The Republican journal., 1899-05-11
A. D. 1924.
Essay by Sister Velzora Nickerson, read at
the meeting of Granite Grange, North
Searsport, A prli %, 1899.


Searsport, April %, 1899.
One night, this spring, | started to feed
my hens as usual. When | got as far as
he road l stopped, for the frost was com
ing out and making great holes in the
round. One cavity in particular attract
e d my attention, and as l stood looking at
t, it suddenly widened and great chasm
yawned at my feet. Looking into its
depths | was surprised to see flight of
stairs leading downward. set down my
dish OF corn and began to descend the
stairs Down, down l went till began to
think l was very lndiscreet in starting,
and was just thinking Of turning back
when l saw faint light glimmering in
the distance. l reached the foot of the
stairs and then proceeded along narrow
passage toward the light, which suddenly
broadened AND what, in the distance, was
mere speck, now proved to be hundreds
of electric lights that lighted quite large
village. Not many rods distant stood
Granite Grange Hall all aolaze with lights.
People were coming from every direction,
but in such a manner that l was nearly
paralyzed. They had no teams, neither
were they walking, but instead, somebody
had been initiating Darius Green, only
With more success than attended his eX-
pertinent, and the flying machines or air
ships kept coming one after another and
depositing their loads at the door. They
were large enough to accommodate the
people OF each locality and named accord
ingly, as street cars are. 1t mattered not
to them whether we had maeadamized
roads or mud sloughs. | remembered it
was Tuesday evening, SO of course, went
into the hall. | had no sooner crossed the
threshold than l stopped in amazement.
Here everything was strange True, there
We're some OF the same brothers and sis
tiers, but how changed. l had on nay old
clothes, the ones in which | started for
the hen-pen, but had worn my best they
would have been entirely different from
those the sisters had on. Let me describe
them. The waist seemed to be coat and
vest arrangement, severely plain with just
high white collar and a tiaring bow IN
der the chin. The skirt was of medium
fullness, but quite short, and high boots
buttoned to the knee completed the cos
tune, Do you wonder l felt funny?
asked one sister what was the matter with
them or me. She said, ''Oh' you are a lit
tie behind the times, that is all GLOW
much?' l asked. "Well, this is 1924,
now reckon to suit yourself Here I was
whole quarter of century back. |
could imagine poor Rip Van Wrinkles
/ II changed
Ii the sisters looked strange to me the
brother dress was no less strange. Their
coat was a short affair, just reaching the
waist and was finished at the bottom with
very full rutfle. Their trousers We're
very ample, | should say each leg was
fully two yards around, and they remind
ed me Of the large sleeves the ladies used
TO wear. They Wore no linen collars, but
some tilmy material. They were their
hair quite long, parted in the middle and
crimped at the sides. The hail, too, had
been improved. The floor was covered
with an elegant carpet. The old settees
and chairs were replaced with lovely mp
h0lstered chairs, and the master station
vas loneliness itself. This was a raised
surface, two steps higher than the sur
roundings, covered with a green carpet
that looked like the finest moss. His
table was dainty little affair, the top
being mother Of pearl. and his gavel was
the same. | thought that more for orna-
menJ than use; for every time it was neces-
saTy to use it there was some kind of an
automatic arrangement that did all the
work.
1t seemed there was a harvest supper
preparing, but nobody, at least none of the
sisters, were at work. | was told every
thing was d ne by electricity. Even the old
goat had been cast aside for an electrical
affair as he was altogether too slow for
this generation. When we We're to go
down TO the dining room all that was
necessary was to enter a sort of elevator,
press button and we were seated ut the
table. | was glad to see the ma ner of
eating had not changed much in quarter
of century, except that they seemed to
fPArhanS al ma lya
story but think it possible.) After we
finished eating the dishes commenced slid
ing along toward the kitchen, and were
washed wiped and returned to the table
with no effort except to press a button oc-
casionally. We returned to the hall in the
elevator and listened to the program. 1t
was composed mainly of original articles
There were speeches by the pedagogues,
Bros Zenie Hartshorn Harry Moore and
Fred Nickerson. oh my. how funny they
looked Their heads had grown enormous
ly, and but for their large trousers they
would have looked top-heavy. l noticed
the children heads were tending towards
a larger growth, and it made me think of
these verses.
Ram il in, cram it in,
Children's heads are hollow,
Slam 1t in, Jam ii in,
Stlll there's more to follow.
Hygiene and history,
Astronomic mystery,
Algebra, histology,
Latin, etymology,
Botany geometry,
Greek and trgOnometry.
Rap it in, tap it in.
W hat are teachers paid for?
Bang it in, slam it in,
W hat are children made for?
Ancient archaeology,
Aryan philology,
Prosody, zoology,
Physics, clinictology,
Calculus and mathematics,
Rhetoric and hydrostatics,
Hoax it in, coax it in,
Children's heads are hollow.
Rub it in, club it ill.,
All there is of learning.
Punch it in, crunch it in,
Quench their childish yearning
For the field and grassy nook,
Meadow green and ripping brook
Drive such wicked thoughts affair;
Teach the children that they are
But machines to cram it in,
Bang it in, slam it in.
That their heads are hollow"
Several of the sisters had ORIGINAL arti