The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1881-09-22
THE MISTAKE AROUT HAMP SEE.

A Practical Lesson for Teachers and Pupils.
By George Cary Eggleston.
"Hamp See Ounce! Welt may be SO;
but AFTER what I've seed, it nd take smart
or schoolmaster than you to make mo think
60"
TWAS old Riley Vaughn who spoke, and
although old Riley had no education, his
hard sense and sound judgment were re.
spected by all the men who sat there IN the
village postoffice waiting for the mail. He
had grown prosperous by dint OF hard work
and good judgment. and his neighbors were
accustomed to ask for and to respect his
opinions.
. Il did not say precisely that, Mr..
Vaughn" replied MIR. Penruddocb, the
schoolmaster. Il only said that my best
efforts to educate the boy were rendered
plicible inability to grasp and retain 80 SIM
pie thing as the accidenoe of the Latin
verb"
THAT means, in plain English, that he
amt got no grip OF. what You teach him,
don't it?" asked Riley.
yes, that is what me1n," replied the
schoolmaster. with something like shud-
der at old Rilev's English. "But will
make an honorable exception in the matter
of mathematics. Flo seems instinctively
to grasp arithmetical principles"
"Yes," dawled old Riley; "one of your
boys tole me Hamp could figeer ont how
long it nd ta ke for cistern to get full Of
they was three pipes O. different sizes a.
runnin' in'o it. and two others O. still diff
ferent sizes a-runnin' out.
Yes, he is an expert in the pratical ap-
plication of arithmetic; and yet even in
rith otS his 50
cause he seems incapable OF mastering the
exact terms of the form'e and rales.
well, now look here" said old Riley,
rising and striking the counter with his big
fist; its jest comes TO this here; the boy
amt got no grip on your words an things,
bnt he's got good grip on idees an prin-
ciples, an it's my belief that's the inside o.
sense. I don't want 10 be unnecessarily
offensive. but you an all schoolmasters
like you ought to teach parrots. They
don't went no idees; they Jest want the
words, and that's your notion O. learnin'.
That's the trouble O this here country
down here; men learn words, an kin make
speeches, but they can't do nothin'.
Now I've seed that boy Hamp Sec do what
nary a man in this country could do. l
bought the fust reapin' machine rs was
ever seed in these parts, an when it came
It was all to pieces, and packed in boxes.
sent one arter another for all the black
smiths an wheelwrlghts an carpenters
hereabouts, to set the thing up, an I'm
bleet eff one on 'em could mako out which
end O the thing was foremost. Not one on
EN- could put any two pieces together.
That ere boy hung round all the time, with
his forred creased up like, an finally he saws
to me, says he, Mr.. Vaughn, let me try. ,
Well, try, says I; an eff you Git her TO-
gether, I've cot a five dollar bill for you.
Maybe you won't believe it, but afore noon
that very day that there reaper was reapin'
wheat like q dozen hands. The boy lest
seed right into the thing. Now I say eff
he's Ounce, the sooner most people in
these here parts. loses their senses an gifts
to be ounces. the better twill be for all con-
cerned." And with that old Riley stalked
Indignantly out Of the post Office. .
Notwithstanding all that old Riley could
say, however, public opinion was against
HaEp See. 1t was certain that he was dull
in his lessons. He could not keep up with
Mr.. Penruddock's classes, and instead Of
studying his Latin verbs, he was perpetual
IL interrupting the schools by asking MIR.
Penruddock to explain things like thunder
and lightning, and the presence Of shells in
the rocks on the mountain, aud the curious
ways that plants Lave of taking care of
themselves-things which had no relation
to thu work OF the school. It was agreed
that Riley Vaughn could not know anything
about education. besause he was not him
self educated. 1t was even said-and this
came to Riley's ears-that he was preiudi-
ced against education.
Even lamps mother was discouraged.
Hamp was always put ring" she said, in
stead of attending to his books.
Why" she said, "he's been fooling with
a spring up on the hill back of the house
the whole season through. He's laid pipes
to bring the water down here, and now he's
turned the whole house into mill" Then
she would show her visitor what lIamp had
done. He had constructed an Ingenious
water wheel with which to make the most
of the power afforded by the spring, and
had set it at a variety of tasks. A stretch
OF line passed nrder the floor of the house.
and bands were passed through the floor
to the churn and the sewing machine, and
even the sausage chopper could be attached
at will. II don't deny that it's handy, and
saves work, said his mother And now
he's made sort of fan in the dining room,
and has set it going too, so that it keeps
the flies off the table. If we had baby in
the house it would rock the cradle. But
it's discouraging about his studies. Mr..
Penruddock is in despair, and says he
don't know what's to be made of the boy. "
The summer proved to be very dry one
and the gardens especially suffered for wa
ter. When the people began to complain.
Hamp had an idea. He always had an idea
when IN emergency arose. He went into
his mothers garden and worked all day,
digging trench down tho middle, and
making little trenches at right angles to the
main one, SO that every bed was surround.
ed by them; and the larger beds crossed as
well. lie was very careful to keep all these
trenches on one level. Wien he had finish
ed, he laid drain from his water wheel
to the main trench, SO that the waste water
after turning the wheel, was carried into
the garden and cmptied into the trench.
Little by little the main trench filled; then
the water trickled into the smaller trenches.
and as the spring from which it came was
anever failing one, the garden vas supplied
with water throughout the dry, hot summer. |
nnl such garden nobody in that region
had seen that season.
People said that Hamp See certainly was
handy sort of boy; but they were sure to
add. ITS pity lie is so dull"
One day old Riley Vaughn was Offering
extravagant prices for horse. mule or OF
teams to haul stone. He had taken a con-
tract to supply from his quarry the stone
for the railroad bridge over the BuEhy Run,
and now the time for delivery was near at
hand, and no teams could DO had. All the
horses were at work on the crops, and it
began to appear that old Riley must either
lose money Oh the contract by hiring horses
and mules and teamsters at r,linous. prices,
or forfeit the contract itself. He tried in
every direction to get mules and wagons,
Offering twice the usual wages, but still he
could getvery few. He was in real trouble,
with loss of several thousands Of dollars
threatening him.
One day Hamp. who knew what trouble
Riley was in, went down to the creek and cut
ting several twigs began setting them ND at
distance from each other, and sighting
from one to the other. The few Transfers
who were at work watched him curiouslv.
but could not make out what lie was doing.
He went up the creek with his sticks, NOV
ing one of them at time, and always care
fully sighted from one to another, or rath-
er from one over another to a third. In
this why he worked mp to the quarry, which
was Immediately on tho creek, nearly a