Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1885-05-02
WASHINGTON AND TELL.
BY HARRIET Il. WATERMAN.


Louis Granton was the son of a Swiss
matchmaker who, with his family, had
lived for q year in America, which couL-
try Mr., Granton liked, because he was
paid much more for his work than at
home.
But Mrs. Granton was very homesick
most OF the time, and Louis did not like
America at all. To begin with, it was
provoking to be obliged to speak broken
any of the boys. only they were too
stupid to know French, which was not
SO clumsy as English, and was, besides
his native language.
Then, too, the boys called him
''Polesky," which made him very mad.
A colony of Poles lived in poor little
tents near the river. From the sound Of
"'sky," which ends many of their words.
she boys had contrived this nickname,
which it was the custom Of the school to
apply to any foreigner.
But Louis had objected to it more fu-
riously than any of the Others and, in
consequence, the name had STAYED his.
If they had called him ''the Swiss" he
would have gloried in the title but,
after he had great many times ex-
plained the immense superiority of the
Swiss over all the other people of the
earth, it was very provoking to have
them continue to call him "Polesky," :"
simply for the sake of teasing him.
At the end of the year he had quite
mastered the language, which at first
seemed so difficult but with the bo7s
he was still at enmity, and, therefore,
still wretched md unhappy.
At noon of February 22d the boys of
the Madison school were assembled Oh
the playground in solemn conclave.
They were just out of school; for the
Board of Managers had broken the laws
of the United States, at least SO John
Drew, whose father was a lawyer, de-
clared; they had only allowed the after
noon of Washington's Birthday for 8
holiday.
The boys had seriously thought OF
playing truant in a body; and nothing
but the assurance of John Drew, who
seemed to have inherited a great deal
of law, that they would lose the whole
of the next Saturday, which was not o
national holiday, had prevented.
AS they talked, Louis Granton Joined
them.
For your great Washington" he
said scornfully, "a half-holiday sutlices
He is worth but as little. In Swi.zer,
land we have so many great men that
we have whole holidays all the time.
"You better mention Switzerland il
the same day with America = said
Archie Emerson, whom the boys called
the Speaking Trumpet" because he
was always ready first with q remark.
Louis looked quite like q prizefghter,
rs he jammed his cap little tighter on
his head, and said: America il the
same day with Switzerland think not
indeed.
''Switzerland in the same day with
America. l said" responded Archie
Switzerland would be hardly big erougt
to piece out State with over here. We
wouldn't take the whole country as q
gift
You know nothing about it SAID
Louis, still more angrilv. You have
no Alps, no waterfalls, no chamols
Your country has nothing but bigness.
Yes, We have, asserted The T'rum
pet, 1.-The highest mountains and big
gest waterfalls; and Just because the
country around here happens to bt
rather flat, yoa think it all is. 1o'
don't know
Il have seen Switzerland, aud II ay
seen America, said Louis, with yer,
grand mir. You have not seen Switzer
land at all; then you cannot talk OF il
The people there are braver than an.
others, of course. | have heard it toll
many times, AMI you will find it in tn
books written, how all the world one
fought against the Swiss, and tried t
conquer them; but the Swiss killed then
all, except those that ran away"