The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-11-13

pie as that of childhood ITSELF while at the
same time, he had the happy faculty of put
ting the minds of all he addressed, even 10
the youngest and weakest, at once into the
full possession of his ideas. This with good
understanding ofhuman nature,-and of hui
man nature, particularly, as developed in the
| philosophy of the young head and the young
heart, TO enable him TO know how, when, and
where to interest, incite, check, and control,
| together with temperament of his own,
| and general discrimination TO insure a ju-
dicious application of his other faculties,
combined TO make him that invaluable nc
QUESTION to society-a good schoolmaster;
one who, itadequately rewarded, would do
his part in throwing the full light of science,
within the gliding years Of halfa generation,
over the mind ola nation.
The instruction ola teacher of the charac-
ter we have Just described, was IL new thing
to Locke Aunsden. And it is needless for us
to say, perhaps, how the advantages thus fur
nished him were improved. The first week
he spent in looking up, and obtaining from
his teacher, explanations and illustrations of
all the knotty points which he had left I'M
| mastered i'll his course Of mathematics.
When all these were clearly understood and
| faIniliarZed to his mind, he commenced, in
good earnest, his onward progress. Day and
night, almost unceasingly,applying every en-
ergy ofhis mind, he soon finished what re-
manned yet to be studied of the ordinary
course mathematics, and thence passed on
into and through physics, or natural philoso-
| ply, astrOnomy,and even considerable pUr-
ton of fluXions, with rapidity and compre-
hension of what he passed over which per-
! iectly astonished his instructor; who, unwill-
ing to check him in n career where he was
accomplishing so much which was important
and which is so often neglected after the pu.
pill is put upon more seductive sludies had
thus far suffered him to bestow nearly his
undivided attention to the branches we have
enumerated. But as the school drew 10 a
close, that instructor began to direct the at-
tention of his favorite scholar TO studies
which had never, or not so particularly, oc-
cupied his mind After course of delicate
questioning, calculated, with one of his turn,
to make him keenly feel his own,ignorancc,
and, ut the same time, to furnish incentives
10 action, the former opened to tho wonder
ing and longing view ofthe latter the neces-
sity and advantage of exploring other depart
ments in the wide field of learning. And,
fired with new zeal at the prospect, our
young asprant as he was thus made to see
before him
"Alps OH Alps arise"
now became doubIy ambitious TO mount their
! glittering sleeps. But the close ofthe school,
which was now at lIdnd, Proeludod oil OPP
porlunity, for the present mt least, of enter
ing upon this glorious field of eXertion; and,
with peculiar regret and sorrow, he was COM
PEELED to bid adieu 10 his beloved instructor,
relnquish study, and return to the labors Of
the farm.
After the termination of this school, Locke
found himself in a different situation from
what he had ever been in before, at least,
since he had begun the work of self educa-
ton. The books which had been presented
him by the kind strangers-around whose
fondly remembered images, tancy,as he grew
older, was daily throwing more romantic
interest--bad all been studied, and their con-
tents mastercd;and, as he was unable TO pro-
cure others upon those branches which he
next wished to perusc, he now found him
self without any food for his hungering mind,
or at least such as would satisfy mind like
his, whose desires, instead of being appeas-
ed, were now teniold increased. And from
this state Of unsatisfied longings, without
employment for his mental energies in The
present, and without hope to encourage him
to look forward with certainty TO any period
when his nclnations could he gratitiedl in
the future, fancy began to obtrude her illu-
sivc creations into those chambers ofthonghi
which before had been devoted to the ope-
rations ofreason. ....
with his fathers consent, Locke had
spent one year at the Academy, under the
charge of his old teacher, Mr. Seaver
1t was late in the season when our hero re-
turned homes; and having inadvertently omit
ted to apprise his friends of his intention to
engage himselfas teacher of some of the
winter schools in the vicinity Of his fathers
residence, he found on his arrival, every sit
uation to which his undoubted qualifications
should prompt him to aspire, already occu-
pied by others. He was therefore COMPEL
ed, unless he relinquished his purpose, to
listen TO the less eligible offers which came
from such smaller and more backward dis
tricts or societies as had not engaged then
instructors for the winter. One of these he
was on the point of deciding to accept, when
he received information of district where
the MASTER from some cause or other, had
been dismissed during the first week of his
engagement, and where the committee were
:, now in search ofanother to supply his place
j The district from which this information
> came, was situated in one of the mountain
I towns about dozen miles distant, and the
, particular neighborhood of its location was
, known in the vicinity, toa considerable
{, extent by the name of the Horn Of
: The Noon; an appellation generally under
+ stood to be derived from peculiar curvlturt
+ ola mountain that partially enclosed Tho
I place. Knowing nothing of the causes
= which had here led to the recent dismissal OF
2 the teacher, nor indeed Of the particular
, character of the school, further than that i
] was large one, and one, probably, which
= tho in rather a new part ofthe country,wouIt
Y vet furnish something like an adequate re
: enumeration TO a good instructor, Locke hat
no hesitation in deciding to make an imme
date application for the situation. Accord
= ingIy, the next morning he mounted horse
q, H., nr