Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1908-01-24
- The
Scho0lnaster
Observation-Disclosures
By HERMAN LEWIS.
Copyrighted. 1897 by E. C. PARCEL


lnson's Corners, and there was no
doubt that his nlneteen-year-old daugh-
ter was the best looking and best edu-
Gated CIR! for five miles around. In
one way that was saying much. for the
other farmers were poor and the other
girls rather plain and uneducated, but
in another way it amounted to very
little to an outsider. The schoohnaster
was an outsider. He had come from
distance OF fifty miles to teach the
winter term at the Corners. He was
young man of twenty-three, slim and
pale faced. and the "big boys who
were TO attend the term smiled and
chuckled at sight of him. There were
half a dozen who "reckoned" they
could stand him on his head If he got
too fresh.
1t was Farmer Watkins who engaged
the young man. He was president of
the school board, ana what he said
went. 1t was his daughter Jennie
who decided him in this. She was his
only child, and he was a widower, and
what she said also went. There were
also a dozen other applicants, and she
threw her influence for Walter Crane
for a very curious reason. He was the
only one among the applicants who
ha0 the manners of a gentleman and
the only one who appeared to her to
be her superior in education. The
school didn't require and had never
had a gentleman for a teacher. 1t did
not require and had never had an edu-
Gated man.
The pupils were a rough and igno-
rant lot, attending when they pleased
and doing about as they pleased.
| Sometimes the farmers sons of eight
cen. strong as horses and rough as
| bears, had broken up the school after
four weeks; sometimes they had let 1t
continue on until spring. Sometimes
the 'big girls" had rushed the master
and rolled him in snowdrift and shat
tered his dignity, and sometimes they
had been content TO turn the school
room into a sewing bee and laugh at
him as he protested.
And now they were going to try
new teacher. and Jennie Watkins had
plans to make him trouble from the
very start She had no particular dis
! like, but she wanted to see him taken
down a peg-seyeral pegs. He had too
much assurance-too much confidence
In himself. Why, at the examination
| Of candidates at her fathers house.
when Mr.. Crane had been asked what
! ocean surrounded. Switzerland he had
smiled and replied none at all, when
she knew as well as could be that it
was the Atlantic. She didn't say any
| thing then but she saved it up for
some future time She had always
/ spelled therwoTd "disslpated" with one
49," but he wentlright at it and spelled
1t with two, and even produced spell.
| ing book to show that he was right.
She had always answered that the
Rocky mountains were in Kansas, and
| when he moved them farther west her
| cheeks got red and she put a rod in
pickle for him. That young man was
pretending that he knew altogether too
much. He was even condescending
little to her father. and he wasn't pay
ing half enough attention to her.
| Mr.. Crane secured board at the house
! of a farmers widow and opened his
school. He announced that it was TO
begin at 9 a. m. Heretofore it had be-
gun at almost any hour to suit the
| scholars. He made this announcement
| without consulting Farmer Watkins
and without Farmer Watkins consult
| ing his daughter. This was another
sign OF bis independence.
He insisted on having dry instead Of
| &c, 49, eNo ~
he insisted on repairs to the stove to
carry the smoke away. There was no
blackboard, and he made and painted
one. Some of the benches were broken,
and he asked that they be repaired.
There were some panes Of glass need
ed In the windows, lock on the door
and new tin water pail, and before
| school actually opened the teacher was
being looked upon as living curiosity.
He had gone through the neighbor.
| hood and made a brief call at every
house to ascertain how many scholars
he would have and to form their &C
| quaintance In advance. His call did
not last longer at the Watkins house
than elsewhere. He was gentlemanly,
unembarrassed and ready talker, and
Jennie had Just begun to wonder IL
she wouldn't like him after all when
he picked up some poetry she had been
writing and had left where he was GER
tain to see IL and criticised her rhymes
and the spelling Of three or four differ-
emit words He did worse. he sug-
gested that she attend school, and, fan
ing in that, he would assist her Of an
evening now and then. The girl re-
strained herself from killing him on
the spot, but she said to herself that
his career would be brief and full OF
tribulation- She went to her father
for sympathy, but after she had stated
her case her surprise was unbounded
to hear him reply:
well, mebbe you do make mistake
here and there. This eddecation is such
q tangled up thing that can't see how
anybody ever spells cat twice alike.
/ guess that young Teller scrter knows
what he's about"
The csstom In district schools all
over America Is TO give a new mas
ter a week before proceeding TO let
him understand who runs that school
house. The rule WIS followed Ia this
case. There were those who thought
there would be no outbreak. Miss Jen-
ME Watkins was not one of them She
hadn't exactly conspired. but she had
had something to say to several Of
the big boys and girls ~.
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