Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1913-05-14

Miserable scampsl II our mothers had
done their duty, they would have given as
a good spanking and sent us back to
school"
Ii seemed to me, as he said it, that he
was fairly disguised with himself for
taking any part in the disturbance. /
could not suppress the feeling OF gratifica-
ton which came over me, for i remember
very well how /, then a boy OF ten, cried
4 to think the school was broken up.
! The next winter we had teacher whose
| name, / think, was Washington Mad
| docks. He came from Ellsworth. My
oldest brother had been to New York in
| kockland schooner. he got home the
first day OF the school. He had a bad
| cold, and was almost sick, but he went to
school the next day. In the afternoon he
was so sick that he got excused and went
home. 1t proved TO be measles. In two
weeks only three scholars went to the
school-all the others were down with the
measles.
Our next winter teacher was Dsnforth
( p. Ms-cyes, of Eden, whose fame as
disciplinsrian preceded him. The first
/ day he told the pupils that he should not
come to the school until 9 O'Clock and that
/ when he stepped into the room he wanted
! every pupil in his or her seat. During the
I first day, several pupils about my age got
/ their ears warmed few times, and by the
third or fourth day they were warm
( enough for the whole term. Mr.. Msrcyes
/ was a noted teacher of vocal music; but
! be could not be induced to have a singing
/ school. He said ii might iniure the day
school.
| He "boarded 'round", and everyone en-
| ioyed his company, as parents and chill
/ dren of all the families had good voices
I and liked to sing, and social sings at the
/ homes were the enjoyable feature of most
OF the evenings. Mr.. Marcyes taught four
winter terms in succession. he was a
/ great hand to play with his large boys out
of school, but in school he certainly was
monarch OF all he surveyed, and the good
| pupils sll loved and respected him, and
made rapid advancement while under his
tuition.
The school funds were so limited that
the parents OF all the families economical
in every possible way TO save the money,
that it might be expended only for teach
er's wages. The wood was contributed by
individuals, furnishing loads of green
spruce wood, in turns. The large boys
took turns building fire from a fire list,
posted up in the school-room, and the
teacher would ascertain W no would build
the fire the next day. The teacher would
ask the pupil whose name came next on
the list, If he could build the fire in the
morning, and II it was impossible for him
TO do so, he would ask the one whose
name came next. The answers were
usually in the affirmative.
The teachers all boarded round, regu-
lating the length of the time with each
family according to the number OF pupils
well remember how pleased / used to be
when it came our turn to board the
teacher. The teacher was my chum, al
ways.
The method OF teaching then was vastly
different from what it is now. There
were no athletics, and il there was any
hazing to be done, ii was usually done by
the teacher. There were two families on
the road leading south by my fathers
house. There were three girls in one
family and two in the other. II it hap
peued to be a snowstorm, and a load
of wood was to be haulded from either of
these houses, one OF the fathers would
yoke up his oxen and roll up a guilt to
spread over the girls during the ride
| home. We boys, three from one family
and one each from the other two, would
be sure to crawl in under the quilt, when,
II the girls were not there, it would have
been fun enough for us to tramp home
through the snow.
| Sometimes when it was singing cold,
with nosbing to burn except green spruce
wood, the pupils would be nearly frozen
! in their seats. A few of the boys would
get leave TO 20 out, and the teacher, know
| ing our intent, always gave his consent.
10 the vicinity OF the schoolhouse were
number OF large, old pine stumps. With
an axe we would cleave of large slabs of
| pine and pine roots, carry them into the
schoolhouse, and soon would have a roar
| ing fire. Sometimes two joints of the
stove-pipe would be red, and pupils who
| had sought the seat next the stove would
! be glad to retreat.
We in the grammar class did love to
analyze and parse, such selections as
| ''Thanatopsis", from Bryant "Life, Death
and Immortality" from Young Rienzi's
address to the Romans, and great many
more of the hardest kind of blank verse.
which we would transpose, and have it
read like prose. Let one follow the sea a
few years, and his grammatical phrases
are soon charged for nautical terms.
Our next teacher, after Mr.. Marcyes,
was Edwin Manson, OF South MontvilIe.
He came highly recommended, and was
an expert teacher of vocal music. There
were over sixty pupils, and when Mr.
Manson came to the schoolhouse, he
found every scholar, large and small, in
his seat. The discipline OF Mr. Marcyes