The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-24

and In thus teaching them, was review ing his own past work. The discipline n this school of ours. as you may sa,sTcs wen prompt and unhesitatlns. and still re- call with the grea est pleasure, the pa- tience and skill and interested atten- ton that my father threw into his la- bor of love. Arithmetic and grammar, literature and geome ". with French and spanish constituted the curriculum for me, girl of 12 years! The teach ing of these languages was after the present method--the natural one-a translation of twen-y pages each day From Don Quixote, freely given, no rarsing, but terrible to know at the time, the dictionary we used was as Spanish as Don Quixote himself. And at meal times, as the day happened 10 he for French or Spanish, the conver- sation was In accordance. How well remember the seagerness with which we were wont to frequent the kitchen be- fore meal time, in order to find out the menu, and then consult the dictionary for the corresponding French or Span ish uomencla .ure for batter-eakes. and waffies, or for potatoes and turnips and rice-custard, for 1t was sine qua non to know them No French name, nor Spanish one, then no rice-custard!
 Again, I remember that as this same little girl of 12, when I came to the fa- Itous Pons Asinarum, I was Indeed as stupid as mule. and as obs mate. and I kept on insisting that could not un- derstand the proposition. and so. Of course. that could not learn. it. Where upon. my father issued the flat: Take your geometry. go up in, .ne. garret and do not come down until you have mas tered that proposition" And l. went; spent large part of that summer day in the garret; when came down, as the shades of evening were falling, l had mastered tha. proposition. and l may add that had no further diffi- cu.ty with my geometry lessons.
 My father was a great student of na- ture. fond of nature study" as now phrased, and in many a practical object lesson taught the principles of physirs and social econon les. cabbage ieaf glistening with hoar frost on its upper side, and with none on it's under sur face, told of radiation of heat and of reduction ot temperature with conse- quent deposition of dew or frost--and the homely garden hint of protection of tender green things from the frost. that does not fall, as does the gentle rain from heaven. upon the place beneath.
 Again a familiar illustration of the effect of rapid withdrawal of heat was shown by an axe that lay upon the wood-pile one frosty morning. Pick up the axe, and lay your tongue on 1t, to see how cold 1t Is. but be careful to . one of the II tie ones and upon obey ing, lo!4the tongue must needs remain, for 1t was frozen fast to the cold steel! And then tenderiy, he trlndled the lit tie one to the neighborhood of the kitchen fire where To! again the tongue was loosened and being little girl tongue has been very much ioosened during all these years!
 This love of nature made. fruitful for us his children-pupils every wandering walk by river bank or In fiowery fields. or amid the ripened harvest The crawling insect ssas brushed from the path, no. stamped to its death--no liv ing thing would be tormented or leased in his presence. As he thus taught in tellectual development and 3are for helpless bin ds and insects so also did he strongly incu1cate the msr date of the Lord God: Thou shal- not .ie"
 When l was a little girl of seven or so, one fine spring morning I was re- ioieing in nnz little bare feet and In my capacity for mischief, in proximity as I was to the smooth and freshly raked garden beds, in which were peeping up all the little green things of the early spring. Invent dancing along over the beds, ins' cad of on the walks, printing deep, alternately, my heels and toes in the smooth soil. but when the garden gate swung suddenly open and my faith CT came in. stepped quietly in tho path 1 and walked demurely along, utterly in- nocent of any wrong-doing! Instead pf receiving a well-deserved slap, or a. least a reprimand. I shall never forget the reproachful glance of my father, as drawing me near to him, he pointed to the telf-tale footprints, and to my bare feet and said: Little daughter, do you no. know that you have told me false hood in action, if not in words?' And then followed such an earnest adjura- ton to speak the truth always and un- der all circumstances.
 Our country home, as have said, was somewhat removed from neighbors, and we, ohildrent sometimes com plained of loneliness, and expressed a desire to be permitted, as we're the o.h- CT girls and boys In thee neIghborhood, to spend the night with, our neighbours children. This night spending, my fa- ther negatived emphatically. The in fiuenee of the home and of the good mother must no. be weakened by the unwise friendships and dangerous in- timacies that might be formed under the careless or indifferent eyes of par ents neglectful of their duty. He ale ways strove to inculcate the maxim Be friendly and kipd to ai!: be not too intimate with any,.
 His devices for our amusement and entertainment were many and varied: his patience and sympathy with our lit- tie WoSo anu SuiiSil lhSS s cat anu ms exhaustibIe. We learned well and early the great lessons of for-itude un- der pain of contentment under mis- takes and disappointmsnts. With tender kiss to palliate cur sufferings, or regret. he would say: There now. daughter, stop crying and run along and be happy; it will be all the same a hun dred years hence"
 The lessons of indus-ry were daily enforced; each child had his or her ap. pointed task Although slaves were in the fled, the boys were taught to drop corn, hoe and rake and plant the gar den and the girls. with five house ser cants, had to keep rooms tidy, make