'Those indeed were the times of the wise men,' they declared, 'they whipped, and straightened the bent tree.

They were not boys but old men of experience, gray-haired and severe.

Don Catalino, king of them all and founder of this very school, used to administer no less than twenty-five blows and as a result his pupils became wise men and priests.

Ah, the old people were worth more than we ourselves, yes, sir, more than we ourselves!' Some did not content themselves with such indirect rudeness, but told me plainly that if I continued my system their children would learn nothing and that they would be obliged to take them from the school It was useless to argue with them, for as a young man they thought me incapable of sound judgment.

What would I not have given for some gray hairs! They cited the authority of the curate, of this one and that one, and even called attention to themselves, saying that if it had not been for the whippings they had received from their teachers they would never have learned anything.