Boarding Round/Chapter 3

This building stood about twenty-five feet from the traveled path of the highway, and eight or ten feet above it, on the south side of a steep hill. It had been placed there because the building lot had no pecuniary value. And as this piece of ground had been selected from reasons economical, so also was the structure, erected upon it, an illustration of the same careful use of money. Twenty-four feet was the length thereof, and twenty-two the breadth thereof. It had, however, an ell measuring eight and one-half feet by nine. And this was a very useful addition. Here provision was made for the one outside door and an entry. In this, wood was piled up that it might be kept dry, and also be at a convenient distance from the stove. This tier of wood incidentally served as a wide shelf, on which the scholars could put their hats, bonnets, and outer garments, while, on rainy days, their wet umbrellas leaned against it in ​the corners. Of course, this house was painted red, the orthodox color of schoolhouses at that time. The outside as well as the inside showed abundant marks of the little boy's skill with his jack knife. These products of youthful imagination were variously suggestive, if not always artistic. In the center of this schoolroom was a large, open stove, with its pipe running straight up through the ceiling. It had a broad hearth, on which stood andirons that were capable of receiving sticks of wood of very considerable length. In summer time this hearth was often filled with greens and wild flowers, to assist in cultivating the esthetic taste of the little boys and girls. But when not so used, it was sometimes converted into a kind of penal colony, where these youngsters, one or two at a time, and at irregular intervals, were made to sit, that they might cultivate a desire to observe the rules of propriety.

In the winter, this stove was the place for a roaring, snapping, and not unfrequently, smoking fire. Yet when the cold was severe, the temperature, near the outer edge of the floor, was often near the freezing point, while the little unfortunates, crowded in near this dispenser of heat, presented an appearance much as if being roasted.

The seats for the scholars were constructed after the common pattern of those days. Such of them as were designed for the larger ​boys and girls, were made of chestnut planks, about ten feet in length and raised on legs to the proper distance from the floor. These were arranged in one row, around on three sides of the room, leaving a space of about two and one-half feet behind them. This space was for the sloping shelf on which books, slates, and inkstands were kept. It also served, by means of its thin edge, as a support for the backs of the scholars. Such a merciful provision for comfort was, however, limited to the time when they sat facing the school. If they whirled around,—as it often became necessary for boys and girls alike,—then no support for their backs remained. For their lessons in writing, for studying with their atlases or their slates, this change to facing the wall was a necessity, even if the process of accomplishing it, especially for young ladies, was somewhat inelegant. The seats for the little ones also consisted of long benches, arranged in the same order as those for the larger scholars, but within the latter, thus on three sides of a smaller square, and very near the stove. These enjoyed the additional blessing of having backs. Although it might be ever so cold, the little one was not obliged to ask to go to the fire. He was expected to sit quietly through four periods daily, making in all six hours; and if he belonged to the youngest class, he could have nothing in his hand. The great lesson ​which he must learn was not reading and spelling, but to sit still, patiently waiting for recess, or noontime, or the close of school at night.

Besides the outer and inner row of seats, there was a desk for the master, and one chair. This desk stood before the stove. It was furnished with a lock. It thus served as a kind of safe deposit for the master's things. This desk was high, and one using it must stand, and not sit, for writing and similar purposes. In it was always kept a ruler, which was used in making straight lines, and sometimes for making scholars walk straight.

The walls of the room were bare. There were no pictures on them or anything of a similar character, to make them pleasing or instructive to the children, excepting certain promiscuous small drawings, with ink or pencil, which indeed were very numerous. But these were all by inexperienced artists, and were only very poorly adapted to cultivate a taste for better things. As to blackboards and wall maps, the people of the Corner district had not been able to see wherein they would be of great benefit, and they would involve additional expense.