1?70 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



37 



time for £?arJens or something or other, and 1 

 was at school. "We boys'' were a class in 

 mental aritiimetic, and we certainly were not 

 a very satisfactory class; our teacher was not 

 proud of us, and we were not proud of our- 

 selves ; in fact, as our mother's were not proud 

 of us so far as our mathematical attainments 

 were concerned, we doubt if we were any par- 

 ticular source of joy or pleasure to any one. 

 Not one of us could answer such (juestions as 

 the one at the head of this chapter, and so we 

 wei'e reprimanded Ix'causc we had not studied 

 our lessons, and ordered to "take the lesson 

 over asain." The next day it was no better 

 and we were kept after school to "study." 

 Didn't do any 2;o()d for we didn't study, but 

 only looked stuljborn. The "master" talked 

 with our parents, and it was i)roposed to [nin- 

 ish us all four to take the stubbornness out of 

 us. It is true we all plead we "didn't know 

 how" but as we had been told how, over and 

 over again, it must be tliat it was only "pure 

 ugliness." Some one ventured to ask if we 

 were not good boys in other respects, and the 

 teacher admitted we were; that our other les- 

 sons were very fair, and that we had simply 

 got conti'ary on mental arithmetic and nothing 

 else. At this crisis, one of the four whisperetl 

 to me one day in school, that lie had learned 

 how to "cipher," and as a proof he produced a 

 broken piece of slate from his pocket, perform- 

 ed an example in addition, and then exhibited 

 to our admiring gaze the fact that he had "got 

 the answer" just as it was in the book. This 

 was certainly "business," and very soon 

 the whole of us were equipped with broken 

 slates and pencils, and the way we "ciphered" 

 at home was a caution. As we were busy and 

 out of mischiei, no one took the trouble to in- 

 (juire what we were at, and rinally our cipher- 

 ing was carried into school, to the neglect of 

 our thumbed and "dogs' eared" mental arith- 

 metics. Finally, the "Master" approaches, and 

 our slates are hastily put out of sight. 



"Now look here boys, you cannot deceive I 

 me ; I have been watching you for some time j 

 with your heads down on your desks all four j 

 of you, and now this mischief must come to 

 light. Show me what you have been doing! 

 Out with it!" " ! 



Four dirty ioroken slates and pencils with as < 

 many old copies of Ray's Arithmetic, Part ' 

 Third, were sheepishly produced, while we I 

 waited in fear and trembling for our sen- 1 

 tence. ■• 



"Is this all?" We nodded. i 



"But you can do nothing with these." 

 "We get the right answers." 

 "But you don't even know the multiplication I 

 table." j 



"We keep our lingers on the jilace and look," ' 

 said we, taking a little more courage. 



"But you certainly will never amount to ! 

 anything in this way, and (musingly) I fear ! 

 you never will any way. Here, put your slates : 

 all on top of the desk and have your own way. 

 You will soon get tired enough of it." 



Did we? Not at all; it for the lirst time ' 

 gave us a clear idea of what tigures were for ; 

 and very soon we had no occasion to look at ! 

 the multiplication talilc for it had "learned ; 

 itself." Wc were doubtless somewhat at fault, 

 but by farihc gr.-atci- part of the trouble was 



! with the "coats" that had been prepared for us 

 ; and not with the 'ijoys." 



Only a day or two ago our boy had trouble 

 with his lessons, and his mother asked if papa 

 could not take just a little time to help him. 

 Papa was awful busy but he would just look at 

 the example, when lo and behold ! 'it was the 

 very "12, is 4-o of what number?" in sub- 

 stance. I repeated it over and over in a varie- 

 ty of ways, but all in vain; he could not see 

 any sense or use in such contortions of num- 

 bers. I am really afraid I should have accused 

 the boy of being "too schmall," had not the 

 whole scene of years ago come back vividly to 

 mind. T finally took him kindly by the hand 

 —mentally I mean— told him my early troubles 

 in the same place and when I set really about 

 it made him perfectly comprehend the whole 

 matter, as any father can do If he has a mind 

 to. The drills I put him throuirh on it, took 

 nearly a whole hour, but it did me as mucli 

 good as him, and we both got much better ac- 

 quainted thereby. The encl is not yet. Yes- 

 terday a lady in passing me on the 'street re- 

 marked : 



"Mr. Root your boy is doing finely in school 

 of late ; a boy that tries so hard to do right, 

 and is so willing to learn, is really a treasure." 

 Aud this was his teacher's verdict, after I had 

 been almost tempted to think him heedless or 

 stubborn. His teacher is an excellent one but 

 as she has a large school it is impossible for 

 her to take each individual pupil and lift them 

 by main strength over their troubles as almost 

 any parent can if he is not "too busy." Besides 

 by helping in this way you are most surely 

 helping yourself. Do you know how much 

 such a boy could aid you in a fev/ years? 

 There is a text in the Bible somewhere, to the 

 effect that the more you give the richer you 

 will become, aud I suspect that this applies 

 particularly to giving aid to our fellows who 

 are in trouble, at the expense of a partial neg- 

 lect of our own duties. Had I not taken the 

 time to help him in his ciphering, you would 

 never have had this chapter. 



Don't you think it would be just as well for 

 me to let some one else talk a part of the time ? 

 Well that is just what 1 have been thinking 

 for some time, and as some quite interesting- 

 letters touching the "Home" i^apers are at 

 hand, we will look them over before we take 

 up chapter X. It seems the friend who writes 

 the following had been in the habit of wearing 

 a veil that was visible, thus avoiding the mis- 

 hap liable with the very thin ones. 



I think the Homo Dopartmciit well worth the a/Milioii- 

 al 23 cents. I don't talk nearly as craljlied in mv fauiilv 

 as i did, and don't lind any more f inlt about my'ljej-veil 

 —cheap enouili for silk \n\t wasn't 1 spunky aiicv trviu';- 

 three times to put lionev in my moutli and the "veil 

 woiddn't let mey Ami 11i:mi Imw mv Ij.-tfc;- half lau-^hj.l 

 at me. 



G. P., Peru, Ills. 



On page 15 of Oiit IIomks yon puldish A Word/o 

 Mothrrx. In regard to white rnljlier being colored 

 with white oxide of iiiercury ; I would say thi-; i.< an er- 

 ror, as there is no oxide of mercury that is wliite — 

 Prof. A. !. lioot onght to have thought of that— hut J 

 am sorry to say that \ can not correct any more of the 

 article. White riibl)er is llie invention of Henry (j. 

 Tyer, of .\ndover. Mass.. and is colored with wliite 

 oxide of zinc. White oxide of zinc is claimed bv Dr. 

 Tver to be non-)>oisonf>us, but it is foreign to the iiodv, 

 and moreover has been found by experiment to be 



