her of a country school at a place called Massey's Cross
Roads in Kent County. After teaching here one year, I got a somewhat
better school at the pleasant little village of Sudlersville, a few
miles away.

Of my abilities as a manager and teacher of youth the reader can
judge. Suffice it to say that, looking back at those two years, I
am deeply impressed with the good nature of the people in tolerating
me at all.

My most pleasant recollection is that of two of my best pupils of
Sudlersville, nearly my own age. One was Arthur E. Sudler, for
whose special benefit some chemical apparatus was obtained from
Philadelphia. He afterwards studied medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania and delighted me by writing that what I had taught him
placed him among the best in his class in chemistry. The other was
B. S. Elliott, who afterward became an engineer or surveyor.

One of my most vivid recollections at Massey's relates to a subject
which by no means forms a part of one's intellectual development,
and yet is at the bottom of all human progress, that of digestion.
The staple food of the inhabitants of a Southern farming region was
much heartier than any to which I had been accustomed. "Pork and
pone" were the staples, the latter being a rather coarse cake with
little or no seasoning, baked from cornmeal. This was varied
by a compound called "shortcake," a mixture of flour and lard,
rapidly baked in a pan, and eaten hot. Though not distasteful,
I thought it as villainous a compound as a civilized man would put
into his stomach.

Quite near my school lived a young bachelor farmer who might be
designated as William Bowler, Esq., though he was better known as
Billy Bowler. He had been educated partly at Delaware College,
Newark, and was therefore an interesting young man to know.
In describing his experiences at the college, he once informed me
that they were all very pleasant except in a single point; that was
the miserably poor food that the students got to eat. He could not,
he declared, get along without good eating. This naturally suggested
that my friend was something of a gourmand. Great, therefore,
was my delight when, a few weeks later, he expressed a desire to
have me board with him. I accepted the offer as soon as possible.
Much to my disappointment, shortcake was on the table at the first
meal and again at the second. It proved to be the principal dish
twice, and I am not sure but three times a da