The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1886-02-19
THE CORNER SCHOOL MA'AM.

store, was designated.
Now, say what You will of women Cos
sips, they never have compared, and never
can compare, with male gossps as success
| full mischief makers.
| And these Corner gossips were unequaled
the world over.
That was the reason why Corner society
was for ever and ever in a turmoil. It's
broils and squabbIes had rendered it IA
nous throughout the county.
| 1t was byword in all the adjoining
towns and villages, and even in the farm
| houses. If any person was known to pos
sess a particularly quarrelsome or jealous
or ugly disposition, the saying was, 81
should think he'd been brought UP at the
| Corner" or if child developed an un-
pleasant temper, "Gness we'd better send
| him to the Corner"
Family jars, ncighborhood quarrcls and
church difficulties abonnded at the Corner;
and all because a few mcddlcsome men,
| whose solitary country empioyments gave
them no social life during the day, met al
most every evening ut the store or post
office and talked about their neighbours
affairs
| There is u great deal of poetry and senti-
ment wasted in this world on the subject
of the peaceful, contcnted lives of people
who dwell in the country, out of the strife
and turmoil of the city, away from the dis
trials and annoyanccs.
So far as my observation goes, there
are just as many heart aches, just as much
discomfort, more quarrels and more gossip
among the dwellers in these pastoral scenes
than one finds in the heart of a large city;
and the country store is quite as great foe
to the harmony of the domestic circle as
the city club.
There was a new theme for conversation
at the Corner that night
1t was Saturday evening and the crowd
was out in full force.
Dr. Bradford sat ON dry goods box in
that portion OF the post office which served
as store or shop for at the Corner, gro
ceries. dry goods, boots and shoes, hard
ware and drugs were all sold over the same
counter.
About the doctor were gathered Deacon
IIargrowc. Silas Fox, Lem Walters and
several other village oraeles.
$50 the new school ma am is going to
board with you, DOCTOR is she ," asked
| I fI,.,
ter and began chewing q straw. Il saw
her going into your yard rs | came by.
She is pretty high stopper for these parts,
amt she? Walks as if she owned the
whole Corner"
.Shes pretty high toned, that's a fact,
the doctor admitted. ''Puts on clean
collar every mornn', and wears French
heels My wife says she thinks she
inc awful red and tired the other night.
and went up stairs and come down in a
few minutes all cool and white and nice as
you please. My wife says it's powder;
pleasant in the house, and I've no chill
drcn to send to school SO I've no fault to
| find
"But hey y said Silas Fox, as he eject
ed a large mouthful of tobacco juice on the
floor 81 don't want my gals gon' to
no school teacher that powders her face
like some actress. 'Tant a good prcccpt
| to impart to young mind. 1t leads to no
3. "A; al | 7 aNip
or Annette a powdering of their faces, I'd
dsown EN-
'''Taint likely she teaches that in
school" spoke up Abner, Sias Fox's tall,
awkward, eighteen-ycar-old son, land
faint likely Ann or Vine would undertake
TO put powder on their black skins, father
If they did, they'd look like the side o our
old barn where drew the whithwash
brush t'other day: the black ii shine right
through
The dark swarthy skin of the Foxes was
family characteristic, and everybody
laughed at Abner's thrust at his sisters
compilations
Ought to be ashamed. making sport of
yer sisters behind their Backs Silas said
reprovingly, when the laugh had died
away Guess you're as black as they
are. It's in the Fox race. No milk and
water faces among us, and we're proud of
it,"
"Ah, Abner's tender on the sehoolma ana
question, laughed the doctor. Gle lost
his heart when he saw her step of the
train the night she got here. And she's
pretty sweet on him. She says she thinks
he has the makins' of n fine man
''Guess She knows his dad is the richest
man in these parts, spoke up Deacon
lIargrowe mind what tell you, that
young woman is worldly, worldly clear
through She hasn't the look, or air. or
walk of Il righteous seeker after truth.
She is not, in my mind, proper person to
teach young children. The very fact that
no one knows anything about her past life
speaks i'll of her, | think. She has 4 good
certificate. but that is all we know, and IN
my opinion she is an ungodly person.
Within two weeks after this gathering ut
the Corner the widest stories were in cir
culation concerning pretty Miss Manning,
| the school teacher She wore false teeth