The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-08-28
A HELPING HAND.

A HELPING HAND.
Jacks and Roberts Difficulties, and How
They Helped Ono Another.
IF you can not keep up with this
class you had better 60 into lower
one"
The country schoolmaster spoke
harshly, and Robert Gates heart sank
lower than before. if that were possible.
He was the biggest boy in his class
now, and how could he bear the shame
of going among boys still smallera
But there was no denying the fact
that the master had had great deal of
trouble with him, and that it did seem
as though he were hopelessly dull. MIR.
Hardy delighted in figures To be
bright at figures. he thought, insured a
boy for success through life. Every
boy who came to him was tried by the
one test, and if he failed in that he had
no opportunity of showing whether he
was bright at anything else.
So Robert, whose talents did not lie
in figures, was having just the hard tug
at school. which, if well endured, wise
men tell us. gives the discipline which
makes the best and noblest men. He
had struggled through the miseries of
notation. Enumeration, addition, subtrac-
ton and multiplication. each of which
had been q separate hill of difficulty to
him And now long division stood up be-
fore him like dead, blank wall There
was no getting around it, no getting
under it-he must climb to the top.
The boys were dismissed, leaving the
school-house with q whoop and rush
all but Robert, who, with his book and
his slate, slowly walked away. A
cheery-faced boy stopped and looked
back at him, then ran to him, saying:
I'm give you lift Bob"
Come on, Jack Brand" shouted
half dozen voices.
81 can't come now" he replied.
We're going to make up the base
ball club. and you'll lose your place.
We're going to put you in for pitcher. !"
You'd better CO." said Robert Il
hate to have you miss the fun"
..Never mind" said Jack, heartily.
Eve plenty of time for fun yet See
here, now-let's go out behind the. old
barn and cipher away at your examples
for awhile"
They settled themselves on q grassy
slope in the quiet of one of the rare days
of early June, and Robert opened his
book with heavy sigh.
ITS a perfect tangle to me, he said,
af,.1 e1nI IL 10 L
ing of the days in which he had watched
the slow placing and working of the ex.
amples on the blackboard. The why
and wherefore of the curved lines had
never dawned upon him, the guessing
how many times it would Ego" and
then setting down figure, and the long
struggling column of figures gyratine
| off to the right and finally ending il
nothing, so far as he could see, was q
fearful piling up of mysteries. '.Why,
| he went on, 81 can't even remember
| which is divisor and which is dividend
when he questions me about the rules
"Oh. that's easy enough If you only
think a moment" laughed Jack. 9TH,
divisor' s thing you do something with
This way now-mower, thing 70,
NOW with. Reaper, thing you real
with. Divisor. q thing you divide will
don't you see?"
Why, yes. of course do, now yol
give me something to remember by"
Then they bent themselves resolutel,
to conquer the difficulties of the process
before them, and it was fortunate tina
Jack was blessed with the gift of pa
tience, for days passed before Rober
could see anything in it except q hug
and frightful puzzle. The shouts O
the boys at play came to them from
distance, but no sound more disturbin,
than the soft whisper of the summe
wind or the pert inquiring "kechee
kechee?" of robin or wren disturbe,
the droning murmur with which JAG
untirin1ly went through the lesso
over and over again. little dreamin,
that he was securing for himself
valuable exercise in patience and sell
denial.
j" see it!'' at last exclaimed Robert
springing up with shout Of triumph
81 never expected to see dayligh
through such 3 middle, but do. Now
let's Be OF and have . glorious play
But" he added. very earnestly, :.
never can pay. you up in the world"
"Never mind that" said Jacl
"But" he added. "may be you CO
some time."
| And his words came true years latel
When the boys went to prepare fc
college under the mild teachings Of III
village pastor. strong contrast TO Cd
rough schOolmaster, Latin and Gree