The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1907-11-07

NOJnlng JnaC ever occurred In our
old school district caused a greater
stir or started such dark suspicious as
the disappearance of that melodeon
from the schoolhouse.
It was a new melodeon, and a good
one for those days-1867. We paid
forty-five dollars for it in Portland,
and raised the money all among our
selves, without help from the older
folks at home.
Music at school was a new thing
with us then. Not every teacher is
musical But Master Pearson, who
taught that winter and for two win
tiers afterward, was a singer. He
loved music, and had the gift of Great
ing an interest in it. During the first
week of the term he opened and closed
school by singing hymn, assisted
timidly at first by two or three of the
larger girls.
Others soon began Ginning in, how
ever, inspired by the melody of the
masters voice. Within fortnight
the whole school was singing, or try
ing to sing, and during the third week
we raised the money and bought the
melodeon.
We purchased also twenty-five
copies of a singing-book, called School
Songs; and ever after that the old
schoolhouse resounded morning, noon
and night to our new vocal efforts.
There were also evening musicales-al
though that word had not yet come
into vogue.
Certain of the parents in the district
were afraid that so much music was
detrimental to other studies, and that
musical schoolmaster was likely to
be good for little else; but that was
hardly true of Master Pearson.
He was quite as keenly interested
in arithmetic, geography and history
He hung the bare walls of the old
schoolroom with large maps, charts
and pictures. The room had never
looked SO attractive; and, indeed, we
had never made such progress before.
Those were among the few terms at
old District Number II when every
scholar was interested and did not
WISH TO lose day.
Tidings as to what good school we
were having and how well our school
room looked spread abroad, and ex-
cited envy among the scholars in Dis
trict Number 9, two miles to the east
Of us. There had been rivalry and
sometimes open hostility between the
two schools for several generations
The Number 9 boys appeared to hate
us, for no better reason than that we
were in advance of them in scholar
ship. Our schoolhouse was rather bet
ter than theirs; we had everything a
little better; and it may be, too, that
we were inclined to put ON few airs.
They thought SO, at least, and con-
stantly twitted us with being 'nabobs, y
and applied other less complimentary
epithets. Nevertheless we sometimes
went over there to spelling
and school exhibitions; and occasional
ly we sent them general invitation to
visit us.
Our new melodeon augmented their
envy. On Friday evening Of the
seventh week of school we gave an en-
tertainment with music. Master Pear
son read selections from 1.-THE Last
Days of Pompeii,' and exhibited pic
lures of Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and
Herculaneum. A young lady played
the melodeon. Thomas Edwards de-
claimed "The Roman Sentinel and
the school sang six songs from our
new book.
WhilA the master was reading we
heard a great stamping of feet in the
entry outside The door then opened,
and four Of the Number 8 boys
tramped in and took seats together in
the farther corner of the room.
All four were well known to u.s.
They were Newman and Rufus Darn
ley, Coleman Hays and Clinton Nc
Causland. 1t looked little as If they
had entered with a design to be rude,
or at least extensively Independent.
We talked with them as usual, how
Newman had never seen melodeon,
knd looked at the instrument with
curiosity, making several jokes about
It. We invited them to come again
the following week, and babe them
ask as many of the other Number 9
boys and girls as cared to hear us
sing.
Cali right" they said, with laugh,
eve will"
This was on Friday evening. Dur
ing the following Saturday night the
melodeon disappeared from the school
house. There was no school Saturday,
and no one went there. On Sunday
evening there was a Methodist prayer
meeting at the house. The melodeon
was then discovered to be missing.
Theye were tracks in the snow under
one of the windows outside, and marks
On the window-sill, showing where the
cash had been pried up and the melo-
de0n taken out Al brass button or a
Jacket was also picked up in the snow.
AGelodeons at that time had legs and
pedals which could be taken on, un-
1ika the later cabinet and nar1or or