The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-01-11
NEW YEARS. IN THE OLD SCHOOLH0USE
BY Mary Il. Mckitrick.

1akeS WnlrIlnS anu dancing IN their LOWE
ward flight. The northwind whistled and
shrieked around the unshctercd building.
Juggling at the heavy wood shutters, as if
seeking for entrance. Inside the great
stove roarcd and grew red in its defiance
of the outer world.
The room itself was dingy, and bare of
ornament, but not cheerless, for ranged
in rows each side the center aisle were
fifty bright faces. What picture gallery
could boast More attractive works of art?
On each side were three small-paned win
dows. n row of hooks between hung thick
with the scholars outer wraps, forming
to the gray, smoked background. The door
at one end was fanked on either side
by three long shelves filled with the capa>
cious dinner pals and baskets. At one
side Il short rough shelve held the water
pail, and the rusty tin cup hung on a nail
just above: The space under the shelves
on on the other side was piled high with
monster in the middle of the room.
At the end opposite the door two long
benches without backs stood on a raised
platform which extended across the entire
width of the room. These We're the ''recita
ton benches" and just above them was
the blackboard of painted plank.
Just in front of these stood the teachers
desk and the one chair the room afforded.
The scholars seats were wooden,
straight backed benches with roomy
wooden desks in font. These stocd as we
have mentioned with their backs toward
either side in rows of three, facing the
broad aisle down the center of the room
side and girls opposite, making it, as Jerry
HILL the largest, LATEST, best-natured of
them all remarked, "All-fired handy for a
Teller to look at the girls If they want
ed him to study books they'd have to
turn the seats plum around, sure as
thunder
Paul Newell, the young college-bred
teacher, smiled at the remark but echoed
it in his own heart. For in those days
the district school was the school. There
was no going away to high school, nor
NAL or college for the most of them, and
the boys: and girls sat in the dingy school
room winter after winter until they mar
ried. Thus the country teachers pupils
ranged in age all the way from FIVE to
twenty-five and a wiser head than that of
Jerry Hill might well be lost in the pres
ence of those merry, bewitching country
girls.
This particular school boosted the at
all the country around, Cynthia White,
a tall, vivacious blonde, only daughter of
the richest farmer in '':'District No. o.
Proud and imperious, she ruled tyran-
nically over half the young men in the
country, but ambition was her ruling pas
sion and she laughed at all their wooing,
telling them in her half insolent manner
that she would never marry farmer.
Since this winters school began, Jerry
declared: 'Cynthia White has set her
cap for the teacher, and bet my life he's
a goner."
This New Years day, now twenty years
in the past, the monotonous hum of school
e. I~Js
was not long since six days school 4
week had been the rule, and old people
still groaned lugubriously over .'givin' a
teacher all the Saturdays" Hence he
taught Christmas and New Years or
made them up"
1t was, still early in the morning. The
little ones had clustered around the teach
again perched on their high benches,
swinging pairs of lamentably short legs
and wishing they were longer.
The reading classes were in turn Occu-
plying the recitation benches, and the
busy teacher, with one eye on the book
from which they were reading, was help
ing the older ones with the knotty prob
things at once. Not the wisest thing,
perhaps, but the thing made wise by
necessity as all who have taught large
ungraded school and conducted some
twenty-odd recitations between in the
morning and in the afternoon will
realize.
Presently he was seated by Cynthia
White, working problem for her. tle
had taken the pencil and was rapidly
through the long so tuition. He was not
blind to her beauty, nor to her evident
preference for him, and as he felt her
warm, sweet breath on his hands, as
the squeenly head bent over the slate in
unfeigned interest, his thoughts wandered
from the reading pupils and from the ex-
ample in hand to the beautiful girl by
figure to figure he thought as he had
thought before of making this rare maid
his wife. There was only one thing
He knew that he did not love her, if
love was that of which he had read and
heard but he doubted the power of that
tabled passion. What was it that should
rule mans life? He was not emotional;
such love would never come to him. She
had beauty, intelligence and wealth.
What could he ask more? He admired
her and felt the subtle fascination Of
her presence. Was that not all of love
he should ever know? He knew she was
more than willing to unite her fate with
his, and he almost answered himself,
IL WILL" but as his thoughts took this
form 1ull in the mOnOtOnOus reading
of the class caused him to look up and
discover that the ''piece'' was finished.
AS he did SO his eyes rested on shapcly
head covered with long, brown curls,
and swift revulsion Of feeling swept
over him and he thought, "Not YETI
AS he left Cynthia's side he paused by
Margaret Deane, the owner Of the clus-
| tering crlrls, and questioned her kindly
of her progress. The sweet face was
| raised and the earnest brown eyes looked
into his for Il moment, and he passed on
| a desire to merit the approval of those
pure eyes such as no glance of the fair
Cynthia's ever called into being. He did
| not realize it himself until long after
wards, for we take our emotions as they
come and seldom analyzn.J i ss.-..
Noon came at length and the storm still
continued, after the lunches had been