Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-19

of mine he answered rather abruptly:
"Now, now! People may talk and talk about
opportunities which they think they ought
to have had, and what great things they
might have done IL these had not been un-
justly withheld from them. In a country like
this almost any young man can find as much
of opportunity as he needs to start with.
I'll tell something. II you'll listen, abou,
me and my brother Dave.
1--WE agreed that we'd have an education
better than could be got at the neighborhcod
country school. beyond which our parents
means could not allow US to go. Dave was
then 16 years old and IA. We got the no
tion somehow that. to be ripe scholars we
must knew Latin, with which our Gate
teacher had no acquaintance.
lone day. after We had been for som
time specializing upon the subject, Dave said
Dan, my sakes! Why can't we teach our
selves. You me, and l you? l believe we
can do 1t II We'll begin right, study hard,
make good rules and stick to EN- Now you
may not believe it, but that very notion had
been gradually forming in my mind.
$50 with our little moneys We bought che
Adams Latin ramm and one Historic
Sacrae, and in what holidays we got from
work on the farm We kept school and went to
school in a fodder house Just behind the
horse lot. At the other school during the
seasons father could afford to send us, we
had picked up a good deal of arithmetic and
English grammar, and It surprised and de-
lighted us that, principles Of syntax being
much alike in both. we found our task less
difficult than We had apprehended.
when mother found what we were doing
flor we had not told her until fairly started),
she besought father to increase our holidays.
At first he refused, saying 1t was mere nom
sense, Dawes and my attempting to teach
each other what neither of us knew one sin
gle blessed. thing about. Yet, yielding to
her affectionate persistence, he assented,
saying that although the work OF the farm
always the case) was pressing. he would
give us, besides Saturday. that we'd been
having. Tuesday and half Of Thursday. That
is, for a while, to see II anything was to
come Of It. II not, the whole thing had to
stop. at least 50 far as extra holidays were
concerned.
I'VE agreed. Dave and I, that the discipline
was to be as strict as that In other schools,
which you and / know was altogether OF an
other sort from the lax. persuasive, cajoflng
in these days. We were to give and take
genuine, good, long lessons, and then get
them. II we didn't we were to keep and be
kept In at dinner hour and evening. and make
and be made to get them over again. not
emitting advancing tasks. and say and be
made to say them to final entire ~satisfac-
tion."
"Well." I said during a pause in the his
tory. such as that must have been rather
a tough trial upon brotherly affection, II you
and Dave had very much Of that article.
Didn't you quarrel sometlmes?"
N more than is common between brothers
of nigh the same age, and not as much as We
did before w set up our Joint concern. The
solemn understanding was that neither should
rebel or complain In words against the other
while In relation OF pupil to master. We did
what was more efectual than quarreling.
Guess what that was?"
II give Il up"
why, sir, We fought"
Fought I exclaimed. Then I leaned my
head unon The fable hptWppn rs as III I would
very much like TO faint,
Eyes. sir" laughing with delight, he re-
piled. THAT is, each master whipped when
ever such stimulus he Judged to he proper
and necessary. No tapping. either. Dave
kept his hickory. and ! kept mine, not less
sound and seasoned. He laid on and I laid
on according TO judgment on the merits. ]
should rather say the dement's of individual
cases, Occasionally we had to rub our shout
ders and legs from the rigor Of infict'on; but
we didn't break our rule, even by dlsrespect-
full demonstration or course. such as that
seldom and only during the first
weeks OF the session. The interest Inn
parted In the work. soon made that sort OF
discipline seem unnecessary. In three
months' time We got through Historiae
Sacrae. paus,ng as We went (you know the
bible helped us out nightly with thaD. and
before the year was out were reading easily
in Caesars commentaries and beginning to
tackle Cicero on Catlllne. I'm through"
That Is a remarkable history" ! exclaimed
with heartiest emphasis. What became OF
your brother?" ~. .I
He studied medicine, and Is, and for
years has been considered one Of the best
physicians In the town where he first settled.
Oh, no; there's nothing very remarkable about