Up the Gatineau! Article
This article was first published in Up the Gatineau! Volume 8.
Footnote to History
The Small Boy's Troubles - Poem
In our archives is a yellowed issue of 'The Buckingham Post' dated Friday, 19 January 1900. In a commendable show of co-operation the last page of this four page paper is 'L'Echo de Labelle' written in French.
Both papers gave reports on the Boer War then in progress in South Africa. There were also many items of local import.
From a section entitled "Little Folks" we have borrowed the following, with permission of the Post, still in print:
The Small Boy's Troubles
Before they had arithmetic,
Or telescopes, or chalk,
Or blackboards, maps and copybooks —
When they could only talk.
Before Columbus came to show
The world geography;
What did they teach the little boys
Who went to school like me?
There wasn't any grammar then,
They couldn't read or spell,
For books were not invented yet —
I think 'twas just as well.
There were not any rows of dates
Or laws, or wars, or kings,
Or generals, or victories,
Or any of those things.
There couldn't be so much to learn,
There wasn't much to know.
`Twas nice to be a boy,
Ten thousand years ago.
For history had not begun,
The world was very new,
And in the schools I don't see what
The children had to do.
Now always there is more to learn —
history does grow!
And every day they find new things
They think we ought to know.
And if it must go on like this,
I'm glad I live today,
For boys ten thousand years from now
Will not have time to play!