Just at that time there had been a heavy, warm rain, and a melting of
snow, which had raised the streams. When I reached the bridge at the
brook on the west side of Flat Hill, the water was over the road to the
depth of twelve inches or more. I concluded to wade across, which I
did. My mother was frightened, but I escaped without any serious ill
effect. My school-keeping days were over. My old teacher, Mr. Cyrus
Kilburn, had charge of the village school and I took my seat among the
pupils. I remained in the school about two weeks, and then my school-
days were over. Altogether I had the training of six or seven summer
terms in schools kept by women, supplemented two or three times by a
private school of a few weeks by the same teacher, and ten or eleven
winter terms. In reading, spelling and grammar I had had a good
training. To those branches Mr. Kilburn devoted himself, and I recall
his teaching of grammar with great satisfaction. He had no knowledge
of object-teaching as applied to grammar, but he was skillful in
analysis, and his training was methodical and exact. In fine, he was
so much devoted to the work of teaching, that the discipline of the
school was neglected. Of this there had been complaints for years. At
that time I had a good command of arithmetic, I knew something of
algebra, and geometry seemed easy from the start.
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