"
The pupils were familiar enough with the illustrious history of their
noble predecessor. They were sure to be told, in lawless moments, that
if Mr. Laneway were to come in and see them he would be mortified to
death; and the members of the school committee always referred to him,
and said that he had been a poor boy, and was now a self-made
man,--as if every man were not self-made as to his character and
reputation!
At this point, young Johnny Spencer showed his next neighbor, in the
back of his Colburn's Arithmetic, an imaginary portrait of their
district hero, which caused them both to chuckle derisively. The
Honorable Mr. Laneway figured on the flyleaf as an extremely
cross-eyed person, with strangely crooked legs and arms and a terrific
expression. He was outlined with red and blue pencils as to coat and
trousers, and held a reddened scalp in one hand and a blue tomahawk in
the other; being closely associated in the artist's mind with the
early settlements of the far West.
There was a noise of wheels in the road near by, and, though Miss
Hender had much more to say, everybody ceased to listen to her, and
turned toward the windows, leaning far forward over their desks to see
who might be passing. They caught a glimpse of a shiny carriage; the
old dog bounded out, barking, but nothing passed the open door. The
carriage had stopped; some one was coming to the school; somebody was
going to be called out! It could not be the committee, whose pompous
and uninspiring spring visit had taken place only the week before.
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