The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1885-11-19
STANDARD: JACKSON 10,


inal. After a reading of Gray's "Ele-
gy" by a fourth-standard class, the
boys were asked what was meant by
"fretted vaults" and one youth re-
piled: "The vaults in which those
people were buried; their friends came
and fretted over Them Asked what
he understood by "elegy," another
boy in the same class answered.: Gel
egy is some poetry wrote out for
schools to learn like Gray's Elegy."
A class of girls, who had read pass
age from "Evangeline," were told to
write out the meaning of "the forge"
and these were among the answers:
"a firnest in blacksmith's chop"
"a frnest in a blacksmith" "The
village smithy's anvil ''The dust
that raises from the floor of a black
smiths" A teacher, giving a reading
lesson to his class in the presence of
an inspector, asked the boys what was
meant by conscience-a word that had
occurred in the course of the reading
The class having been duly crammed
for the question, answered as one boy:
San inward monitor" "But what do
you understand by an inward moni-
tor?" put in the inspector. To this
further question only one boy an
nounced himself ready to respond, and
his triumphantly given answer was,
"a hironclad, sir"
A few years back there was pub
lished, as curiosity in its way, the
subjoined transcript from Cowper's
poem on Alexander Selkirk, written
(from dictation) by a fifth-standard
boy at government examination of
public elementary school. II Ham
Monac Of hall I searve, there is none
heare my rite to Dispute from the
senter. Hall round to the sea I am
lorde of the fowls to the Brute all
shoshitude ware are the charms that
sages have sene in thy face better
Dewel in miste of larms than in this
moste horibel place. | am how Of
unity reach must finish my Jurny a
lone never hear the swete music Of
speach i start at the sound Of my hone
the Beasts. that rome over the place
my forme with indrifence see they are
so Innocent with men such tamess is
shocking to me"
The examiner for the School Board
Scholarship competed for in 1882,
gives the following among other
equally strange answers on historical
matters. "When Commonwealth
comes to the throne it is called Oliver
Cromwell" ''The treaty of Utrecht
was fought between the Zulus and the
English" ''Lord Give captured the
FIJI Islands in 1924" Cardinal
Wolsey was great warrior "Wal-
pole translated the Bible" "Walpole
was another favorite of Henry the
Eighth. He was the chief man in
helping Henry to get a divorce "
"Chaucer wrote Hsop's fables" In
another Of these scholarship examina-
tions, Jack Cade was described as "a
great Indian conquerer," Sir Christie
pher Wren was set down as "a discov-
erer" and ''an animal painter" and
Mr.. Gladstone as "a great African
traveller" The battle of Crecy was
stated to have been fought in the
reign of George the Third, between
the Britons and Romans, and the
Wide, Wide World was named as
Shakespeare's greatest work. This
last, however, was not so bad as the
history Of a pupil-teacher, who in
formed the examiner that "Shake-
speare lived in the reign of George the
Third, discovered America, and was
killed by Caliban."
A schoolboy habit of placing upon
a question some literal meaning Other
than that intended by the examiner
often leads to answers as curious as
unexpected. Thus an Inspector, test
ing class upon their knowledge OF
the succession of the kings of Israel
asked the boy to whose turn it had
come to be questioned: "And who
came after Solomon?" To which the
youngest answered: "The Queen Of
Sheba, sir" Asked what were the
chief ends Of man, another boy re.
piled, His head and feet;' and 6
third, questioned as to where Jacob
was going when he was ten years old
replied that he was 'going on fol
eleven" One specially unimaginative
juvenile, called upon to say for what
the Red Sea was famous, answered
''Red herrings!' but, perhaps, the
most startling answer of this kind
was that Of the boy, who, when asked
what was meant by an unclean spirit
responded: "a dirty devil, sir
To the type of answers here in
view, belongs that of the little girl,
daughter of matchmaker, who hav-
ing repeated that she "renounced the
devil and all his works." and being
asked, "What do you understand by
all his works?" answered.: "His in
side" Something akin to this was
an answer given by boy whose faith
er was strong teetoler, and upon
whom it would appear home influence
had made stronger impression than
school lessons. "Do you know the
meaning of syntax?" he was asked.
"Yes," he answered.: ''sin-tax is the
dooty upon spirits" An inspector,
who had been explaining to class that
the land Of the world was not contin-
uous, said to the boy who happened to
be standing nearest to him: "Now
could your father walk around the
world ?" mo, SIR" was promptly an
swered. why not?" because he's
dead" was the altogether unlocked
for response. As little anticipated,
probably, was the answer made to an
other inspector, who asked, "What is
a hovel?" and was met with the reply:
"What you live in
Another peculiarity Of the school
boy mind is to put things negatively.
AS for example, a fifth-standard boy
was asked to write short essay on pins
by way of an exercise in composition,
and produced the following: "Pins
are very useful. They have saved the
lives of a great many men, women,
and children,-in fact, whole fami-
lies" ''How SOP" asked the puzzled
inspector, on reading this. "Why, by