Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-07-06

high room were Of white plaster
white with the qualified whiteness of
old snow in a soft coal town. This
dismal expanse was broken by four
lithographic portraits, votive offerings
Of a thoughtful publisher. The por-
traits were Of good and great men,
kind men. men who loved children.
Their faces were noble and benevO-
lent. But the Autographs offered the
only rest for the eyes Of children "a
tigued by the everlasting sameness Of
the schoolroom. Long day after long
day, interminable week in and inter-
minable week out, vast month on vast
month, the pupils sat with those four
portraits beaming kindness down rpon
them. The faces became permanent
in the consciousness Of the children;
they became an obsessiOn. In and out
Of school the children were never free
Of them. The four faces haunted the
minds Of children falling asleep. They
hung upon the minds Of children wax.
ing at night; they rose forebodingly IN
the minds Of children waking In the
morning; they became monstrously
alive in the minds of children lying
sick Of fever. Never while the chill
dren Of that schoOlroom lived would
they be able to forget one detail Of the
four Autographs. The hand Of Long
fellow was fixed for them forever In
his beard. And by simple and un-
conscious association of ideas Penrod
schofield was accumulating an antipa.
thy for the gentle Longfellow. and for
James Russell Lowell. and for Oliver
Wendell Holmes. and for John Green
leaf Whittier which would never per-
NIT him to peruse work OF one OF
those great New Englanders without a
feeling Of personal resentment.
His eyes fell slowly and inimicaly
from the brow of Whittier to the braid
Of reddish hair belonging to Victorine
Riordan. the little octoroon girl who
sat directly in front Of him. Victo-
rine's back was as familiar to Penrod
AZ the necktie Of Oliver Wendell
Holmes. So was her gayly colored
plaid waist. He hated the waist as
he hated VictOrine herself without
knowing why. Enforced companion
ship in large quantities and on an equal
basis between the sexes appears To
sterilize the affections, and schoOlroom
romances are few.
Victorine's hair was thick and the
brickish glints in 1t were beautiful, pu'
Penrod was very tired Of 1t. A tiny
knot of green ribbon finished Of the
braid and kept it from unraveling, and
beneath the ribbon there was a final
wisp of hair which was just lone
enough to repose upon Penrod's desk
when victorine leaned back In her
seat It was there now. Thoughtful'
ly he took the braid between thumb
and forehnger and, without disturbing
victorine, dipped the end Of 1t and the
green ribbon into the inkwell Of his
desk. He brought hair and ribbon
forth dripping pur,le ink and partially
dried them on blotter, though, mo.
ment later, when victorine leaned for.
ward, they were still able to add a
few picturesque touches to the plaid
waist.
Rudolph Krauss, across the aisle
from Penrod, watched the operation
with protuberant eyes, fascinated. In
spired to imitation, he took a piece OF
chalk from his pocket and wrote
"Rats" across the shoulder blades OF
the boy in front Of him, then looked
across appealingly to Penrod for to,
kens Of congratulation. Penrod yawned.
Half the members Of the class pass
ed out to q recitation room, the en-
purpled Victorine among them, and
Miss Spence started the remaining half
through the ordeal Of trial by mathe-
mates. Several boys and girls were
sent to the blackboard, and Penrod,
spared for the moment, followed their
operations little while with his eyes,
but not with his mind; then, sinking
deeper In his seat. Imply abandoned
the effort. His eyes remained open,
but saw nothing. The routine Of the
arithmetic lesson reached his ears In
familiar, meaningless sounds, but he
heard nothing, and yet, this time. he
was profoundly occupied He had
drifted away from the painful land OF
facts, and floated now In q new sea
Of fancy which he had just discovered.
Maturity forgets the marvellous real
ness Of q boys day dreams, how color
full they glow, rosy and living, and
how opaque the curtain closing down
between the dreamer and the actual
world. That curtain Is almost sound
proof, too, and causes more throat
trouble among parents than Is sus-
pected-
The nervous monotony Of the school
room inspires sometimes unbearable
longing for something astonishing to
happen, and as every boys fundamen-
tai desire Is to do something astonish-
Ing himself, so as to be the center OF
all human interest and awe, 1t was nat
ural that Penrod should discover In
fancy the delightful secret Of self levi
tation. He found, In this curious &c.
ries of imaginings, during the lesson
In arithmetic. that the atmosphere may
be navigated as by swimmer under
water, but with infinitely greater ease
and with perfect comfort In breathing.
In bis mind he extended his arms
gracefully, at a level with his shoul-
ders, and delicately padded the air
with his hands, which at once caused
him to be drawn up out Of his seat and
elevated gently to position about mid
way between the floor and the ceiling,
where he came to an equilibrium and
doated; a sensation not the less ex-
Quisite because Of the screams Of his
fellow pupils, appalled, by the miracle.
Miss Spence herself was amazed and
frightened, but be only smiled down
carelessly upon her when she COM
manded him to return to earth, and
then, when she climbed upon a desk
to pull him down. he quietly padded
himself little higher, leaving his toes
Just out Of her reach. Next he swan
through a few. slow sOmersaults to
show his mastery Of the new art, and.
xuttt, tho uhouftn0 of tho dumfOundod