Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1883-01-16
BREAKING UP A SCHOOL.

1t was given out in church Sunday that
school would open on Monday morning.
After the evening service the boys got to-
gethcr and talked it over, and decided to
give the new teacher just Il week. Ithad
been thawing for IL day or two, and the boys
were tired of skating, so they thought they
could afford to spend Il week educating
themselves in how TO break up Il school
On that evening We were duly elected Il
member Of the class of hard citizens, and we
were to open the ball. and do something
bad, get the teacher to lick us and then the
boys were TO jump in and help. Monday
morning the school commenced, and the
teacher proved to be Il sickly-looking slim
sort of fellow, timd, nervous man, with
a hand and face like Il girl. Every time he
looked at one Of Us boys there seemed to
be an expression Oh his face as though he
would say, Il hope you will bc good"
When he had anything to say 10 the
scholars he said please and gave
other evidences OF being pretty soft.
we all thought. That morning the weather
changed, and it frozc hard and at recess
the boys got together and said we would
wind up the school before noon and 90 out
on the ice. II was our turn to be bad and
il commenced right OIL The big bows had
to carry i'll the wood and lay it down quiet
~ by the stove. We took in an armlul and
dropped it OH the floor so that it shook the
building and louscncd the stovcpipc. The
pipe came ont Of the chimney and filled the
room with smoke, butt was put back, and
the slim teacher rcprimandcd us, and said
that must not occur again. We Just ached
to go after some more wood, but there was
no opportunity. Pretty soon the teacher
said sc might 20 and get a pail of water,
and while at the well we decided to STUN
bic OH entering the school room, and spill
the water all over the floor, and thus give
the siclily looking teacher chance to show
what he was made Of The teacher was
near the stove. and we stumbled, and
the water went all overevcrything, wetting
his boots. and making him pretty mad. In
sizing him up we had not noticed before
that his eyes were us black us Goals and that
he seemed TO be about eight feet high. but
as hc looked ut lis we could sec it plainly.
He seemed 10 read our thoughts and knew
that ii was done on purpose, and we have
always thought he heard the boys talking
it over at recess. Any way. he jumped
clear across the room, grabbed lis by the
neck, and sat Us down i'll the water; then he
lifted us up and shook us SO the teeth rat
tied, and then he seemed to grab us all over
and just maui us. We got chance, once
or twice, to look around to the back seats,
~ he WAS revolving It's around on our axis,
10 see If the other boys were coming to help
us TO put him out doors, but they were the
most s!udiuus lot of big boys we ever saw
They had their heads down in their books.
al bnir lin.
After the teacher had mopped the floor with
us, he took us by the slack of the pants.
just as dog would carry duck and went
to his desk and gotta big hickory ruler, and
| proceeded to dry our pants. Well. it was
the meanest way to dry pants that ever
was, and while it dried them we'll enough,
| ii left great ridges inside of them that
made corrugated chair almost neces-
sity. The boys did not fulfill their part OF
the programme, and when the teacher GOT
through drying our pants, and said, please
return to your seats. we felt as though his
politeness was perfect shame. We looked
at the boys rs We went TO our scat. but they
never looked up. We have witnessed con
tested seats in the Legislature since, but
never saw one that was so exciting as that
one in the old white school l-house, at the
foot of the hill The teacher never spoke
during the proceedings, and when it was over
he looked even paler and more sickly thar
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 O
the boys seemed to care to pitch on to q sick
man, and he taught that school two terms
and never had to whip another boy THAI
was the last school we ever broke up. Tht
slim, sickly teacheris an old man now living
quietly in this State, with children as old a
we are, and we occasionally see him ant
ask him ifhe remembers how we broke III
the school. He is feeble now, and walk
with q cane. but if we had to have figh
with him even now, we would hire man t,
do it.-Burlington Ha,rkeyc
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