Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1830-04-22

earnestly 10 know what would say upon IL.
You would have smiled 10 see her leaning for
ward. with Der soft blue eyes fixed on me,
and her lips halfparted with attention, witt
ing for my ideas upon some bare fact in geo.
graphy or history: ant: il would have convin-
ced you that he natural, unstimulatsd mind
takes pleasure in the simplest addition to its
knowledge.
AN this time kept out Of her way every
thing that would have a tendency TO destroy
a taste for mere knowledge, and had the
pleasure to see that she passed with keen
relish from her text books TO my observations
which were as dry as they, Though recon-
mended BY kiEdness OF tone and an interested
manner. Sho acquired gradually, by this
process, a habit III reasoning upon every
thing which admitted it, which was, alter
wards, Of great use in fixing and retaining the
leading features OF her attainments.
al proceeded in tins way tiil she was fifteen.
Her mind had now become one of regular
habits of thought, and she began to ask diff
cult questions aud wonder at common things.
Her thoughts assumed gravcr complexion,
and she asked for books upon subjects Of
which she felt the want Of information. She
was ready to receive and appreciate fine
truth and beautiful instruction, and here was
to begin my pleasure.
~She came up, one evening, with an ali. Of
embarrassment approaching to distress. She
took her usual seat, and told me that she had
been thinking all day that it was useless to
study any more There were 50 many mys-
terious things--so much, even that she could
see, which she could not account for, and.
with al her efforts, she progressed so slowly,
that she was discouraged. II was better, she
said, to be happy in ignorance. than to be
constantly tormented with the sight ofkDcwl-'
edge to which she could not attain, and which
she only knew enough to value. Poor child
she did not know that she was making the
SAME complaint with Newton, and Locke, and
Bacon and that the wisest of men were only
"gatherers Of pebbles on the shores Of the IL
Hnitablc seain began to talk to her Of the
mind. spoke of its grandeur, and its capa-.
cities, and its destiny. / told her instances Of
high attainment and wonderful discovery
sketched the sublime philosophers of the soul
the possibility that this life was but link
in chain of existencer, and tho glorious
power. If Is were true, of entering upon anoth-
err word with a loftier capacity than your
fellow beings for the comprehension OF its
mysteries. then touched upon the duty Of
sslf. cultivation--the pride of high conscious
ness ofimproved time, and the delicious feel
inss of self-respeef and true appreciation.
"She listened to me in silence and wept. 1t
was one OF those periods, which occur to all
delicate minds, OF 8istrust and fear; and when
it passed by. and her ambition stirred again.
she gave vent to her feelings with a woman's
beautiful privilege lhad no more trouble to
urge her on She began the next day with
the philosophy of the mind, and was never
happier than while following her from step to
step in this delightful study. !.
~ remembered my school day feelings, and
lived them over again withmy beautiful pupil
entered with as much enthusiasm as she,
into the strength and sublimity which had
wondered at before; snd 1 believe that. even
as she sat reading by herself, my blood thrill
cd, and my pulses guickened as wildly as her
swn, when saw, By the deepening color Of
her cheek, or the marked passages OF my
book, that she had found noble thought or
a daring hypothesis.
"She proceeded with here Of philoso-
ply, rapidly and eagerly. Her mud was
well prepared for its relish. She said she felt
as if new sense had been given her--an IN
ner eye which she could turn in upon herself,
and by which she could, as il were, stand "a
side while the process Of her thoughts went on.
She began to respect and rely upon her own
mind, and the elevation Of coaatenaHcc and
manner, which so certainly and so beautifully
accompanies inward refinement, stole over
her daily. / began to feel respectful in her
presence, and when, with ne peculiar Ella
ganee Of woman's mind, she discovered
delicate shade Of meaning which had not
seen, or traced an association which could
spring only from an unsuIlicd heart, | expert
enced sensation like the consciousness Of an
unseen notwithstanding without accusing
me.
"It was probably well, that. with all this
change in her mind and manner, her person
still retained its childish grace and flexibility.
She hadnot grown tall, aud she wore her hair
vet as she used to do--falling with aluxuriant
fullness upon her shoulders. Hence, she was
still child when, had she been taller or moro
womanly, the demands upon her attention,
and the attractiveness OF mature society might
have divided that engrossIng interest which is
necessary to successful study.
81 have often wished was painter, but
never SO much as when looking on this beau
tiful being as she sat absorbed in her studies,
or turned to gaze moment to my face, with
that delicious expression of inquiry and affee-
ton Every one knows the elevation gwen
TO the eoantenancs of a man bycontemplative
habits. Perhaps the natural deIicacy of fem
mime features has combined with its rarity, to
make this expression less observable in wo-
man. hut tn one familiar with the study of the