The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-10-23

DIED or THE HIGH ScHooL.-An eastern contem
porary, noticing the early death of youth of rare
Intellectual promise. announces the cause OF his
premature decay in the words which head this
paragraph. They suggest thought of deep and
painful interest. "Diod of the High School!'' The
mnlady Ia unknown to medical men by any such
books yet it has destroyed the lives of multitude;
selecting it's victims from among the brightest and
fairest flowers of the rising generation. Its in
cipient symptoms are deceptive and insidious as
those of Deaths Grand Marshal Consumption.
They feed, silently and unsupported, upon the
vtals Of the strongest until remorseless disease has
secured q hold upon the system, which nought can
release save the grave when it closes upon the
victim.
Would the reader witness the malady in ts most
deceptive and most fatal form? Step a moment
into any ono of our high schools or colleges of
learning. Do you see that earnest looking youth,
thy ambition, contrasts painfully with his pald,
but determined lip and sunken cheek? He stands
at the head of his class. He is almost a prodigy
of mental power. His attainments rank him
Doting friends dwell with wel-deserved praise
upon his thirst for intellectual excellence-his de-
votion to books. They point, with affectionate
pride, towards high positions of honor and useful
ness among the learned and the great, which he is
destined to fill In the hour OF exultation they
never dream that the opening flower 10 blighting
from the very heat which forces it to premature
maturity; and inevitable decay must follow close
won. Yet 90 it is While the mind is being i'm
proved, the tenement nature provided for it is
neglected or abused. The intellect Of the boy il
strengthened, his soul enlarged, and his mind
stored with richest wealth; but these have rpened,
alas! only for the grave. He dies Of the High
School.
Such cases are not rare. Observation will dis
cover them all about US. 1t s the absence of sus-
picon alone which has hidden them from general
view. We have habit of supposing that study
is the business of youth, forgetting that it may be
pursued with a zeal destructive Of health and life.
reform in this matter Is loudly called for by
every consideration of humanity. If early devel-
oped talent is to DO preserved for usefulness in the
world, it behooves parents and guardians to look
we'll to the "smart but delicate" lads that are
sacrificing themselves so surely over the school
desk. Maturer judgment should modify and
restrain youthful ambition within healthful
bounds. The hours of study should be short
ened, and those of exercise and recreation elon-
gated. The development Of the physical system
should keep pace with the mental. Let the
pupil stretch his limbs out toward the fields more
frequently, and his lungs expand occasionally
with fresher air than that of the school room.
Make exercise, regular and vigorous, one of his
daily duties, and recreation part Of his regular
course, instead Of a grudgingly. accorded privi-
lege, to be compensated by still harder study. In
short, let it be remembered that it is the business
of the child to grow and improve physically as
well morally. If this important fact is not lost
sight of in the training of our youth, we may rea
sonably hope that their ripcning years will be
crowned with health, usefulness, and happiness,
and the malady which has robbed US of so much
in the past will become extinct -New York Times.