The next evening, at eight o’clock, Isabella put up her spinning, and took a seat by the fire, to hear Jonas’s plan.  Amos sat by a table at the back side of the room.  The farmer’s wife was sitting upon the settle, knitting; and the farmer himself was asleep in his arm-chair, at the opposite corner.

“Now,” said Jonas, “I like the plan of having an evening school, and I am willing to be either teacher or pupil; only, if I am teacher, I must direct, and you must both do as I say.”

“No,” said Isabella, “you mustn’t direct entirely; we’ll talk over the plans, all together, and then do as we all agree.”

“No,” said Jonas, “I have no idea of having all school-time spent in talking.  I’m perfectly willing that either of you should be teacher, and I’ll obey.  I’ll set copies, or do any thing else you please, only I won’t have any responsibility about the arrangements.  Or, if you wish, I’m willing to be teacher; but then, in that case, I must direct every thing, just as I think is best,—­and you must do just as I say.”

“Well,” said Isabella, “what are your orders?  We’ll obey.”

Amos and Oliver also agreed that they would obey his directions.  Jonas then consented to take the station of teacher, and he proceeded to give his directions.

“I have been looking at the books,” said he, “and I find we haven’t got but one of each kind.”

“Then we can’t have any classes in our school,” said Oliver.

“Yes we can,” said Jonas.  “The first evening, Amos may take the arithmetic and the slate, and cipher, while Isabella writes, and Oliver studies a good long spelling lesson.  Then, the second evening, Amos shall study the spelling lesson, and Isabella cipher, and Oliver write.”

“But I don’t want to cipher,” said Isabella.  “I don’t like arithmetic; I never could understand it.”

“You promised to obey my orders,” said Jonas.

“Well,” said Isabella, “I’ll try; but I know I can’t do the sums.”

“Then, the third evening,” said Jonas, “Isabella shall study the spelling lesson, Oliver the arithmetic, and Amos take the writing-book.”

“What, ain’t you going to have but one writing-book?”

“No,” said Jonas; “one is enough; because you won’t all write the same evening.  So you can write one page, Oliver another, and Amos the third.”

“No,” said Isabella; “I don’t like that.  I want every scholar to have his own book.”

“If you’ll be the teacher,” said Jonas, “you can have it so.”

“But I want to have it so, and you be the teacher,” said Isabella.

“No,” said Jonas; “if I have the responsibility of teacher, I must have the power too.”

“Well,” said Isabella, “I suppose we had better submit.”

“But what’s the reason, Jonas,” said Oliver, “that you ain’t willing that we should all have writing-books of our own?”

“There are two or three reasons,” said Jonas.  “But it is very poor policy for a schoolmaster to spend his time in convincing his scholars that his regulations are good.  He must make them obey, and let them see that the regulations turn out to be good in the end.”