The Republican journal., 1877-06-28
Observations of Men and Things.
BY OUR GEORGE.

pleasure of being dssected bisected and inspected
by their school committee, their fond parents and
friends.
All those happy days. shall never pass through
them again-not if can help it. How eagerly did
l look forward to examination and hope, with a
childish hope that some of our family would die ,
on that day, so could stay at home from school
and | used to climb up into the tallest trees, and
sit on the ridgep pole of the steepest roofs, vany
seeking to fall off and be dashed to atoms, so
badly dented that l could stay at home sit up in
bed and eat Cruel and have kind hands battle my
brow with cologne, and experience that rare pleas
ure OF having drop escape and then from the
handkerchief and run down into the of my
eye VINO can ever forget how suddenly person
can be brought to life by drop or two of ammo
MIA, deity spilled into patients eye All my
boyhood days, and especially my school days. and
more especially my examination days; can not
now when they all gone by. cannot | say,
while my bosom swells with pride, how did love
thee No, don't think can unless tell big
ger lie than intend to during the wear 1871
| have il carefully compiled table of figures and
statistics, and find that can have more fun now
| in twenty four hours than ever had in any boy
| hood days in six weeks. | stand up and look
a statue of old Socrates in the eve without blancl
| ing. and with untatering voice tell it that always
hated to go to school, always detesed my teacher
always abominated study and yet have lived to
grow up and put ii substitute into the army who
| cost me 5000
My own is an Isolated case. presume there is
no one who Will read this but what can remember
how he used to enjoy sitting at home by the warm
fire, hard at work at his studies, while the idle
boys were out the hill Sliding and skating
And every one will remember and will repeat the
fable to his children, how when h. was a boy he
had rather attend school than go to Il circus on
steal apples.
| Luckily it is not what a boy wishes that always
guides him. Boys ought to 90 to school, and if
there is any medicine that they can take that will
make them love to 90 love their teachers after
they get there would like to contract for gross
Of the family sized bottles. If | had boy he
should 60 to school, if had to drive him into the
school house with a slcd,,c hammer: and he
should learn after he got there. if had to get
surgeon to cut him open and bail the knowledge
into him with soup lade; but if he should come
home and tell ne that he was looking forward to
examination with feeling of intense pleasure, |
should think there was something wrong in that
boy; in fact should think that the boy lied
| remember that dreaded term before the exam
nation. That intellectual house cleaning term
when all the knowledge and wisdom and facts
were taken out OF us, and We were all scrapcd out
clean. and sandpapered and painted throughout,
and then each bit of wisdom was busted and
rubbed up, and all the facts were secured bright
and our bric-a brac of knowledge sorted out and
cut over, and then the whole thing put back into
u.s. each in its right place and we We're drilled un-
| til we could tell where each thing was, and give a
full description Of it, and could reach into ourselt
and pull out the article asked for. just as could
go to II closet and pass out Il plate saucer as
might be wanted
Having gotten all ready for exhibition, our
intellectual residence thoroughly in order. the
committee and friends were invited iii to inspect
the condition of affairs.
| can never forget those DAYS. would give ten
dollars this minute if | could 1t was then that
my only shirt that had starchcd bosom was
brought out and | was slipped into it, feeling as
| though had been run up through length of tin
furnace pipe. was further decked out with a
stiff collar, and it was then that the sympathy
would ooze ont all over me for the poor licensed
dog that had to wear brass collar, though |
enved the dog his little jaunty paddock while
only had butterfly tie. Then | was obliged to
carry Il handkerchief, and was especially and re
spectfully informed, that on that day to Use
it instead of my jacket sleeve.
The visitors would begin to till the school room;
the committee would take their seats near the
..,risf a,l
as psamess as doves" They came there loaded
with forty rounds of fixed ammunition in Ques-
tons which they intended to shoot into us before
they left | used to think if the scholars could
only ask the committee a few questions, and have
them answer without looking OIL the books. how
many of them would pass the examination as
satisfactorily did
But there they sat book in hand and as the diff
fercnt classes were called out, they would plunge
an intellectual guage down into us, as IN expert
does fryer into furkin of butter. and pull it out
and examine it, and taste the quality, and sample
lis like many cheesrs.
But when my name was called for defamation |
then it that needed all the courage and fort
tude that our family brought over i'll the MAY
flower, to brace up. MY heart would sink |
shook like a dish of wine Jelly The blood re- |
ceded from my face, and crcpt back into me till |
my countenance resembled piece of chalk that |
had tainted away. | have since read of convicts |
going to the l,alowS. | think that a boy. |
knew how they felt. | never have been hung for |
through the clemcncy OF the Governor, have al
ways been reprieved before the fated day: but |
if ever am obliged to take that taed walk |
am sure that | Shall do it with less trcpidaton.
than did on my first examination day.
Tip toeng my way to the teachers desk, with Il |
gait resembling chicken that had frozen its feet,
| made my bow. | called it bow then, though it |
more Of an imitation of shutting up a jack
knife. | commenced my piece,
New Engand's dead. New Engands dead
On every hill they lie"
and by the time had got thus far | was wishing
that New England was dead and buried forty feet
back to my seat, and noticed the pleased expires
sion on the committees face. then thought they
were pleased because did so we'll | have since
seen that expression, when visitor | have
heard that same bit of oratory rrhearSed, and |
know that the pleased look was because had
got done.
But there was always an end to the day The
committee would get up one at a time. and tell the
scholars how well they had DONE and how they
never saw a school do so we'll before And then
they would drop all facts, and tell us how much
they used to like to 90 to school, and how they
wished they could go again, instead of being
man and having all the money they wanted, and
doing just as they pleased. And there they would
stand, like lot of leach barrels with the lie
ming ont of them and wondered if should ever
grow up and be able to tell such stories as they
did, without being found ont,
All those happy school examination days
Would were a boy again No, not for eleven
dollars a minute.
More Correct Talk from Washington.
W,SIIINcTnN lima ~ Tba Dostmoc