The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-31
WHEN MATT QUAY WAS A BOY.
How He Introduced a Goose into
School and Traded Knives with
Harry W hite.
From the Ne,o York Sun.

AShOOA tbh0 a. 6ACa kAaAFOo WALL
Harry White.
From the Ne,0 York Sun.
HARRISBURG, Pa, Dec 27.-"There
never was a sharper, more mischievous
schemer as boy, than Matt Quay" said q
resident of Western Pennsylvania, who was
a schoolmate in Indiana county of the now
famous statesman and politician. HE
was continually doing things that no other
boy would ever think Of. | especially recall
one of his pranks that was as bold as it was
original
There was green is the rear of the
school house where we went to school, and
Matt had seat near window that over
looked the green. OIe hot summer after
noon a flock of geese were pasturing on the
green. Matt sat at the open window, look
ing at them plucklng away at the grass as
only flock of geese can pluck, when a
brilliant idea took possession Of him. He had
half-eaten apple in his desk and ball of
kite string. Biting big piece off the apple,
he gu city tied it to one end of his string
and, edging up to the window, gave the bit
of apple quick jerk and sent it several feet
on the grass One of the geese saw the
tempting morsel, and, waddling over to
where 1t lay on the grass, gulped it down,
and indicated its satisfaction by two or
three self-congratulatory cackles.
"In swallowing the apple the goose had
also engulfed a foot or so of Matt Quay's
kite string, and Matt at once proceeded to
complete the scheme he had planned by
hauling the goose, hand over hand, off Of
the green and up the side of the school
house, in spite of the idiotic birds frantic
struggles to get away. The goose was
pulled in at the window in a twinkling, and
the next second was Hopping and waddling
here and there about the school room,
trailing and twisting the kite string about
the legs of a score of surprised and
frightened scholars. and squawking at the
top of its lungs.
"When the scholars recovered from their
surprise and took in the situation, a roar
that almost raised the roof went up from
their combined Threats The goose was
finally penned up in one corner and caught
by scholars and teacher, the string cut off,
and the bird dumped out of the window
Matt Quay was hidden to the teachers plat
form to receive punishment for his wild
breach of decorum.
1T was the practice in those days for
school teachers TO renew their stock Of
switches, of which they made liberal use,
by sending out such or such scholar to
cut the gads as the supply ran low. The
day before Matt Quays goose episode, Matt
had been dispatched as the rod collector,
aud he had brought in bundle of nice,
iOAk, oLGIACl Ettl1 bHdO AldOc bUG UcdCLGf D
eve glisten. Matt was the first boy they
were used on, and the scholars noticed taat
the first whack the teacher gave with one
of the swift hes broke it in dozsn pieces.
This seemed to be gratifying to the teacher,
as be apparently regarded the thorough
breakirg of the rod as evidence of the
telling force Of his blow. lie splintered
four switches over MATHS back, and
from the way Matt squirined ard
IIad tha,rht fhaxy hoo
deep, but when he walked back to his seat
there was a queer grin on his face and not a
trace of tears, and he sat down with wink
and grimace that we knew meant
good deal. We found out later what it
meant. When Matt collected the rods for
the teacher the day before, he had consid-
cred tbs possibilities of their being first
brought into use on himself, and he had
taken his jacKknife and neatly run the
blsde around and around each switch,
from butt to tip, making the missions
few inches apart and deep enough to SO
weaken the gads that the first blow would
break them into splinters and destroy the
force of the blow. The teacher didn't
discover the trick, and MATHS fiogging was
as harmless to him as the tickle of a fiy.
"Matt was always looking for dicker of
some kind when we were boys, and he
never traded knife, q handful of marbles,
or anything else that he didn't stick the boy
he traded with, no matter how much the
advantage seemed to lie with the latter in
the preliminary negotiations. l remember
his great knife trade with Harry White,
who is now president judge of this district
Matt had a jackknife once that was the
particular envy of Harry White, who had
made all sorts of offers to Matt for trade,
one of which included knife that he
owned, a half dozen marbles, a ball of Irvine
and tin squirt gun. But Matt didn't
think the dicker was worth enough to him.
and he wouldn't trade One day, though,
much to the surprise aud joy of Harry, he
met the latter and said he guessed they
might get up trade
81 haven't got my knife with me,
though said Matt, and if we strike a bar
gain you'll have to go after it.
"'All right said Harry; what boot do
you want?
"'Well, if you'll give me your knife, the
marbles, the Irvine, and the squirtgun, and
throw in that horse-hair fish line of yours,
Ill trade.n said Matt.
'"rll do it, exclaimed Harry, and he
handed over all the articles. 'Wherell go
after your knifeF
Matt slowed Harry's knife and the
other things in his pocket and said:
eco up TO the tannery. I was fooling
around there this morning and dropped my
knife in the vat. Me and some of the boys
fished two hours for it and couldn't find 1t.
But it's in there. Go up, and maybe you
can get it,
Harry kicked, but there wasn't any use.
He never found MATHS knife, and Tvs in
that vat yet, for all know"
--------- --------------------