The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-12-12
OUR BOYS AND GIRLS.
Three Famous Boys,

william CaXtOn, Tue uTSJ English
printer, was born about 14l2, in Kent.
1t was here he spent his boyhood days.
His father, who was the owner of some
land, gave him the b >st instruction OBJ
tainable at that time. Caxton, speak
ing of these early days of his life says:
&C. was born ard learned mine English
in Kent in the weald, where | doubt
not is spoken as broad and rude Eng.
lish as in any place in England" 1t is
always pleasant to read of the gratitude
of children for the kindness and wis
dom shown them by their parents.
William Caxton speaks in his quiet
way of the love his parents had for him
during his school Gays: 81 have spe-
cially reduced [translated] it The Life
of Charles the Great after the simple
cunning that God hath lent me, whereof
| humbly and with all my heart thank
him, and also am bounded TO pray for
my fathers and mothers souls, that in
my youth sent me to school, by which,
by the su~fferance of God, l get my liv-
ing, / hope truly" The disregard that
boys have of the value of school books
in these days would not have been
thought possible by boys of the six
teenth century. Great value was then
attached to them. In Lincolnshire in
1878 the corporation records show that
it was agreed that g. Dictionarye shall
be bought for the scollers of the Free
Scoole; and the same boke to be tyed
in a cheque, and set upon a desk in the
scoole, whereunto any scoller may have
accesse as occasion shall serve" Alas,
now we see dictionaries and even prize
books lying about anywhere but in
their right places by our careless boys
and girls. Our boys do not seem 10
realize the difficulties that lay in the
way of learning a few years ago. Some
of the worlds greatest men have had
TO overcome obstacles that would cause
many modern aspiring youths to de-
spair. To-day we see boys and girls
with elegantly bound and neatly printed
books and nicely framed states. But
IN the time of Queen Elizabeth the pu.
oil when he entered school was handed
he "Hornbook" and from that he
learned his first lessons. The Horn
book'' was one leaf on which was printed
in black letter the alphabet, a large
cross, then the vowels and combination
of vowels and consonants, followed by
the Lords prayer and the Roman nu-
meTdlS. lDlo ledl was mOuuIcu Ou
wood and protected from dirty fingers
by a transparent horn. This sheet of
horn was secured by a border of brass
and tackled to the wooden back. The
large cross, or " criss cross" on the
page was to show that the end of learn
ing is piety.
Admirable Crichton was simply
James Crichton. Admirable was only
a title given him by the ladies of
French court, who, on ccount of the
the variety of his talents, his youth,
the gracefulness of his manners, and
the beauty of his person, named him
L'Admirable. 1t is sad to think that
this talented boy never lived to be a
man, and has left us nothing in the
way of proof of his cleverness except
the testi nonials of undoubted and ex-
treme admiration of several distin-
guished Italian authors, who were his
contemporaries and associates. He was
born in Scotland in 1861. At fourteen
he was master of arts, he became third
reader in his col eye, then master of
philosophy and languages, of which he
knew ten. AT seventeen he went to
France. Here he gave lectures in
twelve different languages. Besides
possessing such wonderful learning he
was remarkably clever at outdoor
sports and excelled in tilting, hunting,
aud sword Practice. He travelled to
Mantua, where at the age of twenty
sever he was assassinated by Vincenzo
Gonzaga, son of the Duke of Mantua,
it is supposed through jealousy.
Sir Thomas Moore, who was born in
Milk street, Cheapside, London, Eng,
in 1880, was one of the orighte It schol-
ars at St. Antony's Free Grammar
School, T~hreadneedle street. He out
stripped all his young companions and
was frs class at Latin. Greek was not
taught in English schools in his time.
Like most boys of that period, as so N
as he was fourteen he wa removed
from school to officiate in the mental
work in some great family, in order
that he might learn implicit obedience
and stern discipline, and profit by the
words of his elders. 1t was not
thought at all degrading for boys to
submit TO mental work. More had the
fortune to gain admittance to the palace
of Cardinal Morton, Archbishop of
Canterbury and Lord High Chancellor.
The Archbishop soon noticed that he
was a bright, cheerful boy, and willing
at all times to do the most mental
things, and often said to his friends
"That child waiting at table, whose.
ever shall live to see it, will prove a
marvellous man." Dean Co,et, a visitor
at the Cardinals, said: There is but
one wit in England, and that is young
Thomos Moore" Az the age of seven
teen More went TO Oxford, England
and here he composed the greater mum
Der of his English poems, which Ben
johnson speaks of as some of the bes'
in tho Ennlish %lanuuaua -SpIectpa