Is tIkre an individual living who
does III at times brush the cobwebs
away rom his pictures of the past,
and re Eert fondly to the days of his
youth Ii SO, let him be known,
though I'VE do not believe in the un-
manly Feelings that prompts one to
look back for all his pleasures, and see
only cHuds and stormy weather in
the futt re.
But e commenced to talk of SPELL
ing-sclE ole-the old-fashioned kind,
held in the winter evenings in our
own Oh neighboRing school houses.
The La er. however, were looked for
ward II with more pleasure, as the
usual d enotony of the occasion was
relieve by the excitement of meeting
a foreign foe, and the fun of ride
under. the buffalo robes to the field of
Howl big y we used to feel when in
a solel N manner the school master
would Htep up on the rostrum, and
after eIftsing all traces of the days
arithmd tical exercises upon the black
board, That our minds might not wan
der fron the evenings work, sing out
in the aforementioned voice, a cross
betweeH a deaeon's and a heavy ira
gedian1 our name, coupled with some
membe1 of the opposition side, as the
two ulH IN whom fell the honor OF
choosiII sides.
And hat terrible suspense inter-
vened lille the two pedagogues drew
cuts to ee who would have the first
choice, preparatory to selecting the
chosen wo dozen who were to try to
spell eaF III other down. l
Ii thN leader of the g other side y
happened to be rival of ours in, the
suit for EBmiles from the rosy checked
girl VIII apparently had no thought
for any aing save the apple she was
slyly esIing behind the stove, the ex-
citemeif swas doubly great, until it
was de. ded that ,ue Gust think of it J
had drsH yn the longest straw and were
entitled ito the first choice among all
the beye of young folks that were
scattered around the school-room.
How high we lifted our cowhide
boots al we stepped off to the corner
of the Rom, where the line of ortho-
graphicAl battle was to be formed!
Of couif fe, the first name called was
that of bur sweetheart, though (must
we say et7) she was the poorest speller
in the 4chOol, and her formation of
words Would frighten the portrait of
old Noah Webster from the title page
of his fast book. But then she was
the hart soonest girl in school; her
cheeks Fere as red as a Baldwin APP
pie, ant her curls, which had been
elabolaS ply twisted around hot
poker, 9ere natural, and besides that
she hadyagreed to go home from all
the sipging schools for month
ahead Eith us, and when we had a
stone-bS uise on our heel in summer
who bue she could tie rag so tender
ly aroued the spot! So, we repeat it,
we chot her at once, and while she
was trifping to her place at our side
the oth$r leader, as if to seek. revenge
and pay court to Mars instead of We
nus. selected for his first choice the
very bext scholar in school, a girl, who,
thought homely as Barnum's !" What
is IT, uld go through the spelling
book lilfe lightning, and was as much
at homA among words of seven sylla-
bles asIhose of two. Then the work
commeS Sced, and the quota of spoilers
was so4 filled, though we must con-
fess ou5 mind became slightly con-
fused while holding " onr girls hand
and chobsing at the same time, and
our side was weak, mentally, COM
pared with that of Bill Jones'.
After order was obtained among the
scholars, and those who were in the
lists hd brought their angry feelings
under stbjection, cold Jacket Dus-
ter" asfwe termed our teacher, would
pull OUT dog's-eared copy of Web
ster's Elementary, whose hy-leaves
had long, since assembled heavenward
in the form of q spit balls" and in a
voice aAout three keys higher than
his ord 4nary tone, proceed to put
out" tt i words alternately to the two
sides. The contest waxed warmer,
and down went all the "small fry" on
the more simple words. We We're
only allowed one trial, and the man
who hesitated was irretrievably lost,
until at last but half a dozen We're left
on side. "Our girl" had come near
going down on the word Coffee, !"
(she always commenced it with 'k9
but we. had set her right in a whisper,
though Bill Jones saw the "promp-
ting,n and would have informed the
taachap had he not at that moment