The Middlebury galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-05-16
MISCELLANY.
From the Union Magazine.
FOREST LITERATURE.
BY MRS. KIRKLAND.

extent, that the mere enveloplngs OF our idea
seem ofno consequence, provided the ideas
themselves have decided, utilitarian value
The dreams of the poet, capable of bearing W
into Elysium the mind prepared for such min
istrations seem utter folly TO him whose thought:
are filled with matters of merely outward in
terest; and the luxuriance of imagery and del
icacy of discrimination which can ennoble fol
the cultivated the description ofseemingly com
mon occurrences, are to the rude and ignor-
ant but impertinence and folly. where's
the use ?" say they; "the woods got a-fre, -
or, 1.-THE old man couldn't stan it after his dar-
ter acted so-and there's an end on'tF' The
sublime, or the pathetic, as depending on Ian
guage for their effect, is to them powerless.-
What is to be seen with the bodily eye, they
can see; what is visible only to the eye Of
mind, and that after special amounting, has to
them no existence. The language Of passion
has some power over them; but it moves them
not in proportion to its true expressiveness,
but in proportion as it accortls with their own
habits of expression. Language is an instru-
ment whose higher powers are unTecognised
by the illiterate and it is therefore not to be
expected that they should devote much time
or thought to it for its own sake.
But there is another view Of it which has I'M
mense influence with our active and intelligent
Western brethren. They perceive plainly
that '.book-larnin' is, after all, that which
most clearly distinguishes one man or one class
Of men from another; that which eXacts invol-
untary respect under all circumstances, and E.
ven that which confers power and influence in
cases where mere bodily ability would be nee
essarily subservient. To obtain this great
good is therefore an object, though the means
employed are too often quite erroneous, and IN
majority ofinstances utterly incompetent and
even shabby.
The proverbal shrewdness of our people in
all matters of business, makes their conduct
when education is in question, really surpris-
ing Even after assent has been obtained to
the necessity for some attention to learning,
the very moment measures come to be devised.
it seems as if the demon of penurousness had
taken possession of all concerned. An cleo
ton will command money; new-fangled fan
ning-mil which promises profit will fetch its
price; fine gown or bonnet will be compass
ed, in spite of frowns or groans; but a school
house, and, above all, schooraastcr gets but
the leavings, and that most grudgingly. The
school-house, where the children are 10 pass
most of their time, is destitute of every COM
fort and the master, Ill-paid and ill-kept, must
be active and good-humored through pure dis
interested bcnevolcnce, if he is so at all, for he
has none of the stimuantS and encourage
ments that help other men to the performance
of dlty. All the stories that have ever been
told, in fun or in earnest, of the sufierngs OF
>choolmas,ers, that boarded round and that
ii notboard round, are true TO nature, and have
net been surpassed in 10 mt offact. 1t isimpossi-
Die TO exaggeTae on this subject. A poor
Young woman told us once, with tears of NOR
tiication, that she had been dismissed from
her situation as teacher, because size declined
sleeping in the same room with whole fami.
", including the master of the house and this
is no singular case in point of enormity.
Where the teacher is held thus cheap, it is
not difficult to infer the prevailing notions as
to education. There may be general idea
that learning is a good thing; but rhat learn
| inc. and what amount of it may be desirable,
is quite another question. To read and write
and cipher-all tending directly towards adj
vancement in life-must be advantageous TO
all ; this Is a conceded point But one step
beyond these, opposition begins. That spon-
taneous Western question: Uhere'S the user
always has the very narrowest unitarian drift,
and it is invariably in use when any refine
menti is proposed. The very shadow Of 1sthet-
les frightens the hard citizen of the new coun-
try. We have known farmer tear up the
!
planted about the house in his absence, declar-
ING he would have no such nonsense and an
other who said in a similar spirit, of an accom-
plished person who was proposed as school-ln-
spector, ave don't want no scholars for school
inspectors; we want plain farmers like our
selves" While This class of sentiment is cher
ished, ANYTHING more than merest rudiments
of education must be of course out of the ques-
ton and no one who has become intimately
acquainted with the state of things at the West
but must perceive, that while the improve
ment in physical condition is most marked and
| cheering it is none the less true in matters of
| far higher importance, ''BdrbdriSm" is still 'He
| first DANCER" 1t is well for the American
citizen that, owing TO the benefcent constitu-
ton of our political affairs, there is an educa-
ton constantly in progress which does not de-
pend or books but we none the less rejoice
in the hopeful aspect of the new enterprise I'M
der the care of Gov Slade and Miss Beecher.
| To provide instructed teachers of literature
and religion for the West, is giving TO that
land, blessed of Heaven, an opportunity of &C
quiring what is alone wanting for its perfect
ing.
Perhaps some of our readers imagine that
| one must 90 as far west as the Lake country
to find grotesque literary ideas; but we must
not leave our beloved back-woodS under such
an imputation. At certain county meeting
of stockholders, in a region much nearer the
great met ropolis than that which we have been
talking about, the subject of school-books be-
came, as it often does in similar cases, the point
of warm discussion indeed there seems va
que impression that some books may yet be
devised, endowed with magical power of in
struction which may supersede the necessity
for any knowledge at all in the teacher. AT
any rate, at the meeting IN question II was Plo-
posed that standard Of spelling and pronuni-
| citation should be adopted, and that no book
should be used, and no teacher employed that
did not conform to that standard IN other
words, the town officers were to decide on the
proper system of spelling and pronouncing the
English language, which system was to be re
ceived and acknowledged within their bounds
as the true one. One of the Board, who, con-
trary to rule or custom, had some professional
KNOWLEDGE of the subject, suggested that per-