Hutchinson gazette., 1900-04-26

THE TEACHER,


4 hnull never lOTktb lnN JOY WIN
which | received the news OF my APP
oolntment. II was u year after |
sft the university. Mamma had con-
rueted considerable debts TO keep
ne In ST., Petersburg, Mllnsha, my
lister, was growing, and Kolia was
n the gymnasium-ln fine, mammas
pension was barely enough to make
ooth ends meet, and my salary had
oeen looked forward TO with impa-
,ience, But, strange to say, my first
ceiling as | received my appointment
Is teacher in the female gymnasium
II the city Of n, had nothing TO do
With the improvement Of our eco-
lomlcnl condition which IL implied, |
'emember the feeling 30 Clearly that
seems as II II had all happened but
IN hour ago, Maybe II Is because OF
he occurrence which II forcshad-
owed and which was destined to
cave such deep trace on my lie
hat | recall IL so wildly every time
/. think Of II. However that may be-
he first exclamation which ! made
mentally ns | received my letter an
bouncing my appointment was not,
Now | shall have about 100 rubles q
MONTH" but, "Now ] shall teach n
,lass of beautiful girls and fall in
Ioye!"
II had taken me three hours to
lrcss, / was to make my first APP
oearance at the gymnasium, and my
irst lesson was in the highest class,
which was made up Of girls OF II 10
rs. No student preparing for eN-
mlnation ever tremblcd ns ] did on
That morning II was as If instead
of scholars | wa TO face 20 or 30
ruthless examiners, each with an in
,siyc pair OF eyes ready to pounce
upon my poor b0shful self, | could
near them giggle at my expense
make jokes about my owkwardness'
my necktic, my looks
When ] entered the class room ]
struck an attitude Of exaggerated Sc
verify To prove 70 myself that !
was not afraid cf Che girls ! spoke
ridcuously loud, | almost shouted,
As ! went on explaining the distinc-
lion between chemistry and physics
I frowned on my class looked dag
gers at the front row, and alto
gether behaved MS II ! bore them u
personal gruagc,
"Isn't he sten?' | overheard one
girl whisped to another, \ thrill OF
pride ran through me, you're all
right" | said TO myself, and, clated
with the impression hnd produced
[ began TO feel more at ease and 10
stride up and down the room with
the manner Of an old-timer ! was
In the seventh heaven. Two girls
we're talking in the rear seats.
"Silence!" ! Numbered.
There was a suppressed chucNe at
this, and my heart sank within me-
was the most miserable wretch in
the world,
When | got home | lay down on
my lounge, TO think over ! did not
know what, and as tried to pass
the girls in review II came over me
that / had not made out n single
lace. I could not say whether they
we're pretty or homely, dark or fair.
A blurred image Of young ladies in
gymnasium uniform was all had
carried away.
The next time ] had a lesson In
the same class | called out Mile.
Ryshlina. She bad evidently given
much time to her lesson, but she had
II all wrong, and, strange to say, the
more she blundered the more | liked
to hear her recite. II was so charm
ing to hear her go on with the eX-
PLANTATION which she did not under
stand herself. You should have
heard her rattle on about phenomena
and laws. To judge from her man
ner one would have thought she was
sure of her ground and felt able to
give cards and spades to her teacher.
Her dark brown eyes blazed with
enthusiasm, and as she recited she
gently ierked her head and now and
then waved her hand. There was
grace in her movements,
"This is the one / am going TO fall
in love with" said to myself and a
week or two later I was so far gone
that was afraid of my own shadow.
Mile. Ryshkina and the other girls in
the class seemed to have discovered
the secret of my heart, to make fun
of me, to think of nothing but my
insane love for Maria Vasilyevna
Ryshkina. Suppose the director finds
IL out? Why, that would be terri
blc Tho ebn,nn of itI Rnci1ae n