There were two pages headed NEVER, which mentioned ten things that Miss Ailie must never do; among them, “Never let the big boys know you are afraid of them.  To awe them, stamp with the foot, speak in a loud ferocious voice, and look them unflinchingly in the face.”

“Punishments” was another heading, but she had written it small, as if to prevent herself seeing it each time she opened the book.  Obviously her hope had been to dispose of Punishment in a few lines, but it would have none of that, and Mr. McLean found it stalking from page to page.  Miss Ailie favored the cane in preference to tawse, which, “often flap round your neck as yon are about to bring them down.”  Except in desperate cases “it will probably be found sufficient to order the offender to bring the cane to you.”  Then followed a note about rubbing the culprit’s hand “with sweet butter or dripping” should you have struck too hard.

Dispiriting item, that on resuming his seat the chastised one is a hero to his fellows for the rest of the day.  Item, that Master John James Rattray knows she hurts her own hand more than his.  Item, that John James promised to be good throughout the session if she would let him thrash the bad ones.  Item, that Master T. Sandys, himself under correction, explained to her (the artistic instinct again) how to give the cane a waggle when descending, which would double its nip.  Item, that Elsie Dundas offered to receive Francie Crabb’s punishment for two snaps.  Item, that Master Gavin Dishart, for what he considered the honor of his school, though aware he was imperilling his soul, fought Hendry Dickie of Cathro’s for saying Miss Ailie could not draw blood with one stroke.

The effect on Miss Ailie of these mortifying discoveries could be read in the paragraph headed A MOTHER’S METHOD, which was copied from a newspaper.  Mrs. E——­, it seems, was the mother of four boys (residing at D——­), and she subjected them frequently to corporal chastisement without permanent spiritual result.  Mrs. E——­, by the advice of another lady, Mrs. K——­ (mother of six), then had recourse to the following interesting experiment.  Instead of punishing her children physically when they misbehaved, she now in their presence wounded herself by striking her left hand severely with a ruler held in the right.  Soon their better natures were touched, and the four implored her to desist, promising with tears never to offend again.  From that hour Mrs. E——­ had little trouble with her boys.

It was recorded in the blue and white book how Miss Ailie gave this plan a fair trial, but her boys must have been darker characters than Mrs. E——­’s, for it merely set them to watching each other, so that they might cry out, “Pandy yourself quick, Miss Ailie; Gavin Dishart’s drawing the devil on his slate.”  Nevertheless, when Miss Ailie announced a return to more conventional methods, Francie was put up (with threats) to say that he suffered agonies of remorse every time she pandied herself for him, but the thing had been organized in a hurry and Francie was insufficiently primed, and on cross-examination he let out that he thought remorse was a swelling of the hands.