The age-herald., 1900-09-17
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE


 1 ceed as usual; but see that thou dost not speculate"
 ''The young will court.'' "A child born on this day will be quick l in temper, clever, but unfortunate in busl- ness it should keep in employ. Hire maidservants.'
 Astrologer RaphaeIs prophecies for 1 Tuesday, September IS, 1900: Travel, sign writings, and ask favors." l Beware of law and quarreing, and keep 1 thy temper cool: in thy business thou wilt | have an active year and it will succeed and prosper"
 Young persons will court or marry" "A child born on this day will be rash | and quick in temper but clever and gen. l orally fortunate, possessing high spirit" "If a female, she will marry a very l quick-tempered, military kind of man." i Hire maidservants; brew strong drink; bake bread; go a-fshing.' The thousands of children of the public l schools begin their scholastic new year to- l day; and they resume their studies in weather incomparably charming for mid l September. Every child knows before go- | ing to school this morning who its teacher | will be- provided it knows it's grade; for assuredly respectable parents read to their | children the assignment of teachers by l Superintendent Phillips in Sunday morn l HE $ ABe-I1eTdlus lOSelncT WltH lhO Su- l perintendents remarks to the teachers at
 their meeting of Saturday morning. If
 there be any parents who neglect to I read the Age-Herald, perhaps 1t might be 1 well to send them to the public schools. It is left for the distinguished superin- tendent of the schools to decide upon the 1 general qualifications of teachers; but l every former schoolboy and schoolgirl can fo l themselves: teacher must win the re- spect of the pupils under him or her, or l he or she will surely fail; and that teach l CT is most successful of all who wins both 1 the respect and the affections of pupils. Ill-tempered, cross, irritable and peevish teachers not only do lasting harm. The l placing of such teachers over helpless and defenseless children is outrageous against humanity. Some of us men and women are old enough to remember ignorant brutes set up as masters and teachers of helpless ness and innocence One of us recalls an
 instance in point.
 A man at the head of a large school be-
 gan his duties one morning in "divil O temper.' One small boy adjudged guilty of tossing a paper ball in the school room was required to stand on one foot inside small circle drawn with chalk on the cen ter of the floor. Shortly after the boy had been ordered to return to his seat, the teacher called him to his desk and charged him with another violation of discipline. The boy denied the charge; whereupon the teacher reached for a long tough switch. and standing erect and quivering with passion he cried
 You didn't-hey."
 And bringing down the switch on the boys shoulders with terrific force and rapdity, making sckening sound that reached all over the schoolhouse that teacher shouted:
 "I am a liar and you are a pretty boy heyr'
 "Yes sir" the boy answered without
 moan under his terrible punishment "Hey!'' again the teacher cried, and he
 threw all the power of his right arm into
 the effort to give tears and repentance to that boy.
 But the teacher failed. The only sign of
 his monstrous suffering which that brave
 young spirit gave was the hard metallic
 ring in that defiant phrase of ives, sir.''
 That outrage occurred eight and twenty
 years ago; but with him who as a little
 child witnessed it the damned horror of it
 all still abides.
 That teacher, shortly after the occur
 renee related, claimed to have heard "a
 voice" calling him to preach the gospel
 of the gentle Nazarene, and in time he
 became one of the million D. Ds He is
 now far away in the strangers country and is said to be one of the D. Ts his
 passions at last leading him to drunken ness!
 The brave boy who would not weep for
 the brutal teacher? He has never amounted
 to anything; is a mere chirper in the
 rustic cackle of his village; one who has
 never seen Birmingham-though his old as-
 sailant has preached here. Their names?
 One of them would astonish; but it shall
 not be given here.
 But the good Dr. Phillips wouldn't,
 couldn't employ such a teacher as the
 "brother" who was called" He bears
 praiseful witness to the virtues the accom-
 plishments, the many excellent qualities of the honored men and women who, under his supervision, are called to instruct the
 children of Birmingham; and what Dr. Phillips is willing to approve the people of Birmingham are glad to accept The power of the school teacher for good or for evil is too vast in its moral aspect
 for mere human calculation. The teacher
 comes next to the church itself!
 This tremendous truth most of us are
 liable to forget even those of us who have
 flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood
 under the care of school teachers; but Dr. Phillips doesn't forget it. He is wise, alert, |! vigilant and is of a gentle and modest
 life. He doesn't like for that much or
 anything to be said in public praise of himself; will not be pleased with this when
 he reads it. But it is not written to tickle
 his vanity, for he hasn't got any to tickle
 It is a fact of immense importance to Bir-
 mingham, and fact which the people can
 not too thoughtfully or too gratefully
 dwell upon. It is comforting to know that
 our schools are in charge of a veritable
 master of the masters; a learned man, a