Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-11-16
NO. !
ABOUT HAMP SEE.
a Practical Lesson for Teachers
and Pupils.

/ 'Hamp See Ounce Well, may b,
so; but arter what I've seed, it 'ud tak'
smarter schoolmaster than you t.
make me think so.'
1t was Riley Vaughn who spoke
and although old Riley had no educa
ton, his hard sense and sound judg
ment were respected by all the mel
who sat there in the village postoffict
waiting for The mail. He had grown
prosperous by dint of hard work and
good jud dgment, and his neighbors were
accustomed to ask for and to respect
his opinions.
L did not say precisely that, Mr.
Vaughn replied Mr. Penruddock, the
schoolmaster i only said that my
bes. efforts to educate the boy were
rendered futile and nugatory by rea.
son of his inexplicable inability to grasp
and retain so simple a thing as the ac-
cidence of the Latin verb
That means in plain English that
he amt got no grip on what you teach
him, don't it p asked Riley.
Yes, that is what | mean replied
the schoolmaster, with something like
a shudder at old Riley's English. But
l will make an honorable exception in
the matter of mathematics. He seems
instinctively to grasp arithmetical prin-
ciples'
Yes drawled old Riley; 'one OF
your boys told me Hamp could fgger
out how long it 'ud take for cistern
to get full eff there was three pipes of
different sizes runnin' into it, an two
others of still different sizes runnin'
out
Yes, he is expert in the practical ap-
plications of arithmetic and yet even
in arithmetic his standing is not good,
because he seems incapable of master
ing the exact terms Of the formule and
rules
We'll, now look here said old Riley,
rising and striking the counter Sith
his big fist it just comes to this here;
the boy amt got no grip on your wor'ls
an things bat he's got a good grip on
ldees an principles, an it's my belief
that the inside of sense. l don't want
to be unnecessarily offensive, but you
and all schoolmasters like you ought
to teach parrots. They don't want no
idees. they jest want words, an that's
your notion of learnin' That's the
trouble of this here country down here;
men learn words an kin make speech
es, but they can't do nothin'. Now
Eve seed that boy Hamp See do what
nary a man in this country could do. |
bought the fust reapin'-machine as was
ever seed in these parts, and when it
came it was to pieces, an packed in
boxes. l sent one arter another for all
the blacksmiths and wheelwrights an
carpenters hereabouts, to set the thing
up, an I'm blest eff one on 'em could
make out which end O. the thing was
foremost. Not one of 'em could put
any two pieces together. That ere
boy hung around all the time, with his
fcrred creased up like, an finally he
said to me, says he, M Vaughn, let
me try We'll, try says +; am eff
you git her together, l have got five
dollar bill for you Maybe you won't
believe it, but afore noon that very
day that there reaper was a reapin'
wheat like dozen hands. The boy
jest seed into the thing. Now, l say
eff he's Ounce the sooner most people
in these here parts lose their senses an
get to be ounces the better it will be
for all concerned And with that old
Riley stalked Indignantly out of the
postOffice.
Notwithstanding all that old Riley
could say, however, public opinion WIS
against Hamp See. 1t was certain
that he was dull in his lessons. He
could not keep up with Mr.. Penrud-
docks classes, and instead of studying
his Latin verbs, he was perpetually in
terrupting the schools by asking Mr..
Penruddock to explain things like
thunder and lightning. and the pres
ence of shells in the rocks on the
mountain, and the curious ways that
plants have of taking care of themselves
things which had no relation to the
work of the school. 1t was agreed that
Riley Vaughn could not know any,
thing about education, because be was
not himself educated 1t was even sad
and this came to Riley's ears-that
he was prejudiccd against education.
Even Hamp's mother was discourag-
ed Hamp was always 'potteriDg, she
said, instead of attending to his books.
Why she said, he's been fooliu'
with a spring up on the hill back of
the house the whole season through.
He's laid pipes to bring the water dow n
here, and now he's turned the whole
house into a MILL Then she would
show her visitor what Hamp had done.
He had constructed an ingenious water
Wheel with which tC make the most of
the power afforded by the spring, and
had set it at a variety of tasks. A
stretch of line shafting passed under
the floor of the house, and bands were
passed through the floor to the churn
and sewing machine, and even the
sausage-chopper could be attached at
will. Il don't denv that it's handy
and saves work, said his mother And
how he's made a sort of fan ir the din
ing-room, and kas set that a-going too,
so that it keeps the flies off the table.
If we had baby in the house, l be-
lieve he'd make the water rock the era
die. But it's dlscouraging about his
studies. Mr.. Pcnruddock is in despair
and says he don't know what is to be
made of the boy
The summer proved to be a very
dry one, and the gardens especially
suffered for water. When the people
began to complain, Hamp had an idea.
He always had an idea when an emer-
gency arose. He went into his moth
er's garden and worked all day, dig
ging trench down the middle, and
making little trenches at right angles