Middletown transcript., 1883-03-09
George Washington.
CHAPTER III.


George Washington received the rudt-
ments of an education in an old field
school-house kept by man named Hobby.
Hobby was grave man; he was the
parish sexton. When he had grave to
dig he dismissed his school and the boys
went fishing. He was not leaned man,
but he could discover the source of spit
ball and bound boy on the north, east,
west and south in two minutes by the
watch. His education was indeed simple
one, for he could dig a grave only in one
language. Under this tutor George learned
to spell, read, write and cipher. He
learned to write very neat, legible hand,
but he didn't learn to spell all the words
in the dictionary with his eyes shut. In
fact, to tell the plain, honest truth about
George, he was never dead shot on long
or tricky word like myodynamiometer or
diphtheria. Sometimes, perhaps, he spelled
almost as wildly as a modern Congress
man or fresh-laid College graduate, but
none of us must find fault with him on
that score until we learn to spell good
deal better ourselves. If there ever was
aman who could spell right along through
the book and never miss the mark, he was
never good for anything else. He never
got to be the father of his country. He
never got to be even the mother-in-law OF
his country. He probably died young.
From Hobby's school George went to live
with his half-brother, Augustine, at
Bridges Creek, to enjoy the benefits OF a
superior school in that neighborhood, kept
by man named Williams. But Georges
education was plain and simple. He
learned how to keep accounts and to draft
all sorts of mercantile and legal papers.
He learned to write in a neat hand, plain,
simple, sensible English that plain per-
son could understand without an inter
prefer and an unabridged dictionary to
consult. He learned that which was of
practical use to him all the days of his life
but nothing that was superf1ous. He fitted
himself for business and his manuscript
school books, still in existence, are models
of neatness and accuracy. He never tried
to learn any deceased language. He in
tended to be a surveyor and he thought
that if he could learn to survey in one
language he would be satisfied. Once he
got it into his head to go into the navy
and, it is said, his change of underclothes
had already gone aboard man-of-war,
when Mrs. Washington got the floor for
about five minutes and remarked to the
congregation that it would be pretty
frosty day when her George went to sea.
Georges mother had great influence over
him. She could take her slipper and fill
him chock full of submission in three
minutes. He had longed to sail, like
Captain Kidd to tread the quarter deck
and sit on the pinnacle, and order the fore
haIyards reefed close to winward, and the
aft bobstays pulled hard alec, and the
rudder taken in out of the wet, but his
mother said No." and George didn't go.
That was the way it generally turned out
when Mrs. Washington said "No." In
stead Of sailing on the sea and treading the
quarter deck, etc., George sailed back to
school where he applied himself closely to
his books for two years, devoting himself
especially to mathematics and schooling
himself in the art of land surveying
When he left school, unlike most boys
when they leave school, he had a
goodly store of solid Information, and
was qualified for the pursuit Of his
chosen profession. But he was far from
being an educated youth. He couldn't
waltz in four languages; he couldn't
play billiards; he didn't know how to pro-
nounce " dahpo;' he couldn't talk as
though he had his mouth full of hot mush;
he didn't know how to handle switch
cane; he was not up in the business of
living at a s., ,OOO-a-year rate on 5000 sal
ary, and he was totally unlearned in the
art of "mashing" the female sex. Had
George lived at this day he would have
been rated at the close of his school course
as a very "fresh" youth. He was born
Just at the right time. Lucky it was for
him he did not put it off.
ITO be ContilUed.)