The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1897-06-17
TO BOYS AGAIN.
ANOTHER TALK ABOUT
BATTLES.
Some Rambling Thoughts.
BY "NEMO."
(Copyrighted.)
BY "NEMO."

(Copyrighted.)
We will enjoy one more brief talk
about fighting and then next I must
turn back to subjects for older folks.
The reason l have written to you
about battles for these three weeks has
been because of the great amount OF
war news in the papers and because of
the keeping of Decoration Day in a
number OF States. And since there are
many boys who think only of battles
in connection with bloodshed, it SEEM
ed right to show you other ways Of
fighting. It is, I think, now under
stood between us that most of us will
never be called to conflict except
that of brains against brains; also,
that all of us are in state of siege be-
cause of temptations that are trying to
work damage to our characters !; tempt
ations which really do us good if we
resist them. Now, want to give you
some idea that there may be soldiers in
your neighborhood, whom you have
never thought of as being fighters at
all.
know a school teacher in little
country town. She gave several years
to preparing to teach and she teaches
we'll. She gets very little pay, yet she
never complains, because she feels sure
she is at the post of duty. Scarcely
any of the parents ever come to see
her at WORK, or cheer her with a word
of thanks; and sometimes saucy chits
of girls will whisper to one another
that she Is an "old maid" because she
is over twenty five. She reminds me
of good general who lays out plan
of campaign SO we'll, that he is quite
sure he is right and then carries out
the plan in spite of all opposition by
the enemy or by lazy helpers. He
tries to be right and to be successful,
or if he cannot be successful, at any
rate to be right SO does she. The old
Roman legions stood up for many years
attempting to roll back the flood of
barbarians that threatened the north
ern boundary but bravery failed and
the Roman Empire went to pieces.
The dear woman is just one OF many
there are such soldiers right in your
town-who stand by school desks, like
modern Roman soldiers, and fight with
the danger that threatens our land
from ignorant men and women. The
greatest power OF warriors could not
make knowledge increase but what
the arm of flesh and deadly warfare
would fail to do, the patient, gentle,
large hearted teachers are doing and
doing successfully, else our dear coun-
try would not be improving as 1t is.
I want to say some more about this
teacher because know her, and be-
cause know there are many more
like her. You would say of soldier
that he was good one, if he content |
ed himself with doing exactly as he
was told. But teachers are not like
this nearly all of them do much more
than they are paid for. My friend, for
instance, lives in a town that has a very
bad name. There is much drinking
and roughness and vulgar talk and
vice. This pure minded little lady, |!
who is hired merely to train the brains
of the children, is not content with do
ing that, but she is also watching over
their morals. Her great heart takes
them all in, and she is trying unaided
by many OF the parents, to roll away
the shame of her town. She does this
often explaining the right and wrong
of things to all who come under her
care. She teaches them to respect
their bodies too.. She is soldier, l
tell you, and a brave one! Perhaps
there is one like her in your school
house. Please think of teachers in fu-
ture as fighters for good, and then you
will easily understand that the weakest
fighting of all is that of mere bodily
strength.
Down on the east side of New York
City, where in some places three thous-
and people are crowded into one
small block-think of that, you boys
who have wide acres and woods to roam
oyer-I met some time ago, a young
man who was scarcely five feet tall.
He was also very light in weight, hol-
low chested, pale, weak. He looked as