ren, who drew him out
into the kitchen. Mr. Landholm sat a few moments in silent and
seemingly disturbed thought.

"That boy'll be off to College too," he said, -- "after his
brother."

"He'll not be likely to go after anything wrong," said Mrs.
Landholm.

"No --that's pretty certain. Well, I'll do all I can for him!"

"Whatever he undertakes I think he'll succeed in," the mother
went on remarking.

"I think so too. He always did, from a child. It's his
character. There's a sharp edge to Rufus's metal, -- but I
think Winthrop's is the best stuff. Well I ain't ashamed of
either one on 'em!"

Winthrop took the school. He found it numbering some thirty
heads or more. That is, it would count so many, though in some
instances the heads were merely nominal. There were all sorts,
from boys of fifteen and sixteen that wanted to learn the
Multiplication table, down to little bits of girls that did
not know A, B, and C. Rough heads, with thoughts as matted as
their hair; lank heads, that reminded one irresistibly of
_blocks;_ and one fiery red shock, all of whose ideas seemed to
be standing on end and ready to fly away, so little hold had
they upon either knowledge, wit, or experience. And every one
of these wanted different handling, and every one called for
diligent study and patient painstaking. There were often fine
parts to be found under that rough and untrained state of
nature; there were blocks that could be waked into life by a
little skill and kind management and a good deal of time; and
even the fly-away shock could be brought down to order and
reason by a long course of patience and firmness. But the
younger heads that had no thoughts at all, -- the minds that
were blank of intelligence, -- the eyes that opened but to
stare at the new teacher! What amount of culture, what
distance of days and months, would bring something out of
nothing!

It was hard, hard work. There was nobody to help the new
teacher; he wrought alone; that the teacher always did. The
days were days of constant, unintermitted labour; the nights
were jaded and spiritless. After spelling a great deal in the
course of the day, and making up an indefinite number of sums
in addition and multiplication, Winthrop found his stomach was
gone for Latin and Virgil. Ears and eyes and mind were sick of
the din of repetitions, wearied with confusions of thought not
his own; he was fain to let his own rest. The children "got
on," the parents said, "