nt
in study. From the first, Killis has identified himself with his famous
namesake, while Nucky has as inevitably taken sides with the Trojans and
Hector, so much so that the boys call him "Trojan." This evening he was
scathing in his denunciation of Achilles. "Gee," he said, "I wisht them
Greeks had a-had a _man_ along. Now if Blant had a-been there, you'd a
seed some fighting! He wouldn't have sulled around in no tent none!
He'd a-got the drap on Hector allus-ago, same as he done on Elhannon and
Todd and Dalt Cheever when they laywayed him in April. He was riding
along past the cliff where they was hid in the bushes, and heared the
click of the lock when Elhannon cocked his trigger, and whirled around
and poured six bullets into 'em before they could fire their guns,
killing Elhannon and very nigh killing t'other two."

_Wednesday._

I expected that with Iry's abilities in the way of spelling, he would be
the pride and prodigy of the school; but I am pained to learn from his
teacher that he can do nothing but spell. It seems that in the
five-month district school he has attended three terms over on Rakeshin,
nothing was taught but reading and spelling,--two lessons a day in the
former, two in the latter,--thus does our noble commonwealth do her duty
when she does it at all! Iry has had to go back into the first grade to
learn the rudiments of arithmetic, geography, grammar, etc.

Last night Taulbee, the eldest, who is very opinionated, took occasion
to enter a general protest against innovations such as nightgowns,
tooth-brushes, fine-combs and the like, and wound up by arraigning the
school methods of cooking. "Them little small biscuits you-all have
don't make half of a good bite," he declared: "You women," he continued,
severely, "think you know so much, and lay down so many laws, and,
by Ned, you don't even know how to bile beans!"

"How should beans be cooked?" I inquired.

"A pot of string beans calls for a big chunk of fat pork and about four
handful' of lard throwed in, to be fitten to eat," he said; "I haint
tasted a right bean sence I come here."

This afternoon arrived a solemn little man of eleven from over on
Clinch, named Hosea Fields, to take the one vacant place.

When Jason came up from his bath to-night, he rolled up his gown sleeve
and held out a pink arm to me. "Just feel my muscle," he said, "Oh, I'm
_so_ nervy!"

[Illustration: "'Just feel my muscle,' he said, 'Oh, I'm so nervy!'