The regular course in history had been covered, but the teacher had not known of any such longings to live — in another century, to see for herself how things were, and how the country looked. That first lesson in local history had come home, had appealed to the imagination, and had thoroughly aroused the interest.
A few years ago, in the city of Malden, in a school not far from the site of the first meeting house erected in that region, a discussion arose as to what had become of the old bell that had been mounted near the meeting house on an eminence still known as Bell Rock. It was learned that, strange and unusual as it may be, dissension had arisen in the little church, due rather to the differences and strength of opinions than to the size of the society, and that one roof would not comfortably cover the warring brothers and sisters. Another meeting house having been built, a struggle for possession of the bell began. One party hid it in the well of the near-by parsonage. This was as far as the children could trace it. One morning the boys, quite excited about the matter, suggested a plan to ‘chip in,’ as they said, and have the bell dug up. Further inquiries, however, revealed the fact that it had been raised, and placed on a schoolhouse, and when that structure was destroyed years after, the bell was broken up and the pieces distributed about town. Finally one of the class triumphantly brought a piece of the same old bell to school. A trifling affair, truly, but the spontaneous, enthusiastic interest in the early history of the place, indicated by the persistent efforts of the children and by their readiness to contribute their money to secure and preserve an old relic, is no trifle.
There are, however, serious difficulties operating against the teaching of this important subject. The teacher who is without family ties in the place, or other than a professional association with it, is quite apt to lack not only a knowledge of its past, but
