The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-04-17
What John Found.

& Recess was nearly over The boys and
sgirls were gathered IN the playground out
Sssde of the log schoolhouse, but no play
s9swas going OH. Most Of the boys had their
y books in their hands, and were porng over
:$them as if to make up for all the idle time
;$of their lives; while tho girls sat on the
sSwood-pilc whispering, and looking at the
SShoys with kind af awe.
q The schoolhouse was built just outside
;ssof mountain village in North Carolina
n The boys were dressed in butternut or blue
q cloth the girls In kind of linsey, all of
q which their mothers had spun and woven.
q Outside of the fence was gang of little
y negroes, whom the white children ordered
y about with an air of authority; There was
y row Of shiny black faces at the top of
i the fence. '"'s
} "Gorry! look at mas Win! lnk he
get it!"
"Pshaw! glong, you Victory our Mas
Bob's twic't as good scholar. See how
hc pokin' into dat book 'S fN a. VIZ '~.
The others volunteered no opinion but
shouted, ,-"Hooray which ob you a-gwine
to he the sojer2 Mas Bob Sewer lie gwine
Cunnel Bob Sevierl Hooray!
1 Never had there been such a day known
in Uncle Jobs school. Bob Scvicr, fair
thin boy with round blue eyes. sat on the
i steps turning over the leaves of his Histor-
a@ Sacrp. lie knew every word and line;
but he turned lcnt after leaf with his cold
shaking fingers.
When the little negroes shouted for
''Cunncl Bob, y he felt IL lump in his throat,
choking him. If he should not win Bob
had always been head boy in tho school,
but during the last month lie had worked
harder than ever: The cause was this
Judge Peters, who was now Congress-
man fl ON th!t district, had paid visit to
the village few weeks before, and had
dropped INTO the school one morning and
made the boys a little speech
''l was pupil here" hc said, ''Thcre
is the very desk at which sat- Uncle Job
taught me pretty much all l know. My
father could not afford to send ne to college,
and am sure neither can your fathers af-
ford to send you there. But want to give
some boy here chance such as l did not
have. have the appointment of cadet
to West Point, and l propose instead of
giving 1t to some rich mans son, that the
boy in this school who passes the best OK
animation month from, now shall have
it,"
This was the speech. 1t had made the
boys as wild as if he had put fire into their
brains. Not a boy there who did not see
himself colonel in full rcgimentals, pre-
ccdcd by brass band, riding up the streets
Of the village in triumph.
They fell to studying, most of them for
they were born in tho idlcs, LATEST quarter
Of the United States. They never had done
anything but lounge about the grassy street
of the sunny, hilly highland hamlet lis
tening TO the intemenable stories of the
hunters who came in with peltry, or play
Ing "Sixty-out," with little negroes -
John Frem0y, the shubbicst of them all,
sat apart from the other boys, with his sis
tor Louisa. Il. sz .ag IS. ., .H .
"Now, Lou, just hear mo this page"
and he began
"Charlcmagne, otherwise Charles the
Great, was the son of Pepin the Short, the
first of the Carlovingian-Carlovingian'-
on, what comes next2"
"Dynasty,' prompted Lou. "
"And what's the meaning of dynasty"
Pd like to knowl2 Such rubbish don't
understand wordof It'll There's no use to
try, Loui"
Louis eyes filled, and the tears rolled
down her flushed cheeks; but, John only
hut his jaws little tirmer, and fixed his
dark eyes on the ground: They were honest,
kind eyes, but dull; very different from
Bob Sewers, which glowed like lamps.
II might as well give up, Lou. Uncle
Job says patience and hard work will take
any boy through. But there's difference
in boys, Now Bob Sewer don't work half
rs hard over his books rs l do; but Just
look at him reckon he could go over the
Carlovngians or any other Vingians like a
trottin' horse"
ooh ycs,1 reckon he could" groancd
Lou. But only think of West Poiut,
Jack "You'd be gentleman and sold
icr aud soc the world: sAn' ef you don't
get it--wby, then"
''rhen Uncle Bill'll set mo, to plowin'
with the nlggers In the fall. He said only
this mornin' he wasted enough money on
work to earn our salt's
John took up tho book and went at tho
lesson with desperate energy, while Lou
sat crying silently.
The children were orphans, and lived
with their uncle, farmer, on Mt. Craggy.
He was wretchedly poor, like the other
,nountaineere, and was, besides, coarse,
harl.natured man. The school-bell rang, s
sits CONN now, !" said John, as he got
up and shut his book.
''Yon're powerful on rithmeic. johnny;
mind that! jest you keep up L, ..',.s. eagerly
whispered Lou, running along beside him.
Tho boys crowded into the hot little
school-holtse, and The girls followed. ex-
cepting Lou, who hung back, and finally
went to the wood-pile again. She knew
8 she should not be missed, and she could
not bear to hear John' . examination. 3. !,
The pcor little girl had but one friend
in the WON -her brother. She Sat down,