The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1881-11-25
A True story.

N AiuO osViys
Mr.. Matthew Arnold has told us that
".he school system all through Ger
many is, in its completeness
and carefulness, such as to excite for
eigner's admiration" The following
illustration of this is literally true Herr
NJ, of Weberstrasse, Bonn-on-the-
Rhine, has four sons, each of whom has
passed through the Gymnasien course
and matriculated at the Bonn University.
Adolph, the eldest, is Landgerichts-
Referendum Ga sort of County Court
Judge); Lorenz holds the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy and is professor
in a public school, Julius is an cad
vocat," and Theodore holds a Govern
ment appointment at Berlin Adolph
and Julius know French and English
almost as well us they know their own
language, and they both have such
knowledge of Latin as to be able TO
write it. In one of his examinations
Adolph had to write an account of the
Puaic wars in Latin, without the aid Of
dictionary or any other book of refer
ence. Lorenz has a knowledge of Eng
lish enabling him to read Shakespeare
in the original, and he has published
number of essays on the poets works
He likewise knows French, reads italian
and Spanish, Hebrew, Anglo-Saxon, and
is the author of Latin treatise on Greek
verbs. Theodore speaks with facility
English, French and Spanish, and has
Published a work on political economy.
| entered Herr Ms school in May,
1871. One day when / had been there
about six weeks, our class had for trans
lation Grimm's fable of the Wolf and
the Man. The wolf, it will be remem-
bered, had been persuaded by the fox to
attack the man, and had in the encounter
come off second best. Relating after
ward his misadyenture to the fox, the
wolf describes the hunters knife as II
Upright rib, which he drew from his
body and smote me with it so sorely that
/ was well nigh killed" After comment
ing on the VOLTS mistake, Mr.. M. said {:
Il suppose you know that q woman has
rib more than a man" Thinking he
was Joking, | merely smiled but when
he began with great seriousness to give
as q reason for this extra rib the old
story Of Adam sleeping in the garden
and having a rib extracted out of which
to have q wife made, | laughed outright,
and the old man was greatly taken
aback at my incredulity. He assured
me that it was really fact that men
were each rib short, and any doctor
would tell me the same. Two of the SONS
were present, but Notwithstanding THEN
great learning in other matters they APP
peared to be no better informed in this
than their father The discussion went
on. and everybody stopped work TO
listen to it. But no one supported me !;
on the contrary, | was openly laughed
at by some who were university STU
dents Chat is, who had gone through
the gymnasium for setting my knOwl-
edge against the masters. For several
days the subject was continually crop
ping up ia class or at dinner, SO that
everybody IN the school knew Of it. 1t
was becoming standing joke, and RS
yet the laugh was against me. At last
Mr. NJ announced in the open school
that he had the previous evening asked
some of his medical friends at the club
(die Lese und Erholungs Gesellschaft)
about the ribs, and he found That men
had as many as women. But. he
added, half-triumphantly, adam may
have been one short for all that p The
school system" which Mr. Matthew
Arnold considers so admirable for its
completeness is one under which, by
his own showing, out of twenty-cight
working hour. Per week, ten are given
to Latin and six to Greek, while - the
natural sciences get two hours in plIma
and one III secunda in the rest OF the
school they are the mootmovsble part OF
the work. the school authorities having
it in their power to take time from them
to give to arithmetic geography aud
history -" 4 FOreig1uey" al the PaU
Mail gazette.