Little Frankie at School

On this pleasant June morning, they each took a hand as usual, and walked on rapidly toward the school, talking merrily as they went.

When they reached the building, they found nearly all the other scholars, eighteen in number, waiting the arrival of Miss Grant. They went into the school room, took off their hats and bonnets, hung them up in the closet, and then went quietly to their seats on the steps, the little ones on the lower steps, and the others above them on the higher.

When the church clock struck nine, the teacher rang the small bell, when every eye was closed, and every head was bowed for prayer. The little voices all joined in repeating the Lord's Prayer, after which they sung a verse of the hymn, —

 
"There is a happy land,
Far, far away,
Where saints in glory stand,
Bright, bright as day."
 

After this, they pass down from the gallery, and march along to their seats. For the next half hour the school is quite still, while the pupils are studying the reading and spelling lessons: when the bell strikes again, they march out in order to the front of the chair where their teacher sits.

As soon as one class has recited, another is called, until every little pupil has read and spelled.

When this has been done, every face begins to brighten, for they know what the next exercise is; and they like it very much. The largest girl takes her place on the circle, and the others follow her according to their size, until they come down to the smallest one, who is a pretty blue-eyed little urchin of four summers.

Miss Grant then strikes up a lively tune to the words, —

 
"This is the way we wash our face,
This is the way we wash our face,
This is the way we wash our face,
So early in the morning," —
 

each little hand is vigorously employed in rubbing the face, as they merrily follow each other around the circle. As soon as they finish one verse, they stop a moment, to avoid being made dizzy, and then begin again: —

 
"This is the way we comb our hair,
This is the way we comb our hair,
This is the way we comb our hair,
So early in the morning.
 
 
"This is the way we brush our teeth,
This is the way we brush our teeth,
This is the way we brush our teeth,
So early in the morning.
 
 
"This is the way we clean our nails,
This is the way we clean our nails,
This is the way we clean our nails,
So early in the morning."
 

After this marching and singing, the children return to their seats to prepare a lesson in geography, which they recite standing near the globe, the teacher pointing out the places upon it.

Recess and the various sports recommended by the teacher follow, and then come arithmetic and the numeral frame. This is a wooden frame about a foot square, with twelve stout wires passing from one side to the other. Strung on each of these wires are twelve round stones, about the size of marbles. With this frame Miss Grant taught her little scholars to add, subtract, and multiply numbers, in the same manner that Mrs. Gray had taught her little pupils with marbles.

At the close of the morning session, the children marched in the circle again, singing five times five are twenty-five, and five times six are thirty, to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

In the afternoon, the exercises were quite as varied. The lessons mostly being committed in the morning, the children were allowed to tell stories, which the teacher wrote for them on the blackboard, – or they recited hymns and verses they had learned; sung, marched, and listened to the instructions of their teacher.

CHAPTER III.
THE NEW SCHOLAR

In a house near the one where Miss Grant boarded was a little girl whose name was Hitty Moran. Her real name was Mehitable, but her mother and all her companions called her Hitty. She belonged to a very poor family, and as she was the eldest of a number of children, her mother thought she could not spare her to attend school.

From the windows of her chamber, Miss Grant often saw Hitty sitting on the doorstep, holding a large baby in her arms. She noticed that Hitty was always kind to her baby brother; that she sung to him, let him pull her long hair, and never became impatient or fretful with him. All this interested the kind teacher in the child, and she longed to be of some use to her.

One day, when she was returning from her school, she overtook Hitty, who was carrying a heavy basket of potatoes. "Let me help you," said the teacher, taking hold of the handle.

As they walked along, Miss Grant asked, "Did you ever go to school?"

"No, ma'am," said Hitty; "though I staid in a house once where the lady's son taught me my letters."

"Should you like to learn?" asked the teacher.

"O, yes, ma'am; sure I should be proud if I could read; but mother has so much work, and Bobby takes kindly to me, so that she can't spare me to go to school."

"I should think it could be planned somehow for you to learn," said Miss Grant, kindly. "I will go in and see your mother this evening."

She did so, and talked with Mrs. Moran of the advantage it would be to Hitty, if she could learn to read and write.

"Only think," said the lady, "she could teach her brothers their letters, and read them pretty stories to keep them quiet while you are busy at work."

"Feth, ma'am, sure, and I've sinse enough to see the truth of what you're saying," said the poor mother. "Her father often gets a paper from the ould country; but it's little use to us, you see, because the spelling and the pronouncing are quite beyont him. I've often enough wished we could have the luck to give one of the childer an education."

"Can't you spare her to go to school a part of the time?"

"Sure, ma'am, and that's the trouble intirely. The teachers complain when the childer don't be regular."

Just at this moment one of the children fell down, and began to cry so loud, that Miss Grant took her leave. She was in earnest about doing something for Hitty; and she walked as far as Mrs. Gray's, to ask her advice about it.

"Why don't you allow her to attend your school?" inquired the lady. "One hour in the day would be better than nothing."

"I should be glad to do so, if I thought the parents would not object," answered the teacher. "I think with a little trouble she could be made to look tidy."

Miss Grant was not at all rich, but when a lady is resolved to do a kindness, she always finds out a way. She knew that Hitty had no dress suitable to wear to school. She opened her purse after she had reached home, and taking out some money she had laid by to purchase a new book, she walked to the store, and bought some calico to make a child's dress.

On her way back she called at Mrs. Moran's, and told her Hitty might come to her school every afternoon if her mother could not spare her in the morning, and that if her mother would try to send her, she would provide a new gown.

Mrs. Moran was very grateful for this kindness, and promised to get along without Hitty whenever she could. In three days, the little girl called for her teacher, her face and hands so bright, and clean, and rosy, that you would scarcely know her. The dress fitted charmingly, and the grateful smile and look of delight with which, she regarded herself when Miss Grant tied on a neat apron with pockets in it, quite repaid the lady for all her expense and trouble.