The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-08-22
n. P. WILLIS ON THE "BALTIMORE AND
OHIO RAILROAD"

lDLEwGLL, August 8, 1859.
DEAR NORRIS There is one class of sights upon
railroad which are very interesting while
their freshness lastshe place that hare been taken
by surprise. On the line of the streak of lightning
that was thrown over the Allegbanes by the Balti-
more thunder-clou of thrty-one million dollars, is
a succession of far-hidden remotenesses-wild val
leys, cascades, solitary shanties and mountain fast
nesses-many Of which were thought by the hun
ter, or by the pioneer settler, wholly unreachable
by common thoroughfares, and, in fact, inaccessible
to all vistiDgs but the eagles, but which have been
laid open, almost with the suddenness of thunder
bolt, and are now daily looked at from crowded
freight trains and expresses, familiar to the man
in the locomotive as the signs of a street!
do not know whether it was by chance stop
ping of the train, or by a kind intention of the Sc
lective good taste of our PrescOtt the Smith" that
found ourselves, in the middle ofthe forenoon of
delicious summer day, halting for few moments
directly in front of one of these remotenesses-a lit
tie bit OF log school house. right in the heart of
Northwestern Nirginias mountain wilderness
The small low door, aid the glimpse of a row of lit
tie hatess heads, them from the car,
were very tempting, and there was an immediate
jump of our party for better look at the interior
A modest and dignihed courtesy from the school
mistress gave a welcome. There was a spare
bench near the door which accommodated the most
of us, and Judge Warren and poet Thompson occu-
pied vacant spots on the short seat of the class cup
for spelling" Secretary Kennedy leaned on his
stick the shut-up stove in the centre his kind
lest of voices and faces encouraged the interrupted
exercises to proceed, and 'cloudcompelling Maui
~" stroked the head of the nice boy next him in
the corner Bayard Tayl"r sat, in his quiet OBJ
serving way, studying the surrounding rev of
boys and girls faces-somc thirty of them alto
gether, and every one barefoot, and all seated
against the rough hewn logs on the one bench of
narrow plank which lined the room. Fancy what
a picture for photographer to have brought away
the celebrities, and the little ragged problems of
humanity, all combined!
But OH the tender Providence of God which has
provided for these cradles of the intelligence of our
"a eit the wiling deyoton 9f womanhood patient.
ate! The 'school-ma am" before US was a delicate
ly formed young woman of twenty or TWENTY-FIVE
years, perhaps, dressed with exceeding plainness
and of the most unconscious simplicity of demeanor
but her pale and thoughtfully refined features had
an expression which seemed to me the perfection of
what recognise as the beauty of the soul She
looked if she felt born only to be good and kind
to Others while life should last, and that she was
here in her place, somewhat overtasked, but doing
good, she hoped, and willing to be forgotten. At
the same time, in her subdued gentleness of tome
her exquisite propriety of replies, and her calm
sweet manner to us, party OF strangers there was
selfpOssessed dignity that it impossible not to
pay homage to-dthcult Il may well saw not to
record for others, as admiringly as one remembers
it for ones self As | sat in that humble school
room and looked upon the unconscious beauty of
its patiently presiding spirit, could not but thank
God for the angels still found distributed through
the world
We were to hear class recite, however, and YOU
are never surprised, hope, to find that fun and
pathos come very close together! a half dozen of
the little shOck-headed barefoot-lings were called
up to spell; andmy friend the Judge who moment
before, had some trouble to keep his ewes dry with
the sight of the picture have described, burst
into convulsions of laughter at the succession of
intrepid little voices, each with its proud pronunci-
alton of the mastered monosyilable. B-u-double
z, buzz! E-doube 2, egg! Pig, pig! S-m-a-
double ], small! G--r-a-double $, grass! rang out
from the lowroofed temple of learning into the
neighboring woods, the sturdy little reciters as
consequential with the dignity of their perform
ance as if they speakers for the first time on
| the floor of Congress. The fun was somewhat
catching, but the understandable laughter of or
| two of our party had no effect the Scholars
! Bravely they spelt away, book in hand and eyes
turning exclusively from the slowspelt word to the
approving face looking down upon them-our nm
comprehended visit, and our Interruptions of the
! lesson, being evidently taken, like the long words
at the end of the spelling book, to be mysteries
| which it was enough, for the present, that the
! school ma'am should understandable be treated
respectfully till they should know more about
| them.
Among the bits of bare feet doubled up under
the long bench was one very slight pair belonging
TO girl of perhaps ten years old, whose natura
pride of form and feature struck me as something
| remarkable. She was in ragged frock, which ap
peared to be her one single garment, but the heat
was set on her sunburnt shoulders like an infan
Fairfaxs and the brown lustre of those great darl
eyes with the long eyelashes, looked as if it mus
have been filtered through long of eour
beauties. | called Bayard Tayor's attention t.
her, as he sat next me- and became so interesteg
in studying the little princess of the woods, that
ventured to ask the schoolmstress, at last, if W
could not hear her read or spell. But she was
new scholar and this was her third day-her cour
education, at present. toiling painfully over tn
A-B, ABB. Hthere were any nursery garden TO