Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-04-05
THE SPELLING BEE.

II allus held said tho chronic loafel
as he stretched his legs along the counter
and rested his back comforta bly, against O
pilo of calicoes, tibet they amt no sech
thing as roarinborin allus. know some
sails they Is electric lights, but when seen
that big un last night said to my missus,
an l hol Pm right, tibet ct was nothin
but iron furnaces over tn mountain. Fer,
dispose, as tn teacher sails, they is lights
up ct tn north pole. Dose you uns believe
we could 500 'om all tibet distance? Well,
now!''
He gazed impressively about the store
at the close Of this discourse. The miller,
the shoemaker and the G. A. r.. man were
disposed to agree with him, but the school
teacher was sarcastic.
If you had ever studied physical geo.
graphy," he said, you would know that
the aurora borealis Is not light made
upon terra frma, but a peculiar magnetic
condition OF the atmosphere for which
there is no apparent accounting" He
looked toward the chronic loafer. "And
the manner in which you pronounce 1t is
exceedingly ludicrous 1t is not roarin
BORN always. 1t is spelled auro "a
BIO re-a-l-i-s."
The tinsmith, who was seated upon a
nail keg, rubbing his hands in the warm
rays of the stove, chuckled softly. The
chronic loafer noticed him and felt. con-
WINGED that the correction of his own
grammar had caused the others mirth.
"What you uns so tickled about noWY'
he asked gruf1iy.
IL was jest thinkin," the tinsmith re-
piled, his countenance assuming it's nat
ural expression, "of the time my ole frien
Quincy Muthersbaugh spelled down Jimi-
son, who taught up to Happy Grove school.
He done ct on tibet very word. My, but
tibet there was bec!''
Now, fore you git grindin away, senoo
you've got on spellin, want to tell a
good un on''-
Let him tell us about Quincy Muthers-
baugh," the schoolteacher interposed de-
cisively. Your good un will keep"
Compelled to silence, the chronic loafer
rolled over on his back and gazed defect
eddy into the dim recesses of tho ceiling,
while the tinsmith began:
Some folks Is nat raj spellors jest as
others Is nat'ral musicians. Agin, ct a
jest as had ter make good speller by ed
dication as ct Is to make good bass horn
player Fer Teller tibet hain't tibet in
born idee of how many letters Is needed
ter make word II never spell no better
than tn man tibet hain't a nat'ral sense
of how much winds needed fer note II
play bass horn
II cannot agree wholly with you, in
+or, %oJ ko
child first words of one syllable, then two,
then drill them in words ending in ton
until
1--WE won't discuss tibet, teacher, fer ct
don't effect our case. John Unison was
a nat raj speller. You never seen til like
Give him word of six or seven syllables,
an he'd spell ct out like ct was on black.
board right before him. When he was 20,
he he'd spelled down all the scholars in
Happy Grove an d won bout six bees
Then he went to tn Pikestown Normal
school, out in tn western part of Penn.
sylvany. When he come back, you never
knowed tn beat. He he'd studied Lating
an algebray, but guess he must "a spent
consider BILE time in brushin up his spell
in, fer there was only one Teller bout these
parts who could keep with him fer any time
at all. He was my frien' Quincy Muthers.
baugh. You uns knows Quincy He tot
two winters up ct Kishikoquillas school
an went west after he mawried. He was
a powerful good feller-still, an fine
teacher an speller, but John Jimison he'd
TIL advantage of normal school edica-
ton an knowed it, fer you uns never seen
tn like of tn way he kerried OH when he
was teachin ter Happy Grove.
Tibet was tn winter we he'd SO much
snow. 1t he'd drifted in tn roads SO we
drove through the fields, Of you uns re-
member. What with church soshbles an
singin school an spellin bees they was a
heap sight goin on
mot Il week passed but me an Quincy
Muthersbaugh went some eres nh fore
knowed ct both him an John Unison was
keepin compny with Hannah elders.
She was jest as pretty as peach, plump
an rosy, with tn slickest nat raj hair an
teeth you ever seen. She was powerful
fond Of cdioation, SO when them two teach
ers was after her she jest couldn't make
up her min She favored both. But ct
seemed ter me like Quincy was her favor,
ito without her KNOWN ct. He'd 60 see
her, set down an never say nothin much,
but she kinder thot him pleasant compa-
ny. He was good lookin, an sure an no
fool. Jimison was amusin, tolerable in
his looks all he'd tn advantage of a nor
nal school cdication an kinder dazzled
her Et allus peared ter me still as ii he
was bit conceity, but then he took with
tn girls.
Hannah elders didn't know which of
them two ter choose. ct seems she figured
on ct all fall an well inter TIL winter.
She begin ter get thin al lose all her col
OF, an both them fellers was near wild
with anxiousuess an continual quarrelin.
Then what yer s'pose they donosh
"Et'll take long time fer 'em ter do
much TIL way you tells 1t, the chronic
loafer grumbled.
''She give out, continued the tinsmith,
not needing the interruption, tibet she'd
take tn best edicated. Thet tickled .Jimi-
son, who blowed round ter all his frien' 9
how he was goin ter send 'em invites ter
his wedflin. Quincy he Jest grit his teeth
an said he was ready. He was goin, he put
ct, like tn male knights Of old, ter tilt
IN tn turning months fer his lady They
agreed ter hev 1t out on tn quiet at TIL
big spellin between their schools tn follyin
week. / thot Quincy was gone. He Jest
went ter work, though, an fer sev'ral days
before tn bee seen nothin Of him. He
was stedyin tn spellin book,
9TH night como, an sech crowd al
they was Of tn Happy Grove school. They
was sleighin, an fer a quarter Of mile in
front Of tn buildin they was nothin but
horses hitchcd ter tn fences. TIL school
room was all decorated with greens an
lighted with lie lamps fer tn occasion an
,vns 3cak pocL,d All m, spafS xrna ALLAH