he boy in question used to appear with this
book in his hand in the middle of the school, the master standing behind
him. The lesson was to begin. Poor ----, whose great fault lay in a
deep-toned drawl of his syllables and the omission of his stops, stood
half-looking at the book, and half-casting his eye toward the right of
him, whence the blows were to proceed. The master looked over him; and
his hand was ready. I am not exact in my quotation at this distance of
time; but the _spirit_ of one of the passages that I recollect was to
the following purport, and thus did the teacher and his pupil proceed:

_Master._ "Now, young man, have a care; or I'll set you a _swinging_
task." (A common phrase of his.)

_Pupil._ (Making a sort of heavy bolt at his calamity, and never
remembering his stop at the word Missionary.) "_Missionary_ Can you see
the wind?"

(Master gives him a slap on the cheek.)

_Pupil._ (Raising his voice to a cry, and still forgetting his stop.)
"_Indian_ No!"

_Master._ "God's-my-life, young man! have a care how you provoke me."

_Pupil._ (Always forgetting the stop.) "_Missionary_ How then do you
know that there is such a thing?"

(Here a terrible thump.)

_Pupil._ (With a shout of agony.) "_Indian_ Because I feel it."

One anecdote of his injustice will suffice for all. It is of ludicrous
enormity; nor do I believe any thing more flagrantly willful was ever
done by himself. I heard Mr. C----, the sufferer, now a most respectable
person in a government office, relate it with a due relish, long after
quitting the school. The master was in the habit of "spiting" C----;
that is to say, of taking every opportunity to be severe with him,
nobody knew why. One day he comes into the school, and finds him placed
in the middle of it with three other boys. He was not in one of his
worst humors, and did not teem inclined to punish them, till he saw his
antagonist. "Oh, oh, sir!" said he; "what! you are among them, are you?"
and gave him an exclusive thump on the face. He then turned to one of
the Grecians, and said, "I have not time to flog all these boys; make
them draw lots, and I'll punish one." The lots were drawn, and C----'s
was favorable. "Oh, oh!" returned the master, when he saw them, "you
have escaped, have you, sir?" and pulling out his watch, and turning
again to the Grecian, observed, that he found he _had_ time to punish
the whole three; "and, sir," added he to C----, with another slap, "I'll