ENOCH FLOWER'S SCHOOL
TWO days before we had made the last spike for
Samuel Carpenter, word was given by written notice
posted on the corner of the Blue Anchor tavern, that
Enoch Flower would open a school in his house.
His fee for teaching one to read English, was four
shillings; for fitting a pupil in writing, six shillings; and
if one wanted to learn how to read, write, and cast
accounts, the cost would be eight shillings.
Now Jethro and I had in cash, wampum, furs,
and in debts that could be collected, sixteen pounds
English money, all of which we had earned by our
own labor. In addition, we each had a pair of good
skates, which should surely be reckoned in with our
earnings, since they represented the capture of very
many turkeys.
It was not necessary we should ask our fathers for
money with which to pay Enoch Flower, and we
decided to get all he could teach us, meaning that we
would study reading, writing, and the casting up of
accounts.
[122] As I have already said, we could read and write at
that time, thanks to our parents; but it seemed as if
we should be able to learn a great deal more regarding
such things at a regular school, therefore it was that we
were willing to spend sixteen shillings.
Enoch Flower's house was by no means the most
comfortable in town, and we were forced to sit on short
lengths of stout
logs, when, with a
little labor, benches
might have been
made, for of a
verity there was an
ample supply of
raw material at
hand.
The school hours
were from eight in the morning until twelve at noon.
In the afternoon the teacher gave all his attention
to spinning, for he was a master hand at such work,
and thus we lads found plenty of time for home
chores and as much of sport as we really needed.
We each read aloud one page from the Bible, or
as much from the laws of Pennsylvania as would
amount to the same in number of words, and the
teacher carded wool meanwhile, in order that his
time might not be wholly wasted.
[123] Then, with half a clapboard held on our knees as
a desk, we wrote twenty lines from either the laws,
or the Book, if so be we had brought with us enough
of paper to contain them, for it was not in the bargain
that Enoch Flower should provide us with anything
save a smoothly sanded board on which we could
work out the sums in arithmetic that he made up to
puzzle us.
We spent the greater portion of our time figuring on
the number of pounds of wool required to make an
hundred skeins of yarn, or the wages of a spinner for
so many hours at such an amount per skein. But
whatever the questions he put to us, we benefited
much by the work, and not only learned to "cast up
accounts" in the wool or yarn business, but how to
spin and card, for the only punishment good Enoch
[124] Flower ever bestowed upon us when we were inattentive,
was to oblige such disobedient pupils to help him in
his daily labor.
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