Daily American telegraph., 1852-10-06
HIS Teachers.

1Lto 1CUItCI
Nothing is likelier than that tales Of valor were
.he entertainment of Scotts childish years. The
legend of that brave but unfortunate war, in
which his grandsire had suffered outlawry, had,
no doubt, been often repeated to him, with many
q moving instance of the individual heroism or
romantic adventure which marked that Scottish
contest Oar own struggle Of the Revolution,
too was yet recent and its passages abounded in
stories most fit to light up in the boy warlike
spirit-especially when told, as they could then
be on all sides, by surviving actors, often MANNED
veterans who
Wept DER their wounds, or, tales of sorrow done,
Shoudered their crutch and show how fields were won
Such were, probably, his first teachers, and
these, with his mothers gentle lessons Of truth,
honor, and religion his earliest instruction, OF
bis mere childhood we can know nothing, except
by that strong guess of the boy which we mako
rom the man. From the report made Of him
when he first drew attention, he must have becx
unusually we'll trained, though in q very privata
manner, at home, under his mothers eye, or in
some neigh boring country school 1t is when he
was at about the age of 1.-THE period when he
lost his mother, and was thrown upon his own
management--that we first hear of him from the
young associates in education with whom he then
began to mix. They describe him as already full
of promise and Of character; as Of parts and
heart equally good impetuous, but kindly ar
dent but correct; and if already ambitious, ambi-
tious only Of true distinction; in short very
manly youth, with much in his bosom and much
in his brain; who, according TO the turn his life
might take towards action on the one hand, or
study on the other, would make either inc SOL
der or a solid lawyer.
He had already mastered the elementary stu
les which are necessary to prepare one for
college course; but left to his own boyish judg-
ment and captivated by the fame of teacher
then attracting great admiration in Virginia, in
stead of proceeding to the regular lessons of
William and Mary, he placed himself, for year,
under the tuition of James ogilvie, at Richmond,
where that eccentric genius, half lecturer and
half lord, had for the time set up as in land
open to new region of thought, and by him to
be philosophical, a school modelled upon those Of
Socrates and Plato the Academy and the Portico.
This singular person, although standing next to
the inheritance of Scotch earldom, THAT Of Fin
later, to which he eventually succeeded, had wan
dered and long continued to wander from coun-
try to country, as an itinerant teacher Of elo-
quence, criticism, and indeed Of all the great
principles of knowledge. Scorning, as fit only
for dull men and obscure times, all the usual
drill, forms, and drudgery Of education, he led
his boys up to the SUBMITS Of learning at once,
and, skipping over the inferior steps, gave them
Virgil and Tacitus without seeing II the Lsun
accidence had been duly whipped into them;
poured into them principles before they knew
rudinents philosophy before they had learned
facts; eloquence before they had any ideas. Ii
was ia short, q very poetical system Of instruc-
ton. and he very brilliant instructor, If all men
could he taken betimes and worked up into great
bards, mighty philosophers, transcendant war
riors, or at the least, consummate orators. Could
he have sat in Athens, two thousand FIVE hundred
years ago, aud discoursed, bearded sage, to
body of disciples none of whom was to be an or
binary man or to stoop to any lower avocstion
than those of ruling or of enlightening State,
he would have done admirably for he was really
a man of uncommon talent, and Of much attain
ment in certain things, although not, as matters
90 in our poor modern world, the most prastical
of school. masters. To the more positive parts Of
knowledge science and the useful arts, he conde-
scended little, holding them hardly better than
mechanical it was the taste the fancy the purely
intellectual faculties the sentiments, the sympa-
thies the passions and those arts that can move
them, which alone he cared to cultivate. NOW,
all this was far from the thing needed for youth
meant eminently by nature for action, the real,
the positive and Of him young Scott can have
learned little for direct systematic, solid knowl-
edge was not his forte. Yet, perhaps, except elo-
cution in which he was really a master, he
taught our future soldier nearly as much as he
did ANYBODY For Ogivie was not teacher for
more than about one man in thousand. With
all this he was not person whom youth OF
generous mind could well approach as pupil,
without general benefit to his spirit and his
aims. He could hardly fail to elevate the feel
ings to animate the understanding, to add fervor
to any Unborn aspiration towards excellence and
its reward--honor. Such effects his lessons no
doubt had upon our boy that was to be q con-
queror. Ogtlvie's Discourse flor it was chiehy oy
lectures and talking that he taught turned al
ways upon great men and great books, the chill
dren and the works of Fame; and these were
things to which such a youth could not listen
without being knded into double love Tor
them.
fro re CoNTISuFp.