The Bobbin Boy

The Bobbin Boy, by William M.
Thayer

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Title: The Bobbin Boy or, How Nat Got His learning
Author: William M. Thayer
Release Date: November 20, 2006 [EBook #19875]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE
BOBBIN BOY;

OR,
HOW NAT GOT HIS LEARNING.
AN EXAMPLE FOR YOUTH.
BY
WILLIAM M. THAYER,
AUTHOR OF "THE POOR BOY AND MERCHANT PRINCE,"
"THE POOR GIRL AND TRUE WOMAN," "FROM POOR-HOUSE
TO PULPIT," "TALES FROM THE BIBLE," ETC., ETC.
BOSTON: J. E. TILTON AND COMPANY. 1862.

Entered according to Act of Congress; in the year 1860, by J. E.
TILTON AND COMPANY,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of
Massachusetts.
University Press, Cambridge: Printed by Welch, Bigelow, and
Company.

PREFACE.
The design of this volume is to show the young how "odd moments"
and small opportunities may be used in the acquisition of knowledge.
The hero of the tale--NAT--is a living character, whose actual boyhood
and youth are here delineated--an unusual example of energy, industry,
perseverance, application, and enthusiasm in prosecuting a life purpose.
The conclusion of the story will convince the reader, that the group of
characters which surround Nat are not creations of the fancy, and that
each is the bearer of one or more important lessons to the young. While

some of them forcibly illustrate the consequences of idleness,
disobedience, tippling, and kindred vices, in youth, others are bright
examples of the manly virtues, that always command respect, and
achieve success.
W. M. T.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
A GOOD BEGINNING.
The patch of squashes--counting chickens before they are
hatched--ifs--ducks, and the bright side--explanation--hopeful
Nat--Nathaniel Bowditch--Sir Humphrey Davy--Buxton--benefit of
hopefulness--the squashes coming up--Frank Martin--"all play and no
work"--Ben Drake--scene when Nat was four years old--"thinking on
his own hook"--men of mark think for themselves--"niggers'
work"--great men not ashamed of useful work--the
harvest-day--Frank's surprise--Nat as a peddler--his sister--his
drawings--Samuel Budgett, Dr. Kitto, and the rich merchant
peddling--"creep before you can walk"--the errand-boy and his
success--what his culture of squashes shows 1-17
CHAPTER II.
UPWARD AND ONWARD.
Winter--in school--proposition to declaim--the dialogue, "Alexander
the Great and a Robber"--Nat is the robber--his reason--sympathy for
the poor and unfortunate--the dialogue learned and spoken--Nat's
eloquence--some boys who declaim poorly at first make orators at
last--Demosthenes--Daniel Webster--Nat declaiming before
visitors--the petition for shorter lessons--Nat won't sign it--Sam Drake's
predicament--the teacher hears of the movement--his remarks about

dull scholars--Newton, Dr. Barrows, Adam Clarke, Chatterton,
Napoleon, etc.--necessity of application 17-27
CHAPTER III.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
The bright summer-time--sport at Frank's--the dog "Trip" playing
hy-spy--the boys hiding--Trip finding them--the result of the first
game--the second game--the court scene--talk about it with Sylvester
Jones--Nat goes to court--the prisoners are two of his schoolmates--his
sympathy for them--examination of witnesses--the remarks of the
justice--Nat proposes to plead their case--the sensation and result--what
was said of it--another instance of Nat's sympathy--what it
foreshadowed--Howard--Wilberforce--Buxton 28-37
CHAPTER IV.
THE WILD CHERRIES.
The excursion--John's proposition--decision to go--the cherry-tree--is it
wild?--a discussion--filling their caps--surprised by the owner--their
escape--Nat's and Frank's caps left behind--the owner carries them to
the house--Nat's resolve to go to his house--rapping at the door--his
explanation and confession--the caps restored with a plenty of
cherries--the end thereof 38-47
CHAPTER V.
ATHLETIC SPORTS.
Bathing--a passion for it--a particular swim--Nat the best
swimmer--swimming under water--a trial--a game of ball--Nat the best
player--the result of the game--remarks of spectators--the fastest
runner--a principle to be best--excelled in athletic sports through same
elements of character that made him excel in school--the best
shoe-black--Reynolds made every picture best--Buxton's sports in

boyhood, and Sir Walter Scott's--Wellington's remark--Nat's remark
twenty-five years after--Nat saving a boy from drowning--his picture of
the scene--how he used his experience in athletic games 48-56
CHAPTER VI.
A MISTAKE.
Winter school again--the skating proposition--the proposed grammar
class--Nat does not accede--discussion on the way to the pond--Nat the
best skater--the palm yielded to him--home to supper--teacher's
remarks next day about grammar--advice to Nat and Charlie--his
reference to Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry--Nat and Charlie
join the class--conversation among the boys, and with Nat in
particular--Sam put into the objective case, and his mischief-making
propensity--tying a tin-pail to a dog's tail--the delight of Sam--the
sorrow of Nat, and verdict of the boys--Sam an improper noun--the end
of school 57-68
CHAPTER VII.
PROSPECT HILL.
Proposed visit to Prospect Hill--a hundred churches--situation and
description of the hill--view