The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1895-07-27

the greater ana more exaSperatlng featS
of wading and splashiDg in the stream,
in full sight Of that other boy with a
beside the window whose urn had
not yet come to ave his fingers in the
air and call Miss Gabe, may / go Outl''
and Of afterwards disappearing suddenly
up into the branches of q tree, to later
descend, carefully keeping one pocket
of his jacket well away from contact
with anything less soft than the air,
and then to dive a hand therein and
draw gently out to sight, q by one
and counted down on the grass y tale of
four blue-green eggs then as il all this
were not enough to make him the envy
of q whole world of boys, he must needs
further and bring from another
pocket a mellow. re~d-streaked harvest
apple, and stretching himself beneath
the sky, face upward, beside his cluster
of blue robbers spoil, leisurely set his
teeth into the yielding lusciOusness of q
first June apple.
And then those Friday afternoon
resolved itself into long lines formed
against the opposite sides of the room,
and the battle began somewhere about
horseback, , clattered on to ''schism's s."
charged upon publication" and usually
brought up with depleted ranks at
''incOmprehensibility." Commonly the
two left last on the floor, uncOnquered
by even the words bristling with silent
vOwels and piled up ~cOnsOnants which
abound over against the boy in the
apple tree and the milk-maid dropping
her pail,-were girls, strong herhaps on
spelling-dOwn afternoons because weak
in tree-climbing and pOOl-splashing
exercises at other times. All! those
happy days are gone forever, and we'll
nigh forgotten, but the exploits wit
messed Friday afternoons at the Misses
Hawkins grammer school cast q long
way into the shade the achievements
Of q modern spelling bee.
Kentucky gave Miss Judith Vaughn
to Lexington. Somewhere in the fifties
basement Of the Presbyterian church,
which later. and because of the beQuest
of Miss Elizabeth Aull, blOssOmed into
the Elizabeth Aull Seminary in 1850.
From Virginia came Miss Minnie
Relf, who also organized here q school
for girls, and operated it with success
for many years. This was under the
auspices OF the Episcopal church, but
was discontinued upon Miss Relf's
acceptance of a widely different field Of
usefulness in q foreign land. She
became a member Of the church's mis-
slOnary organization in Liberia. There
she laid down her life within q few
months after her farewelIs here were
spoken, and lies buried In the little
missionary cemetery In MonrOvia.
Almost abreast of FreObel raj Mrs.
Anna M. Slayback in Al adherence to
the idea Of infant education and the
early opening Of a school for its expert
mentati0n. Tiny tots Of children were
gathered by her into her own home fol
instructed without the aid of text
books. These infants were taught BY
her the art of beautiful behavior, gentle
ways OF thought, the rudiments OF
learning, and the worth of An exquisite
personal cleanliness; 80 that Mrs. Stay
backs little ones grew to be like thu
flowers, sweet throughout.
Let no one imagine that in the stately
pull Of the young town towards the goa
Of learning that the accomplishment!
which minister to the adjournment Ol
education were forgotten or overlooked
Mrs. DOnOhue's music school wOul(
disprove the idea. In the old Mansion
House" a hotel which in the old tim,
was placed in the center of the blOcl
now bounded in length by the Morrison
Wentworth bank and the residence o
Mrs. Reid, she lived and instructed
pupils In the mysteries Of the mos
divine Of the arts. How far away tina
day looks in the retrospect, yet Mrs
Donohue lives, q yOnng- sppearinI
woman still, gracious and attractive
the years resting upon her lightly.
And now the educational venture o
another woman, which must not b
overlooked. This was Mrs. - VIII
sons school for girls and boys, laugh
in the family residence, on FRANKLIN
avenue. This stood upon the lot no,
occupied by Mr.. Mulligsn "a a home
and much more of q wilderness sur
rounded the spot than now obtain
there. It was truly y free school, il
that the scholars we're given the frees
freedom most Of the time to stud
when, where and how they pleased, an
to recite only when they considere
themselves to be willing, though ofteI
quick and fleeting readiness. On
method Of study, sometimes allowed a
q relief from the usual tangle of buz
zing whispers and kissing half-tones
was the liberty to try what feats mem
Ory could perform in snatching tn
words of a lesson from the medley of
loud concerted bawling, at one and th
~ = hA1O va o8lAoW y w 4uCoJlOll
flung out on the ear from geographic.
grammars, arithmetic, spelling defined
SC, simultaneously, and by the Who'll
school. The usual action Of the bod
which accompanied this pandemoniuI
! Of sound consisted In y swinging of tn
upper half of the person backward an
forward vigorously, and q rythmetics
humping upon the chest with q tight
closed fist, and all meant to act as
nail-driving of facts into memory.
In regard to the time Of the recitatiO
each chose q favorable moment whe
the words of the lesson were war;
upon, not within, the memory, and wit
gaze glued to the page, tell the las
moment the applicant slowly an
reluctantly slid the book from under III
eyes into the hands |Of the QuestiOntI
and Strengthened up a childish fO,I
preparatory to placing Philadelphia /
New York, and Boston in Canada.
Dear Mrs. Wilson, gentle and TO
bearing, how you must have been to
mented the while life was being
much enjoyed under your reign.
The reason which lies under this Ia
perfect resume OF the earliest educ
wish to call to mind q fact near to beir
Z altogether forgotten, namely, that
women belong the honor and credit
laying down in strong aud endurir
q results the foundations upon which q
8 reared the towns present achievement
In the building and maintaining
colleges. Lexington is q college TOW
z today because Of this, and the truth
it should not be let to lapse fro
8 memory.
: Later, when the civil wal had cor
and gone leaving behind it the wrecka,
!, of the old order of things the publ
y school idea flowed into the state alOI
8 with others until then unfamilia
Free school" was at that time q ter
lacking repute in the south, and
certain feeling OF covert scOrn W
Q attached to the whole movement.
took time and determination to chan
this, and it was done by women!
8 First in this field were Miss Elizabe
q Arnold and Miss Isabella Green. The
did missionary work, truly, and open
9 up the way for a more cOmfOrtat
Q occupation of the ground by those WI
( came after. Since hen the pub
schools Of the town have had for teache
s many Of the most carefully educated q
ably executive woman within the tow
notably Miss Mary Hawkins, Miss KAT
Q Greer, Miss Mary Smith, Miss Nett
. Wallace, Miss Florence Arnold, Mi
Mamie Shaw, Miss Aurelia Miller, Nj
s JEANNE Findley and others. Thes
and women like them have made Il
d towns public schools what they
v today, educational institutions ranki
with the colleges, and no longer scOrnt
s And now, in contrast to the stimuli
given. by the magical power of succs
nnlr .l = A