The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-06-25
SCHO0L-DAY MEMORIES.
A POstOffice Glass i'm History. Geog-
raphy, and Grammar.


[From the New York SUM-
Fifty-eight applicants for appoint
ments in the New York postoffice were
notified to appear for civil-service exam
nation. Eleven of the number failed to
report, and nine were rejected on the
certificate of the examining physician;
One of the medical questions, as to the
age, if living, of the father and mother
of each candidate, or the age at DEATH
was made to determine the vital
powers of each candidate. The
question, "Do you chew tobacco?" was
also asked. In the class of thirty-eight
that was examined the youngest was Is
years old, and was small for his age.
The eldest was Al years of age, and had
been Colonel in the army. He had
for classmates two other Colonies, about
whom there was the coincidence that
they had been commanders of the same
New York regiment at different times.
The questions and examples in arithme-
tic were written on large blackboard.
and the members of the class
were required to fill out the
answers and solutions on blanks
spread before them on their desks.
The subjects for the examination were
arithmetic, geography, grammar and
history. Thirty minutes were allowed
in which to write the answers in arith-
metic, and fifteen minutes for the other
subjects. In arithmetic the first ex-
ample was Write nineteen million
two hundred and ten in figures" and
the others we're sums in addition, di-
vision and multiplication. In geography
the class was required to say GO what
States border on the Atlantic ocean and
Long Island sound, north of the mouth
OF Chesapeake bay ;" also the names of
the States touched by the Mississippi
river south of the mouth of the Ohio,
and to give the boundaries of the State
OF Massachusetts, as we'll as the names
OF the capitals of Wisconsin, Mississippi
Georgia, New Jersey, and Ohio. The
names Of the principal seaports on the
Atlantic coast were required to be given.
''Whatis GRAMMAR" "Whatis averb?"
"Name the different parts of speech of
the following sentence: John strikes a
horse, ," were some of the questions
about grammar. The class was also
given the sentences, "We lay down our
burdens and then laid down ourselves
Neither wealth nor honor can secure
happiness to their votaries." "The
rapidity of his movements were beyond
example," and "He was exceeding
careful not to give offense," to correct
Such questions as "What foreign ma
tions once had territorial possessions
which are now owned by Great Britain
Or the United States?" were asked in
history Most Of the answers omitted
"Alaska," and one or two of the exam
iners were found to have momentarily
forgotten that William II. Seward had
purchased that land from Russia
twelve years ago. "What indie
pendent nation voluntarily consented
to becoming a State in the Union %
and "What nation was that State a
part of previous to it's admission to the
United States?" seemed sticklers for
most of the Junior members of the class.
In naming the "three memorable wars
in which the United States had been en-
gagged since the acknowledgment of it's
independence" many gave the Revo-
luton as one Of the wars, and one or two
fixed the date as ITO. One of the class
complained of a violent headache and
quit in the middle of the exercise. Aber-
crombie was named as prominent Gen
eral of the United States.