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A Singular Adventure.

some progress in the art of teaching. Not much, I confesscertainly less than I had in the art of governing or managing. Still I had done something. I had learned to pay my whole attention to a class while it was reading, unless, indeed, a monitor was, for a time, employed; in which case, I ventured to be absent. But such monitors were very seldom employed; and, in general, if I found it necessary to leave the class, I disbanded it. In short, I had come to the resolution to avoid doing more than one thing at a time.

But the main object of my present article is to relate a curious incident that took place this winter, and which came very near breaking up the school, and destroying my rising reputation as a schoolmaster, forever.

There was, in the school, a certain boy whom, for distinction's sake, I shall call Charles. He was always ready to play tricks when set a going by others; but he was not very artful in getting rid of the punishment due to a fault. Some children, you are aware, have the skill to do things which are wrong, and then shift the blame upon others. I had several of this description, at the time of which I am now speaking. They were even willing to unite in roguery, in order to enlist Charles; and generally skilful enough to escape censure, and involve Charles in trouble. Of this trait in their character, I was, however, at first utterly ignorant. Instead of regarding them as the ringleaders—the seducers and Charles as only an accomplice, I thought Charles was himself the ringleader; and at length I began to watch and warn him. And according to the principles I have elsewhere advocated, the more he saw himself suspected, watched, and doubted, the worse he became.

At last I began to threaten him with punishment. The results of these threats, any one who had a thorough knowledge of human nature might have foreseen. The boy grew worse and worse, every day. The time finally arrived when, in my judgment, it became necessary to punish him.

Near the school house was a large alder swamp. A boy was sent to this swamp to cut whips. I think his orders were to get and bring in three. The whips came. The boy looked affrighted. The other scholars looked at each other, and at me. One young man, of riper judgment than most of the pupils, hung his head. I now suppose that, knowing the character of Charles, he had doubts whether I was pursuing the right course.

The school room was rather small, as is the New England fashion; not more, I think, than fifteen or sixteen feet square. In order to make room for my operations, as well as to strike the boy and the beholders with terror, I ordered all the inside mov

Mistaken Conduct of Col. K.

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able benches to be crowded as near the backside of the room as possible, took off my coat, directed Charles to rise, and begged my scholars to get as far as they could from the whip. Half frightened to death, the younger of them crowded into the corners of the room, while the larger ones, more fearless, sat still and looked on.

Long and eloquently did I represent to the poor boy the nature and enormity of his transgression, and the justice of his punishment. His crime, I said, was obstinacy; and I thought

so.

The boy evinced no deep sense of guilt, and I concluded at length to discontinue my speech, and commence blows.

It happened that the rod which was used was rather dry. I made a parade of laying on very heavy blows, to put the school in awe. They were not so very heavy after all. But the stick was so dry, it soon broke in pieces. One of its brittle parts flew against the cheek of a boy standing near the fire, and slightly broke the skin. The delinquent was punished with some degree of severity, but there was nothing very remarkable about it.

After this was over, he seemed to behave better; as well as the whole school. There was not half the noise, and disquiet, and play that there had been, or else I imagined it so. In fact, I thought I could perceive the good influence of the chastisement for weeks, if not for months afterward.

However, about a month or six weeks-I have forgotten which-afterward, I heard a most singular story, abroad. Why I had not heard of it sooner, I cannot and could not then conceive; nor do I now recollect any better how it was divulged in the end. It was substantially as follows.

The master of the boy whose cheek had been wounded by the piece of whip, and whom I will call Col. K., being very passionate, no sooner saw the cheek and heard the story, with all those exaggerations to which the boy's fright would be likely to lead him, was at once full of wrath and fury. He took his horse and sallied forth. To see me, do you ask? To see the committee? To see any of the rest of the pupils, to find whether their stories confirmed that which he had heard? No such thing.

He rode to the village, and entered a complaint against me, to the grand jurors of the town. He represented me as having abused-tyranically and wickedly-a poor orphan* boy; and as being wholly unfitted-by my ungovernable temper-for continuance in the school. He also told them how long the

* Charles was, indeed, an orphan.

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Consequences to the School.

stripes were to be seen on Charles's back after the punish

ment.

It is rather to be wondered at, that the grand jurors should take no notice of this complaint, strangers as they were to me. But the gentleman was not able to rouse them. Perhaps they saw what the state of his mind was-for he was so exceedingly angry, that he seemed almost like an insane man-and concluded that the case was not worth attention.

Here the matter ended, or would have ended, but for me. It is true that there were several persons in the district dissatisfied with me, in a greater or less degree. But they knew better than to treat me in the way Col. K. had done; and between their sympathy for me and their indignation towards him, the whole matter was dropped.

For my own part, I was unwilling it should end thus. I went to Col. K. and expressed, at once, a sense of the wrong he had done; and concluded by asking him why he did not come to me at once, as soon as he heard the story. Was it acting the Christian part to go first to others?

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'Sir,' said he, I did not go to you first, because I could not have kept my temper. The children said you were in a violent passion, and had whipped the poor, fatherless boy almost to death, and I thought that if so, it was not worth while to go to you at all. Better go to the civil authority at once.'

I asked him whether he still approved of such a course of proceeding; and as the stories of children, in cases of the kind, could not be wholly relied on, whether he did not think it better to go first to the teacher, and tell him his grievances-whether, in short, if he were the teacher, he would not like to be thus dealt with. Indeed, I pressed him very closely on the subject. It is true, I did not fail to concede that there might have been something wrong in the course I had taken; but was this the way to set me right?

He frankly acknowledged, at length, that it was not. He said his only apology for the course he had taken was, that he was passionate, and was not sure he should not beat me, if he met me alone, while enraged. But he now saw, he said, that he had done wrong, and was willing to say so publicly.

This was satisfactory; I could not ask more; and though Col. K. had not taken the best method of setting me right, I was quite willing to let the matter rest.

It is strange, that while so many parents and masters are quite ready and willing to acknowledge that they ought to go directly to the teacher, if they suppose they have cause to be dissatisfied with him, and talk the matter over freely, so few will ever do it. They are more likely, nine cases in ten, to go to

Education in Pennsylvania.

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some other person and complain. My countrymen, these things ought not so to be!

One word more in regard to my school. All went on well after this, for nearly the whole winter. There was no disturbance, no disobedience; all was quiet and orderly, as if nothing had happened. This use of the whip, on Charles, seemed to have accomplished its object completely. And though I cannot say I believe the rod ought to be much used, yet I consider, with Solomon, that to spare it entirely, in the progress of the education of our citizens, and, above all, to proclaim that we will do so, is to spoil them. The rod is one of those things, which should always be ready for use, but seldom or never used; in the manner of physicians with some of their more poisonous medicines.

MISCELLANY.

EDUCATION IN PENNSYLVANIA.

WE alluded, in a former number, to the common school system proposed for Pennsylvania, by Mr Josiah Holbrook, and promised to present it ere long to our readers. A letter from him, dated Philadel phia, January 6th, encloses a memorial, which embodies so many of the principal features of his plan, that the 'memorial' and 'letter' may probably be sufficient for the present. Should we find room, at any subsequent period, for a more extended notice of the plan itself, we shall insert it. After the usual compliments, Mr Holbrook says:

'It is a singular and singularly interesting fact, that every member of the "State Convention," now in session in this city, thinks favorably of the system of education proposed sometime since at Harrisburg, for adoption in this State, and that the delegates from the German counties lead the way in this grand enterprise. A delegate from "Old Berks," proverbial as a German county, who has been opposed to the school law, says, that this circular comes to the point wanted, and is in the true republican spirit. He is one of the committee of twelve enclosed, and has sent copies of the memorial to all sections of his county, where, from personal knowledge, I know it will meet with favor and many signatures. The case is similar in Northampton, Lebanon and Lancaster; all German counties.

The enclosed memorial has been and will be signed by nearly every

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Memorial to the Legislature.

one of the delegates, and sent by them to all parts of the State. It is a common expression, that they have now got hold of the right end of the string instead of the wrong end, as they always have had before. A steady perseverance for a few months longer, is certain to give to Pennsylvania something that deserves the name of "system of education", or a body composed of members or parts connected with each other; which, so far as my knowledge extends, cannot be said of schools or of education in any state in the Union.'

The following is the memorial alluded to. It is entitled A Memorial for Common Education,' and is addressed ‘To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.' ` 'The undersigned, citizens of Pennsylvania, very respectfully invite the attention of your honorable body to some measures for the advancement of Common Education through our State. Impressed with a belief, that many improvements may be introduced into our public schools, without any additional expense of time or money, and that one of the most republican and practicable modes of introducing such improvements is, by presenting them, by means of lectures and appropriate illustrations, to the consideration of our citizens in all sections of the State, we ask of your honorable body a sinall appropriation for the employment of one or more persons to visit all sections of the Commonwealth for that purpose.

The person, or persons, thus employed, may present to schools, and to public meetings called for that purpose, not only systems of instruction and modes of teaching, but subjects of science, particularly mineralogy, properly illustrated by specimens, exhibited and explained on these occasions; and by that means enable all classes of the community in every section of the State, to collect, examine, and understand the natural productions of their respective vicinities, and to institute a system of exchanges with each other, for the mutual and lasting benefit of all concerned.

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For securing to our citizens the full advantage of the proposed visits and lectures, for awakening` general and immediate interest in schools and the diffusion of useful knowledge, and for communicating directly much useful instruction to all parts of the community, we also ask of your honorable body, a provision for a small cabinet, or collection of minerals, properly selected, labelled, and described, and a few instruments, for elementary, practical instruction, for each and every public school in our Commonwealth: the expense of such collection and instruments not to exceed ten dollars for each school.

Fully convinced, that an appropriation for the two objects above proposed, viz. for lectures on education and the sciences, to be given in all sections of the State, and for a few specimens of nature and other in

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