The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1886-07-18
BAROKO.

The Professor of Mathematics taught logic
to few of the girls at the academy, the
older girls who we're going in for many ex-
aminations. His real name was Brandon,
but none Of the students called him Professor
Brandon except TO his face. Even logical
girls invent nioknames. They called him
Baroko, and IL was considered good Joke by
the initiated to say that Baroko was In his
worst mood. Nearly all the teachers at the
academy were honored with new titles, fat
tsring or unilattering, and generally contain
ing some reference TO their particular
branches Of instruction. The science master,
Mr.. Madison, had been called Sirius till
some especially intelligent member OF the
class that dealt with ecliptios, parallaxes,
and the like discovered that Sirius was the
dog star. II was felt that nothing less than
constellation or a planet would do for MIR.
Madison, he was so universally popular SO
from Sirius his name passed to Arcturus, or
sentimentally, the Bright One, or even "The
Archaugel." This amount of alteration that
was lavished on Arcturus was incalculable:
but luckily he was a modest young fellow
enough and IL did not turn his head.
The girls could never understand why
Arcturus had anything to do with Baroko.
They we're excellent friends, though Baroko
was as generally disliked as Aroturus was
admired. He looked too old, perhaps, though
he was ten or fifteen years younger than he
looked, to be fascinating. But aworse draw
back was that, though he never got vexed,
he was given to making the most bitter re
marks in the coolest, blandest Of tones. A
master who wishes to be unpopular cannot do
better than keep his temper and be sarcastic.
One polished sentence does more to make
his pupils hate him than dozen ebullitions
of wrath. They feel that the method is not
just, that there Is trickery about il, that II
il heartless and cold bloodea. II Is impOssi-
BILE to pay it back In it's own coin. Abuse
they can understand, direct reproaches they
can understand, and he sorry and wish to do
bstter, in order to please the person who has
a right TO reproacli; but about sarcasm there
is something deadly and lurking that battles,
maddsns, and hardens them. It may scare
them into Obedience and the obedience will
be half.hearted.
Sarcasm is too keen weapon to be used
on slight occasion. Professor Brandon had
forgotten this. II is true that his habit Of
always speaking satirically, after the style
of many popular critics, sprang from care,
lpssness rather than from any ingrained
cynicsm or harshness of mood; but then
the logical girls did not know this. II Is
with the logical girls that we have to do.
They were not extremely sensitive for the
most part, and much of Baroke's refined
satire glided over their heads, only giving
them vague feeling Of discomfort, for which
they hated him.
So far as learning went, the logical girls
were very advanced. They knew little
about states, little about anatomy, they
were always knowing and forgetting again
the difference between the cerebrum and the
cerebellum. They could tell the date at
which Xerxes or some one crossed the Helles-
pont-that is, If they had recently got ii
up. II was the sans, as regarded the ma
jority of the class, with their other attain
ments. They knew Latin, and had been
constituting the first book OF Virgil ever
since anybody could remember, for when
they came to the end they had always for
gotten the beginning, and turned back
again tomake sure of it. Nevertheless, they
we're very advanced girls, and were going
in, some OF them, for the Higher Local
Exam. This only required them to take one
group at time; they could get 1t up in one
year, and in the next forge. 1t and get up
another.
II was an exceptional cla's. There was
only one backward girl in II, and she was
not stupid, but logic seemed 10 turn her
brain. II WAS Molly Drummond. She was
bright enough at music and drawing, and
history aud literature, and could even write
bad verses in the albums of the other girls
Her arithmetic, truly, was failure; she
owned in fact, frankly enough to the aritli
metic master, who was not Professor Bran
don, that the other girls always did her sums
for herr but she considered 1t a sufficient OK
PLANTATION of this Offense that she did theiI
essays for them. The morality of the aver
age schoolgirl is hazy. Would she do thu
l. ~
Molly would do anything she was asked Il
do-and she did. They were wrong, all o
them. They were more than wrong; they
were ridiculous. Evidently the girl-seven
enteen, toO-dd not know her multiplica
tion table.
As for logic, she had as clear head for 4
as any one, when she choose. But she die
not choose. She dsliked the logical girls
whose virtues afflicted her with too painful
sense of contrast; and she consoled hersel
with the reflection that she could Outstrl
them II she liked, also that she dressed NOR
tastefully, and was prettisr than any q
them, except Alicia Hargreaves. Alicia wa
nineteen, tall and dark and handsome, will
fine figure and eyeglasses gold ones
Nearly all the logical girls wore eyeglasses
except those who wore spsctsclss; and the
were subject most Of them 10 headaches AM
neuralgia. Molly was exceptional In havin
excellent sight and health aud fresh color
She was not beautiful, but her face was yer
charming, with its laughing yet earnef
dark-gray eyes. Her figure was 1.-THE an
rounded, and she walked well and seemed I
dance by instinct. Altogether winnin
girl, with womau's power Of passion and I
sympathy, q greater favorite with the teach
ers, in spite Of her idleness, than Alicia
who was first in everything. Alicia wa
really intellectual and could understan
satire more or less, but even Professor BraudO
never made her his victim. She was to
unimpeachable. Nevertheless, they wei
not attached to each other. There was ever
as Molly Drummond soon discovered. an 81
nifty between them, yelled by exceeding u
banity on both sides. Alicia was not
Baroko's liking. The fact vas, she hi
detected him In q purely technical err
years ago, and instead Of passing it by she hi
brought II forward in the assembled ola
and made the most Of it. Evsry one had 70
gotten the incident long ago, except Alic
aud the Professor himself; but he never fC
gave her. He registered her in his mil
as the type of an especially disagreeat
woman, and solemnly warned Arcturus o.
day of the danger of allowing his appreoi
ton of her talents to carry him too far.
"Don't he csptivated, my dear fellow"
said lightly. "by her Interest in the meg
therium A woman has no real admiration
chunks of old red sandstone. You a
young and handsome; and Miss Alicia p'
SHADES herself that she has great liking
paleoutology. II Is the palsontolog
she likes, my friend. The sans with b.
any. She brought you camelia the 9th
day, think, to ask you II II was an exa
pie OF csntripetal inforesoence. Certainl
II | had been young aud handsome 0
4 L.. n 4 ,,.l