Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-09-29


these boys and girls nothing but facts
Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant
nothing else. You can only form the mind.
OF reasoning animals upon Facts; NOTHING
else will ever be of any service to them
This Is the principle on which | bring up
M own children, and this is the principle
on which ! bring up these children. Stick
TO Facts, sir we want nothing but Facts
sir nothing but Facts ~
The speaker and the schoo-master. and
the third grown person present, all backed
a little, and swept with their eyes the In
| cllned plane OF little vessels then and there
arranged in order. ready to have imperial
gallons OF iacts poured INTO them until they
were full to the brim.
Thomas Gradgrind. sir. A man of reali-
ties. 4 man of facts and calculations. A
man who proceeds upon the principle that
two and two make four, and nothing over.
and who Is not 10 be talked into allowing
Tor anything over. Thomas Gradgrind
/ peTemptorily Thomas-Thomas Grad
! grind. With arule and pair of scales, and
the multiplication table always in his pock-
ct, sir. ready to weigh and measure any
/ parcel OF human nature, and tell you exact
| ly what 1t comes to. 1t is a mere question
OF figures, case of simple arithmetic You
might hope to get some other nonsensical
| belief into the head of George Gradgrind.
or Augustus Gradgrind, or John Graderind,
! OF Joseph Gradgrind (sll suppOsitious, all
! n0n-exlsting persons,) but into the head of
! Thomas Gradgrind-no, sir
! In such terms Mr. GraGgrind ALWAYS men
/ tally introduced himself, whether to his
/ private circle of acquaintance, or to the
| public IN general. In such terms, no
/ doubt, substituting the words /" boys and
! giIl=' foT - sir. Thomas Gradgrind now
/ presented Thomas Gradgrind to the little
pitchers before him. who were 10 be filed
50 full of facts. Indeed, as he eagerly
sparkled at them from the cellarage before
mentioned, he seemed kind Of cannon
loaded to the muzzle with facts, and pre-
pared to blow them clean out of the regions
OF childhood at one discharge. lie seemed
a galyanlzlng apparatus, too, charged with
grim mechanical substitute for the tender
young imag nations that were to be storm6d
away.
" Girl number twenty said Mr.. Grad
grind, squarely pointing with his square
tOrehnger- " don't know that girl. Who
Is that girl 2''
e Sissy Jupe, sir" explained number
twenty, blushlng, standing up ard courtesy
ing.
'' Sissy is not name,' said Mr.. Grad
grind. " Don't call yourself Sissy. Gail
yourself Cecilia"
Its father as calls me Sissy, sir" re-
turned the young girl in a trembling voice,
with another courtesy.
" Then be has no business to DO it, - said
Mr.. Gradgrind. - Tell him he mustn't.
Cecilia Jupo. Let me sec What is your
father 2'
" lie belongs to the horso-riding. if you
please, sir
Nr GreIorird Cro.rn.l md ,r,,-,4 N ~
the Objectionable calling with his hand.
We don't want to know any thing about
that here Your father breaks horses, don I
he p"
" 1t you please, sir, when they can get
any to break, they do break horses in the
ring sir"
You mustn't tell Us about the ring here
Very well, then. Describe your father as a
horse-breakor. lie doctors sick horses,
dare say ?'
" Oh, yes. sir. ="
" Very we'll, then. lie is veterinary
surgeon, a iarrier. and horse-breaker. Give
INC a definition OF a horse"
Sissy Jupe thrown into the greatest
alarm by the demand.
" Girl number twenty unable to define a
horse said Mr.. GradgrInd, for the gene
RAJ bohoof Of all the little pitchers. " Girl
erCnce to one OF the commonest animals
Some boys definition Of horse. Bitter,
yours
The square finger. moving here ard there,
lighted suddenly On Bitter, perhaps be-
cause be CHANGED to sit in the same ray of
sunlight which, darting in at one Of the
bare windows Of the intensely whltewashed
room, irriad iated Sissy.
Bitter" SAID Thomas Gradgrind,
your definition Of horse.
Quadruped. GraminivOrous. Forty
teeth, namely twenty-iour grinders, four
eye-tetth. and twelve incisiye. Sheds coat
IN the spring; in marshy countries sheds
ho0fs. too. HJois hard but requiring to
be shCI with iron. Age known by marks
in the mouth. Thus land much more)
Bitter.
" Now, girl numb twenty" said Mr.
Gradgrind. " You know what a horse Is. 8"
She cOurtesed again. and would have
blushed deeper. if She could have blushed
deeper than she bad blushed all this time.
The third gentleman new stepped forth.
4 mighty man at cutting and trying be was :;
! d government officer; in his way land IL
most other peoples, tOO) professional
| pugilist always in training, always with
| q system 10 force down the general throat
/ like a bolus. always to be heard Of at the
| bar OF his little public Office, ready TO fight
all England
" Very well, =" said this gentleman, brisk
/ ly smiling and folding his arms. - That ;
a horse. Now, let me ask you, girls and
/ boys, would you paper room with repre-
| sentauons OF horses?'
After pause, one-half the children cried
/ in chorus. " Yes, sir =" Upon which the
/ Other halt, seeing in the gentleman's face
J hat nnf n a charms
" No, sir''-as the custom Is in these exam
] nations.
" OF course, no. Why wouldn't you -
\ pause. One corpulent. slow boy, with
a wheozy manner of breathing, ventured TO
answer, " Because he wouldn't paper a
room at all, but would paint 1t.
d" on must paper it, said the gentle
man. rather warmly.
D." You must paper 1t, said Thomas Grad
grind, whether you like it or not: Don
tell US you wouldn't paper 1t. What DO
You mean, bow
III explain to you. then, said the gen
tleman. after another and dismal pause
" why you wouldn't paper room with rep
resentatious of horses. Did yOu ever see
horses walking up and down the sides oil
rooms in reality-in fact? Do you?"
" Yes, sir l'' from One-hah. - No, sir,
from the other
- of course, no" said the gentleman
with an indignant look at the wrong hall
d" Why, then. you are not TO see anywner'
what YOU don't see in fact You are not &c
have anywhere what you don't have IN TACT
What IS called taste Is only another name
for fact.
Thomas Gradgrind nodded his apprO5a
tion
This is new principle. a discovery,
great discovery" said the gentleman
" Now, I'll try you again. Suppose yot
were going to carpet room, would you u.s.
a carpet having representation OF flower
upon 1t
There being general conviction by Jhi
time that " No, sir - was always the rlgh
answer to this gentleman, the chorus OF M
was very strong. Only few feeble stTag
glers saId yes, among them Sissy Jnpe.
: - Girl number twenty saId the gentle
man smiling in the calm strength OF knowl
edge.
Sissy blushea. and stood mp.
" 81 You would carpet your rOom-o
your husband 5 room. if you were grow
woman and had a husband, with represen
tations of flowers. would you SAID tn
gentleman. Why would you?'
d" II you please, sir. | am very iond o
[ flowers returned the girl.
- And is that why you would put table
and chairs upon them, and have peopl
waking upon them with heavy boots
" 1t wouldn't hurt them, sir. The
wouldn't crush and wither, If you please
| sir. They would be pictures OF what wa
very pretty ard pleasant. and eoul
fancy"
n .Ay, Ay, Ay but you mustn't fancy,
cried the gentleman, quite elated by com
= ing 50 happily to this point. " That's II
< You are never to fancy"
n =. You are not. Cecilia Jupe.' Thoms
: Gredgrlrd solemnly repeated. " to DO any
h thing of that kind. "
n Fact, fact, fact said the gentleman
. And :. Fact. fact. iact.' repeated Thoma
. Gradgrind.
: - You are to be in all things regulate
and governed" said the gentleman, b
l. IL In.