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Story
April 8, 1892
The Charlotte Democrat
Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
What is this article about?
Anecdote from Chief Justice Fuller's boyhood in Old Town, Maine, where as a studious boy named 'Mell,' he debated and quarreled with his school teacher, who later became an ex-Judge and was astonished at Fuller's rise to Chief Justice.
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OCR Quality
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Full Text
The name of Chief Justice Fuller having been mentioned in connection with the next Presidential nomination, public attention has been again directed to him, and stories regarding his boyhood are now in order, says the Kennebec (Me.) Journal.
"Mell," as he is called by the people of Old Town, lived in that city as a schoolboy ten years. He was a studious boy, and a terror in spelling schools and in the lyceum where debates were held. "Mell" took part often against grown folks, and out of one of those discussions there grew a quarrel between a man now an ex-Judge and the present Chief Justice that has never healed. The ex-Judge was a young school teacher then, and "Mell" was in the second class in the school. In the lyceum one night the boy defeated the teacher in debate and got some applause.
Full of wrath the teacher sneeringly alluded to his opponent as a "towheaded stripling of a boy."
Fuller retorted by saying if his only fault consisted in being a boy he thought "some time he should be as big a man as the teacher thought himself to be, and that would be great indeed." The teacher slammed down his desk cover and then went home. All that term he ignored Fuller as a scholar. When the ex-Judge heard that Fuller had become Chief Justice of the United States he wanted to know what in blank nation the people of this country were thinking about.
"Mell," as he is called by the people of Old Town, lived in that city as a schoolboy ten years. He was a studious boy, and a terror in spelling schools and in the lyceum where debates were held. "Mell" took part often against grown folks, and out of one of those discussions there grew a quarrel between a man now an ex-Judge and the present Chief Justice that has never healed. The ex-Judge was a young school teacher then, and "Mell" was in the second class in the school. In the lyceum one night the boy defeated the teacher in debate and got some applause.
Full of wrath the teacher sneeringly alluded to his opponent as a "towheaded stripling of a boy."
Fuller retorted by saying if his only fault consisted in being a boy he thought "some time he should be as big a man as the teacher thought himself to be, and that would be great indeed." The teacher slammed down his desk cover and then went home. All that term he ignored Fuller as a scholar. When the ex-Judge heard that Fuller had become Chief Justice of the United States he wanted to know what in blank nation the people of this country were thinking about.
What sub-type of article is it?
Biography
Personal Triumph
What themes does it cover?
Fortune Reversal
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Chief Justice Fuller
Boyhood Anecdote
School Debate
Teacher Quarrel
Old Town Maine
What entities or persons were involved?
Chief Justice Fuller
Mell
Ex Judge
Where did it happen?
Old Town, Maine
Story Details
Key Persons
Chief Justice Fuller
Mell
Ex Judge
Location
Old Town, Maine
Story Details
As a boy in Old Town, studious 'Mell' Fuller debated and bested his teacher in a lyceum, leading to a lasting quarrel; the teacher, later an ex-Judge, ignored him and was shocked at Fuller's appointment as Chief Justice.