MY BOOKS.

NO. VIII.

VALPY'S GREEK GRAMMAR.

THE recollection of some books is burnt into my memory as with a branding-iron; and the associations connected with these intellectual scars are occasionally as grateful as the reminiscences of a crop-eared rogue, while he surveys his fraction of a head in a mirror.

Valpy's Greek Grammar is one of the volumes thus remembered. The loathing, with which I look back upon my first passage through its profound obscurities, is owing to the errors of the then common mode of teaching the science of language, varied by the diverse characters of the two teachers under whom I studied it.

Both of these pedagogues were well enough as men, but in their professional character, contemptible, like most other teachers of that day. The one under whom began the grammar, never troubled himself to explain a difficulty, if he ever went so far as to think; which is, at least, questionable. He allowed me to struggle onward through the mist and the slough by my own light and my own strength. I was fifteen years old when I first opened Valpy, and, of course, I needed not so much assistance as those who began their study at a younger age; but some trifling aid I did require. The alphabet was my first lesson, and, by virtue of a memory as strong as the digestive powers of an ostrich, I mastered it in one afternoon. But to make letters, thus learned by the eye, into words, and read them, was a much more difficult task. I never have found but one teacher who practised what appears to me the only true system of teaching this first lesson in a language, whose letters are unlike those of our vernacular.

That one individual is Professor Seixas, the Hebrew teacher, now residing in Charlestown. His method of teaching the letters and the art of reading, is to take a Hebrew book,-say the Bible, and make his pupil spell out each word after him, calling the letters by the name of the corresponding letters in our own alphabet. Thus :-H-a-g-(hag)-a(haga)-d-o-(do)-(hagado)-l-ee-m-(leem)-(hagadoleem.) The scholar learns, without any trouble, to read immediately, by thus learning the power of the letter, instead of its name, at the same time with its shape; thus realizing the story of the little school-boy, who had spent two years in trying to learn the alphabet, and at last declared, in answer to his teacher, who pointed to A, "I knows it by sight, but I do'n't know it by name." The names of the letters are afterwards acquired without trouble; for, having become tools, or things of use, their names, by the power of association, are at once riveted upon the memory.

But master B. never disturbed the thick puddle of his brain by devising novel modes of teaching. His grand principle was to listen. The scholar learned from the book-not from the teacher; the teacher heard the recitation, but never troubled the understanding of the pupil by making him reflect, search out a reason, or hearken to an explanation. To illustrate this villanous system, by an example of its influence, I will relate an incident, the occurrence of which mortified me exceedingly at the time, and the remembrance of which makes my

cheek tingle even now. By superior power of memory I had overtaken an advanced class in the grammar, just as they reached the paradigm (paradigm! what a word for a school-boy!) of the contract verbs, which the American editor has added to the English editions of Valpy. The class were reviewing, and, therefore, familiar with the subject, and able to move along by large and rapid lessons. It was all new to me, however, and to keep pace with them was difficult. The paradigm gives specimens of three verbs, one of which is Tuάo. It came to me to repeat the imperative mood of that verb in the active form. I was delighted; for, as I had learned it, it was so simple that mistake was impossible. I therefore dashed through it with a fluency and rapidity, which I considered not merely wonderful, but most praiseworthy. Judge of my horror when my performance was received with an eruption of laughter by both teacher and classmates. What could it mean? For once the pedagogue vouchsafed an explanation. To render the blunder apparent I must copy the verbs by which it was occasioned. I will substitute English for Greek letters, and then any person will comprehend the error.

Now, I ask, what human being would imagine, on looking at the above conjugation, that the "to," "ton," " tone," "te," and "tosan," seen in the third line, in the second and succeeding columns, were terminations common to each of the three verbs in the respective columns; that they were the tails, cut off of the verbs by the editor, placed, without any symbol of connexion or relationship, without hyphen or any other typographical mark of junction, opposite to the middle verb, to be rejoined,-restored to their natural union, by the scholar? I venture to affirm that no one, who had not been previously enlightened, could have seen any more clearly than I did. I began, proceeded, and completed my enunciation of the verb, without reference to the terminal syllable thus cut off, and with ore rotundo poured fourth timae, tima; timae, tima, six successive times, through singular and dual, and plural, the words running from my tongue like corn from a mill-hopper; whereas I ought to have said timae, tima; timae-to, tima-to; timae-ton, tima-ton, &c. The obstreperous laughter which followed my performance,-the laughter of a stupid teacher, who was the real cause of the blunder, and of classmates who were jealous of my scholarship, and ready to sneer and exult at my smallest failure,made a most disagreeable impression upon my feelings, and left a stamp of shame and indignation on my memory, that has never been and never can be effaced.

I was the favorite pupil of Master B. notwithstanding that one mistake, and was made to suffer severely by his kindness towards me. He allowed me to trust wholly to a ready memory,-to move forwards by gigantic strides, by long lessons, and, of course, to acquire a superficial and fleeting knowledge of my study. This indulgence necessarily generated the pernicious habit of slighting the elements of science, the foundation stones, on whose exactness depends the security and

value of all subsequent attainment; and, for years afterwards, I suffered,-nay, to this hour, I suffer, in consequence of his misjudging good will.

The first inconvenience that I felt, in consequence of this treatment, arose under the successor of Master B.-a man of the fiercest passions and most unbounded severity. His sagacity, unblinded by partiality, at once detected the deficiencies occasioned by Master B.'s neglect, and he set himself to correct them, with about as much humanity as is exercised by a celebrated veterinary surgeon (horse-leech) in our vicinity, in cutting open a horse's mouth to make the noble animal feel more sensibly the bit. He gave me short lessons, and a blow was threatened for every mistake. As with me, so with every other scholar; "stripes and imprisonment," literally, as in the case of St. Paul, awaited us; for if one was beaten, another was kept an hour or more after school, to get his lesson more perfectly. On one occasion, when my patience was worn out by his ill temper, I resolved to punish him for his mal-treatment.

A tea-party had been formed, and invitations issued to a host of gossips, among whom I knew the tyrant, "Master P." was included. "He shall not go to the tea-table," said I; "by Jove, he shall not!" And so I called a second person into my scheme. Dana, (that was the other conspirator's name,) was delighted, as boys always are, at the prospect of revenging himself on the pedagogue, and entered heartily into the joke. On the morning of the appointed day, it was agreed that Dana should recite his lessons so badly as to provoke Master P. to detain him after school, and so keep the Master himself, if possible, away from dinner; but at all events, too long to give him time to change his dress at noon. It was done as anticipated, and the poor teacher had only time to snatch a morsel of food, and come back to school in his thread-bare, every-day clothes. It was now my turn to practise the same joke in the afternoon, so as to be detained, and consequently detain our tormentor, beyond the hour at which he was expected to tea. There was a strong probability, that, instead of being detained, I should be flogged;-but "neck or nothing "-I was rather too large to be whipped, and besides that, I was resolved to behave unexceptionably well,-merely saying, when he called on me to recite my last lesson, (twenty lines in Virgil,) “ I have not quite got it, sir," and repeat the answer until the end was accomplished. "You will stay after school, sir, till you have quite got it," said Master P. with furious accents, in reply to my dilatory plea; "Sir?" said I, wishing him to repeat the threat so loud that the whole school might hear him, and be witnesses to his promise. "Then you will stay, I say, sir, after school, till you have quite got your lesson !"

"Good!" thought I; "good! I shall be a diplomatist yet." I kept the man, according to his promise, after the other scholars were dis missed, until dark;-he, the mean time, alternately looking at his watch, and at his old coat,-walking to the window to gaze anxiously at the ladies, who passed singly or in couples to that land of vain promise, the tea-party, and hearing my imperfect attempts at recitation. At last, when I felt sure that it was too late for him to dress and be in season, I concluded his imprisonment by a brilliant exercise, much to his delight,-gathered my books into my satchel, and, as I

left the room, which he always locked up himself, just by way of expressing my kind feelings for him, remarked, that "I feared my dullness had kept him away from Miss H.'s tea-party!" and then took to my heels.

"Well, Jerusha," said I to my sister the next morning at breakfast, was the Master at the party last evening?"

"Yes," said she, "but he came in very late."

"How late?"

"So late that he lost his tea; and in such a hurry that he was not more than half dressed.

"Ha! ha! ha!" shouted I; “huzza for old Put!”

When the whole story came out, it appeared that the pedagogue had, in his haste, forgotten the ablution, which, after his official labors amongst pens and writing-books, was always necessary, and by some unlucky accident his fingers had communicated their professional dye to his face; and, to crown the poor man's misfortune, he had omitted, in the confusion of a hurried toilet, much of what is necessary to a gentleman's appearance, and appeared a perfect "scare-crow."

It was a glorious triumph to me and my associate; but we were silly enough to boast of our exploit, and, in consequence, drew down on ourselves the hatred of the Master, which manifested itself in the following manner:

Belonging to one of the village churches there was a neat little, school-house-looking, ten-feet building, called the chapel, in which were held frequent religious meetings in the evening. The chapel was a spot famous in the history of our male and female academicians. It was the rendezvous of all the literary misters and misses between whom an amorous partiality existed, the audacity of which was not sufficient to venture on visits at home, but was only strong enough to sustain a flirtation in the purlieus of the Academy, before, between, and after school-hours, or at and from an evening meeting, when it would have been an intolerable wrong for the beardless Abelard to allow his favorite Heloise to walk home from her devotions companionless. In the absence of other meetings, of a less serious character, these conferences and prayer-meetings were resorted to by the boys, under Master P.'s dictatorship, and by the girls, who were subject to the sway of his female partner in the "delightful task," Miss W. How often have I walked down, in a cold winter night, to the chapel, after services had commenced, and stood watching the door as the later worshipers went in, to catch a peep at the female benches, and ascertain whether Hannah, or Sarah, or Elizabeth was present! How often have I tried, from without, to penetrate the thick curtain of mist, deposited upon the windows by pious breath within, in order to discover the vicinity of certain blue, or black, or hazel, eyes, which to me were as potent as was the eastern star to the wise men of old! How often, not daring to go in, have I shivered, half frozen, in the little entry, waiting for the close of service and the egress of my favorite, and then, to my utter discomfiture, beheld her arm secured by some impudent -rival, who had comfortably passed the evening in the warm atmosphere within; or, if she came forth alone, how have I shook with a ten-fold ague at the idea of exposing my tender emotions to the eyes of the outpouring crowd! Yea, verily, how often have I trampled my fears

under foot, and, wondering at my own valor, offered her my company and arm, while a platoon of disappointed competitors, at a respectful distance, dogged our steps through two or three streets, until their wrath became cool, and they dispersed, leaving me the happy victor of Helen and of Troy. And then, how have we, despite the biting frost, and boisterous wind, walked on and on, through all the streets and lanes in the vicinity of her home, until the disappearance of every parlor, and almost every chamber-light, had informed our reluctant eyes that we must separate. And, finally, how often has my good and orderly father bolted, against my disobedient and delayed return, the door, which, thanks to the tender-hearted Jerusha, was, nevertheless, always opened to me, when I came with benumbed limbs and chattering teeth, to claim admittance! Oh the luxury of thus returning to a well-warmed apartment; of pulling open the glowing bed of charcoal, wisely covered for the morning fire, and of the sisterly offices rendered in secret and stealth, with an overflowing heart! Jerusha, thou last of sisters at my father's table, thou soul participater in the thousand fears, and hopes, and high aspirings of my academic life,-when I forget thee, or forget to love thee, let my right hand forget her cunning!

But let us return to Master P. and his revenge. He was fully aware of the above-described practices of the boys and girls; and, furthermore, he knew that occasionally his pupils within the chapel were guilty of an ungodly grin, as they exchanged glances across the room with the good-natured damsels on the opposite side; or of a sacrilegious whisper with each other, sometimes, without doubt, to the annoyance of a sober brother within ear-shot; or, perhaps, of an artificial sneeze or cough, badly feigned to smother a laugh just bursting from some incautious tongue in answer to a whispered joke, which said sneeze or cough might, and undoubtedly did, now and then, resemble the forbidden, as much as the permitted, sound. Upon these juvenile weaknesses he resolved to build his scheme of vengeance.

Once or twice in school, had he uttered general reproof on the subject of indecorous conduct in a place of religious worship; but never with such emphasis or personality as to give us any alarm. We little dreamed of the storm that was about to burst upon us.

"William Read, James Dana, Charles Livermore and Samuel Bartlett," called out Master P. one Monday forenoon, just before the morning session closed, "you will stop with me after the other scholars are dismissed." He spoke in thunder, and his fiery eye shot lightning. The whole school was appalled, and we, who were to stop, the oldest of the scholars, knew not what to expect, though well assured that it could not be any thing pleasant.

We remained, therefore, to hear our sentence, while, after the school was dismissed, many a loiterer, full of curiosity, stopped in the entry, or skulked under the open windows, to learn the cause of our detention.

"I have often spoken to you, young gentlemen," growled the master, when the sound of retiring footsteps had died away, " and frequently had occasion to reprove you for misbehavior in the chapel; I am sorry to say that my reproof and admonition have been ineffectual, and that you have continued your former evil practices; and not only