Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1907-06-20

the hope that the classical eauntenanee
of the greatest man OF his time might In
spire the pupils with the courage that
crosses Rubieons and conqusrs what lies
beyond. A well-worded and equally
well-deliyered response was returned hy
Fred q. Fisk OF the class Of 1905.
popular superstitions" afforded Mis-
Myrtle Anna Smith topic for considers
ton In an entertaining essay that con-
trasted the legends, "signsN and half or
wholly acknowledged beliefs of the COM
mon people in England, France, Japan
and America. The foundation OF super
stitiion is laid in early religious teach
ings, the worship OF idols, sorcery and
the like, and out OF il grows the belief
in witchcraft which has been recognized
by every country since the birth OF
Christ. Witchcra Il means magic, and
magic is the lowest form OF religion. II
would be impossible to tell hundrvdth
part OF the superstitions In the world
today but, although at present they are
not SO general as when the Roman empire
was at its height, they are sufficiently
numerous and probably always will be
among certain classes OF people.
ly Colonial Sehooldays,h when our fore
fathers learned the alphabet (something
utterly obsolete and untaught at the pres
ent day. and did II from horn book
made OF thin piece OF wood three or
four inches long and two inches wide,
covered with paper containing the al
phabet in large and small letters, simple
syllahles and the Lords prayer. Over
this paper was fastened q thin piece OF
yellowish horn, through which the let
{ tiers could be read, and the alb, abs, dill
gently conned. The schoolhouses were
rudely built OF logs and furnished with
rough benches and rickety table for the
teacher, who was usually man and
maintained discipline with strap and
I ferule. Pupils were sometimes gagged to
/ keep them from whispering and frequent
: wore the Ounce cap. They were obliged
/ to study aloud and any lessening OF the
\ buzz of lips called down heavy repri-
mand. They stood in line and all spelled
at once by syllable, word missed being
/ spelled over and over until il was never
I forgotten. This system OF education,
much as ii conflicts with modern meth
/ DDS, turned out such men as Franklin,
Adams, Jefferson and Washington, who
i founded our government, the truest and
I best.
4 Fred Wells Granger, valedictorian Of
/ the class, upheld Americas Industrial
Supremacy in a convincing speech to
which was added the charm OF excel
/ lent delivery. Our advance, he said, has
been nothing short of marvellous from
/ the moment three centuries ago when we
began to WELD the ak in the forest, over
coming all obstacles to our progress, until
/ today we have only two rivals in the in
/ dustrial field, England and Germany.
England early became jealous OF America
/ but could not restrain her and almost be-
| fore the older country was aware OF it,
the young republic was her equal. In
agriculture, numbering, mining and
] manufacturing, we are in the lead and in
our fisheries besides find great source
OF revenue. Our forests are near rail-
roads and accessible; we surpass Europe
, in mining iron and coal; we are manu-
| fact ring nation superior to England;
fully one-eighth of our people are en-
gagged in agriculture and the United
States not only feed themselves but send
food stuffs to all civilized countries. The
average American workman does more
work than the average workman OF any
other nation and our manufacturers use
only the most improved machinery. We
spin more cotton than England though
she has more spindles. American ability
tells in administration and control, and
our boundless resources seem to increase
the more we draw upon them. Soon our
| insular possessions will yield the tropi-
cal fruits we now import and nothing in
the world will be able to compare with
the United States.
Couched in terms of grateful apprecia-
ton, his valedictory took leave of the
citizens, school beard and teachers, and
spoke the word of regretful farewell to
the class itself.
DR.. F. c. Angel, chairman OF the
school board, presented the diplomas and
did it with some remarks that showed the
sense of responsibility and the deep inter-
est in the school that have inspired the
faithful and valuable services he has rem
dered on the board during the year.
After the program of the evening,
came dancing to the music OF a six-piece
orchestra composed of Glenn Bailey,
Frederick Dumas, Richard Grant, Frank
Walker of Barre and Messrs. Finn and
Stokesfe,d of Hanover, n. Fl.