Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-03-29

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~1> ing ad vice
given to Elsie Milford by her mother
when she left home to teach her first
district school The words came back
70 hsF now, on this first day of April
as with her finger still lingering on
the little silver bell she watched the
children marching up and down the
narrow aisles and through the open
door into the village street. 1t had
been a hard morning for her. There
had been no real misdemeanor among
she pupils, and yet there was an in
definable sense of mischief brewing in
the air which disturbed Miss Mitford's
sensitive nerves more than an open out
break would have done At recess the
pupils had formed little whispering
conclaves from which bursts of mis-
chievous laughter smote the teachers
ears with fresh annoyance.
When the pupils had all filed out,
Miss Milford opened a door behind her
rostrum and entered a back room
where her overshoes and umbrella
were slowed. 1t was a queer apart
snent to open from school
room 1t was filed with rub
Dish composed of boxes. barrels, crock
cry crates, signs and price cards,
broken dishes and battered tinware.
Mingled with the loose straw and dust
which Uttered the floor were some
highly dessicated but still odorous cod
fishes and dry yeast cakes 1t was, in
deed, the rubbish room of an old gro
Gerry, in the front of which Miss Milford
taught the pupils of New Town.
AS Miss Milford picked her way
through a soft 'slush" of snow and
gravel to her boarding house, her moth
er's advice still seemed ringing in her
ears. At the dinner table she sighed as
she nodded mechanically to the wait
er's ''soup?" but by the time she had
swallowed few spoonfuls of the hot.
saVOry liquid her nerves were SO far
soOthed that she said to herself:
''It is good advice, and l will try to
follow it to-day. After all, the first of
April comes but once a year and L
did l make such simpleton of myself
over it when l was a child, l wonder?'
Then her face broke into real smile,
as there came to her memory of cot
down pennies, bogus parcels and the
mum berless silly trities over which she
had made merry in her happy child
hood.
When she returned to the school
room nearly all the pupils were assem-
bled upon the old store platform out
side. many of them with noses hattened
against the broad window panes, gaz-
ing ir*ently within and every now and
then giving vent to convulSive laugh ter.
The first one who noticed her approach
gave a low whistle, followed by an
admonitory cough. The heads were
instantly withdrawn from the win
dows. and all made a ludicrous attempt
at seeming unconscious as Miss Nit
ford came among them, saying pleas
antly as she placed her hand upon the
door latch:
why do you not come inside? 1t il
chilly out here in the snow"
A smothered litter from the younger
children was her only answer. She had
been prepared for the discovery of some
April fool prank, but her expectations
were more than fulfilled. AS she
opened the door sitting air, lader
with doors of snuff and asafoetida-
rushed out to meet her, and she saw
that the stove was red hot, while one
swift glance around the room showed
her THAT the contents of the rubbish
repository in the rear3had been utilized
for schoolroom decorations
festoon of the moldy yeast cake:
tied together with Irvine depended
from the front of her desk. The cod
fishes had been tied by the tails into {
huge bouquet" anGastuck in broker
water pitcher. This was placed on the
desk, with card hanging upon it:
side, on which was written il bold
hand;
- You may break, you may shatter the vase, i
you will
But the scent of the roses will hang round
still"
A piece of ancient dried beef-almos
An state of petrifaction-had a rusty
butchers knife attached to it, and wa.
hung directly under the evergreen mot
to- Labor Omnia Vincit." which CAV,
dignity TO one side of the schoolroom
The schoolbooks had been collected
from the desks, piled on box in tn,
center of the room and placarded: tive
for a nickel" Your choice for a dime
was attached to bunch of freshly-cu
cottonwood switches
But the browning ACHE vement was
oerOckery crate inverted upon a pedes
tai of piled-up boxes so as to form
sort of cage. By means of an Indial
mask, some turkey feathers, horse hal
and an old Navajo blanket, most gro
1cstque Indian figure had been con
Gxfved- This was seated within tn
cage. upon an inverted mackerel tub
with ats head bent low over Webster
Unabridged Dictionary, which lay opel
upon a box in front Above this tri
zImph of art was the inscription: ''Lo
in A d. 1900"
After surveying the room for mo
sz.e1t Miss Milford passed into tn
hack room. as usual. to remove he