Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1849-08-09
IraRrERs. FERRY rEmAIE SEMINARY

HARPERs. FERRN FEMAIE SEMINARY |
Insiiiptie1 took place IS he aoh inst. The bllow-
REPORT OF THE EXAMINING COMMIT TEE !
The undersigned having been invited q attend
and assist at the annual examination Of the pupils 4
Of The Fenale Seminary 81 HarpeFs Ferry under
the charge Of Miss MiRaA ExlLoAtsl had very great
pleasure ID accepting thai inyitat6n and SUI great
ef II conducting The examination, and noting the
evident advancement made BY The yonng Indies II
hesndes to which their attention had been directed
The examination was held on FrdayEthe 10Th
inst commencing al O'Clock. A, M. and ecntinr-
ing With the intermission of the noon hour Qnul
s. ri NJ. In SO short time it was not possible 70
give 50 wide range 70 i as We might brNe o.
sirsdss and As We ara sure the attainment, q tne
Young ladies would have justified But when y y
FeEpemherRd thas until = year ago no school q 4
high grade for The education Of females mas ever
existed incur village and that consequently such
an examination as this, was an entire nofely 70
The pupils, and therefore in some degree if.noar-
raising, We thidk We may well Be permitted 70 say
il was not only Interesting, but highly SATISFACTORY
Wkile il has been the object Of the accomplished
and industrious Principal confer upon thdse COM
mi,led % her tuition, all The graces and r1anenls
81 polite education we were gratiied 10 md ihet
she had been far from unmindful 81 whatare The
more common but substantial branches OF ikmaie
scholarship We have good reason 70 know that
the ordinary branches Of reading. writing arith-
Importance as elementary studies deserves. IT,
In our ex ainihaton i'll the science OF mum Aers, we
were not satisfied with barely seeing them pertofH
certain mathematical operations, bnt werecareiai
10 ascertain 50 far as we could that The prtneipes
upon which the science is based had been impressed
uponthcir minds. Hence, we required yers0n for
al thar they wrought upon the black board and The
result was firm persuasion that they understood
The subject and were much norellhan mere au-
go srayreIv kno1y hbtv "a ernress our eralilica
lion with the manner in which the classes II Ply
siology and Natural PHILOSOPHY acquitted them
selves during the somewhat proracled and by no
means slight examination 10 which they were sub
iecied. Il was pleasant 10 witness how much Of
knowledge these young Misses had acquired On
subjects generally regarded ahstruse and diiculr
Their teacher seemed have led them inio ths very
arcana Of nature andlphilosophy, and MADE mem
acquainted with manyFuf their mysteries Though
il is sometimes the case that pupils such a. those
Of whom these classes were composed, are pr dint
of constant training, sodrilted that they can give
parrot-ae answers 10 The questions that have been
previously prepared and with which they have been
made acquainted, vet such was net the case u the
present instance Miss FELLOWS hadnained them,
il is true but twas to know both the books they
\ studied and the subjects treated ia them.
Weeould have desired that he examination on
n Ebeliss, Grammar had been more satisfactorily But
whelhe: from tmidity arising from HE presence q
SO many spectators or some other cause, the Young
ladies' failed 10 answer several Sof the questions
wi.ick were asked. Il may be that the examiners
were not happy in their manner Of proposing their
| inquiries. Howbeit, we are fully convinced that
II several of The pupils failed this branch who are
I much better acquainted with the subject than they
appeared to be on this occasion. We
\ The examination upon the subject Of Geography
followed next ii gratiEes us to be able express
the opinion that the young ladies manifested that
they had ncibeen idle prinaltentiVe students. With
the principles upon which this important branch o.
education is founded il was apparent 10 us thai they
-. -.
H did moi permit an examination upon Astronomy,
although we were given 10 understand that such an
II exercise would have been quite cfeditable To the
students as well as interesting 70 those who were
III spectators IN.
II devoted attention 10 the science 81 Chemistry was
" quite evident Here as well as lib all other cases,
questions were proposed that were intended 10 bring
ont the knowledge they had aeqaired Of the subject
itself They we've made TO rely more upon their own
\ minds, than upon heir memory Of the questions
and answers contained in the books they had studied
With Watts on Ihe Improvement Of the Mfnd,n
the mos, of those belonging TO that class showed
4 that they had become well acquainted. Although
this is dry and uninteresting study 10 young per-
sons, vet il was apparent TO Us that Miss FEI4 ows
had succeeded in Investing it with much interest TO
their minds. Scarcely was single question pro-
posed that was not answered with great readiness
| and accuracy. Compated with other branches, this
examination was continued for a long while but
during the whole Of h The pupils sustained then-
selves wel-andit is thought that The attention Of
the audience continued unahaied. - -4 #
much more brief Still II was sufficiently protract-
ed Il show that proper attention had been Bestowed
upon that subject We shall not err If We saw that
the members OF thar class did aren Their e4ami-
nation clearly indicated that they had entered with
delight and ardor into the hOral kingdom, and made
| themselves acquainted with the construction and
| properties Of the various plants If
1 Those young ladies who had given atteniihn to
\ the study of the French language were found to
have made considerable advancement in that polite
Accomplishment. With great readiness they ifansl
lated sentences which were given them from French
into English, ard from English into French. Their
pronunciation Of the latter language when reading
Telemaqhe, was not 50 perfect as might have been
desired, but sufficiently SO TO eyineethat they had
been well taught 50 far as they had advanced; and
with proFef attention hereafter, will make good
| French scholars.
The young ladies afforded US another gratifying
illustration of their ability, Quite a number Of
essays, On various subjects were read before The
| delighted hearers And we were thus enabled 10
form an opinion not only OF their skill in coinpo-
sition, but also ofitheit requirement Of tbat qa-
hcati9f 50 frequently undervalusd and so seldom
attained, but which is Of such primary Importance
a correct and graceful elocOton. To Miss Many
! VIRGIsIA MoKRoE the Principal awarded beauti-
fhl volume as the premium for Realizing because
she had made the greatest improvement in thai re-
spect during the session.
We had the pleasure Of listening 70 sereralIhn
mirabe manner By such Of The pupils as had been
inslrgesed in that delightful Accomplishment I'VE
learned from The Principal, however that'to Miss
/ Elk sBETH KELLER must be awarded the merit Of
superior attainment IN this science Her progress
according to the testimony OF the Principal, has
been astonishing.
AT the close of these interesting exercises we
were made acquainted win the fact that accu-
rate account of ihe general demeanor Of the pu pills
had been kept from The time of their admission into
the Seminary-+a custom which we cannot too highly
approte.nor too strongly recommend 10 universal
imitation. From the reading Of this statement we
learned that. Miss May JANE RpsrHA KILHAM
stood highest upoh the conduct list and surpassed
the senior members Of the institution il her various
studies We were assured, however, that this su-
perioriiy was owing not 30 much To her greater
natural abilities as to that conmendable punctual
ty which had marked herwhole course.
We should not discharge our dnty. nor indeed
comply with the demands of sheer justice If we did
NOT express bur decided belief that every hing con
sidered the Younger scholars far surpassed the old
er ones 10 the readiness and accuracy Of their an
swers ID their departments; and We advert b his
fact 10 show the Importance Of teaching children,
"a rery eariy h TO apply themselves to me acqui-
silion Of knowledge.
) In conclusion, the undersigned heartily enbfaee
the opportunity thus afforded 10 commend the Har
pers-Ferfv Female Semin aryH and IFS aDiiable and
talented Principal I'd The continued patronage and
support of our ieIlOwseitizens
JAMES GARRY,
E# ~ ~ IT w MONROE III