The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-09-01

called an "educated young lady" at
the present time. She was nothing
of the kind. Before her father came
to Brownville, she had had the advan-
tages of the ordinary school-district
cnly, but these she had made the
most of, and could write fair hand,
with heavy tops to her t's, and heavier
tails to her Us and g's; she could
spell pretty well, read as fast as the
next one-and in those days the boy
or the girl who could read the fastest
was considered the best reader, as ex-
preston was of no account. She
could 'tcipher" as far into the 'rith-
metic as the rule of three, and parse
all the sentences in the grammar with
parrot-like precision, and repeat
good share of geography. What use
was there of more comprehensive ed
ucation in such place as Brownville,
Nannie's mother wondered.
"'Twa'n't as eff she was out among
folks more," she told the town board,
when she applied for her daughters
appointment to the position of school
mistress. eff twas where folks knew
more, 'twould be diffrunt, but Mamie
knows enough to teach any O. the
children in that part O. the kentry, an
I don't say it to brag up my own flesh
and blood, neither.
AS teachers from "down below" did
not like to come into the woods to
teach, the school officers decided that
Mamie was properly qualified to fill
the position of teacher, and in that
way she became schoolma'am.
Dick used to keep pretty close
watch of the road if he was at work
anywhere near it when he thought it
was about four o'clock. Curiously
enough, it almost always happened
that his horses needed rest when q
little pink sun-bonnet came in sight at
the turn of the road. The sight of that
sun-bonnet always seemed to make
Dick thirsty. I can't explain why,
but so it was; so much so that he had
to 90 to fence-corner near the turn
in the road, where cool spring bub-
bled out from under the roots of an old
oak. And, strangely enough, it al
most always happened that the walk
from the schoolhouse had made Mamie
thirsty, too, and she was glad to sit
down under the shade of the old trees
spreading branches and drink the
sweet, refreshing draught which Dick
rendered her in a cup fashioned from a
great Eastwood leaf. What they
talked about at such times am not
supposed to know. The weather and
the crops, perhaps. I know this, how
ever, the horses got good, long rest
ing spell on these occasions, and Nam
ME reached home considerably later
than she might have done if she had
not played truant. Her mother used
to say, quite often:
"There is one thing about Nannie's
teachin' that the folks can't complain
of, an that is that she allus keeps full
hours, an more, too, fer half the. time
she don'tget home till five or half-past
five, and it don't take more'n fifteen
minutes to walk from the schoolhouse
up"
The worthy woman made this re-
mark at the table more than once, and,
Dick, at such times, would give a sly
look at Mamie, and she would blush
like a newly blossomed rose or be
seized with such severe fit of cough
ing that she had to leave the table,
when her mother would wonder if she
had "swallered her vittels the wrong
way"
On the afternoon of the day on
which this story begins, Dick was
ploughing near the road.
When he saw Mamie coming, he
hitched his horses to hickory tree,
where they would get the benefit of its
shade, and went to the road. Leaning
over the fence, he waited for her,
watching her trim-built figure with
admiring eyes, as she came up the hill.
When she came near, he knew by her
face that something had happened.
"Oh, Dick" cried Mamie, as she
came up to the fence, 'guess what's
going to be! You can't, I know; but
try"
"a camp-meeting," ventured Dick.
Camp-meetings were considered to be
the climax of all desirable events
among the Brownsvillians.
"Oh, better n that" cried Nan
ME, with sparkling eyes. ''Ever SO
much better! It's singing school J"
"A singingschool =" Dick caught
some of Nannie's enthusiasm at once.
"Well, that will be nice. won't it? 1
have attended two terms and we al
ways had lots of fun, if we didn't
get much musical benefit. But who's
going to teach it. Deacon Snyder?"
ITO be continued.
s,I, fnf