Such an example will make a deep and lasting impression.  It will show that the teacher is upon his guard; and there are very few so hardened in deception that they would not wish that they had been really sincere rather than rest under such an imputation.

8.  Court.—­A pupil, quite young (says a teacher), came to me one day with a complaint that one of her companions had got her seat.  There had been some changes in the seats by my permission, and probably, from some inconsistency in the promises which I had made, there were two claimants for the same desk.  The complainant came to me, and appealed to my recollection of the circumstance.

“I do not recollect any thing about it,” said I.

“Why, Mr. B.!” replied she, with astonishment.

“No,” said I; “you forget that I have, every day, arrangements, almost without number, of such a kind to make, and as soon as I have made one I immediately forget all about it.”

“Why, don’t you remember that you got me a new baize?”

“No; I ordered a dozen new baizes at that time, but I do not remember who they were for.”

There was a pause; the disappointed complainant seemed not to know what to do.

“I will tell you what to do.  Bring the case into court, and I will try it regularly.”

“Why, Mr. B., I do not like to do any thing like that about it; besides, I do not know how to write an indictment.”

“Oh,” I answered, “the scholars will like to have a good trial, and this will make a new sort of case.  All our cases thus far have been for offenses—­that is what they call criminal cases—­and this will be only an examination of the conflicting claims of two individuals to the same property, and it will excite a good deal of interest.  I think you had better bring it into court.”

She went slowly and thoughtfully to her seat, and presently returned with an indictment.

“Mr. B., is this right?”

It was as follows: 

I accuse Miss A.B. of coming to take away my seat—­the one Mr. B. gave me.

Witnesses, { C.D.
{ E.T.

“Why—­yes—­that will do; and yet it is not exactly right.  You see this is what they call a civil case.”

“I don’t think it is very civil.”

“No, I don’t mean it was civil to take your seat, but this is not a case where a person is prosecuted for having done any thing wrong.”

The plaintiff looked a little perplexed, as if she could not understand how it could be otherwise than wrong for a girl to usurp her seat.

“I mean, you do not bring it into court as a case of wrong.  You do not want her to be punished, do you?”

“No, I only want her to give me up my seat; I don’t want her to be punished.”

“Well, then, you see that, although she may have done wrong to take your seat, it is not in that point of view that you bring it into court.  It is a question about the right of property, and the lawyers call such cases civil cases, to distinguish them from cases where persons are tried for the purpose of being punished for doing wrong.  These last are called criminal cases.”