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Show -.1 .1 - . Jottings From Prom Froma PromI III I _ . a Prodigal Son ] 1 1Dear I " , . . . . . Dear Dear Bish BishThe The other evening evemng as a as > I sat alone in inmy inmy inmy my hotel room , , I was pondering on the onthe days when I first went to school My schoolMy memory carried me back over a . long along stretch of years Year by year I IUnlocked Iunlocked Iunlocked unlocked andlike the cells of my memory and like a panorama . the pictures werespread were werespread werespread spread before my unblurred unbiurred vision , . and and11 andI I andthe saw in the picture my A B Cs 0 C s and the early study of the multIplication multiplicationtable table , , and what a shudder came to me meas meas meas as I tried to make something out of ofthe ofI the old antiquated way of what my I teacher myteacher tried to have me understand understandgrasp , , . I Igrasp grasp on the spui SpUl spur of the moment As AsI I I ofthe brought forth the yearly picture of , the three R's Rs Ws ' , readin readm ' , writin wrIUn wrttin ' and and'nthmetic andnthmetic and'rlthmetic and'rrthmetic ' 'rlthmetic rlthmetic 'rrthmetic rrthmetic , I really wondered how I Iever Iever . ever outan got so that I could spell , , . work out outI outan I an example , , 01 get my lesson in read read- readmg - ing mg reading readmg from the old Wilson readers some SIxty somesixty teachershad or more years ago Our teachers theimagination had no illustrations to help out the imagination withsome , or to impress us with ' some object that might I help us to re- re reI re - member remember alphabet aIPhabet what the letters of the alpha aIPha- aIPha alpha- . - ! bet meant or stood for . We had to tolearn learn them from A to Z We had to I toget get tho thG the multiplication multlpUcation tables andunderstand , and i understand and12 that 9 times 9 is 81 , and I 12 times 12 is 144 , , etc a.1contrast Oh , , what a.1 a1 a . contrast acontrast from that day to this . The TheI I themodem themodern erudition Theerudition of or the teachers of today , the illustrations 1llu.stratlons iilustrations modem modern methods employed , the illus 1llu.s- 1llu.s iilus . - trations tratlons brought before the eye of the thechild child of today makes one shudder at attho atthe the strides made in the profession of Physiologyor teaching ofteaching . No algebra , no Physiology or hygiene , no nogrammar grammar md and no geography nogeography . But Butwe we pulled through throughRnaTieHnw throughsomehow somehow RnaTieHnw thingsbetter _ - . . . , , we TOOm . . . . learned m .wtu\.u wtu.u .wtu wtu .u u . \ . some ouiiw _ things LningS - | better than they do today . WberL When 1 II I < I at the school houes houses ! ? of today , and andthen andthen andthen gaze turn the page and look into my mymemory mymemory mymemory then cell of the old log schoolhouse schoolhouse school memory rustle rustic - ' benches * l- l lh - made h * 4rt ofslabs of ofslabs f with its house , slabs , and the desks ot of one long roughboard rough roughboard rougnboard thrilled with genuine ex- ex exCltement excitement ex excitement - board , , I am citement Cltement at the wonderful changesthat changes changesthat changesLthat that have been .vrought vrought wrought . in the fewyears fewyears few that noW seem like a dreamBut dream dreamBut years t svri write e more jiiuiw on - . - thIS strain .I I . BWi But I l can b bvij \vij vij \ I have other things to say Besideshow BesIdes Besideshow hoVv how many would be entertained today todayNot ? Not many . , I know But I m reminisc reminisc- reminiscing reminiscing reminiscing - ing in ill this letter , . Bish BlSh , , and you must mustput mustput mustput the waste wastebukct wastebasket wastebasket wastebasketBrowsing put up with it or r slip sUp it into . bukct basket : ; basketBrowsing Browsing Browsmg around the other day dayamong dayamong dayamong among a few old books that weie wele were ex- ex exposed exposed ex exposed - posed for sale I opened one of them themand themand themand and a paragraph I read struck me so sofOlCibly soforcibly sofoicibly fOlCibly forcibly that I marveled at the fool foolI foolthat foolthat foolthat I that I had been all the days of mylife my mylife mylife life since I began eating eatmg and digesting digestingsolid digestingsolid digestingsolid solid foods I shall try to give you only onlya a tithe of what impressed me as Ihuriredly I Ihunledly Ihuniedly hunledly huriredly read the short chapter thatI that thatI I Inadvertently happened to glance at atand atand fail failme failme failme not and read If my memory does " of a astomach aStomach aStomach called caIled the "Complain Complain "Complam Complam me it"was it \ " was \"was "was stomach stomachIt It " This vital vltal organ of man'sbody man's mans man'sbody man'sbody mansbody ' ' body was speaking to its master . . Itscomplaint Its Itscomplamt Itscomplaint complamt complaint was that the man seemed to tothink tothink tothink think the downstairs part of his body bodycould bodycould bodycould could stand up under any and every evpry- evpry every- evprything everything everything - thing taken into the system I quote quote"For quoteFor . "For For " sixty years I have been a stomach stomachduring , during all aU of which time I have en- en endeavored endeavored en endeavored - deavored to do my duty faithfully and andpunctuaIly andpunctually andpunctually punctuaIly punctually . . My master , , however , , is so soreckless soreckless soreckless reckless , , that I would defy any stomach stomachof of ordinary ability abihty and capacity to get getalong getalong getalong along pleasantly with him The fact factIs factis factis Is , , like Uke all aU other men , , he . , in m his h1s eating eatingand eatingand eatingand and dnnking drinking , considers his own plea plea- pleasure pleasure pleasure - sure only , and never once reflects on onthe onthe onthe the poor wretch who has bas to be respon respon- responsible responsible responsible onI - I sible for the disposal of everythingthat everything everythingthat everythingth&t everythingtht that & he sends downstairs Scarcely onI on I any dajT day da docs does he fail fall to exceed the thestrict thestrict strict rule of temperance ; there Is isscarcely isscarcely scarcely a single meal that is alto- alto altogether altogether alto altogether - gether what it should be My life Is Isone isone isone one of or continual worry and ' . irct .fret fret ; : ; I amnever am amnever amnever never allowed al10wed to rest rcst from morn until untilnight untilnight untilnight night I have but few moments that thatI thatI I can call my own My greatest trIal trIalis trialis trialis is the evening meal If you could see seethe seethe secthe the mess he sends down to be taken takencare takencare takencare care of We often get soup , , fish , , . meatham meat meatham meatham ham , , rice , potatoes , cheese pudding puddingbeer , beer and what not , , all mixed up to- to together together to together - gether I am accustomed ito It to < > the thIng thingso thingso so I don't dont ' get much shocked , but mymaster my mymaster mymaster master would faint if he could sec see the thework thework thework work he is loading me up with at atnight atnight atnight night I call can on my friend , Gastric GastricJuice GastricJuice GastricJuice Juice , and we both ooth have to work all allnight allnight allnight night to get our work done so that hecan he hecan hecan can load up again in the mornIng mornIngIt morning"Well morningWell It " ItWeH WeH Well , I guess that will win do for the beginning be- be beginning be beginning - ginning 111 Ill try to finish fmlsh some other otherday otherday otherday day when you have more time to read readthe readthe readtlie the rest I jotted down a few more items b but : _ Iwork i . a am rearM i , , work you to death SL SLi deathreading deathreag -i i - at 1 reagat ialready 1already already writtenIt writtenYOU written reading reag "htt htt " Mi It ; _ - YOU O'R OR 0 ' 1Q |