The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-01-19
OUR SPELLING MATCH.

81 must tell you, my dear, how much
I enjoyed the spelling match in your
school one afternoon; it reminded me
so much of when l was young. I'm
right glad they have spelling matches
again in schools. When | was girl
we young folks thought great deal of
the spellin's we had, and this one of
yours brought back that old country
school-house where [ got the little
learnin l have, so that l could shut my
eyes and see it as plain as the day.
ut was placed on a little rise of
ground, right at the edge of big
grove of hickernut and walnut trees.
Old Squire Hepner gave the ground for
it out of his Wood-pastur' lot, and in
summer time the grass grew thick, and
full of flowers down the slope in front
we used to eat our lunches in the fence
corners on spring days.
"You can't think how thick the GRASS
was, nor how bright and green the
moss was we'd find on the old rails
And all along the edge of the grove.
and peepin' up so shy and sweet and
notes.-the, was the viOlets and daisies
and bluebells and WALLER butter-cups for
us to place in our hair and pile on the
teachers table.
Then in winter, we'd have such cav
times coastin' down the slope. and
skatin' on the pond jest acrost the road.
Me and my little brothers and sisters
walked two miles to 90 to that loo
school-house, and thought nothin' of it.
Don't remember well ev'ry one of
those old logs! | think do! 1t WASH t
such a poor excuse for house as YOU
might think, either.
Indeed, 'Four-Mile schoOl-house, as
it was called, was about the best one IN
Greenaway township; for it was of
hewed logs, mind you, and had pine
tioor and plastered ceilin', and most
OF the school-houses were of rough logs,
with the bark on, and had dirt floors.
or at best, floors of rough boards.
'Some of the other deestrickts were
jealous of our school-house. The next
that joined ours was one of the Jealous
deestrickts, and the folks in it used to
say that they didn't care if we did have
such a fine house, they could spell our
school down any time if we'd only give
them q chance. But of course. we
knew they couldn't We believed we
could out-spell them, even if we did
have the best school-house.
sold Squire Hepner, he ALWAYS took
a great interest in our school. He was
a peculiar kind of Il man; folks would
call him cranky in these days, I sup
pose. He was SO gruff and sullen that
YOU think he'd snap your head off.
. Publication was the old squire's
hobby. He had no learnin' himself.
and used TO tell us how he felt the need
of it. He thought people could not be
educated, unless they could spell clean
from b-a ba, to 'incommunicability in
the speller. To know how to spell was
to him the foundation of all knowledge.
That was one of his curious notions.
"Well, Squire Hepner had heard that
the Red Haw deestrickt folks was
maxim their boasts that they could
out-spell ours, and it angered him. His !
daughter, Harriet, was the best speller
in our school, and they say her father |
offered her the best COW on his place if |
she'd spell the Red Haw school down. |
Zone Friday afternoon the old squire
came stampin' into the school-house
when our school was havin' spellin-
match. He was thea director of our |
deestrickt, and the holdest scholar
would be mute and meek enough when
he appeared. He had two little jet
black eyes that seemed to see right
through you. He could make almost
any scholar wiggle in his seat by fast
enin' his eyes upon him.
The squire was the richest man in
-Four Mile, but he never gave any
money away, and that made it all the
more surprisin' when, just before the
school let out that night, he got and
IN his short, jerky, gruff way said: