The Newtown bee., 1896-03-27
Town Topics.
SCHOOL TEACHERS OF THE OLD
 DAYS.
THE POET OF SHILOH DROPS INTO REMI
 NISCENCE.

l NlOCENCEs
 l Editor of THE NEWTOWN BEE We
 purpose to write up few "reminiscences
 ofSthis vicinity, and, if not too lazy, will give you something to tuck in to the left hand corner to fill the esteemed weekly sheet. In Gray's Plain, now noted for a question of right vs. statute law, claim ed by both parties to be right, "Wbether or mo-"
 The Half Way River scholars some times sited Gray's Plain school and, vice versa. In Gray's Plain school they had the equals of Half Way River in reading and spelling. A big boy, who 1 should have been called Moses for his meekness, read to us of Half Way River, that 'Jacob begot the l2 cartridges '" Ano her, spelled snow drop, "knsow dropp." Everything tin literature was
 in those days looked upon as something terrible. Boys and girls thought that spelling meant the farthest way round, | and that reading was ten thousand times l harder than spelling, cutting wood, or dO ing housewOrk after school. Gray's Plain was little ashamed of their two bad mistakes and they were on the alert to settle up with Half Way River. It so happened that they visited our school with the school visitor. Our teacher had trained us for the school visitor on this extract of Blair, '.Is it bigotry to believe in the sublime truths of the Gospel? 1 glory in such bigoCry, would not part with it for a thousand worlds" The school visitor exclaimed, good, first rate!" But Moses" was sharp enough to guess that we had been trained on this lesson and spoke right out, "I wish'' said he, 'that such good readers would read, 'm Monarch of all 1 survey.'" The teacher and the school visitor said, "LetI us hear it." We'll, this was such an ex- posture on our part of the teachers fraud, that Moses" and his friends laughed last.
 How severe was punishment in those days. We remembtr one teacher who seemed to delight in taking down his bundle of iron wood 'cart whip gads'' and cutting to the quick any boy who violated in the least, his orders. We re- call the cut he gave Hen Lyon, sitting upon low bench, because he whispered. ''Hen" had on new pair of pants, good solid wool in those days. He struck this boy with all his might and cut three cuts clean through, and into the flesh, draw ing blood at each stroke. 1 was shocked, mad, and cried out, That's too bad?'' HheTeupon he struck me over the head with his iron cart whip gad, took me by the collar and threw me out of doors. We wonder what such a monster would get nOw-a. days for such barbarian. Yet, in this district we had some lady teachers that were as angels, and, as Byron says; "'Tis pleasing te be schooled by female lips
 and eyes,
 They smile so, when ones right and when
 ones wrong"
 There was, then as now, frequent in- ability to pass examination. We remem- Der that our NewCown board had sent of several applicants for Half Way River. Finally a MT Buckingham of Oxford, who had taught for 20 years, was hired at S20 per month. Many objected to pay ing such an extravaganza price, with board round. Marshal Jordan, in partic ular, objected. But when Buckingham was presented before the NeWtown board he didn't pass. "Why," said MT Jordan, l ''didn'C old $20 pass?' So it seemed that in those far back days, as in those excit- ;p1 T ,F rh DIni could not pass.
 Just the last season before we "gra iu- ated" from Ragged COrner' school, we had Henry Fairchild. GO years old, to l teach. He was smart and like Gold smiths pedagouge, it was surprising that such little head could hold all he knew.
 The boys nicknamed Linn, "Old Brady" 1 When he called to board at Mrs Leach Shermans, she greeted him with, MT l Brady, 1 suppose" No, madam, my name is Fairchild," was the reply. One Thauks giving he was taken suddenly ill, and the next morning, being unable to eat any breakfast, said II don't see what has got into the north east corner of my head" The boys often waited for him to come back from dinner and, having piled up bushel of snow balls on soft days. pelted him and knocked off his silk hat into the snow. One day they knock. ed off his spectacles. When he whacked the shingles for the boys to come in, the first boy would fall into the room and all
 the other boys would fall top of him
 Then was the time when the iron cart
 whip gad would have been exceeding
 useful We find fault -a-days about the poor government of teachers, about their incapacity to teach, but what {
 good stride since the writer went tt
 school in Half Way River. Our mex
 will treat of bigger boys and girls. Blu - here we remember ''Little Whiting Brad
 ley,'' with his bob tailed coat, bent owe
 like an old man of 70, initiating "Ol :, Brady" How such happy scenes ar fastened in the memory !-[Shiloh
 The bridge over the ditch on the Flaw
 leyville depot road, is in very bad cond
 tion, and creates much talk among tn l. l faruoers in that vicinity.