The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1882-03-30
The MistAks About Hamp SEQ


IL vas old Riley Vaughan who spoke
aud although old Riley had no education
bis hard sense and sound judgement wor'
respected by all the men whosa, there IT
the village postofiiee waiting for the mail
lie had grown prosperous by dini OF hard
work and good judgement and the neigh
bors were accustomed 10 ask for and respect
has opinions.
did not say precisely that, Mr. Wang
han, replied Mr. Penruddook, the school
master only said that my best efforts q
educate the boy were rendered futile and
nugatory by reason Of inexplicable insbil
iiy TO grasp and retain so simple thing
a. the accidence Of the Latin verb
That means in plain English that he
amt no grip on what you teach him. don't
it? asked Riley
Yes that is what | mean, replied the
schoolmaster, with something like shud'
der at old Riley's English, But make an
honorable exception in mathematics. He
seems instinctHely to grasp arithmetical
principles.
Yes, drawled out old Riley, one ofo
boys told me that Hamp could figure out
how long it would take for cistern to get
full il the were three pipes o different
sizes a-runnin into 1t, and two Others o
still different sizes a.runnin' out.
Yes, he is M expert at practical applica'
tions OF arithmetic; and yet even in arith-
metic his standing Is not good, because he
seems incapable Of mastering the exact
terms of the formule and rules.
Well. now, look here, said old Riley,
rising and striking the counter with his
big fist; it Jest comes to this here; the boy
amt got no grip on your words and things
but he's got good grip on idees and
principles, AMI limy belief that's the in
side o sense. / don want to be unnecessari
ly offensive, butyou, and all schoolmastcrs
like you ought to teach parrots. They
don't want idees; they ies' want the words,
an that's your notion o learnin'. That's
the trouble with this country down here;
men learn words and make speeches, but
they can do nothin' Now, I've seed that
boy, Hamp See, do what marry man in
this country could do. / bought the first
reapin machine as was ever seed in these
parts an an when it come it was all to
pieces an packed iu boxes. | sen, one
arter another for all the blacksmiths an
wheelwrights an carpenters hereabouts to
set the thing up, and I'm blest if one OF
EN- could make out which end o the thing
was the foremost. Not one of 'em
could put any two pieces together That
'eIo boy hung around all the time, with
his forred creased up like, an finally ne says
to me, says he, Mr.. Vaughan, let me try.
Well, try, says, !; an u,,hit her togeth-
er, I've got five dollar bill fer you. May
be you won't believe it, but before noon
that very day, that reaper was a reapin
wheat like dozen hands The boy Jest
seed right into the thing. Now ! say il
| he'sa Ounce, the sooner most people IN
these parts looses their sense an gets to be
Ounces the better twill be fer all concern
ed. And with that old Riley stalked in
dignantly out Of the postoflice.
Notwithstanding all that old Riley
could say, public opinion was against
Hamp See 1t was certain he was dull in
lessons. He could not keep mp with Mr..
Penruddock's classes, and instead
studying Latin verbs he was perpetually
interrupting the school by asking Mr..
Penruddock to explain things like thunder
and lightning, and the presence OF shells
in rocks on the mountain, and the curious
way plants have of taking care Of them
selves things which had no relation to
the work OF the school 1t was agreed
that Riley Vaughan could not know any
thing about education, because he was not
himself educated 1t was even said-and
this came to Rileys ears-that he was
prejudiced against education. Even
Hamp's mother was discouraged. Hamp
was always puttering, she said, instead of
| attending TO his DOCKS
Why, she said, he's been iooling with a
spring on the hill back OF the house the
whole season through. He's laid pipes to
bring water down 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 ingen-
ions water.wheel with which TO make most
Of the power afforded by the spring, aud
had set it at a variety Of tasks. A stretch of
line shafting passed under the floor OF
the house. and band passed through the
| floor TO the chun and the sewing machine
aud even the sausage chopper could be at
tached at will / don't deny it's handy
and saves work, said his mother And
now he's made sort Of fan in the dining
room, and has set that going too, so that IT
keeps the flies Of the table. II we had a
baby in the house, believe he'd make the
water rock the cradle. Bat it's discourag-
ing about his studies. Mr. Penruddock is
in despair, and says he don't know what is
TO be made Of the boy.
The summer proved TO be very dry
one, aud the gardens especially suffered
for water When the people began to
complain Hamp bad an idea He always
had an / lea when the emergency arose. He
wen, into his mothers garden and worked
all the day digging trench down the
middle. aud making little trenches Al right
angles 10 the main one, so that each bed
was sorounded by them, and the large
ones crossed as we'll. HI was very careful
TO keep oil these trenches on one level.
When he had finished. be had laid drain
from his wAter.whesl 10 the main trench,
40 thai the waste water, after turning tho