The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1884-07-24
Inf
BY J. l.. HARBOUR,

"Llf''
BY J. l.. HARBOUR.
\ body wouldn't think, to look at my
wrtin' an spellin' now. that the time
was when | could out spell airy boy or
girl in Skimmerhorn township; an they
was six schools in that township. Well,
| | c0uld, an done it too. once when they
| had a big spellin' bee down to Pertater
Ridge, where the brag spoilers from six
deestricts had come to settle a long dis
pute bout which deestrict had the best
| speller in it. They was one hundred an
torty-nine stood up to spell down, four
school teachers 'mong 'em an two grad
dyates from a college, an |, Mahaly Pru-
dence Skinner that WAS, spelt the hull
pile OF EN- down on "'loquaciousness.'
But lausy me, sometimes l dunno to
save me now whether they is or isn't an
in sugar" | know thev's one in
sure but don't mind bout the other.
But, mind ye, Tm seventy-two years
old now, w,-seventy-two a-goin on to sew
enty-three, an old people are torgttul
| never was pertckler good writer. an
| now my hans are so crampy an stiff, |
cayn't write even as good as | oncet
could. Its So bard to keep on the lines,
fer | don't see right well, even with my
best specs on.
reckon them that reads this viii
latt' good when / say that used to
be a school marm. an was counted a
mighty good one They's men that's
got gram children a-livin' right here in
this township that | iarned their letters
to, an they'll tell you that Mahaly Skin
ner was counted a mighty good school
marin in her day: an | never knowed
any more bout grammar or bottomy an
| TECHNOLOGY an terlosophy than | know
now. Folks didn't care in them days
bout bein' larned to talk smart an
cordin' to rule, an it didn't make a mite
| o dit1'rence to folks then whether they
was two hundred an eight or eight hun
| dred an two bones in EN-.
| allow that Id a-been turned cut if
| Id a-spent my time a-larnin' boys an
| girls the difference tween tloatin ribs an
ribs that didn't float. In fact didn't
| know the difference. | don't know as
know yit, only I've heerd my gran-chil-
| dren talkin' bout sech things: an they
| talk, too, bout the parts of a flower an
nouns an verbs an all that, an swan
if they S one of 'em kin say the alfabet or
| multiplication table back ards, an that's
what / could say when ! want but ten.
a-goin' on to 'leven.
But, my land aint the one to be
raisiD' a fuss bout the present way o
dom things. | aint grumblin an fault
| tindin person, an I've wit nutf to know
that it aint best to keep in one old rut
allus. make no doubt but what the
schools are better now than ever before :;
an everything's fer the best.
tell you, I've found that it pays to be
CHEEKY an blithesome all yer days I've
noticed that right fussy old folks are
regular nominations to the airth ; an yit,
poor souls they cayn't help it, Butt
swan, if hant clean off the track O my
| little story.
1t haint much Of a story, but mebbe
it'll make you laft; an do like to see
people latf, It's all bout me goin' down
to Jack Oak Bottoms to teach, an what
happened there.
You see, after I'd spelled Skimmerhorn
township down, my pap, he thought
had to be a schoolmarm SO be let me
go TO school tell Id figgered clean through
the jogerfy by heart Then | was ready
to teach. People was great on spellin'
in them days, an it had got all over the
county bout NE bein' the speller was
so when it got out that | was goin' to
teach, the committeeman from Jack Oak
Bottoms offered me their school, which
didn't mount to shucks when it come to
good spoilers. You might O spelled the
hull school down in words o two sydda-
bulls, an felt like crackin' their noggins
when the hull on 'em set down on a little
word like "daguerreotypical," Il never
did forgit how to spell that-the first
spell we had.
The director of the deestricf was Ba-
laam Dusenberry, an | had to board at
his house most O the time ; fer wouldn't
board round altogether, an Balaam he
had right comfortable, snug house, as
houses went in them days, though it
wouldn't be any great shakes of house
now.
Balaam was a widower, an his sister
Dorcas KEEP house for EN-; an if ever
there was a more snappn, snarln' old
maid then Dorcas Dusenberry, [ never
happened to run agin 'em.
y
boy an my oldest scholar. In fact, S
was older than what was, but his PAP
hadn't give the boy much show to 90 tt
school, an he was dretful BACKYARD any
how. Then they was two younger boys
an six girls, two pair O twins, in the
family. The oldest girl was Liberty
Jane, an she was bout fifteen Lausy
me. | mind me now Of how them six
girls used to all sleep in one great big
old fashioned bed three at the head an
three at the foot.
AS though his family want big nutf
Baaam had taken one of his wife's sis
ters boys to raise. His name was Eliph
alet Skies, or "Lif,' as we all called him
Llt was bout the same age as Balaam's
81, an the gawkiest mortal; green as {
gourd an clumsy nuff to tumble dow
over his shadder. But, somehow or nuth
er | allus liked Lif They was somethn
kind o touchin' an pitiful like to me in {
feller's gawkiness an shyness--for ht
was that shy, with kind of skeer1
look if body went a-nigh i'm. Lif die
not have a very easy time of it at hl!
uncle Balaams. 1t allus seemed to mt
that he was put upon good deal, though
|
call a cross grained or a hard kind of {
person. But Dorcas was, as I've said be
fore, an she KEEP a-naggin' an a-naggin
at Lif. But, my good land they wan
nobody Dorcas Dusenberry didn't nag at
They all of 'em kind O treated Lif az
though he was sort of dependent
though he good deal moren paid his
board in work.
Well, | got long real well with th'
school. | was soshabel like with every
body, an somethin' of a cut up, an that
TUX with the people in that neighbor
hood. reckon I'd a-gone back there tt
teach again, if it hadn't a-ben for what
happened long toward the last O. tht
term.
1t was in March, an there was bis
wood -cuttin bee over to the widder Do
ver's, an a party at night. The widdel
was real poor, with five little girls, none
on 'em old nutf to be any count to thei
ma. SO folks helped the widdcr out {
; good deal. Ev'ry spring the boys an
men in the hull neghborhOOd would NEE