The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-04-03

up, and eat your breakfast, for you've
got hard days work before you"
Bangs went out into the parlor and
presently Paddy appeared, wearing the
suit of clothes which Bangs had pur-
chased on the previous day, and carry
ing his shirt collar in his hand.
''Bad luck to It'll" exclaimed Paddy,
throwing it on the floor. SIT cuts me
t'roat."
Bangs ordered him to put it on. Pad
dydemured. He said he was willing to
wear it on Sundays, but he thought that
seven days week of it was ''crowdin'
der limit
"No collar, no breakfast" said Bangs
at last, and that carried the point.
1t is only fair to say that Paddy, prop
erly dressed, and with his mouth closed,
was a good-looking youth. His skin
was unusually white, despite his out-of-
door life, and his face was thin to
match his figure which was like a lit
tie man on stills. But his features
were strong and his eyes bright and
steady. Altogether he had good
head for student, if there had been
anything in it. His great strength lent
a certain grace to his movements,
though one would have expected him
to be as awkward as young calf.
1t is impossible within the limits of
this narrative to describe the educa-
tional process to which Paddy was SUBJ
jected. Naturally he did not learn
much on the first day, but Harry Bangs
did. Those of us who have had the ad-
vantages of early training do not real
ize what it's total absence implies.
Bangs had never been a. student. He
had studied just enough to get an idea
of the vast number of things which
one can know. Ee had general no.
tion that somebody knew them ALL but
he had never considered the possibility
of the existence of person who did
not know any of them.
We forget, sometimes, that intinity
is just as long one way as it is the
other 1t is as hard to grasp the real
meaning of nothing as it is to under
stand everything.
That was what was the matter with
the education of Paddy O'Toole. 1t
was impossible to get back to the place
where it ought to begin. 1t is all very
well to talk of beginning a child's edu-
cation with that of his grandfather,
but what are you going to do if the old
gentleman is dead?
In the course of week Bangs had
not found anything to teach Paddy,
because there was always something
which he ought to learn before that.
And SO at random he started him on
Lnglish grammar. Now, merciful
Providence, which sends the mumps
and things of that kind to us at an age
when we are unable to comprehend
the horror of them, has wisely made
the same provision in regard to the ad
vent of grammar into our lives. There
are exceptions, of course, and every
body must have an idea how very bad
an adult case of mumps would be. I'm
agine grammar, then, at the age of
seventeen-an age when most of us
have had 1t, and forgotten all about it.
Paddy OToole thought that he was
going to die of it. He contracted it
from man named Brown. They say
that Brown in private life was not
worse than his neighbors. 1t Is only
when we tackle his grammar that we
perceive how much of the old Satan
was in him. Paddy could read in
general way, though he had no recol-
lection of having learned. An account
of a baseball game in q newspaper was
moderately clear to him. But Brown
was not nearly so lucid as modern
sporting writer.
"Just read the first part of this till
you get an idea of what he's talking
about" said Bangs, laying the book
before his pupil, land when get back
you can tell me about it,"
And Paddy honestly tried to do it.
He worked his shirt collar off in the
first ten minutes, and his coat and
waistcoat soon followed,
.Ill take a fall out o. dis gillie," he
said apostrophizing Brown, eff it
breaks me back"
At the end of an hour the dryness of
the subject had impaired thirst to
him which water couldn't quench. And
there was nothing else to be had.
Bangs was liberal in every other way,
but he would not hear of mixed ale or
any other deleterious beverages. He
had given his man James strict orders
to deny Paddy all such things. Paddy
had not suffered from this absti-