OLD-TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-BOOKS - online book

An Illustrated history & description Of Schools in the 18th & 19th Centurys.

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	The District Schools	109
	most of the time " busy " keeping still. The backless benches they occupied were commonly far too high for them, leaving their feet dang­ling in mid air. Of course they would get to knocking the shins of one another, a whif­fet of laughter would escape, and the noise would increase until it attracted the attention of the master. Then down would come the pedagogue's ferule on his desk with a clap that sent shivers through the little learn­ers' hearts to think how it would have felt had it fallen somewhere else. "Silence!" commanded the master, and he gave them a look that swept them into utter stillness. The usual routine of a school day began with reading from the Testament by the "first class." Next came writing and its accompanying prepa­ration of pens and copies, and possibly thawing and watering of ink. Huntington's American