MEMORIES OF THE 



black knit garter, with which she tied Leander to the little 

 bench. After she was gone he dragged the bench outdoors 

 and sat on it in front of the building. The garter was not 

 drawn so closely that he could not untie it, but he was told if he 

 did she would have to punish him more severely. What that 

 could have been is hard to guess, as Aunt Lucinda never 

 planned cruelties. As it was, the punishment Leander got was 

 considerable and the mortification thereof stayed by him long. 

 We promoted him and called him a " Knight of the Garter." 



One of the teachers of very marked ability and strong per- 

 sonality was Diantha Gillman. She lived in the district and 

 taught the school several terms. She was small but muscular, 

 and had the energy of a steam engine in her little body. No 

 winter storm could keep her from reaching the school-house., 

 although the drifts might be over her long-legged calf boots 

 which she wore when very stormy. She was a favorite with the 

 neighborhood as well as the school, and enjoyed the respect and 

 love of every one who knew her; but the average small bo}^, 

 although loving and respecting his teacher, must necessarily 

 show off and be mean, that other boys and girls may know how 

 smart he is. And right there is where I made a big mistake 

 one day. 



We were saying the counties, and I was at the foot of the 

 class — not that I was always there, but because I had been at 

 the head the night before. It was a long class, and they had 

 been droning over the names from the head to the foot, and I 

 had got tired and shifted from one foot to the other. I wriggled 

 and looked out of the window and was as uneasy as a iish out of 

 water. When it came my turn I put on a little steam and 

 rattled along through ''Albany, Allegany, Broome," and so on 

 down the list, ending up with ''Westchester, Wyoming, Yates," 



no 



