The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1873-04-10
BARRING OUT THE SCHOOL.
MASTER.

My early life was made miserable b,
Mulberry Bangs, gentleman of tn,
old school, who devoted himself t.
reading, writing and arithmetic, ane
the genera use of The stick. Upor
my head and other parts of my person
be imprinted himself so positively
that can now see him as plainly as
II We had parted but yesterday. He
was stout man, who made In his fig
ure, when seen in profile, Hogarth' e
line OF beauty, being round -shouldered
and crooked in his legs. He was a
blonde. The hair Of his head had that
sunny tinge 50 much admired to-day,
and when rubbed down with a tallow
candle, as was his wont to dress it, was
so smooth and straight that the boys
believed that the flies slipped down it
and broke their legs. His eyes were
dark and fierce, and hid under the
cavernous recesses made by his bushy
red eyebrows seemed to watch like
evil spirits over his precious nose.
The nose was ruby nose, bottle in
shape, and when Bangs was angry ,
which appeared 10 be all the time, it
glowed like the headlight OF a loco
motive.
His mouth was finished without
lips, and resembled n slit i'm piece of
sole leather.
My early experience gave me dis
taste for the whip in schools. But
am far from siding with the sentiment
talists Of the present day who advocate
kindness and moral suasion. The
easier teachings-not the best, in fact,
1 the only ones-are those of the rod,
that gave us realizing sense of pain
to the body, and drilled us into pa
| tience and self-denial.
Boys arc Of two sorts--good little
boys who die young, and bully boys,
who cannot be killed.
As the last named only live to be
men instead Of being transplanted in
to angels, it is we'll to discipline them
through the only process known to
animals, and that ia the discipline OF
fear. The old adage il not far wrong
that said, "When you meet a boy
whale him-for If be has not been i'm
mischief, he is going in.'
What may have been my feelings
when suffering under the stick Of old
Bangs, my objection to him rests not
SO much on his use of that instrument
rs the beas,ly appearance and charac-
ter of the man. Later in life | was
scholar Of man who was severe with
the rod, almost as my enemy Bangs;
bnt to my dying day shall remember
him as one OF the noblest of men and
the truest friend ever encountered.
Alexander Kinmount lived and died
In the obscurity OF select school,
with the generous impulses and large
healthy brain that ought to have Sc
cured him high position among the
teachers and leaders of men. From
thot school came ooys 80 disciplined to
study, and so filled with the love OF
learning, that they, in making their
mark in the world, lived to illustrate
the beauty of the system.
| did not, however, sit down to
write 0. this, but to give in brief some
OF my earlier experiences. 1t was un-
deretood throughout the country that
the boys were justifiable In barring out
the master, and. If successful, were not
only entitled to weeks recess. but
the admiration aud praise Of their
parents. Old Bangs was famous for
bis power Of resistance, and boasted
that no school of his had ever succeed.
ed in conquering in such attempts.
On the occasion to which l refer we
had two big boys in our school named
Bill Henning and Bob Strong. They
were knotty headed. broad-shouldered
and hard-fsted fellows, who worked
through the summer for means to at |
tend school during the winter. Each,
In turn, had been numerically whip
ped by the MASTER aud it was under
stood throughout the school that the
barring out Of Master Bangs was to be
done aud old scores settled.
The evening before the general en-
gagement, Bill and Bob, our noble
leaders. with fea confederates stole
back 10 the school house, armed with
hickory poles. Breaking open the
IA..r /, ~
tough sap'iDgs To a point, and hard
enett the points in the fire. Then
placing these in "A corner ready to use
with stout cord, tAey gave orders to
the boys willing to take part i'll the
fight to he on hand at the school house
hefore daylight next morning
Al tie tim. indicated nearly all the
lads were in attendance. Some were
pale and trembling, others noisy and
boastfnl but ! observed that the real
leaders aud reliable soldiers were quiet
SO quiet. indeed, one might doubt
them. Men are but boys OF larger
growth, Z" said Dryden, and that sol
emn poet, Wordsworth, assures US
that "the child is father to the man.
In the animal propensities and tastes
that survive our boyhood, this is un-
true, and many and many
= time since, in hours of peril, ! have
seen re-enacted the same exhibitions
of character that occurred on that cold
in December among the
boys
Our fret order was to cut and carry
N enough wood to serve the garrison
turing the siege. This was promptly
executed. Then the window shutters
were securely nailed, the door closed, ,
and desks and benches piled against it.
After two portfolios were opened by .
the chinks and daubing,
and gathering about a roaring fire, in
: huge fire place, we awaited the ap-
proach Of the enemy. As the time
approached for the enemy's coming a
Tread silence fell upon the little crowd,
70 that when he did come we could
lear his heavy tread upon the crusted
now, and mauy heart sunk and face
in terror.
Our leaders sprang to their posts
ZACH side of the door, and on being
10 sod ~ L.,lJ.. |