Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-06-28
From The National Era.
Education and Literature in Virginia.

An address lately delivered before the lit
erary societies of Washington College, Lex
| ington, Va, by John Thompson, editor Of
the Southern Literary Messenger, furnished
record of facts concerning education and lit
cralure in Virginia, which no citizen of that
State can read without deep notification
We honor the independence of the man who
would speak truths SO unpalatublc TO the pop
ular taste.
lie brands as mere nummery, all the flaming
reports nude about their system of public
education, which he denounces as "misera-
bly, rickoiy;' aud he assumes that there are
in one hundred and seven counties of the
State, (the whole number being about one
hundred and twenly-one,; "thiriy thousand
poor children over five years Of age, piihout
any means Of igSiruciion"-tha is, about one
seventh Of the white children of schoolablo
age. This number comprises only those
who have no means of education.
MIR. Thompson estimates, and in his cal
culaton, he is sustained by tho Richmond
! (Nn.( ~ Uhig, that there are now in the State
some 10000 white adults, who can neither
read nor write. Supposug one-hal Of these
TO be males, there must he more than one
third OF the voters of Virginia unable TO read
or write a. must aud WILL" says MIR.
Thompson, Z" call this dcplorable state of
things. We cannot shut our eyes to it.
We may meet on occasions like the present
10 partake of intellectual repasts, but the
spectral embodiment OF ignorance rises be-
| fore us, like the deaths head at the banquet.
! We may cujole ourselves with the deluson,
that much tint has been said of our degener-
acy, is but idle slander, and we may essay to
walk on with manly stride in the procession
Of the nations but the iiend is ever behind
us, tugging at our skirts, and we cannot bid
him away"
As for the literature Of Virginia, MIR.
Thompson remarks that, in approaching that
subject, he can say with Canning's knife
grinder
" Story God bless you, have none to tell"
lie says that Mr. llowison, who undertook
to vIndcate the literary reputation of Virgin
IN, began with the beginning, going back TO
the time of the early co0nisls, when Mr..
George Sandys bcguiled his leisure hours
with rendering into English the meiamor-
! phoses OF Ovid; " but in the long lapse of
two hundred years, he found only sufficient
material TO occupy Il small portion OF a sin-
gle chapierw In an attempt, MIR. Thompson
remarks, TO compile volume of literary
miscelanies in Virginia, "what mearer
range selection shall we have! Should
the extracts be OF the ordinary length. what
arts of the publisher would be called into re-
QUESTION to swell it beyond the size of n
duodecimo! Leaving ont of the account all
essays upon subjects Of political or lheologi-
cal controversy, what has Virginia 10 show
OF literary excellence written within her bor-
dcrs or by her sons? Some historical re-
searches there area few ESSAYS of O.ilyis
and Wirt-tlIe lliad, translated by William
| MuniOrd-some nmnranthine verse and af.
fluent prose of the variously gifted and I'M
fortunate Poc-a few, alas how few. poems
OF the affections and home sketches of Cooke.
the lamcnted and early ost-lhe sweet efliI.
sions occasionally sent forth by Jane Tayleo
Lomax, another child of song, the story of
whose days has been shut up in an untine-
~ graVe-ihese, together with the contribu-
tons TO our periodical literature of some
whose efforts have deserved the hurels TO
wiich they never aspred-consltute the
whole stock of letters that we may boast.n
The exhibition made by Mr. Thomson is
remarkable. That State, settled two bund-
red years ago, with such resources Ms Virci.
ma, WIN such evidences of intellectual can
acity as her people have given, should at this
late day he without any efficient system of
pubic education, with voting population,
one-thlrd OF which is unable 10 rend and
write, and without any literature whatsoever.
must at once compel the the inference that
her institutions, social or political; are rodi.
cally wrong, uniavorable TO the highest inter
ests of the Commonwealth.
Mr.. iiowison attempts to explain this dearth
OF literary production by assuming thai Viz
glnlans are not reading people Mr.. Thomp-
sou, on the other hand, says "With the rich
stores OF the English classics before them,
Virglnians have been Indifferent to the work
OF increasing the treasures of the intellect.
and have suffered their fellow countrymen of
other States TO bear off the honor of the pen
without contest" MIR. Thompson is too
sensible man to hint that the educated
classes of New England are not quite as