Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-02

short story by Mary q. Mammalian.

Copyright 1903. by The Blackboard Coz
When Miss May graduated from the
Normal college In June, che was filled with
the greatest enthusiasm for the profession
and she was determined to follow her
chosen calling for the elevation Of the
masRes' and not for a sordid salary.
Graduation at armanns Blocker hall,
as she looked back upon II, seemed a dream
Of soft applause and white-robed figures
with the delicious evasive perfume Of lovely
June roses and the soft strains Of Gros-
cias' orchestra It had seemed then as II
the diploma In her hand was a magic
scroll, which would reveal the great beau
tiful future, stretching away beyond the
horizon Of imagination.
With the courage Of youthful ignorance
Of the world she had declared her willing
ness to go a thousand miles from home as
readily as she would ten. so she accepted
the hrst position offered, and when septem-
Der came, she journeyed toward the setting
sun, even more than a thousand miles.
To one accustomed to tho restrictions Of
college life and the restraints Of an east
ern home, the sense Of freedom in being
ones own mistress was quite intoxicating.
At 20 one Is apt to have a general faith
In human nature and as a bright and trust
ing face may be relied on to win its own
way, the Normalite found herself warmly
welcomed by the jewellers in this, to her,
a strange land.
The opening day Of school Is usually a
trial, especially to a young teacher, and
this proved no exception.
On the preceding Saturday she had Wis
tied the school house and she was sur
prised and pleased to find It well supplied
with maps and charts and with text books,
mostly late editions by approved authors.
The school house had been built 10 ac-
commodate a much larger number Of pupils
than was enrolled In the school. One fea-
ture struck her as PECULIAR long hall
ran the entire length Of the building, with
a door at either end. thus furnishing a
front and a back entrance. She learned
that there was an unwrttten law that the
pupils should come in by the back door and
go out by the front one, but she could not
decide whether this state Of AFFAIRS arose
from the fact that the rear entrance was
nearer the play ground, where the pupils
always congregated before the bell sum-
moned them inside, or that there was in
this mode Of procedure an occult meaning
symbolic Of the mental advancement during
the day, from the level represented by the
back door to the higher plane typihed by
that in front.
Miss May knew the value Of a nrst i'm
preston and determined that on her part.
at least, it should be a good one, and she
proceeded to carry out her idea both In
letter and in spirit. When the eventful
Monday morning came she arrayed herself
in her pPettiest gown, and did not make the
mistake OF going before her pupils unpre-
pared. She had fortified herself with the
normal system Of registration and in her
notebook" had a page headed, First Day
In School, She had planned to be there
early in order to observe the pupils as they
came in. She would greet them with a
pleasant good morning" and a smile SYM
pathetic enough to set them at ease, yet
tempered with a sufficient degree Of reserve
to awe without intimidating them.
In order that topics of interest, on which
to base conversation, might not be lacking,
she had observed the local geography and
inquired into the traditions OF the place.
She was prepared to discuss with them any
subject from the Great Canon to the cessa-
tion of natural gas In the neighboring
wells, which had in three years caused the
population to lessen by twice as many thou
sand.
But alas, the futility of human plans!
To begin with, she was a little later than
Nao N RAhg 6A1aA0 Wa1
thronged with children VINO surveyed her
critically as she approached. When the
bell summoned them inside, they entered in
a body and nolsily seated themselves with
a great deal Of loud talking and frequent
changes as more desirable openings &C.
Cured.
1t was plainly evident that she must
let her cherished plans fall to the
ground and summon all her wits
to meet the emergency. There
was no chance for character study OF in
dividual observation. She was confronted
with rampant disorder.
In all that kaleidoscope crowd one form
was distinct from the hrst-that of a boy
about Is, in a navy blue suit, russell shoes
and a scarlet tie, polka-dotted with black.
his latter, she observed in the singular
fashion one has Of fixing ones attention
on details at times Of great mental strain,
was of the same hue as her collar, a peou-
liarity which must have struck him also,
for he remarked apdibly:
"Cholera's ragin' In Colorado" with a
most suggestive quirk of his thumbs toward
his ears, which set all in the room laughing.
Say, boysl She's a bird-a bird with red
wings!" he exclaimed. II wonder what her
name isl"
Now, one Of the laws of discipline most
strictly laid downs by the critics was
this: "Never punish a child on the basis
of a personal %affront," 80 Miss May thought
It wise to overlook this since the attention
OF all was directed toward him.
In registering the pupils and properly
grading them the morning quickly passed
until recess time. She had learned in the
meantime that Larry Pair was the name of
her bright particular star among the rest"
From the window she observed their sport
and noted that Larry was 'the" boy on the
grounds. Wherever he was there seemed to
be the most fun, and the girls accepted his
teasing in a manner, half-protesting, half
pleased. He seemed q leader even to those
older and she OWNED that her discipline
would be largely the outcome OF her sue
cess or failure with him. So she determined
to bend all her energies In his direction.
When the bell called them in. led by
Larry. they started in whooping like young
Indians. Since two bodies can not occupy
the same space at the same time how
much less can nine or a dozen children
enter at once a door designed for less than
one third the number1 It happened that
in this mad stampede little Nellie Ames
was thrown down and quite severely bruised
about the head and face.
Her screams sobered the noisy crowd and
they took seats in a subdued manner.
Nellie declared that some one had tripped
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