The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1883-02-08

4 Rsni.i,ossos sf School DAys.
II was given out in church Sunday tha,
school would open on Monday morning
After the evening service the boys got to.
gether and talked ii over and decided ia
give the new teacher just week. 1t had
been thawing for day or two, and the
boys were tired Of skating, so they thought
they could afford to spend week oducat-
ing themselves in the art OF breaking up a
school. On the evening we were duly
elected member of the class Of hard citi.
zens, and we were TO open the ball. do
something bad and get the teacher to lick
MS, and then the boys were to jump in and
held. Monday morning the school com
menced. and the teacher proved to be q
sickly looking sort Of fellow, timid, ner-
vous man with hand and face like girl
Every time he looked at any OF the boys
there seemed to be an expression on his
face as though he. would say, 81 hope you
will be good"
When he had anything to say to the
scholars he said please, and gave other evil
dences OF being pretty soft, we thought.
That morning the weather changed and it
froze hard, and at recess the boys got to-
gether and said we would wind up the
school before noon and go out on the ice.
It was oui turn to be bad, and it COM
menced right of. The big boys had to
bring in the wood and lay it down careful
ly beside the stove We took in an arm
ful and dropped it so that it shook the
building and loosened the stove pipe.
The pipe came out OF the chimney and
filled the room with smoke, but it was put
back, land the slim teacher only repri-
manded us and said that it must not occur
again. We just ached to go after some
more wood, but there was no opportunity. |
Pretty soon the teacher said We might go
aud get pail Of water, aud while at the
the school room and spill the watef tarUe
er the floor. and thus give the sickly-look-
ing teacher chance to see what he was
made Of
The teacher was near the stove, and we
stumbled and the water went all over ev-
erything, wetting his boots and making
him pretty mad. In sizing him up we
had not noticed that his eyes seemed to be
as black as Goals and that he appeared to
be about eight feet tall, but as he looked
at us we could see it plainly. He seemed
to read our thoughts, and to know that it
was done on purpose aud we have always
thought that he heard the boys talking it
over at recess. Any way he jumped clear
across the room and grabbed us by the
neck and sat MS down in the water. Then
he took us up and shook us till our teeth
ratified, and then he seemed to just grab
us all over and maui us. We got chance
once or twice to look around to the back
seats, as he was revolving us round on our
axis, to see il the other boys were coming
TO help us put him out doors, but they |
were the most studious lot Of big boys ]
ever saw
They had their heads down in their
books and their lips were moving in silent
prayer. After the teacher had mopped
the floor with MS be took us by the slack
OF the pants, just dog would carry a
duck, and went to the desk and got big |
hickory ruler and proceeded to dry our
pants. Well it was the meanest way 10 |
dry pants that ever was, aud while it dried
them well enough, IL left great ridges in
side Of them that made corrugated chair
almost necessity. The boys did not full
fiji their part Of the programme, and when
the teacher got through drying our pants,
he said, PLEASE return TO your seat, we
felt as though politeness was q perfect
sham. We looked at the boys as we went
10 our seats. but they never looked up |
We have witnessed contested seats in the
legislature since, but never saw one so er.
citing rs that one in the old white school
house, at the foot OF the hill.
The teacher never spoke during the pro-
cesdings, and when 1t was over he looked
even paler aud more sickly than when he
had one hand in the hair that once grew
where We are now bald. while the other was
at work in the vineyard. But none Of the
boys seemed TO care to pitch on to sick
man. and he taught that school two terms,
and never had to whip another boy. That
was the last school we ever broke mp. The
slim, sickly teacher is an old man. now.
living quietly IN this state, with children
as old as We are, and we occasionally see
him and ask him il he rem smb how we
broke up the school. He is feeble now,
and walks with cane. bnt il we bad to
have fight with him even now, We would
hire man to do it burlington Haukeys
Some Wits Of the Past.