The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-03-20
A BITING WEAPON.
It's Lifelong Effect upon the
School "Bully."

School "Bully."
A rosy October sun was lighting W
the western window panes of a small
country s~chool-house in Northern New
York, while at her desk, in deep thought
sat the young teacher. The term, which
ended with the summer, had been hel
first experience in teaching. That she
had given satisfaction, both to parent.
and teachers, was evidenced by the fac
that she had been re-engaged for thu
winter term, which was usually taught
by.a man. She was endowed by nat
ure and by education, and had the rare
faculty of inlparting instruction; YET
she had not succeeded in quelllng
certain turbulent spirit. Peter Dean,
one of her pupils, had. given her con-
slant trouble. He had turned OUT
every female teacher for the past three
years, who did not at once take the az
gressive with him. He rejoiced in the
title of Bully of the School, For
this he was tlattered by the weak, bad
element of the school, feared by the
weak good; looked upon by all as a
leader, and one who would never "be
bossed by a school marm."
Miss Emery had just been enjoying a
short vacation. She had been able to
bestow some portion of her summers
earnings upon her invalid father, and
the ~hard-worked, though refined moth
er, who lived in an adjoining village.
She saw now that her winter term
would comprise a different class of pu-
pills from any she had taught in the
Farmers boys, taller than
herself, who came with a desire to learn
something, but with all the rustic
youths natural antipathy to the ruling
OF a mere girl, with general contempt
Tor her endowments and methods. She
saw to her sorrow that Peter Dean was
still king, and that none of the new
boys were brave enough to be her
knights. They all sided with the enc
my. Only that morning, on suddenly
looking up at the blackboard, seeing
eyes and smiles directed thither, she
had read to her modification:
MISS EVERY
MISTER w1LLErs."
There was also a remarkable repre-
s%entation of these two people in all the
angular chalking ugliness of a black
board sketch. A swift glance about
the room discovered to her looks of
.mazement on all the faces but one,
that one, which was Peters, was bent
upon his book in preternaturnal uncon-
seriousness of what was going on.
A little maid, who loved her teacher
and sorrowed for her, came to her side
and said:
MAY l rub j. out. Miss Emery"
"Yes, Nellie"
But the insult had not been erased
from Miss Emery's heart, nor was her
spirit Gained by the fact that Peter
was constantly inventing new schemes
'f evil, and new indignities, while no
appeal to his manliness could avail.
md no wonder that 1t did not avail.
that quality had not yet been
'volved from the class of this
nature. This had been
me Of his terrible days." Wish
ng to give him every advantage
# mild reproof, she had tried moral
uasion" without effect. He had shown
is satanic character, by despising it,
nd. leaping out of the window with
n Indian war-whoop, in order to show
is disrespect before the others, when
came his turn to say goodnight"
This was the cause of Miss Emery's
espondency as she sat alone in her de-
'rted school-room. She was meditat-
g an attack. an armed onslaught,
'ould the next day be as fruitful of
isery as this had been, since all else
I'd failed. As the quiet and repose of
9 autumn day stole upon her, her ,
took a new direction.
perhaps John would help me if
ould ask him.
John Willets was ope of the younger
lstees, a college-bred young farmer,
lived with his aged father and
'ther, in the white cottage not five
rds distant from the school-house. a
Shall l ask himp" mo; not yet. / q
Ill not confess weakness. shall r
,quer. John would be pleased, u
II I mastered this boy who b
been the terror of the school so 81
g. What. was it he had once saidp a
could find teachers enough, but 81
masters. Some of these boys 81
'ded a strong master-spirit.' te
When her thoughts wandered again
the subject, she looked toward st
blackboard with o frightened q