The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-11-01
s Emmy Eou in the p

Cofss LIZZIE kept in.
~ MT Tho ways Of teachers. like
AVA rainy days and growing pains,
ENWM belong to the lnexplicable and
S22S Inevitable. I All teachers have
ways: that Is to be expected; II Is the
part Of an Emmy Lou to adjust herself
20 meet. not to try to understand, these
ways.
Miss Lizzie kept in. but that was only,
one OF her ways; she had many others.
Perhaps they were no more peculiar than
the ways OF her predecessors, but they
were more alarming.
Miss Lizzie placed deliberate hand; on
her call bell; and as Its vibrations dfnged
and smote upon the shrinking tympanum,
rigid and breathlcss expectancy would
peryade the silence OF the fourth reader
room.
Miss Lizzie was tall: sno seemed to
tower up and over ones personality One.
( had no mind OF her own but one said !
what one thought Miss Lizzie wanted her
to say. Sometimes one got 1t wrong.
Then Miss Lizzic's cold up-and-down
survey amote one into condition some
thing akin to vacuity, until Miss Lizzie
said briefly, "Slt down.
Then one sat down hastily.
Miss Lizzie never wasted a word. Miss
Lizzie closed her lips. She closed them
80 their lines were blue. Her. eyes were
blue too. but not pleasant blue. Miss
Lizzie did not scold: she looked. She.
kept looking until one became aware of
an elbow resting on the desk. In her
room little girls must sit erect.
Sometimes slle changed. it.camt sud-
denly. & Ore day 1t came suddenly and
Miss Lizzie boxed the little girls ears.
The little girl had knocked over pile
OF states collected on the platform for
marking.
when the little girl brought a note from
home because her ears were box ed Miss
Eszzle tore the note In pieces and threw
them on the floor.
Ono lived In dread OF her changing. One
watched in order to know the thing she,
wanted. Emmy Lou knew every charac-
teristic feature of her face-the lean
nose that bent toward the cheek. the thin
lips that tightened and relaxed. the cold
survey that Travelled from desk to deck.
Miss Lizzie's thin hands were never
still any more than were her eyes. Most
often her fingers tore bits OF paper into
fine shreds while she heard LESSONS.
Life Is strenuous. In each reader the
strenuousness had taken a different FORM
In the fourth reader 1t was copy-books. Z
Miss Lizzie always took an honor In,
copybooks, and she meant to take an
honor this year. But the road to fame is
laborious.
She had her methods. Each morning
abe gave out four slips OF paper to each
little girl. This was trial paper On
these slips each little girl pra ttced until
tho result was good enough. In Miss LIZ
zie's opinion. to go into the book. Some
lires must be fine and hair-like Over
these Emmy Lou held her breath anxious
Is Others must be heavy and labored.
over these she unconsciously put the tip OF
her tongue between her teeth until 1t was
Just visible between her lips.
What, however Is school for. but the
accommodating OF self to the changing
demands OF teachers? In the fourth read
err it was fine lines on the upward strokes
and heavy lines on the downward.
Emmy Lou nnaly found the way. By
turning the pen point over a:ld writlng
with tho back OF the point. the upward
strokes emerged fine and hair-like. This
having somewhat altered the mechanism
of the pen point. Its reversal brought lines
lombre and heavy. 1t was slow and labo-
rious, and II spoiled an alarming number
Of pen points, but then 1t achieved hne
lines upward and heavy lines downward,
and that Is what books are for.
Hattie reached the result differently.
She kept two bottles Of ink. one for fine
and one for heavy lines, One was wa
tered Ink, and one was not.
ss The trouble was about the trial paper.
One could only have four pieces. And the
copy could go In the book only after the
writing on tho trial paper met with the
approval of Miss Lizzie. So II one reached
the end of the trial paper before reaching
approval one was kept In for hall page
OF copy book must be done each day.
And kept In" meant staying after school
in hunger. disgrace and the silence OF
Il great deserted building, to write on
ha
enough to be put In.
Emmy Lou did not sit with Hattie in
the fourth reader. On the hrst day Miss
Lizzie asked the class II there was my
deskmate little girl preferred. At that
ones heart opened and one told Miss LIZ
zie.
At first Emmy Lou did not understand
for Miss Lizzie promptly seated all the
would-be mates as far apart as possible
Emmy Lou thought about 1t. 1t seemed
as though Miss Lizzie did 1t to be mean
Then Emmy Louis cheeks grew hot, She
put the thought quickly away that she
might forget 1t: but the wedge was en-
tered. Teachers we're no longer nfallible
Emmy Lou had questioned the motives
o. pedagogic deism.
And so Emmy Lou and Hattie were
separated. But there were three new 1T
tie girls near Emmy Lou. Their kid but
ton shoes had tussels Very few little
girls had buttons shoes Button shoes
were new. Emmy Lou had button SO, =.
She was proud of them. But they did
not have tassels.
The three new little girls looked amused
at everything and exchanged glanees,
but they were not mean glances-not the
kind OF glances when little girls nudge
each other and go Off to whisper Emay
Lou liked the now little girls. She could
not keep from looking at them. They
y thnty AutV ta GO oil r.,l1a Io,
sat down. There was something allur-
Ing about the little girls.
At recess Emmy Lou waited near the
door for them. They all went out togeth.
err. After. that they were friends, They
lived on Emmy Louis square. It was
strange But they had Just come there ia
live. That explained It,
I'm the White house, the white house
with the big yard the tnllest Of the IL.
tie girls explained. SHE was Alice. The
others we're her cousins. They We're Ro-
salIe and Amanthus. Such charming