The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-08-24


mind that short sketch Of our school
boy days might be interesting to our
school mates who are still alive. In
184S, or about that time, log school
house was erected near the waters of
Tugalo Greek, on the side Of the road
opposite the residence OF David Cor
don, not very far from Mrs. Olin
Todd's. A school was taught there
the same year by Manning Belcher,
who ccme there with his family from
Massachusetts,, if my memory is cor
rect. We did not call him professor,
but he certainly deserved the title,
for he wes ripe scholar and 6ne in
structor.
In that day, such schools as these
were called Sold field schools" This
was quite appropriate in this case, for
the house was built in the edge of an
old field and our play ground was in
the old field proper, beautiful, level
plat of ground, an ideal place to play
town ball, bull pen and cat.
We were not burdened with books
in those days, as you well remember,
Fleetwood. Aboy frcm z to years
Of age, starting to school, did not be-
come bow-legged or sway-backed carry
ing books. AS soon as his breakfast
was lodged where he wanted it, he
seized his Webster 3 Elementary SPELL
ing book (blue baok) and his dinner
bucket and hastened away to school.
He spelled in that book for time,
then off the same book until he was
prepared to read short and simple SEN
tences. Then he would get cf some
of his extra titality, residing from
Webster, such sentences as tAnn can
spin fax, "The pig sleeps in straw
and SO on until he became afairly good
reader. Then he was promoted to the
New Testament class. School readers
had not made their appearance in that
community at that date. About that
time you might see stray copy Of
The New York Reader, here and there,
bound in board back, destitute of pic
lures or anything else that would in
terest child.
AT this stage the pupil was pre-
sented with a copy of the multipli-
cation table drawn on thick piece Of
paper or pasteboard. When he had
wended his way through the intri-
cacies of this lesson for few weeks
you weuld see him enter the school
some morning smiling with copy Of
Smiley 3 Arithmetic" under his arm.
He now begins to add, subtract, null
tiply, divide and put on airs in good
earnest. BY and by he reached the
climax and began:t to reduce everything
into nothing by "the single rule Of
three" and ie he found proposition
out of the reach of that rule he i'm
mediately betook himself to.the 'sdou-
bic rule Of three" Only a few prob
lens baffied this universal rule. For
instance: .'If one pound Of butter
costs 123 cents, how many teeth had
an ordinary hand SAW" Arother:
IF one boy. could run a n...s in 8
minutes, how long would it seqrire
two boys TO run o miller"
TaFe and TTos was another ruiz that
was much dreaded by the small boy.
1t was reported among the boys that
it would make one asWear and sweat, .
but the most Of us mastered The rule
without either swearing or sweating.
The rule has been dropped from late
editions Of arithmetics, perhaps for
the reason that this refined age does
not need encouragement along that
! line. II any:wiahed TO .sapeak the
English Language more correctly
Smith g. English Grammar was
promptly suggested as the sine qua
non. It had ali the psrsons, numbers
and genders that common mortals
needed. u M 1 q SIS rsT
Rany wished to know something
I about this mundane sphere, I, which
/ We sinhnbit, ne WaaS introduced ID
| "Mitchell's g Gsography 81 without FOR.
4 NAL notice.
But Iaish TO give i HIT Of the
/ pupils as faras my memory will laerve