Little Falls transcript., 1886-04-16
THE LONELY TEACHER.

+ ner arms upon the taO AT last she
raised it, glanced about the dreary
school-room, and, bursting into pas
sion OF sobs, dropped it again.. .s
: Not, surely, a room to brighten
thoroughly tired, discouraged, har-
assed, half sick young woman! It was
large and barn-like; the children's
restless feet had departing, left be-
hind them footprints on the dirty
floor (adapted from one-Longfellow;)
the blackboards were cracked and
the woodwork was of that hideous
shade of buff which seems to be, for
some unknown reason, always and in
every cline, chosen to assist in the ed
ucation Of the Juvenile mind. The
ventilator, a closet like projection
reaching from floor to ceiling. suggest
ed to the chance visitor the existence
OF a metal dumb-waiter, and q 'minia-
ture torpedo" as one OF the scholars
called it, to the unfortunates whose
pedal extremities were within range of
its blast, which blast caught up bits OF
paper in quite a realistic cyclonic fash
ion. The hanging Of the splint cur
tains must have been designed by the
conglomerate brains Of the entire
school board; for surely no other
mind Or minds could have been equal
to such g. strain upon stupidity as
tilted the tops Of those curtains at the
J exact angle to throw a beam OF sun
light just across the scholars eyes
like a golden riband blindfolding those
young princes on the royal road to
learning.
However, even in this dingy room
somes ssmall, very small concessions
had been made to the artistic, for a
wood-cut OF the father OF his country
hung, very crooked, so high in one cor
ner that no one could SEQ it without
turning a back somersault; and mer-
cy it was, for the stupid dignity OF the
figure and t;le benevolent idiocy OF the
face exasperated one to anything but
emulation Of the virtues of the Illus
trlous deceased. In fact, Tom Smith,
buzzing over his dates one day, with his
fiery head resting on his chairs back
and his eyes wandering about the cell.
ing, upon discovering it had whispered
across the isle to Jim Jones: '"That
there Washington's u confounded old
mutf." Whereupon Jim Jones burning
with patriotic ,ardor, had invited him
to have, in the coming recess "every
bone in his body broke.' but in his
wrath, catching sight Of the picture he
cooled down, and gave nod in which
appreciation, disgust and apology were
adroitly blended, and handed over his
best agate rs q peace Offering.
Then, too, there was &. chrome of
colors so brilliant rs to merit the bon
mot OF n local art critic with regard
to the pastelle OF Bacher's in our
recent art loan, 'a telegram of col
orr
Neither of the beauties did Miss
Whittemore notice in her brief survey.
Poor thing, the day had been an ex-
ceptionably hard one. To begin with,
she had oversight, and then hurried,
breakfastless, through two miles of
depressing fog to school, was minute
late, and had entered such fact upon
her report.
Then the scholars had been unusual.
ly noisy and troublesome Bunyan's
Pilgrims Progress had been the SPELL
ing in vogue. Minnie Gray had failed
on every question put to her in his
tory with mild expression OF grieved
surprise that she should be asked
any; and when Miss Whittemore, losing
patience at last, inquired, "Who is the
president OF the United States?" she
had camly shaken out her long curls
(her brains had all run to hairy and
answered, "Why, Miss Whittemore,
don't know. You didn't tell US to
learn that" Willie Black either could
not or would not understand that a
bin had two sides and two ends; but
the climax had come when Ernestine
De Lorme, with a self-approbative
smile, in reply to the question, "What
animal in Siberia is hunted for its
lur?' had made answer, '"The sponge" :"
Beside all this, she had been mortl.
fed and wounded by the impertinent
remarks of an illiterate parent who
came to avenge q fancied slight to her
young hopeful q brutal, cvergrown
boy, with just enough intellect to play
marbles and chew tobacco.
After the session, she had given
some assistance, heard corrections,
posted the register, made out the
monthly report, which required the
killing off OF an unaccounted for boy,
had out her cry, and finally rousing
to the fact that it was almost dark,
had taken her roll of examination
papers, which seemed audibly to as
sert: "We'll sit heavy on your soul
tomorrow" and struggled. along the
muddy streets, trying to forget the an
noyances of the day, to conquer the
rebellious thoughts arising in her ach-
ing heart and to attain to q mood suit
able to the season.
Reaching home, a small room in the
third story, back of a boarding house,
dedraggled, exhausted, lonely, she
sank into chair, gazing out upon lit
tered back yards and dripping roofs
{tor the weather was un-C Christian, as
the landlady; had asserted, adding:
'Such days is SO opsettin' n'"), until
the tea-bell summoned her to hear
Mr.. Deans nocturnal remark and It's
accompanying chnckle: 'Evenin',
Miss Whittemore. Ben a-teachin' the
young idear how to stsoot?"5 fs t' E
Later, sitting in her room, she heard
the door-bell's dinga-ling-ling. What
IS there about q ling that always
arouses q pleasant sense of expecta-
tion? mo one for me, = was her sec
ond thought, unless it's Jane for my
clothes" So when the stupid maid.
of-all work appeared and said briefly,
l"Fur vow" Helen bade her ask up the