The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1879-12-03


row of villainous looking fellows. and
one of them big enough to throw me
over in the big swamp with one
hand
Happily our first boarding place
was with two Of the "great gals"
Never did we clay ourselves out" to
gain the good graees of the lovely
sex as during the first week of that
boarding round. We rode on the
front of the sled with the tallest girl,
played checkers with the second,
got all snarled up in Seats cradle"
with the pretty visiting cousin, and
put in word of explanation for the
"hard sums" Of all in the long even
ings at home.
The first crisis came at the begin.
ming OF the second week, when big
lout "sauced" the new schoolmaster.
Somehow it crushed us, and for a
minute the school-room swan round.
and the idea of selling our fur cap
and making for home fitted across
our vision. Just then the patter of
a light footstep was heard down the
long slope of the narrow aisle lead
ing up to the seat of the "ten great
gals" The tallest glided down, os.
tensibly to ask the explanation of
hard sum; but as we leaned over the
slate, with dimness in the eyes, we
heard whisper in our ears:
"Don't be cast down. We girls
will shame that seat of hoys into
good manners before another week"
| A light broke in; we were gaining
the affections of the ten great gals"
So things drifted for six weeks,
when dawned the Judgment day. We
had gone to board with good, moth.
erly woman, who loved us as her
own son. A big fire in the parlor
greeted our arrival, and supper fit
for the parson himself After tea our
hostest appeared in her best black
silk, in her hand mighty black
"ruler," and sat down before us with
the air of a Minerva.
"Now matters have come to point
in your school; you have been try.
ing to govern that crowd of rascally
boys by love, but that has come to
and end. Tomorrow they'll try to
put YOU out. Take this ruler, and
THon eeae IN 'lI AvfowI -aigllNl
unless you have up over the
heads and shoulders of somebody"
There, was no appeal from that. A
greater than the whole class OF "great
gals" had spoken, and we felt in our
, souls that fate was standing at the
school house door.
Were we endowed with the epic
, rage of Homer or a Pope, we
, might possibly depict the scenes Of
, the coming day. How the ugliest
! loafer in trock coat kicked in the
= door at recess how, when the trem
= bling young master asked "who did
: that?" the big boor lifted his thumb
to his nose, and executed the signifi
cant gYration with the little finger
which would make savage of St
f John, himself; how, fred with the
courage OF despair, and vision O
:, our farmhouse Minerva, we seized
: the big oaken ruler, rushed up the in
, clined plane, upsetting several small
!. children, on the insolent scoundrel
:, tore off the collar of his frock coat
: snaked him down the area before tn,
= Fireplace, and beat him over the heat
and shoulders till he roared for mer
! cy; how, at intervals, he cast glanc,
! at his accomplices and took in tn,
q situation; the ''ten great gals" hat
+ spiked the guns of all but this wretch
/, who skunk and begged under GU
. hand-how we wound up with al
+ eloquent address, and gave ,h'
whipped rufian his hat, with instruc
tions to go home; how his sensible
father took off what renamed of hi
dilspidated frock coat, and trounce(
him till he yelled again, and sent hin
to school the following day with
! compliment to the plucky youna
schoolmaster; all this might be suns
in heroic verse.
But. if the truth were known, i
was not we, but the item great gals
that did the business. They had q
demorslixed the attacking columns
by the magic of their charms tina
only one had the heart TO defy thu
: little schoolmaster, and he dared mo-
lift his hand when the day Of battle
came. And from that day W.
crowned dear old Aunt Anna proph
etess OF love. '", r.''
Gain the affections of the "ter
great gals in your schoolroom, "anc
all things shall work together fol
good"