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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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catechism, sewing, and reading; and to whip them if they told lies. And though, of course, in the flood of light that is now poured on education, these are left far away in the rear, yet it is an undisputed fact that our grandmothers raised some tol- erably fair men and women under this regime, as many of us can remember and testify. At all events, Miss Ophelia knew of nothing else to do; and, therefore, ap- plied her mind to her heathen with the best diligence she could command. The child was announced and considered in the family as Miss Ophelia’s girl; and, as she was looked upon with no gracious eye in the kitchen, Miss Ophelia re- solved to confine her sphere of operation and instruction chiefly to her own cham- ber. With a self-sacrifice which some of our readers will appreciate, she resolved, instead of comfortably making her own bed, sweeping and dusting her own cham- ber,- which she had hitherto done, in utter scorn of all offers of help from the chambermaid of the establishment,- to condemn herself to the martyrdom of in- structing Topsy to perform these operations,- ah, woe the day! Did any of our readers ever do the same, they will appreciate the amount of her self-sacrifice. Miss Ophelia began with Topsy by taking her into her chamber, the first morn- ing, and solemnly commencing a course of instruction in the art and mystery of bed-making. Behold, then, Topsy, washed and shorn of all the little braided tails wherein her heart had delighted, arrayed in a clean gown, with well-starched apron stand- ing reverently before Miss Ophelia, with an expression of solemnity well befit- ting a funeral. |
