The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-03-11
The sohoolmastar.a story.

he, / adopted as q principle to give as
few rules to my scholars as possible. I
had, however, one standing rule. which
was s. Strive, under all circumstances,
to do right" and the text of right.
under ali circumstances, was the golden
rule Gan things whatsoever We would
that men should do unto you, do ye
even so unto them"
If an offense was committed, it was
my invariable practice to ask a Was
it right p q Was it as you would be
done by ?"
All my experience and observations
have convinced m that no act of a pupil
ought to be regarded as an offense m
less it be such when measured by the
standard of the golden rule. During
the last year of my teaching the only
tests L ever applied to an act of which
1T vas necessary to judge were those Of
the above questions. By this course
gained many important advantages.
In the first place, the plea, You
have not made any rule against it. -
which for a long time was q terrible
burden to me, lost all its power.
In the second place, by keeping con-
stantly before the scholars as a stan
dard of action the SINGLE text of right
aA4NL NAOA5 d. OGG MA1CH lily were u
apply for themselves, was enabled to
cultivate in them a deep feeling Of per
sona1 responsibility.
In the third place, I got a stronger
hold on their feelings, and acquired a
new power of cultivating and directing
them.
10 the fourth place, had the salts
faction of seeing them become more
truthful. honest, Trustworthy and manly
in their intercourse with me, with their
friends and with one another.
Once, however, / was sadly puzzled
by n application of the principle by
one of my scholars. George Jones was
a Ia &c boy, who, partly through false
feeling of honor, and partly from feel
ing of stubbO1nness, refused TO give me
some information. The circumstances
were these
A scholar had played some trick which
interrupted the exercises. AS was my
custom, I called on the one who had
done the mischief to come forward. As
no one started, I repeated the request,
but with no success. Finding that the
culprit would not confess his guilt, I
asked George if he knew who committed
the offeuse.
81 did not do it." was the reply.
But do you know who did %
" Yes, sir"
" Who was it p
" do not wish to tell. "
''But you must tell. 1t is my duty to
ask aud yours to answer me-"
81 cannot DO it, said George firmly.
Then you must stop with me after
school"
He stopped as requested, but nothing
which could urge would induce him to
reveal anything. At last, out of pa
tie nee with what I believed to be obsti-
macy of the boy, I said +:
'WelI, George, 1 have borne with you
as long as I can, and you must either
tell me or be punished"
With a triumphant look, as though
conscious that he had the better of me
by an application of my favorite rule,
h replied g can't tell you, because
it would not be right. The boy would
not like to have me tell of him, and I'll
do as I'd be done by"
A few years earlier I should have
deemed reply thus given me an in
suit, and should have resented it &C
cordiugly; but experience and refec-
ton had taught me the folly of this, and
ore of the most important of my oft
quoted rule was-to Judge of the nature
of others as I would have them Judge
of mine. Yet for the moment 1 was
staggered. His plea was plausible he
might be honest in making it. I did
not see in what respect it was fallacious
I felt that it would not do TO retreat
from my position and suffer the offender
to escape, and yet that l should do a
great injustice by compelling a boy to
do thing if he really believed it to be
wrong.
After a little pause L said: "WelI,
George, I do not wish you to do any
thing which Is wrong, or which conflicts
with your golden rule. We will leave
this for tonight aud perhaps you will
alter your mind before tomorrow"
saw him privately before school and
found him more firm in his refusal than
ever. After the devotional exercises
cf the morning I began to question the
scholars, as was my wont, on the va
rious points Of duty, and gradually
led the conservation to the golden rule
Who" 1 asked, " are the persons
to whom, as members Of this school, you
ought to co as you would be done by {?
Your parents, waO support and serd
you here; your schoolmates. who are
engaged in the same world with your
by taxing themselves, raise money to
pay the expenses of this school the
school committee, no take so great an
interest in our welfare your teacher,
or the scholar who carelessly or will
fully commits some Offense against good
order?
A hearty eyes was responded to
every question except the last, at which
they were silent.
Then addressing George, 1 said /:
Yesterday I asked you who had COM
u-ittad certain off,nse. You refused
to tell me because you thought it would
not be doing as you would be done by.
I now wish you to reconsider the sub
jsct. On one side are your parents,
your schooImates, the citizens of this
town, school committee, and your
teacher, all deeply interested in every
thing affecting the prosperity of this
school. On the other side is the boy
who, by this act, has shown himself
ready 10 injure all these. To which
party viii yOn do as you would be done
by?"
After a moments pause he said s'To
the first f; it was William Brown who
did it p
My triumph, or rather the triumph
of principle, was complete and the
lesson was as deeply felt by the other
members of the school as by him for
whom it was specially designed.
Old Plows.
pillow used by the Emperor Joseph
II of Austria, in 1869, was placed be-
ri1o q voorfar,, v,lOrr- II, a No. ton Of 4ba