The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-04-24

quiet except a few late stragglers and the cellar monitors voice. After go- Ing to our classes on reaching the school room and getting seated, keeping quiet awhile, MT, Lowell would read a chap ter from the Bible, Having finished, the order for examination of hands came. Show hands" Out would go our hand, good, bad and indifferent, paca sack coat with his hands behind him holding that never to be forgotten by someTArattan ready to do its duty in time of need; it would not generally get by the class without some one of the scholars receiving reminder that the condition of his hands did not prove satisfactory, and was not in as cleaniy state as desired. As soon as our teacher was through, blow! would go that little whistle, and study would commence. l think from nine to ten was reading. Blow again would go the whistle. Ten o'clock, change to writing. First and second division would take possession of the writing desks. In few moments our teacher would ascend the platform, and hold up his hand for us to get quiet, and say, "Hark! did you hear that pin drop?" Of course, we all did. After going through our gymnastic hand ex- ercises, we opened our writing books and tried hard to initiate the copper plate copy at the head of the page. In few moments we heard those slippers and the rustling of that alpaca coat, as its wearer approached us with hands behind, clasping that little rattan to ex- anime our writing, and woe to that boy who had a blot on his book That little rattan would soon remind him of his carelessness. After we had finished writing, if the hour was not quite up, we would fold our arms and sit up like little men endeavoring to keep quiet enough to hear that little clock tick that used to stand on the shelf back of the platform. Blow! goes that little whistle, time for recess, and what jolly times we used to have on the open lot corner of Wall and Orange streets, playing ball. But lookout and don't let it go over into Dayton's, "John Troup's" lot, that will be the last you will see of it. The path outside the school yard was pretty much taken up with the boys playing hop scotch or marbles. In regard to the latter there was one boy we were all afraid of-Dave H. he had a sort "Knuckle your thumb" way of shooting an agate that always took the marbles every time
 There were other games-"Come Away" Tag" Hide and Seek" etc
 That back door bell rings; recess is over. think the lesson until 12 m. was spelling. Two o'clock D. m. The
 back door bell rings. After dispensing with hat and coat in cellar, hurry into school to recite our geography lessons, l and an explanation of the large maps that used to hang around the wall. Whistle blows; the hour is up. think arithmetic came next. First and sec- ond divisions change after arranging | the black board. The monitors began | to fill the same with figures for addi- | ton, subtraction or multiplication or | fractions for us scholars to tax our brains to manipulate; also that class of mental arithmetic on the platform. MT. l Lovell's class figures by 2, 3 by 3, by and so on up to by 3. The boys to give the answer first correctly and
 most quickly were Sam Burrell and Sam Barney. I generally came off 1 third or fourth best. I used to like it. am very fond of figures and those ex- ercises have been of great benefit to
 me many times since. do not dis | tinctly remember the studies the latter 1 hours of the day; they varied. l used | to draw maps and India ink sketches
 and ornamental writing on the desk
 back on the platform, across the large 1 windows, on the same desk with Coot 1 Howard Lou Bodwell and l think Ed
 Bowditch and Jim Keys l remember l the samples of ornamental writing l that used to hang in frames around the
 platform, the handiwork of William | White, William Dougall and others;
 also the number of map sketches. We l used to have little eolored tickets given
 us for good behavior and department,
 entitling us to one-half holiday, cellar
 monitor and pencil monitor; also the
 privilege of going up to Coburn's chair
 factory, back of the burylng ground, and picking out the best rattans for
 Mir. Lovelrs use, and lucky if some of us did not get taste of their sweet
 ness and quality before many days had passed.
 At the close of the quarter came eX-
 animation. What a happy day to some; how our hopes were raised when those little gold and silver star medals were
 set before us, and the quantity of nice
 books and other tokens were displayed
 in full view. We felt that we had nev-
 CT done anything wrong, and were sur
 prised at our teacher in not considering
 our merits in the distribution of awards and being obliged to go home (some oi | us) without prize. But the most irn-
 portant event was to come, when Low elPs exhibition was announced. For six weeks before, both far and near, Il
 was heralded the greatest event Of the | season. Barnum's show was nowhere
 compared with the enthusiasm display ed. I think Exchange Building hall was the place where they used to have
 entertainments n1i-occasionally, but | Lovell's exhibition took the cake Tn
 those days. How we boys who were to take part used to rehearse, and what pleasure 1t was for US to act and have
 Mir Lowell prompt us; and then, the
 costumes were gorgeous. The boys l that spoke in class E had to go around
 to Mrs. Harrisons house and be fitted
 with those cambric caps with long
 ostrich feather I tell you, didn't we
 feel grand? We were all arranged or
 the stage according to height, the class
 numbering seventy-three, so the pro
 gram says which lies before me. Fol
 Tuesday 14tb Wednesday, 18th, Thurs