Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-02-23
LnHs ly daIssla.

keep eeAn05 q di9tnek no. - Tor
twelve dollars per month and board
/ ing round We knem very wea the
little red schoihonpe. standing 81 the
exact centre of fll6 district, On the
boarders Of ) mighty swamp the farm
houses scattered about the hills, and
We also k1ea tli6 nuisancs cf that
psrticalar school. 4 squad Of half dozr
en rough fell0ws Who had emerged
inka s.tall coats and who would haeas
~ relish the diaeipline 81 hoy peda-
a1elle IS ro0ndaknnf
AIt8F Gle fsfSg Nash % eiaks0n Il
our election. the reflection came back,
like . return wave Of ice water, that,
IN all human probability, ere our sew
enteenth irihday should dawn. We
should Be seen vanishing. head fore
most, ont ofthe schoolhouse window
into a big snow drift, propelled BY
class No. l Of big boys.
In our anxiety we applied p Aunt
Anna. the general oracle ofthe o1se-
bold. Aunt Anna was ssslwart mai
/ den Of sixty summers. gigantic in pro-
| portions. buteyeFy inch a lady j Der
dear old heart. She had nursed halfth
ehildfsn ihstown through the measles,
mumps and chicken-Pox. and was the
mainstay in all family emergencies.
There were sly rumors that the occa-
sional attack of.'Gdgets. which over
came the good old lady at night, had
some relation to mysterious black
bottle which she always carried m her
work bag; but Aunt Anna, plus the
fdgets, was worth regiment Of ordi.
mary feminiaes for the homemade uses
of country lifes e
well, now, you are really going tc
keep school in district No. I" saiC
Aunt Aana. smoothing down her big
checked apron, and raising her specta-
cles for good long look at the Incl
] pient pedagogue seated at the opposite
corner Of the FIRE place.
"Yes, Aunt Anna, have promised
TO keep that school, but, between YOU
and me. 4 am dreadfnlly afraid tc
tackle the crowd Of boys. You know
what 4 rough set they are. and one d
them has already given out that there
will be no board wanted in district
Ne 5 aSler the fret week. 9
THAT q serious matter Now let 4
see If we can think of something to
help you. Now you see that | don't
| know anything about book-larnin'
No doubt you can cipher that back
seat Of boys into the middle Of next
week. But they can fling you over
/ the roof Of the schoolhouse in q iiffy,
| if they have a mind to. Iknow every
family in the district. I've nuEsed il
! every house, and taken the measure
Of every youngster that will come to
| that school. There one thing in your
favor. There'll be ten great gals, in
school, and most OF EN- are good girls
too. Now some are head taller than
you. and two or three Of EN- are right
handsome too. They can twist that
crowd of great, bashful boys round
their little finger. If they want to
Now mind what tell you do you
60 right to work and gain the affec-
tion Of them ten great gals. and they'll
manage the boys while you keep the
school"
That sounded well; and, armed
with this panaeea against rebellion,
we opened school the Monday after
Thanksgiving. It was rough-look-
ing set mp on the high seats-the row
of Misunderstanding fellows, any Of
them big enough to throw me over
into the big swamp with one handi3
/ Happily ourtirst boarding-pIace was
the home Of two of the great gals. =
Never did we lay ourselves out to
| gain the good graces Of the lovely sex
as during the first week of boarding
round. We rode on the front Of the
sled with the tailsst girl !; we played
checkers with the second got ell
snaraed up in t'cat's cradle with
the pretty visiting cousins; and put
in a word Of explanation for the hard
sums of AL. in the long evenings At
home.,r.- s~s.. ~. .,-s.-..
Tie first crisis came al the begin
ing Of the second week, when . big
lout s'sauceds the new schooimaster.
Somehow. il crushed us, and for q
minute the schoolroom SWAN round
and the idea Of seizing oar fur cap
and making for home fitted across onr
vision. just then the patter Of .
light fcotxtep was heard down the
long slope Of the narrow aisle leading
up to the seat Of the ssten great gals. =
The tallest glided down, ostensibly to
ask the explanation Of q hard sum,
but, a. We leaned over the slate, with
. dimness In the eyes, we heard 4
whisper in our ears. M
Don't be cast down, we girls viii
shame that seat Of boys into good
manners before another week goea
BY
/ A light broke in; we were gaining
| the affections Of the ten great gals. :
So things driffad for SIX weeks.
when dawned the judgment day. We
had gone to board with q good, moth
lerlY woman. who loved as as her own
soa, a lrg FIRE in the parlor ErsSIed
our arrival, Snd supper ft foF the
rarson himselfa fer taA our hostess
appeared ia her best nss:ck silk, il her
hand > Ehighty oak rruler, Sand sat
down before Us with the arisof 7
Minerva. snyine
Now matter& have come 70 q point
~ ynnr school: you have been irving