The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1906-12-28
Ten Pages.

NO0SN - NOAOs
WRITTEN BY REUBEN HAzEN SMITH.
CHAPTER ".
History lives ia the men Who b. make i and
10 they appear in public, but much more as
hey are In private and when taken I'M
swafes.-GOooke.
His hand IL 'on the helm and. whore He
steers rs, all shall be well.-tJohn g. Patton.
~ will bless the Lord at all times. His
praise shall continually be in my mouth.
home to engage in farm work or to
attend school, his experience of shop
life began while Rev Richard South
was at Bellingham. The father got
place for his eldest in the busy shops
Of q neighboriDg village, where he
boarded through the week, sleeping on
q cot in paSSageway and going home,
Saturday afternoon, for over Sunday.
It was shop where edge tools and
plows were made and it was Robins
duty to drill holes In the metal land
side of the pillow, by means OF which
the different parts OF the pillow were
held together by stays and bolts. II
was piece work, SO much for each land
side drilled, the daily wage reaching
from $50 to 1925, according to the
own drills on the huge stones with
which the pieces OF the pillow we're
SmOothed after coming from the cast
Ing shop, and q slip cut the middle
knuckle Of the left index finger on the
fast revolving stone, leaving cash
that healed with difficulty and left q
scar for life. How often the inadver-
tent slips leave such scars on ch8rac-
ter, for the Involuntary and UMPIRE
meditated sometimes injure self
and others as cruelty as the most pre-
meditated CRUELTY How wise then
the admOniti0n,
Nome one near yon needg.now kind word;
sssss ..ss i D sasa g
There may be y soul to be won!
II was while at work in this shop
that Robin received the sobriquet Of
Blossom, 80 easily did he blush. He
attended the mjd-week service at the
local Congregational church and was
able to resist the tempta tiOnS placed
before him by his shOpmateS, though,
to maintain Innocence under adverse
circumstances, Is not always easy, SO
readily does the soul yield to the de-
sire to be seen Of men, to be popular at
the expense of principle. The mo-
ment2ry and the enduring are ever at
war for the human soul, but Robins
love Of books, which occupied his even
ing leisure, saved him from many OF
the allurementS OF the idle and vicious.
The Bternness OF his Puritan train
ing was illustrated by Robins expert
ence, early one wintry Monday morn
ing. It was his custom to walk the
six miles between. his shop ana Bel
bingham home and, all Sunday night,
the snow had been falling until it was
about knee deep. It was long before
day and still showing, when Robin,
after haSty breakfast, stumbled into
it and turned back to the house dis
Outraged. Rev Richard had risen to
see his son start and, instead of pity
ing his sons bedraggled state, simply
said: "When you start for any place
you should never back out" This, at
first, seemed tough medicine for the
lad, but, after drying his feet and
clothing, he made another start. It
way for the whole six miles. So con.
siderable was the fall OF Winters
featheIy flakes, however, that he was
the drSt to enter the shop, the village
workmen not blowing their way to
work until later in the morning. 1t is
not obstacles, but our own feeble wills,
which bar the path of progress.
Rev Richard South again exchanged
his parish work, this time from Bel
bingham to FreshtOn, which lay at q
much greater distance from Robins
shop. Here in Freshton Rev Richard
secured the position of teacher for
0nh1vH m h{voS So
was but Is, rusty in his school books
and distrustful of his own ability to
command obedience. However, he
dutifully gave up his shop and took
his belongings to FreshtOn. Provi-
dence seems to shape some lives more
plainly than others and, in Robins
experience, the place waited for him,
instead of his seeking the place. To
prepare for his position as pedagOgue,
he attended the village academy for
several weeks, examining on topics in
which candidates for teaching are
usually examined. So we'll did he use
this season of preparation that he
successfully passed the ordeal of ex-
animation, though one member of the
school board, but recently returned
from California, found especial delight
in making 1T difficult to secure a
teachers certificate. His particular
touchstone, the reason for the in
version of the divisor in division of
fractions, had been Robins careful
study in preparation. Robin, at this
time, was blushing young fellow,
wearing glasses, which his father had
procured of travelling salesman in
Bellingham. He had always been near
sighted and his midnight reading had
not improved his vision. 1t was the
revelation of a world of minutia to
which he had been insensible to be
able to see so much better.
Behold the young schoolmaster,
with house full of youngsters, some
as old as himself. 1t was not the cid
est, however, who gave Pedagogue
Robin most trouble. Perhaps it
should be said that he was himself the
most formidable proposition that he
had to face. No one is capable of
mastery who has not himself willingly
submitted to a master and, while
Robin was as dutiful as the majority
of boys SO much from home, there was
seed OF rebellion in his nature that
had been fOstered in rich soil of con-
ceit and Obstinacy, those twin demons
that prevent so much progress and i'm
provement. Possessing himself early
VI d WOOucQ loIulos ue QlQ QOL SCTuple
to bring it into use and, while fearful
of his youth, contrived to get through
the school term with moderate sue.
cess, il with little superior brilliance.
The school visitor called, one day,
while he was chastising a refractory
boy and Robin proceeded to finish the
chastisement before attending to his
official guest! It may be that the so.
cial element kept the young teacher
from the wreck that he might other
wise have made Of this youthful ven