Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-11-19


The Door SCRAPER; OR THE Force OF
EXAMPLE.-A young man, who was en-
gagged to teach a school in a small village
saw that many of the children, and espe-
cially the boys, were very careless about
their dress and habits, They played in
the road, getting their feet muddy, until
the bell rang, when they rushed into the
school, mud and all, making the room
quite filthy. The teacher resolved to cor
rect this want OF neatness, and taking a
piece of iron hoop, he fastened one end to
the door step and the other to a stake
driven in the ground. This made a very
good scraper; and as soon as the children
saw it, they scraped away vigorously, for
it was new thing to them. That day
there was less dirt than usual in the room
The teacher next managed to get a mat,
which he placed on the step, that the child
rem might wipe their feet after scraping
them. The scholars soon began to take
pride in having the school-room clean !;
and the teacher, being encouraged, had the
floor nicely scrubbed. This made such a
change in the look Of the room, that the
children scarcely knew it when next they
entered.
Among the scholars was little boy of
the name Of Freddy. His parents were
poor and had large family, and were not
very clearly around their house. When
the teacher put a scraper at the school
house, Freddy thought it would be good
idea for them at home. Finding an iron
hoop on his way from school one day, he
picked it up, and that afternoon his door
step had a scraper. When his father
came home he saw the scraper, and clean
ed his boots before entering the door
Freddy next obtained the skin Of sheep
which had been killed by dog. OF this
he made a door-mat, SO there was no long
er any excuse for dirty feet or dirty floors
in that house.
The first step in the road to neatness
prepared the way for others. Freddy S
father got some lime and whitewashed the
wall, and his mother gave the floor good
scrubbing. With clean floor ard a
white wall, the old tin pans and cooling
vessels looked dingy and black; so in a
few days they were cleaned up, and ap-
peared almost as good as new. The next
step was to procure cupboard to put
them in; which was done by getting a
neighbor, who was a carpenter, to make it
while Freddy's father cleaned the carpen-
ter's garden. Then the mother thought
the floor would look better if it were paint
ed for they were too poor to buy a car
o. du of RI
painter not far off, to ask how much the
paint would cost. This man, who knew
the little boy, got from him the whole
story of the scraper and its results, and
told him he would give him the paint if he
would make him a scraper just like his
own.
THANK you, sir" said Freddy, " moth,
er can take the money, and buy the Bible
!. now"
What Bible? " inquired the man.
GA Bible for me to read, night and
morning, just like the school master. !
shall be glad when get it."
why" said the painter, "your moth
er need not buy a Bible. [ have some
Bibles to give away. and you may take
. one home with you if you won't spill any
paint on it,
Who can tell how happy that little boy
was when he went home with his paint pots
in his baskets, and his Bible under his
arm! The floor was painted, and the
Bible was read and its lessons practised
and the family, who commenced by hav.
ing clean feet, were not satisfied until
: through the grace promised in the Bible
they obtained clean hearts.