Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-10-03
A RHYME OF THE DISTRICT SCHOOL.
Read at the Third Annual Banquet OF the
Sons OF Vermont in Chicago. Jan. l9, 1880 by
NORMAN C. PERKINS

Twas Learning'S cheap ana ever Tree ABODE,
And public for il stood right ID the road.
Its play-grou stretched win many guloe-
board sign.
From Massachusetts up 10 Derby Line.
Within, the teachers throne stood at the end |
Two rows Of desks on each side dld ascend,
With seats in front for little victims, where
Their feet swung useless, dangling III the air.
A mighty stove down In the middle $1,000,
And roared all day with heaps of maple wood.
There NAV have been 4 black board and per-
haps
There hung a set of MitchelIs Outline Maps.
This was the school of forty years ago;
We don't remember it ourselves you know,
For we are boys vet, and we do but seem
GRAY. headed patriarchs walking in dream
Our hair is false! and where the bald spots
rise
They only show how thin is the disguisei
Once more see that troop of little girls
With shining hair, all innocent of curls,
Imprisoned close in little silken nets,
Barefooted, and with calico pantalets,
All vending schoolward on the summers
day
Now stopping to pick berries by the way
Now standing all arrow with glances shy,
To make their manners TO the passer-by!
The school ma'am sits there as OF old she did,
Her watch ticks loudly, in her bosom hid,
She points the letters out from TO Il,
With that sharp penknife which she always
had
To cut of children's ears when they were bad.
Once more through open windows comes
the tone
OF murmuring bees-the harvest bugs long
The hammers sound comes from the distant
shop
The swallows twitter from the chimney-top,
And noisy children read with many nod,
That NO man may put of the law OF God"
Gus boys
Whose sex and presence were MADE known
by noise,
As OF winter morning they rushed in,
With caps of fur and dinner-pails of tin,
With trouser.legs tied down with bits of
twine,
With rosy cheeks that evermore did shine
With health's own luster; with the melting
OF snowballs sticking still upon their backs,
And stood, in coats that their own mothers
wove,
To thaw their aching fingers at the stove?
There stands the youngster, with CULVER
ing lip,
Who was the snapper" when they snapped
the whip
And whose short length end over end did 60,
And stuck head-foremost i'll a drift OF snow.
Here stand the big boys, who for mornings
play
Have taken a run good half-mile away.
And slid down hilI-there was no "coasting"
And drew their sleds with patience back again.
Soon order came: each racked his little pate
Ger dire substractioEs on his tiny slate,
And learned that maxim, dear to many men,
when you are short you always borrow ten
Some playful wight, perchance was doomed
to sit
Between the girls, as retribution fit
For his great crime; and so he learned cen
then
The truth that comes in time to all young
men
IT'S more than twice as hard for Adams son
To sit with two girls as to sit with one!
Behold that spelling class with eager, look
With hands beside them-fngeri in the book
No looking sideways, and no looking back
Heads up, and every toe upon the crack
Ranged in long line like soldiers as they stand,
Ready to bow and "curchy," at command
The time has changed boys still can make a
bow,
But where's The girl can make 'curchy' now ?
Now here tonight, before our school is done,
Well read once more the Fable Number one:
IAN old man found rude boy IN his tree,
A-stealing apples; from which fact we see
The scene is laid not in Vermont-no; but
Down in New Fl lmpshlre or Connecticut.
The old man desired hun to come down with
what he'd got;
But the young sauce box told him plainly he
would not"
Now every hoy hat we knew in Our school
Always came down, and with his pockets full!
"Oh, won't you?" said the old man; "then
will fetch you down."
Who ever heard such language in Vermont
town?
So ne pulled up some tufts of grass and threw
at him,
Which made the youngster laugh, upon that
limb.
"Well, WELL" said the old man. "if kind words
and grass won't do"-
Just see how wicked this bad old man grew!
''l'll try what virtue now there is in stones;"
And pelted him heartily-may be broke his
oones-
Which soon made the young chap hasten
down from the tree,
And beg the old mans pardon.-Now we see
This storys meant for children very small,
And is nothing but fable, after all,
The moral Of this tale eacn schoolboy obvi.
"Always steal apples when. the old man isn't
i6undn
The teacher boarded round;- II see him yet
The matr0n in her gown OF bombazet,
With two shell side combs looping up her
hair,
And extra cap strings floating in the air,
Just greeting him within her open door,
With honey words of welcome, Ger and DER.
Twas, Yes, sir; walk right in, sir; take a
chair;
Stomp of the snow-it won't do any hurt;
We've been expectin' you, but declare
You wouldn't think we had to see The dlrti
Fact is, We butchered only tother day
We don't look quite SO bad's this, many nights :;
We're sort o'clustered mp, as You might say,
1t takes so long TO put the house to rights!
But supper,s ready; come, sir, sit right down :;
We don't stand much on ceremony here,
Just help yourself, my husbands gone to
town,
But long bout nine o'clock guess he'll ap-
pear.
Like baked pertaters? That's hard one,