The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1884-03-15

headlong forward towards the platform
with speed that taxed his agility to
facing the pupils and cried:
'Atkins, who wrote that sentence on
the wall?"
ell did, sir.n
.'Of course you did. Now I'm going
to reverse Johns plan. | am going TO
concentrate on your shoulders the pun
ishment that the down East schoolmas-
ter distributed over the whole school.
Go to my room, sir. y
80. Mr.. Jones, I'll never, never do
so again"
II know you won't. Go to my
room"
/ believe that flogging, like every
thing else, if done at all should be well
done. don't believe in dress parade.
| scarcely ever had to whip boy twice,
on the same principle that the lad said
lightning didn'tstrike twice in the same
spot-because it didn't need to. When
it became necessary for boy to have
an interview with me in my room, he
rarely forgot the circumstances. l
always taught school on somewhat
free and easy manner allowed ample
opportunity for free speech and en-
couraged it, and never laid any claims
to that infallibility which many teachers
surround themselves with. Boys are
quick to detect humbug. and teacher
never loses prestige with them by add
hitting that he doesn't know every
thing. Although the incident l have
alluded to consumed the greater part
of a valuable forenoon, never thrashed
another boy there, and when / asked
the pupils afterward who did any par
ticular thing, some one instantly sprang
to his feet and said:
81 did, SIR
A PALPABLE HIT.
Although boys have many noble
qualities if they are rightly brought
out, yet regret to say that my expert
ence of them convinces me that most
boys are cruel and tyrannical. Nothing
delights scholar-a big boy-so much
as to bully teacher. 1t is the height of
a boys ambition. Haven't done it
hundreds of times myself? Next to
that, the domineering over small boys
is source of deep and lasting delight.
One January l took my place in a
new school, and l was panied to notice
that the smaller boys were mercilessly
snow-balled by the big lubbers who
lorded it over both school-room and
yard. So well established was this
tyrannical rule that | found the poor
little beggars were afraid to answer my
questions about the matter even when
privately put. Consequently, although
| like to encourage manly sports, was
forced to forbid snow-balling entirely.
As it was early in the session, and as
the big boys had been in the habit OF
assisting in the government of the
school, and as their ideas on the subject
of snow-balling were not in accord with
mine, and as it had not yet been settled
who was to run the school that year, |
need hardly state that the order was
not obeyed. Next noon | went into the
yard as soon as school was dismissed
and found large pile of snow-balls
heaped up like cannon-balls at a fort.
They were most cruel missiles, having
been dipped in water at the forenoon
intermission and allowed to harden in
the interim. picked one up, intend
ing to bring it in with me and show the
utter barbarity of flinging such balls.
"Who made these snow-ballsp" l
asked small boy
Casting frightened look around him
he answered under his breath:
"Jim Higgins, sir"
Jim was the biggest and worst boy in
school, and | thought that if it came to
tussel between us, as | felt it inevita
bly, would. there was every chance that
Jim would get the best of me. | make
no bones of the fact that | was afraid of
him and had endeavored quite unsuc-
cessfully to propitiate him during the
week that school had been going on
At this moment Jim entered the yard,
squeezing SNOWFALL with his hands
between his knees after the manner of
boys who want to make a hard one.
He was making for his pile when he
noticed me standing by it, when he
stopped Strengthened up and looked at
me moment as if he hesitated whether
to drop the SNOWFALL or brazen it out.
The silence and the eyes of the whole
school on him braced him up and he
cried
master, gimme leaveP''
Certainly"
With movement like lightning he
flung the SNOWFALL directly at my
head / ducked like flash, but the
ball took the rim off my hat and plas-
tered it against the ncighboring fence.
| had been no SLOUGH of snow-baller
myself in my youthful days. but never
flung ball with such vengeance as
that. l sprang erect and said:
ssNow it's your turn and sent my
ice bolt at him as if it had come from
cannon. He ducked, of course, but l
had calculated on that, and the ball hit
him square on the ear with thud that
made my heart stand still. He flung
his arms over his head and fell back
against the gate by which he had just
entered. His face was pale and he
gasped for breath. Although with set
teeth and tears in his eyes, he smiled
CHASTITY smile.
0, master!' he half sobbed, "your
arms heavy one"
s.You see, Jim," l said, with light
ness / did not feel, 'snow-balls like
chickens, come home to roost.'
.sThey do that" gasped Jim, as he
poked the crushed ice out of his ear
with his forefnger, land they roost
mighty solid, you bet
He was grit clear through and never
whimpered.
When school was assembled said
BOYS, the trustees hired me to
teach the young idea how to shoot