At the close of the school, when the books were laid aside, and all was
silence, he treated the affair thus:
"Do you remember the noise to which I called your attention early this
afternoon"?"
"Yes, sir."
"I will explain it to you now. One of the boys tied a string to a loose
lath in the side of the room, and then, having the end of it at his
seat, he was pulling it to make a noise to disturb us."
The scholars all looked astonished, and then began to turn round toward
one another to see who the offender could be. The culprit began to
tremble.
"He did it several times yesterday, and would have gone on doing it had
I not spoken about it to-day. Do you think this was wrong or not?"
"Yes, sir;" "Wrong;" "Wrong," are the replies.
"What harm does it do?"
"It interrupts the school."
"Yes. Is there any other harm?"
The boys hesitate.
"It gives me trouble and pain. Should you not suppose it would?"
"Yes, sir."
"Have I ever treated any boy or girl in this school unjustly or
unkindly?"
"No, sir;" "No, sir."
"Then why should any boy or girl wish to give me trouble or pain?"
There was a pause. The guilty individual expected that the next thing
would be to call him out for punishment.
"Now what do you think I ought to do with such a boy?"
No answer.
"Perhaps I ought to punish him, but I am very unwilling to do that. I
concluded to try another plan--to treat him with kindness and
forbearance.
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