Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1874-02-12
49arm ann honstboID.
A Word to the Boys.
THE WINTER SCHOOL.

a
many you boys will be saying that soon,
and before your school commences want
10 talk with you.
You're going TO be one of the 'big boys"
this winter; sit on the back seat, and be a
leader In everything. You are seventeen.
or perhaps nineteen years old. and proba.
bly, this will be your last term at the dis
trict school. Next winter You'll be log
ging in the woods, or perhaps settled on
the home farm a a manageable young
man of the neighborhood You don't
think much about that yet, if at all. You
mean TO 20 10 school, like the school
ma am, If She Is young and pretty, and
lets you do a you have a mind to; carry
the girls to school with your prancing
black colt and have nigh old time" in
general.
TIE Old SCHOOL BOOKS
But what are you thinking of studying
this winter Up in the open chamber. I'M
der the loom or eheese-press, there Is a
box of old school books which you have
ransacked a week before school commeuc-
ed for twelve or fifteen winters. and half as
many summers. You'll be there again. in
few days. fishing round for your slate.
reader. sPeller and arithmetic You've
carried those same books term after term.
It, about time you mastered them. il yon
are ever going to. You have spent a
great many hours-yes. days of hard study
over that old arithmetic. You wish YOU
could do every sun In It. Some one of
whom you know can do it. and you mean
10 sit up on that back seat and cipher all
winter. You are going through it. sure,
this time and expect your poor teacher
can't raise her tired eyes from book with
out seeing your hand go up. signifying you
want help. You conclude you won't have
writing book this term. so TO have more
time 10 cipher. You are wretched PEN
man, but no matter. The little six-year-
old boys sit on the low seats in front and
crook their little. inky fingers over any
amount ofm's and Ms, while you are sol
EMMY repeating 1.-THE minute and second
hand Of my WATCH dc, or. ..if horse
be tethered TO a stake in field" &c, and
think you are improving your time the
most.
TURNING OVER NEW LEAF.
Boys, you can't afford to spend your
time So Can you write grammatical let
teri Can you spell correctly all our every
day words: Do you know where and
where not to use capitals: Do you know
where Calcutta is, or who the representa-
tives to Congress are fromyour own State
| verify believe you don't. / have seen
scholars struggle through Quadratic Equa-
tons and Allegation, who afterwards per
sisted in placing a period after Miss. O
comma after Mrs. and commenced their
first love-letter with little |.
WHAT TO STUDY
II you were my pupils this winter,
should ask you TO pack away your Alge.
BRA, Astronomy, Arithmetic, beyond in.
terest.) until found whether you spelled
don't with an apostrophe, and until witt
one !. | shouldn't wonder If you should
mutter, ''she can't do the sums herself
that, | should require you to write notes
bills, orders. spelling lessons all the geo
graphical names in the Geography. and
letters, yes; so il in the future you got the
mitten on account of bad photography, il
should not be my fault. You kn0,c girl
hotice such blaaders.
Spelling and writing ought 10 be first il
your studies. You don't realize wha
modification an ignorance of them vii
cause sou in the future. Perhaps there il
situation as clerk, book keeper, &c, tina
you are hoping to obtain sometime. Do
you suppose merchant would ask, befor,
employing you, Can you extract the cub,
root of .002l0G9x:" Would hot the cues
ton more probably be, Are you goo,
penman:"
All. boys, it is good thing to be wis
in all things, but If we can't we had bette
study what will help us most in the lttl
corner we are to ill in the world. If 20
are in the woods next winter il won't max
much difference if you did cipher throug
your arithmetic. You know you woul
have forgotten the solution of all thos
hard examples by that time. 1t woult
make more difference if you could sem
letters home so plainly and correctly writ
ten that your mother would wipe tn
proud tears from her eyes as she showe
them to the neighbors.
Roys, 1 want you to make the most @
-. g
ford to waste an hour of time. This win
ter's work will tell heavily on your man
hood. You can't afford to lend helpin
hand TO any fuss that may be brewing i
school. It's your place to stop it. Yol
can't afford to chew''gum or ''plague tn
teacher" in any way. Supposing yO'
don't like her very well. If she can teach
you are bound to respect and obey her ii
all things.
THE ART OF TALKING WELL.
There is one other branch you SHOULD
attend to, and that is your ability Of ex
pressing thoughts. Perhaps you hay
committed lesson perfectly, but from dill
fidence or lack of the ''gift of gab," yo
stumble and hesitate so, in reciting, tn
teacher marks the lesson as failure. T
know a lesson is one thing, and to So.
it is another. If you are what peopl
call ''toungey" fellow, pass right alon,
and don't read this but If your ideas ar
easily muddled, and words hard to find,
advise you to talk every chance you cal
find. Recite your lessons orally, and KEEP
standing until you can express yoursel
in every topic.
Hyou can get the other boys to join you