The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1882-12-08
miscellaneous.
How Jim Turner Broke up the School.

THAT is the school house, is it ?" enquired
Miss Alice Ray, the new teacher" as the tar
mer's ploddmg team passed by little white
house, standing endwise TO the road and en-
closed in II rather dlapidated fence.
Yes. that's where you hold forth" re
piled Uncle Z,ke WOODBURY., but I'm afeerd
you won't hold out long, fur we've got the
| toughest set of oys in the State" and Uncle
Zeke gave a XII d of caCkling little laugh us ht
thought of the timid, demure little damsel
AT his side controlling the boys Bear Greek
School. But don't the directors expel them
when they are beyond the control of the
teacher 7" ask, Alice; her heart beginning to
sink ut the prospect before her.
"Expel 'em ! no, we never eXpel nobody ;
if teacher can't boss he school we Just lei
it boss him, il amt our fight, an the school
here generally bosses the teacher, and thaI's
been som purity good men licked in thai
school house by the boys" II did not know
The school was so unruly," said poor Alice
wishing hearty she had hired out rs wash
| woman instead of trying TO teach the savages
of B ar Creek
"Oh well, mabhe it won't he so bad this
| winter; thar's Jim Turner, he's one of the
| toughest of EN- he'll be tw.nty-one in u
month, and you'll git red of him =; but thar's
| the Bradley boys, they're mighty nigh us bad"
Poor Alice listened with u sinking heart
| The cold, hard duties before her were dreary
enough al hest hut to go alone and unknown
into u strange neighboIhood to teach her first
school, and 10 he met at the outset by such
| dark prophecies made her feel homeless in.
| deed.
She was naturally timd, shrinking little
| hing, and if she had possessed anywhere on
| the whole hr nd earth II roof 10 shelter her she
would have turned back from the Bear Creek
| school even then.
But she had no home Her mother had
| died when she was but fourteen, and she had
| kept house for her father TWO years, wiz n
| he died, leaving Alice all alon Before his
death he advised her to eXpend the little sum
| he would be able to leave her in fitting her
| self for IL teacher, and Alice had fulfilled his
request so literally that when she had com
| pleted her course of study at the Normal
School she had barely ten dollars left, and
| when she paid Uncle Zrke for hauling her
and her little trunk from the nearest railroad
town to the district where she was to teach
she had but five dollars left
On Monday morning as she started for
The SC COL house she felt rs if she was 20
ing to the scatfDd; her course of pedagn GIGS
in the Normal institute had included NJ such
problem MS this school promised TO be, and, il
| it were not for very shame, she would have
given her single five dollar bill To any one to
take her back to the railroad and pay her fare
| to l. f. the town where she had attended
school.
When she arrived at the school house
about twenty or thirty pupils were grouped
around talking. but IL spell of silence fell upon
them as she walked up and greeted them
with Good morning" which was more
like the chip ola frightened bird than any.
| thing else. AS she unlocked the door and
entered what she had already begun to regard
| as u chamber oftorture three or four slowly
| followed her into the room and deposiing
their books upon the Whitfield desks, took
seats aid liked their eyes upon her with II
steady stare that did not help to strengthen
her nerves.
All the rules and regulations of her Theory
and Practice for "Opening School upon the
First Day" seemed to vanish and leave her
brain whirring in dizzy helplessness. She
tried to think of Some cheerful remarks, but
her brain refused to form The thought and
her tongue Glove to the roof of her mouth
She could see in the faces Of the pupils most
of HON were now in the school room, that
they were aware of her fright and enjoyed it
thoroughly. Bya strong effort she partially re
covered hcrselfand bravely resisted the temp
tatiun to lean her head On the desk and have
good cry. She felt that she must do some.
thing or faint, SO she rang the bell, although
it lacked fifteen minutes of nine. She then
began taking down th names and ages of The
pup Is, and 10y tie time this was completed
she began 10 feel more at ease. She then be.
gan examining the pupils in the different
branches in order to assign them to their pro-
per classes. She had finished the examina,
ton in all the branches except the advanced
reading class, which was principally com.
posed of grown girls and young men among
whom was the terrible Jim Turner, of whom
she hid been warned.
Several of the members of the class had
read, and it was the turn of Moses Bradley a
huge, heavy sci fellow with small, malicious
ey e, and general air of ruffiansm.