make him a priest, a
clerk, or a schoolmaster. The determination once fixed, the boy was set
apart from every kind of labor, that he might be at liberty to bestow
his undivided time and talents to the object set before him. His parents
strained every nerve to furnish him with the necessary books, and always
took care that his appearance and dress should be more decent than those
of any other member of the family. If the church were in prospect, he
was distinguished, after he had been two or three years at his Latin, by
the appellation of "the young priest," an epithet to him of the
greatest pride and honor; but if destined only to wield the ferula, his
importance in the family, and the narrow circle of his friends, was by
no means so great. If, however, the goal of his future ambition as a
schoolmaster was humbler, that of his literary career was considerably
extended. He usually remained at the next school in the vicinity
until he supposed that he had completely drained the master of all his
knowledge. This circumstance was generally discovered in the following
manner:--As soon as he judged himself a match for his teacher, and
possessed sufficient confidence in his own powers, he penned him a
formal challenge to meet him in literary contest either in his own
school, before competent witnesses, or at the chapel-green, on the
Sabbath day, before the arrival of the priest or probably after it--for
the priest himself was sometimes the moderator and judge upon these
occasions. This challenge was generally couched in rhyme, and either
sent by the hands of a common friend or posted upon the chapel-door.

These contests, as the reader perceives, were always public, and
were witnessed by the peasantry with intense interest. If the master
sustained a defeat, it was not so much attributed to his want of
learning, as to the overwhelming talent of his opponent; nor was
the success of the pupil generally followed by the expulsion of the
master--for this was but the first of a series of challenges which the
former proposed to undertake, ere he eventually settled himself in the
exercise of his profession.

I remember being present at one of them, and a ludicrous exhibition it
was. The parish priest, a red-faced, jocular little man, was president;
and his curate, a scholar of six feet two inches in height, and a
schoolmaster from the next parish, were judges. I will only touch upon
two circumstances in their conduct, which evinced a