The Republican journal., 1896-04-09
Boarded Round.
THE QUAINT OLD Teachers QUEER
STORY,

THE QUAINT OLD Teachers QUEER
STORY.
The teacher who ''boarded 'round'' in
what some people are p eased to call the
good old days" has had opportunities of
studying life unknown, and perhaps I'M
desired. | ''boarded 'round'' the winter
was 10. This privilege and s. per week
were my emOlumentS as teacher of the
Pea Ridge district school.
had visited the school during the reign
of my predecessor, an old fellow whose
ignorance was something incredible, con-
sidering his position. On opening the
school he mildly requested his pupils to
''set up little more erecter," and when
a late-comer came struggling in, leaving
the door ajar, he was requested by the
teacher to Ego back an shev that door
shet.' A little later boy of 10 or -
years fell from his seat to the floor, where
upon the teacher said in mild reproof:
''Well, well, Aaron, can't you main
tain your EQUILIBRIUM no better nor that?
Now git up an try it over ag' in"
And when Aaron, whose self poise had
entirely deserted him by this time, began
70 cry, the teacher requested him not to
Ego to bellering'' This had the effect of
causing him to ''beller'' more Justify than
before, and he was sent from the room to
''bawl it OUT behind the school house.
Soon after the opening of the school a
youth of at least Il years, and who was
fully six feet tall, asked permission to
''pass the water" The teacher granted
the request although he said that he
''didn't reckon the school was dry enough
yet to need watering" Nevertheless. the
boy went to every seat with the water pail
and gourd dipper that held fully two
quarts. Having failed to offer the water
to me first, he was made mindful of this
lack of courtesy by a sharp blow from the
teachers rod and asked if he had never
'been learned manners"
When l began to ''board round" as
teacher of the school, | understood why
this sort of teaching was entirely salts
factory to the patrons of the school. The
popular belief was that knowledge of
''r adm, writin and 'rithmetic' was all
the education boy needed, and it was
thought by some that arithmetic was
supertluous in the case of girl. 1t was
waste of time to study grammar, and
one mother wrote me note, in which she
said that she ''did not dezire Meary Ellen
to ingage in THEOLOGY because l do not
think it ladylike for girl to talk about
her skilliton before passed. Of boys
AdOChOl 1CHuCSIcu Iut 10 learn
Silas figgers an let gramer rip
My first boarding place was with man
who had eleven living children, while
there were but four small rooms in his
house. l pay him and his wife the tribute
of writing that every child was welcome,
and the affection and harmony in that
home was pleasing to see. The eyes of
both parents filled with tears when they
told me of the death of the baby
of the family few months before.
''The cunnin' est little cretur," his
mother said; cpd give the world if he'd
lived, poor as we be an cramped as we
are for room an money. There was
room in his mammy's heart for i'm an
we'd made room for i'm in the house,
dear little soul that he was''
was asked if it would be convenient
for ''some of the children to sleep with
me-" although the word ''some'' was
alarmingly vague in regard to quantity or
number. | felt compelled to say that
some of the children might room with
me. Two boys of s and years were
therefore put into my bed, and admonish-
ed not to ''wiggle an squirm" all night
because ''the teacher would want to
sleep. Three more of the children oc-
cupied a trundle bed in the same room,
and all of the quintet frequently refreshed
themselves from a barrel of apples stand
ing between the two beds.
The next place to which | was sent was
the home Of a lady generally referred to
as cold Mis- Skaggs.' | had been warn
ed that ''Mis Skaggs would talk me to
death before the first week, = and it did
seem possible that this would be my fate
particularly as Mis- Skaggs sometimes in
sisted on talking to me for two hours
after | had gone to bed. The house was a
primitive affair and nothing but loose
board partitions separated the rooms, 50
| that it was an easy matter to carry on
conversation at any hour of the night
with any member of the family
/ Mrs, Skaggs was ii kindly, motherly
soul, and she called me ''son'' and 'sson-
NY from the hour of my arrival at her
house. She had maiden daughter of
about 10 years, who, in her mothers esti-
nation, at least, had brought reproach
upon the family by taking to writing
poetry. This daughter name was Serin-
| dy Ann, and on the first night of my stay
at the Skaggs' home Mrs. Skaggs had
raped on the partition separating her
room from my own and had asked
"You wake, son?''
eyes, | replied.
|
hammerin' like that even if you was
asleep | wanted to speak to you bout
L sindy Ann. reckon YOU We heerd bout
her poetry doins. tried to keep it from
gittin out, but l couldn't. Her kin on
both sides has alus been hard workin'
stiddy, sensible, level-headed sort O folks,
an who L sndy Ann gifts her failin' from
beats me. She'll be shown you some of
her poetry an | wisht to the land you d
discourage her all you kin.
''But when a body's intellek gifts to
runnin' to poetry it's hard to head EN-
off. It's wors' leanin' toward fiddlin'.
| ain t no use fer poetry books nor tiddles.
They're upsettin' things both on 'em.
Did you ever know fiddler or poet who
was worth beans for anything else?
never an I've tried to keep both diseases
out O my family. L'sindy AIMS got
bout three bushels of poetry on hand an
I'd burn it all under my soap kittle some
| T hata e, HOY 60, OH,