At the best, they were difficult days at school for a boy of six without the language.But the national linguistic gift inherent in the Dutch race came to the boy's rescue, and as the roots of the Anglo-Saxon lie in the Frisian tongue, and thus in the language of his native country, Edward soon found that with a change of vowel here and there the English language was not so difficult of conquest.At all events, he set out to master it.
But his fatal gift of editing, although its possession was unknown to him, began to assert itself when, just as he seemed to be getting along fairly well, he balked at following the Spencerian style of writing in his copybooks.Instinctively he rebelled at the flourishes which embellished that form of handwriting.He seemed to divine somehow that such penmanship could not be useful or practicable for after life, and so, with that Dutch stolidity that, once fixed, knows no altering, he refused to copy his writing lessons.Of course trouble immediately ensued between Edward and his teacher.Finding herself against a literal blank wall--for Edward simply refused, but had not the gift of English with which to explain his refusal--the teacher decided to take the matter to the male principal of the school.She explained that she had kept Edward after school for as long as two hours to compel him to copy his Spencerian lesson, but that the boy simply sat quiet.He was perfectly well-behaved, she explained, but as to his lesson, he would attempt absolutely nothing.
It was the prevailing custom in the public schools of 1870 to punish boys by making them hold out the palms of their hands, upon which the principal would inflict blows with a rattan.The first time Edward was punished in this way, his hand became so swollen he wondered at a system of punishment which rendered him incapable of writing, particularly as the discerning principal had chosen the boy's right hand upon which to rain the blows.Edward was told to sit down at the principal's own desk and copy the lesson.He sat, but he did not write.He would not for one thing, and he could not if he would.After half an hour of purposeless sitting, the principal ordered Edward again to stand up and hold out his hand; and once more the rattan fell in repeated blows.Of course it did no good, and as it was then five o'clock, and the principal had inflicted all the punishment that the law allowed, and as he probably wanted to go home as much as Edward did, he dismissed the sore-handed but more-than-ever-determined Dutch boy.
Edward went home to his father, exhibited his swollen hand, explained the reason, and showed the penmanship lesson which he had refused to copy.It is a singular fact that even at that age he already understood Americanization enough to realize that to cope successfully with any American institution, one must be constructive as well as destructive.
He went to his room, brought out a specimen of Italian handwriting which he had seen in a newspaper, and explained to his father that this simpler penmanship seemed to him better for practical purposes than the curlicue fancifully embroidered Spencerian style; that if he had to learn penmanship, why not learn the system that was of more possible use in after life?
Now, your Dutchman is nothing if not practical.He is very simple and direct in his nature, and is very likely to be equally so in his mental view.Edward's father was distinctly interested--very much amused, as he confessed to the boy in later years--in his son's discernment of the futility of the Spencerian style of penmanship.He agreed with the boy, and, next morning, accompanied him to school and to the principal.The two men were closeted together, and when they came out Edward was sent to his classroom.For some weeks he was given no penmanship lessons, and then a new copy-book was given him with a much simpler style.He pounced upon it, and within a short time stood at the head of his class in writing.
The same instinct that was so often to lead Edward aright in his future life, at its very beginning served him in a singularly valuable way in directing his attention to the study of penmanship; for it was through his legible handwriting that later, in the absence of the typewriter, he was able to secure and satisfactorily fill three positions which were to lead to his final success.
Years afterward Edward had the satisfaction of seeing public-school pupils given a choice of penmanship lessons: one along the flourish lines and the other of a less ornate order.Of course, the boy never associated the incident of his refusal with the change until later when his mother explained to him that the principal of the school, of whom the father had made a warm friend, was so impressed by the boy's simple but correct view, that he took up the matter with the board of education, and a choice of systems was considered and later decided upon.
From this it will be seen that, unconsciously, Edward Bok had started upon his career of editing!
