The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-03-08

VI tTuSG anu cOnHQence-nO less, may |
say to you, dear madam, than a profess
sor's chair.''
hadn't the least idea what he meant.
| knew that one chair differed very
much from another, and whereas one
was comfortable, easy, and enjoyable, |
another might be for the time being a |
seat of torture, but wherein profess
or's chair excelled / could not at that |
time Imagine. sat quite still, and the |
ruffie fell from my hand; my foot rest |
ed upon the treadle of the machine, and |
sat and stared at Mr.. Slade like one
demented. .rs.-ss;
"And it has occurred to me, >, he went
on, 'sthat the position have held here,
which is an exceedingly easy and pleas
ant one, might proftably and suitably |
| be filled by one of the other sex; the
duties are not at all arduous, and could
be performed more readily, it appears
to me, than those pertaining to the nee-
die. l have spoken to the committee
in your behalf, and with little atten-
tion upon your part to the simple me-
chanical requirements necessary, and q
little help upon mine, you will be ready
to fill the position at once!"
"Who? /, Mr.. Slade? Why, you
must be crazy!'' Then feeling that
this was not a respectful way to speak,
added that his kindness for me had
led him to overrate my capabilities.
"Why, Mr.. Slade,'' said I, sI never
got beyond the four first rules in arith-
metic.n tHt9ltje IL s
"And upon these depend every
thing" he replied. s'Come, put by
your work, and let us see what we can
do in. first attempt
| 1t was no use to refuse. His was one
of those masterful natures that always
conquer. Half an hour after, I was
sitting close by his side at the table,
with Charley's slate under my blurred
| eyes and Charley's pencil in. my trem-
bling fingers. The rosy evening light
streamed in upon US, the soft south
wind bringing resinous odors through
the window from the woods where
Charley yet fingered. ,...{.f >. ,t.,ot /
l. "Now, my dear Mrs. Sweet" said
| Mr.. Slade-and the very gentleness of
his tone, the tender rendering of my
name, made me shiver and shake; for
couldn't get the thought from my
nobody left to deal tenderly with me or
mine" now pray try and give your
thoughts to the subject in hand 1t is
the simplest thing in the world; and
these rudiments once conquered, the
rest will follow: Now, man sold his
farm for $S, $50, and fourteen-ffteenths
| of this is seven-ninths of the cost of his
house, and the house cost 3 times as
much as the store; now what was the
cost of the house and the store?o 4d
| His voice was SO persuasive, so dis
tinct, it must have been pleasant voice
to listen to at the school, even If the
poor little blockheads could make neith-
er head nor tail of his meaning. Hook
| ed at Mr.. Slade, then out of the WIN
dow, where the mellow light of sunset
shone, and away over at the wooded
hills beyond, and / thought how, such
a little while ago, it was spring land
scape all bathed in tenderest green, and
now it was autumn, the grass was sere
and brown, the leaves falling, the
branches like skeletons against the
evening sky. sii9 ea1
Madam-my dear Mrs. Sweet"
said the voice of the school-master, i
beg your attention to these few first
rules. 1t is distasteful to me to leave
! you prey to the coarse habits of these
village women, who faunt their finery
in an obtrusive and unbecoming man.
ner, and grudge you the poor reward
for your labor. - '9.s1 l-5
"She said the seams were crooked,
and perhaps they were,'' said for I
knew he meant Mrs. Chapel. "I'm
not very good at sewing, or-or any
thing" Then two big tears rolled out
of my eyes upon Charley's slate, and.
blurred the schoolmaster's pretty fig
ures, which SO distressed him that he
got up and took turn about the room.
Then he came back to the table again.
4 "Dear Mrs. Sweet" he said, quite
imploringly, "if you would only make
up your mind to master these first rules!
A man sold his farm for S8, 8,370-'' f8f
Sand I'm sure he got q good price
for it, l broke ia sand whatever he
got for his house, it must have been all
it was worth. As for his store, don It
want to know any thing about it; I
can't see that it's'any of my business,
Mr.. Slade, and can't bother with it
just now. If it was house alone, or
a store alone, or a farm-but to cut
them all up and put them together
again LIE patchwork quilt is impos-
sible for me to think of, Mr.. Slade. /
can't do it, | never could, and it's ri
diculous to ask me such thing, Mr..
Slade. AL can do after you go away
!, is to 60 on working for Mrs. Chapel
, till l drop dead; and if it.wasn't for
Charley, wouldn't care how. soon that
lL,un,,ld bn IS