News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-02-25
THE OLD SCHOOLMASTER.
a DESCRIPTION OF IcHABop CRANE
And His School In Sleepy Hollow, as Re-
lated by Washington Irving.

A DESCRIPTION OF ICHABOD CRANE
And His School in Sleepy Hollow, as Re-
lated by Washington Irving.
In this by-place of nature there
abode, in remote period of American
history, that is to say, some thirty years
since, worthy wight of the name of
Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or, as
he expressed it, 'tarried" in Sleepy
Hollow for the purpose of instructing
the children of the vicinity. He was .
native of Connecticut, State which
supplies the Union with pioneers for the
mind as well as for the forest, and
sends forth yearly its legions of frontier
woodsmen and country schoolmasters.
He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with
narrow shoulders, long arms and legs,
hands that dangled mile out of his
sleeves, feet that might have served for
shovels, and his whole fame most loose
ly hung together. His head was small
and fiat at top, with huge ears, large
green CLASSY eyes, and a long snipe
nose, so that it looked like a weather
cock perched upon his spindle neck, to
tell which way the wind blew. To see
him striding along the profile of hill
on windy day, with his clothes bag
ging and f1uttering about him, one
might have mistaken him for the
genius of famine descending upon
earth, or some scarecrow eloped from
cornfeld.
His school-house was low building
of one large room, rudely constructed of
| he ~ "
partly patched with leaves of copy
| books. 1t was most ingeniously Sc
cured at vacant hours, by a withe twist
ed in the handle of the door, and
stakes set against the window-shutters
so that though a thief might get In
with perfect ease, he would find some
embarrassment IN getting out an idea
most probably borrowed by the archi-
tect, Yost Van Houten, from the mys-
! terry of an eelpot. The schoolhouse
stood in a rather lonely but pleasant
situation, just at the foot of woody
hill, with brook running close by, and
a formidable birch-tree growing at one
end oft. From hence the low murmur
of his pupils voices, coming over
their lessons, might be heard of
drowsy summers day, like the hum of
beehive; interrupted now and then by
the authoritative voice of the master, in
| the tone of menance or command; or,
peradventure, by the appalling sound of
the birch, as he urged some tardy loiterer
along the fowery path of knowledge.
Truth to say, he was conscientious
man, that ever bore in mind the golden
maxim, "Spare the rod and spoil the
child. "-Ichabod Cranes scholars GER
tainly were not spoiled.
When school hours were over, he was
ever the companion and playmate of the
larger boys; and on holiday afternoons
would convoy some of the smaller ones
home, who happened to have pretty sis
tiers or good housewives for mothers,
noted for the comforts of the cup
board. Indeed, it behooved him to
keep on good terms with his pupils.
The revenue arising from his school was
small, and would have been scarcely
sufficient to furnish him with daily
bread, for he was a huge feeder, and
though lank, had the dilating powers
of an anaconda; but to help out his
maintenance, he was, according to coun-
| try custom in those parts, boarded and
| lodged at the houses of the farmers
whose children he instructed. With
these he lived successfully week at
time, thus going the rounds of the
neighborhood with all his worldly
effects tied up in a cotton handkerchief.
That all this might not be too oner-
Gus on the purses of his rustic patrons,
who are apt to consider the cost of
schooling grievous burden, and school
masters as mere drones, he had various
ways of rendering himself both useful
and agreeable He assisted the farmers
occasionally in the lighter labors of their
farms; helped TO make hay; mended the
fences; took the horses to water; drove
the cows from pasture; and cut wood
| for the winter fire. He laid aside, too,
all the dominant dignity and absolute
! sway with which he lorded it in his lit
tie empire, the school, and became Won
derfully gentle and ingratiating. He
found favor in the eyes of the mothers
by petting the children, particularly the
youngest; and like the lion bold, which
whilome so magnanimously the lamb
did hold, he would sit with child on
one knee and rock cradle with his
foot for whole hours together.
In addition to his other vocations, he
was the singing master of the neigh
bolhood, and picked up many bright
shillings by instructing the young folks
in psamody. 1t was a matter of no lit
tie vanity to him on Sunday to take his
station in front of the church gallery
in his own mind, he completely carried
away the palm from the parson. Ger
tam it is, his voice 1esounded far above
all the rest of the congregation, and
there are peculiar quavers still to be
heard in that church, and which may
even be heard half a mile off, quite to
the opposite side of the millpond, on a
still Sunday morning, which are said to
be legitimately descended from the nose
of Ichabod Crane. Thus, by divers lit
tie makeshifts, in that ingenious way
which is commonly denominated "by
hook and by crook" the worthy peda-
gogue got on tolerably enough, and was
thought by all who understood nothing
of the labor of head-work to have q
wonderful easy life of it.
The schoolmaster is generally man
of some importance in the female circle
of rural neighborhood; being consid.
cred a kind of idle, gentlemanlike per-
sonage, of vastly superior tastes and
accomplishments to the rough country
SWANS, and, indeed, inferior only in
learning to the parson. His appear
ance, therefore, is apt to occasion some
little stir at the tea-table of farm
house, and the addition of a supernu-
mary dish of cakes or sweetmeats, or,
peradventure, the parade of silver
teapot. Our man of letters, therefore,
was peculiarly happy in the smiles of all
the country damsels. How he would
figure among them in the churchyard,
between services on Sundaysl gathering
grapes for them from the wild vines that
overrun the surrounding trees; reciting
for their amusement all the epitaphs on
the tombstoncs; or sauntering with a
whole bevy of them along the banks of
the adjacent millpOnd; while the moro
bashful country pumpkins hung sheep
ishly back, envying his superior ele-
gance and address.