Weekly graphic., 1881-11-25

the ability to do any sum in the arith
metic, if he could read without mispro
nouncing more than half the long words
if he could write well enough to set ;
decent copy, if he could take a goose
quill and make or mend a pen, the dis
trict committee thought he would do
The term of both winter and summer
were ordinarily about twelve weeks
and the reports of the committee gen.
orally complimented both teacher and
scholars.
The boys and girls cf Marlboro
mostly the sons and daughters Of far
mers, were taught to make themselves
useful, almost as soon as they could
walk. The girls fed the chickens and
their pet domestic animals, and assisted
their mothers to do up the general
house and dairy work, while the boys
drove the COWS, brought in the wood
and water for the house, carded the
cattle at the barn, and made themselves
generally useful about the farm.
Thus it was at that time in regard to
attending school. "Three year olds'
always being required to commence
climbing the ladder of learning, and
such was the interest of the parents,
and the desire of the larger boys to have
the younger members of the school
present daily, they would, when the
deep winter SHOWS made it difficult to
cut through with 4 team, take the little
ones upon their shoulders. and convey
them in that way to school The first
exercise in the morning was by the first
class rising and standing on their seats,
and reading verse in the New Testa-
ment while all in the school were re-
quired to give their attention Ludi-
crous scenes would sometimes occur at
these readings, when some blundering
boy gave a wrong pronunciation of
some word, which destroyed the sense
of the paragraph an6 caused IN up
roarious laughter in the whole school,
such as the calm which Christ caused
when he stilled the tempestuous sea,
would be read by one of the boys, that
he pronounced as a great "clam,"
while another boy always elected great
merriment by invariably pronouncing
"discoverment," at which
Notwithstanding the solemnitv Of the
occasion, the teacher would be obliged
to join his pupils in their mirthful glee.
the rest of the classes took
their places on the floor, and went
through their reading exercises. The
last class would be the little children,
The pets of the whole school, grouped
around the master or the school marm,
intent on learning their A b C's. Those
who were not reading, were supposed
o be employed in writing or ciphering.
When the scholars desired to write.
hey would 60 to their master with their
writing book and pen, and he set
copy, Command you may. your mind
rom play" or some of the wise old
SAWS" of those days, and mended the
zen. When hard sum puzzled them
hey resorted to the teacher for help.
The afternoon exercises were pretty
much the same as the forenoon with
he exception of reading in the Bible,
which was dispensed with, and the first
lass would take their place on the floor
nd read half of a page from the En-
lsh Reader, or the American First
lass Book. Spelling would usually
blow each class in reading. but the +
eneral exercises OF spelling were at :,
lie evening schools. Those were the Il
almy days for the boys and girls, who !
ere as much intent on being in COM
any of their favorites for an evening, II
5 they were to learn to spell. Once :
eek were gathered the scholars at the
,hool house in the evening, equip
ed with tallow candles set in a potato
keep it erect, when two of the num-
er who would be designated captains, :
ould choose sides, and the master or
lie of the larger boys would put out \
e words from the spelling book, and T.,
lch side contended for the victory,
elling the words at the top of their -
'ices. After the contest closed and g
disputes settled, the timid boy would "a
Ike the hand of the favorite girl, and u.
adh her over rocky pastures and .
rough the forests, passing over quite \
o short distance to her home. The
endships formed between scholars
school, no lapse of time can ever en- vi
ely efface. No varying pursuits, no :
ange of social relation or sentiments
Il blot out from memory the events
with our school days. The u
ppy thoughtless boys and girls,
lose every feature every ;orors