The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1884-04-23
OUR SCH0OL-BOY DAYS.
A BAD BOY WHO CAUSED A SENSATION
ON EXAMINATION DAY.
How n ContaEion was Started by the De.
claim er-The solemn Dignity OF III,
Teacher and How IL WINS Broken.

Our school teacher was one Of the
kindest men living, but he was n strict
disciplinarian, and anything Imaginable
seemed to him to be wrong. Some Of
the school.boys felt hurt at this, and
thought if they could only get him to
laugh Just once, so he would know how
it felt, it would do him good, and not do
the school any hurt. 50 one Friday
afternoon when there was going to be an
Exhibition" such rs speaking pieces,
the boys put up job. At noon one of
the boys whose father kept a grocery,
brought up about half pound Of black
snuff. The snuff was parcelled out to
all the boys, ''pinch" TO each, and Mt
given signal all were to take the snnir
and watch for results. The red headed
boy was TO go upon the platform TO
speak "Bingen on the Rhine" and
when he got to the proper place he was
to take his snuff, and sneeze, and the
rest were to follow suit or trump.
The schoolroom was iull Of visitors,
most OF them parents Of the boys, and
the teacher WIS in his element. The
teacher told the visitors how the school
was progressing, and what Improvements
the scholars were making, and then the
good man announced TINT there would
be defamation by one Of the scholars,
OF "Blngen on the Rhine, and as the
rcd-headed boy came out of the aisle
with boots four sizes too big, and pants
two sizes too small, with his fathers old.
fashioned 'stock" around his neck. and
tnmblcd mp on the stage, as boy al.
ways tumbles when ho wants to do any
thing nice, there was litter on the part
Of the visitors. Tho teacher frowncd.
half at the awkward boy, and half at the
visitors, and as the boy faced the audi.
once and made bow that would stop
clock, the teacher said, "Let us have the
utmost quiet, and George, take your
hands out Of your pockets and speak up
loud" George removed his great, big,
awkward, red hands from his pockets,
and spoke up loud. That was what
George was there for. Clearing his
throat, and swallowing the Adams
apple that stuck up like bracket shelf
III a pantry, he proceeded upon the
mourniul story OF "the soldier Of the
Legion" who clay dying in Algiers."
He went through it nicely until he came
to the passage which says, ellis voice
grew faint and hoarscr, his grasp was
childish weak, his eyes put on diving
look. he sighed and ceased to speak"
AS George sighed, he put his thumb and
1nger to his nose and inhaled enough
snuff to have exploded bank safe He
began to catch, and net like n person
who Is going to sneozc, and tho BOYS
began to load their own cartridges.
History will record that George snoze
first, though he tried hard to prevent il
apparently, and the teacher sympathized
with him. The visitors did not. and
they began TO litter, the teacher
frowned, and George gave another
sneeze that nearly knocked the globe of
the table, and then they laughed. The
teacher was about to say something M.
proprlatc to the OCCASION, to apologize
for the declaimer, when away over by
the stove n big boy sncczad 30 that il nj.
most loosened tho stove.pipc, and then
little fellow on the front seat sncczcd
and finally the skirmish line Of sneezors
was overcome by the main force, and in
hall minute sixty boys wore snce2ing
Tor all that was out. The visitors,
noticing the helpless and foron look of
the teacher, his wild appearance, tri ed
to keep from laughing by stulllng hand
kerchiefs in their mouths, but they had
to laugh or die, and il was not long be.
fore everybody was laughing except the
teacher, and he looked M though he
wanted to die. George was on the plat.
form yet, but he had forgotten the bal
ance of his "Bingen," and the audience
had forgotten him, but when he turned
to the teacher and asked if he could be
excused, tho teacher said, eyes.
thousand times, forever" md then tho
teacher had to hugh. He said there
would be n recess Of ten minutes until
the scholars had sneczed up a lot ahead,
and then there was solid ten minutes
of laughing.