The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-27
THE IRISH S%CHOOLMASTER.
HIS RANK .NExr TO TIL rn,n
THE DONEGAL MOUNTAiSS'
Besides Teaching He Is the FI'." w M. ron.
wiser Of tn. v~unase-Above Az: nc s.sn,
ducts the Correspondence WI" .~s..,.'
One, in Amerca-The Oso "e~

co,,r,,h, ION by .Seumds MdeMdnus'
Tho ,rihr,e NJ reverence and respect wh'en
even the totally unlettered among US -
education gives the schoolmaster 'o i"A~
next TO the priest in impor'ah'e' ~ ~.
does him homage. every one enVies nm lis
vast knovlsdpe and great mind ana loi'' ~
sition. and every one is pleased anu y
honor of his friendship-for In ms NOPE sen-
erositv no il on terms of intimate Iriehuship
with eysry man woman and child In all MS
wide bailiwick. o,,o
For Dsnnis for Barney. for Nelly ana Maura'
whom he meets upon the road at home, OF mee'S
from home nj fair or market. he mas a warm
/ handshake and a kindly inquiry AFTER child or
narent He asks interestedly. too. what Shah
l. going m do with all the meadow he has IN the
Black Bo,,om this year: how the spuds are DO
inc in CHARLES lea field, whether wee Moincas
too,hacbe is any better; and sends word 10 OLD
Nanny Gallagher that II she tried ehree SPOON
fuls Of bnttermilk and baking soda three times
a dav /, would be a big ease TO the heartburn
that troubling her since Christmas last.
And uhan n great man concerns himself so
with the homes and troubles Of common people
his small wonder he should be made an idol.
But his kindness does not stop at this. He
is scribe for nil the countryside dwellers, writes
their letters and draws up their wills and their
agreements. arbitrates IN their disputes anu
advises them in their perplexities. He cheers
the sick by the honor Of his visit. and by leno-
ing the lustre Of his presence ana the dazzle OF
his discourse at wedding. wake and spree. no
does many another humble friend proud,
When the American letter comes to those
who were hungering for it ut home, though IN
turn every old croiniach in the neiRhborhood
has attacked II with his scratched glasses and
wrestled the full meaning from the inartlstlc
sprawls of poor Jimmy. who scorns the nm
nicky subtletieS of punctuation, the missive
must finally he brought TO the masther. who.
il is universally conceded. can take more out
Of a letter than all the wiseheads in the parish
nut together. Moreover. he can tell exactly how
far back in the country Jimmy Is, whether he
| is in the neighborhood Of the Falls Of Niagara or
| the Rocky Mountains, and, in terms. of the dis
lance between here and Dublin" can say
how far. approximately, Jimmy now Is from
| Neil Mughan's eldest son John.
When, again. Jimmy has got TO be replied to,
| who so ft-even who so willing-to write the
letter as the masther? Who knows better than
he just how to put down In proper language
the statement Of Jimmy's mother? Who knows
SO well not only what 10 let Jimmy know, but
likewise what not to let him know-for In
our letters to those who are struggling
for us In America. repression and sup
preston call for more and DETER art than ex-
preston. Jimmy must be shown a fairly ac-
| curate picture Of how his poor father and mother
are faring-he must get a hint Of the sore circum-
stances that arc pressing, and Of the clouds that
are looming he must get a, hint or these or
he would reproach them sorely again; but the
poor boy must not be given to know their mis-.
fortune in its nakedness poor. Jimmy. God
help him, has his own struggle all alone among
the black. T. g.. utter strangers. and II would III
age. and to make his heart grieve more than
already il does. So, despite all. the ring OF
the letter must be CHEEKY. and the c%oloring
Of !, n op, ,hn snSd d 4 sunny ng,6 O rNattaID mns :, ii ,Sass
who implicitly trust In Him must be emphasized.
And right well can the masther be trusted TO
do all that. for when, with a pardonable touch
OF oratorical %conceit. and Q psrdonable little
vanity Of d!ction. he reads aloud the completed
epistle. the eyes Of Jimmy's mother run over.
and often she has TO 60 away without thanking
At the wake and at the ceilidh and In the
chapel yard before mass all disputed questions
political, historical. astronomical or socio-
logical are finally referred TO him-not, how
ever. till all parties to the dispute have ex-
hausted their argumentative eloQuence on the
one side and on the other, He grayely listens
10 the summary TluQf OUT % DDll, ne TFNlPWS
It with n lofty absence OF partially that raises
him far above the mortals who look and listen
and wait; and he gives his decision with q judi
Cial calm and an assured preciseness that places
the matter beyond question or cavil In that
parish for evermore.
The master would not be human II he denied
himself vanity, So he has vanity nbnt vanity
its chief effect is 10 mellow his nature and make
him more kindly and more loving toward hui
mainly at large. and more loved and more rever-
annad hF hiG pirTla nf u-nTahinnarG
And. as with Ms, It's In his own country a
prophet gets most. honor, beyond the bounds
Of of his ;S, Gw y, b Esrfs i 10 the si nssts s6s fan fame s is dsc Mp.sa
when the men Of different parishes meet at, a
wake. not infrequently do they wage a wordy
masters to nreaminence among his fellows
But. after al, II is in his own little castle that
he is truly and, un~dIsputedly king In his own
little low-thatched schoolhouse; a house filter
in size for twenty, pupils than for the hundred
which often crowd II. A motley hundred Of all
sizes. from the babbling infant sent 10 school
to keep Ii out OF the way, 10 the mustached
young man who has come in the idle. days of
winter to brush up his much neglected literary
requirements before sailing for the States
own letter home. They are Of both sexes and
OF all descriptions. wear every variety Of dress,
and are alike IN one thing only the amount OF
carries the pitch Of voice he. used on the hills
Every one shouts for himself and tries to out
shout his neiRhbor. The only thing | have met
school in the hills Ia the New York Stock Ex-
change on a day OF panic. The most extraordi-
nary thing is that the master can know what
every one Of his hundred pupils IL saying-what
each treats his memory as II II were hard OF
bearing, what request that one is hurting Mt
him. what nicknames the nexttwo are swapping
and what problem a fifth is confusing.
His young .Confucians, as he styles them.
colleci, at 10 o'clock, each With a piece Of turf,
his tribute TO the school fire, under his arm
Some OF them, indeed, are Mt the schoolhouse
and have successfully brought on a few pugi-
arrives AZ $50, but these are they who live
four or six miles of, and got No before the
screek o day and had Their. breakfast by the
iight OF the nre: Others DO not arrive till
are pupils. OF course. who live within call
of, the school house and can easily afford TO
take their leisure in the morning, Most Of
snow on the ground. but when the weather
Is good few burden their feet with unnecessary
covering.
The first duty Of the day Is the punishment
on Yesterday and. for instance. built up owen
a.Dunnion's filling every door. and window
OF the cottage with snow. and than added
insult 70 injury by getting on the roof top
moral DISCOURSE from the master. italicized
hand Of each criminal, dlsposes Of this.
toI kns nbs sS classes "a oNs are formed The master
guidance Of forward pupils from the higher
ranks Half the classes Sit and half of thar
stand; and at the end Of each half hour they
e en' mnf ter P9sl,lSSnSn v The , ,h work goes
though, there is no official recognized play
hour, me Young rascals indulge In many les
son, not specifically, provided for in the school
time table. That bunch Of budding head,
which The master good man kalI.vo, -