Jessie by Walter Aimwell

The preceptor of the academy, Mr. Upton, used to say a great deal to the / scholars about the importance of good spelling, and was always sure to / point out any sins against this virtue which he discovered in the / various written exercises of the school. He said that even if a man was / well educated in other respects, but deficient in this, his bad spelling / would often cause him to be mistaken for an ignorant person. / Occasionally, by way of enlivening the exercises of the school, and / interesting the pupils in this important branch of study, Mr. Upton / would allow them to have a "spelling match," as it was called. Sometimes / the contest was between the girls, arranged on one side of the room, and / the boys on the other. A leader was appointed on each side, to give out / the words to his or her regiment. A pretty hard lesson was selected, and / the leaders, beginning at the heads of their respective bands, took / turns in giving out the words. No waiting or hesitation was allowed, but / if a scholar could not promptly spell the word given out, he had to / return to his seat. The ranks were rapidly thinned out, and the band / which retained the largest number, when the exercise closed, were the / victors.

These contests became still more exciting, when, as it sometimes / happened, the leaders were allowed to "choose sides. " Selecting by turns / any one they pleased from the whole school, they picked out the best / spellers first, and so kept on till all the scholars were enlisted on / one side or the other.