Show efrom from the saturday sat Tat arday ardai evening higo 2590 T SCHOOL LIFE it iti is s forty years a ago go I 1 i wa wai a little girl gir I 1 atheni then and now I 1 am an old wo nan still toften torten I 1 of ten find myself thinking thin kiu klu ir fttie attle the old school house and the mer y playmates who wiio thought much more of play th ili n 11 of study one warm afternoon in slimmer summer I 1 will never neier forget it had bad been not only a warm arm but a hou hoh horday obi oti dar da day T indeed is the weather had been op pressie pres dessive she sue for tor a week past and now it was fil d day afternoon we all ali felt tired and cross b oth trl thi teacher and pupils nothing funny had occurred all day to amuse ui or we could have borne the tile heat beat and confinement better belter oar oan aply spell was cl er for tor the at atter alter ter noon coon I 1 bellev believe it is 13 called recess 5 no noa noraa nora noaa a d lys tvs but it was play spell sheil then in iti one hour more we might expect to be c e leased not to return to our prison for two whole days thought had we bl that this was our last day of school we would hive rejoiced at the tidings alas I 1 one of oe ur thou uless Liess group did indeed return no DO more our teacher was one of those stiff pith izing bei gs who no bo strangely mistake their vocation when they become teachers we could bould lot hot love him but we did fear hin bin n this was the only school in tle te vill ge a d all the chil chii children iren w 0 went to school at all attended ur school poor little bare barek f rooted boys and arid girls who walked two miles every morning brought their dinner baskets witti them ahem 1 and oil oh what hat nice green preen apples they some rome sometimes times had hid away for home bome of oe us who were liolio firt fortunate as aa to have heaps of apples at home we all sat ill in one room big and Uttley 1 oung and old arld arid some lvere nere men and tomen lomen grown the little AB A B C class sat in front ri right bt under the cod mern sern s em eye of 0 the master r 1 next to them the tile spell spelling ITIL class and a on one to the very highest and those who aho owned 1 copy py books looks sat facin racing facing the wall wui along winch t 0 d the bi hib bih high bib 11 b wil wll ing desks deals one window only on oil that side gave light for us to urite write rite by and on a dark day there boutil would gener generally dily dlly be concill erable screll scroll nig ing to rel gel near it many a siy sly trick in miny my a tunny funny picture and many a smothered lauh came oil off at that desk for you see ofir oun backs were toward the in ster 1 A greasy bucket of water sat on a be ch in the le of the room and contil continually lually did the old dipper clipper tinkle agoust ag lust i a side lis its as it was thrown n down with what water remained in it at aft r drinking by the time the water became low in tile tiie pail it was pretty well weil mixed after ia washiro to miny m iny pairs or of firs and then what a scuffle to see iho who ibo might go out efter more even le ile larges barges girls would sometimes Bome timed go up abd aud demurely ask the master if they might hot go after fresh water ater and what a ion lod long iong time they tarried at the spring but on thi august the bucket gas waa dry and no one was allowed to rebhi it some poor little fellows on the front seat wele were rubbing their knuckles in their sniffling loudly silence ai all 11 ll first blaag prepare to rea read d dald paid our and a bouc aboud a dozen of the highest c ass stood up with our gen fEn English glish I 1 readers open ill in our hands obeisance and at the wod word a lowboy low bow and dep deep cu folloW tel eel begin and I 1 led off with r ane dew was falling fast fasl etc etc this was waa A favo it lesson of mine and I 1 read it off glibly with willi all the singsong bing aing song tone of a first rate reader in a country school my one verse ended and the word of command v as again given next and another verse was react we were under good military rul ruil ii n thing was done without an order we had advanced as aa far as where iia ila tle tle tie barbary was wai telling the little MUG lamb how her father had brought it home etc when buz buz sounded over our heads and a mon estrous Bt rous bois fly came thumping against our bolean each erb eib nose A broad grin from the whole class and a dirk d irk fro frown it from our teacher then hen a stately proceed and another verse was real read but tha the read re readers adera aders ets ers voice trembled for again came the fly in th teachers face lie raised hla his hand to strike it bui but the fly was done cone take take lake your 6 r seats said he be in a vole volie ot 0 thunder t that thab a t made us its tremble and the I 1 luie luib ones one ury try y it was soon boon discovered that the fly ular was 1 let iet ei gut put out ont or drawn in ly some other will alii than its own and every ey eyd was soon turned on the bad boy of or our class a wid mischievous fellow II irmon bates he lie was I oking very demure with his hands behind him arid arld the poor fly was by this time bumping against the vrin window do drawing draw inc ins after I 1 it t a thread ahrea d several yaros yaro Is in length yet it was harmon who had managed to catch the fly during lieness lie recess cess 1 and tying a long lons thread t tp 9 a apin ayin pin bad thrust pic pie through the body of the fly and then hid ian ith in llo ilo pocket until ail an opportunity should hoffr when hen it could be let out at the master it was a cruel act no doubt bilt but narmon marmon waso wai though less and would do anything for fun we knew now that a iong long lecture awaited u R that not on only lylia ha of esmust remain to listen to it and were so tired already several little litte giris girls were cryl crying rg some because the poor fly was in misery and ande some ommel orael because they wan ed to po go home harmon go fo release that hy oly now take your stand on on the dunce block your proper place ile he was obeyed there was very little sm lin C now in the il chool room the lessons went onas on as usual our class hagg had only to spell and there we all at watching harmon jharmon JI armon who abood stood makeig faai faces at us and at the teacher aberi his bis back hark was turned we wondered what bis his punish markt was to be and whether it woud would ae place that da we were all very unhappy and scarcely dared t raise our hands to wipe tile tiie perspiration from our faces at in linth th the lessons were all finished and the lecture tegan legan began I 1 do not dot intend to repeat it tut lut will leave eave you ou to imagine e all the cluel things that could be said by an offended teacher the rile ona heaped tie tle aped upon the head of that mat cruel boy were ehe ebe adful but 1 fear we thought the teacher full as cruel as the boy for we did not love bie ble and we did love our fun loving companion at length he lie ended with an I 1 now sir put 3 it 11 the place of that clyl tuini i what it redl how would you like to I 1 ave a sharp mitru anent thrust through yo r bod bady thlik of that sir air and steep steel his night hight isyou it you sou caril cahl slowly ail all am t in older we took down our hats and bonnets piled up our books and antl slates walked to tiie tile door made usual formal obeisance and made our escape flom that terrible eye once clear of the door and arid all order was lost we shouted jumped and ran quite for fur getting the hear head of 0 the day that had so greatly depress d us uis and tle tue frowns that lad caused us to tremble harmon was wilder than everee had escaped so BO much better than lie he expected sleep 12 said he well I 1 rather guess I 1 shall if I 1 did stick a fly lid lidl hi haty hail and ard he bounded over the lence to lo fild faid a ball he hid at noon under a pile of to lo Ms they we e e blaids torn torr from some 0 d building bunding 1 and fil til of nai a As harmon sprang care essly over the fence he gave a scream ana and we all gathered about abou thim hm poor fellow hs his puni ament had now come in in earnest he lle as unable to draw up his right toot for tor a long iong nail had bad pierced it through and through C we cou coli d see hee the nail through the top of th ih foot b tween the toes A last on one e ot the klie larger boys suc sue succeeded ceded in dialing boil boal board rd nail and antl all we did nut dot call the teacher who was still in the school house W thought he would feel r rather ather pleased at the time but I 1 think we did him injustice there we felt pleased to that the tile foot di i not bleed only one or two drops ot oe black blood omed aut out ut ot the wound laughed as poon as he go over bir hir first fright and 1 aped aw ay tollis to his hid home oily biily otly a short dis ancee ance but it must have palled pa lied him sadly did nid we all thank of the fly fl not immediately dia dla tely tery but when hen we came to relate it the fl 11 the he lecture the accident it all seemed to fit together like a madd made up story and some were iiii 1111 lind kind enough 0 to say sai it was e good enough for it in children are pappy happy lappy care careless lesil lesii creatures and an I 1 think we played just jut as hard on saturday as if harmon had hati been with us we had bad hea d he nid did not sleep well and we could not expect biln him to play v vilh ib that hat sore foot bilt but I 1 recollect seeing him on sau dav day sitting silting in in trie tie d or knag mak ig a windmill his llis foot was done up in a large cloth and he I 1 told lod tod me that neb ne bad had ali all given all lis bread bread and to his foot toot that evening and that he meant to have something better for his supper we did not see hirn him or hear from him on sunday and on monday he be was liot noe a 8 school chool on taking my usual seat in the school on monday the fiust fust thing I 1 noticed was the pin pili with the atrin hiring to it lying on an my dek deaz I 1 took hitup it up and with a smile banded itlo jowsa lou aa dates harmons Il armons s ste I 1 felt frightened whet w hel hei sie sie threw it from h hi r arid and burst into tears about the middle of the forenoon louisa was called out of school her brother was worse our s school chool was very orderly anti and quiet that mornin morning agn and our teacher teethed ed kinder thai that usual ile he punished no one and spoke softly 1 when he diu speak at all we could not study but we could be quiet at noon it was known all over the village that poor harmon bates was ayin dying of lockjaw we were tod in the afternoon that ih ere would be no mote more school that week our teacher spent the night with his now unconscious pupil pupils and at daybreak poor harmon died in ili his arms it was a sad funeral the scholars waited wailed ed in procession with the teacher at their head and anti we all loved him better for the tears that fell from bi his yes ses as he lie took a p playfellow ay fellow I 1 think we vre understood each other better after that fewer tricks were played upon our teacher tea ted cher and he wab was more fork fora fo riving iving this is a plain statement ot of facts doubt many will remember as I 1 do that wa warm wara in summer day and its sad ending we are scattered far and wide and know each other no mor mon hut but we do not forget our school days and the playmates of our y uth AUNT ALIC ALICE |