The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1877-11-01
THE SCHOOLMASTER.
BY " oUID SCOTCH. "

"Oh, pshaw / don't believe il" ex
claimed Aunt Prudy, tossing Harper's
Bazlr upon the center table.
Don't believe whatf' asked Uncle
Frank. closing his Manual of Mythology,
with the index finger to mark the place.
why just listen" Aunt Prudy caught
the rejected paper again. and Tommy and
/ pushed back our states. tired anyway.
yet satisfied the hated algebra was we'll
learned and our Snllust pas~able Father
and mother were our, aud we had teased
in the early part of the evening for
story and gained the promise OF one
when the lessons were learned.
Aunt Prudy read According to n re-
cent writer in the olden time we wish,
for the credit of humanity the olden
time was thousands OF years ago-a Sau
bian schoolmaster taught school fifty-One
years. During the time he kept faith.
ful record OF the following puuIshmrnts
which he inflicted 81 | 500 csnings l2l.-
600 hoggings. 2090O0 cn~todies. l020O
ear boxes. % 100 tasks. 1876 tips with rule.
700 boys he had caused To stand on peas.
5000 TO stand on sharp edged wood. 5000
to wear FOOLS caps. 700 to hold the rod
total. .2S7. $50 cases OF punishment"
There. can you believe that2' a-ked
Aunt Prudy, throwing the paper from
her again
Yes do, and can, most emphatically
! tell you. Prudy, teaching school forty ar
fifty years ago was not what il is now. nor
going to school, either. I'm an old bach.
elor, know, might as well own up; but
/ can distinctly remember going TO
school that long ago aud il just grinds
whenever | think oft Why. there WAS
Minerva Spriggs, aunt to- the one you
kuow-she is dead and gone, but hated
her as long as she lived and shall hate
her memory as long as | live Uncle
Frank bad in turn tossed his book To the.
table and was uneasily pacing the floor.
Why, I've seen that woman pin the
boys to the wall by the ear make them
stand with their toes and hnger-tips To
the floor and il they protested at all,
down came a tremendous ferule, three
feet long at least and three inches wide.
She would put the snutfrrs on our noses
my, but that was awful-Ive worn them
many an hour, not any of your light,
daiaty ones of those days, but an old
fashioned brass pair that would weigh
two pounds certainly; holding very heavy
books at arms length standing on one
foot until it went TO sleep, aud your
whole body paralyzed; standing on peas
would be n pleasant change from this
'Canings7 2 indeed what were they to
member the worst feruIing ever got
aud | was as innocent rs Katie this min
ute
had just given Tommy nudge, for
saw we were To have our story without
any teasing this time. all acted out, too.
good as a drama. Uncle saw nothing of
my mind in my eyes, ! suppose. Tor he
went on:
"Yes. I'll tell you a story. a certain
for true one as Tommy says. | can not
tell why il was to this day. but for some
reason Miss Spriggs seemed to cherish a
spite towards me it did well, got up
head and all that. il seemrd to make her
mad thought II was because she want
ed her lazy lubber of a brother, Joshua,
to excel; he never did but once, then
she lied about it know. Well, one
morning splendidly cold. | remember,
the ice fine, | went skating along Bear
Creek, happy as any lark in midsummer
meadow. / had reason to be happy for
i was rich in the possession of a new tip
pet and a pair OF red mittens fresh from
grandmother's needles. | laughed at the
cold winds when they attempted To bite,
and caught at the birch boughs that over
hung the ice bound creek and made min
iature snow-storms fall from their lodg.
ings / was the first at the school-house.
There was a great fire in the huge fire
place; the backlog had smOuldered all
night and been renewed by one of the
directors in the morning it being una
su4lly cold. IL WAS the business ot the
first arrival to rPpl+ni-h the fire; but. as
/ said the q lmps were already dancing
up the wide chimney and heaps o. 1--we
coal lay on the broad hearth. The LOGS
sputtered and sang as the bark peeled
and crackled from their brown sides. la
few minutes there was Il noisy arrival
Of clique OF Older and rou CHER boys
then Joshua SpriggS came 'n with la,
sister, the terrible teacher ] had my
back towards the door aud coui-ss h.,d
not enough respect for her to bid her
good morning A snick-r ran through
the crowd OF boys. accompanied by omin
GUS nudginss and punches. heard Miss
Spriggs step bri>kly and firmly to her
desk; the click of the KY. aud then
such a scream as fairly chilled my blood
! turned quickly, the desk cover came
down with bang. and Miss Spriggs was
staggering back with uplilted hands and
wide staring eyes. to the wall
The boys rushed up crying whats
the matter, what's the matter" You re.
member that Warren Bones and Sam
Weller. don't you Prudy2
Aunt Prudy shook her head. why,
OF course you DO not. IN always forget
ting I'm so much older" Uncle Frank
was over twenty years older. but she did
love him so lie had been kind father
to her all her lite She was only baby
when their mother died.
Miss Spriggs recovered herself enough
to clap her hand on the desk, saying.
Back back every one of you. j
know very we'll who did this, it was you,
Franklin Towns2
was stupified knew not what she
meant. She took her ruler from its nail
and came quickly towards ME.
ut is you, Franklin Towns" she re-
peated as she dealt blow on blow with
merciless hand across my shoulders and
head In vain ] cried aud expostuIat+d
my innocence, the blows came thicker
and faster until fell at her feet. The.
blood streaming from my nose and mouth;
this sobered the wretch. / was told al.