Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-03-10
THURSDAY, Mare, 10, 1892.
BRooKHAvEN PUBLIC SCHOOL.
An Old Confederate First visit to nj
Institution of this Kind.

An Old ConIederate's First visit to an
Institution of this Kind.
Feb. 22nd, 1892, the anniversary of
the birth of that grand old hero, Geo.
Washington, was celebrated at the
Brookhaven public school by the pu-
pills with Rotations, speeches, and
songs. While the general public was
not specially invited, because it was
gotten up for the children, yet the
house was comfortably filed. The
long hall was beautifully decorated
with flowers and wreaths, and above
the stage hung a very large U. S. flag.
On one side of it was large portrait
of Gen. George Washington, and on
the other side was one of Gen. r. Z.
Lee. The pupils, about $50 in number,
we're arranged on the left half of the
hall, and the spectators we're seated on
right. 1t was amusing to see with what
eagerness parents we're watching their
children as they appeared in their reel
tations. The smallest children had
apparently been worked over and re-
modelled, with some red, some white
and some blue, until the parents of
some did not know them at first. This
was especially the case with me. 1t
was one continual broadside after an
other, either in advocating G..
WIS greatness or that of Gen. Lee. 1t
was Nip and Tuck, which was the great
er. G. w. could not tell a lie, and
probably Gen. Lee could, but would
not
What surprised me more was the
genteel appearance of every one. The
neatest, cleanest, most orderly and
well behaved set that l ever saw. There
was such order that you could have
heard a pin drop. 1t was a wonder to
see with what precision the whole num-
Der of scholars were managed and
maneuvered around. They seemed to
have the very military step. They did
credit to drilled soldiers, and the
marked attention they gave to teachers
plainly showed that they were the pu-
pills of disciplinarian. l do not pre-
tend to say where the credit belongs
but it is due to some one.
This was my first visit to a free
school. 1t may have been the reason l
was so much surprised | had heard
all along that free school was where
children were sent by their parents to
keep them out of mischief at home,
between crop seasons, and because the
county paid for it-where they were
carelessly managed-a good place to
turn out first class hoodlum; in fact,
a sort of cross between poor house
and county farm. was somehow all
along of the opinion that for first
class free school for Brookhaven with
out casting any reflections on Brook
haven boys it would take about four
men, say J. L. Sullivan, Muldoon,
Slavin and Fitzsimmons, that could
take their turn in knocking out the
boys. But when | saw five ladies man
age them so nicely, found that l was
mistaken in the manner in which ]
thought the boys should be trained. /
feel that owe the boys an apology.
was agreeably surprised to find that if
ever the above were true anywhere, SO
far as the public school of Brookhaven
was concerned, it was an idle dream.
know that the school will equal any in
the State, and the exercises ON this oc-
casion, while intended for only the
children, were so interesting that nc
one would have been tired had it lasted
two hours longer.
Last, but not least, the Brookhaven
free school is grand success, and it
is left with the public to keep it so. I
hope that it may be done.
OLD CONFEDERATE.