The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-02-06
SCHOOL TOPICS.
CONDUCTED BY LYON coUSTY TEACHERS.
Items and communications Tor this depart.
ment to be sent too. Il wharton. EnForia,
Kansas.
JONES, DREAM.
Translated from the Original and Adapt
cd to the Weather.


JONES DREAM.
translated from the Original and Adapt
cd to the Weather.
By Go. supt. W II. smith. bloomington. III.
1t was the year Of grace, 1880, and the
first day OF the year. Dennis Duval was
nlodding along on horseback through
the mud and the mist tsaen he met, at
the section corners, 3iT. Paul Jones,
neighbOr, who was mounted ike him
sell. and the two headed their horses in
to the same lane and logged along togeih-
er. Duval gave Jones Happy New
Year. Us they met, TO which Jones re-
piled in IA low monotone, The same TO
YOU" and then became silent The
Splash of the horses feet was the only
sound heard for several rods, thea Duval
broke out:
"Wha's the matter, Jonesl | never
saw you look so tore up in my life.
You're always counted the best man in
the business for joke; but you don't
look much like il To day. What's the
matter? Anybody dead ~
Jones looked up, gave kind of grim
and CHASTITY smile, and then replied:
mo, there amt anybndy dead, but /
dreamed there Was; thapsall," and again
he was silent.
Nothing but splashing for the next
eighty rods, at the end of which Duyal
again made an attempt at conversation:
"You dreamed there was? Who'd
you dream was?''
Myself" said Jones, with wink and
u sly grin from under his slouched hat
THAT you wasp said Duval; and
then there WAS silence again.
At length Jones heaycd deep sigh,
Strengthened himself in his saddle and
spoke as follows:
''Yes, / dreamed was dead. Didn't
dream much about the dyin' part, but the
first | knew | was standin' aforc a gale
and waitir' TO get in. | waited
around a while, and nobody seemed
TO care; so l stepped into Il kind
of u little Office just TO one side
of the gate to wait Twas a nice kind
of room, not being big, and was goin'
around il, lookin' at things, while |
was waitin'; and first knew | saw Il big
book like ledger set up on Il deck, or
frame like. kind o wondered what it
was, and as it was right out in the room
where anybody could see il, | went up
and looked ut il, and rs sure as I'm Il
sinner, there stood my account Ii was
headed in good style, Paul Jones, on ac-
count, etc. DIR. ON one side and Or. on
the other. 1t kind o took me back a
little to run onto it so sudden. bat I'd
been thinkin' about it more or less all
the time I'd been waitin.' Well, no.
bOdy'd come yet, so | got 10 looking
over the account. The first statement
was, general business account and |
don't want 20 brag, but had IA pretty
fair showing. take it all round. | was
charged up with some things, just az |
deserved to be, but in the main / confess
| was pretty we'll pleased with the way
the account looked.
well, then came on the Church and
Benevolent Society account and that
made Il fair show, too. You see I've al
ways had considerable to give, and I've
liked to give pretty well, and SO I've Civ
en- Il good deal one way and another, and
it was all down all right. There WAS one
or two charges though, on the other side,
that got me Il little. For instance, there
was 'ncglecting meetings. and giving for
personal benefit. and giving for the
sake OF public approval That got me a
little. but | stood that pretty well /
went on down to the widows and orphans
account which was in pretty good
shape, too, and was begin
min to feet pretty good, when | struck
school directors account and | Tell
YOU, Duval, my heart struck the bottom
of my boots like lead. You see I'd never
thought of running All account with that
headin' anyhow. But there it was, and
had To face it.
well, as soon rs ! got my breath, |
took look at il. | daregnt tell you all
that was there, but it just makes me sick
now to think aboutit. Why, the Dr.col-
umns run on for about six pages, and
here's about the way it went:
"Item-Neglecting to keep school
house in repair, ON account Of which
Geo Ncwcomb's litt!e girl caught cold
and died, and several children suffered
severely. See testimony OF NewcOmb's
little girl.
misunderstanding TO stand by the
teacher when some meddleS0mc people
| in the district tried to break up the
school.
Misunderstanding to sustain the
teacher when lie attempted to coercc d
| few bad, big boys who were trying to
| run the school.
sItem-Hiring Mehiiable Parker (you
| see she was my witc's cousin, and had
been spending the summer visitin' us
TO teach the school, she being young and
inexperienced, when Hiram Samson
| could have been hired in her stead, lac
! being an experienced and accomplished
teacher, the change being made for the
sake of saving five dollars Il month.
! 'Item-Neglecting TO visit school and
personally inspect the WORK of teachers
| and pupils.
"Item-Neglecting to confer with the
teacher and patrons about the interests
| of the school, and so on. Here it went
page after page, all charged up.
''Item-Neglecting to insist on uni
formity of textbooks, and so greatly
Gripping the school.
"Item-Allowing private family quar-.
rels in the district to interfere with and
weaken the school.
II can't give 'cm all, but they made
my hair stand on end when read en-
WAS there nOthin' on the other side
of the account?" put in Duval.
''Well, yes; clear on to the end there
was just one item, and that was: Credit
by balance, for serving as school direc
tor for nineteen years without pay, and
subject to the growls and SANDERS of the
| whole district
And the old man winkcd slowly with
both eyes, as he looked his companion
in the face. He then proceeded:
THAT let up on me little, but even
that couldn't make me feel just right
and was pretty well down in the mouth
about the business, when l heard the
door open, and | turned around to see
who had come, and it was my little girl
who came to tell me breakfast was ready
and wish me II happy New Year.
| Well, l got up, eat my breakfast, but
kept thinking of my dream, and l JUS
made up my mind that Pm going to dc
what | can for the rest of my natural
life to make better lookin' record than
that, when the time really does come
that | have to face it. There's oul
| school house now, with nj
foundation under it, half doZer
panes of glass out, a poor stove, cracks
in the floor, the plastering of in three oil
four places, so that the wind blow:
right in; the out-houSes without roofs
and their sides half torn off, and dom
know what else; and I'm on my way now
to call meeting of the board to fix thin g:
up, and if they aren't better'n they are
now inside of a week, why NV name
amt Paul Jones. that's all, and if ever
hire a teacher for any reason except be
cause he's the man for the place, it'll bC
because / got fooled Good morning.
And at the section cornerihey spiashef
away from each other 1T a right angle
Jones to call the board together, and Du
val to tell a reporter of Jones dream anC
its results.-BloomIngt on Paragraph.
Influence of Newspapers.
4 schoOl-teacher, who had been a Ions
time engaged in his profession, and wit
messed the Influence of Newspaper OIL
the minds of a family of children, write:
as follows:
have found il To be a universal fact
| without exception, that those scholars, o
both sexes and of all ages, who have &C
cess to newspapers at home, :'hen com
pared with those who have not, art:
l. Better readers, excellent in pronun
citation, and consequently read more ant