c,--were too apt to be occupied,
as we have been told, in scolding, devising or practising some mode of
punishment. We remember hearing of a school where the master kept a
long cane pole (something like a fishing-rod) which he used for the
purpose of reaching boys who needed correction; on account of the
length of the pole he was enabled to do business without leaving his
seat. It was never suspected at the time how lazy this master was.

Another teacher kept for use as a punishment a common walnut, which
when occasion required he first put into the mouth of a colored boy,
and after it had remained there for five minutes or so, it was taken
out and put into the mouth of the white boy, who was thus to be
punished by holding it in _his_ mouth for a certain length of time.
This same teacher had a round smooth stone, weighing perhaps ten or
fifteen pounds, which very small boys were required to hold in their
arms for some time, and stand up straight before the whole school.
These with a good rattan and a cowhide furnished this master's
equipment for teaching.

There was another master who had what he called "the mansion of
misery," which was simply a line drawn with chalk on the floor in
front of his desk, where for trifling offences such as whispering,
etc., scholars were required to "toe the mark," standing perfectly
still and upright for a long time. This was often to a little boy
painful enough. This master had a stock of cowhides and rattans
besides.

Another teacher, a woman, had the floor of the school-room kept very
clean; consequently no boys were allowed to come in at all with heavy
boots, and the other children in wet weather were compelled to remove
their boots and shoes and put on slippers before entrance. If any of
the scholars were too small to take off and put on their own boots
they were punished by being "blindfolded" and stood upon a cricket in
the middle of the floor. Apparently the worst offence scholars could
be guilty of was to bring in mud or wet upon the polished floor of the
school-room. At this school one very small boy who wore high boots,
but who was unable to take them off without assistance, having been
punished for his "stubbornness," was taken away from the school by his
parents, who resented such an act of injustice and oppression. The
"school-marm," however, said she would rather lose all her scholars
than have any mud or wet upon her floor.

These cases are simply curious. It may be