Morning journal and courier., 1892-02-09
AS SPOKE IN PKNNsYLvANIA.
English as 1t is Taught by a Pretty Berks County School Teacher.
 From the New York Sum-

English as 1t is Taught by a Pretty
 Berks County School Teacher.
 From the New York Sum-
 She was a bu1om, ruddy checked, clear-eyed Berks county maiden of twenty, neatly dressed, snug and tidy, teacher of a country school in Heidelberg township; probably as bright young schoolmarm as could be found anywhere hereabout; one from whose red lips the mongrel English dialect of the region fell more softly and with less uncouthness than usually char acterizes the speech of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
 It was on an afternoon, and she stood at the blackboard before a mixed class of lit tie girls and boys, elucidating some mys- teries in reading and writing.
 With piece of chalk she traced on the blackboard the letters:
 ''P-i-g."
 Then, addressing her pupils, she asked, 'Vos is dosl'
 The class responded instantly, in loud chorus, "Pick!"
 "Yes," said the teacher proudly, 'T gif you T6lSuUt. hO~ ol P4Sh- There was a pause, and then little black-headed urchin spoke up. 'Three kindtsl"
 "Ah, yes, I gif you reighdt again once," '" responded the fair school mistress, smiling with evident satisfaction at her pupils creditable showing. ''Firstf'-snd she waited with wooden pointer in air for an answer.
 "von wot grunts," suggested several of | the children at once. | "Yes," nodded the teacher with a rising infection denoting her pleasure, land sec onda''
 | Won pick to dick (dig) with" answered a yellow-haired little fellow. | "Yes, and the thirdt kindtr
 Another pause, and then the answer came from a thin-faced little girl, wearing glasses, "Von to pick upl"
 "Ah, yes," cried the teacher, trium- phantly, glancing at the visitors, and pro. ceeded to write down the definitions in or der on the blackboard.
 A similar picture could no doubt be drawn of common schools in many other back townships of Berks and of Lehigh, Lancaster and Lebanon as we'll. The truth is that the chief disadvantage of these worthy people is their lack of book learn ing.
 In natural intelligence, sturdy honesty and thrift they are considerably above the average, but they cling tenaciously to old customs and entertain an inherited disre gard of culture.
 Among their old customs was a pecu liarly quaint one, in vogue in this city a. recently as swenty five years ago.
 From ten o'clock at night until day ] break special watchmen patrolled eact street every hour, announcing in sing song voice the time of night and the con dition of the weather. The first patrol for instance, would say in broken Berks a he marched:
 ssIt's ten o'clogk at height and the moor shines brsight" Or, on the next trip, i the weather happened to change, he would drawl out: "It's eleven o'clogk at neighd and it's maxim something's down like triz . zle." That is to say there was fallini
 weather, and rain was beginning to conn down in drizzle. In this fashion the Pennsylvania Dutcl
 still render legitimate German idioms bod
 fly into bad English. sI gif you reighdt," is their ordinar way of saying 'I agree with you," or '' coincide in your opinion" "Tie that bag loose," is an expression of ' ten used here in lieu of s'untie that bag. Another quaint custom, presumably dc l rived from the Fatherlsnd, and still pre- vail in many smaller towns in easter . Pennsylvania, and even westward beyon , the center of the state, is the practice 0 sending men or boys up and down tn l streets to announce auction sales. Tn q crier usually rings his bell continuousl 8 along half block or so and then shouts - ooh, yes; oh, yes; auction, auction 8 righdt away town at -s, at - o'clog ] sharb; come von, come all, and brink you @ friends alongkl" Then the bell sgaiu.