So much of life has not changed with the years.
He we have a couple of young men about to embark on their formal 'education', very much like each of us have done.
The more time changes, the more things remain the same.
This book was published in 1899.
See if you don't agree.
IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO
CHAPTER I
A SMALL BEGINNING.
"Cum er long hunny an' let yer mammy fix yer 'spectabul, so yer ken go
to skule.
Yer mammy is 'tarmined ter gib yer all de book larning dar is ter be had eben ef she has ter lib on bred an' herrin's, an' die en de a'ms house."
These words came from the lips of a poor, ignorant negro woman, and yet the determined course of action which they reveal vitally affected the destiny of a nation and saved the sun of the Nineteenth Century, proud and glorious, from passing through, near its setting, the blackest and thickest and ugliest clouds of all its journey; saved it from ending the most brilliant of brilliant careers by setting, with a shudder of horror, in a sea of human blood.
Those who doubt that such power could emanate from such weakness; or, to change the figure, that such a tiny star could have dimensions greater than those of earth, may have every vestige of doubt removed by a perusal of this simple narrative.
Let us now acquaint ourselves with the circumstances under which the opening words of our story were spoken.
To do this, we must need lead our readers into humble and commonplace surroundings, a fact that will not come in the nature of a surprise to those who have traced the proud, rushing, swelling river to the mountain whence it comes trickling forth, meekly and humbly enough.
The place was Winchester, an antiquated town, located near the northwestern corner of the State of Virginia.
In October of the year 1867, the year in which our story begins, a white man by the name of Tiberius Gracchus Leonard had arrived in Winchester, and was employed as teacher of the school for colored children.
Mrs. Hannah Piedmont, the colored woman whom we have presented to our readers as addressing her little boy, was the mother of five children,--three girls and two boys.
In the order of their ages, the names of her children were: James Henry, aged fifteen, Amanda Ann, aged thirteen, Eliza Jane, aged eleven, Belton, aged eight, and Celestine, aged five.
Several years previous to the opening of our history, Mr. Piedmont had abandoned his wife and left her to rear the children alone.
School opened in October, and as fast as she could get books and clothing Mrs. Piedmont sent her children to school.
James Henry, Amanda Ann, and Eliza Jane were sent at about a week's interval.
Belton and Celestine were then left--Celestine being regarded as too young to go.
This morning we find Belton's mother preparing him for school, and we shall stand by and watch the preparations.
The house was low and squatty and was built of rock.
It consisted of one room only, and over this there was a loft, the hole to climb into which was in plain view of any one in the room.
There was only one window to the house and that one was only four feet square.
Two panes of this were broken out and the holes were stuffed with rags.
In one corner of the room there stood a bed in which Mrs. Piedmont and Amanda Ann slept.
Under this was a trundle bed in which Eliza Jane and Celestine slept at the head, while Belton slept at the foot.
James Henry climbed into the loft and slept there on a pallet of straw.
The cooking was done in a fireplace which was on the side of the house opposite the window.
Three chairs, two of which had no backs to them, completed the articles in the room.
In one of these chairs Mrs. Piedmont was sitting, while Belton stood before her all dressed and ready to go to school, excepting that his
face was not washed.
It might be interesting to note his costume.
The white lady for whom Mrs. Piedmont washed each week had given her two much-torn pairs of trousers, discarded by her young son.
One pair was of linen and the other of navy blue.
A leg from each pair was missing; so Mrs. Piedmont simply transferred the good leg of the linen pair to the suit of the navy blue, and dressed the happy Belton in that suit thus amended.
His coat was literally a conglomeration of patches of varying sizes and colors.
If you attempted to describe the coat by calling it by the name of the color that you thought predominated, at least a half dozen aspirants could present equal claims to the honor.
One of Belton's feet was encased in a wornout slipper from the dainty foot of some young woman, while the other wore a turned over boot left in town by some farmer lad who had gotten himself a new pair.
His hat was in good condition, being the summer straw last worn by a little white playfellow (when fall came on, this little fellow kindly willed his hat to Belton, who, in return for this favor, was to black the boy's shoes each morning during the winter).
Belton's mother now held in her hand a wet cloth with which she wished to cleanse his face, the bacon skin which he gnawed at the conclusion of his meal having left a circle of grease around his lips.
Belton did not relish the face washing part of the programme (of course hair combing was not even considered).
Belton had one characteristic similar to that of oil.
He did not like to mix with water, especially cold water, such as was on that wet cloth in his mother's hand.
However, a hint in reference to a certain well-known leather strap, combined with the offer of a lump of sugar, brought him to terms.
His face being washed, he and his mother marched forth to school, where he laid the foundation of the education that served him so well in after life.
A man of tact, intelligence, and superior education moving in the
midst of a mass of ignorant people, ofttimes has a sway more absolute than that of monarchs.
Belton now entered the school-room, which in his case proves to be the royal court, whence he emerges an uncrowned king.
CHAPTER II.
THE SCHOOL.
The house in which the colored school was held was, in former times, a house of worship for the white Baptists of Winchester.
It was a long, plain, frame structure, painted white.
Many years prior to the opening of the colored school it had been condemned as unsafe by the town authorities, whereupon the white Baptists had abandoned it for a more beautiful modern structure.
The church tendered the use of the building to the town for a public school for the colored children.
The roof was patched and iron rods were used to hold together the twisting walls.
These improvementsbeing made, school was in due time opened.
The building was located on the outskirts of the town, and a large open field surrounded it on all sides.
As Mrs. Piedmont and her son drew near to this building the teacher was standing on the door-steps ringing his little hand bell, calling the children in from their recess.
They came running at full speed, helter skelter.
By the time they were all in Mrs. Piedmont and Belton had arrived at the step.
When Mr. Leonard saw them about to enter the building an angry scowl passed over his face, and he muttered half aloud:
"Another black nigger brat for me to teach."
The steps were about four feet high and he was standing on the top step. To emphasize his disgust, he drew back so that Mrs. Piedmont would pass him with no danger of brushing him.
He drew back rather too far and began falling off the end of the steps.
He clutched at the door and made such a scrambling noise that the children turned in their seats just in time to see his body rapidly disappearing in a manner to leave his feet where his head ought to be.
Such a yell of laughter as went up from the throats of the children!
It had in it a universal, spontaneous ring of savage delight which plainly told that the teacher was not beloved by his pupils.
The back of the teacher's head struck the edge of a stone, and when he clambered up from his rather undignified position his back was covered with blood.
Deep silence reigned in the school-room as he walked down the aisle, glaring fiercely right and left.
Getting his hat he left the school-room and went to a near-by drug store to have his wounds dressed.
While he was gone, the children took charge of the school-room and played pranks of every description.
Abe Lincoln took the teacher's chair and played "'fessor."
"Sallie Ann ain't yer got wax in yer mouf?"
"Yes sar."
"Den take dis stick and prop yer mouf opun fur half hour.
Dat'll teach yer a lesson."
"Billy Smith, yer didn't know yer lessun," says teacher Abe.
"Yer may stan' on one leg de ballunce ob de ebenning."
"Henry Jones, yer sassed a white boy ter day.
Pull off yer jacket.
I'll gib yer a lessun dat yer'll not furgit soon.
Neber buck up to yer s'periors."
"John Jones, yer black, nappy head rascal, I'll crack yer skull if yer doan keep quiut."
"Cum year, yer black, cross-eyed little wench, yer.
I'll teach yer to go to sleep in here."
Annie Moore was the little girl thus addressed.
After each sally from Abe there was a hearty roar of laughter, he imitated the absent teacher so perfectly in look, voice, manner, sentiment, and method of punishment.
Taking down the cowhide used for flogging purposes Abe left his
seat and was passing to and fro, pretending to flog those who most
frequently fell heir to the teacher's wrath.
While he was doing this Billy Smith stealthily crept to the teacher's chair and placed a crooked pin in it in order to catch Abe when he returned to sit down.
Before Abe had gone much further the teacher's face appeared at the
door, and all scrambled to get into their right places and to assume
studious attitudes.
Billy Smith thought of his crooked pin and had the "cold sweats." Those who had seen Billy put the pin in the chair were torn between two conflicting emotions.
They wanted the pin to do its work, and therefore hoped.
They feared Billy's detection and therefore despaired.
However, the teacher did not proceed at once to take his seat.
He approached Mrs. Piedmont and Belton, who had taken seats midway the room and were interested spectators of all that had been going on.
Speaking to Mrs. Piedmont, he said: "What is your name?"
She replied: "Hannah Lizabeth Piedmont."
"Well, Hannah, what is your brat's name?"
"His name am Belton Piedmont, arter his grandaddy."
"Well, Hannah, I am very pleased to receive your brat.
He shall not want for attention," he added, in a tone accompanied by a lurking look of hate that made Mrs. Piedmont shudder and long to have her boy at home again.
Her desire for his training was so great that she surmounted her misgivings and carried out her purposes to have him enrolled.
As the teacher was turning to go to his desk, hearing a rustling noise toward the door, he turned to look.
He was, so to speak, petrified with astonishment.
There stood on the threshold of the door a woman whose beauty was such as he had never seen surpassed.
She held a boy by the hand.
She was a mulatto woman, tall and graceful.
Her hair was raven black and was combed away from as beautiful a forehead as nature could chisel.
Her eyes were a brown hazel, large and intelligent, tinged with a slight look of melancholy.
Her complexion was a rich olive, and seemed especially adapted to her face, that revealed not a flaw.
The teacher quickly pulled off his hat, which he had not up to that
time removed since his return from the drug store.
As the lady moved up the aisle toward him, he was taken with stage fright.
He recovered self-possession enough to escort her and the boy to the front and give them seats.
The whole school divided its attention between the beautiful woman and the discomfitted teacher.
They had not known that he was so full of smiles and smirks.
"What is your name?" he enquired in his most suave manner.
"Fairfax Belgrave," replied the visitor.
"May I be of any service to you, madam?"
At the mention of the word madam, she colored slightly.
"I desire to have my son enter your school and I trust that you may see your way clear to admit him."
"Most assuredly madam, most assuredly."
Saying this, he hastened to his desk, opened it and took out his register.
He then sat down, but the next instant leapt several feet into the air, knocking over his desk.
He danced around the floor, reaching toward the rear of his pants, yelling: "Pull it out! pull it out! pull it out!"
The children hid their faces behind their books and chuckled most gleefully.
Billy Smith was struck dumb with terror.
Abe was rolling on the floor, bellowing with uncontrollable laughter.
The teacher finally succeeded in extricating the offending steel and stood scratching his head in chagrin at the spectacle he had made of himself before his charming visitor.
He took an internal oath to get his revenge out of Mrs. Piedmont and her son, who had been the innocent means of his double downfall that day.
His desk was arranged in a proper manner and the teacher took his pen
and wrote two names, now famous the world over.
"Bernard Belgrave, age 9 years."
"Belton Piedmont, age 8 years."
Under such circumstances Belton began his school career.
So many thing in our lives are controlled by circumstances we are not aware of, young Bernard and Belton are about to find out for themselves.
I don't know about you, dear reader, but I grew up thinking things had changed a whole lot, but the more of these books I read the more I realize while vernaclulars may change, people stay the same.
Our lives may be full of more gadgets than those from prior centuries, but the interpersonal relationships have changed very little.
