The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-09-06

wiped the perspiration from his long
high forehead, and his bony fingers ac-
tually trembled on his knees. l don't
wonder he was mad, for Mime went on
in the most outrageous way. Her spunk
was up, and she wasn't bit afraid of
him.
{" you can't bear to see knowledge
made easy and pleasant she said.
i" You'd like to knock every new idea
into the brain with sledge-hammer;
you hate to look over at the children and
me, and see us making light of our task
its gall and NORWOOD to you, Mr..
! Steele.''
"Hush, Mime!' said, for l could
see that he was getting more and more
excited, and didn't know but.what
he'd fling the lamp at her head, or
something. But he mastered himself,
and up he got and went away, without
another word; and pretty soon Sam
came in. ..-sa
L thought we'd have a nice evening,
for Mine was in high feather; and sit
ting down to the table, she caught up a
pencil and made the school-master take
every ridiculous shape that she could.
Her eyes shone and her cheeks glowed,
and | didn't wonder Sam couldn't take
his eyes off her face.
Say the word, Nine" said Sam,
" and I'll punchlthe idiots headr'
f'lNho are you calling an idiotP'' said
Mime, turning straight upon Sam. "If
you had the hundredth part of his in
telligence, you might be glad"
"I thought you called him so your
SELF" said Sam, meekly, for he was
head-over-ears in love with the young
termagant.
eff did," said Mime, sit was alb
surd, and III never do it again. No,
Sam, I'll beat him with his own weap-
ons. I'll go to the trustees myself. If
he can wheedle and coax them, so can
L; and if he can bully them, perhaps l
can do that too"
.." You can do any thing" said poor
! Sam.
And soon after that Mime said she
was tired and sleepy, and sent Sam off,
as cool as you please. Then she got
upon her feet and walked about the
floor, and could see she was terribly
put out and excited by the school-mas-
ter's visit.
you'll wear yourself out for moth
ing" l said, for it vexed me to see her
all in fret that way from pure spite.
He'll break your health and spirits
like he did with that poor little body
that was here before you"
I ST don't believe all those stories about
that woman, aunty. I've found out
she had heavier troubles than those put
upon her by the school-master. You
mustn't believe all you hear"
That was the way with Mime-she
was that contrary when she was veXed
that she'd swear black was white, and
take the part of the Evil One himself.
She began from that time out to fight
hard for her own way, and it got to
be pretty well known she was winning
over the trustees. The children had
never liked any body as they did Mime,
and little Bill Pritchard, that used to
play truant half the time, and would
rather take beating any day than be
pent up in school, went there as regu-
lar as clock-work now, and began to
mark out horses and dogs with a stump
of pencil himself; and Mr.. Pritchard
he was one of the trustees, and thought
the world and all of my niece Jemima.
But somehow or other, just as | said,
! the continual worriment of it S'etted
Mime, and she got thin and lost her
pretty color; and the night she came
home and said she had got the best of
the school-master, and the notice had
been served on him that day that he was
to let her have her own way of teaching,
that night l made up my mind it was
about time it was settled in some way,
for Mime was more fdgety and contrary
than ever; and l don't believe every
thing would have turned out as it did if
Mime had been in her sober senses. The
girl was about half wild, and / don't
believe she knew what she was about;
for it stands to reason she must have
hated the school-master, and yet when
1 began to glory over his defeat, and say
how glad Sam Riley would be, she shut
me up in minute.
g Sam Riley and Mr.. Steele,'' she
said, "are two very different men,
81 should hope so,' said.
"Sam is made of a different stuff, ="
she went on to say. The little pricks
and torments that sting the soul of Mr..
Steele to madness would be utterly I'M
felt by Sam Sam is good fellow"
"Thank you for SAM" l said, for she
was enough to provoke saint.
sBut he has not the capacity for suf-
fering that Mr.. Steele has; and oh.
aunty, he doe, sufer!''
"Serye him right, the monster"
said; and had scarce got the words out
of my mouth when there was a rap at
the door. went over, thinking It was
Sam Riley, when there was the thin,
gaunt face of the schoolmaster again.
He came in and bowed as grave as an
owl, and sat down on a chair by the
door; his cane rolled down beside him
on the floor, and for a full minute or SO
he couldn't find a word out of that long
dictionary in his head.
was glad to see that Mines spunk
came back at the sight of him. Her
eyes were as bright as they could be,
and her cheeks like the heart of holly
hook.
"My errand here, Miss Jemima," he
began, is altogether a friendly one
You have so much spirit and determine
ton that | think your present subor.