I 
 
The Country School 
 
 by 
 Clifton Johnson 
 
 With Illustrations 
 by the Author 
 
 New York 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 Publishers 
 
LIBHARY of CONGRESS 
 Two Cnole* Received 
 
 SEP 16 \90r 
 
 Copyrieht Bntry 
 
 CLASiA xxc, Nb. 
 
 COPY B. 
 
 Copyright, 1907, 
 By THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 Published, September, 1907 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE 
 
 THIS book is in no sense a history of education, 
 but is an attempt to present intimately and 
 clearly the salient features of the schools of the 
 last century in their more picturesque and poetic aspects. 
 I do not deal with theories or ideals or technical details, 
 but portray those things which linger in the memory of 
 whoever has attended such schools. The charm of the 
 old school days never wears off — and it is the charm 
 that dwells in one's remembrance, even if there was 
 some bitter mixed with the sweet. My endeavor has 
 simply been to make this mystic and delectable past 
 alive once more. 
 
 The material is not a compilation from other books, 
 but is based entirely on personal experiences, in part 
 my own, but more largely those of friends and acquaint- 
 ances. Some of these friends and acquaintances are 
 no longer living, and the reminiscences of the earlier 
 schools with which they supplied me it would be diffi- 
 cult again to dupUcate. 
 
 In addition to the descriptions of characteristic schools, 
 I devote a chapter to verbatim compositions and defini- 
 tions which seem to me to have an unconscious humor 
 
iv Introductory Note 
 
 that is exceedingly attractive. Lastly, there is a chapter 
 containing two schoolhouse dialogues. These were 
 written for the occasions when they were produced, and 
 they have a kind of rude and rustic individuality which 
 made them quite successful, and I think they will prove 
 entertaining to a much larger public. 
 
 CLIFTON JOHNSON. 
 
 Hadley, Massachusetts. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Old-fashioned School Days, 1800 to 1830 — Winter . i 
 
 II 
 Old-fashioned School Days — Summer . . . 24 
 
 HI 
 
 The Schools between 1830 and i860 .... 42 
 
 IV 
 Later Characteristics, i860 to 1900 .... 79 
 
 V 
 How the Scholars Think and Write . . . .114 
 
 VI 
 Schoolhouse EntertaiNxMents 142 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The end of the day . 
 
 Schoolgirls .... 
 
 a little red schoolhouse 
 
 Getting the teacher's help in a hard probi 
 
 A visit from the school committee-man 
 
 Telling grandma about the day at school 
 
 Getting his arithmetic lesson 
 
 Starting for school . 
 
 Snowballing .... 
 
 A drawing by one of the school children 
 
 Learning her lesson at home . 
 
 The road to learning 
 
 A play-school in the hayfield 
 
 A recitation in arithmetic 
 
 "Wrastling" .... 
 
 Planting flower-seeds 
 
 The end of recess 
 
 An excuse for being late 
 
 A holiday — playing at gypsies 
 
 The teacher going home . 
 
 On the way to school 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 opposite 
 opposite 
 
 opposite 
 
 opposite 
 
 lO 
 
 14 
 18 
 20 
 22 
 23 
 25 
 27 
 28 
 
 30 
 31 
 33 
 
 37 
 
 38 
 40 
 
 41 
 44 
 
Vlll 
 
 Illustrations 
 
 opposite 
 
 opposite 
 opposite 
 
 opposite 
 
 An old-time schoolgirl costume 
 
 Enjoying a Saturday holiday 
 
 The school at work 
 
 Passing the water 
 
 Gymnastics . 
 
 A present . 
 
 After school 
 
 Ready for school 
 
 Out at little recess 
 
 Loitering on the way home from school 
 
 a punishment 
 
 The boys of the school go for a boat-ride 
 Playing drop the handkerchief .... 
 
 In the meadow at recess 
 
 a schoolboy 
 
 The Riverbend schoolhouse .... 
 
 The commonest type of the country schoolhouse 
 
 Sharpening his slate pencil . 
 
 A class in geography 
 
 Going to school with the teacher 
 
 A schoolyard game of tag 
 
 Starting the fire .... 
 
 First day — waiting for the teacher 
 
 Cubbyhouse dolls .... 
 
 A hard sum 
 
 A DRINK from a stream ON THE WAY HOME FROM SCHOOL 
 
 
 64 
 
 86 
 
 
 87 
 
 opposite 
 
 88 
 
 
 90 
 
 
 93 
 
 
 95 
 
 opposite 
 
 96 
 
 46 
 
 47 
 48- 
 
 51 
 54 
 56 
 58 
 60 
 
 63 
 67 
 
 69 
 
 70^ 
 
 75 
 
 78 
 
 80 
 
 81 
 
 83 
 
Illustrations 
 
 IX 
 
 LS 
 
 The youngest scholar 
 
 Doing arithmetic examples 
 
 A New England academy 
 
 Sharpening one of the children's penc 
 
 A rainy-day school at home . 
 
 The class in the Fifth Reader 
 
 The good boy who is allowed to study 
 
 Writing 
 
 The looking-glass in the entry 
 
 The second class in reading . 
 
 Tommy's ship .... 
 
 An illustration by one of the little girls 
 
 A hillside schoolhouse . 
 
 The Primer class 
 
 When the door is locked 
 
 Helping a little one on with her things 
 
 The teacher gives one of the boys a shaking 
 
 by the boy) 
 
 Out camping. —A story . 
 
 A schoolboy . • . • 
 
 The school on skates 
 
 Facsimile of one of the youngest 
 
 script 
 
 The perils of the early settlers . 
 
 The schoolhouse in flood-time 
 
 A hay field ..... 
 
 opposite 
 
 OF doors 
 
 PAGE 
 
 lOI 
 
 opposite 
 
 opposite 
 (Drawn 
 
 opposite 
 
 SCHOLARS MANU- 
 
 I02 
 105 
 106 ■ 
 108 
 III 
 
 116 
 118 
 120 
 121 
 I 22 
 124 
 126 
 128 
 
 130 
 132 
 
 134 
 
 135 
 
 139 
 140 
 
Illustrations 
 
 opposite 
 
 Blackboard drawings: "a farmer, his little girl, 
 
 AND HIS wife'' 
 
 Trimming the Christmas tree 
 Speaking his piece 
 Schoolroom decoration . 
 
 A HUNT FOR stockings 
 
 Making ready for Santa Claus 
 
 The boys go to bed . 
 
 Caught .... — 
 
 Santa faces the audience 
 
 Going to the woods for the Christmas tree 
 
 Comfort by the open fire 
 
 The children surprise their grandpas 
 
 Companions .... 
 
 opposite 
 
 141 
 
 143 
 
 144 
 144 / 
 146 
 
 147 
 149 
 150 
 
 151 
 152 / 
 
 155 
 156 
 158 
 
The Country School 
 
 I 
 
 OLD-FASHIONED SCHOOL DAYS, 1800 to 1830 
 WINTER 
 
 THE place which I have especially in mind in 
 describing school conditions early in the last 
 century, is a village among the hills of western 
 Massachusetts; but the characteristics I shall mention 
 were much the same in all the old schools of New England 
 and the states neighboring. 
 
 One morning, if you could have looked into a certain 
 hiUtop farmhouse, you would have seen Mrs. Enoch 
 Hale, birch-broom in hand, sweeping her kitchen floor. 
 It was the first week of December, and a brisk fire 
 was burning in the cavernous fireplace. The w^oman's 
 daughter was wiping off the table at the side of the room 
 where she had been washing the breakfast dishes. She 
 was a chubby little girl, rather small of her age, and stood 
 on tiptoe while she gave the table a vigorous scouring. 
 
 "Isn't it school-time, Betsey?" asked her mother. 
 
2 The Country School 
 
 The httle girl hung the dishcloth in the back room and 
 trotted into the hall where stood a solemn-faced, tall 
 clock. She looked up at it earnestly a few moments, 
 made some half-whispered calculations, and returned to 
 the kitchen. 'Tt's twenty minutes past eight," she said 
 to her mother. 
 
 "Well," responded the woman, "change your apron 
 and run along. You won't be much too soon. There's 
 your dinner basket by the door. I put up your dinner 
 when I cleared away the breakfast things." 
 
 Mrs. Hale swept the dust she had brushed together 
 into the fireplace and went about her other housework. 
 Betsey quickly made herself ready, and soon was running 
 along the highway toward the schoolhouse. The morn- 
 ing was clear and cold. The sun, just above the south- 
 eastern horizon, was shining brightly, and made the brown, 
 frosty fields sparkle in the hght. Betsey lived more than 
 a mile from the schoolhouse, and the road was a rough 
 one. For a part of the way it led through the woods, but 
 in the main it was bordered by open fields and shut in 
 by stone walls. Betsey usually ran down the hills, and 
 was pretty sure to arrive at the schoolhouse quite out of 
 breath. 
 
 Her clothing was very neat, but rude in pattern and 
 extremely plain. It had all been woven, colored, and 
 made up at home. She herself had done some of the 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 3 
 
 knitting, and had spent tiresome hours at the quill wheel 
 winding thread for the loom. Her dress was woollen, 
 plain and straight, with no ruffles at neck or skirt, and 
 
 it was considerably longer than would be worn by little 
 girls of her age now. Hooks and eyes served instead of 
 buttons to fasten it at the back. She wore a httle blue 
 and white checked cotton apron, tied at the waist. Her 
 
4 The Country School 
 
 stout leather shoes were broad-soled and comfortable, 
 but only ankle high. Stockings and mittens were striped 
 blue and white. Over her short-cropped hair she wore 
 a small white woollen blanket about a yard square. In 
 her hand was the basket containing her lunch. 
 
 When she came trotting up to the schoolhouse she found 
 a dozen of her mates on the sunny side of the building 
 kicking their heels against the clapboards and waiting 
 for the teacher. Betsey carried her dinner basket into 
 the entry and then ran out and said, "Let's play tag till 
 the schoolmaster comes." 
 
 The others agreed, and soon all were in motion, runnin^r 
 dodging, and shouting till the little yard and narrow 
 roadway seemed full of flying figures. 
 
 The schoolhouse was a small, one-storv buildin<y 
 brown with age. Behind, the woods came close up, 
 while in front was a httle open yard which merged into 
 the highway that came over the hill eastward and then 
 rambled west along the level. A little walk down the 
 road was a house. No other was in sight, though at least ■ 
 half a dozen scattered homes lay on the farther side of 
 the hill just beyond view. Opposite the schoolhouse was 
 a pasture, and the children had worn a rough path through 
 the grasses by the roadside on their way to and from the 
 brook over the wall where they got water to drink. 
 This morning the smoke was curhng up from the chim- 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 5 
 
 ney straight into the frosty air. The big boys took turns 
 in making the fire. To-day Jonas Brill, with his coat 
 tightly buttoned and the collar up, cap pulled down over 
 his ears, and hands in his pockets, had come stumping 
 along the hard frozen road just after sun-up. There was 
 no lock to the schoolhouse — few country people at that 
 time thought of locking doors — and Jonas walked right 
 into the little entry. The space on one side was half- 
 filled with three-foot wood. On the other side were rows 
 of pegs for the pupils' hats. 
 
 An axe was handy, and the boy proceeded to split some 
 
 J 
 
 A little red schoolhouse 
 
 kindhngs. He carried an armful of these inside. Jonas 
 poked among the ashes, found the coals still alive, and 
 
6 The Country School 
 
 soon had a fine blaze in the big fireplace. He brought 
 in more wood from the entrv' and some larger wood from 
 the yard, where it had been left by the farmers of the 
 district for the scholars to cut up. It was sled length 
 as they left it, and it had to be cut two or three times 
 before it was ready for the fireplace. Jonas chopped 
 what he judged would be a day's supply, then went in 
 and sat in the master's chair by the fire and made himself 
 comfortable, awaiting the arrival of his schoolmates. 
 
 The room was plain and bare — no pictures, no maps, 
 not even a blackboard. The w^alls were sheathed with 
 wooden panels, but the ceiling was plastered. On each 
 side, to the north and south, was a window, and at the back 
 two. The fireplace was on the fourth side, projecting 
 somewhat into the room. To the right of it was the en- 
 trance, and to the left was a door opening into a dark 
 little closet containing pegs for the girls to hang their 
 things on, and a bench where they set their dinner baskets. 
 
 A single continuous line of desks ran around three 
 sides of the room, leaving an open space next the wall 
 along which the big scholars walked when they went to 
 their places. The seat accompanying this long desk 
 was also continuous, and the scholars were obliged to step 
 over it before being seated. Both seat and desk were raised 
 on a little platform a few inches above the level of the floor. 
 On the front of the desk was another seat, low down, for 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 7 
 
 the smaller children. These could use the desk for a 
 back, but had no desk themselves, while the older ones 
 had the desk, but no back. In the open space, in front, 
 was the teacher's table, and on it two or three books, 
 an ink bottle and quills, a lot of copy books, and a ruler. 
 Jonas was using the teacher's chair, but he replaced it 
 behind the teacher's table when the other scholars began 
 to arrive. 
 
 In the midst of the game of tag some one cried, "The 
 schoolmaster's coming," and the uproar ceased. 
 
 The master was a c^uiet, rather stern-looking young 
 man, the son of a farmer of a neighboring town. For 
 several winters he had been teaching, but not with the 
 idea of making that his calling. He had gone through the 
 common schools with credit, and studied at an academy 
 for a year or two. Summers he worked on the farm, and 
 he intended to be a farmer ; but in winter work was slack 
 at home, and, as he could be spared, he took the oppor- 
 tunity to gain ready money by teaching. There were 
 many young men in the country towns doing likewise. 
 
 His pay was small, but he was at no expense for his 
 living, as he "boarded round" — that is, he stayed with 
 each family of the neighborhood for a length of time pro- 
 portioned to the number of pupils it sent to the school. 
 At the beginning of the term the teacher divided the num- 
 ber of days by the number of pupils, and thus determined 
 
The Country School 
 
 Gitliug liw teaclnrs help in a hard problem 
 how long he should stay with each family. It sometimes 
 happened that after staying all around the allotted time 
 there were still a few days left to teach, and then, in order 
 to have things come out even, the master would change 
 his boarding place every night. When neighbor met 
 neighbor it was always an interesting topic of inquiry 
 where the teacher was stopping and where he was going 
 next; and his having to '^varm so many beds" was a 
 standing joke. 
 
 The teacher of this winter's school was at present stay- 
 ing with the Holmans, and the four children of the family 
 came down the hill with him, but ran on ahead when they 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter o 
 
 approached the schoolhouse. All had dinner baskets, 
 the master included. Just before he reached the school- 
 house the children went inside, and when he entered the 
 door he found them all standing in their places. He 
 removed his hat, bowed, and said "Good morning." 
 
 In response the whole school "made their manners," 
 
 or, in other words, the boys bowed and the girls courte- 
 
 sied. At the same time they said "Good morning, sir." 
 
 Then the older ones stepped over their seats, all sat 
 
 do\^-n, and school began at once. 
 
 The daily sessions in the old-time schools were supposed 
 to start at nine o'clock, but fe^v teachers had watches, and 
 they could not well be exact. Some would bring hour- 
 glasses, but the only timekeeper a school was sure to have 
 was a noon mark on a southern window sill. Even this 
 was useless on clouded days, and a good deal of guessing 
 had to be done. 
 
 The first exercise in the morning was reading in the 
 Testament. Each pupil who was able read two verses. 
 In those times prayers were not said in school, and 
 the reading completed the morning worship. The older 
 scholars now turned their attention to studving, and 
 the smallest children were called up to say their letters. 
 The winter term began the week after Thanksgiving, 
 and continued twelve, fourteen, and even sixteen weeks. 
 The cold weather, bad traveUing, and distance prevented 
 
10 The Country School 
 
 most of the younger children from coming; but the 
 big boys and girls, who had been kept out at work dur- 
 ing the summer, came instead, and the school would 
 number twenty-five or thirty pupils. The more mature 
 scholars, though almost men and women in size, were 
 none older than fourteen or fifteen. As a rule they 
 left school for good at that age, but a few would attend 
 an academy in a neighboring town, and now and then 
 a boy would fit himself for college by studying with 
 the minister. College education for girls was unthought 
 of, and no institution existed where such education could 
 be had for the daughters. 
 
 The youngest scholars had no books. When they 
 recited they came up before the teacher, who pointed 
 out the letters in the Speller with his quill. This book 
 was the famous Webster's Spelling Book, a blue-covered, 
 homely little volume, containing, besides the alphabet 
 and many long columns of words, the figures, Roman 
 and Arabic, days of the week, months of the year, ab- 
 breviations, names of the States, and various other things. 
 The speller also served as a reader. The first and simplest 
 reading started with, "No man may put off the law of 
 God." Farther on were some little stories and fables, 
 accompanied by a few rude pictures. Lastly came 
 the Moral Catechism, starting with the question, "Is 
 pride commendable?" 
 

Old-fashioned School Days — Winter ii 
 
 In spelling, the children began with word fragments 
 of two letters. Elderly people sometimes speak of "learn- 
 ing their a-b abs," meaning by that the learning to spell 
 syllables of two letters. They would spell thus: "A-b 
 ab, e-b eb, i-b ib, o-b ob, u-b ub ; b-a ba, b-e be, b-i bi, 
 b-o bo, b-u bu, b-y by;" and so on right through the 
 alphabet. By the time they possessed a Speller they 
 would perhaps be able to spell cat and dog and other 
 three-letter words. Besides spelling, they learned some- 
 thing of the sounds of the letters and to count a little. 
 When the class finished reciting they were sent to their 
 seats. The smallest children had neither slates nor 
 books to amuse themselves with, and after reciting could 
 only sit still and watch and listen to the others. Very 
 tiresome they found this sometimes. If they became 
 restless, so much the worse for them, for the teacher 
 would then reprimand them, and tell them to fold their 
 hands and be quiet, and perhaps threaten them with 
 punishment. 
 
 The next older class were taking their first reading 
 lessons from the Speller. Even the most advanced of 
 the pupils used that book to spell from. 
 
 Another of the school books of the time was " The New 
 England Primer." It was a small, thin, blue-covered 
 volume, that contained many little stories, proverbs, 
 rhymes, and questions, and cjuaint woodcuts, and was 
 
12 The Country School 
 
 quite religious in tone. In one place the alphabet was 
 given with a picture and rhyme for each letter. Both 
 pictures and rhymes were so rude that, in spite of the 
 seriousness of the themes, they now seem to us decidedly 
 humorous. Here are specimens of the jingles : — 
 
 " Noah did view 
 The Old World and New." 
 
 " Zaccheus, he, 
 Did climb the tree 
 His Lord to see." 
 
 " Young Obadias, 
 David, Josias, 
 All were pious." 
 
 About the middle of the forenoon the scholars put 
 aside other tasks, and wrote. At close of school, on 
 the night before, the teacher had set their copies — that 
 is, he had written a sentence across the top line of a page 
 in each scholar's "copy book." The children made 
 these copy books at home from large sheets of blank, 
 unlined paper, which they folded and sewed into a cover 
 of brown paper, or one made from an old newspaper. 
 In school, each pupil had a ruler and plummet, and 
 with these made the lines to write on. They had no 
 lead pencils, but the plummet answered instead. Plum- 
 mets were made at home by melting waste lead and 
 running it in shallow grooves two or three inches long 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 13 
 
 cut in a stick of wood. Sometimes the cracks in the 
 kitchen floor were found to be convenient places to run 
 the lead in. When the metal cooled a little, it was whittled 
 and smoothed down and pointed, and perhaps, as a final 
 touch, a hole was bored through the big end, that the 
 owner might hang his plummet on a string about his 
 neck. 
 
 Children just beginning to write made "hooks and 
 trammels," the ''hooks" being curved hnes, and the 
 "trammels" straight ones. After practising on these 
 a while they were advanced to letters, and later to words 
 and sentences. Each pupil had a bottle of ink and a 
 quill pen. Whenever the pen became worn or broken, 
 the teacher was asked to "mend" it; or, if entirely used 
 up, the scholar would bring a fresh quill to the teacher, 
 and say, "Please, sir, will you make my pen for me?" 
 and the teacher, with his jackknife, would comply. 
 The mending was simply whittling it down and making 
 a new point. There was quite a knack in doing this 
 quickly and well. 
 
 Toward eleven o'clock the girls had their recess, but 
 it was short, and gave them little time to play. At the 
 end of five minutes the teacher came to the door and 
 rapped sharply on the side of the building with his ruler, 
 which was the signal for them to come in. Then the 
 boys had their recess. 
 
H 
 
 The Country School 
 
 Of history, grammar, and geography the pupils learned 
 very little. The Speller barely touched on these subjects, 
 but the children had no separate text-books for the studies 
 named. Yet a few such text-books had been printed 
 and were being used to an increasing degree in the schools 
 of the period. 
 
 Telling grandma about the day at school 
 
 The children were taught to count on their fingers, 
 and, in summer, when they came barefoot, toes, too, 
 were made to do duty. Some progress, besides, was 
 made in adding and subtracting. In learning to multiply 
 they used little rhymes to help their memory, on the 
 same plan as the counting ditty in Mother Goose, "One 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 15 
 
 two, buckle my shoe," etc. Finally, when they were 
 in the highest class in school, they had a text -book called 
 Root's Arithmetic. Like all the smaller schoolbooks, 
 it had a grayish blue cover of paper pasted over thin 
 wood. If the book were roughly handled, or bent much, 
 the wood cracked and splintered, and, with ten restless 
 fingers handling it, the cover, fragment by fragment, 
 soon disappeared. The arithmetic scholars had slates 
 on which they did their sums. When the teacher pro- 
 nounced the sums correct, these were neatly copied 
 from the slate into blank books, made in the same man- 
 ner as were the children's writing books and known as 
 "ciphering books." 
 
 The forenoon wore away, and the sun shone in full 
 at the southern windows. Just as the shadow of the 
 middle frame crept into a little furrow cut in the wooden 
 sill with a jackknife, school was dismissed. Before the 
 shadow was out on the other side of the noon mark 
 the girls had secured their dinner baskets and wraps 
 from the little closet back of the chimney, and the boys 
 had grabbed up theirs in the entry, and the whole school 
 was in the yard. To-day they all climbed over to the 
 sunny side of the stone wall back of the schoolhouse, 
 and soon were busy eating. 
 
 Beneath the cloth in the square little baskets were bread 
 and butter and doughnuts and gingerbread, and perhaps 
 
l6 The Country School 
 
 an apple or two. When they had finished eating thev 
 began to chatter more freely, and most of the scholars 
 clambered back over the wall and ran down to the brook 
 for a drink. Lyddy Mason had brought a bottle of 
 sweetened water, and didn't need to go to the brook. 
 The sweetening was supplied by maple sugar, and the 
 rest of the children looked on with envious eyes while 
 Lyddy emptied her bottle. 
 
 In the wood back of the schoolhouse were frequent 
 beech trees, now bare-limbed, but very handsome in 
 their smooth, gray, mottled bark. Among the leaves 
 on the ground were many of the brown nuts scattered 
 there by autumn winds and frosts. The squirrels were 
 busy harvesting them, and with noisy chatter raced 
 about over the ground and up the tree trunks. The 
 children came too, and with bits of brush poked about 
 under the beeches, and ate, and filled their pockets. 
 Then, perhaps, they would start a game of " hide 
 and seek," and when the child at the goal shouted 
 "Coming!" there would be one of his companions behind 
 every neighboring tree trunk and boulder. 
 
 Other games they often played were blindman's-buff, 
 tag, hull-gull, odd or even, and ball. The ball was a 
 home-made affair of old stocking ravellings wound to- 
 gether and covered with sheepskin. The club was 
 a round stick selected from the woodpile. 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 17 
 
 At about one o'clock the rapping of the teacher's ruler 
 on the clapboards of the schoolhousc brought the chil- 
 dren in, and work was resumed. Spelling, reading, and 
 writing were gone through with again. The only change 
 was in the case of the older scholars, who read from 
 the Testament in the morning, but in the afternoon 
 used instead a book of prose and verse selections called 
 ''The Art of Reading." 
 
 As the day wore on, the weather grew colder; the 
 wind came up and rattled the loose clapboards, and 
 whistled about the eaves and chimney-mouth, and made 
 the branches of the trees back of the schoolhouse sway 
 and shiver. Winter seemed to have pounced down on the 
 region all at once, and the Indian summer, which had 
 held on this year longer than usual, was brought to a 
 sudden end. A good deal of air came in at the cracks 
 of the little building, and the master found it necessary 
 to pile the wood on the fire more and more frequently. 
 Now and then one of the big boys would be sent out in 
 the yard for a fresh armful of the three-foot sticks. He 
 would set them up against the wall next the fireplace, 
 in which the flames were dancing and making mad leaps 
 up the chimney, as if anxious to join the tumult of the 
 wind outside. 
 
 Just after recess one of the boys said all the cut wood 
 in the yard was gone. Jonas Brill, whose duty it had 
 
1 8 The Country School 
 
 been to furnish a supply for the day, had not calculated 
 on such cold weather, and the master had to call on 
 two of the big boys to go out and cut more. To be sure, 
 there was a small store of wood ready cut in the entry, 
 but that was reserved for an emergency. A little before 
 school closed the master asked, "Who is going to make 
 the fire in the morning? " 
 
 Willie Smith said it was his turn, but he had an errand 
 to do, and he didn't believe he could get there in time, 
 Jonas Brill then said he would make it again. The 
 question, who should chop the wood and build the fire 
 for the next day, was one which had to be decided each 
 afternoon. 
 
 When the school was ready to close, the teacher ap- 
 pointed one of the girls to get her mates' things from 
 the closet and pass them around. As soon as the girls 
 had pinned the httle blankets over their heads and put 
 on their mittens, the whole school rose, and one by one, 
 beginning with the smallest children, they were dis- 
 missed. Each paused at the door, and turning toward 
 the teacher "made his or her manners." 
 
 Once outdoors, the scholars separated, some to go 
 up the road, some do^\^l, while three or four cut across 
 lots home. Betsey had company about half way. Then 
 the road divided, and she went on alone. The sky 
 had grayed over, and the sun, dully glaring in the haze, 
 
Gettine his arillimetic lesson 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 19 
 
 was just sinking behind a western hilltop. The wind 
 was blowing sharply, and the leaves were rustling along 
 the frozen earth trying to find some quiet nook or hollow 
 to hide in. The httle girl bent her head and pushed 
 on against the wind, even humming a little to herself, 
 and seemed not at all to mind the roughness of the 
 weather. 
 
 Nevertheless, she was glad to get home, and to stand 
 and rub her hands before the fire snapping and blaz- 
 ing in the big fireplace. 
 
 Just before going to bed, Mr. Hale put his head out of 
 the door to see what the weather prospects were. The 
 wind had gone down a little, but it was snowing. " Waal," 
 he said, "I thought 'twould snow before morning, but I 
 didn't s'pose 'twould begin so quick. I declare, it's 
 coming down considerable thick, too." 
 
 He withdrew his head, brushed a few white flakes 
 from his hair, and stood some minutes by the fire warm 
 ing himself. Then he shovelled the ashes over the coals 
 and went to bed. 
 
 The storm proved an unusually heavy one. At day- 
 light on the morrow the air was still full of the falling 
 flakes, but the storm slackened presently, and by break- 
 fast time it had stopped snowing. The brown fields 
 had been deep buried in their winter mantle, and there 
 were big drifts in the road. 
 
20 
 
 The Country School 
 
 Betsey went to school that day on an ox sled. She 
 started directly after breakfast, as the sled was to collect 
 all the other scholars who lived along the way, and there 
 were drifts which must be shovelled out. Her father 
 and three big brothers went too, and shouted at the 
 oxen as they plodded along the roadway; but now and 
 then there was a pause when they found the road blocked 
 by a drift which required shovelling. They picked up 
 other children, and prcsentlv had a sled full, some cling- 
 
 Starting jor school 
 
 ing to the stakes at the sides, others sitting on the bottom, 
 all shouting, or stamping, or pelting the oxen, and having 
 a great frolic. 
 
 Some time before the ox sled party reached its destina- 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 21 
 
 tion Jonas Brill had ploughed his way through the snow 
 to the schoolhouse. He wished Willie Smith had made 
 his own fire that morning. However, there was no 
 helping the matter. He stamped the snow from his 
 boots on the door-sill and carried in the kindlings from 
 the entry; but, to his dismay, he found no coals among 
 the ashes — naught but a few sparks, which at once 
 flashed out. Jonas felt that his life was a hard one. 
 It was before the time of matches, and he must go to 
 a neighbor's and borrow some fire. He pulled off a 
 broad strip of green hemlock bark from a log in the 
 yard, and kicked along through the snow to the nearest 
 house, where he w^as made welcome to all the coals he 
 wanted. He wrapped several in the green bark, and 
 returned. 
 
 When he had deposited the coals in the fireplace and 
 piled the kindlings on top, he got down on his hands 
 and knees, and, by blowing lustily, fanned the coals 
 into a blaze ; and when the fire was well started he went 
 out and cleared a little space next the woodpile. There 
 he was chopping when Betsey and the children with 
 her arrived on the ox sled. Another sled-load soon 
 came from the opposite direction, and the scholars 
 were all there. 
 
 They tramped around in the snow till the ox teams 
 left, and then went indoors and crowded about the fire. 
 
22 
 
 The Country School 
 
 i 
 
 Snowballing 
 
 Shortly afterward the master came, and school began. 
 This day was much like the day before, except that 
 they had a shorter nooning, because the deep snow had 
 put a stop to most of their open-air sports, and school 
 closed earlier. The short noonings and early closing 
 were usual throughout the term. 
 
 Winter had now fairly begun. In spite of the cold 
 and the bad travelling, the pupils were quite regular in 
 attendance. They, for the most part, walked back 
 and forth, rarely getting a ride, unless when, after a storm, 
 the roads had to be broken out. The brook, these winter 
 days, was frozen and snow-covered, and the children, 
 when thirsty, would hold a snowball in their hands till 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Winter 22 
 
 it became water-soaked, and then suck it. They did 
 not care to play out of doors much, though at times 
 some of the older boys and girls would sally forth and 
 snowball, or start a game of "fox and geese." The 
 girls were kept in more than the boys, because of their 
 skirts, which easily became wet and frozen in the snow, 
 and also on account of their shoes, which only came 
 ankle high, and had a tendency to fill with snow at the 
 sides. They had no leggings, but when the roads were 
 worst would perhaps pull on a pair of old stockings 
 over their shoes. 
 
 School kept every day in the week except Sunday, 
 and there was no pause at Christmas, or New Year, 
 or Washington's Birthday, for none of these days was 
 made much of at that time. If the teacher was sick, 
 or for some other reason lost a day, he would make it 
 up at the end of the term. Thus it happened that the 
 "last day" varied from Monday to Saturday. 
 
 This boy /\^A ^ — ^*^ "^ t^^ " This man has 
 stole an j\ V?f "^ ^^^'^^ ^"^ " 
 
 apple." \ 1 I I going to lick him:' 
 
 A drawing by one of the school children 
 
II 
 
 OLD-FASHIONED SCHOOL DAYS 
 SUMMER 
 
 THE summer term began the first Monday in May. 
 In various ways it was different from the winter 
 term. The teacher was not a man this time, 
 but a voung woman. There were fewer scholars, as 
 the big boys were kept out to work on the farm ; but 
 Betsey Hale came trudging over from the farm each 
 day with her dinner basket on her arm. Something 
 besides food was in the basket now — that is, sewing ; 
 for this was one thing taught in summer. 
 
 Instead of the little white blanket w^hich Betsey had 
 worn in winter for a head covering, she now had a sun- 
 bonnet made of copperas-colored cotton cloth over paste- 
 board. This pasteboard had been made at home by 
 pasting a lot of old newspapers together, and it was 
 apt to be rather limpsey. Her dress was of cotton, 
 woven by her mother, in blue and white stripes, and 
 very simple in its make-up. There were no buttons 
 on it, and its only fastening was a cord at the neck. She 
 wore shoes and stockings to-day, but later in the season, 
 
 24 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 25 
 
 when the weather was a little warmer, she would go 
 barefoot. 
 
 The schoolroom had been trimmed with evergreens, 
 and the wide mouth of the fireplace had been filled with 
 boughs of pine and laurel. 
 
 Learning her lesson at home 
 
 The teacher had a pair of scissors dangling from her 
 belt and used them to point out the letters in the Speller 
 when the A-B-C class gathered about her. A good many 
 small children came in summer who could not get to 
 school during the cold weather — occasionally one not 
 
26 The Country School 
 
 over three years old. Such a Httle fellow would very 
 likely get to nodding, and the teacher would pick him 
 up and carry him to the closet, where, on the bench 
 with the girls' dinner baskets, he would have his nap 
 out. By and by he would emerge and toddle to his 
 place, quite bright after his sleep. 
 
 Most of the little ones were dismissed early, and those 
 who could handle a needle brought patchwork, so that, 
 by reason of this employment and the shorter hours, 
 they had a much more comfortable time of it than in 
 winter. 
 
 Older scholars, besides patchwork, brought towels 
 and tablecloths to hem. Some of them worked samplers. 
 Betsey made quite a large sampler this term — fourteen 
 by twenty inches. It was on green canvas, and the 
 stitches were taken with yellow and red silk. First 
 a checked border was made, then the alphabet in small 
 letters was worked in across the top, next the figures 
 and capitals, and under those a Scripture verse, "Remem- 
 ber thy Creator in the days of thy youth." Below that 
 came her name and age, and, at the bottom, flowers 
 in a flower-pot, a small tree, a lamb, a dog, and a lion. 
 
 These samplers, when elaborate, were often framed, 
 and that was what was done with Betsey's, after the 
 summer term came to an end. Then it was hung at 
 home in the "best room" — -that is, the parlor. As 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 27 
 
 there was in those days no indeHble ink, all the clothing 
 had to be marked by stitching, and the sampler showed 
 how to make the letters. 
 
 This term school closed every other Saturday. In 
 most towns, when they began to shorten the number 
 of school days in a week, they first took off Saturday 
 afternoon; but here the scholars had to come so far 
 that it was thought best to give them a whole day every 
 other week. On Friday or Saturday afternoon, which- 
 ever happened to be the last afternoon of the school 
 week, the children studied the Catechism. It was a 
 thin little book, divided into two parts. Part First 
 was headed "Historical"; Part Second was the "As- 
 
 The road to learning 
 
28 The Country School 
 
 sembly Catechism." The historical part had nearly 
 two hundred questions and answers, and at the top of 
 each page were two small square pictures portraying 
 some Bible scene, and b^low each was a reference to the 
 story it illustrated. 
 
 Part Second had in it one hundred and seven questions, 
 largely doctrinal, beginning with "What is the chief 
 end of man?" 
 
 Once a year, extending over three Sundays, the chil- 
 dren said the Assembly Catechism in the meeting-house. 
 Just after the sermon, the boys on one side, the girls 
 on the other, they formed in long parallel lines in the 
 middle aisle, facing each other, all very prim and solemn 
 and scared. The minister came down from the pulpit 
 overhung by the big sounding-board, and took his place 
 in the deacons' seat, which ran along the front of the 
 pulpit. The minister put the questions and the children 
 answered in turn. First a boy, then a girl, would step 
 forth from the lines, face the questioner, and give the 
 answer, and this solemn routine continued till a re- 
 sponse had been elicited from the last little girl, whose 
 frightened murmur could scarce be heard a yard away. 
 
 On the first Sunday the children answered as far as 
 the commandments — forty-four questions ; the second 
 Sunday, they went on through the commandments to 
 the eighty-first question ; and the third time finished 
 

 .r.''^zim:-Jt.^mm 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 29 
 
 the book. Only those stood who could answer, and 
 while the first day saw quite a crowd of children before 
 the pulpit, on the final day the answers had become 
 so difficuh that only a few of the older boys and girls 
 remained. 
 
 There were five days in the year which were recognized 
 as holidays: Fast Day, Independence Day, Training 
 Day, Election Day, and Thanksgiving Day. The second 
 was the only one which came within the bounds of either 
 school term. It was celebrated rather quietly, and for 
 the children was not especially different from any other 
 week day when school did not keep, except that less 
 work .was given them to do. They had no torpedoes, 
 firecrackers, or toy pistols, and they made little noise. 
 Through all the hot weather, until the summer was 
 nearly at an end, the school continued in session. On 
 warm days the question, "Please, ma'am, may I go down 
 and get a drink?" was a frequent one, and nearly all 
 day one or another of the children could be seen on their 
 way to and from the pasture hollow where the brook 
 ran. They had no cup to drink from, unless they shaped 
 a big leaf for the purpose. Usually they would kneel 
 down on the stones and dip their lips into the stream, 
 and with none of the fear, which might disturb the 
 moderns, of swallowing water snakes, frogs, pollywogs, 
 or like creatures that were possibly swimming there. 
 
30 
 
 The Coimtrv School 
 
 A reciiatioK in anthiiietic 
 
 The teacher often allowed some of the scholars to go 
 out and study under the trees "when they were good." 
 Alany a time did Betsey sit under the beeches in the grove 
 behind the schoolhouse with book in hand ; but the 
 grove was not so good a study place as indoors, there 
 were so many things about to see. The temptation 
 was to fall to dreaming, to listen to the wind whispering 
 through the boughs and to the faint murmur of the brook 
 from the pasture hollow, to watch a wandering butterfly, 
 the squirrels and the birds, or the leaves fluttering above 
 her head, or to turn around to the gray tree trunk at her 
 back and gaze in fascination at the ants journeying 
 up and down the bark. Yet though these things inter- 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 31 
 
 fered with her studying, the experience was so pleasant 
 
 that she went out as often as the teacher would let her. 
 
 The teachers were all quite strict and allowed small 
 
 liberty, and their punishments for little misdemeanors 
 
 were often severe. However, Betsey herself was naturally 
 obedient and gentle, and she fared very well. Once, for 
 making too much noise, she had to stand on the floor 
 with her hands tied behind her; and again, for whisper- 
 ing, had to sit beside a great, coarse boy. These were 
 the only serious punishments she ever received. 
 
32 The Country School 
 
 One winter term two of the big girls persisted in look- 
 ing out of the window, and Betsey was quite frightened 
 when the master shook a warning finger at them and 
 said he would put them out through the window if they 
 looked again. This teacher chewed tobacco, and had 
 an odd way of holding his quid between his lower lip 
 and teeth, making a c{ueer lump on his chin. The two 
 big girls took revenge on him by rolling up wads of paper 
 and imitating the master with his quid, and he could 
 not very well punish them without making himself ridicu- 
 lous. The commonest form of punishment was feruling. 
 
 The woman teacher was addressed as "Ma'am." 
 When a scholar wished to speak to her, he would not 
 raise his hand to attract her attention, but would either 
 go to her, or speak right out. At close of school, as 
 the children were leaving the room, the boys turned 
 to the teacher, hats in hand, and bowed, and the girls 
 courtesied, and each said "Good afternoon, ma'am." 
 
 The children liked also to make their manners when 
 they met some one on the road. Very likely several 
 of the little girls would join hands and stand by the way- 
 side and courtesy to a person passing, and then, if that 
 person smiled down on them and said, "Nice children," 
 they were much pleased. 
 
 In summer, as in winter, the teacher boarded around. 
 The summer teacher was pretty sure to be young, usually 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 33 
 
 taught a few years, then married, and taught no more. 
 Her pay was from a dollar to a dollar and seventy-five 
 cents a week. 
 
 As the term drew to a close the scholars began to learn 
 "pieces" to speak on the last day. A good many learned 
 hymns. Betsey studied this term a little poem of Mrs. 
 Barbauld's called "The Rose." They did not write 
 compositions. 
 
 Planting ^ower -seeds 
 
 Last day came this time on Thursday, in the middle 
 of August. The sun rose clear and warm, the air was 
 heavy and still, and the weather promised to be very 
 
34 The Country School 
 
 hot. All the children came dressed in their best, which 
 made the day seem like Sunday, and added to the feel- 
 ing of strangeness and excitement which overhung the 
 great occasion. 
 
 Betsey started at about the usual time. She was 
 barefoot, but carried, besides her dinner basket, her best 
 shoes and stockings in her hand, for she must keep them 
 from the dew which dampened the grass and from the 
 dust of the roadway. As she walked along she repeated 
 over and over aloud the poem she was to recite in the 
 afternoon. When she got to the schoolhouse, she wiped 
 her feet on the wet grass and put on her shoes and stock- 
 ings. 
 
 The morning session was short, and mostly occupied 
 by reviewing for the exercises of the afternoon. Those 
 children who lived close enough then ran home, and 
 the rest went to the nearest neighbor's and borrowed 
 chairs, with which they filled the open space back of 
 the teacher's table. On the day previous they had 
 given the room a great sweeping and scrubbing, and 
 had torn down the dry evergreens from the fireplace 
 and about the windows and replaced them with fresh. 
 Now they put finishing touches to the trim, did various 
 little things, and finally were ready to eat dinner. Mean- 
 time great clouds had gathered in the west and had 
 rolled up across the sky, and presently the first big. 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 35 
 
 threatening drops of a shower came pelting down. The 
 children were obliged to eat their dinners indoors, and 
 as the storm increased, it was a mournful little com- 
 pany that gathered at the windows, munching their 
 bread and butter and watching the lightning flash and 
 the sheets of rain drive past. 
 
 But just as they had concluded that "Last day" was 
 spoiled, the storm suddenly ceased, and the water-drops 
 clinging to the leaves and grasses danced in the breeze 
 that blew, and sparkled in the sunlight, while the big 
 thundcrheads sank behind the eastern hilltops. Then the 
 scholars thought nothing could have happened better. 
 
 Those that had gone home returned, and presently 
 school commenced. The visitors began to arrive soon, 
 and they kept coming till the room was pretty well 
 crowded. The fathers and mothers were there, and 
 some of the older brothers and sisters; but the two per- 
 sons of most importance were the "school committee- 
 man" and the minister. There was one school com- 
 mittee-man in each district, whose duty it was to hire 
 the teacher, to see that the schoolhouse was kept in re- 
 pair, and attend to like matters. The pupils were quite 
 awestruck by the presence of so many of their elders, 
 and felt that they must behave their best, and their hearts 
 beat fast at the thought of saying their lessons before 
 so many. 
 
36 The Country School 
 
 First, the little ones were called out on the floor to 
 recite. They said the letters, spelled a few short words, 
 counted a little, answered a number of the lirst questions 
 in the Primer, and some of the first questions in the 
 Catechism. Then the teacher asked a list of questions 
 about Bible characters, "Who was the strongest man? 
 Who was the meekest man ? Who was the wisest man ? 
 Who was the most patient man?" etc. Lastly, they 
 were asked what town they lived in, the name of the 
 minister, what State they lived in, the name of the Gover- 
 nor, what country they li\ed in, and the name of the 
 President. 
 
 The next class, besides reading and spelling and a 
 few simple exercises in arithmetic, gave the abbrevi- 
 ations and the Roman numerals. 
 
 The oldest scholars, after reading and spelling, re- 
 peated what they had learned of the multiplication table, 
 and gave the sounds of the letters, each reciting in turn. 
 Here is the way the letter-sounding exercise began : "Long 
 a, name, late ; long e, here, feet ; long i, time, find ; 
 long o, note, fort ; long u or ew, tunc, new ; long y, dry, 
 defy. Short a, man, hat. Broad a, bald, tall. Flat a, 
 ask, part. Diphthongs, o-i, o-y, voice, joy; o-u, o-w, 
 loud, now. B has only one sound, as in bite. C is al- 
 ways sounded like k or s, thus : c-a, ca ; c-e, ce ; c-i, ci ; 
 c-o, co; c-u, cu; c-y, cy." 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 37 
 
 So they would rattle it off to the end of the alphabet. 
 Another thing the older scholars learned in school and 
 recited last day was the names of the books in the Bible. 
 
 After this class 
 
 finished, the chil- 
 dren were called 
 on to speak their 
 pieces. One after 
 another the lar- 
 ger pupils came 
 out before the 
 company and said 
 the hymns and 
 poems they had 
 learned. In start- 
 ing to speak and in 
 closing, the boys 
 bowed and the 
 girls courtesied. 
 
 The teacher had 
 made a rose of thin 
 paper for Betsey 
 to hold while she ^'/'^' ''"^ "^ ''^^^'' 
 
 spoke her piece, but, though she had it in her hand, she 
 was so excited she forgot to hold it up for the audience 
 to see. However, she spoke the piece very prettily. 
 
38 The Country School 
 
 Meantime the writing books and the ciphering books 
 and samplers had been passing from hand to hand among 
 the visitors, who examined them with considerable care. 
 Now the teacher turned to the visitors, and said, if there 
 were any remarks to be made, the school would be glad 
 to hear them. Three or four of the men got up one 
 after the other, and each said he had been much pleased 
 with the exercises. "You are nice children," one 
 man declared; "you done well." 
 
 Another said, "You have answered some questions 
 which I presume a good many of us older people present 
 couldn't have answered." 
 
 Lastly the minister rose. Save for his mild voice 
 all was very quiet in the little room. The children with 
 folded hands sat listening, and the older people were 
 attentive too. Through the open windows came the 
 wind in a gentle current. Outside, a multitude of in- 
 sects mingled their voices in a continuous murmur, 
 but among them, at intervals, sounded the strident, 
 long-drawn note of a Cicada. The breeze made a light 
 fluttering in the trees behind the building, and there, 
 too, a wood bird was singing. By the roadside the 
 visitors' teams were hitched, and, as the minutes drow- 
 sily sped, the children half consciously heard the horses 
 stamping, and nibbling at the bushes. 
 
 The substance of the minister's remarks was that 
 
All excuse for being late 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 39 
 
 the scholars should be good children, should mind their 
 parents, and not neglect their books in vacation, for, 
 while "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy; 
 all play and no work makes Jack a mere toy." At the 
 close of the talk the company bowed their heads, and 
 the minister offered prayer. This ended the exercises 
 of the day, and the visitors passed out. 
 
 The scholars still remained seated. It was the custom 
 of the woman teacher, at the close of her term, to give 
 the children some little presents, and now was the time 
 for distribution. The eyes of the pupils had wandered 
 many times with curious interest to the small package 
 which had lain on her table all the afternoon. The 
 gifts it contained were simple and inexpensive, but they 
 gave a great deal of pleasure. Some of the children 
 received a half yard of bright-colored ribbon, one would 
 get a man of sugar, another a more substantial man 
 of tin. Again, it would be a picture, or a stick of cin- 
 namon, or a tiny illustrated story book costing a cent 
 or two. 
 
 Then the scholars began picking up their books and 
 other belongings. Betsey got her copy book and cipher- 
 ing book and sampler from among those which had 
 been passed about to show the visitors, her basket and 
 bonnet from the closet, her Primer, Speller, Testament, 
 and reading book, and her quills, plummet, ruler, and 
 
40 
 
 The Country School 
 
 ink from her desk, and, thus loaded, passed through the 
 schoolhouse door. Her folks had come with a team and 
 were talking with some of the neighbors. She climbed 
 into the wagon, and soon they jogged off toward home. 
 
 A holiday — playing at gypsies 
 
 Children and visitors had all gone. Only the teacher 
 remained. She had closed the windows, and now sat 
 with her elbow on the table and her head on her hand. 
 Through the door came the murmurous voices of the 
 insects, the faint ripple of the brook over its stones in 
 the pasture, and the dull tinkle of a cowbell far off. 
 
Old-fashioned School Days — Summer 41 
 
 Presently a team came rattling along the highway 
 and stopped before the schoolhouse. The teacher rose 
 quickly, gathered up her few things, and went out. She 
 lived six miles distant, and was now going home. Her 
 father had driven over to visit the school, and since the 
 close of the exercises he had been to her last boarding 
 place to get the little hair trunk which was in the back 
 part of the wagon. The teacher climbed in, the man 
 clucked to the horse, and with the sun low in the west- 
 ern haze shining full in their faces, they followed the road 
 along the level, and by its winding, bush-lined course 
 were soon hidden from view. 
 
 The teacher going home 
 
Ill 
 
 THE SCHOOLS BETWEEN 1830 and i860 
 
 IN times of peace the changes wrought in the habits, 
 manners, and institutions of a people are very 
 gradual. Shreds and remnants of every custom 
 which has had general acceptance linger long after that 
 custom has in most quarters disappeared. Thus, in 
 the New England school of the period just preceding 
 the Civil War, the educational methods and the school- 
 room environment continued in many communities to be 
 much the same as half a century before. What is here 
 recounted is fairly characteristic of the majority of schools 
 and neighborhoods, but it will not bear a too literal appli- 
 cation to particular towns and villages. 
 
 The school year still consisted of two terms, one in 
 summer and the other in winter. As a rule, a man 
 taught in winter and a woman in summer, and the teach- 
 ers "boarded round." The custom of boarding round 
 was, however, less universal than formerly, and was 
 gradually falling into disuse. Schoolbooks were becom- 
 ing more varied and numerous, and were less stilted 
 in style than in times past. Nor were they so solemnly 
 
 42 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 43 
 
 religious as they had been. Instead, they were inclined 
 to be gently moralizing, and never told a story without 
 preaching a little sermon at the end, even if they did 
 not pause now and then midway to give a dose of 
 proper advice. 
 
 I wish to describe with some detail an average school 
 of the period located in an outlying village of one of the 
 old Massachusetts towns of the Connecticut Valley. The 
 score of houses which made up the hamlet were scattered 
 along a two-mile strip of meadow land which lay between 
 a low mountain ridge on the east and the river on the 
 west. Midway on the single north and south road stood 
 the weather-worn little school building. A narrow, open 
 yard, worn bare of grass for a space about the doorstep, 
 separated the schoolhouse from the dusty road. At one 
 end of the building a big apple tree partly shadowed it. 
 At the other end was a lean-to shed where the wood for 
 the fire was stored. 
 
 Inside of the schoolhouse, a narrow entry ran across 
 the north side, but this was completely filled in the middle 
 by a great chimney. The boys kept their caps on the 
 lines of pegs in the front entry; and in a closet back of 
 the chimney, entered from the schoolroom, the girls 
 hung their sunbonnets or hoods, and other wraps. 
 
 The small square main room had bare, plastered 
 walls and ceiling. Not only was the plaster grimy with 
 
44 
 
 The Country School 
 
 smoke and age, but it was much cracked, and here and 
 there were holes that the boys had pounded or dug 
 through. Each side of the room, except the north, 
 had two windows which looked out on the farm fields, 
 orchards, and mountain. The chief feature of the 
 
 On the way to school 
 
 windowless side of the room was a wide fireplace with 
 its brick hearth. To the right of the fireplace stood 
 a broom, and whenever the crackling fire snapped out 
 a coal on the floor, the first boy who saw it was expected 
 to jump up and brush it back. It was not always that 
 a boy would take the trouble to brush the coals back 
 by using the broom. A quicker method was to kick 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 45 
 
 them to the hearth with his boot or to crush the fire out 
 by stepping on it. The boards about the hearth were 
 therefore blackened with many little hollows where 
 the coals had fallen, and were also well strewn usually 
 with the powdered charcoal resulting from the coals 
 being stepped on. These miniature explosions from 
 the fireplace were quite entertaining to the children 
 and made a grateful break in the monotony of the school 
 work. 
 
 Another feature of the north side of the room was 
 a small blackboard between the fireplace and the en- 
 trance. On this the big boys did their sums. The 
 girls did not use it. A very moderate amount of mathe- 
 matics was supposed to sufliice for females, and they 
 stopped short of problems that needed to be done on 
 a blackboard. 
 
 Around the other three sides of the room, against 
 the wall, ran a continuous desk, accompanied by a 
 backless bench well polished with use. To get to their 
 places, or to leave them, the boys would sit do\Mi, lift 
 their heels, and with a quick whirl swing them to the 
 other side. The girls on their side of the room had 
 two hinged openings in this seat, which could be lifted 
 to allow them to pass in and out, but most of them 
 preferred to whirl as the boys did. A part of the time 
 the scholars eased themselves of the discomfort of their 
 
46 
 
 The Country School 
 
 backless seats by turning about and using the edge of 
 the desk as a support. Within the hollow scjuare 
 
 bounded by this outer 
 desk and seat, on 
 each of the three 
 sides, was a mova- 
 ble Ijcnch with a back 
 shoulder high. The 
 end seats on these 
 benches were thought 
 to be particularly de- 
 sirable, because they 
 were so built as to 
 have a support there 
 for the elbow. The 
 benches were for the 
 smaller children who 
 sat on them facing the 
 center of the room, 
 where was the teach- 
 er's desk and a single 
 stiff - backed wooden 
 An old-time schoolgirl costume chair 
 
 The teacher's desk was a simple four-legged affair 
 with drawers in it that could be locked. The locking 
 was an attribute of some consequence, for besides being 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 47 
 
 pjijoynii^ a Sntiininy iidlulay 
 
 a repository for various articles that were the private 
 property of the teacher, the drawers were a place of 
 detention for certain belongings of the pupils which 
 had been confiscated. Among the latter, pieces of rubber 
 at one time figured very prominently. This occurred 
 while the school was passing through a period of rubber- 
 chewing. Rubber overshoes were in those days made 
 of thick, black, natural rubber. After they were worn 
 out,, squares that made very good erasers could be cut 
 from the heavier parts. The children discovered that 
 chewing turned the rubber white, and they decided 
 they preferred erasers of that color. In beginning on 
 
48 The Country School 
 
 a fresh piece the chewing was far from easy, but the 
 rubber gradually softened as the process continued. 
 Often the older scholars would get the smaller ones 
 to do the preliminary masticating, and of course the 
 little ones felt it an honor to do this for the big pupils 
 and undertook the tiresome task willingly. As the 
 rubber whitened it became much more elastic, and if 
 you chose, you could stretch it over your fingers, fill 
 it with air and make it explode with a pleasing pop. 
 The master took away quantities of it and put the spoil 
 in the secret recesses of his desk, or threw it into the 
 fire; but the little folks persisted in the manufacture 
 for a long time. 
 
 The chief school dignitary of the village was the "pru- 
 dential committee-man." He hired the teacher; he 
 bought the water pail, the dipper, and the broom ; and 
 he saw that the wood house was properly filled and the 
 premises kept in repair. His position was not what 
 the poet calls "a downy bed of ease," for he was the 
 subject of much comment and criticism. It was thought 
 he had too strong a tendency to hire one of his own daugh- 
 ters when he possessed an unmarried one sutificiently 
 advanced in age and learning; and, no matter who 
 it was he selected, the teacher he hired frequently failed 
 to suit the community. If, in such a case, the com- 
 mittee-man took sides with the teacher, the miniature 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 49 
 
 war waxed quite fierce. On one occasion, in a quarrel 
 over a teacher whom the committee-man would not 
 dismiss, hostilities were more than a year in duration. 
 All but six children left the school, and the dissenters 
 hired a teacher and had a school of their own in one 
 of the dissenting farmers' little out-buildings which 
 had been used as a broom shop. 
 
 It was the duty of the district committee-man to go after 
 the teacher whom he had engaged, if that person lived 
 in a neighboring town. The committee-man rarely 
 started soon enough to get his charge to the schoolroom 
 on time ; and the scholars, who gathered at nine o'clock, 
 would "train around and have a gay time" while they 
 awaited the teacher's arrival. Sometimes the teacher, 
 before beginning, had to be taken to the "examining 
 committee" at the town center and his or her qualifi- 
 cations tested by sundry questions. In such a case 
 the teacher might not reach the schoolhouse ready for 
 duty until afternoon. 
 
 We will suppose that the first week in May has come, 
 and that the district committee-man has brought the 
 new schoolma'am. After leaving her at the schoolhouse, 
 he carries her trunk to his home, where it is to stay through 
 the term. She is to board round, and it has already 
 been decided where her stopping place for the first week 
 shall be. Monday noon the children of that particular 
 
50 The Country School 
 
 home take charge of her, and feel it a great honor to 
 escort her to "their house" to dinner. The teacher's 
 advent into a family was always the occasion of extra 
 preparation in the way of food and "tidying up," and 
 conversation while she was present became a more than 
 ordinarily serious occupation. 
 
 Boarding round, with its accompanying necessity 
 of "visiting," change of quarters, and frequent making 
 of new home acquaintances, was something of a hard- 
 ship. The teacher found her quarters far from agree- 
 able at times; but there was no picking places. The 
 best bedroom, to which she was consigned, was perhaps 
 stuffy with the gathered must of many months' unoc- 
 cupancy, or the people were rough and slatternly in their 
 habits, or the food was ill-cooked or scanty. I do not 
 mean that these things were the rule, but they wTre to 
 the boarder-round, to some extent, unavoidable. 
 
 Schools kept from Monday morning till Saturday 
 noon. On Saturday afternoons the teacher went to 
 the committee-man's and did her washing. She stayed 
 over Sunday and attended church with the family. Some 
 week-day evening, after school, she would probably 
 again repair to the committee-man's to do her ironing. 
 
 In winter the teacher in some sections found himself 
 feasted the whole term through on fresh pork. Fresh 
 pork was esteemed one of the most palatable and sub- 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 51 
 
 stantial dishes the farm produced, and, on the principle 
 of giving the teacher the best, each family put off hog- 
 killing until he came. His invitation, delivered by 
 the children, would be: "Our folks are goin' to butcher 
 next week, and want you to come to stay at our house." 
 Or an excuse for delaying his visit would come in this 
 form: "Our folks want you to wait till week after next, 
 'cause we're goin' to kill a pig then." The master was 
 heartily sick of pork long before the winter was through. 
 
 Passing the water 
 
 Immediately after the morning session began, the 
 teacher read a selection from the Testament and ottered 
 a short extempore prayer. Children began to attend 
 
52 The Country School 
 
 school, in summer, soon after they passed their third 
 birthday. At tirst they had no books, and their chief 
 effort was given to sitting still. They were taught the 
 alphabet at the schoolmistress's knee, and perhaps 
 she pointed out the letters with a pretty penknife. The 
 little folks found that penknife wonderfully attractive, 
 and it was a great happiness to handle it and look at 
 it when the teacher lent it to them. 
 
 Besides the letters, the teacher taught the smallest 
 ones various little poems, such as "Mary had a little 
 lamb," "Twinkle, twinkle, little star," and 
 
 " How doth the little busy bee 
 Improve each shining hour." 
 
 Then there were certain jingles, which were not only 
 poetry, but exercises in arithmetic as well. Fancy a 
 little tot solemnly repeating the following : — 
 
 " See me; I am a little child 
 
 Who goes each day to school ; 
 And though I am but four years old, 
 I'll prove I am no fool. 
 
 " For I can count one, two, three, four, 
 Say one and two make three; 
 Take one away, and two remain, 
 As you may plainly see. 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 53 
 
 " Twice one are two, twice two are four, 
 And six is three times two; 
 Twice four are eight, twice five are ten; 
 And more than this I do. 
 
 " For I can say some pretty rhymes 
 About the dog and cat ; 
 And sing them very sweetly, too, 
 And to keep time I spat. 
 
 " And, more than all, I learn that God 
 Made all things that I see ; 
 He made the earth, he made the sky, 
 He made both you and me." 
 
 This chant was accompanied by appropriate gestures, 
 such as counting on the fingers, pointing, and clapping. 
 The rhymes and verses learned by the children were 
 often repeated in concert, and were one of the features 
 of "examination day." Besides the moralizing, the 
 arithmetical, and the story-telling verses, the children 
 were taught hymns and short poems that were distinctly 
 religious in nature. When the teacher's taste was musi- 
 cal, they had singing in school, and the virtues of the 
 "pure and sparkling water" were extolled in temper- 
 ance songs. There was no attempt to teach the children 
 to read music, and a book was rarely used. The exercise 
 was introduced simply because it was cheerful and agree- 
 
54 
 
 The Country School 
 
 able, and they all enjoyed it. Sometimes the tune was 
 "pitched" by the teacher, sometimes by one of the better 
 singers among the pupils. To "pitch" a tune was to 
 start it and supposedly get it neither too high nor too low. 
 
 Gymnastics 
 
 By the time the smallest children had the alphabet 
 learned they were supplied with a Webster's Speller. 
 Later they had a " Child's Guide," or a "Young Reader." 
 These books contained some little stories and poems, 
 and were illustrated with rude woodcuts, but the owners 
 of the books thought the pictures were very pretty. After 
 the first reader the child advanced to an "Intelligent 
 Reader," and finally to a "Rhetorical Reader." The 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 55 
 
 last-named volume was not illustrated and was bound 
 in full buff leather like a law-book. The reading books 
 were only used in the afternoon ; but several classes 
 read from the New Testament in the morning. The 
 Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles were the sections 
 which they studied, and these they read straight through, 
 skipping nothing but the opening chapter of Matthew, 
 which is mainly composed of the hard names of the 
 patriarchs. 
 
 The beginners' book in mathematics was Colburn's 
 Intellectual Arithmetic. Its first question was, "How 
 many thumbs have you on both hands?" but in a few 
 pages fractions were reached, and quite intricate problems. 
 It was severe training, and the scholars all hated their 
 Colburn's, and some of them shed tears in utter dis- 
 couragement. After this "mental arithmetic" came 
 a "written arithmetic," which was apparently supposed 
 by educators to be more difi^cult than the former, but 
 which the children found comparatively easy. The 
 problems in this they did on their slates. 
 
 Civilization in later days decreed that the proper way 
 to make erasures from a slate was to have a bottle of water 
 and a rag. In earlier times, and those not very far re- 
 moved, the natural method was almost universal ; that 
 is, the scholar spit on his slate, rubbed the moisture 
 around with the tips of his fingers, then established 
 
56 The Country School 
 
 a more vigorous friction with the ball of his thumb, 
 and finally pohshed his slate off with the back of his 
 sleeve. That done, he settled himself down to con- 
 quer fresh fields in the mathematical world. 
 
 In the course of time the children began the study 
 of Peter Parley's Geography. The book was small 
 and square, and it had a number of pictures in it to give 
 the child an idea of some of the strange peoples and 
 curious animals that are to be found on the earth. For 
 instance, there was a picture of a Chinam.an with which 
 the young student was sure to be impressed. His eyes 
 were slanting, his hair was braided in a "pigtail" that 
 hung down his back, he had a conical hat on his head 
 and funny shoes on his feet. Across his shoulders he 
 bore a wooden yoke, from the ends of which were sus- 
 pended by their tails long strings of rats. How could 
 the Chinese eat such things? What a strange people 
 they were ! Among the small separate pictures of ani- 
 mals was one of the hippopotamus — oh ! so large and 
 ugly ! — and one of the rhinoceros with a dreadful horn 
 right on his nose. It is no wonder if the little girls shud- 
 dered when they looked at these pictures. 
 
 Peter Parley in his text by no means confined him- 
 self to the technicalities of the subject. He tried to 
 be entertaining and informal, and, what would scarcely 
 be expected in a geography, he availed himself "of 
 
A present 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 57 
 
 occasional opportunities to inculcate" lessons of morality 
 and religion upon the youthful heart." But the por- 
 tion of the text that sank deepest into the memories 
 of those who studied the book was a poem in the early 
 pages which began thus : — 
 
 " The world is round, and like a ball 
 Seems swinging in the air, 
 A sky extends around it all, 
 And stars are shining there. 
 Water and land upon the face 
 Of this round world we see 
 The land is man's safe dwelling-place 
 But ships sail on the sea." 
 
 The more advanced pupils studied Murray's Grammar, 
 and found out what nouns, verbs, etc., were, and learned 
 to parse blank verse. Then there was Peter Parley's 
 History, in two volumes. Volume I dealt with the New 
 World, and Volume II began with Adam and the Gar- 
 den of Eden, and told the story of the Old World. Only 
 the lirst book was usually studied in the district school. 
 
 Another little book to be mentioned was Watts on 
 the Improvement of the Mind. This was a deep and 
 serious essay on the methods and the desirability of 
 mental improvement. It was studied by only the oldest 
 scholars, and even they found much of it beyond their 
 comprehension. 
 
58 
 
 The Country School 
 
 At one time the more advanced pupils took up botany. 
 The teacher's desk had a vase on it, and during the 
 blossom season the botany class kept the vase well 
 filled with wild flowers. 
 
 The times were sufficiently advanced so that the chil- 
 dren now had "boughten writing books" instead of 
 home-made ones, steel pens instead of quills, and in a 
 meagre way pencils instead of plummets. The writ- 
 ing books were square in shape, ruled inside, but had 
 
 After school 
 
 no printed copies at the top of the page. These the 
 master had therefore to set. He was supposed to do 
 this each night after school, but if he forgot it, he had 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 59 
 
 to set the copies when the writing hour came. Some 
 pupils wrote faster than others, and the smart one who 
 filled out his page and still had more time at once desired 
 to inform the teacher of his progress and to get a new 
 copy. The boy raised his hand, therefore, half rose 
 in his seat, and nearly wrung his arm off in a frantic 
 effort to get the teacher's immediate attention. Some 
 boys would even snap their fingers and clear their throats 
 in the very hoarsest and most asthmatic manner of which 
 they were capable. These violent methods of attracting 
 the teacher's attention were, of course, not confined 
 to the writing lesson. 
 
 A common rec[uircment among teachers was that each 
 child should recite a verse of Scripture at the close of the 
 afternoon session. Hence, when four o'clock approached. 
 Bibles were drawn forth, and a diligent search began for 
 short verses, and a hasty attempt made to fix the one singled 
 out in the mind. There was little solemnity about this 
 exercise ; rather, it was farcical and humorous. 
 
 "John, your verse," says the teacher. 
 
 Up pops the boy like a Jack-in-the-box, snaps out, 
 "Jesus wept," and with a grin drops into his seat. 
 
 "Pray without ceasing," "Rejoice evermore," "The 
 Lord spake unto Moses, saying," are examples of the 
 verses which found favor in the children's minds. They 
 had the merit of shortness, if no other. The boy was 
 
6o The Country School 
 
 always serious when he rose, always rattled off the words 
 
 very fast, and beamed with a never failing smile at the 
 
 close of his performance. 
 
 On one occasion a boy's verse ran, "With God all things 
 
 are peculiar." 
 
 "What?" said the teacher, "what was that?" 
 
 The boy repeated his words. The teacher doubted 
 
 their authenticity, and the boy, on the following Sunday, 
 went to his original source, which was a motto hung 
 in the Sunday-school room at church, and found that 
 the lettering in old English text had confused him. What 
 it really said was, "With God all things are possible." 
 
 In the middle of each school session came recess. 
 First the girls went out for a quarter of an hour, and 
 when they were called in, the boys went out for the same 
 length of time. Railroads were beginning to be built, 
 but through the village of which I write, the old stages 
 still ran. When the clatter and rumble denoting the 
 approach of one of these vehicles was heard during school 
 hours, the eyes of the children were sure to turn toward 
 the windows in the hope of catching a tleeting glimpse 
 of the big coach as it dashed past. To be out at recess 
 when one went by was a great treat. Yet the children 
 were a Httle afraid of it — the coach was so large, and, 
 drawn by its four horses, it thundered past so swiftly. 
 It was an impressive sight, and to the child the passengers 
 
Ready jar school 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 61 
 
 seemed superior beings, and the whole thing a vivid 
 representation of power and of the mystery and vastness 
 of the outside world. 
 
 There had been various changes in dress since the be- 
 ginning of the century. Homespun had almost disap- 
 peared. Not many families could afford to buy "store 
 clothes" for their boys, but cloth was purchased ready 
 w^oven, and was cut and made at home into the required 
 garments. Economy was studied in making up clothing, 
 and the mother was careful to cut the suit for the grow- 
 ing boy several sizes larger than his present stature de- 
 manded. The boy had reason to complain at first of 
 the bagginess of his garments, but before they were worn 
 out he was pretty sure to be disturbed because of their 
 general tightness and of their scantiness at the extremities. 
 But this was the common lot of boys, and they might count 
 themselves lucky if they were clothed in new store cloth, 
 and not in something made over from the cast-off apparel 
 of their elders. 
 
 The boys' caps were homemade too, sometimes of 
 broadcloth, sometimes of catskin or muskrat skin. Often 
 a leather visor was fastened on in front. At the sides were 
 earlaps with strings at the ends. When in use the strings 
 were tied under the chin ; at other times the earlaps were 
 turned up at the side of the cap, and the strings tied over 
 the top. 
 
62 The Country School 
 
 Both boys and girls went to school barefoot in summer, 
 but for special occasions had shoes. On the approach of 
 cold weather the boys were sure to remind their parents 
 that they needed a new pair of boots. These were rough- 
 looking cowhides, into the tops of which the boys usually 
 tucked their "pant legs." At parties and such other places 
 as the tucked-in style would seem out of place, the pants 
 were drawn down on the outside of the bootlegs, where 
 they developed an irritating and uncontrollable tendency 
 to hitch themselves upward. The boots were hardly 
 wearable unless they were kept well greased, and even then 
 the continual slopping around in snow and water made 
 a series of hard wrinkles gather at the ankles. The wrin- 
 kles were particularly unyielding on cold mornings. There 
 was no right and left nonsense about these broad-soled, 
 scjuare-toed boots, and the careful boy took pains to change 
 them to opposite feet with regularity. He considered that 
 to be the only way to keep them subdued and symmetrical. 
 
 The girls' dresses were of gingham in summer and of 
 a fine-checked woollen in winter. They were very plain 
 and simple in pattern, and were fastened down the back 
 with hooks and eyes. The dresses were longer than are 
 now in use, and with them were worn some curious 
 garments known as "pantalets." A pantalet was like a 
 straight sleeve, fastened just below the knee and extend- 
 ing downward to the ankles. It was necessary to tie 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 63 
 
 them quite tightly to keep them from sHpping and they 
 were always something of a trial on account of their ten- 
 dency not to stay put. They might be either white or 
 colored. White stockings were customary. For a Httle girl 
 to wear black stockings would have been thought shock- 
 ingly inappropriate. In warm weather the girls all wore 
 gingham or calico sunbonnets ; in winter quilted hoods, 
 
 Out at liltlc recess 
 
 which were very comfortable and often were bright in color 
 and gay with ribbons. They had long plaided coats that 
 almost swept the ground and that had a wide cape. x\bout 
 their necks they wore knitted tippets. 
 
 The boys had overcoats, but they thought them effemi- 
 
64 The Country School 
 
 nate, and only put them on in the severest weather. Their 
 chief protection from the cold in the way of an extra wrap 
 was a striped knitted scarf which they called a "com- 
 forter." If the schoolroom was chilly, they might keep their 
 comforters wound around their necks all through the school 
 session. Every child had a pair of mittens. White was 
 the orthodox color for the girls' mittens, and red and 
 blue in stripes for the boys'. The shoes worn by the 
 girls came barely up to their ankles and were slight pro- 
 tection when there was snow on the ground. Their 
 feet were "sopping" in winter a good share of the time. 
 Through the summer term the girls wore gingham aprons, 
 or, in the case of one or two families esteemed "rich," 
 black silk ones. 
 
 Among the most vivid recollections that grown-up 
 people have of their school days are the memories of the 
 punishments inflicted. What then stirred them to fear 
 and trembling and anger now lies far off, mellowed by 
 the haze of passing years, and though the echoes of the 
 old feelings are many times awakened, the punishments 
 are, in the main, like episodes in story-land, which we think 
 of as onlookers, not as actors. The crude roughness 
 and the startling effects produced have lost their old- 
 time tragedy, and often have turned humorous. 
 
 "Spare the rod and spoil the child" was a Bible text 
 which received the most literal acceptance both in theory 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 65 
 
 and practice. Teachers with tact to govern well with- 
 out resort to force were rare, and it was the common 
 habit to thrash the school into shape by main strength. 
 Indeed, the ability to do this was considered by all the 
 elders of that day of prime importance. Even the nat- 
 urally mild-tempered man was an ''old-fashioned" 
 disciplinarian when it came to teaching, and the naturally 
 rude and coarse-grained man was as frightful as any ogre 
 in a fairy tale. 
 
 In summer, unless the teacher was an uncommonly 
 poor one, or some of the scholars uncommonly wild and 
 mischievous, the days moved along very harmoniously 
 and pleasantly. In winter, however, when the big boys 
 came in, some of them men grown, who cared vastly 
 more about having a good time than getting learning, 
 an important requisite of the master was "government." 
 He ruled his little empire, not with a rod of iron, but with 
 a stout three-foot ruler, known as a "ferule," which was 
 quite as effective. 
 
 Some of the big boys who were there "just to raise the 
 mischief," would perhaps dare the master to go outside 
 and fight. Of course he wouldn't do that, but at times 
 he had quite serious scuffles with rebellious pupils right in 
 the schoolroom. The boys, on their part, would fight Hke 
 tigers and make the master's nose bleed and tear his 
 clothes. 
 
66 The Country School 
 
 The really severe teacher had no hesitation in throwing 
 his ferule at any child he saw misbehaving, and it is to 
 be noted that he threw first and spoke afterward. Very 
 likely he would order the culprit to bring him the ferule 
 he had cast at him, and when the boy came out on the 
 floor would further punish him. Punishment by spatting 
 the palm of the hand with a ruler was known as " feruling." 
 The smarting of the blows was severe wdiile the punish- 
 ment lasted, but this was as nothing to a "thrashing." 
 The boy to be thrashed was himself sent out to cut the 
 apple-tree twigs with which he was to be whipped. Poor 
 fellow ! Whimpering, and blinded by the welling tears, 
 he slowly whittles off one after another of the tough 
 twigs. This task done, he drags his unwilling feet back 
 to the schoolroom. 
 
 "Take off your coat, sir !" says the master. 
 
 The school is hushed into terrified silence. The fire 
 crackles in the wide fireplace, the wind whistles at the 
 eaves. The boy's tears flow faster, and he stammers a 
 plea for mercy. Then the whip hisses through the air, 
 and blows fall thick and fast. The boy dances about 
 the floor, and his shrill screams fill the schoolroom. His 
 mates are frightened and trembling, and the girls are cry- 
 ing. When the sobbing boy is sent to his place, whatever 
 his misdemeanor may have been, the severity of the pun- 
 ishment has won him the sympathy of the whole school, 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 67 
 
 and toward the master there are only feelings of fear and 
 hate. As for the culprit, he in his heart vows vengeance, 
 and longs for the day when he shall have the age and 
 stature to thrash the teacher in return. Occasionally a 
 lad sent after switches made use of his liberty to slip off 
 home, but he had to "catch it" when he came to school 
 the next day. 
 
 As one of the old-time pupils expresses it, "The men 
 teachers were often regular rough-cuts." One master 
 of this class, when he noticed a boy misbehaving, had a 
 habit of rushing at the culprit, catching him by the collar, 
 and dashing him over the desks out to open floor space, 
 
 Loiler!>ig on the way home from school 
 
68 The Country School 
 
 where he would administer a thrashing. The children 
 thought he acted as if he was going to kill the boy. 
 
 The most troublesome boys were not by any means 
 always ill-natured. Often they were merely mischievous. 
 The trouble might be due to an active mind and lack of 
 employment. A boy w^ho learned his lessons easily would 
 have a lot of time on his hands. He couldn't keep still, 
 and presently the teacher would catch him doing some- 
 thing that he ought not to do. Then he got a whipping. 
 Very likely he might be a cordy little rascal, afraid of 
 nothing, and about as disagreeable to tackle as a healthy 
 hornet. The encounter was no fun for the teacher; 
 and the boy, if he was punished frequently and severely, 
 planned to lick that teacher when he grew up. But I 
 never have heard of a boy who took this delayed vengeance. 
 
 Doubtless the whippings of the period varied much in 
 severity, and, unless the master was altogether brutal 
 or angered, the blows were tempered according to the size 
 of the boy and the enormity of his offence. Nor were the 
 bov's cries always a criterion of the amount of the hurt. 
 It was manifestly for his interest to appear in such ter- 
 rible distress as to rouse the master's pity, and with this 
 in mind he to some extent gauged his cries. Neverthe- 
 less, the spectacle was not an edifying one, and happily 
 the school thrashing as a method of separating the chaff 
 from the wheat in boy nature is a thing of the past. 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 69 
 
 The list of milder punishments was a varied one. If 
 the master saw two boys whispering, he would, if circum- 
 
 .1 punishment 
 
 stances favored, steal up to them from behind and visit 
 unexpected retribution on the guilty lads by catching 
 them by the collars and cracking their heads together. 
 Frequently an offender was ordered out on the floor to 
 stand for a time by the master's desk, or he was sent to 
 a corner with his face to the wall, or was asked to stand 
 on one leg for a time, or he was assigned a passage of 
 Scripture and told to stay after school until he had learned 
 and recited it correctly to the teacher. In certain cases 
 he was made to hold one arm out at right angles to his 
 
/° The Country School 
 
 body -a very easy and simple thing to do for a short 
 time, but fraught with painful discomfort if long continued 
 Sometimes this punishment was made doublv hard bv 
 forcmg the scholar to support a book or other weight 
 at the same time. When the arm began to sag, the teacher 
 would mquire with feigned solicitude what the trouble 
 was, and perhaps would give the bov a rap on hi. -crazy 
 bone- with the ruler to encourage him to persevere. 
 This process soon brought a child to tears, and then the 
 teacher was apt to relent and send him to his seat. 
 
 Making a girl sit with the boys, or a bov with the cjrls 
 was another punishment. The severitv of this depended 
 on the nature of the one punished. For the timid and 
 bashful It was a terrible disgrace. 
 
 Some of the punishments produced vcrv strikino- spec- 
 tacular effects, to which the present-dav mind woidd feel 
 quite a^•erse. Fancy the sight of a bov and girl guiltv of 
 some misdemeanor standing in the teacher's heavv arm- 
 cnair, the girl wearing the boy's hat and the bov adorned 
 ^vith the girl's sunbonnet. Both are red-faced and tearful 
 with mortified pride. They preserve with difficultv a 
 precarious balance on their narrow footing, and ever^• 
 movement of one causes the other to gasp and to clutch 
 hastily to preN-ent inglorious downfall. 
 
 To sit on the end of a ruler, which the teacher pre.entlv 
 knocked from under the boy, was considered by some 
 
K, 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 71 
 
 pedagogs an effective punishment. One master used to 
 have the offending youngster bend over with his head under 
 the table. Then the teacher whacked the culprit from 
 behind with his heavy ruler, and sent him shooting under 
 the table and sprawling across the floor. Another school- 
 master kept in the entry an old satchel which he would 
 bring in on occasion, throw it on the floor, and order the 
 offender to lie down with that for a pillow. Among the 
 most ingenious and uncomfortable in the varied list of 
 punishments was the fitting a cut from a green twig, par- 
 tially split, to the offender's nose. In cases of lying, this 
 rude pair of pinchers was attached to the scholar's tongue. 
 
 As an example of the brutal extreme to which some 
 masters went, I cite the case of a teacher who threatened 
 on occasion to cut off the children's ears. Imagine the 
 whole school hstcning with breathless and open-eyed 
 horror while the master, sitting in his chair with a little 
 girl standing before him, is explaining the process of 
 ear-cutting, and at the same time whetting his knife on 
 his stout boot. He would go so far as to rise and rub the 
 back of the blade along the child's ears. The scholars 
 soon saw he was not to be believed, but the threat was 
 too frightful to altogether lose its dread, however often 
 repeated. 
 
 The women teachers were often as vigorous discipli- 
 narians as the men, and capable of originating methods 
 
y2 The Country School 
 
 of their o^xn that were truly distressing. For instance, 
 one teacher would have the smaller offenders put out their 
 tongues, which she would proceed to snap with a bit of 
 whalebone. Oh, how that hurt! This punishment 
 seemed to them the meanest that could be invented. 
 
 Boxing ears, keeping in at recess or after school, and 
 the confiscation of playthings which hindered the youth- 
 ful mind in its pursuit of knowledge were mild visitations 
 of the law that only need mention. Jack-knives frequently 
 figured among the contraband articles locked in-the teach- 
 er's desk; for what boy can behold a piece of soft pine 
 wood in any shape whatever without desiring to whittle 
 it? The desks offered an inviting surface on which the 
 boy itched to carve his initials, and that done, he was 
 inspired to put a few added touches and simple designs 
 on the rest of the space within reach. If the beloved 
 jack-knife was captured by the teacher and held in du- 
 rance, the boy still had recourse to his pencils, and with 
 these could make in the soft wood various indentations 
 and markings pleasing to his soul. 
 
 In describing the schoolroom interior, only one chair 
 was mentioned; but there was another which had long 
 since seen its best days and was now minus its back. On 
 it the boy w^ho did not learn his lessons was sometimes 
 required to sit with a fool's cap on his head. This treat- 
 ment was expected not only to shame the boy, but to serve 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 -^-^^ 
 
 as a warning example to the school. His cap was usually 
 improvised by the teacher out of a sheet of white paper 
 or even a newspaper. Some teachers, however, had a 
 fool's cap ready made. One such cap that was particularly 
 elaborate had a tassel on top and tassels at each of the three 
 corners below, and on its front was painted the word 
 " DUNCE " in large capitals. 
 
 The games of the children were much the same as those 
 of earlier days. In winter there was a good deal of rough 
 skirmishing among the boys, snowballing and ducking 
 each other when chance offered. The small children at 
 times fared hardly, and once in a while a girl had a severe 
 experience when her mates took a notion to wrap her in 
 her long cloak and bury her in a snowdrift. As soon as 
 the burying was accomplished, the buryers would run 
 away, and the buried would struggle out half suffocated 
 and bedraggled with snow from head to foot. "Snap- 
 the-whip" was a popular game when the snow was deep. 
 The children, except the one most concerned, thought 
 it great fun, and shouted in glee every time the whip 
 snapped and the little end boy or girl broke loose to spin 
 head over heels into a drift. 
 
 On stormy winter days, when the children all brought 
 their dinners and the teacher was not there, the excited 
 racing and tearing around that was done in the httle room 
 at noon gave a vivid though unconscious representation 
 
y^ The Country School 
 
 of Babel and Bedlam. At the same time there was a 
 good deal of running in and out, and the floor by 
 schoohime was mottled all over with snow and water. 
 
 Sliding was in order when there was a crust on the 
 snow. The sleds were great home-made affairs that three 
 or four could sit on if need be. Sleds were usually shod 
 with hard-wood runners, but some boys went to the 
 blacksmith's and had their sleds fitted with runners of 
 iron. The boy owner of a sled was expected, on the down- 
 hill trips, to sit behind and steer. With his square-toed 
 boot grating along behind he could make the sled go just 
 where he pleased. In good sliding weather boot-toes 
 disappeared wonderfully fast, and he was a lucky fellow 
 whose footwear did not begin to gape at the extremities 
 before spring. Presently some genius invented a copper- 
 toed boot, which no doubt "filled a long-felt want," for 
 the inventor realized a fortune by it. 
 
 Children who could not afford a sled would make some- 
 thing that served instead out of barrel staves. Three 
 or four staves laid close together did for the bottom, and 
 as many more bowed over above did for the top. The 
 ends of the staves where they met were nailed together, 
 and the staves were also nailed to a brace run through 
 the middle of the contrivance. 
 
 Favorite summer games were tag, drop-the-handker- 
 chief, puss-in-the-corner, and, most popular of any, there 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 75 
 
 Playing drop the handkerchief 
 
 was hide-and-coop, which was also called hi-spy. In play- 
 ing this, the children who hid always shouted "Co-o-op !" 
 as soon as they had concealed themselves ; and each time 
 the one who was "it" caught sight of any of the hiders, 
 he ran and touched the goal and hollered, "Hi-spy Jim !" 
 or Jane, or whatever the one's name might be. 
 
 He should have said, "I spy," but that was contrary 
 to the established custom. The girls jumped rope a good 
 deal. They would jump to and from school, and at recess 
 
~6 The Countn* School 
 
 would try to see who could jump the most without missing. 
 In fact, they jumped im.til they were exhausted. 
 
 The surroundings of the schoolhouse were half wild 
 and contained many delightful possibilities for pleasure. 
 A little way down the road was a large tree, under which 
 in s limm er the children played cubbyhouse. Xear by was 
 a sjood-sized brook bordered bv brushv woods, and in 
 the thickets the little folks gathered patches of green moss, 
 with which they would cover a square of earth under the 
 tree; and that was the foundation of the cubbyhouse. 
 They brought from home broken pieces of dishes, bits of 
 carpet, and other odds and ends for furniture and house- 
 ware. Acorn cups did for tea-cups, and the children 
 made fancy little pails out of brown oak baUs by cutting 
 oflt a portion, hoUowing out the rest, and fixing in a slender 
 leaf stem for a handle. With some short pieces of board 
 they contrived shelves for the dishes. In connection with 
 the cubbyhouses they made some small inclosures and 
 caught toads and put them in. these pens. They called 
 the toads their pigs. The older scholars played they were 
 parents and had the smaller ones for their children, though 
 to some extent they brought their dolls to 5er\-e in this 
 capacity. 
 
 Most of the children came so far they had to take their 
 dinners. In pleasant, warm weather they ate at the cubby- 
 houses. They carried their food in. tin pails, and often 
 
The Schools between 1830 and i860 ']'] 
 
 entertained themselves by swapping portions with each 
 other. 
 
 Of all the playtime resorts the favorite was the brook, 
 just across the road from the schoolhouse. In winter 
 they scampered over to it at recess and got bits of ice 
 which they would smuggle into the schoolroom and se- 
 crete and nibble at on the sly. In summer thev waded 
 and splashed in the shallows of the stream and caught 
 pollywogs and minnows with their bare hands. 
 
 Perhaps the most striking use they ever made of the 
 stream was to play at baptizing in it. The chief church 
 of the town was of the Baptist denomination, and it was 
 the custom to baptize converts in some convenient stream. 
 When a ceremony was to take place, the minister and con- 
 vert, both in black robes, walked down into the stream, 
 while the rest of the congregation clustered on the shore, 
 singing : — 
 
 " On Jordan's stormy bank I stand 
 
 And cast a wistful eye 
 
 To Canaan's fair and happy land, 
 
 Where my possessions lie." 
 
 Then the minister took hold of his companion and said, 
 "I baptize thee in the name, of the Father, of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 With these words he laid the convert over backward 
 into the water. If it was winter and the stream was frozen. 
 
78 
 
 The Country School 
 
 a passage was cut through the ice from the shore into deep 
 enough water to do the baptizing thoroughly. To persons 
 unfamihar with such customs this may sound rude and 
 strange, but to most in that vicinity the ceremony was as 
 impressive as it was interesting. 
 
 The children in their play copied all the details of the 
 baptism, very closely, except that the girl who acted as 
 convert was not immersed in the water, but only dabbled 
 a little. 
 
 In the meadow at recess 
 
IV 
 LATER CHARACTERISTICS, i860 to 1900 
 
 ATYPICAL country school of this comparatively 
 recent period was that at a small outlying 
 hamlet which I shall call Riverbend. One of 
 its attendants was Charlie Smithson. He began to go 
 regularly before he had reached his fifth birthday. On 
 the first occasion that he went to school he was escorted 
 thither by an older brother. 
 
 The little brick schoolhouse was only a five-minutes' 
 walk from their home, if they went straight there without 
 loitering. This morning they were early enough to play 
 for a while with the other children in the schoolyard. But 
 presently the bell rang. A tremor of alarm ran through 
 Charlie's breast. The clangor of the bell filled him with 
 fear, and the open schoolhouse door looked ominous. He 
 turned away and began to kick up the dust in all haste on 
 his way toward home. His older brother was shocked at 
 this disregard of the necessity of getting an education. He 
 promptly gave chase, caught the runaway, and dragged 
 him back to the schoolhouse. 
 
 Charlie found it not so bad after all when he was once 
 
 79 
 
8o 
 
 The Country School 
 
 inside, and in a few days he was as willing to attend as 
 any of the other children. His mother always brushed his 
 
 S. 
 
 A schoolboy 
 
 hair and slicked him up before he started, and was careful 
 that he should start on time. He was very confidential 
 with her when she was getting him ready, especially if 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 8i 
 
 they were alone together and not too hurried. He even 
 told her, once, of the bad words some of the big boys used. 
 "Those are not nice," was her comment. "You won't 
 use them, will you?" 
 
 He looked up into her face and replied with an honest 
 "No." 
 
 The small children were sent more to relieve their 
 mothers than for study, and for the first year Charlie had 
 not much to do. He came out on the floor twice each 
 day to learn his letters from some big white cards that 
 had pictures on them; he listened to the others, and 
 he was allowed to play with a fascinating counting-frame 
 made of wires strung with blue, black, yellow, and green 
 wooden beads. Sometimes the teacher let him lie do\\Ti 
 
 The Rivcrbcnd school !u 
 
82 The Country School 
 
 on the bench, with her shawl under his head for a pillow, 
 and go to sleep; and once he fell off on the floor. The 
 shock made him awake with a sudden start. 
 
 There were now three terms in the school year — a 
 long winter term of twelve weeks and a spring and a fall 
 term of ten weeks each. It was so much the custom for 
 the teacher to be a woman that a man teacher in a primary 
 school was looked on as a good deal of a curiosity. In all 
 the time that Charhe attended the district school he only 
 had one man teacher, and he taught only one winter 
 term. Saturday had become a full holiday. "Boarding 
 round" for the teacher had long ago been discontinued, 
 and was now thought a " strange custom of the olden times." 
 
 Teachers, as a rule, were picked from among the young 
 women of the home neighborhood. They were paid 
 five or six dollars a week. In case a teacher came from 
 another town, she boarded at a neighbor's in the school- 
 house vicinity at a weekly cost of two, two and a half, or 
 possibly three dollars. The teacher, for the time being, 
 was adopted as one of the family at her boarding-place. 
 She would probably keep her own bedroom in order and 
 help with the household work, at least to the extent of wip- 
 ing the breakfast and supper dishes ; and on such noons 
 as the rest of the folks were gone, she got dinner for the 
 hired man. 
 
 The schoolhouse at Riverbend was more roomy than 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 83 
 
 The commonest type oj the country schoolhouse 
 those Of most hamlets. It was also more substantially 
 built, for the community that possessed a brick edifice 
 was exceptional. Diminutive wooden buildings, painted 
 white, were the rule. Riverbend schoolhouse stood on a 
 low hill which was hardly more than a terrace. The little 
 yard was hemmed in on three sides by a high and slivery 
 board fence. In front was a white-painted quarter- 
 board fence that, in its first days, had a good deal of style 
 about it; but the boys rode that off in a very short time. 
 
84 
 
 The Country School 
 
 and, indeed, it was not long before boards, posts, and all 
 were gone. The other fence was more formidable and 
 withstood the ravages of time and the boys much longer. 
 
 But successive climbing- 
 overs, whackings, and the 
 demand for see-saw boards 
 made it disappear piece- 
 meal, until there was left 
 only one knotty cedar 
 post, to which the com- 
 mittee-man hitched his 
 horse when he called. 
 
 Among the advantages 
 of having the school build- 
 ing of brick instead of 
 wood was the fact that 
 its outer walls furnished 
 an excellent surface to 
 sharpen slate pencils on. 
 Once in a while there 
 came a teacher to whose 
 Sharpening his slate pencil aesthetic eye the gray 
 
 blotches which decorated the bricks about the entrance 
 were not pleasing. Word of command was thereupon 
 passed that the scholars should do their pencil sharp- 
 ening instead on the heavy stone step before the door. 
 
Later Characteristics gc- 
 
 At a back corner of the schoolyard stood a rickety 
 httle building that served for a wood shed. It was un- 
 painted and battered, and had a decrepit tendency to 
 lean sideways, and always had a look of great age. 
 
 The interior of the schoolhouse consisted "of a long 
 entry, and beyond that the main room. At the rear of 
 the latter were sixteen box desks. These desks were long 
 enough to accommodate two pupils, but while Charlie 
 Smithson went to school, the number of scholars was never 
 so large but that each could have a whole desk to himself 
 The children left the district school younger than formerly 
 to attend the grammar and high schools at the center 
 The rear seats in the room, which were monopolized 
 by the largest and oldest scholars, were thought the most 
 desirable ones. There was only a straight-up wall for a 
 back, and the wind came in rather too freely at the cracks 
 on cold days, but the remoteness from the teacher and 
 the all-encompassing view of the room that the position 
 afforded were sufficient compensations. 
 
 In the open space in front of the seats were the teacher's 
 desk, two chairs, and the box stove, which sent a long reach 
 of rusty pipe across the room. On the wall behind the 
 teacher's desk was a long blackboard, and there were 
 other blackboards between the north and south windows. 
 Beneath these last, against the wall, ran a bench, on which 
 the little scholars stood when they were at the board, and 
 
g5 The Country School 
 
 which was hberally tattooed with imprints from the nails ] 
 
 in the bottoms of their shoes. \ 
 
 A class in geography 
 
 The walls of the room were adorned with a geometrically 
 figured paper that inclined to brownness and melancholy 
 in its general tone. In places it had started to crack off, 
 and in one or two spots was stained by leaks from the roof. 
 The woodwork of the walls and doors was painted yellow 
 with a graining to represent polished wood. The desks 
 and benches were painted green - all except the tops of 
 the desks, which were white. These soft pine desk-tops 
 offered facilities for hand-carving and origmal decora- 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 87 
 
 tion, which had inspired the pupils to do a good deal of 
 work on their once fair surface with their jack-knives and 
 pencils. It was on the boys' side that the desks were 
 most energetically cut up, the girls' genius running more 
 to mild pencilings. 
 
 In the middle of the ceiling was a small square hole 
 with a little door iitted to it, and known as ''the venti- 
 lator." Originally there was a string attached to it by 
 which it could be worked from below. However, strings 
 are by nature perishable, and presently that string was no 
 more. After that the boys, when they happened to think 
 of it, would clamber up the unfinished wall in the entry 
 
 
 Going to school with the teacher 
 
gg The Country School 
 
 and pick a precarious way along tire dark and still more 
 unfinished loft and open the ventilator, or shut ,. as the 
 case might be. At the same time they usually called do™ 
 a few remarks through the hole to the other scholars and 
 threw some bits of plastering at them. At length havmg 
 properly adjusted the ventilator and thus insured the health 
 of the school, the boys descended, and for some t.me 
 afterward occupied themselves in freeing the.r clothes 
 from the dust and cobwebs they had gathered. 
 
 In the way of art the schoolroom had three or four smal 
 chromos; in the way of inspiration, a dark portra,. of 
 Abraham Lincoln in a still darker frame. In the way 
 of helps there was a somewhat antiquated wall map of 
 the United States, and on the teacher's desk a smal g^obe 
 The teacher's desk was quite modem. It was of black 
 walnut, and it had a green oilcloth cover on its td and a 
 pretty balustrade at the back. The scholars adm.red ,t 
 very much when it was first put in. Of course, use and 
 age made it totter on its legs, and from time to t,me it 
 was found necessary that it should undergo a course 
 of gluings and wirings. These were administered by a 
 village farmer. Many of the farmers numbered carpen- 
 tering among their accomplishments, but this part.cular 
 person, by reason of his special attainments, m.ght fa.r y 
 be desi^ated the community's prize tinUerer. He cou d 
 patch the roof; he could clean the stovep.pe. He was 
 
Later Characteristics 89 
 
 appealed to when the door wouldn't lock, and he was 
 appealed to when it wouldn't unlock. When the paint 
 wore off the blackboard, he put on fresh. When a window- 
 pane was broken, he got a new one and came do\\Ti some 
 evening with his putty, tools, and a lantern and put it in. 
 He even took the clock in hand w^hen it proved refractory. 
 In short, if anything was the matter, or the teacher at any 
 time was inspired with a new idea in the schoolroom 
 economy, he was forthwith sent for. 
 
 In the corner of the room next to the stove was a big 
 woodbox, unpainted and much battered, which, like most 
 things in the world, came to pieces oftener than seemed 
 strictly necessary. The sto\'e, too, had its failings. There 
 were days when it smoked, and at times its actions not 
 only puzzled the scholars and the teacher, but the village 
 carpenter as well. However, he would examine the stove 
 some day after school, while he improved the opportunity, 
 at the same time, to eat an apple. He would see that the 
 joints in the long pipe were all right, and adjust the 
 wires by which it was suspended from the ceiling. He 
 might even bring a ladder from home, climb the school- 
 house roof, and look down the chimney. After that the 
 stove, if it had any conscience whatever, probably behaved 
 better. 
 
 One of the boys among the pupils held the office of 
 fire-tender and floor- sweeper right through the term. He 
 
90 
 
 The Country School 
 
 came early mornings to start the fire and have the room 
 well warmed by schooltime, and once or twice a week 
 he swept the floor. For this work he received one dollar 
 at the end of the term, or possibly two dollars for a winter 
 term. Not every boy had the genius to make the fire go 
 
 Starting the pre 
 
 well, for the ashes had to be poked just about right to 
 make the draft good, and the stove door was broken in 
 two pieces, and it required care to adjust it so it would in 
 effect be whole and stay whole. Those hard-wood fires 
 could be made tremendously hot on occasion. Once a 
 certain boy who was suft'ering for amusement loaded the 
 
Later Characteristics 91 
 
 stove as full of wood as it would hold just before school- 
 time, that he might have the joy of witnessing the teacher's 
 consternation when she came in and school began. Yes, 
 the teacher observed the heat and the baked condition 
 of the air, and sought out the boy who was answerable for 
 the crime. She told him that, as he had such a liking for 
 heat, perhaps he would be glad to stand by the stove and 
 enjoy it. This suggestion was not one that filled him with 
 delight, but the teacher would accept no excuse ; and he 
 was soon perspiring and repenting at the side of the stove. 
 But he was a gritty fellow, and when, just before recess, 
 the teacher asked how he liked it, he said, "First rate." 
 
 "Oh, well," was the teacher's response, "if you enjoy 
 it so very much, you may spend your recess, too, by the 
 stove." 
 
 Then the boy saw the unwisdom of his reply. However, 
 the sentence was passed, and there was no help for it. 
 That particular boy made no more hot fires. 
 
 Occasionally, one of the older lads would bring a little 
 red pepper or brimstone and sprinkle it on the stove and 
 by these means make the teacher and the pupils sneeze. 
 The boys liked also to put snowballs on the stove to see 
 them sizzle. This contributed to their happiness, perhaps, 
 but it was not good for the stove, which as a result was 
 badly cracked. 
 
 On the bench by the woodbox was set the water pail. 
 
02 The Country School 
 
 Beside it was the drinking utensil, sometimes a tin cup, 
 sometimes a glass tumbler, and at one time a little cus- 
 tard cup. It was astonishing how many times a scholar 
 could drink that custard cup full when he made the at- 
 tempt. The small boy in the front seat would drink as 
 much as he could hold, and then turn around and watch 
 the progress of the water pail to observe if any one could 
 exceed him. If the pail-bearer had a grudge against any 
 particular one, or was humorously inclined, he might 
 snatch the cup away before the drinker had taken more 
 than a mouthful or two, or would give the cup a gentle 
 but sudden tilt that inundated the drinker in a small 
 way. The oifice of water-passer seemed to be quite 
 desirable, and "May I pass the water?" was a question 
 which required frequent answer from the teacher. 
 
 The water was brought from the nearest neighbor's. 
 A big boy could get it alone, but usually two went to carry 
 the pail. In the interregnums between the wearing out 
 of one pail and the getting a new one, the scholars all raced 
 over to "Uncle Elijah's" each recess to refresh themselves 
 at the tub of running spring water which stood at his back 
 door. 
 
 The clock has been mentioned. That was a recent 
 innovation. For many years after the reign of the hour- 
 glass and sundial the teachers had been accustomed to 
 carry watches, but a schoolroom clock was a very recent 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 93 
 
 Fir^it day U'dili)ig jor the ifachcr 
 
 idea. This one was bought by a subscription that the 
 scholars raised among their respective parents, and it was 
 fastened to the wall over one of the blackboards, where the 
 children could note how time flew, though it must be con- 
 fessed they usually thought time did not fly at all, but on 
 the contrary went very slowly. 
 
 Another village subscription supplied the schoolroom 
 with a number of lamps, which, with their shining tin 
 
94 The Country School 
 
 reflectors, had been fastened up at intervals along the walls. 
 These saved the trouble of bringing from the homes lamps 
 and lanterns for illuminating purposes every time the vil- 
 lagers gathered for a lyccum, or a Christmas tree, or an 
 evening prayer-meeting. 
 
 School began at nine o'clock, with reading a chapter from 
 the New Testament. The scholars read in turn two 
 verses each as long as the chapter lasted, and then put their 
 arms on the desks, bowed their heads on them, and with 
 the teacher repeated the Lord's Prayer in concert. Next 
 came the clatter of getting out books and other work- 
 ing apparatus, and the asking of questions and making 
 requests of the teacher. In a few minutes they had set- 
 tled dowm to their tasks, and the teacher began hearing 
 recitations. The A-B-C class was called first, then the 
 class in the First Reader, then the class in the Second 
 Reader, and so on. The teacher had on her desk a little 
 bronze bell with a wooden handle, which she tinkled to 
 call and dismiss the classes. Each class was expected 
 to stand in a straight line, toeing a certain crack in the 
 floor which possessed greater merits for a toe-line than its 
 fellows because it had more width. 
 
 As the forenoon wore on, the smallest children were 
 allowed to go out for what was called the "little recess," 
 provided it was summer time. Just how they amused 
 themselves it is not easy to say, for the youngest children 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 95 
 
 manage to ha\'e a very good time with the \'ery simplest 
 of accessories. North and cast of the schoolhouse were 
 apple orchards, where the scholars were privileged to help 
 themselves to such fruit as they found lying on the ground. 
 Just outside the school yard was a great maple, and down 
 the road a short distance was another nearly as large. 
 In the spring these trees dropped quantities of their winged 
 seeds into the grass. If you laid them on the hard dirt 
 and stepped on them just right, they would burst with a 
 faint pop. A child dearly loves a pop, be it great or small, 
 
 Cubbyhouse dolls 
 
 and will expend a good deal of time and ingenuity de- 
 vising means whereby he can make things explode and 
 
96 The Country School 
 
 rejoice his soul with the sound produced — the more vio- 
 lent, the better. 
 
 There was one period when nearly every boy had an 
 empty tin can with a string run through the bottom and 
 fastened to a stick. This contrivance, when its possessor 
 whirled it about his head, made the most horrible noise 
 that can be imagined. No one except the boys could 
 stand the racket thus produced, but they gloated over 
 it. Discordant sounds never disturbed their sense of 
 harmony. 
 
 One boy in the school was so organized that he could 
 throw his thumbs out of joint, at the same time producing 
 a quite perceptible cracking sound. He was looked up 
 to as an authority and genius in the matter of poppings 
 and crackings. He could also, by opening his mouth 
 and rapping on his head with his knuckles, produce a 
 dubious and hollow sound that would make one think his 
 head was nearly empty. Perhaps it was ! 
 
 A paper bag blown full of air and crushed made a de- 
 lightfully loud explosion, but these bags seldom found 
 their way to the schoolhouse. The best poppers within 
 reach were large leaves, which were laid across a circle 
 made by the thumb and forefinger of the left hand and 
 slapped with the palm of the right. The girls could make 
 very pretty wreaths of the maple leaves, weaving them 
 together by means of their long stems. Dandelions in 
 
A hard sum 
 
Later Characteristics 97 
 
 the season were a source of amusement. "I'm going to 
 see whether my mother wants me or not," says Jenny. 
 She draws in a fuU breath and blows very hard at the 
 white dandehon head held before her pursed lips. If all 
 the seeds are blown away, she knows her mother does 
 want her ; but if any remain, it is settled that she is 
 not then needed. The long, hollow dandelion stems, 
 if held in the mouth and split slowly with the tongue, 
 curled in two very neat and tight rolls. When shaken 
 out, these formed spirals that, hung over the ears, made 
 quite enticing earrings. 
 
 Another useful flower was the buttercup. It was an 
 excellent medium by which to determine the important 
 question whether one loved butter or not. Just hold it 
 under Jenny's or Johnny's chin, and if you see a yellow 
 reflection from its burnished petals, that is a sure sign 
 that he or she loves butter. 
 
 Beside the road, near by, were some great coarse bur- 
 dock plants. The green and purple burs could be stuck 
 together into very neat baskets. Then there was a sturdy 
 dooryard plant, the mallow, whose round, flat seeds were 
 called by the children "cheeses," and which were con- 
 sidered quite good eating. Sorrel leaves and clover blos- 
 soms were other sources of food supply. 
 
 Back of the schoolhouse was a wide meadow where the 
 children out at "little reces.s" chased the butterflies with 
 
 Lore. 
 
98 
 
 The Country School 
 
 their straw hats, and gathered bouquets of the flowers 
 that grew among the grasses. The best of all the sources 
 of pleasure anywhere near was a httle brook that ran along 
 the borders of the meadow. There were endless possi- 
 biUties of fun in that bit of water. The children could 
 paddle in it, they could sail things on it, they could wet 
 up their mud pies, and they could build a dam that would 
 make it overflow its banks. In winter, if the season fa- 
 
 A drink jrom a stream on the way home jrom^ school 
 
Later Characteristics qq 
 
 vored, the brook filled two or three of the meadow hollows. 
 These, when frozen over, made excellent skating ground. 
 The scholars were often on the ice before it was fairly 
 safe. There was a pleasurable excitement to the venture- 
 some ones in sliding on a "bender." A bender was 
 made by sliding across weak ice which cracked as you 
 slid. The longer the sliding was continued, the more the 
 ice sagged beneath each passing weight; and the more it 
 bent, the greater waxed the excitement. Finally, some 
 one broke through and got his feet wet, and then the'crowd 
 all went up to the schoolhouse satisiied. 
 
 In warm weather, when the whole school came out for 
 the "big recess," the favorite game was ball. This was 
 more particularly a boy's game, though the girls played 
 too, sometimes. After the grass was cut they liked to have 
 their ball game in the meadow, but for the most part they 
 contented themselves with the dusty roadway. Playing 
 horse was in high esteem, and at times even the charms 
 of the ball game paled before the delights of racing, and 
 every child carried around ten or fifteen feet of string in 
 his or her pocket. There were all kinds of horses, from 
 "Stick-in-the-Mud" to "Maud S"; from the trained 
 circus-horse to the wild horses of the plains. The schol- 
 ars drove each other to school, and they drove each other 
 home, and raced at every opportunity between whiles. 
 "Jail" was another game played. The woodhouse 
 
100 The Country School 
 
 served as a prison, and the jailor caught the prisoners 
 running, and in imagination he shut them up there ; 
 but as the woodhouse had no door, it was necessary that 
 those caught should agree not to break out. "Bear" 
 was played in something the same way. The woodhouse 
 was the bear's den, and thence he issued forth and cap- 
 tured the others. In the fall great piles of fallen leaves 
 were raked together, and the "bear" was covered up in 
 them. The school gathered around the heap, and then 
 the "bear" sprang out with terrible growls and a grand 
 scattering of leaves, and chased whichever of the children 
 came handiest. 
 
 In winter, besides sliding and skating, there was a good 
 deal of desultory snowballing. Sometimes the snow- 
 balling went far beyond the bounds of gentleness or mis- 
 chief, and the white missiles were hurled in swift anger 
 and there were fights, and faces were washed, and the 
 vanquished were ducked in the snowbanks. This was 
 not a serious matter to the big boys, but the little fellows 
 had some hard experiences. Let some great rough boy 
 catch a httle one and proceed to jam him into a drift, 
 or let the big fellow chase the small one with a threatening 
 snowball — there will be few occasions in all the trembling, 
 gasping Httle lad's after-hfe when he will suffer such terror. 
 At the time Charlie Smithson first went to school there 
 was one big Irish boy by the name of Jim Londergrass 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 loi 
 
 who acted as a protector to the small children. He was 
 a most good-natured fellow, and he would allow the boys 
 to throw snow at him 
 
 and knock him about 
 as much as they 
 pleased; but if any 
 of them were rough 
 with a little one, they 
 heard from him very 
 quickly. Jim left 
 school in a year or 
 two and went awa\' 
 to work. Charlie has 
 never heard from him 
 since, but Jim has 
 always been treasured 
 in his memory as a 
 true knight and hero. 
 At times the boys 
 divided into sides and 
 had pitched battles 
 with their snowballs. 
 Once they built a 
 
 'Wf::^0!^>:, 
 
 The youngest scholar 
 
 snow fort and planned for a fight that was to be particu- 
 larly grand. Some of the boys prepared frozen snow- 
 balls for the occasion. Luckily, a thaw set in which 
 
102 
 
 The Country School 
 
 Doing arithmetic cxai)iples 
 
 laid the fort in ruins, and this desperate battle was not 
 fought. 
 
 After the morning recess the several classes in arith- 
 metic recited. All but the very highest schoolbooks 
 were illustrated quite fully, even the arithmetics; and 
 each book had a picture on its board covers. When 
 reciting in mathematics, the scholars stood a part of the 
 time in line and answered questions and repeated rules, 
 and a part of the time "did examples on the board." 
 
 There was one teacher who kept Charlie Smithson on 
 the multiplication table a whole term, in spite of the fact 
 that he told her he was much beyond that. He got so 
 he could say it over frontward and backward, beginning 
 
Later Characteristics 103 
 
 at either end or in the middle, and he frequently covered 
 one of the small blackboards with it written out, from 
 2 X 1 = 2 to 12 X 12 = 144. 
 
 Charlie's most serious trouble with arithmetic came 
 when he met with long division. For several days he 
 studied the new problems and attempted them on his 
 slate, but they seemed hopelessly entangled. A boy 
 from a neighboring town visited school about that time, 
 and, though no older than Charlie, it was said he could 
 do examples in long division. Charlie regarded him as 
 a prodigy, and sank in deeper gloom. But one day light 
 burst on his mind, and after that he could only wonder 
 what it was that had puzzled him. 
 
 All the children struck snags of some sort in their arith- 
 metic. Once a class was doing examples at the black- 
 board, and the teacher tested their capacity by giving them 
 a few problems not in the book. Among the rest was 
 this : — 
 
 " How many years have passed since our forefathers 
 landed at Plymouth?" 
 
 Most of the children put down their dates, and there was 
 a sharp rattle and scraping of crayons as they each hurried 
 to get the answer as near first as might be. Soon most 
 of them had finished, and some had the right answer and 
 some had not. 
 
 There was one little girl, however, with her nose to the 
 
104 The Country School 
 
 blackboard, and standing first on one foot and then on 
 the other, who was making no progress. She had the 
 date 1620 written down and under it a figure 4, and that 
 was all. 
 
 "Well, Katy," said the teacher, "what does the one 
 thousand six hundred and twenty stand for?" 
 
 "That was when they landed," was Katy's reply. 
 
 "Very good," responded the teacher; "but the 4 — 
 what is that for?" 
 
 "That," said Katy, fingering her chalk nervously, "is 
 for our four fathers ; but I don't know whether to multiply 
 or divide." 
 
 Sometimes the whole school joined in a mental arith- 
 metic exercise. The teacher would say, "Add two and 
 two; multiply by four; take away six; divide by five," 
 etc., and after a while ask, "Now, how many of you have 
 the answer?" 
 
 Up would go the hands of those who had been able to 
 follow the processes, or thought they had, and the teacher 
 would call on some one for the answer. This exercise 
 was considered very exciting and interesting. 
 
 The afternoon began with another hearing of the read- 
 ing classes/J then followed the class in grammar, one in 
 history, and the afternoon closed with the geography 
 classes. In the geography lessons the children often drew 
 maps on the boards. Sometimes they drew them off- 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 105 
 
 hand, and sometimes they used straight-Hned diagrams 
 to help them make what they drew more hke the real 
 things. 
 
 When Charlie got his first new geography book, and 
 the class was organized, he went at the study with great 
 energy and even took his book home. On the morning 
 
 A New England academy 
 
 of the day they were to recite the first lesson, he informed 
 the teacher that he had studied his geography over five 
 times the night before. The teacher rewarded this assidu- 
 ity by letting him stand at the head of the class, although 
 he was one of its smallest members ; but, to his surprise, 
 in spite of all his studying, not a single question could he 
 answer. He had simply read the words of his lesson, 
 
io6 The Country School 
 
 and had not attempted to fix in his mind the ideas. Next 
 day, from a humble position at the foot of the class, he 
 did much better. 
 
 A quarter of an hour before the morning recess, the 
 writing books, which the teacher kept in her desk, were 
 distributed, and the children got out their pens and un- 
 corked their ink bottles, and proceeded to copy line after 
 line of the mottoes at the head of each page. The smallest 
 pupils exercised their ingenuity in making straight and 
 curved lines with a lead pencil, or in tracing over the blue 
 lines of printed copy, while the conscientious older ones 
 gave their minds to putting in the flourishes and the shad- 
 ing just right. Meanwhile the teacher walked about and 
 kept lead pencils sharpened, gave advice as to what 
 had best be done when a bad blot was made, or a page 
 filled out ahead of time, and now and then sat down by 
 a scholar and showed just how a particular bit should be 
 written. The teacher usually had the children sit in a 
 certain posture, and tried to have them take an easier 
 position with their fingers than the stubby grip on pen 
 or pencil that seemed to come natural. 
 
 Occasionally, drawing was taught in the school, and 
 every child had a brown-leaved drawing-book of the 
 same oblong shape as the writing-books. On each leaf, at 
 one side, were patterns to copy, with some printed matter 
 explaining how it was to be done. First came straight 
 
 1 
 
Sharpoiing one of the children s pencils 
 
1 
 
Later Characteristics 107 
 
 lines and squares and circles, and gradually more com- 
 plicated forms, solid bodies, vases, and flowers. In the 
 book Charhe used, the final masterpiece was a bit of 
 potato top in blossom. Potato plants he had always 
 thought very homely as he saw them growing in the fields, 
 but here it seemed really a thing of beauty. 
 
 Many of the teachers had a few moments of gymnastics 
 in school each session. The pupils stood by their desks 
 to go through the various movements, and in the parts 
 where there was stamping or hand-clapping, considerable 
 enthusiasm was aroused in seeing how much noise could 
 be made. In the bendings backward, forward, or side- 
 ways there was always interest in determining just how 
 far one could go, even though it endangered one's equiUb- 
 rium ; and in the motions which called for a clenched 
 fist there were those whose imaginations were stimulated 
 to fancy themselves engaged in a pugilistic encounter. 
 Such were particularly exhilarated when their fists came 
 into semiaccidental encounter with a neighbor. ■ 
 
 Singing found frequent place in the school exercises 
 w^hen the teacher was herself gifted in that way. Gospel 
 Hymns was the favorite book for selections on such occa- 
 sions. Whatever the musical lacks of the performance 
 were, the volume of sound could always be depended on 
 to be fully up to the mark, when the song had a lively and 
 easily caught movement. 
 
io8 
 
 The Country School 
 
 Teachers sometimes read to the scholars a Httle each 
 day, or for an hour or so on Friday afternoons. One of 
 CharHe's teachers read them an exciting book about In- 
 dians and hunters, and for that reason Charhe thought 
 her about the best teacher that ever was. The book 
 was so fascinating that the scholars would gladly stay in 
 at recess to hear it read. 
 
 Punishments, as a whole, had become much milder 
 
 A rainy-day school at home 
 
Later Characteristics 109 
 
 than in the old days, and many teachers got along with- 
 out any punishments that involved bodily pain or made 
 the child a spectacle of supposed shame to his fellows. 
 "Thrashings" w^re no more, but once in a great while 
 a teacher would resort to feruling. The front seats and 
 standing room on the floor were reserved for those who 
 misbehaved, and there were occasions when it seemed 
 necessary to keep a child in at recess or after school. 
 
 There was a great difference in teachers. Some were 
 in earnest and did careful, faithful work, but now and 
 then there was one who was careless, and more interested 
 in her own ease than in the scholars' progress. But a 
 very poor teacher was not apt to stay long. The pupils 
 were sure to report at home what she did and said, and 
 when the tide of public sentiment set strongly against her, 
 she had to leave. 
 
 The garments the children wore were in patterns and 
 materials much more varied than in times past, yet 
 simpler than at present. The girls' waists, as compared 
 with the modern fashion, were quite tight-fitting. Their 
 stockings for a decade or more after the civil war were 
 striped in narrow horizontal bars, or white, though the 
 latter were usually reserved for Sundays and dress-up 
 occasions. Later, black stockings became the rule. The 
 girls wore their hair short until about the age of ten, 
 and held it back from the forehead with a pliant, semi- 
 
no The Country School 
 
 circular comb, or with a pretty ribbon an inch or so 
 wide that passed from the back of the neck to the top 
 of the head, where it was tied in a bow. 
 
 Many of the boys and some of the girls inherited their 
 elders' outgrown or worn-out clothes, which needed only 
 a httle adjusting or making over to fit them for further 
 duty. Short trousers began to come into vogue about 
 1880, but the country folk were inclined to regard them 
 as a town affectation not at all desirable for comfort or 
 beauty, and a number of years passed before they were 
 generally adopted. Hats, both straw and felt, were the 
 common head covering for the boys, with roomy ear- 
 lapped caps for winter, but at length close-fitting little 
 caps became almost universal. At one time the boys 
 used to have copper-toed and red-topped boots for winter 
 wear, but, later, shoes and rubbers came into more general 
 use. In summer most of the boys WTnt barefoot, and in 
 the driest times it was agreeable to the boy to follow along 
 the middle of the road on his way to school, stubbing up 
 as big a cloud of dust as he knew how. Once in a while 
 a girl went to school barefoot, but that was not the rule. 
 
 Visitors were infrequent. When they did come, the 
 scholars seemed to think they w'ould bear watching — 
 at least they did watch them. The most important vis- 
 itor was the chairman of the school committee. While 
 he was there, the classes were all called out to give him 
 
Later Characteristics 
 
 III 
 
 an idea of the progress they were making. One thing 
 he was sure to do in the reading lessons, after a child had 
 read, was to ask, "Now what was it those people did 
 whom you were reading about?" 
 
 2 lie class in the Fifth Reader 
 
 The boy turned to his book and started to repeat the 
 words in the same sing-song manner as before. 
 
 "No, no," said the committee-man, "shut your book, 
 and tell me what they did." 
 
 That accomplished, he would try to get the boy to read 
 conversationally, instead of sing-song, but his success 
 
112 The Country School 
 
 was not flattermg. Just before the committee-man left 
 the scholars shuf^p their books and sat up straight' 
 while the visitor rose, put his hands behind his back, and 
 made some "remarks " to tliem. These were to the' pur- 
 port that they should be tidy, and keep the room neat, 
 and that it would be a great help to success in after-life 
 to have good lessons and to learn to behave well. 
 
 The oi^e.grand occasion of the term was "examination 
 day." The schoolroom was swept out very clean the pre- 
 ceding night, or perhaps well scrubbed with soap and 
 water, so that a slight odor of soapiness and sense of 
 dampness lingered all through the following day. The 
 morning session was a short one, that the children might 
 have plenty of time to eat dinner and dress themselves in 
 their "Sunday-go-to-meetin's." They came in the after- 
 noon very spick and span. Chairs were brought in from 
 the neighbors', and a little mild play indulged in before the 
 bell rang to call them indoors. Not much was done until 
 the audience began to arrive, and an air of expectancy 
 and solemnity brooded over the schoolroom. Women and 
 very small children were the only visitors, usuallv, and it 
 was before them that the scholars were called out to recite 
 such things as they knew best, and possibly to speak a 
 few pieces and read compositions. The visitors were 
 further entertained by being allowed to examine the pupil's 
 writing-books, and to look through the school register. 
 
Later Characteristics 113 
 
 wherein each child's regularity of attendance was indi- 
 cated, and where were put down the names of such callers 
 as had been to the school. By and by there was a recess, 
 where, of necessity, the play was not very vigorous, be- 
 cause the children all had their best things on, in which 
 they were less comfortable and free than usual, and which 
 they felt under obligation to keep slick and clean. When 
 school was finally dismissed for good and the scholars 
 were out of doors, they rejoiced in a pandemonium of 
 shoutings and waving of hats. 
 
 They rejoiced because the school term had come to 
 an end ; and yet what happier experiences does life bring 
 than in the care-free days one spends in a Country School ? 
 
 III -^h' ^ 
 
 
 
 ^m 
 
 The good boy who is allowed to study out 0} 
 
 doors 
 
V 
 
 HOW THE SCHOLARS THINK AND WRITE 
 
 HUMOR, it is said, consists in the unexpectedness 
 of an idea or expression. Even a good joke 
 heard a second time has lost something of its 
 flavor; and a popular bit of slang, which originally may 
 have had an agreeable tang about it, v^earies and disturbs 
 by its frequent repetition. 
 
 The thoughts of a child continually wander aside from 
 the routine paths to which the minds of its elders are apt 
 to confine themselves, and hence its speech and action are 
 full of unconscious humor. Indeed, the humor must be 
 unconscious to have any charm, for the child who tries 
 to be funny is certain to make a dismal failure of it. Chil- 
 dren are readily enkindled with interest and enthusiasm, 
 and their thought at such times is often very happy and 
 luminous. It many times runs far astray, but that does 
 not make it less interesting. Nor is a wrong answer 
 always indicative of dulness or poor teaching. It is as 
 frequently due to brightness and originality. 
 
 The child, when it begins to absorb our spoken language, 
 finds the medley of sounds which it encounters, with all 
 
 114 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 115 
 
 their different meanings, bewildering, and, as is to be ex- 
 pected, often uses one word instead of another which to 
 some degree resembles it. Children jump to conclusions 
 even more frequently than grown-up people do — ■ which 
 is saying a good deal — and they at times make a wild 
 use of disconnected ideas that they have chanced to pick 
 up ; but they at other times will make an explanation with 
 a simplicity and patness that might well move the most 
 learned to envy. 
 
 In writing, children get badly entangled by the words 
 which are not spelled as pronounced. They have a strong 
 inclination to spell phonetically, but those queerly con- 
 
 Writing 
 
ii6 
 
 The Country School 
 
 structed words they have learned haunt their minds and 
 they sometimes spell one of the simple words the long 
 
 way. Punctuation is like- 
 wise a trouble to them. 
 Usually they put in an 
 occasional period, and 
 
 may even venture to use 
 a comma, but they are 
 sparing in the use of 
 both, and are inclined to 
 avoid other marks alto- 
 gether. Capitals are an- 
 other disturbing element 
 to the limpid flow of the 
 child's thought when 
 writing. Children, how- 
 ever, are pretty sure to 
 start with a capital and 
 begin most sentences with 
 one. A few are sprinkled 
 in promiscuously, and if 
 some are misplaced, oth- 
 The looking-glass in the miry ^^^ ^j-g lacking elsewhere, 
 
 so that the average is about right. A scientific division 
 of the words which fall last on the lines the child is writing 
 and still need room, is understood by few. Most put in 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 117 
 
 a hyphen after the final letter the line will contain, with 
 entire independence of syllables, and begin the next line 
 where they left off. Others avoid the dilemma by leaving 
 a margin along the right border of the page, so that long 
 words can run over into that without necessity for division. 
 Still others turn such words downward along the edge till 
 written out in a cramped fulness. 
 
 The scholars are most entertaining and do their best 
 when writing on a subject which engages their personal 
 feeling and interest — something which is a part of their 
 own. experience and observation. What they write of things 
 far off is, as a rule, dry and stiff". Given such topics the 
 children express themselves more correctly than when 
 writing of things about home — ■ on the same principle 
 that one does not stumble so often when walking sedately 
 as when in enthusiastic haste. But culture comes from 
 love of learning, not from present correctness of expres- 
 sion, and the children undoubtedly gain far more in 
 putting on paper what they have learned by sight and 
 hearing than in writing out what they have gained from 
 books. 
 
 In the preceding chapter the ways of a rustic school 
 in the little village of Riverbend were described. At this 
 school on Friday afternoon, the final session of the week, 
 the usual routine was abandoned for something more 
 entertaining. On one such occasion the teacher read 
 
Il8 The Country School 
 
 aloud to her scholars Longfellow's poem, "The Build- 
 ing of the Ship," and the children listened attentively. 
 They seemed to enjoy the story and the music of the poetry 
 thoroughly. 
 
 The second class in reading 
 
 When the teacher finished reading, she distributed pen- 
 cils and paper and said, "Now you may write the four 
 lines of the poem that I will repeat to you; and I will 
 read them very slowly one line at a time : — 
 
 " Thou, too, sail on, O ship of State ! 
 Sail on, O Union, strong and great ! 
 We know what Master laid thy keel. 
 What Workman wrought thy ribs of steel." 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 119 
 
 The slow ones had not yet done writing when the teacher 
 noticed that May Tyler's hand was up, and gave her leave 
 to speak. 
 
 "Sometimes" — the little girl began, and then letting 
 her eyes wander about among the other scholars, lost 
 the thread of her intended remark. 
 
 "What is it, 'sometimes'?" questioned the teacher. 
 
 "Sometimes you let us draw a picture to go with what 
 we write," was JNIay's response. 
 
 "And would you like to draw a picture to go with what 
 you have written to-day?" said the teacher. 
 
 "Yes, yes!" exclaimed May and half a dozen of the 
 others eagerly. 
 
 "Well," the teacher said, doubtfully, "I don't know 
 that I object, if you think you can do it." 
 
 The children were sure they could, and the teacher 
 gave them fresh slips of paper. She was curious to see 
 what they would make out of the subject. A "ship of 
 state" seemed to her to offer no chance for a picture. But 
 the scholars bent intently to their task, and showed no 
 signs of lack of inspiration. 
 
 Now a hand went up. It was Tommy Halpin's. 
 Tommy w^as one of the smaller children who sat on the 
 front seats. His eyes were still on the paper w^hich con- 
 tained his picture. When the teacher asked him what he 
 wanted, Tommy said, "Can I put a name on my ship?" 
 
120 
 
 The Country School 
 
 "Yes," the teacher rephed, and Tommy printed it 
 right on, and then, forgetting in his enthusiasm to ask 
 permission, came trotting across the lloor to show his 
 finished drawing to the teacher. 
 
 She laughed a little when she saw Tommy's "ship of 
 state," but she told him he had made a very good drawing. 
 
 The vessel in his picture 
 looked like a small two-masted 
 sailboat, and its name, JOLLY 
 JO, printed in mammoth let- 
 ters that practically covered 
 one side from stem to stem, 
 seemed very well suited to 
 such a craft. 
 
 The ships of state dravm 
 by the other children were of 
 the same mild character, and there was not a war ship in 
 the lot. May Tyler, who had proposed making the pic- 
 tures, called her ship the BLUEBELL. She was the 
 last to finish ; for she drew as a background a long moun- 
 tain range, with the sun coming up over it. Hers was an 
 open boat without a deck, but she explained she had to 
 draw it that way in order to show its "ribs of steel," which 
 she had made very plain and black. 
 
 The teacher thought the drawings spirited in their 
 way ; but she was not altogether pleased to have the ship 
 
 Tow my' s ship 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 121 
 
 of state appear so uniformly as a pleasure craft, and she 
 took pains to explain to the children the real meaning 
 of the extract they had 
 written. In conclud- 
 ing she had each pupil 
 draw a United States 
 flag on their vessels, 
 
 and this established 
 
 An illustration by one of the little girls 
 a certain relationship 
 
 with the sentiment of the verse the picture illustrated, 
 though they were still more humorous than impressive. 
 
 What I have related of this Friday afternoon was char- 
 acteristic of most of the other Friday afternoons, and in the 
 pages which follow I give various examples of the chil- 
 dren's off-hand writing and illustrating, and a list of 
 definitions garnered from their spelling lessons. 
 
 DEFINITIONS 
 
 A dwarf is one that holds up a lady's train. 
 
 Sister : If there was a girl and she lived at your house 
 and she was your mother's daughter, then she would be 
 your sister. 
 
 Missionary: One who makes hats. One who surveys 
 land. 
 
 The missionaries went to invert the Indians. 
 
122 
 
 The Country School 
 
 Remember means to know afterwards what you know 
 now. 
 
 Some kinds of pouUry are chickens, hens, and lambs. 
 
 A territory is a small place down in a valley. 
 
 Cutlery is knives, forks, and sewing-machines. 
 
 Work is keeping at something all the time. 
 
 Trouble is having something that you don't like. 
 
 History is studying an examination. 
 
 Crying is shidding tears. 
 
 News is to hear something that we have not heared 
 before. 
 
 Scholars are children studying. 
 
 Work is to help the poor ; that is the best of work. 
 
 A hillside schoollwuse 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 123 
 
 If there was a poor old lady living alone, it would be 
 kindness to do her work. 
 
 History is a study of the United States. 
 
 History is a history telling about olden times. 
 
 History tells about wars. 
 
 History is a book that the scholars study about. 
 
 News is to here things. 
 
 News is when anything new happens. 
 
 To be contented is to have everything you want. 
 
 Contented means to be happy wherever you are. 
 
 Contented is when you have enough. 
 
 You are contented when you are asleep. 
 
 To cry is to feel very bad. 
 
 Work means to do something hard. 
 
 Bussy is when you have a lot of work to do. 
 
 A laugh is when you are happy. 
 
 Vegitables are all kinds of fruit. 
 
 The diameter of the earth was Noah's dove. 
 
 Colors are different shades. 
 
 Study is to learn. 
 
 Arithmetic is to do different sums. 
 
 Arithmetic is used to trade with. 
 
 Fire is very hot and the color of red. 
 
 A picture is to repersent anything. 
 
 A picture is something that looks like what it was drawn 
 from. 
 
124 The Country School 
 
 A picture is something to look at. 
 
 Writeing is made of ink and lead. 
 
 Write is to talk with letters. 
 
 Paper is to right. 
 
 Reading is talking. 
 
 An animal is something that has 4 or more legs. 
 
 An animal is a cow who gives milk. 
 
 Animals are made of ilesh and bones. 
 
 Dirt is something we could not live without. 
 
 An oasis is a desert place. 
 
 An oasis is a flock of trees in a desert. 
 
 A gizzard is where the gravel goes. 
 
 A gizzard is a kind of fowl. 
 
 Bacon is a streak of lean and fat. 
 
 Shoulder is the joints of animals which holds them up. 
 
 A favor is to do something good. 
 
 Henpecked means to be governed by your wife. 
 
 Flowers are a vegitable. 
 
 Favor is a bottle of water that smells good. 
 
 Favor means when you tell some one to go after some- 
 thing and they go. The one that asks the boy is the one 
 who does the favor. 
 
 Favor is w^hen a boy does something for his mother. 
 
 A flag is what you wave. 
 
 Metal is a stone. 
 
 Metal is something good to wear. 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 125 
 
 A city is a large place. 
 
 A city is a lot of buildings. 
 
 A city is a place where they sell groceries. 
 
 A city is a place where they sell grain for horses and 
 cows. 
 
 Desire means to know everything. 
 
 \'elvet means the fur on a cat's car. 
 
 Whisker means a hair on a cat's mouth. 
 
 Noiseless means to make a little noise. 
 
 Spkled means little dogs. 
 
 Toothsome means hard. 
 
 Almonds are a kind of pudding. 
 
 Occupations of people in Hadley: Farming, grinding, 
 making broomes, keep store, keep postotlice, make whips, 
 make candy, they bild houses, they eat, they drink. 
 
 Luncheon means to eat between meals. 
 
 Feast means to have a good deal. 
 
 Sky is made up of fog. 
 
 The sky is where the moon and sun is. 
 
 Air is a good deal like weather. 
 
 Air is wind. 
 
 Air is what you breave. 
 
 Eat is to make your jaws go. 
 
 Eat means the digestion of food. 
 
 To eat is to swallow anything. 
 
 To eat is to satisfy your appetite. 
 
126 
 
 The Country School 
 
 When the door is locked 
 
 A whip is something good to hck horses with 
 
 A mountain is lots of trees. 
 
 A mountain is a big pile of dirt. 
 
 Money is a round and has a sign on it. 
 
 Home is the 
 place of your par- 
 ents. 
 
 Home is you's 
 house. 
 
 Calendars are 
 made of paper 
 and numbers. 
 
 Calendars are 
 used in telling 
 how warm and 
 cold it is. 
 
 Fruits is a bige 
 apples is a red and 
 it is about bigs as a 
 pair that is sweet. 
 
 A fruit is some- 
 thing that comes 
 on a tree. 
 
 A whip is a 
 stick and a lash 
 on the end of it. 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 127 
 
 Money is to by things with. 
 
 Sky is clouds. 
 
 Sky is air. 
 
 Sky is something that the rain falls out of. 
 
 Weather is rain or shine. 
 
 Eat means your mouth. 
 
 Play means when you are running around and hiding 
 behind trees and houses. 
 
 Roasts is a part of a cow. 
 
 The cattle products of South America are hides, tallow, 
 and silver. 
 
 They have stews at boarding-houses. 
 
 Government is the governor. 
 
 Fiercely is very uggly. 
 
 Ditches is a hole. 
 
 Destroy means to have a book tored up. 
 
 Pitfalls means to pitty anybody. 
 
 Suddenly meanes that think she will die. 
 
 Pounces means to jump up on a cat or anything. 
 
 The number of people on the earth was the reason for 
 its being flattened at the poles. 
 
 Greedy means to eat some food away from another. 
 
 Eager is to watch and see what another eats. 
 
 Ravenous means hurry. 
 
 Extravigrant means to use all the money you can. 
 
 Lonesome means to have somebody gone away. 
 
128 The Country School 
 
 Carelessly means to lose a child. 
 Invitation means to go to a house to eat. 
 Business-like is a man that works. 
 Bordered is to have everything in. 
 Daughter is a man's girl. 
 Enter is to go to the school house. 
 Unlike is to be puplitc to anybody. 
 A ball is made out of leather and stufhns. 
 A bell is used to commence school with. 
 Dictionary is where they keep all the words people 
 don't know. 
 
 Carelessly is not to be careless. 
 
 The almanac is to look up things with. 
 
 The almanac tells the date of the year. 
 
 Earth is ground. 
 
 A ball is to through. 
 
 Pair is to eat. 
 
 Pare is shoes. 
 
 A book is a thing that has a stitT cover. 
 
 A bill is when you owe somebody. 
 
 Paint is something red. 
 
 Paint is a yellow color. 
 
 The sun is a thing that shines in my eyes. 
 
 A blotter is some ink and is on the paper. 
 
 Income is to come in. 
 
 Income means to go to a house. 
 
Helping a little one on with her things 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 129 
 
 Passion means to pass a car. 
 Trading is to biy things. 
 An elf is a small animal. 
 A sheaf is any bundle. 
 Huge means to feel bad. 
 Leaf is any thin piece. 
 
 A bell is something to ring made of tin and iron. 
 Almanac is a book with pictures in it. 
 The almanac shows us when it is going to rain and 
 when there is going to be a knew moon. 
 Pair is a fruit that grows on a tall tree. 
 
 CONFESSIONS OF A BAD BOY WHO REFORMED 
 
 I was a cureious little boy when I first went to school 
 I dident hke to go anyway. I would torment the teacher 
 the worst kind and I would do every thing that she dident 
 want me to do and if she wanted me to do a thing I would- 
 ent do it and she got so mad with me she would shut me 
 up in the closit but that dident do no good. I would 
 get out of the window and go home, when I got up to 
 read I would say whatever came into my mind and she 
 would send me to my seat, and I would sit and laugh 
 over it like a monkey but she thought she would try a 
 new rule to be sure, she would give me a good whipping 
 with the ruelar when I dident mind, that I got use to 
 after a while and didient mind it when I came to school 
 
130 
 
 The Country School 
 
 in the winter time I would bring snow in on my feat she 
 would tell me to go back out. I was so cold I dident want 
 
 to and she would 
 give me a good 
 shaking and I 
 iked it beau- 
 cause it warmed 
 me up. the next 
 teacher we got 
 was better than 
 the first one she 
 I hked very 
 much she would 
 give a card every 
 night when I 
 The teacher gives one oj the boys a shaking w'cnt home and 
 {Drawn by the hoy) ^^^ ^^j^ j ^^.^^ 
 
 the best boy in school. I carraid my dinner to school, 
 there was a big tree near the school house us boys would 
 get up in the tree to eat our dinners one of the boys 
 ■got out to far on the limb and it broke and he fell but he 
 loged on a nother limb down a little ways. 
 
 A U 
 
 Af. Z-^. 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 131 
 
 POETRY 
 
 Composed on the 26th day of February. 
 
 We heard 
 A bhie bird 
 This morning 
 As a warning 
 That spring is near 
 And is all most here. 
 
 A LETTER 
 
 Harry made a tobogain Sataday. and we had som 
 slides it was very very coald and it sleud so that we went 
 down the hill backwards. 
 
 We have a new hierd man his name is Robert he 
 seams a verry good man so far. 
 
 I can scate alone but I fall down a good many times. 
 We scate on a pond opersite the male box. 
 
 It snowed yesterday and rained hard in the night, 
 and so we have a crust and the trees look like glass ones 
 and they look so graceful and pretty i carnt posably 
 discrib them, every thing is beautyful. 
 
 We go to school now and the week slips by so fast that 
 we find sataday in the middle of the week so we should 
 think. We doant find much time to waist. 
 
132 The Country School 
 
 To day I had to see how many seconds it took me to 
 add 8+9 + 5 + 4 + 8 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9. 
 it took me 30. but I did not get it wright. 
 
 Harry choped of a piece of a log of sHpcry elm yester- 
 day and we pealed it and ate some. 
 
 Aunt Sahra is a bed with a headake. I have bin sow- 
 ing on a soing machine. 
 
 Laura. 
 
 P.S. this is the largest letter I ever rote. 
 P.S. You did not say any thing about my last letter 
 so i think it was rite. 
 
 ^£/i^C9^>c^yl^ 
 
 OUT CAMPING. — A STORY 
 
 Once there was a boy who was very rich he become 
 so rich he bought the world. One day he was out camp- 
 ing he throught he would go out f hishing so he got in 
 one of the boats, he saw some whales down to the lower 
 end of the river so he throught he would catch one, so 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 133 
 
 rowed dowTi to them, be four he got down there one 
 came and upset the boat, and he swoUow him and the 
 boat floated down the river, so one day his mother came 
 down to the camp, so she went out in the boat and throught 
 she would catch one and she caught one and put it in the 
 boat it eat her up and the boat floated down the river 
 into the ocen 
 
 COMPOSITIONS 
 
 Jack Frost 
 
 Jack frost never comes out in the summer. But in 
 
 the winter he is out every day then he bit our toes and 
 
 finger. When he is here we can have a lot of fun here 
 
 are some of the thing that we can do when 
 
 he is here sligh down hill, make snow balls, 
 
 get sleight ride, get our feet wet. But when 
 
 he is gone we can have a lot of fruit, these 
 
 are some of the fruits pears apples cherry 
 
 'A schoolboy 
 
 graps. We can not have any of thoes thing 
 in the winter. In the winter time we have more fun than 
 in the summer. We can go scaking on the rivers. Some 
 times Jack Frost does not freez the w^ater hard enought 
 so we go into the water and get wet. Jack Frost makes 
 our feet wet so when we take off our shoes they stick to 
 our feet and so when he get up in the morning we have a 
 hard time geting them on. 
 
134 The Country School 
 
 Trees 
 
 Trees grow in the ground. A tree is tall, it bears a 
 good many kinds of friut one is apples another is pears. 
 My apples trees do not b^'ar any fruit, but they are yoused 
 for shad trees and to get the sap to use. Trees are very 
 useful. In the fall the leaves of Maple turn into a pretty 
 collor red that makes it look pretty. In the winter 
 the leaves fall off of the trees and leav them bear. When 
 the leaves fall off people rake them up, and use them for 
 beding. In the spring the trees commence to leaf out. 
 Trees look dead in the winter, and in the summer they 
 do not look dead but bright and leaves on them. When 
 trees are dead they have no leaves on them and do not bear 
 any fruit, so people cut them down. Trees look pretty 
 and bear fruit when they are alive, but when they are dead 
 they do not look pretty or bear fruit. I think I have 
 ritten quite enough so I think I had better stop. 
 
 Chipmunks 
 
 A chipmunks are very prety. And thare are a graite 
 menny of them. xAnd they eat chestnuts and walnuts 
 and butternuts, and they live in the woods i think I 
 have seen one. they are striped, the huntters catch 
 them, they store thare food away to eat in the winter, 
 they are about as small as a good sized rat. we see them 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 135 
 
 in the fall, they live in an old roten trunks of trees, 
 they never come out in the winter 
 
 I can not think of enny think elce so I will stop Mary 
 Smith. 
 
 Facsimile oj one oj the youngest scJiolars^ manuscripts 
 
 Fish 
 
 Fish are good to eat. They live in water in fresh water 
 and salt water, in ponds brocks. In rivers lakes At- 
 lantic Ocean to. We catch them with hooks and line. 
 Fish swim with fins and tail to. Some have no eyes in 
 caves. Sometimes fish eat other fish. Fish eat insects. 
 
136 The Country School 
 
 Going to School 
 
 I like to go to school. I like to study in my books. 
 I am in the third reader and Arithmetic and Geogeraphy. 
 the school is made of brick and we sing. My teacher 
 dose haft to write songs on the boart and then we learn 
 them and sing the song I have a little work to do at home. 
 Be fore I go to school I have to wash my face and hands 
 and change my dress and put on my hat and coat and start 
 off for school. And when any body sayis enny sentes 
 that has aint I poot it on the bord and leave it ther till 
 night and then rase it. We have a tree a little awayes 
 from the school house and it is a good tree to it is a tree 
 that dose shade the hose nise. We have four girls in 
 school nine boys in school. We have in school five black 
 boards in school, the boards are about full every moning. 
 the schoolers want to go to the boards and write ther 
 words We draw at school every fridday. We have but 
 one teacher. We have some floer seeds in the bed And I 
 must tell about what is in the floer bed There are peonies 
 poppies, sweet peaes, scarlet beanes, moring glories lark- 
 spur, gladioli, holly, hocks. 
 
 And that is what we have got in the floer bed. And 
 what we play at recess is Kings-land and squart-tag and 
 stone-tag and wood-tag and hide and cop. 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 
 
 137 
 
 The perils 0} the early settlers 
 
 Mis Hap 
 
 As I was driveing in the corn-field to smooth off the 
 field to plant. 
 
 I turn round to short and the horses turn around and 
 round tell they tip the smoother up endways and I fell 
 under it and the horses got fritting and ran home They 
 was a nother man tried to stop them and his ran a way 
 up to the barn 
 
 I haller whoa but they did not stop till they reach the 
 barn. Then we came runing af the them. When they 
 got to the barn they tried to get in the door. They did 
 not get in the door the pepol in the house thought they 
 was a team coming in the yard and they went to the door 
 and saw the horses come full speed. 
 
 The peopl in the house wear scart but they ran out caught 
 
 thores by the bridle, the swet ran off of one hores legs 
 
 and I througt he was bleeding. I back the hores out 
 
 of the barn and shith them up and took them down to 
 
 the modow again. 
 
 The End. 
 
1 3^ The Country School 
 
 Great Funs at School 
 
 Our school begins at nine Oclock. We first have sincr- 
 ing & then comes the lessons There aint but three boys 
 in school larg enough to play ball so we generaly play 
 Kingsland I live only about a quarter of a mile from 
 the school house so I go home to diner. At reces in the 
 afternoon now it is so hot that we do'nt do any thing but 
 talk. In June our school lets out for a long vacation. 
 Then in the fall the school begins again. & it is cooler 
 so that we play hide & coop squat tag etc. Then the 
 chestnuts begin to get ripe & our teacher gives us a day 
 to go chestnuting. Then it begins to get cold & we hang 
 around the stove to keep warm. Then the snow begins 
 to come & we have great fun sliding down hil. There is 
 a large hill in frunt of the school house & we go down so 
 fast that it takes your breth away When it gets very 
 cold & the ice begins to freze we skate up & down the 
 pond like the wind. When it snows & covers the pond 
 we take a shovel & broom & clean it off Then after a 
 while it begins to get warm & the ice begins to get weak. 
 And one day when we were skating the ice cracked like 
 every thing & one of the boys got in but we did not stop 
 skating becaus we thought it would soon be over & it 
 was soon over & it was all slush & mud. And we made 
 a raft and floated around in the water & had great fun. 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 139 
 
 After a while the water came up very high & the teacher 
 had to come to school in a boat. & we had great fun 
 catching flood wood The water came up so high that 
 
 1 he .scliDo/hoiise in jioad-tiDir 
 
 some of the houses were fluded But it did not last long 
 & then it came around to hot wether again. 
 
 Vacation 
 
 In vacation we have lots of fun and lots of works first 
 comes the seeds to be sowed then the potatoes and corn 
 to be planted. Then comes the weeding and hoeing to 
 be done. I do not like to weed onions it is a tiresome 
 job to be bending over all day and almost breaks my 
 
140 The Country School 
 
 back. 2nd picking strawberries is also a tiresome job 
 mutch like weeding onions. But work is not all of the 
 vacation there is some play such as playing base ball 
 Hide-and-go-seek kingsland foot ball etc. Now playing 
 base ball is a very good game but you are apt to get hurt 
 such as spraining your finger smashing your teeth etc. 
 the best of kings-land is the geting the one who is it on to 
 the oposite side and pull his hair, foot ball is a very ruff 
 
 w ^ M 
 
 A hay field 
 
 game in which boys are hurt quite often. Next comes the 
 haying we begin haying about the 22 of June that is 
 our first haying first the grass is to be mowed then it is 
 to be shook out then turned over a cuple of times then 
 raked up then loaded into the wagon then tosed into the 
 bay and it is done. Then comes the second hoeing not 
 so hard as the first but hard enough for me. Then the 
 second haying not as good a crop as the first and the hay 
 is mad just as the first crop which I told you about. Then 
 
How the Scholars Think and Write 141 
 
 comes the potatoes to be dug then picked up and put in to 
 the cellar. Then the corn to be cut and then husked and 
 carried to the barn then the stalks to be cut up and made 
 ready for the cows to feed on during the winter. Then 
 the other vegitables to be got into the cellar such as the 
 squash pumpkin onions etc. But to take it away through 
 I think I had rather have vacation than school. 
 
 Blackboard drawings: "a farmer, his Utile girl, and his wije" 
 
VI 
 SCHOOLHOUSE ENTERTAINMENTS 
 
 IN the central villages of the country towns it is 
 possible during the leisure of the winter months 
 to get up social diversions that are quite grand. 
 But to whatever dazzling height of attraction these may 
 attain, I doubt if they ever have the charm and natural- 
 ness to be found in the schoolhouses of the outlying 
 hamlets. The characteristic gathering is one where, 
 aside from the enjoyment afforded by the meeting of neigh- 
 bors in friendly converse, there is a programme including 
 recitations, music, and possibly a dialogue. The items 
 of such a programme are handled with more style in the 
 larger places, but in the ornate town celebrations the 
 individuality that glows from each participant in the 
 schoolhouse merry-makings is apt to get smoothed out 
 into mannerism. 
 
 Of course, in certain ways the isolation of an outlying 
 hamlet is a handicap, and it is apt to be a source of regret 
 to the inhabitants. They are largely dependent on them- 
 selves for diversion ; and yet if this results in their putting 
 forth extra efforts to make the local life pleasant and 
 interesting, the isolation may be a blessing in disguise. 
 
 142 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 
 
 143 
 
 In the attempt to brighten the long winter evenings, 
 there are various social gatherings at the homes ; but the 
 schoolhouse is the place of meeting on the more important 
 occasions, and the children of the school furnish the back- 
 bone of these rustic 
 festivities. The liter- 
 ary material on which 
 the children draw for 
 subjects is often artifi- 
 cial or commonplace; 
 yet they themselves 
 are so sure to be en- 
 tertaining and original 
 that you readily for- 
 get the respects in 
 which their perform- 
 ance falls short of a 
 technical ideal. They 
 each have a piece to 
 speak; and in addi- 
 tion to that, all of Trimming the Christmas tree 
 
 them together come out on the floor several times and 
 form in rows with the teacher beside them, and sing such 
 songs as they have learned. They depend a great deal 
 on their teacher; for she picks out the verses for them 
 to memorize, drills them, and when thev stand before the 
 
144 
 
 The Country School 
 
 audience, she is near at hand ready to prompt when 
 they forget the words. 
 
 The audience always takes special pleasure in listening 
 to a spicy and picturesque dialogue; but space limita" 
 
 tions and the difficulty 
 of managing a lot of 
 children, full of excite- 
 ment over the glory of 
 the occasion, make it 
 unwise to attempt any- 
 thing very elaborate. 
 It is not, however, easy 
 to find dialogues that 
 will fit the need of the 
 schoolhouse either in 
 matter or manner. 
 What is wanted is some- 
 thing short, requiring 
 few actors, and having 
 a homely quaintness of 
 expression and of situa- 
 tions that shall be pleasant and natural from the child's 
 point of view. Sometimes a dialogue from a book or 
 magazine can be cut down and adapted ; but the two little 
 plays which follow were written for the occasions when 
 they were acted, and they were produced with entire suc- 
 
 Speaking his piece 
 
^t^ 
 
 ^ 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 145 
 
 cess. By that I do not mean there was no bkindering. 
 The mistakes and accidents were half the fun, and were ap- 
 plauded as heartily as that which was done most cleverly. 
 Whatever the lacks of the performers, the dialogues them- 
 selves are of a sort that seemed excellently suited to the 
 place. A corner of the schoolroom was curtained off and 
 fitted up in the rude likeness of a room in an old-fashioned 
 farmhouse. At the back of the apartment was an open 
 fireplace made of a drygoods box, with the inside roughly 
 painted to imitate smoke-blackened bricks. Several an- 
 cient chairs were scattered about, and there was a cot- 
 bed, a bureau, lamp, and clock. The first of the dialogues 
 was acted at a Christmas celebration, the other on the 
 evening of Washington's Birthday. The former was 
 entitled 
 
 CHRISTMAS NIGHT 
 CHARACTERS 
 
 Sanla Clans, with white beard and big fur coat. 
 Tommy ] brothers, the first seven, and the second nine 
 Freddy j years, old. 
 
 Tommy (pawing out the contents of a bureau drawer). 
 Well, I don't see where ma put those stockings. No, 
 they ain't here. 
 
 Freddy. We'll have to make the old ones do, then. 
 
H6 The Country School 
 
 I don't know what Santa Claus'll think of us for hanging 
 up such things. See there, now! {Runs his arm into 
 the long stocking, and his fingers come out sprawling 
 through a hole at the other end.) 
 
 A hunt for sioc/^ings 
 
 Tommy. The presents that Santa Claus puts in'll all 
 tumble out at the bottom. Here, you stop that, Freddy ! 
 You're tearing the hole bigger. 
 
 Freddy. We'll have to tie up that hole to make the stock- 
 ing any good. Got any string, Tommy ? 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 
 
 147 
 
 Tommy. I guess so. {Pulls a lot of things out of his 
 pockets and puts them on the bureau.) Yes, there's some. 
 Now you hold the stocking, and I'll tie it up. 
 
 Freddy (as they do the tying). Tommy, what do you say 
 to stayin' up and ketchin' old Santa Claus just after he 
 has come down the chimney and is tilling our stockings ? 
 
 Tommy. I don't believe we could do it. He doesn't 
 come till twelve o'clock, and we'd get to sleep before then, 
 even if we was to try our hardest to keep awake. 
 
 Freddy. I'll tell you how we can fix the business. 
 There's the alarm-clock. Set it to go off at twelve, 
 and that'll bring our eyes open in no time. We'll turn 
 
 Making ready )or Santa Claus 
 
14^ The Country School 
 
 the hght dowTi and go to bed with our clothes on, and so 
 be all ready to pop out on the old fellow. 
 
 Tommy. Good for you, Freddy ! That's just the thing. 
 You hang up the stockings and put up the signs we made, 
 and I'll wind the alarm. {Freddy hangs the stockings 
 on some nails at either side of the fireplace, and next to one 
 pair of stockings adjusts a placard on which he has lettered 
 his name, and ?iext to the other pair a similar placard which 
 hears Tonimy^s name. Meanwhile, Tommy winds the 
 alarm.) 
 
 Freddy. But what are we going to do with Santa Claus 
 when we ketch him? 
 
 Tommy. I hadn't thought of that. We'll have to make 
 some kind of an excuse, 'cause he might get mad. 
 
 Freddy. I know ! We just want to find out if there 
 really is a Santa Claus. We'll tell him what Sammy 
 Tompkins said about there not being any Santa, and he'll 
 say we did exactly right. 
 
 Tommy. That's so, I guess he will. Well, turn down 
 the lamp and we'll go to bed. There, crawl in. Now, 
 let's see who'll snore first. {Both fall to imitating snoring 
 and they laugh a little and kick about, but soon quiet into 
 sleep.) 
 
 Santa Claus. {Comes in softly.) All right. Everybody 
 sleeping. Well, well, stockings all labelled. That's 
 thoughtful. I don't need my spectacles to read this 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 
 
 149 
 
 lettering ! {Puts dozen Jiis sack and from it fills the stock- 
 ings. Just as he finishes doing this, the alarm goes off; 
 that is, some one behind the curtain sets off a clock at the 
 proper moment. Santa tumbles in great terror to the 
 
 ^H 
 
 1 
 
 ^H 
 
 
 PH 
 
 |H 
 
 HI 
 
 1 
 
 S^S^iKS? 
 
 1 
 
 . ^ 
 
 ^1 
 
 K 
 
 " 
 
 i 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 ^^B^S^^i^S 
 
 B 
 
 
 1 
 
 in 
 
 ■ 
 
 1 ' 
 
 B 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 The boys go to bed 
 
 fioor.) Great Ctesar's cats! what was that? In all the 
 ten thousand years, more or less, that I've travelled up 
 and down this old world, I've never heard anything like 
 that. Must have been a new invention or an earthquake. 
 (Looks about fearfully.) 
 
 Tommy. {He has risen on his elbon' and speaks in a 
 whisper.) There's Santa. He acts kind o' scared. 
 
 Freddy {also in a whisper). Now's our time, then ! 
 
 BotJi Boys. [They jump from the bed, dash across the 
 fioor, and grab Santa Claus by the shoulders.) There, 
 we've got you ! 
 
150 
 
 The Country School 
 
 Caught 
 
 Santa Clans. Why, what's the matter? Hold on, 
 hold on ! 
 
 Tommy. Yes, we'll hold on. We've got you ! 
 
 Santa Claus {getting up). Well, now, what are you 
 boys after, anyway ? What was that noise I heard ? 
 
 Freddy. {He hangs on to one oj Santa s hands, ivhile 
 Tommy dings to the other.) Oh, that was nothin'. It was 
 just one of these little alarm-clocks to wake up by. 
 
 Santa Claus. Was that all? I thought the earth had 
 cracked and was going to pieces. But what has got 
 into you boys to come pitching on to me the way you 
 did? 
 
 Tommy. Why, we just wanted to know if there was a 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 
 
 151 
 
 Santa Claus or not. That's all. Sammy Tompkins said 
 there wa'n't. But we knew there was. 
 
 Santa Claus. Of course there is. Don't you see all 
 those things I've put in your stockings, and don't you see 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 
 
 w^- 
 
 fff 
 
 
 ■ ^^^- ■■ 
 
 Wi 
 
 ^hH 
 
 ^HL^^^^Ku ^a| 
 
 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 P^^B! 
 
 H 
 
 Santa faces tlie audience 
 
 that tree all loaded ? Well, boys, I can't stop any longer. 
 
 {Shakes hands.) I wish you a Merry Christmas {turns 
 
 toward the audience), and I wish you all a Merry Christmas. 
 
 {Curtain) 
 
 ( 
 
152 The Country School 
 
 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY 
 
 CHARACTERS 
 
 Ephraini, a farmer. ] Boys dressed as 
 
 Jabez, a neighbor of Ephraim's. J old men. 
 
 John, dressed as Washington — the tallest and oldest 
 boy of a group of children. 
 
 Susy, a girl dressed as Martha Washington. 
 
 Polly, one of the smaller girls dressed as a little Es- 
 kimo. 
 
 r Dressed as a German. 
 I 
 Dressed as a Dude. 
 
 Dressed as an Indian. 
 
 Dressed as an Irishman. 
 
 . Dressed as an Italian. 
 
 Other 
 Children 
 
 The only things bought for the occasion were the beards 
 of the two old men. The rest of the material for costumes 
 was hunted up in home closets and garrets. Often there 
 was no very close resemblance attained to the characters 
 represented, but there was always a sincere attempt to get 
 a distinct individuality, and the result was in every instance 
 satisfactorily entertaining. The scene was made to bear 
 some resemblance to an old-time farmhouse kitchen, 
 with an open fireplace and straight-backed chairs. This 
 setting, even in its crudities, was much to the liking of 
 
Going to the woods jor Ike Christmas tree 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 153 
 
 the children who were the actors, and they went through 
 the play effectively, where they would have failed, had 
 it been something finer that was outside the range of their 
 experience. The touch of the grotesque in the names and 
 conversation and general get-up of the old men appealed 
 strongly to the children's imaginations, as did also the 
 masquerade costuming of the other characters. 
 
 Ephraim. {Seated by his fireside reading a paper. 
 Yawns.) Oh hum ! I'm gettin' sleepy so early. If the 
 children wa'n't away, I'd wind the clock and go to bed. 
 {Slow, heavy footsteps are heard outside. Ephraim rises 
 stiffly and stands expectant, while Jabez enters.) What ! 
 that you, Jabez? Glad to see you. {They shake hands, 
 and Ephraim resumes his chair.) Have a seat, Jabez, 
 have a seat. 
 
 Jabez. Well, I will in a minute, when I get warmed up. 
 Kind o' shivery out to-night. {Takes off his hat and 
 stands with his back to the fire.) Where's Israel and 
 Maria? 
 
 Ephraim. Oh, they packed up yesterday and went 
 dowTi to Boston to spend a week visitin' some of Maria's 
 relatives that live there. 
 
 Jabez. Sho ! they did, did they? Hadn't heard of it ! 
 
 Ephraim. Yes, and they perposed that the children 
 should go over to stay with their uncles and aunts at 
 the Corners so I could go to Boston, too. But I told 'em 
 
154 The Country School 
 
 they wouldn't ketch me kitin' off so far at my age. Might 
 get killed or something, you know. 
 
 Jabes. That's so ! Don't take much to get killed now- 
 adays. Keeps you pretty busy, I s'pose, lookin' after the 
 children and all the housework and barnwork besides? 
 
 Ephraim. Well, the children are gettin' old enough to 
 help more'n you'd think — John, especially. He's most 
 as good as a man about the work outdoors. To-night 
 they've all gone off somewhere. 
 
 Jabez. Didn't they tell you where they was goin' ? 
 
 Ephraim. No. Said 'twas a secret. It's some school 
 party, like enough. They hitched into the pung right after 
 supper and off they went, the whole bilin' of 'em. I 
 don't know as I ought to 'a' let little Jim and Polly go; 
 but John promised faithful to see to 'em and get 'cm home 
 airly. 
 
 Jabez. Well, they all stopped over to our house. That's 
 the way I happened to drop in. They kep' at me to step 
 over here an' see you, sayin' you'd be lonesome and one 
 thing and another, until I come. 
 
 Ephraim. Ha, ha ! they're up to some rinktum or 
 other, I'll be bound. But set do\\Ti, Jabez. 
 
 Jabez. {Seating himself and holding out his hands 
 toward the blaze.) Fire feels good a cold night like this. 
 
 Ephraim. So't does, and I guess I'd better be puttin' 
 on another stick. There ain't many has these roarin' 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 155 
 
 open fires in these times. You ain't had nothin' over to 
 your place but stoves these twenty years, have you? 
 
 Comfort by the open fire 
 
 Jabez. No, all our fireplaces was bricked up long ago. 
 What's that ? {Straightens up, and looks toward the 
 window.) I thought I heard sleigh bells tumin' into the 
 yard. 
 
 Ephraim. Sounds like the pung, but the children wouldn't 
 be comin' back yet-awhile. 
 
 Jabez. I ain't dressed up for company ! 
 
 Ephraim. I ain't neither, nor the house ain't ! (Both 
 get up nervously. Outside there are cries of "Whoa, 
 whoaT' followed by a stamping of feet and then a rap at 
 
156 
 
 The Country School 
 
 the door.) Well, there they be, whoever 'tis ! {Steps toward 
 the door, when a crowd oj children in costume burst in.) 
 
 John. {Dressed as Washington.) Wish you both a 
 Merry Christmas ! 
 
 Ephraim. Is that you, John? What you up to any- 
 way ? 'Tain't Christmas ! 
 
 Children. Well, it's Washington's Birthday ! 
 
 Ephraim. Is it ? I declare, I believe it is. I'd forgot. 
 
 The children surprise I heir grandpas 
 
 Polly. {Dressed as a little Eskimo.) This is a s'prise 
 party. Grandpa ! 
 
 Jabez. {Nudges Ephraim.) She's a cute one. 
 
 John. Yes, that's what it is, and we dressed up to 
 
Schoolhouse Entertainments 157 
 
 represent a few characters for you. We tried to make 
 some poetry to speak ; but when it rhymed it wa'n't sense, 
 and when it was sense it wa'n't poetry. So we give that 
 up mostly, and we'll have to tell you straight out what 
 we are. Now, I'm General Washington, the father of 
 his country, first in peace, first in war, and first in the hearts 
 of his countrymen. 
 
 Susy. And I'm Martha, his wife, mother of her country, 
 second in peace, second in war, and second in the hearts 
 of her countrymen. That's what John said. 
 
 Jabez. Well, I don't know but you be ! I hadn't 
 thought of that. 
 
 The German. I came from Germany to help make this 
 great country. 
 
 The IrisJiman. I came from Ireland to help make this 
 great country. 
 
 The Italian. And I came from Italy to help make this 
 great country. {Suspended from his shoulders he carries 
 a box with a leg under neat Ji, a cloth over the top, and a 
 crank attached to make it look like a hand-organ. Turns 
 the crank while some one behind the curtain plays " Yankee 
 Doodle" on a comb or harmonica.) 
 
 The Dude. Where I came from there's no one knows, 
 But I'm an American, I suppose. 
 (After he speaks he marches across the stage and back, takes 
 off his stovepipe hat and makes a low bow to the audience.) 
 
158 
 
 The Country School 
 
 Polly. I'm a little Eskimo 
 
 From the land of cold and snow. 
 All the children. We all help make the nation, 
 And accept the invitation 
 Of this country good and free 
 A part of it to be. 
 Jahez. You done well, children, and your grandfathers 
 are both proud of you, ain't we, Ephraim? 
 
 Ephraim. Sartain, sartain, we are that, and I'm goin' 
 to skirmish around in the buttery and see if I can't find 
 some refreshments. But first let's join in a hearty cheer 
 for Washington and Liberty ! 
 
 All. Hurrah ! Hurrah ! Hurrah ! 
 {Curtain) 
 
 Companions 
 
 3U77-2