The herald., 1895-06-04

"
ct that his mother had made, and that was
the pride of his heart, was torn, and the
sewing girl finding him crying about his
roundabout mended it so beautifully that
his mother was a long timo discovering
the traces and hearing the story.
There was a tall girl with magnificent
black hair that glistened and when it fell
down dragged to her knees, ~ as was the
popular descriptive phrase. She was very
young and bOny, and while promising to
become a beauty was yet homely, and she
was impatient for the transformation
scene of the probability Of which she had
been duly advised. One day she presented
herself with her hair chopped off short and
square Just below her ears, and the effect
was awful The school mourned. She had
accepted the opinion of q cousin, who had
rather Il scraggy head of dingy hair, that
she would be much prettier with short hair
and the experiment was Immediately
mado. The question was asked the poor
girl what did you do with tho hair?"
Tho answer was, Throw d it in the fire.
She had a crying spell when told she
could have sold it at hair store for
$25' She grew into beauty sure enough
and so did her hair again,
it was the rule that the teacher should
treat on Christmas, and if he did not he
was pronounced mean, and he was the
man born of woman full of troubles The
fashion was to bar him out and not let
him in until he promised to treat. Some
of the boys would fix a window so as to
secure admission, and on Christmas morn
Ing enter the house at daylight and barri-
cade it. There were many struggles, and
it was always matter of interest whether
the master would behave handsomely at
Christmas time or compel measures of CO.
ercon. Two or three dollars worth of
candy and sugar kisses would serve all
purposes of festivity. "A MASTER was
thought quite clever because he slept in
the house tho night before Christmas and
was there when the committee to con
struct the barricade arrived. Another
mishaved so obstinately that committee
of big boys dragged him from the house
and rolled him in the snow until he sur
rendered The most discouraging incident
in school history was when the school
master found himself barred out he qu;ht-
ly walked away, and wholly disappeared
for the day. lt was even alleged that be
had the audacity to go sleigh riding. The
case came before tho board of directors
and they ruled that as the master had
presented himself and was refused access
to the schoolroom he should not lose the
price of a days work. There was much
controversy, and the trend of public opin-
ion was tha5 the master had played the
boys a shabby trick.
There was rustic chivalry in the log
schoolhouses. The dramatis personB were
schoolmahter with propensity to use
the whip; clever, slender boy, whose IA
ther was a drunkard and who wore thin
clothes in tho winter But this boy-his
nta1- Il "a t,,I u I;-
consulate abcut his fortunes and bore him
self rather jauntily. He was always ready
for fight or foot race. There was a good
deal of feeling that Dick did not have
thicker coat. and his boots were bad. He
was not incapable of sly tricks, showing
disregard fur the master, who heartily
reclprocated his sentiments, and at last it
became understood that whenever the
master got mad he whipped Dick, pick
ing quarrel with him for that purpose.
Poor Dicks thin clothes placed him at
disadvantage in his thrashings, and with
tho exception Of half a dozen who were
terrorized b.: tho rod the syinpathes of
the school were openly with the poor boy
and against the tyrant. The floggings of
Dick grew more frequent and merciless.
At last three boys of about % or is years
told Dick that tho next time he was pun
Isnc,i tHoy Wuulu JOIN hin ana uak0
whipping with him or whip tho master.
Dick did not want this done, but yielded,
and finally expressed reliance as a last re-
sort III an old barlow knifel The conspir-
ators arranged plan of operations Two
woro to go for the legs one to struggle for
the whip and the fourth to fly at the neck
of the cruel despot, This was thoroughly
talked over, and no detail left untouched
1t was thought sticks Of wood might serve
q good purpose if the battle should go the
wrong way There was one boy bigger
than the master, but he was not approach
able, and his attitude in the combat was
the uncertainty of the conditions. There
was no lack of knowledge of the gravity
of the enterprise by those engaged in it,
but to see poor Dick in his thin butternut
suit lashed around the legs and over his
shiverIng shoulders any moro was not to
be thought Of The conspirators were
overheard.
When the school had assembled ON a
later morning, one of those engaged in tho
plot was astonished to hear his name call
- with shout from the seat OF authori-