OLD HOMESTEAD 



Spelling schools were quite a feature of the winter schools. 

 Scholars came from the other districts to compete and spell us 

 down, if they could. They seldom did — and never, that I re- 

 member, when Nancy Gillman and Henry Wilcox were with us. 

 Then there would be a sort of return match in another district, 

 and we contested with them on their own ground. 



There were evening grammar schools, in which parsing from 

 the English reader and Pollock's ''Course of Time" sharpened 

 the wits and broadened the understanding. 



Saturday afternoons came "speaking pieces," and compo- 

 sition and miscellaneous exercises, which varied the monoton}^ 

 We had good talent in this line. There were the Wilcox boys — 

 Henry, Whitfield, William and Lumund — and the Bartons — 

 Alvin and Enos — all able declaimers, and they often made the 

 old school-house resound with "The Turk was dreaming in his 

 guarded tent," "On Linden when the sun was low," Thana- 

 topsis, Mark Antony, and other famous extracts. 



School exhibitions were common, and the close of school 

 was celebrated by an elaborate one, for which we carefully pre- 

 pared. 



Once we had what was called a "town exhibition," under 

 the patronage and management of the town superintendent. It 

 was held at the " Huddle " in the old Baptist church. We were 

 drilled for several weeks on speaking pieces, dialogues, com- 

 positions — anything and everything to show us off to the best 

 advantage. When the day came we formed at the school-house 

 and marched to the place of rendezvous, about two miles, 

 through the dirt and dust. We were all in our smartest Sunday 

 clothes. My shoes had in some way become unwearable, and I 

 did not know it until the morning of the celebration, as I was 

 going barefooted that summer. The dilemma was met by my 



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