The San Francisco call., 1896-10-25
HIS NAME
WIS
HHYSGGD
The Outside Was Rough, but
Within Was Pure Gold

JENNIE c. HOLMES, IN OUR BOYS AND GIRLS
What is your name?
'Hayseed."
Your name, my boy; there was a
touch of sternness in Miss Armstead' s
manner. She was the new teacher and
was taking the names of the scholars.
"Hayseed," again said the boy.
There were no signs of intentional disre-
spect in the freckled face uplifted 70 an
swer her question, bnt surely he was not
giving his name correctly. Miss Armstead
thought. She glanced around the room,
but there were no smiles on the faces of
the other scholars.
"Your full name" she said once more.
"Hayseed, ma'am," he replied.
"Have you brothers and sisters"
"Yes'm."
"How manyH"
Sixteen"
What stories was this boy telling ner.
she wondered.
Are they all named 'Hayseed?'"
"0h, no, ma'am; Pm the only one
named Hayseed."
Evidently no disrespect was intended
and she must seek an explanation else
where. At recess she called one of the
older boys to her.
please tell me the name of the boy who
calls himself 'Hayseed.' ,"
''Why, that's it; just 'Hayseed.' You
see, it's this way; his folks live down in
the city. They're very poor, and there s
sixteen more OF 'em besides 'Hayseed.' He
was born one Presidential election time.
when Hayes and Tilden were the candi-
dates. His mother wanted to call him
Tilden and his father would call him
Hayes; so they named him Tilden Hayes,
and as his surname is Fad and they called
him Hayes, why. you see, it just makes
him 'Hayseed.' ,"
Miss Armstead laughed. 1t was a very
queer combination of names, but Hay
seed" it was, or something as near that as
possible in sound.
"Mr. Forsythe took him to live with
him last fall. guess he doesn't fare any
too well, but Mr.. Forsythe is going to let
HIM go to school this summer; only this
summer, guess, for Mr.. Forsythe is a
pretty hard man to work for"
That is all, thank you," said Miss Arm
stead.
Gossip was not to be encouraged in the
slightest degree by her. She had obtained
the desired information and the informant
was dismissed, but there was look of pity
in her eye when "Hayseed" came in after
recess.
He was forlorn, pathetic little object
to look upon. Hayes had told her he was
10 years OF age, but he did not look more
than eight. The face would not have
been unattractive # clean, but evidently
soap aud wafer had not come in contact
with it that day. His hair was light, but
the eyes were bright, and though freckles
and dirt struggled with each other fol
supremacy, the forehead was fair, show.
ing what the complexion would be i
cared for.
He wore a shirt that had once beer
white, but it had not visited the washtul
for some time, evidently. His other gar
ment was a pair of trousers that som,
man had once worn. The legs had beer
cut off-no other changes had been made
One suspender held them IN place; it wa.
attached by a single button at the bacl
and crossed the left shoulder to a single
button in front.
But Hayes was quite indifferent to the
peculiarities of his apparel. He could
read; was fairly well advanced in arith
metic; had studied Biography" one term
but his spelling was a dead failure. L
seemed impossible for him to master the
art.
Miss Armstead was in the habit of drill
ing the more advanced pupils in menta
arithmetic, and one day she gave them
this example:
Take multiplied by divided by
multiplied by plus 8 divided by. Il
mu"inlied by II divided by "a minus