The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-06-03

mind u understand that I mad a lun.
attic to deal with. and that he must
be humci ed. When he had repeated
his command a second time, | went
forward to a recitation bench, and he
began giving out words for me to
spell. The "lesson" was not half
over when my belief in his insanity
was confirmed.
After the first few words he began
to pronounce backward. When he
gave out the word unicorn he pro-
nounced 1t "coruni." When / gave
the right pronunciation and began
to spell it in a proper way he inter-
rupted me with
Stop! This world has been going
on too fast for the last fifty years.
and must stop or be thrown off its
axis. We must go backward where
We can"
In pursuance of his theory he pro-
nounced the word fulfil as "fiful."
and | humored him by spelling words
that way. After about half an hour
he laid the book down, compliment
ed me on my smartness and during a
recess of five minutes he walked up
ard down the floor, with his head
down and his arms behind him, like
one in deep thought Thus far he
had betrayed no temper nor sign of
violence and | began to breathe cas-
Ter. | even calculated that it might
be possible to trick him.
He presently called me up to re-
cite in geography, and here his in
sanity was still more apparent. When
he asked me what an island was, and
received the answer as given in the
lesson, he struck the desk with his
ruler and exclaimed:
1t is not so. We have been fools.
An island is hill zoe feet high, and
these hypocrites knew it all the
time"
1t was IL O'Clock at night before
he ceased asking questions in geo.
graphy. Then | asked permission to
go home and get my slate pencil. He
accorded it, but as reache,. the lock-
ed door he called:
of the children who spit on the floor
to-day, and l shall keep you here"
From IL to IL sat in chair near
the stove, while he paced up and
down and muttered and mumbled in
a strange way to himself Whenever
the fire got low replenished it with
out objections from him, nor did he
seem aware OF the storm raging out
side.
Just after midnight he made me
work examples on the blackboard for
an hour. and once or twice became
very much excited. According to his
theory l must not figure that two
and two make four, but that the total
was nothing. This was setting the
world back. After rest. we had |
i recitation in grammar, another in |
reading, and at 3 o'clock he rang the
bell and calmly observed:
Children, school Is dismissed. |
Tomorrow being Saturday. there
Will be no school," o..
Then, without even seeming to be |
aware of my presence, he put on his
overcoat, drew his cap over his ears, |
and passed out into the storm and |
left me alone. | lost no time in |
locking the doors behind him, and it |
was not until daylight that got over
the fear of his return. Soon after |
daylight Uncle Billy came for me,
having been detained the day before
by sick horse, and sending me a
message which was not delivered.
We had scarcely finished breakfast
when the dead and frozen body of
my crazy schoolmaster was brought
in. He was, in truth, an old school
master, and had gone insane and
been confined in an asylum at Cleve-
land. Escaping from the place, he
went tramping over the country and
walked In upon me in the queer man
ner | have related.