The Portland daily press., 1875-09-24
The School Mistress.

WIN faded gardens, the cool shadows and
ana trost-suggesting vapors of early September,
comes the School-mistress. She vanished from
among us just as the tulips were Towering and
the first wrens were balancing themselves up-
on the cantapa twlgs by the south window. We
remember how weary she looked as she passed
along the street that last day of school q few
steps behind the prim little calicoed misses and
the hilarious young brats iu button.ups. She
steps more lightly now as she goes smiling to
the work and worry of a new term. The pale
cheeks that she took away with her when she
went out toiKansas to spend her vacation have
gained color from the pink and russell tinting
of the rich plains sunshine, and the new light
in those eyes, which seemed 50 dull and sad
three months ago, looks like surprise of blue
sky through the mist-like veil that serves the
double purpose of concealing her treckles and
protecting her against the ill-mannered stares
of street loafers. She still dresses in material
that can be washed and "done up" and wears
that inevitable white apron, and brown kids
frayed at the finger lends; but not the Helen of
the Iliad, ''clad in the beauty of thousand
stars" was so fit to be enshrined in immortal
song. e'rtfs.,r
We owe her right royal welcome, the re-
turning September school-mistress. She Is en-
phatically one of our things. We might bet
ter spare the whole race of politicians than this
modest, earnest, even tempered step-mother Of
everybodys children. She it is who, 10 her
and patient and fashions the
the rise and fall of rudimeniary knowledge,
but the security and growth of all that pre-
serves and exalts society and gives to Q popu-
lar government its progress and its glory.
L of Iran uaf IS
their education in the public schools; and there
can be no higher mission in such a country
| than that of the meek faced woman who, with
| no crueler weapon than bunch of belated
brings the boys and girls, who are to be our
future men and women, safely and clearly
through the decisive experiences which, more
| than all else of life, fix the bent of mind, of
manner and of morals. According to the sim
| cerity and skill of her labors, must be the
character of the schools; and as the schools are
| so will be the citizens-whch is but saying
that so will be the nation, for honor or for
| shame. -aa.1- = rf r.,s.,-,so
| The returning school mistress will find things
much the same as she left them. She win see
| some new countenances among pupils, to be
| sure, and perhaps new series OF text books,
| also; but there is no alteration in the general
| outlook, and her work is ready to be resumed
| just where she dropped it. A week hence she
| will have the business of her school reduced to
| system that no civil service reform could i'm
| prove. She will know. not simply the name,
/ age and scholarly standing of every child under
her charge, but also all their individual tastes,
habits and prejudces 1t is this admirable
faculty of discovering and utilizing the pecu-
liar characteristics of each mind with which
she has to deal that makes the school mistress
| of the period such a pronounced success. With
her, ito impart instruction is lnot to turn the
| crank of machine Instead of adapting her
1 pupils to her teaching, she adapts her teaching
to her pupils. She sometimes has dozen
methods of presenting the same thing. not one
of which is to be found in any book II johnny
stumble in his syntax, she does not refer him
| to printed rules that are ten years ahead of
him, but explains bis error to him in the lam
guage Of the play ground; and if little Susie
| gets mixed in her multiplication table, she Is
Set Set straight again by some homely Illustration
which is worth whole days study to her. 1t
| took us a long time to learn that teaching is
the special sphere of woman. The school
| mistress bas won her place in spite OF Us.
grateful recognition as she apDars again at
ter her vacation (which, let rs hope, was
pleasant and pro6table), to remind Us that
September has come and schools called"
| Our September school mistress will be max
ing a wife of herself one of these days. She
always gets married. There Is place for her
| in matrimopy, Just as there is in education. A
widower, with Eve or six children. is some.
where constantly waiting for her. She could
not evade him if she would: perhaps she would
not if she could. He is not an educated man,
| and there is smell of the soil on his gar.
ments; but he has comfortable home and q
good income, and he will worship her in his
clumsy way as if she were second Minerva.
When he gains her we lose her forever. Once
| wife, not even September can bring her back
again; and the inclina ion to be wife is the
one temptation chat she cannot resist The
trail of the serpent is here as eyerywhers Good
and useful as she is, the besetting ambition oi
her sex will creep in to lure her away from rs.
| Being q woman she cannot, or will not escape
her destiny. Like all the rest, she Is looking
and lettering for the expected husband. Long
may the good Lord delay his comingf-St.
Louis Globe Democrat. . we gcl