St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-11-01
EXAMINATIONS.
Bill Speaks Of the Opening of the
School Year.

School Year.
Home-But He Finds 1t Hard to
Fall Into Line with New
books.
Copyrighted by the Atlanta Constitution.
and reprinted by permission.1
What a commotion. The public
schools have opened the winter ses-
sion. Hundreds Of children r going
| to and fro, and every family is excited
for their own. The books have been
hunted up, the faces washed and hair
brushed. The boys have a new suit and
the girls new school dresses, and it
looks like everything and everybody
is working for the children. Mer-
chants, mechanics, doctors, lawyers,
preachers and farmers seem to be busy
in their trades and professions, but
behind them all is the welfare and hap
piness of their children. We have but
one scholar nova sweet grandchild,
who has risen to a higher grade and
has to strain her young mind to solve
the mazes and mysteries of Latin and
algebra, but she will do it. Our schools
have good teachers and will help at
home the willing pupil who will keep
up with the foremost. Yes, help at
home. I wish that every child had it.
In a grade of 80 or 40 pupils it is impos-
sible for the teacher to give more than
a few minutes to each one, but l some.
times give an hour to our little girl at
night. That is what ar old grandpa
is good for. But it is hard for even
me to fall into line with some new
books and master them. The first
Latin book l read was a simple little
one called "Historiae Sacra," and the
first line vas "Deus creavit caelam ct
terrain intra sex dies" "God created
the heavens and the earth in six days."
know thewhole chapter now, but that
book is out of print, and / don't know
the new ones. Just SO with algebra.
Old Jeremiah Day is dead, and now
there is a new book and new rules, and
they are harder to me. How we old
men do love to talk over the good old
ways of 50 and 60 years ago.
Capt. Calhoun was telling yesterday
how old Beman mauled knowledge into
the brains through the shanks and pos
teriors of rebellious boys. I haven't
forgotten some of the lickings that
good old John Norton gave me, for ]
was full of mischief. Prof. Ronald
Johnston is here 10Y on a visit. He
taught here many years and most all
these young married men carried his
marks, for he is a Scotchman, and
has a Scotchman's faith in Solomon
and the rod. In 1861 he joined the con.
federate army, and when the war was
over resumed his school and has now
been teaching over so years. He is q
fit successor to Beman and Isham and
Touchie, but has gentled down a good
deal, and loves to pet his grandchil
dren.
Twas Illuminating about these school
books and their cost. 1t took four dol
lars to buy four little books for the
new grade, and I know it is too
much, and I rejoice to see that
a company has been formed to pub.
lish southern school books in a south.
ern city, and keep u money at home
I rejoice that Dr.. ]. William Jones has
published a school history of the
United States that is acceptable to our
people. He is a grand old gentleman
without fear and without reproach,
and has done more to preserve our
good name and record than any
other man. His biography OF Jeffer-
son Davis and of Robert E. Lee should
be in every household. Even Teddy,
who claims to be a historian, ought
to read that of Mr.. Davis and repent
and retract and apologize before he il
set down as an arch columinator of a
true patriot and q noble man. This
reminds me of that brave girl,
Laura Talbert Gait, who refused
to sing: Marching Through Geor.
gia" in the Louisville public school
Blessings on her; she ought to
be adopted as the successor to
Winnie Davis, the Daughter Of the
Confederacy. My good friend, Joe
Brown, has written a parody on that
song, and the last line to every verse
is:
"As we went thieving through Geor.
gia."
Ihave lost some Of my respects for the
city of Louisville as a southern city
since that Infamous song is allowed to
be sung in their public schools.
But I am comforted every day with
letters of inquiry about the roster
that Georgia is going to make, and
about Judge Walter Clark's books and
how to get them. Here is a beautiful
letter from Hon. P. T. Turnkey, mayor
of the city of Highland Park, Ill. He
is 81 years old, but does not look it
in his handsome photograph. He was
born and reared in Tennessee, and
graduated at West Point in1846. Stone
wall jackson was his roommate; Gems.
D. r. Jones and William Montgomery
Gardner his classmates. That is get
ting pretty close to us, for D. r. Jones
was our brigadier for awhile, and Gard
ner was his colonel. Mr.. Turnkey wants
those books, and I wish to say here
that the books must be ordered from
M. O. Sheriff., state librarian, Raleigh,
N. C. Send five dollars and they will
be sent by express, but not prepaid.
And here is a letter from G. w. Nichols,
of Jesup, Ga, who also sends his in
teresting book, "a Soldiers Story of
the Lawton Gordon Evans Brigade"
That's right. If we can find one man