The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-06-22

Arthur tried to go to sleep and dream
away the hours until time to go home,
but conscience was so busy. Thoughts
of his father toiling in the warm, dusty
field, and his mother wedding the gar
den beds, when she might have been
resting, while he was idling away his
time, tormented his mind, and every
moment he grew more and more I'M
happy.
The school was dismissed, and the
teacher had fingered after the pupils
were gone, to rearrange her desk, and
to attend various little matters pertain
ing to the tidiness of the room, when
quick, nervous football arrested her at
tention, and a boy with blushing face
and excited, impetuous manner, came
in, and depositing hatfull of berries
upon her desk, flung himself into his
seat eXclaiming: "Well, I've come
back, and you may give me whipping
and eat the berries. dare not take
them homer
The teacher looked into the flushed,
remorseful face for moment, and per-
haps memories of similar feelings dur
ing her own childhood helped her to
better understanding of the little culprit
before her.
"Why doyou wantme to whip You?''
she asked.
"You know why; I'll have to be pun
ished and | want it done WITH he an
swered impetuously.
But why do we punish children at
ALP" persisted the teacher
because they do wrong; and wish
you wouldn't keep me waiting, l want
to 90 home,n he answered.
"No, we punish them to teach them
not to do wrong, to show them that
evil ways are not the ways of pleasant
ness, and sometimes the child realizes
this, through more powerful agent
for doing good than the application of
corporeal punishment could possibly at
tain. At such times, nothing further is
necessary. Have you passed a pleas
ant afternoon"
"No; | wish had stayed with the
moods and lenses, bad as Ihate them,"
he answered; 81 don't believe that l
can ever learn them, but | should not
have been doing wrong while | was
trying"
"Well," said the teacher. " let us see
about them. We will take sentence
which contains all the moods, and |
will try to impress the lesson upon your
memory in manner which you will not
forget" She took pencil and wrote
the following:
Arthur disliked his lesson, but if
the green woods had not been so tempt
ing, he might not have learned that to
do wrong is to be miserable. Commit
this sentence to memory"
She handed the paper to him, and
taking the grammar she read: 1.-The
indicative mood atfirms something as
an actual occurrence or fact" CHOW
tell me which of the verbs in the SEN
tence does this?" she said.
81 disliked the lesson; that is fact"
exclaimed Arthur. beginning to COM
prehend better than he had ever done
before.
Correct" answered the teacher.
"The subjunctive mood af1irms some
thing in a doubtful or conditional man
ner, as if
d" If the green woods had not been so
tempting" interrupted Arthur.
May, can, must, might, could,
would, and should
Are the signs of the potential
mood, and might have learned is the
verb in the sentence which you gave
me-" exclaimed Arthur cheerfully.
1.-The infnitIve mood expresses the act
in an unlimited manner" continued
the teacher.
"'To do wrong Is to be miserable;' l
can remember that; experience is a
good teacher said Arthur; and now
if you will be imperative enough to
command me to go home, will obey
as soon as you take the berries" said
Arthur.
Having learned your lesson you
need not fear to take them to your Sis
ter" said the teacher, "and they will
do you a great deal of good in that
way" And Arthur left the school
room with heart much lighter than
when he entered it."
Little Hattie met him at the gate, and
her blue eyes sparkled with delight
when he filled her hands with the ripe,
juicy berries.
"Ah," said his mother, that ac-
counts for your being unusually late to-
night; but your berries are very nice,
and you have enough for tea" Arthur
turned away, that his mother might not
see the flush upon his face, but said
nothing.
The fact of having learned his lesson
after all, took away much of his self
reproach, and enabled him to partake
of the berries with a relish, and the SEN
tence given by his teacher not only
fixed the lesson in grammar upon his
mind, but ever afterward, if any for
hidden pleasure attempted to lure him
from duty, the memory of that after
noon, and the words ITO do wrong is
to be miserable were enough to re-
strain him.-OhiO Farmer.