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MY SCHOOLMISTRESS.

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MY SCHOOLMISTRESS. The Passing of an Old and New Governess. The passing away of two old and be- loved headmistresses awakens, apart from feelings of regret, some exceedingly I pleasant childhood recollections in the memory of the writer, who was taught by one of the deceased ladies, and for the other always cherished the deepest re- spect. I refer to Miss Mary Jenkins, who, in the sixties, and right up to the late eighties, conducted what has always been known as Miss Hall's School in York-street, and Mies Catherine Michell, whose name was, and is, a household word in the Sandfields, where she laboured for many years, looking with pleasure and pride upon many of her former scholars, who had, in their earlier days, attended Vincent-street School, but who had at- tained womanhood, and in some cases motherhood, the children attending the school where their parents were formerly taught words of wisdom and goodness. Miss Michell was one of the moderns. Her virtues and teaching gifts were familiar to an immense circle of friends and scholastic acquaintances. The other lady belonged to the teaching cult of a by-gone day when th monotonous dry-as- dust methods of imparting knowledge to the young made school anything but the place of pleasure, interest, and comfort it is to-day. Of that cult only a memory remains. But prior to concluding this humble little reference to Miss Michell. let me assure the bereaved members of her family that similar to dozens of other parents in this neighbourhood I have much to be thankful for to one whose J memory will ever remain fresh and green to the majority of the Sandfields people. The late Miss Mary Jenklns (like Miss TTennessy, late headmistress of St. David's Catholic School, another ex- tremely Ioveable PERSONALITY) took me by the hand on many an occasion and tod- dled me off to school at her side. Miss -T-nk-ine was prim and excessively aus- tere. In my mind's eye I picture her beautiful ringlets—what scrupulous care and attention she must have bestowed upon them of a morning! RINGLETS were quite the rage in the mid-Victorian period, and with the dignified air of Quality-street and with the refreshing at. mosphere of lavender perpetually encir- cling her picturesque presence, f again visualise my first schoolmistress. She dressed with exquisite taste and neatness, her favourite colour being grey, which enhanced her fair, delicate complexion and beautiful chiselled features. I sometimes think that had Dickens, when he visited Swansea in the early Sixties, wandered by mistake into Mies Hall's school, instead of the As- sembly Rooms in Cambrian-place (where he gave a reading) a discovered Miss Jenkins and her faithful assistant, Mr. Clarke, at work with their juvenile charges, he could not BIFT have felt other- wise than impressed, and doubtless, some pretty fancy would have emanated from his facile pen commendatory of their effort& j These ladies were of a class particularly their own—one was fair and as radiant as the sun, the other was dark, stiff and severe in dress and tone. They were never'choless«aftor school hours gentle and land to a degree, and extremely popular with the children's parents. In those days —the early Sixties-tho Education Act was not in operation; since headmistresses and teachers have had much to contend with. But I am now treading on dangerous ground, and must gallop along. York School remains pretty much the same to-day as it did in the days men- tioned if anything, pehaps, its appearance is more dilapidated and certainly less in- viting externally. But internally, I am in- formed. there has been very little altera- tion. Miss Jenkins' desk was at the western end of the building, nearest York Chapel, whose flock in those days was ministered to by the Rev. "G. P. Evans, a prominent divine in the Baptist denomination. The educational instruction was of a go-ahead- ns-vou please description, mainly oonfined to the three R& Where did we buy our sweets? At poor old Granny Brown's, now dead and gone, her shop swept away to make room for the fine commercial requirements of Messrs. T. T. Pascoo and Co., and Messrs. C. A. Cleeves. She supplied all the sweets that were required by the scholars at Miss Hall's, and in the evenings her varied stock provided for the numerous PATRONS that visited Messrs. Hutchinson and Tay- leurl,es Circus just across the road. Granny Brown's gipgpr beer and brills- efes-what rivers of that lively beverage were consumed, and what rronn'NS of bull's-eyes wero crunched by old and young in those days! TT-ip-nv days, indeed. Sweet memory of Billy Donne. John Powe. and Farmer Yeo. of Church-street! Kames that will never be forgotten by Miss Jenkins* pupils. I can see Granny Donne sitting in state outside the shop in her Quaint costume, big ooal-seoop shaded bonnet, her green glas;= spectacles and her oddly formed hazel walking stick-vrhich some who are young enough to remember declare the old lady would use with remarkable dexterity when she belaboured her son Billy. In those tranquil, happy days thA trip to Mumbles was performed by well-fed and well-groomed HORSES attached to car- riages as remarkable for their eonstruc- ticra as they were for their absence of travelling comforts. A modern prison van compared with an old Mumbles horse-car is a thing of beauty, and an absolute ex hi-/ bition of exquisite luxurioussess. But it did not matter; people were not in a hurry in those days—they were CON-WILED with the fact that when they boarded the car they would get to their destination some time during the d-,iy. "In a hurry' AND "hustle up" were woril" thnt were only just becfttni'ng FASHIONABLE in I eertnin circles. The an t trials were staV*d aern-,q the road opnesite the station in the building nf;lip-d as a printing establishment. And here the children coming home from school tarry r" thy A, a t t t e Bl~cbsmitTi*?< but with th;s cifercice— no-t to watch fhe SPAR'IS fiv, but to witno?r the g-,rt-eing of the horees^ coats, which operation was SO jnarvcllonsly well per- formed by the robustious Mr Steele. I should like to proceed, but SNTOE will not permit I am, however, thankful for the favour cf bomp, enabled to extend my mead of prat," (totally inadequate) to two ladles who by their good work will always be REVERED and their names held in tender REMENJBTTRNCA BY t&edr NNMEROR* NU-HOLARS and friends, W .H. T.

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