Newport daily independent., 1905-09-11
SPONTANEOUS COMPLEMENT.
It Was None the Less Genuine Because 1t Had Cost the Giver
 Whipping.

A little group of ladies seated on hotel piazza were talking about com oliments they had received, when one, n very pretty young woman, who IS teacher in private school in this city. told her story.
 ''Three years ago." she said, "l taught my first school, in one of tue mountain districts of West Virginia, where 1 had gone to visit some friends who were interested in the timber business. l had only gone to visit. but had just graduated from normal school, and when an opportunity was offered for me to teach, and there was real need of some one who knew some thing of modern methods, l agreed to try it for one term. l got along very we'll, all things considered, and liked it we'll enough, except that l found it absolutely necessary to punish some of the scholars with the rod. Out of this fact grew my compliment. which, am sure, was the sincerest one l ever re- ceived. Among my scholars was big boy of IT, lazy, numbering. good-na- tured lad, who whispered so much In school and paid so little attention to being kept in that at last l told him If he whispered again l would whip him. He promised me that he would not offend again, and for three whole days he kept his promise. On the morning of the third day I appeared at school in a new gown, which was the most becoming one, think, ever had, and when the scholars saw me they seemed to be as pleased with my, appearance as l was, and all the girls came to tell me what 8 pretty dress had and how nice I looked. The boys were more shy, and whatever they thought they kept to themselves. The big boy wasn't there when school opened, but before the five-minute at- lowance was up he came numbering in, and, hanging up his hat, rolled over into his seat and picked up book. didn't notice him at first, but later saw that my new gown had attracted him, and that he was admiring 1t, for he was unskilled in the conventionali- ties, and made no effort to conceal his feelings Once or twice l caught his eye and he looked away, but not for long, and at last it began to annoy me. At the same time he seemed to me mak- ing a. tremendous effort of some kind that I did not understand, and finally, right while I was looking at him, he reached over to the boy in the seat be- hind him and whispered something.
 s'I was an open violation of the rule, and, besides, was a fragrant disregard of his word, and I called him up at once.
 ".Henry,' said, with all the severity I could muster, weren't you whisper ing just then?'
 "'Yes'm,' he confessed, with his head down.
 "You know it is against the rule7"
 "'Yes'm.'
 "'And you know that you promised me that you would not whisper again r
 "'Yes'm'
 "'Well,' I said, getting better hold on my hickory switch, I shall keep my word better than you have yours. and as told you would whip you for whis- pering I am going to do 1t. Havo you anything to say why you should not bs punished?
 "'No'm'
 Having gone through all the xorms of the law proceeded to carry out tho sentence, and I succeeded so wcll that when finished Henry was blubbeving.
 "'Are you sorrys now for what you die? 2 asked, when it was over.
 "'No'm.' he answered. greatly ts my surprise.
 "'You're not 2 exclaimed, taking up the switch again, but Henry never finched.
 "'No'm; couldn't help it. ma'am.' "'Couldn't help it? Of course you could help it. You're not child and ought to set better example. Tho children might say that, but you can not offer as an excuse that you could not help it.
 "'Well, I couldn't, ma'am,' he said. looking down at a knOt-hOle in the floor that he was trying to stick the toe of his shoe into, you was lookin' so durn purity that 1 had to say so to somebody CT I'd busted wide open, shore. ''There was no question as to Henry's sincerity, but it was so embarrassing that I really felt like giving him an- other whipping. Washington Star. -x,-~v