The Cecil Whig., 1883-02-17
NAFFITS SCHOOL. HOUSE
EECOLLECTIONS OF ANCIENT
PEDAGOGUES.
josef Josafhus Gustavus Adolphus MaSiEilian
Kane.

Passing by the site nf the old school
house few days ago. found that the
remains of the said house had been re-
duced to ashes. The house stood on the
east side of the North East and Rock
Meeting road, q short distance south of
the nion VI. +. Church, and north of
the intersection of the New Leeds road
with the road aforesaid.
\ triangular piece Of ground vas leas-
ed by William Shippers for 4 term of fifty
years to John S. Mattit, John Williamson,
Benjamin McNey, trustees, for the use of
a public school. and nrighbots and tris
tees met GA a Saturday, and raised a pen
OF logs (aiter the fashion of those days.
OF about % by Ii feet, one story high.
This was shortly after the war of 1912.
| recollect walking out, on the Sunday
afternoon following with my father,
mother and several others to look at the
new school house. The situation was
pleasant one, there being nice play
ground, and spreading oaks around.
There was smith shop across the road.
and farther down dwelling occupied by
Robert McCrea, shoemaker. The school
house was finished up roughly with the
writing desks around the walls, and
though that kind of desks is now out of
use, they came very convenient for a
teacher in givin. instructions in writing
as to the manner of holding the pen Nc,
which is bard to- do as desks are now CON
| structed. recollect, that one day as a
Young lady WAS at the desk writing. a
mouse ran up her sleeve, and there was
fun for Il while. The first teacher was
Alexander Atkinson, on lrishman, and
he sometimes used his cane on the big
boys when they were unmanaSeable.
After him came Amos Miles. a puSSey old
man with white head and 4 tine squeak
ing voice and he had the reputation of
being rather partial in the treatment of
his scholaes. He made Il free of the
ruler When he would see two small
bows talking, lc would pitch the ruler ON
the floor near them, and tell them to
bring it up. one take hold of each end
bring it along. it is very heavy to carry
hold cut your hand. and he made them
ring. lie was quite expert i'll figures,
bat did not spell very well, and he wish
ed it to be known that he could teach
higher branches. than taught in common
school, and he had an advertisement set
up that he would teach geometry, trig-
ometry, dialling and gouging.' he intend
ed gauging. Gouging has rather chang
Ell It's Specification since those days, then
it meant, an assault on the peppers, now
it means cheating in a bargain. A scholar
of his had on one occasion brought
hard boiled egg as part OF his dinner, and
i'll a caper had pushed it whole into his
mouth, and could not get it out, aud was
at last relieved of the difficulty 10y hay
ing it cut in two in his mouth, and
brought out by halves.
After Master Miles came William
Mahon, an elderly man, and IA native of
this neighborEood. He was seli-taught,
and of considerable native talent spelling
reading. writing and arithmetic, We're
the branches usually taught in those
days. Dilworth and Webster spelling
| books were in use, and the Testament
was the class reading book, and there
were some laughable thunderstorm boy
reading about John the Baptist, said, he
had lcathern grddle about his loins'
Another boy was reading q" to him that
knocketh it shall be opened and when
he came to the last word lie made q halt,
and after studying while he said "up-
ended. | meet the man occasionally and
the remembrance comes up.
There were no steel pens ia those days
and the making and mending OF quilts
were great annoyance to the teacher
Master, my pen won't let down, Master,
! it wont make a hair Stroke-it spiatturs-
one leg is longer than the other The
ink was generally home made-maple
| bark was boiled Ill water. and copperas
and sugar mixed with it. When Master
Mahon commenced school it was cold
weather of Winter with snow on the
ground. and the house was very open
where the mortar between the logs had
fallen out, and he told the scholars to
bring scutcLing-tow next morning. (thc
raising ard dressing of flax being then
common) and we brought the tow and
cauiked the house, and kept out the cold
wind. The Master picked up paper
fir; m the floor and found it to be love
letter. beginning with My Deer."
Ah, said he, you are writing to Il
wild animal.
In speaking of the quill pen forgot to
say there We're some Irish teachers that
could write with it nearly equal to copper
plate-Mont gomery near Cowantown and
McNitty OF Elk Neck were among them.
Sometimes they We're on spree. and
their hands would be shaky for little
while. otutson. a Yankee teacher. Was
there Il while. He wrote nicely, and was
quite genticmanly. Master, he pinch
ed me, Il boy would cry out. Sir,
We're sou pinching him ~
Old Master Brunsfield was hard Of
hearing, and the boys soon iound how
loud they could talk, and he would not
hear and they had Il lively time. 4
neighbor coming in and hearing the noise
would say, Mr.. Brunstied your boys are
noisy. They are fine fellows he would
say, they communicate with one anoth-
en- like to hear children communicate.
There were a number of other teachers
in that Old house, among whom | recol-
lect Charles johnson, IL very dark man,
John Janney, a very humorous man and
a teacher of music, after him came ClaG-
get1 Price, rather Il slender gentleman,
and aiterward, Hugh Kane, a teacher OF
some consequence aud very proud Of hav-
school was at its highest, friend drop
ping in would say, MIR. Kane you have
large school to day 1t is small to-
day Sir, to what it is some days" lie
had a long word which he sometimes
wrote for a copE.-he said was the name
! Of an Indian KING, "Occouneoccogueco
| cagucageeschillispui quedungo, 1t was
| quite a feat to pronounce it the old way
| of pronouncing and repeating the sylla-
bies as YOU went along. Kane told me
OF his son in the West who generally
went by the name of Joseph but his pro-
! per name was " Joseph Josephus Gusta-
vus Adolphus Maximilian Kane. Many
/ things more might be said of Master
| Kane. how he first came TO this county,
| his strategeln in getting a wife, his intro
! iuctiou by reading asermon he had writ
/ ten, his teaching surveying, his sargical
operations Nc, but my article is getting
| too long. and must pass q number Of
| teachers without notice who deserve to
! he noticed.
! There was an Intelligent lady teacher
| o..e Summer who taught young ladies in
| the art of needle work, and some of their
| samples nicely framed, many still to be
| seen viii, their names thereon and some
| lines of poetry. though some are said to
| have picked ont the year, for some reason.
| Probably it looked rather ancient.
| The old school house has gone, but
! there arc many who associate it with
| their earliest recollections, and as the
place where they received their sum total
/ of book learning, small though it may
/ have been, yet by which they Were as
! sisted in becoming useful citizens, I'M
proving the c.uutry around them. an
! raising families to extend their useful
! ness. Some OF the scholars have made a
! great degree of progress i'll the literature
OF the day. The President of Dickinson