Part 2 (1/2)

MY SPEECH

For some time I have had it in mind to make a speech I don't knohat I would say nor where I could possibly find an audience, but, in spite of all that, I feel that I'd like to tryback to its source It ood speech, somewhere, or, it may have started when I heard a poor one I can't recall When I hear a good speech I feel that I'd like to do as well; and, when I hear a poor one, I feel that I'd like to do better The only thing that is settled, as yet, about this speech that I want to make is the subject, and even that is not h my own, however, to obviate the use of quotation- is to gain credit for what some one else has said or written, and still be able to omit quotation-marks

That calls for both h order

But to the speech The subject is Dialectic Efficiency--without quotation-, or, rather, trying to read the masterly book by Doctor Fletcher Durell, whose title is ”Fundamental Sources of Efficiency”

This is one of the eneration, and it is no reflection upon the book for , so deep, so high, and so wide that I can only splash around in it a bit But ”the water's fine” At any rate, I have been dipping into this book quite a little, and that is how I caet the word ”efficiency” from the title of the book, and, besides, everybody uses that word nowadays Then, the author of this book has a chapter on ”Dialectic,” and so I coet rid of the quotation- subject for a speech If it should ever be printed on a prograood speech, I'd like to be skilled in sleight-of-hand affairs I'd like to fish up a rabbit froentles frooldfish I'd like to see the looks of wonder on the faces of the audience and hear theasp The difficulty with such a subject as I have chosen, though, is to fill the frame I went into a shop in Paris once to reat eoods were in the sho That's one trouble with oods seem to be in the sho But, I'll do the best I can with it, even if I aes of the book

In the introduction of the speech I shall become expansive upon the term _Dialectic_, and try to ih acquaintance with all things which the terh they may come to think that I actually coined the word, for I shall not eh to keep my soul untarnished In a review of this book one man translates the first word ”luck” I don't like his word and for two reasons: In the first place, it is a short word, and everybody knows that long words are better for speech purposes If he had used the word ”accidental” or ”incidental” I'd thinkto use my word as if Doctor Durell had said _Incidental_

So much for the introduction; now for the speech Froely upon the book but shall so turn and that the doctor says as toof a flourish, I shall tell how in the year 1856 a young che to produce quinine synthetically, hit upon the process of producing aniline dyes His incidental discovery led to the establishment of the artificial-dye industry, and we have here an exaent and cultured auditors, and they will be wondering if I can produce another illustration equally good I can, of course, for this book is rich in illustrations I can see, as it were, the old fellow on the third seat, who has been sitting there as stiff and straight as a ramrod, limber up just a mite, and with my next point I hope to induce him to lean forward an inch, at least, out of the perpendicular

Then I shall proceed to recount to theate the globe and reach the eastern coast of Asia, failed in this undertaking, but reater achievement in the discovery of A forward two or three inches instead of one, I may ask, in dramatic style, where we should all be to-day if Columbus had reached Asia instead of America--in other words, if this principle of dialectic efficiency had not been in full force Just here, to give opportunity for possible applause, I shall take the handkerchief from my pocket with much deliberation, unfold it carefully, and wipesecond-hand thoughts is a sweat-producing process

Then, in a sort of sublie the how the establishment of rural mail-routes led to improved roads and these, in turn, to consolidated schools and better conditions of living in the country; how the potato-beetle, which seeuise in that it set farely increased crops, and how the scale has done a like service for fruit-growers; how a friend offor oil and found water instead, and now has an artesian well that supplies water in great abundance, and how one Mr hellriegel, back in 1886, uen, and, hence, our fields of clover, alfalfa, cow-peas, and soybeans

It will not seeave us Washi+ngton, the Adamses, Hancock, Madison, Franklin, Jefferson, and Haave us Clay, Calhoun, and Webster; and how the Civil War gave us Lincoln, Seward, Stanton, Grant, Lee, Sherman, Sheridan, and ”Stonewall” Jackson If there should, by chance, be any teachers present I'll probably enlarge upon this historical phase of the subject if I can think of any other illustrations I shall certainly emphasize the fact that the incidental phases of school work may prove to be more important than the objects directly ai to inculcate a knowledge of arith manhood and wo may become world-wide influences

As a peroration, I shall expand upon the subject of pleasure as an incidental of work--showing how the , but that the man orks is the one who finds pleasure I think I shall be able to find some apt quotation from Emerson before the time for the speech comes around If so, I shall use it so as to take theirthe speech from Doctor Durell's book

CHAPTER IX

SCHOOL-TEACHING

The first school that I ever tried to teach was, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully taught The teaching was of the sort that y connected with the work, it was purely accidental I was not conscious either of its presence or its absence, and so deserve neither praise nor censure

I had one pupil as nine years my senior, and I did not even know that he was retarded I recall quite distinctly that he had a luxuriant crop of chin-whiskers but even these did not disturb the procedure of that school We accepted him as he hiskers included, and went on our complacent way He was blind in one eye and soht of him as abnormal or subnormal Even if we had known these words we should have been too polite to apply them to him In fact, we had no black-list, of any sort, in that school I have never been able to deternorance, or innocence, or both So long as he found the school an agreeable place in which to spend the winter, and did not interfere with the work of others, I could see no good reason why he should not be there and get what he could froraphy, and arithrareereat mysteries to him So I permitted him to browse around in such pastures as seeo by default so far as he was concerned

I have but the ical dicta of the books--aacquaintance--but, at that time, I had not even been introduced to any of these But, as the saying goes, ”The Lord takes care of fools and children,” and, so, somehow, by sheer blind luck, I instinctively veered away from the Procrustean bed idea, and found some work for my bewhiskered disciple that connected with his native dispositions Had any one told s I think I should, probably, have asked hi I only knew that this lad to share ratitude for ht there I learned the joys of the teacher That ht me out on our way home from school and asked questions that would have puzzled Socrates, but forgot norance of hard questions in his joy at ht would break in upon hi, and beca a neorld

I almost lose patience withetting ready to appear in public as an accredited schoolo back to the country road and saunter along beside soive him of my little store without rules or frills and with no pomp or parade

In that little school at the crossroads we never ht coive us a rating either as individuals or as a school We were too busy and happy for that We kept right on at our ith our doors and our hearts wide open for every good thing that cae or people As I have said, our as elelad I came across this little book of William James, ”On Some of Life's Ideals,” for it takes me back, inferentially, to that eleraph which says: ”Life is alorth living, if one have such responsive sensibilities But we of the highly educated classes (so-called) have ot far, far away from Nature We are trained to seek the choice, the rare, the exquisite exclusively and to overlook the colib with verbalities and verbosities; and in the culture of these higher functions the peculiar sources of joy connected with our sirow stone-blind and insensible to life's oods and joys”

I wish Iby way of the top of Mt Vesuvius, another by way of Mt Rigi, and, another, by way of Lauterbrunnen Then the next evening I should like to spend an hour or two along the borders of Yellowstone Canyon, and the next, watch an eruption or two of Old Faithful geyser Then, on still another evening, I'd like to ride for two hours on top of a bus in London

I'd like to have these experiences as an antidote for emptiness It would prepareJohnny's defections, or his grades, whether high or low, orsilly papers with marks that are still sillier I like Walt Whitave hihts that were good for hiood for et a position in a norive a course in Willia folks a conception of big ele a course in ethics, I'd probably select another book, but, in pedagogy, I'd certainly include that one I'd lose some students, to be sure, for soh to profit by reading that book never ought to teach school--I mean for the school's sake If we could only lose the consciousness of the fact that we are schoolreat help to us and to our boys and girls

I aht visit the Pitti Gallery frequently just to gaze at her She is so wholesoh her eyes She would be a superb teacher She would fill the school with her presence and still do it all unconsciously The centre of the room would be where she happened to be She would never be mistaken for one of the pupils Her pupils would learn arith spirit, and that would be better for them than the arithmetic could possibly be If I had to be a woman I'd want to be such as this Madonna--serene, -souled

I have often wondered whether bigness of soul can be cultivated, and my optimism inclines to a vote in the affirmative I spent a part of one summer in the pine woods far away from the haunts of men When I had to leave this sylvan retreat it required eleven hours by stage to reach the railway-station There for so cabin, accompanied by a cook and a professional woodsman I was not there to camp, to fish, or to loaf, and yet I did all these There were soave zest to the fishi+ng and the loafing Giant trees, space, and sky werethings They had never a word to say of styles of clothing or beco shades of neckwear or hosiery In all that time I was never disturbed by the number and diversity of spoons and forks beside my plate at the dinner-table Many a noblesupported in forked stakes, and ers aboutI sat upon a great log in front of the cabin or a friendly stus

Instead of gazing at street-la at stars ain freedom