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281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
256
At
the
age
of
seven,
Gauss
went
to
the
Catherine
Parish
School
at
Braunschweig,
and
remained
at
it
for
several
years.
The
master's
name
was
Buttner,
and
from
a
raised
seat
in
the
middle
of
the
room,
he
kept
order
by
means
of
a
whip
suspended
at
his
side.
A
bigger
boy,
Bartels
by
name,
used
to
cut
quill
pens,
and
assist
the
smaller
boys
in
their
lessons.
He
became
a
friend
of
Gauss,
and
would
procure
mathematical
books,
which
they
read
together.
Bartels
subsequently
rose
to
be
a
professor
in
the
University
of
Dorpat,
where
he
died.
At
the
parish
school
the
boys
of
fourteen
to
fifteen
years
were
being
examined
in
arithmetic
one
day,
when
Gauss
stepped
forward
and,
to
the
astonishment
of
Buttner,
requested
to
be
examined
at
the
same
time.
Buttner,
thinking
to
punish
him
for
his
audacity,
put
a
'poser'
to
him,
and
awaited
the
result.
Gauss
solved
the
problem
on
his
slate,
and
laid
it
face
downward
on
the
table,
crying
'Here
it
is,'
according
to
the
custom.
At
the
end
of
an
hour,
during
which
the
master
paced
up
and
down
with
an
air
of
dignity,
the
slates
were
turned
over,
and
the
answer
of
Gauss
was
found
to
be
correct
while
many
of
the
rest
were
erroneous.
Buttner
praised
him,
and
ordered
a
special
book
on
arithmetic
for
him
all
the
way
from
Hamburg.
From
the
parish
school
Gauss
went
to
the
Catherine
Gymnasium,
although
his
father
doubted
whether
he
could
afford
the
money.
Bartels
had
gone
there
before
him,
and
they
read
the
higher
mathematics.
Gauss
also
devoted
much
of
his
time
to
acquiring
the
ancient
and
modern
languages.
From
there
he
passed
to
the
Carolinean
College
in
the
spring
of
1792.
Shortly
before
this
the
Duke
Charles
William
Ferdinand
of
Braunschweig
among
others
had
noticed
his
talents,
and
promised
to
further
his
career.
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