The St. Landry whig., 1845-07-31
northumberland
ST. CHARLES COLLEGE.

81. C1A 1OlsAV-NA.
The annual commencement OF TINS Cohege
took place lin accordance with the announce,
ment given in your paper) on the 9th inst, ano
was an exhibition highly creditable 10 that INST,
tuition.
AT an early hour in the morning of the 10Th,
the number of persons ON horseback and IN car
riages who poured into the usual quiet village o.
ST. Charles, gave token that something more
than usual was TO happen on that day and at ten
o'clock, about 500 persons, of whom about one
fourth were Of the ~iovelier sex, had assembled to
witness the ceremonies of the day. There be.
ing no room in the college building capable of
accommodating this assemblage with any degree
of comfort, a large pavilion had been erected
in front Of the west facade Of the college, one
end of which was arranged as a stage, very
neatly fitted up and supplied with all the neces-
sary theatrical appur,enances.
About half past 10 o'clock, the performances
commenced with q dialogue, by the younger stu
dents, designed to exhibit the proficiency attain.
ed by these juvenile linguists in the various Eu-
ropran languages, in the course (which Latin,
Greek, English, French, Spanish, &c. were Ut
tered with a luency which might well induce q
listener to conclude that the speakers were per-
feet cosmopolites, or, at least, that they were not
disqualified from becoming SO on account OF any
barrier which a variety of language might OPP
nose to such a ~consummation. With what de-
gree Of correctness most of these languages
were spoken on this occasion, the ignorance OF
tho writer Of this sketch prevents him from de-
claring. of bis own knowledge-but ifhe is to
credit those more deeply versed than himselfin
lingual lore, natives ofthe countries whose Ian.
guages were used would scarcely have percei-
we'd that the speakers were not their Country.
men.
To the dialogue succeeded the performance OF
Moliere's comedy Of IL Avare," (the Miscr.)-
The particular utility Of cultivating, among the
students, a talent for the histrionic art, the writer
confesses that he cannot very clearly perceive
but, inasmuch as he supposes that the learned
members of the faculty Of "'St. Charles" under.
stand these matters better than himself, he will
not attempt a discussion of its propricty, but con.
tent himself with remarking that the piece was
we'll played, and that the characters o fthe Mi
ser and the Servant were delineatod with cor:
~rectness and fidelity to the conceptions Of the au.
thor which would have done credit TO regular
members of the .ssock and buskin' profession.
The valedictory address ofMr. Louis Lastra
pes was a handsome piece decomposition, grace
fully delivered. His subject was the 'lmpor
lance OF Mental and Moral Education /" and we
trust that his excellent advice to his late fellow
atudentS will be treasured up in their memories
and steadtastly followed.
The distribution of premiums and tho delive
ry o. addresses othe students by Bishop Blanc
of New Orleans, and Res. MIR. Dufour, 0
st. Martinsville, concluded the exercises ofths
day.
Tho performances of the day were iptersper
sed with music, executed in a very superior
style, by the members of the Philharmonic SO
ciety. nj.