. Ruth of Boston; a story of the Massachusetts Bay colony . y whiteman was forced to pay each year a certain amount,either in money or in goods, for the hire of the teacher,who was Master Philemon Pormont. It must not be supposed that we children knew no- MASTER PORMONTS SCHOOL 113 thing whatsoever of reading, writing, or of doing smallsums in arithmetic, up to this time. ^\ certain portionof each day did my mother or father teach me my les-sons, and when Master Pormont opened his school, Icould write as fair a hand as I do now, wrhich seemsfortunate, for he ^vas not skilful in teaching the ar
. Ruth of Boston; a story of the Massachusetts Bay colony . y whiteman was forced to pay each year a certain amount,either in money or in goods, for the hire of the teacher,who was Master Philemon Pormont. It must not be supposed that we children knew no- MASTER PORMONTS SCHOOL 113 thing whatsoever of reading, writing, or of doing smallsums in arithmetic, up to this time. ^\ certain portionof each day did my mother or father teach me my les-sons, and when Master Pormont opened his school, Icould write as fair a hand as I do now, wrhich seemsfortunate, for he ^vas not skilful in teaching the art ofwriting. As for myself, I truly believe that had my first les-sons in the use of a quill come from him, I had neverknown how to form a letter, because of his being ex-ceeding harsh in his ways. A child who failed in doing at the first attempt ex-actly as Master Pormont thought fit, was given a sharpblow over the knuckles of the hand which held the quill,and Ezra Whitman was punished in this manner soseverely on a certain day, that it was nearly a week. RlTH OF BOSTON 8 ii4 RUTH OF BOSTON before he was able to use his fingers. Even then theteacher declared that if the blow had been sharper, theboy would, before the pain had ceased, have known moreabout that which he w^as endeavoring to show him. The school was first set up in the house that had beenbuilt by Josias Plastow. If you remember, he was onewho had been under the discipline of the court, and itwas forbidden any should call him save by the name ofJosias. Feeling that he had been harshly dealt with, Josiasleft Boston, and went into Plymouth to live, thereforedid his dwelling belong to the town, according to thelaw. It was made into a schoolroom by having benchesset up around the four sides, in such fashion that thescholars faced a ledge of puncheon planks, which wasbuilt against the walls to be used when we needed a deskon which to write, or to work out sums in arithmetic. Master Pormont sat upon a platform in the cen
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