©EC 4 
$ 
for \\)t 1 )o«Ti 0 . 
THE STORY OF A DISTRICT SCHOOL. 
A COLLEGE BOY’S DIARY. 
(Continued.) 
Ox the Monday following the funeral I 
found the school in a state of considerable ex¬ 
citement. Mollie Brawn made haste to state 
the cause. She danced nji and down before 
my desk as she shouted: “Jack’s a coinin'to¬ 
day—aint I glad! Aint I glad!’’ 
This amiovmoeraent spoiled mv morning. I 
must confess that l was a little afraid of Jack 
Brawn. I knew that I could master the other 
scholars and teach a good school if he kept 
away. I could see that the notion of his com¬ 
ing put a spirit of rebellion into the other 
boys. All they lacked was a hold leader to 
induce them to break out. No wonder I 
looked nervous when at last wo heard Jack 
stamping the snow off his feet on the outside 
of the door. He looked larger thau ever to 
me as he strode in and hung his hat on a nail. 
He gave me a sour look and nodded. He car¬ 
ried his books under his arm. and made Ins 
way to a seat at the back of the room. 
1 concluded to goon with the school just as 
though nothing had happened, so I went on 
trying to show the difference between A and 
B to a very stupid little boy who held the floor 
when Jack came in. At the same time 1 kept; 
rr. eye on the new comer. I had fully made 
up my mind, in case of any trouble to settle 
it once and for all. Either l should be master 
Of the school or leave it. In glancing about 
for a weapon. 1 noticed one of the sticks that 
the director had brought in standing in the 
corner. I t was a large, heavy looking cudgel 
with a good-sized knot at the end. t made 
up my mind that when the fight did come it 
should be near that stick. 
Jack behaved himself well enough for a 
time. He got up and came out with one of 
the classes to recite. He knew very little 
about the lesson, and I found that I should be 
forced to put him back into a class of smaller 
scholars. His black eyes snapped as 1 told him 
this, and we should have had the long looked 
for insurrection right there had it not been 
for our visitor. 
A sharp rap came at the door and I dis¬ 
missed the class as I walked over to see who 
had called. A tall man wearing a soldier’s 
blue overcoat stood on the steps. He nodded 
at me. and as a first step towards eloquence, 
took from his mouth a large piece of tobacco 
which be held in his hand all ready for further 
use. It was a little cold, and the doin' opened 
directly upon the steps, so I invited the 
stranger in. He came walking heavily in, 
took off his hat with his tobacco hand and pro¬ 
ceeded to explain the object of his visit. 
“Like enough you folks know me,” he said, 
•‘beiu’s I’m sorter interested in schools like. 
I’m the director over ter deestnet No. 3. I’m 
a great baud fer good schools, I be. I ’low 
we’ve gut the best teacher in this township over 
ter my deestrict, an’ I picked him out. He 
kin tigger all through the Yithnntie iuhis head, 
an’ when it comes ter spellin’— my, of he ain't 
a hoss. I’m a mule. An’ that sorter ties me up 
ter what I smiled fer ter say. Our folks ’lows 
we kin beat the township to a spellin’ school, 
so we laid out ter come over here a Friday 
night an’ git up an appetite on this deestrict. 
We’re spellers, we be, an 1 don’t you never fer- 
git it.” 
Thu scholars received this intelligence with 
all the enthusiasm that Bear Creek was cap¬ 
able of. That is, they looked at each other 
and winked their dull eyes and nodded their 
heads. 'I he bearer of the challenge, put his 
hat on bis head and started for the door. Of a 
suddeu he appeared to remember that as a 
school official, he ought to speak a few words 
of advice and cheer. So without removing his 
hat. and with the tobacco still iu his hand he 
went on. 
“I’m alius glad ter visit schools an’ put iu a 
word where it’ll do some good. Schools is the 
greatest thing in this country. All the big 
men that do all them things you lead about in 
the readiu’ books, went ter school. An" they 
done good work while they wuz there. 
Schools is changed frum wbat they was in my 
younger duys. 1 kin remember the fust time 
I went ter school. I set or a log an' larnt my 
spellin’ lesson betwixt two beys that fit the 
teacher every day. We had a great big 
feller fer a teacher that carried a bottle of 
hair ile in his coat-tail pocket. Them big 
boys got me ter hit that bottle with a stick. I 
done it an' "brack the bottle. Then thorn boys 
gut scared an’ made me take all the thrasbin’. 
All them things shows how much better off 
you be, an’ how fast ye orter laru. We’ll be 
over a Friday an’ make things bile.” 
He went out at last and shut the door 
behind him with a bang. Before he had 
fairly left the building the scholars grasped 
their spelling hooks to prepare for the struggle. 
Bear Creek might be lacking at some points, 
but she meant business when her spplliug was 
assailed. I quickly found that it was custom¬ 
ary, on such occasions, to spend the whole 
week over the spelling book and to neglect 
entirely the other duties. Even Jack Brawn's 
face lost its scmvl as he plunged among the 
long words. 
At the noon recess some of the larger girls 
came to my desk and after much giggling said 
they wanted to get up some singing for the 
spelling match. They wanted me to 
sing with them. I never was a musician and 
am lucky enough to realize the fact, but. of 
course I told them 1 would do my best to aid 
them. So the girls secured an old singing 
book, and ranged back of my desk to practice. 
The l oys formed a group by the door and 
watched us. The girls picked out “Murmur¬ 
ing Sea” for the first piece. I do not know 
what there was appropriate about it. but mu¬ 
sic is music, and we started bravely in. As I 
stated, I never pretended to be a singer, but 
l was not prepared for the roar of laughter 
that went up from the boys as I started. 
“Give that calf more rope,” shouted a voice 
that l recognized as Jack Brawn's. 
1 dropped the book and started to iny feet. 
I decided iu an instant to fight the battle of 
Bear Creek right there. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark: I guess you flunk I 
am slow about letting you know how the seeds 
you sent us came out. We planted the Garden 
Treasures, but they did not come up very 
well, but the Alaska Peas came up aud were 
very flue. I aiu a girl 11 years old. and have 
two sisters and three brothers. Wo live on a 
farm and have four cows, two horses aud a 
nice little colt. We rais» pigs, chickens, tur¬ 
keys and ducks. My Papa takes the Rural 
and likes it very much. Please don’t put ibis 
letter in the waste basket. 1 have a little 
brother six years old who went out to-day 
with his dog and caught a rabbit. If you have 
auy little boys up that way who can beat that 
let us hear from you. 
From your niece, ALICE h. yields. 
Nottingham. 
[We haven’t heard of them. He will make 
a mighty hunter some day. How much of the 
catching did the dog do?— C. m.] 
Dkaii Uncle Mark: I would like to join 
the Y. H. C. The seeds that you sent to Papa 
were doing nicely when the frost killed them. 
I have one sister nine vearsold. We have two 
horses, one colt, three cows, two calves, three 
sheep, 100 chickens, one dog, six cats and 
eight, birds. 1 like to read the Cousins’letters 
I will close now. Your nephew, 
MARION PUFFER. 
Dear Uncle Mark: I rend the Cousins' 
letters aud would like to lie a Cousin, too. 
May lie the Cousins would like to hear «hout 
my misfortune. August SI, 1885 my right 
knee began to hurt. I went over to my Aunt’s 
to visit; 1 was going to stay a week, but it 
hurt me so badly I bad to be brought home. 
Mamma and oue of my brothers took me up 
to the doctors, who thought at first it was in¬ 
flammatory rheumatism, blit it was not, aud 
afterwards they thought it was on abscess. 
The doctors thought it could not be cured, so 
they thought it would have to be amputated. 
The little piece that was left healed up in six 
weeks aud ou February 111 commenced walk¬ 
ing on crutches. 1 go to school most every day; 
1 was 11 years old May 5. I didn’t go to school 
then because it was so muddy and such busy 
times that 1 couldn’t betaken up to the school • 
house. The girls made up a surprise party 
and iuvited all the scholars that wore big 
enough to come. We had a lap supper and 
had a nice time, only it rained. Papa always 
takes me up to school when he is here, but he 
is visiting iu New York, now. My oldest sis¬ 
ter takes me up iu the buggy aud my young¬ 
est sister goes with us for a ride. I have two 
sisters younger aud three brothers and two sis¬ 
ters older. The next oue to the youngest goes 
to school with me. The school-house is three- 
quarters of a mile from our house; we live on 
a farm of lfiO acres of land. We have very 
bad weather now, windy aud dusty. 
LILLIE MAY SMITH. 
York, York Co., Neb. 
[I guess you are a pretty brave little girl. 
We are all sorry for you. Wouldn’t it be 
line if we could all come and give you u sur¬ 
prise party? you must not be discouraged at 
all. I am very glad you can have such good 
times as you do. Uncle Mark would like to 
see you.—U, M.] 
^ftisrcUanjcoup 
DIXON’S "Carburet of Iron" Stove Polish wot 
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Rheumatism 
TVp doubt, if there is, or ran lie, a specific 
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Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Sold by all druggists. SI; six for .$5. Made 
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Your lines are where you put them—not under 
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BRYANT iV STRATTON'S. Hiittnlo. N. 5 ■ 
PUKE MILK. 
WARREN MILK BOTTLES 
Patented March 28d, 1991). 
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