"I don't like arithmetic; I never could understand it." "You promised to obey my orders," said Jonas.
"Well," said Isabella, "I'll try; but I know I can't do the sums." "Then, the third evening," said Jonas, "Isabella shall study the spelling lesson, Oliver the arithmetic, and Amos take the writing-book." "What, ain't you going to have but one writing-book ?" "No," said Jonas; "one is enough; because you won't all write the same evening.

So you can write one page, Oliver another, and Amos the third." "No," said Isabella; "I don't like that.

I want every scholar to have his own book." "If you'll be the teacher," said Jonas, "you can have it so." "But I want to have it so, and you be the teacher," said Isabella.
"No," said Jonas; "if I have the responsibility of teacher, I must have the power too." "Well," said Isabella, "I suppose we had better submit." "But what's the reason, Jonas," said Oliver, "that you ain't willing that we should all have writing-books of our own ?" "There are two or three reasons," said Jonas.

"But it is very poor policy for a schoolmaster to spend his time in convincing his scholars that his regulations are good.

He must make them obey, and let them see that the regulations turn out to be good in the end." "But it seems to me, you've grown arbitrary all at once," said Amos, with a smile.
"Yes," said Jonas, "I'm always arbitrary when I'm in command; if you mean, by arbitrary, determined to have my own way.