Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-02-22
THE sICKLY-L0OKlNG TEACnER.
Bat He Wasn't Troubled With Illness whe, They
Spilled Mater on him.

Spilled Water on Him
We see by the dispatches that two
boys at Cumberland. Ohio. aftemvted
to whip school teacher. and the
teacher stabbed both The bovs killng
one instantly and fatally wonpdIng the
other. There is probably no position
that has more annoyanees than teaching
country school, where there is a lot Of
big boys who seem bent on misehipf
and whose highest ambition K h whin
the teacher and turn HIM out of doors
occaslohaliy lhere IS a school that be-
comes 50 nara That no man viii attempt
" Leaeh IL unless he IS a prize-lighter,
ana theh ne does not know anything but
70 night. Sometimes the appointment
OF beautiful and Accomplished Young
lady as teacher OF hard school win
nave q good effect as she may be able
to win the big boys by kindness. We
were won that way once. and il wouIa
have been ali right, only another bi0
| BOY, who wanted to be won also. rof
jealous and hit us in the ear with a pair.
OF SKATES. we remember of ATTENDING
one school mat was as hard as could be.
lhere were i've or six boys thai made il
u point TO see that n0 teacher remained
IN the school full term. They wonld
40 something mean and get him to whip
them. and then they would all Jump on
him, and throw him ont OF doors. and
he would leave. Most people look on
such boys as pretty hard characters. but
the rest OF us, who wanted school to be
closed when skating was good, looked
| upon them heroes, and we all wanted
10 JON the gang. One winter the teacher
was locked out of doors and hit with a
frozen SNOWFALL, and stood on his head
ana had water poured down his trous-
ers, and ne resigned and went driv-
ing team at saw-mill He sad he had
got all the teaching school ne wanted.
anyway. IL was early in the winter
term, and the trustees flew around for
Two weeks before they found man to
take The job. 1t was splendid skating,
ana all the scholars had a good time,
ana there was great regret expressed, as
we remember 1t. when it was given out
IN church Sunday that school would
open ON Monday morning. After eve
nlng service the boys got together and
talked 1t over, and decided TO give the
new teacher week. 1t had been thaw-
| ing Tor day or two, and the boys were
ured OF skating, so they thought they
could afford to spend week educating
themselves, and SO they gave him a week.
On that evening we were duly elected a
member of the class OF hard citizens.
and we We're TO open the ball and do
something bad, get him 10 lick us, and
then the boys would jump in and help
Monday morning the school commenc-
ed, and the teacher proved to be a
! s1ckly-looking, slim sort of fellow. a
/ tlmid. nervous man, with a hand and
face like girl. Every time he looked
at one Of the boys there seemed to be
an expression on MS face as though he
would say, Il hope you will be good. .
When he bad anything to say to the
scholars he said please and gave
other evidences OF being pretty soft, we
all thought That morning the weather
| changed and il froze hard, and at recess
the boys got together and said we would
wind up the school before noon. and ret
out on the ice. II was our turn to be
bad and it commenced right oil. The
big boys had TO carry in wood and lay
it down quietly by the stove. We took
in armful of wood and dropped it on
the floor SO that it shook the building
and loosened the stovepipe. The pipe
came out Of the chimney and filled the
room with smoke, but ii was put back.
and the slim, sickly teacher only repri-
manded Us, and said that il must not
occur again. We Just ached to 90 after
some more wood, but there was no on
portunity. Pretty soon the teacher said
we might 20 and get pail of water
and while al the well he decided to STUN
bic on. entering the school-room and
spill the water all over the floor. and
thus give he sickly-looking teacher a
chance to show what he was made of.
The teacher was near tie stove, and we
stumbled, aud the water went all over
everything. wetting his boots and max
ing him pretty mad.
In sizing him up we had not noticed
before that bis eyes were as black as
Goals, and that he seemed to be about
eight feet higl, but as he looked at us
we could see It plainly. He seemed to
read our thoughts. and knew it 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 us by
the neck and sat us down in the water.
then he lifted us up and shook Us 50
the teeth ratthd, then he seemed TO
grab us all oyer and man us. We cot
chance onceor twice to look around
to the back seats, rs he was revolving
us around ON our own axis, to see If
the other boys we're coming to help US
pat him out d doors, but they were
the most studious lot Of big bows we
ever saw. They had their heads down
in their books, and their lips were
moving in silnt prayer After the
teacher had mobped the floor with US,
he took us by tie slack of the pants.
just as dog would carry duck. and
went TO his desk and got hickory
ruler, and proceeded to dry our pants.
Well, 1t was tie meanest way 10 dry
pants that ever was, and while il dried
them we'll enough, it left great ridges
inside of them that made a corrugated
chair almost . necessity The boys
did not fulfill their part Of the pro
gramme, and when the teacher cot
through drying 2ur pants, and said,
please return to tour seats, we felt
as though his polieness was perfect
sham. We have Witnessed contested
seats in the Legislature since. but
never saw one that was so exciting Il.
that one in the old white school-house
at the foot of tha hill. The teacher
never spoke during the proceedings and |
when it was over ie looked even paler
and 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 cared to pitch on to sick |
man, and he taught that school two
terms and never had to whip another
boy. There was something SO impress |
slve about every movement of the deli |
cate-looking teacher that the boys got
to feeling sorry for him. and they treat |
ed him real well If they didn't he
would have eyerlas,ingly paralyzed the |
whole gang all Al once After that
one day the big blacksmith OF the town
was on a drunk and everybody was
afraid OF him, but when the black |
smith msulted the teacher, in front of |
store. and the teacher reached out
one OF those small hands and Knocked |
the blacksmith down, and then held
him up and knocked him down again,
and told the blacksmith, who was in
the habit of whipping his wife when
drunk, that if he ever did it again he
would come to the house and thrash
him within an inch Of bis life. every
body sWOre by the teacher, and he