Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-11-26


Why could she mob have been taught that her
gifts and graces ought to shine most beautifully in
the charmed circle of home7 Why could she not
learn to nestle there, as the ''bee in the flowers
deep heart" endearing herself TO its inmates,
drawing forth the honeyed sweetness OF their love,
and preparing herself to become q vile indeed
should destiny call her to fulfil such sacred trust.
This would leave her free TO please and to be
pleased, to realize the sanctity of home rela~
tions,-she would then cease to regard her
mother as a necessity, who is to take all the
work off her delicate shoulders, her father as
money>chest from whence she is to draw her sup
plies; her brother convenience, to carry her to
this concert, or that soiree; her sister as
noyance, if not a rival. Obi how few there are
among us who have been taught to disregard the
delusive lights that CLEAN out over the great ocean
Of life, who walk in safety along its home shores,
and look out upon the tumult Of its many waters,
with spirits whose camness is in beautiful contrast
with its wild cOmmotionl And few too are they
who are learned TO 90 forth as "a strong man
armed to meet the battle of life,-armed with o.
rginality Of mind, independence Of thought, free
dom Of soul, and with a generous and catholic
spirit.
Some one has remarked of the pupils Of Michael
Angelo, that they were "nur5ed 10 the lap of gran
deur." But how little of grandeur, true moral
grandeur enters into the educational nursing" Of
the young female mind in this boosted ageI They
are cramped into textbooks, narrowed down to
manuerisms. And yet no country on the face of
the great globe is so rich as ours in those grand
elements which ought to mother grand characters.
The lofty mountain towering heavenward, the no.
bic river full OF majesty and power the rich secluS
ded valley teeming with fertility,-how they ought
to speak to our youth Of those great souls which
tower above the clouds of earth, which sweep on
ward bearing their treasures down the tide ofTime,
or which, even from the secluded hooks Of domes
tic life, send forth their rich thoughts TO bless and
fertilize the world.
But here our utilitarianism comes in contact with
the natural mode Of educating the soul. We do
not recognise the use of the grandeur and beauty
which lie spread out everywhere around US. The
Frenchman seeks pastime as the end Of his exis-
tence, the English comfort, the Chinaman is the
slave of old custom, and the Turk the ser of Fate,
but the American, freebOrn American, is the very
galley-slave of utility-or mammon, for when we
say utility we mean its dd Ualoren In dollars and
cents. All our leading ideas bear upon their es.
cuteheon this character. 1t is our "coat of arms"
and be who can add to it the greatest mineral is
the greatest man. We ignore that most significant
text, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceedeth out Of the mouth Of
God" We strive for the bread, the bare utilities,
and forget those fresh springs of the beautiful,
those fountains Of living waters" which are the
very life of the soul. Doing this we repress that
poetcal principle which forms so large portion Of
the soul of true woman in every cline. We seem
to strive to eradicate it as pernicous rather than
train, and cultivate it to beautiful maturity. We
forget that it is principle aud therefore difficult
to eradicate from the youthful mind, $50 much go
indeed, that if restrained will grow still in secret
like the neglected vine; it ought, therefore, to be
raised upon the frame-worksof reason, and be
brought to bloom in legitimate beauty by the sun
shine of sympathy. We forget that this inherent
poetic principle is the freshening breeze which
breathing over the mystic harp of life calls forth
now and then a strain of melody, when TOLL and
grief and care, have Jared upon the chordss long
that they are all like 'sweet bells tangled out of
tune" 1t is like the stained glass in the cathedral
oriel whose rich hues falling over the dark and
dusty pavement below, ilumine it for moment
with the heavenly glow ofsunset clouds. 1t isthe
sunbeam which calls out from among the weeds
along LIES thoroughlare, the sweet young vioets,
- A. borlnT -,
YEARLY onward. 1t is the gorgeous rainbow which
lies hidden in the broad, white, glazing light of
everyday and the soul must be the prism to reract
and bring to view its glories. Its subtle essence
is absorbed into the life of the spirit and its ten-
dency like that of the rarer atmosphere of some
brighter world, is to refine and elevate 1t will not
be eradcated so long as the soul has its CLEANS Of
glory its light of love, or its hope OF Heaven.
There will be poetry around, and within US, so long
as the stars shine, and the night broods over US
so long the cloud sails above US, and the stream
murmurs at our feet-so long as the clear eye Of
woman beams into the soul, and the glad laugh OF
little children finds an echo in the heart. 1t has
noble purpose, lit has even, to use our modern
phraseology, a use. 1t must mingle with our whole
experience; to shed light upon our abors, to sof-
ten the stern features OF our necessities, and to
give to suffering and endurance their only soace-
hope. So long as we have among US the blush
of youth, the glory of manhood, and the venera-
bic head Of old age, it will teach to love the first,
admire the second, aud reverence the last. We
may strive TO darken its holy light but It win how
er still over hearts, the old painters depict
the halo over the brow Of the martyr, and the
wandering Jesus.
Perhaps then the greatest defect in our educa-
tional system is, that we do not cultivate the
heart. We should not chill earnestsentiment with
knowledge, (so called,) or crush true enthusiasm
with what we may choose to denominate enlight
eminent. The mind may be enriched with acqui-
sitious, but Of what they if the FIRE of the
hearts crucibe which should fuse and transmute
them into gold, be suffered to shoulder or die'
Their light may have the power of illumination il
surely will not have that of inspiration. II will be
o moonlight which, though it may gid the cold
walls Of the ruin, cannot call the ivy and the wall"
flower into bloom 10 beautiiy and hsllow their de-
cay. The heart--the heart must rule If we are to
have a nation Of women, not dolls and statues.
Love lie born of the heart and all great lives, great
souls, great actions, are the children IF Love-"
The puresi angel n Dante's Paradise was the obs
eet of his first and only love. The sweet faces of
Titian's Bella, and Raphaers Fornarina, glow in
their greatest efforts, and Highland Mary the pea
SAINTS love, now immortal in stone, stands among
the royalties Of Buckingham Palace. The freedom of
our country was gained by the love Of such as
Washington, and the redemption Of the world was
for love alone. In the New Testament our INTEL
-. -. ..IAnun aAhrn..nA thn Grn.t To.cho. IN