The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-03-14
The schooimistress and Her Callers,

IA u Hhtf SotiVEb
It Is a satisfaction to record the YER
dict OF a Tennessee jury In the case Of
Miss FRANCES CoPAss against the Trus-
tees Of the Hall-Moody Institute Of the
village Of Martin. The plaintiff had been
engaged a a teacher. The Trustees
took il into their heads TO discharge
her. not upon any reasonable or even
colorado ground, but because she
had more gentleman callers than they
thought she should have They COM
planned also that she q went too much
into society" At Dresden, the county
seat Of Weakley county, twelve men,
high-minded men with none Of the petit
ness Of the Martinian busybodies, gave
the young woman a verdict for the
amount for which she sued. Thus the
demands Of justice and gallantry were
satisfied, and there is the sound Of
ohuckling along the banks Of the Obion.
We hope that the " gentlemen callers y
attended the trial in a body, and we shall
be disappointed IL they didn't escort the
winning winner home in triumph, crown
her with flowers and surround her with
candies.
What a set Of Grabbed c~urmudgeons
those Trustees must be. The only pos
sible excuse for them is that they were
jealous Of the press Of young fellows.
What has a hulking school trustee to
do with the recreations of a teacher so
long as they are seemly? There is a
kind Of schoolteacher that all her pupils
love and all the village SWANS sigh for.
Tom, DICK and HARRY are at fists drawn
over her. The privilege Of seeing her
home from tho sociable, the tableaux
the benefit Of Rescue Hook and Ladder
No. /, is eagerly coveted. The young
farmer bites his thumb at the clerk in
the grocery; but the old philosophers
who play checkers forever in that gro
Gerry shift their cuds and look wiser
than ever and reckon that the station
agent has the best chance. The high
school principal, who is altogether too
young and frivolous for his place, the
local young bucks think, is much en-
We'd. He has a sort Of er o1icio right to
" pay attention y to the beauty. Bold
and waggish young men suddenly show
a burning interest in education. They
slick themselves up and go to visit the
school, and wish they hadn't when they
shuttle In rather shamefacedly and the
children smoker. Perhaps the teacher
bushes, but she gets even before the
afternoon is over by asking the visitors
II they will not make a few remarks to
the children. She doesn't dare TO ask
them if they would like TO ask any ques-
tons. She has An intuition that about
every unmarried man in the town would
like TO ask her just one question.
When she strolls out for exercise or
TO botanize, IL is remarkable how quickly
the grocery clerk finds that he has a
pound Of Goldfish or a knitting needle
to deliver in the part OF the town where
she goes. The village butcher, a fine
figure in his white frock or blue, is sure
to happen along in his wagon. Ten TO
one, the young farmer ia hanging around
lies consciously TO himself by pretend
ing 70 believe that he Is taking a walk
for the purpose of studying clouds.
The innocent enchantress has bewitched
the village. Sunday afternoons, when
the villagers take their pleasure walking
to the cemetery and back, half the people
are saying nice things about her and the
other half are %grumbling, Such carry
ings-on! Why, she has callers every
night of the week. And puts every cent
of her wages on her back. The airs of
some people! What the men see in
her is more'n I can find out &c, &c.
So lovely is charity.
But the schoolmistress fourishes in
spite Of her foes. The young men swear
by her. As for the tongues of frumps or
the malice Of old fogies of Trustees, a
jury will attend 20 them.
About as much shallow philosophy as
-.I1