The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-03-30
THE OLD -sCHO0LMAsTER,
And His School I'm Sleepy Hollow, as Re-
lated by Washington irving.

And His School In sleepy 3OHow M &c.
lated by Washinaton irving.
In this .by-place of nature there
abode, in a remote period of American
history, that is to say, some thirty years
since, a 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. Hc was q
native of Connecticut, o State which
supplies the Union with pioneers for tho
mind as we'll as for the forest, and
sends forth yearly it's legions of frontier
woodsmen and country schoolmasters.
He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with
narrow shoulders, long arms and legs,
hands that dangied a mile out of his
sleeves, feet that might have served for
shove:o, and his whole fame most loose
ly fLng together. His head was small
AM fiat ut top, with huge cars, large
green CLASSY eyes, and a long snipo
nose, so that it looked like = weather
cock perched UPON his spindle neck, to
tell which way the wind blew. Tc see
him striding along the prof. e of /. hill
on a windy day, with his c.othcs bag
sing and huttering about linn, one
AhlShe AiN Il lOI liz
gcEius of famine descending upon
earth, or some scarccrow elcped from a
cornfield.
His school-housc ~as a low building
Of one large room, rudCly constructed Of
logs; the windows partly glazed and
partly patched wi h leaves Of COPY
books. It was MIST ingeniouslv Sc
cured at vacant hours. by Il withe twist
ed in the handle of the door, and
stakes set|against the window-shuttcrs;
80 that tho Ugh a thief might get in
with perfect case, he would find some
embarrassment: IT. getting out;-an :dea
most probably b rrowcd by the archi-
tect, Yoat Van II. ut;n, from The mys-
terry Of IN cclpot. The schoolhouse
stool in Il rather lonely but pleasant
situt ion, just at the foot Of a woody
hill, with q brook running close by, and
u formidable bilch-trcc growing ut one
end of it. From hence the low murmur
of his pupils voices, coming over
their lessons, might be heard f n
drowsy summers dcy, like the han of
q beehive; interrupted now and then by
the authoritative voice Of the master, in
the tone OF mcnancc or command; or,
p~eradventure, by the appalling sound Of
the birch, as he urged some tardy %loitercr
along the flowcry> path of knowledge.
Truth to say, he was a conscientious
man, that ever bore in min ! the golden
maxim, Spa. the rod and spoil tho
child."-Ichabud Cranes sch lars Ger
tainly were not spoiled.
When school hours were over. he was
ever the companion and pla; mate of tho
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 sca"cely
sufficient to furnish him with da.,v
bread, for he was a huge ~fcc1sr, ana
though lank, had the dilating powers
of an anaconda; but to nclp nut his
maintenance, he was, according 70 coun-
try custom in those parts, b:ar ed and
lodged at the houses Of the farmers
whose children he instructed. With
these he lived successfully n week n a
time, thus going the rounds Of the
neighborhood with all his worldly
effects tied up in a cotton handkerch. eff.
lAluI all ILLS LulSuC not DC COO OnCr-
GUS on the purses of his rustic patrons,
who are apt to consider the cost of
schooling u grievous burden, and schoc!-
masters as mere drones, he had ~vario:.s
ways of rendering himself both useful
and agreeable. He assisted the farmers
occasionally in the lighter la.ors of Their
fa!ms; helped to make hay .ncnded ire
fences; took the horses to water: drove
the COWS from pasture; and cut we'd
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 ing%ratiating. He
found favor in the eyes~of the mothers
by petting the children. particularly he
youngest; and like the lion bold, which
: whilome SO magnanimously the l,a5
did hold, he would sit with a child on
one knee and rock a 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 psalmody. 1t was a matter of no liz
tie vanity to him on Sunday to take his
station in front of the church gallery
with a band of chosen singers; where
in his own mind, he completely carried
away the palm from the parson. Ger
tain it is, his voice 1csoundcd far above
all the rest of the congregation, and
fbora o~a roo,,l;or ,o,o ,A,ll L. L.