The Plymouth Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1878-1901, 1879-07-24
HOW HE CONQUERED

HOW HE CONQUERED.
Bronson Alcotf. OF Boston, once
told Joseph Cook, and Joseph Cook
told everybody he met, that he made
it a regulation in his school that II q
pupil violated rule, the master
should substitute his own voluntary
sacri6cial chastisement for that pu-
pills punishment, and tt is regulation
almost Christianizad ed his school,"
"One day." Mr.. Alcott said, al
called up before me a pupil who had
violated an important rule. All the
school was looking on, and knew the
rule and the penalty. Ip i the ruler
into the offenders hand; EXTENDED d
my own hand; told him to strike.
Instantly saw a struggle begin in
his face. A new light sprang up in
his countenance. A new set OF shut
Ties seemed to be weaving a W ma
ture within him. / kept my hand ex-
! tended, and the school was in t.a ars.
The boy struck once, and burst into
tears. He seemed to be Ia bath of
fiIe which was giving him new ma
ture. He seemed transformed by the
Idea that should suffer chastisement
10 place OF bis punishment. and eyer
after was the most docile pupil in the
school, though he had at first been
the rudest."
Now this is very affecting and rea-
sonab!e and striking. No one can
read the iLcid"nt and very readily
forget ii; and il contains q lesson
that every school teacher can GER
tainly read with profit. The inciden
came to the knowledge OF Mr.. Willis
K. Stoddard, who for some years past
has been teaching district school In
Flint River township in Iowa. He
read this sxtrac from one Of Joseph
Cooks lectures, aud never forgot the
great moral il conveyed. And, in-
deed, he privately informed clergy
man who called upon him during u
critical period in his career. and With
whom he was very Intimate, aud be
didn't think he ever would forget il.
Young Mr.. Stoddard had some pretty
hard boys in his school. They were
big and noisy, and rough. aud turbu
lent. He had reasoned with them: lie
had expostulared; he had begged aud
wept. He had whipped them until
his arms ached, and the directors had
threatened 10 dismiss him for unnec-
essary severity and absolute cruelty.
and the boys grew worse every day.
But when he was at his wits end, aud
seriously thinking OF running away
and losing all his back salary rather
than stay another day at the sci ool,
he read this incident, aud i; gave his
troubled mind new light. He treas
ured it'up, and thought it might help
him.
He had treasured it up probably
half a day, when. one bright June
afternoon, Samuel Johnson, the big
gest and strongest and worst OF all
the big bad boys, violated all the
ru<s OF the school, one after another,
as fast as he could think of them, and
wound up by tearing seven leaves out
of his geography. These he crammed
into his mouth, and when he had
chewed them into a pulp, he took the
wadA in his hand aud propelled the
whole mass with great violence into
the ear Of Ellis Haskell, who, though
also big and bad-a little bad was
not possessed Of sufficient presence
OF mind to look calm and unconscious
under this avalanche, merely because
the eye OF his teacher was upon BIN
end he accordingly signified his very
natural dismay and establishment by
a tremendous howl.
And all The school howled In re.
sPonsive chorus. Not only because
the scholars were delighted to see
Ellis Haskell with his Iarboard eal
full OF paper mache, as though he
were going TO take cast OF IL for the
physiology class, but also because
they knew the teacher would prompt.
ly and without any further ceremony
or formality give Tecumseh" John
son benefit; to-wit, most awfu
and dreadful lickin'." And this, be.
ing pleasant change from the mo-
notonous routine OF study aud reci.
tation, was always hailed with dem
onstrations Of great Joy by the pu.
pills.
Mr.. Stoddard called Samuel John.
son up TO his desk, and more calmly
than was his custom under such cir.
cumstances, told him to go out and
bring 10 switch. The pupils noticed
there was something unusually gen.
tie In the teachers manner, and IL
struck Samuel johnson very forcibly
that it was certainly very much oui
OF the ordinary method OF procedure
for the culprit to be accorded the
privilege OF cutting his own switch
4 But he was not. the boy who would fai